Chapter 7: Canterlot Revelations
Celestia gave her student a concerned look as she watched the purple unicorn’s face twist into rage while her hooves shook on the table. “How could you not know their names?” she practically growled at the alicorn.
The question made Celestia raise an eyebrow. Thanks to the way Twilight had found to hide herself from the alicorn’s extra-perception, Celestia was left feeling a little out of sorts. A sense that had been with her for years was suddenly rendered inert, and she was starting to wonder just how politicians dealt with the press without such insight. On top of which, for the first time in what felt like forever, Celestia understood she didn’t have control of the conversation. She didn’t have a clue what Twilight was going to say before she said it, a hint about what was wrong, where things could go, or anything! It was…both odd and confusing. “Excuse me?”
“Their names!” Twilight repeated. “You asked them to introduce themselves and…were you even listening? Did you even care?”
“Twilight-”
“No!” the unicorn shouted as she pointed an accusing hoof at the alicorn. “You didn’t care! YOU NEVER CARED ABOUT THEM!”
Celestia let the sorrow she was feeling over her student’s rage show, and responded as gently as she could manage. “I care for all my little ponies Twilight, you know that.”
The words only seemed to infuriate Twilight even more, although she looked down at the table before speaking. “Your. Little. Ponies,” she seethed. “That’s what’s wrong with all of this, you know. Celestia and her little ponies! You talk about them like you...you...AGH!”
When it seemed that was all Twilight was going to give her, Celestia let out another long sigh. There was a part of her that was angry at her student’s reaction…if Twilight could even be called that anymore considering how old she had to be after the side effects of traveling to the future, but it paled compared to the sadness building in the alicorn’s heart. Never before had she encountered another pony that showed her such disdain.
No, that’s not true, Celestia told herself. She had encountered one other pony to show her such loathing for a short time, if not more. After all, Twilight had not tried to strike at her in the way Luna had.
Even though it had been so long ago, she still remembered the way Luna had been back then. So withdrawn, alone, angry, and Celestia had been too into experimenting with magic in her free time to bother noticing the worsening trend of her sister’s emotional state. Then one day the moon hadn’t gone down, and Celestia found Luna had joined with some nightmarish force. Then, after their brief battle, she was forced to send her sister away.
The sadness building in Celestia’s heart was quickly countered with the knowledge that everything had worked out as it was meant to. By becoming Nightmare Moon, Luna had started the course of events to Celestia finding the pony who was supposed to use the Elements of Harmony. It had taken a thousand years, but Luna was once again fine, Twilight was found, and everything was on course to how it was supposed to be.
But at the moment, she had a student to deal with.
“Is it the conversation I had with your friends?” Celestia asked as she turned her mind back on the immediate task of calming Twilight down. Although, Celestia had to admit to herself she was grasping at straws for the reason pertaining to Twilight’s rising anger. “I…” She paused, not quite sure of how to continue. Blame couldn’t be leveled at the others for the volume of their introductions. “I admit the tea party was a mistake that I should have seen coming. Common ponies haven’t ever been comfortable around me for some time I’m afraid.”
“Uncomfortable? DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I CARE ABOUT THAT?” Twilight yelled. “You raise the sun and have existed since before Equestria was made! Of course they’re uncomfortable around you! But what the buck do you care? They’re just some stupid little ponies just like aaallll the others! What the buck should they matter to the oh so great Celestia sitting in her ivory tower of a castle on her mountain!”
Celestia took in a breath and steeled herself for what she would know to be another emotional storm of anger coming from the unicorn while she let the little mare continue to vent. “If it was not the reception that I provided, then tell me what I did wrong,” she said while trying not to sound harsh. What Twilight needed was understanding, not judgement.
“You want to know what you did?” Twilight demanded with a frown. “You abandoned your duty because you didn’t want to hurt you sister when Nightmare Moon returned and used five ponies to turn me into your little weapon! And then, you…you…after everything...EVERYTHING! You…”
Her student, which Celestia had to admit she did feel that way about the unicorn still, went silent before Twilight’s whole body began to shake. Her breaths became ragged, and Celestia found her own worry over the little unicorn’s condition growing as she started to see some of the signs of one of Twilight’s little episodes that she still apparently had, despite being of an unknown advanced age. “Twilight?”
“YOU LIED TO ME!” the unicorn shrieked at the alicorn.
Chapter 7: Canterlot Revelations
Although she didn’t see much point in fancy things and tended to avoid them because of their usual amount of uselessness, Applejack had to admit that the castle that Celestia had built was just about the spiffiest place she had come across in her life. She had seen it all on her way in too, but the apple farmer had been a mite distracted by the goddess escorting them down the hallway. That, and how Princess Celestia was trying to make light conversation with a unicorn who seemed to only want to blow her off.
Free of such a sight, she was able to take a look around and notice all the effort went into Canterlot Palace. Of course, Applejack also took a moment to steal a look out the window and look down into Princess Celestia’s garden where the alicorn’s rumored golden apple tree grew. However, she couldn’t see any plants that grew apples of unnatural colors from her position, and chalked that little story Granny had told her up to just being another myth like the Pony of Shadows.
But even with the myth Applejack had just busted, she still found plenty of things to stare at and focus on. Looking at everything helped keep her mind off the foolish notion that Rarity had voiced about one of them dying. Because of that, nopony was much in a talking mood.
Unfortunately, the fact she was waiting on the princess and Twilight to finish up meant that she couldn’t go exploring on her own and get away from more…irritating things.
“So, royal guards huh? You ever fight a dragon?”
An annoyed groan escaped from Applejack’s throat. “Rainbow, would ya drop it already?” she yelled at the irritating blue pegasus as the immature flier as Dash hovered in the air above two of Princess Celestia’s pegasus guards that flanked the door to the room said princess was in.
Thankfully, the pegasus just rolled her eyes and started to fly in a big circle around there all the other mares were sitting in the hallway instead of starting something with the farmer. Although...a part of Applejack was a little angry about how Rainbow didn’t try and start something so the earth pony could finally put the annoying pegasus in her proper place.
But instead of starting something herself when Rainbow didn’t, Applejack found herself staring at the fancy window in the hallway that showed her and five other ponies zapping Nightmare Moon with those magic necklaces that Princess Celestia had carted off when everything was done. Whatever happened to them things anyway? Applejack asked herself. Did they go back to being Celestia’s now that the girls were through with them?
For some reason, the idea didn’t sit too well with Applejack. It wasn’t a logic thing. Just an odd feeling deep in her gut that didn’t like the idea of somepony else carting around that orange apple that was the representation of Honesty. It had her cutie mark on it after all.
It would have been nice to of had them for that dragon debacle. At least then Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have gotten unbearable over the past couple of days. Although, considering how much of a braggart she was, Applejack knew Rainbow still would have found something to try and make herself sound like some kinda big shot hero. In truth, the only thing Dash could lay claim to was the title of lazy braggart that slept in trees for half of the day and ran her mouth for another fourth.
How that pony got to be Ponyville’s top weathermare when she hardly did a lick of work to actually earn the title was beyond Applejack.
The clip clop of hooves from down the hallway brought Applejack out of her ruminations, and she looked over to see a unicorn with a dark coat underneath some fancy clothes being escorted by a pair of guards. He took one look around, then walked right over to Rarity.
“Pardon miss, are you Twilight Sparkle? The description said purple unicorn, but you know how these guard ponies are,” he said in an accent that matched the one Rarity had, only with a bit more…snootiness to it. “Honestly I’m surprised they got your mane color right.”
His tone actually got a look of confusion from Applejack. If that was what a real upper class Canterlot pony sounded like, then Rarity had a bit of a ways to go. She may have sounded fru-fru and all, but the messenger managed to sound like he was looking down at all four of the guards standing in the hallway without even glancing in their direction. Rarity might have turned away from her roots, but at least she wasn’t that bad.
Not yet anyway, Applejack told herself. If she ending up just throwing away her roots altogether and moved to the city that teetered over the edge of a mountain, Applejack was pretty sure that was going to up and change in a minute. It was like the city did something to the ponies that lived there. Like how they all have to be holdin’ their noses up in the air all the time, else they ain’t gonna see the ground ain’t nowhere near their hooves.
Apparently, the Ponyville unicorn wasn’t all that enamored with the stallion either, as she gave him a level look that held none of her usual pleasantness. “Twilight Sparkle is currently meeting with-”
The door to the room the alicorn had called them all into just a few minutes earlier slammed open with a burst of purple magic, and the unicorn in question stormed out with a scowl on her face. The action startled all the ponies present, but the guards reactions were more confusion than some overprotective thing where they tried to tackle Twilight because her horn was glowing.
“Twilight Sparkle,” a voice came from the room she had just walked out of with a level of authority that made the hairs on Applejack’s coat stand on end. The irate unicorn stopped in her tracks before looking back. “I do not know what has caused this animosity-”
“I think I made it perfectly clear,” the unicorn replied, cutting the alicorn off as Celestia came into Applejack’s view.
For a moment, the expression on Celestia’s face turned to something approaching displeasure, but faded so fast Applejack didn’t know if she imagined it, or if Princess Celestia had really frowned at Twilight there for a second. Then the goddess spoke in a tone that almost sounded tired. “Twilight, when you’re really ready to talk to me, I’ll be waiting.”
The words of comfort made the unicorn freeze for a moment and it looked like she had even stopped bothering to breathe. But then the moment was gone. Twilight didn’t acknowledge the princess in any other way that Applejack could see, and she looked over to the pony in the suit. “Who’s this?”
The snooty stallion’s gaze shifted to Princess Celestia for a moment as he looked at her in surprise, then focused his attention on Twilight and cleared his throat before speaking. “Ms Sparkle, I am here on behalf of Finagle and Larceny, the firm you contacted in order to find buyers for the collection of gems and artifacts you delivered to us and oversee the division of the bits into six accounts. We were informed that you had an urgent meeting with the princess and I am here to tell you that the meeting with my associates has been pushed back to tomorrow at nine AM. Although if that is unacceptable, we do have an opening at noon as well.”
Twilight frowned at the unicorn for a moment before a bit. “But that’s tomorrow!” she exclaimed in anger. “It’s only…” She looked around the hallway for a moment, then over to the guards. “Does anypony know what time it is?”
“Six o’clock,” Princess Celestia provided.
The news got a wide-eyed gasp from Twilight. “But the last train to Ponyville departs at five!” she exclaimed before Applejack saw the telltale signs of another 'Twilight fit' starting to form. “How’re we supposed to get home?”
Although the question was directed at the whole room, Princess Celestia answered gently with a tiny smile. “Twilight, I would be happy to let you and your friends stay in a suite at the castle.”
The news of sleeping at the castle drew the interest of every one of the mares, and even Applejack had to admit that experiencing what was a once in a lifetime...experience...was something that peaked her interest. Even though a fancy bed was probably made for looks and not comfort, and the high altitude was probably causing too little oxygen to make it to her brain for her to think straight like every other mortal pony in the capital, Applejack supposed one night in Canterlot couldn’t hurt.
Of course, Rarity took it the worst out of all of them when it came to holding back. “A night at the castle? In a suite? Castle…Suite… Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” she proclaimed while dancing on her hind legs.
However, the other unicorn didn’t take the offer too well. “N-no…I-I can’t…” Twilight panted as she worked to breathe, which apparently drew Fluttershy’s attention and put the yellow pegasus beside her in an instant with a question about if she was feeling okay.
Even Princess Celestia looked to the purple pony with concern evident on her face and trotted a few steps closer to lean down. “Twilight? What’s wrong?”
Then Pinkie Pie jumped in into the middle of the little group, managing to even force the sun goddess back with her sudden appearance. “Ohmygosh! This is gonna be so awesome! It’ll be our first ever castle SLUMBER PARTY!” the pink pony exclaimed before her expression changed to one of confusion as she looked over to Twilight.
“Although, why does everypony call it a slumber party when nopony ever slumbers? We stay up all night and play games, have fun and eat snacks, but nopony can go to sleep at a slumber party. So shouldn’t it be called a non-slumber party?
“Wait, that makes it sound like it’s a non-party, so we can’t call it that.”
Fluttershy looked over to the bouncy bubblegum pony a second later. “Maybe a slumber-less party?”
“Oooooo, good one,” Pinkie said before looking over to the unicorn standing next to Fluttershy. Apparently, Pinkie’s attitude had managed to infect her, and made Twilight go from teetering on the edge to a fragile smile. “What do you think Twilight?”
By the time Applejack managed to tear her eyes off Pinkie, she saw Fluttershy standing with her wing across the unicorn’s back, and that Twilight’s episode had ended before it began. A tiny laugh escaped from the unicorn’s mouth, and she nodded a bit before speaking. “A slumber-less party sounds wonderful Pinkie.”
Pinkie Pie gave the unicorn a measuring look, and visibly calmed down to something approaching a normal pony’s level of excitement. “Well…it’s a start I guess,” she said as she studied Twilight’s…mouth?
Princess Celestia stepped out of her room the whole way. Her very presence seemed to demand the attention of nearly everypony there, and even Rainbow Dash came back down to the ground when the princess cleared her throat. “Very well then, I will have the staff prepare the proper amenities and send a letter so Spike knows what is going on.”
“That...sounds good,” Twilight reluctantly replied before she looked away from the goddess and over to the others. “So um…while that’s going on...how about a tour of the castle?”
This is stupid, Sparkler decided as she looked away from the little dragon eating ice cream right from the carton as he went around with a duster that had been repurposed to fit his tail. As he continued to dust the room and bottom shelf of the library just by walking around, the teenage unicorn went back to reading her book.
Part of her said to just go home and forget about some of the things that had entered her mind since the other day. But...it was time for school to get out and Dinky hadn’t quite gotten through her adorably thick skull that some fillies still needed to study even after the school bell rang. Ditzy did what she could to keep the foal from getting too under-hoof, but Sparkler understood all too well how much something shiny and new could be to resist interacting with. Plus, the older daughter didn’t really like having to tell her half-sister to buzz off.
So the library seemed like the perfect place to hide.
Except…
“Hey Sparkler, could you give me a horn with these?” Spike asked as he stood near a pile of books that needed to be reshelved a few shelves too high for him to reach.
...the dragon was there. While Sparkler usually enjoyed his company...ever since seeming him as a rather...cute stallion...the idea of maybe trying to see if they were kind of compatible when it came to the whole spending time together alone while having something to eat had been popping up in her head from time to time. Which was stupid. Spike was a dragon, Sparkler was a unicorn. End of story.
Just because he was the one male creature in the entire one horse town of Ponyville that was the least bit interesting and could stand to be around her without Sparkler’s personality causing Spike to never hang out with her again didn’t mean that anything was going to come of it. Hay, Spike was already starting to get on her nerves, asking for silly things he could do himself!
The unicorn looked up, then over to the ladder on the far end of the room, and back to Spike. “Something wrong with the ladder?” she asked in her usual unamused tone. She would have thought that the dragon of all...ponies would have understood using magic was just as exhausting as any physical labor.
A second later, Sparkler was thinking she might have been a bit too unamused and offended what was quite possibly her only real friend in town despite the species difference and weird age gap that may or may not have impacted his maturity in an odd fashion. Spike frowned at her, then looked over to the ladder. “Yeah, Twilight put a spell on it so I couldn’t get it out of the corner while she was away. Said I might fall and hurt myself.”
Sparkler’s eye twitched. “Uh...really?” she asked. Twilight had seemed a bit more...together than the average overprotective parent.
“Yeah, she gets like this sometimes,” Spike admitted. “Well, not like this, this, but...overacting to stuff kind of this. But...after that dragon kind of threatened to kill me and the whole blue transformation flower thing I kind of understand-BURP!”
The unicorn blinked as the dragon let out a rather rude burst of smoke that...turned into a letter? Oh right, Spike said he can get messages straight from the princess, but...I didn’t think it would be like...that.
Her astute yet traitorous mind quickly took in the latest fact about the dragon and…
For some reason she couldn’t comprehend, Sparkler found herself sitting on a park bench next to a slightly larger Spike with a mustache. They moved in to kiss and the unicorn found that the bipedal creature had the most wicked tongue that snacked down her throat right before the dragon made an awful retching sound...and Sparkler found herself gagging on a piece of paper while Spike attempted the heimlich maneuver to dislodge it and keep her from dying.
As the mental image faded, Sparkler sighed. Stupid pessimistic brain, she told herself while Spike read off the letter from the princess.
“Huh Princess Celestia says Twilight and the others didn’t catch the train and are staying in Canterlot over...uh-oh,” he mumbled as he lowered the paper.
Sparkler frowned in worry at the dragon’s sudden unease. “What? Something wrong?”
For a moment, Spike just stared off into space, then looked up at the pink unicorn. “Twilight...she...um…” He looked away from Sparkler, uncertain for a moment. “She has...problems sleeping unless she takes a potion before bed and...I don’t...she didn’t bring any with her to Canterlot!”
“Oh is that all,” Sparkler replied with a roll of her eyes. But when she saw the action only angered the dragon, the unicorn let out a sigh and explained to him just why it was no big deal. “It’s one night Spike, what’s the worst that could happen?”
The following hours had Rarity discovering that she was in Elysium, or as close to the fields of eternal bliss one could get without dying at any rate.
After Celestia had left to arrange everything and sent Spike the message they wouldn't be back until tomorrow, Twilight had given them a tour of the castle that covered everything from the aviary to the portcullis, with several stops along the way that seemed geared towards grabbing the interest of each and every one of the ponies in the group at one time or another. Although, she did make a wrong turn here and there and became quite embarrassed when she led them to the dungeon instead of the alchemical lab, it more or less went off without a hitch.
Rarity loved it all. The decor, the history, all the noble ponies she met just trotting around for a few hours, it was like a glimpse of the perfect life she always wanted to have. Still, it wasn’t enough to take her mind off the more important matter of what was going on; that being, the time visiting with her friends as she gauged Twilight’s emotional state.
Once the girls got to their collection of rooms, which turned out to be an entire section of the palace apartments meant for visiting dignitaries with a shared common room and several private rooms that were meant for sleeping and taking care of certain necessities, Rarity quickly found herself unable to ignore things anymore. She had given Twilight time to recover,to think, to calm down, and the others had thankfully followed her lead thanks to a few quick glares that kept Rainbow quiet.
So after they got into the room that had several couches for leisurely discussions and as well as a miniature buffet waiting on them, and when their attempts to make light conversation over their sleeping arrangements hit a lull, Rarity cleared her throat and looked over to the purple unicorn. “Twilight? Would you mind telling us now? I think we’ve given you enough time to organize your thoughts.”
Twilight looked up from the small plate of snacks she had purloined from the buffet of slow perishables and looked at Rarity in confusion. “Tell you what?”
“What do ya mean what?” Applejack stepped in with a much harsher tone before Rarity could think of a tactful way to introduce the topic of what was disturbing Twilight so. “What’s this whole future thing ya been keeping from us?”
The eyes of the lavender unicorn widened for a moment, and Rarity was left wondering if she really had forgotten they knew, or was just hoping none of the girls would have brought it up again. Both of which were ridiculous of course. Still, she had seen ponies hope for more outlandish things in her life.
“Oh,” Twilight mumbled before she sat down at the edge of the room and reached to nervously rub her shoulder with her hoof. “Right…um…”
She sighed and hung her head as her shoulder slumped and her breath became ragged. After a few minutes, Rarity wondered if the unicorn had just zoned out like she tended to do every now and then, but right before anypony could ask if she was alright, Twilight looked back up at them with a harder expression than she had when the question was asked. “If you girls want me to ask me questions…I’ll tell you what I can, but…it’s not going to make things easier for you,” she told them in a tired voice that made her seem more like a mare in her nineties than the youngest pony in the room.
For a moment, Rarity found herself hesitating. As far as she could tell, Twilight had always acted with their best interests at heart, even though she could be a little pushy at times. At least she had been until after Fluttershy’s little episode the other day. Since Rarity had seen her this morning, Twilight seemed to have lost some of her usual fire and seemed much more docile, willing to cave to the girls at the drop of a hat.
It seemed that putting Fluttershy in such a position had affected the poor unicorn terribly. So much that she was still feeling the effects even after a good night’s sleep.
Applejack was the first to speak, slamming a hoof down onto the ground of their apartment that the princess had given them for their stay. “Ah want you to tell me what’s goin’ on here!”
“I know honesty is important to you Applejack, but...” Twilight paused as she looked away from the farm pony for a moment. Then she began speaking in an even tone as she brought her head back up with a frown. “What I know…it’s not a blessing. And I…I don’t want to keep any of you in the dark, but…the less you all know, the better it is. Believe me. I only want what’s best for you girls.”
The offhand slight caught Rainbow Dash’s attention, and she scowled at the unicorn. “So…what? You’re only one who gets to know what’s going on? You think we’re too stupid to understand or something?”
Twilight looked up at the pegasus with a wide-eyed expression full of hurt. “I never thought about any of you Rainbow! I just…I’m just asking you all to trust me!”
Applejack frowned and stepped up into Twilight’s face. “How the hay are we supposed to trust somepony who's been lying to us this whole time, huh?” she demanded as she advanced, making Twilight back into the wall behind her. “Keepin’ secrets and doing Celestia knows what else? What kinda friend is that?”
“Lying? What?...” The pain on the unicorn’s face doubled, and she couched down under the accusation. “I told a few fibs here and there, but I never once lied about how much I felt about any of you!” Twilight insisted. “I don’t…I’m not doing this because I want to! I…you all…” She took in a deep breath, and let it out in a long sigh before looking back at the farm pony with a tired expression. “Do you think I like having to sit back and hide everything I know from you?”
She looked over to the blue pegasus. “Do you think I like not being able to tell you how amazing you’re going to be?” Twilight asked before turning to Rarity with a pained expression. “Or how little living in Ponyville is going to matter when it comes time to make your mark on the world?
“Girls please trust me on this, I know things you don’t want to know. Things you shouldn’t know, things you can’t know… Things that might even put your lives at stake if you do know them! And I can’t...I can’t do that to any of you!”
Rarity found herself taken aback by Twilight’s words. She had thought it had been something of a nature involving their safety, but to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth was another thing entirely. The panic in Twilight’s words just added more weight.
What was going on was big, really big. Nightmare Moon big. To top it off, this time she was wandering into the proverbial forest with the life threatening danger at the forefront of her mind instead of the need to help a friend, and fear churned in her stomach.
“But,” Twilight went on after a moments pause before she lowered her head, drawing Rarity out of her thoughts. “I…I just...I can’t just…not...” She stopped for a second and took a breath, then pushed her foreleg away as she breathed out.
“Look, I’ll… I’ll answer any questions you have about...what I know. Some of it...the things that arn’t...dangerous to talk about. I can...there’s plenty of that I can tell you...I think.” She let out a long sigh, and looked back up at the other mares in the room. “But only if all of you are around to hear the answers, and all of you agree to hear them. And only if…what I tell you won’t be dangerous.”
Applejack frowned at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
For a moment, it looked to Rarity as if the other unicorn was going to respond with just as much ire, but she let out a sigh a few moments later and shook her head. “You gripe about me keeping secrets and how you deserve to know what I know Applejack,” Twilight recapped before looking over to the others. “And if that’s the way you want things, then I’ll tell you what I can…but only if everypony wants to hear the answers. And only the things that are safe to hear.”
A spark of understanding flashed in Rarity’s mind. “In other words, we all have to agree to hear the answers, or none of us get them.” She didn’t know whether to call Twilight’s terms fair, or devious. The unicorn had no idea if she would say yes to allow the others to hear their future, or no out of fear of what was to come.
Twilight had said she wouldn’t tell them anything dangerous, but...the lack of an answer could be just as telling as no reply at all.
“No way!” Rainbow Dash said as she zoomed up to meet Twilight eye to eye. “That way if just one of us says no, then none of us get anything! We…well…we should take a vote!”
Twilight stared at the pegasus for a few seconds, then put on a small smile that had the anger on Rainbow Dash’s face turning to confusion. Most likely because it seemed to be a happy smile, not one of a master schemer. “Okay then,” the unicorn said before she looked around the room. “Does everypony agree with that?”
“Agreeing or not gots nothing to do with it, you should be telling us what we wanna know!” Applejack insisted heatedly.
Fluttershy simply nodded, and Rarity spoke up her agreement to the conditions as well. Pinkie Pie was a bit more vocal in her acceptance to the conditions. “Sounds good to me!” she said. “Oh! Are we going to have like a special voting party with red white and blue hats? Or…gold and white hats I mean? Because we’re in Equestria you know. Although…is blue one of the national colors again? Because with Princess Luna being back I think that black and blue and silver should be somewhere in there too, don’t you?”
The lavender unicorn giggled. “No Pinkie, I think we can just go with a basic count,” she said. “Is that okay with everypony?”
Applejack grumbled a bit, making all the ponies in the room turn towards her. “Don’t think voting should have anything to do with it! But…if ya’ll going to be doing it that way, then I vote yes. Twilight should tell us what’s going on.”
“Same here,” Rainbow agreed before she looked over to Twilight with a nervous expression. “Uh, sorry Twilight it’s just…you know. I gotta go with my gut, and it’s saying I should find out what happens to me.”
Rarity took in a deep breath as she tried to think about what to say. On the surface, it seemed like a dream of an offer. What pony wouldn’t want to know about her future? On the other hand, how much would that information ruin?
A dozen new original designs went through her head at the thought, but…which of them would be considered garish, and which magnifique? And that’s just dresses, Rarity told herself. Twilight would not have gone through the trouble of doing everything she was doing down in her basement because of just some dresses…no matter how spectacular they were.
That was just the small stuff. Rarity didn’t even want to think about just why Twilight broke the rules of time. The other unicorn apparently had a handle on the situation, so…
“I vote no,” she said making all the ponies in the room turn to look at her.
After Rainbow Dash and Applejack had finished with their protests, Rarity locked eyes with the surprised time traveler and smiled. “I will admit to some curiosity darling, but…my faith in you outweighs that by far. So no, you don’t have to tell us if you think its for the best.”
Fluttershy spoke up in the ensuing silence as everypony in the room had their attentions on Rarity. “I vote no too.”
“WHAT?” Rainbow Dash shouted before she turned around to face the other pegasus. “Fluttershy! Why?”
For a moment the yellow pegasus simply sat where she was on the couch, her face half-hidden by her mane, and then she looked back at the other flying pony. “I remember when we had our celebration after Nightmare Moon, and the day after that when we all had lunch together and how happy Twilight was,” she said before turning her head.
“And then when I saw you later that week, you were so…different,” she said to Twilight after shifting her attention to the purple unicorn. “And until I saw you on the floor of your house the other day, I didn’t realize what it was. But now…Twilight, you’re afraid. You’re afraid, all the time. And if learning what you know did that to you then…I don’t want any part of it.”
With only one pony left, they all turned to Pinkie Pie, who gave them all a slight frown as she sat down so hard Rarity winced at the sound of her plot smacking the floor. “Really? You all give me the deciding vote?” she asked in a whine.
“Come on Pinkie, you want to know the truth as much as me!” Applejack exclaimed.
“Think of everything we could find out!” Rainbow Dash added.
“Darling, we know enough. Let Twilight have her secrets,” Rarity told her.
“I don’t think it will make any of us happy to know our future Pinkie,” Fluttershy said.
Once they had all made their case and gotten a shush from Pinkie, the pink party pony was silent for a good five minutes before she looked up at the purple arch-mage. “Twilight…you’re a super fantastic friend,” she finally said in a much more somber tone than Rarity had heard from her before. “You play with me and Dashie, and help Applejack on her farm, and Fluttershy with her animals, and hang out with Rarity at that bathhouse.”
Rarity cleared her throat. “Spa.” Bathhouses were where ponies went to bathe, spas were for rejuvenation.
“You spend all your time trying to make us happy, and I may not know anything about magic, but I’d bet my party pony license whatever it is you’re working on down there in your super secret basement has something to do with helping us too. And I know it’s something big and super important,” Pinkie continued. “But...I want to help you. I want to see you happy and see you smile like I did the second day I saw you.”
Across the room, Twilight let out a laugh through her nose. “Pinkie I’m happy around you girls. You all make me plenty happy,” she said before her mouth curved upwards.
Pinkie shook her head. “That’s not a real smile,” she said before her mane seemed to deflate a little. “There’s a...sadness in you. You try and hide it, and you’re really good at it. But I can see it sometimes, like when we argue, or when you were talking to Princess Celestia…and I… I want to make you happy again Twilight, like when we were all in the forest together. I want…I want to see you really smile again.
“But I can’t do that unless you tell me what’s wrong…so I vote yes,” Pinkie finished.
The whole room was silent for a moment, and Twilight looked around at all the other ponies. “Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness and Joy…like I really even needed to ask how it would go,” she said with a sad smile plastered on her lips before she licked them and took in a deep breath.
Then Rainbow Dash spoke with her usual level of subtlety. “We didn’t get eaten by a dragon or something, did we?”
Twilight’s face twisted into confused revulsion for a moment. “What? No!” she exclaimed. “Even with… I would have never let something like that happen to you girls!”
Tension she didn’t know she was holding released and Rarity sagged in relief while some of other girls also visibly relaxed. “Okay then...just what did you learn on your trip to the future then darling?”
For a moment, Rarity thought that Twilight hadn’t heard her, but then the other unicorn let out a long sigh before she spoke again. “Okay, but I suppose I should tell you all something before we start. Celestia was wrong about me traveling to the future and picking up some foreknowledge. She thinks I used Starswirl’s Temporal Rubber Band spell to travel to a distant point in the future and then come back here with a ton of historical knowledge. The truth is, Celestia has it backwards. I didn’t travel into the future…I um...well, I… I came from it.”
“What?” most of the ponies in the room asked, Rarity among them.
“I came back from the future,” Twilight explained. “But I never went there with magic.”
Pinkie Pie tilted her head. “But if you’re from the future, then how come you’re not super old and wrinkly?”
Another sigh came from Twilight’s lips. “Okay, that’s going to take a bit more explanation…”
Twilight opened her eyes as a strange sound assaulted her ears, waking the unicorn from a beautiful dream that involved a hundred item checklist listing all her new duties as a librarian, a guardian of books, a dispenser of knowledge, a…some other grandiose title she could probably come up with if she wasn’t just being woken up by Spike’s…wild wind that was blowing things all around her bedroom without any visible cause?
Wait a second, Spike isn’t doing this, she told herself after looking down to check on the dragon. As expected, the unicorn found her baby brother sleeping away in the basket she had found for him to serve as a bed.
A part of Twilight thought she needed to get a real bed for him one day, but…he just looked so cute in his little basket that it seemed almost a crime to make such a change!
“So if its not Spike,” the unicorn muttered before getting out of bed and looked around at the windows to find that they were all closed. “What’s causing-”
A bright flash and the sound of a magical displacement cut Twilight off and made her shield her eyes from the incoming teleport. When she looked back to see what had caused the loud disturbance that scattered all of the unicorn’s papers everywhere, Twilight’s mouth dropped open in shock.
An alicorn was standing in the middle of her bedroom, but it was unlike any alicorn that Twilight had ever seen. The creature had to be approaching ten feet tall and almost filled the room with her presence, while a dark mane with light tan and hot pink highlights flowed around in the air flowed in the air. Even the giant pony’s wings and coat seemed to have been colored from being so overflowing with magical power, and her eyes glowed with a strange dance of light that cycled through every color of the rainbow. “Twilight Sparkle.”
The creature’s very presence filled the air with so much magic that Twilight felt a pressure on her horn, and when she spoke...Twilight didn’t just hear the words, her entire body felt them. They went beyond just making her bones fibrate, beyond something physically comprehensible and Twilight knew even what she could feel with her horn was just the tip of an iceberg.
“W-Who’re you?” the little unicorn asked the pony that towered over her as Twilight’s instincts told her a myriad of conflicting commands.
The sheer size of the alicorn in front of her which even Princess Celestia would have been unable to match made the young pony want to run and hide under the bed. But the more magically inclined senses that every unicorn had told Twilight that it was a pointless effort. The thing in front of her was beyond any power Twilight had ever felt before. It made her mind hurt just being in the thing’s presence and…as terrifying as what she could feel coming from the goddess in front of her, Twilight knew that she shouldn’t panic.
“You don’t recognize me?” she asked before looking at herself for a second, then back to the unicorn after mumbling to herself, “no, I suppose you wouldn’t.”
“I don’t have time to explain but…I only have the best of intentions for you and friends. I just want to help them, but I can’t do it without you.”
The magic resonating within the mystery alicorn’s words made Twilight’s head feel like it was going to slit open but at the same time, there was something in it that made Twilight know what she was saying was true. It didn’t feel like any of the mind-warping magic Celestia had described to her student, it was simply...truth.
Still, whenever all-powerful god-beings just appeared in one’s bedroom begging for help…one just didn’t nod their head. “Okay…but why? And how?”
“I made a mistake, a big mistake…the Elements, they’re not…it’s not right!” the mystery goddess exclaimed as her enigmatic emotional shell cracked a little and some emotion leaked into her voice. “I can fix it, I can fix everything, but I need you to agree.”
Twilight gave the alicorn a cautious frown. “Agree to what?”
The alicorn shuffled her hooves around a bit like Twilight tended to do sometimes, and the relatively tiny mage wondered if she should also be worried if something like the Goddess before her seemed nervous. “The spell I’m using to travel through time, it doesn’t last very long, so I need you to…the best way to explain it is that you will...or I will… I will give you everything that I am but the end result… You won't be you anymore. You’ll be…maybe me, or…something else. I’m sorry, the full explanation would take too long and that is the only way I can describe what‘s going to happen in the time we have.”
“WHAT?” Twilight shouted as she backed away from the alicorn in fear, her mind running a mile a minute as she tried to explain how that was even possible. “You want to…to replace me?” Despite the creature’s power, a new kind of fear pushed Twilight forward as her mind quickly calculated that running away from the thing in front of her was impossible. “No way!”
“Twilight,” the mystery alicorn shouted as she prostrated herself in front of the unicorn. “We have to save them, we have to protect them. I’ve tried so long and so hard. I’ve tried everything, and now that I finally found a way, it’s all up to you and I’m running out time! Please Twilight, I’m begging you. Say yes, and we can finally save our friends!”
The change in diction caught Twilight’s attention as the alicorn changed from using the words I and my to we and our, and Twilight’s eyes drifted over to the titanic pony’s cutie mark. It was…different, but she could see the Element of Magic at its center.
What was more, she recognized it as the Element of Magic. It wasn’t just some odd coincidence like with Colgate and that stallion who sold clocks having somewhat similar cutie marks. The mark of a ponys destiny didn’t work like that. Each and every one was special and had a magical element to it that made it unique.
What Twilight was looking at. It. Was. Her. Cutie. Mark.
Or at least...part of it was.
Realization made Twilight’s legs go weak, and she forced herself to sit down to avoid falling over. She…that’s not…possible…but…
Twilight looked back to the alicorn, and gulped. Her horn was much longer, she was big enough to make Celestia seem like a normal-sized pony, her coat glowed a much darker shade, and the amount of power radiating from her made Twilight feel like a flea staring at a dragon, but…
The hairstyle was the same, and Twilight recognized the same tone of panic in the goddess’s voice that the unicorn herself had been stuck in from time to time.
“You’re me,” she mumbled. “But…your cutie mark, your…alicorn! How?”
It was impossible, absolutely impossible, and if it wasn’t for the other Twilight’s titanic presence, the unicorn would have been elated at the impossibility of it all.
“There’s not time to explain, and now that you know, just…please Twilight, if we don’t do this…I can’t go back there Twilight. I can’t… Please, help me save them! I...I’m begging you.”
Twilight gulped again, although this time it was to help get her nervousness under control. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on, just which ponies the future her was talking about. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy…Twilight had only just met them the other day and yet…they had gone with her into the most dangerous land Equestria had to offer and pulled her through the Everfree before rushing in to save her when Nightmare Moon appeared.
They had charged into certain death to help a stranger, and made Twilight understand just how special each one of them was. And now, she was faced with the same choice.
With that being the case, only one option was open to her.
“Will I die?” Twilight asked, forcing herself to take in breath after breath to try and keep herself focused
“I do not know,” the goddess that Twilight would become answered. “The spell…it may change you into me, or simply give you the information in my head, or it may overwrite you completely, and leave only me. I’ve never been able to properly test it. I’m sorry to ask this of you, I’m sorry to take this all away from you. But…I don’t have any other options.”
Twilight forced herself to smile. “Don’t feel too bad. I mean, even if I disappear completely…I’m still you, right?” she asked while her body began to tremble. “And Spike…you’ll look after him too, right?”
For a moment Twilight didn’t know why she asked that particular question but… No…she knew what was coming. What this would entail. Even if it was just information, what were ponies but a collection of their experiences guided by their destiny?
The giant goddess of an alicorn that stood before Twilight was what she would become one day. What she was doing was just...taking a little shortcut, in a way.
“Of course I will,” the Goddess assured her. “Now we’re almost out of time. Touch your horn to mine, and we can begin.”
Three seconds later, Twilight found herself backing away from the brain-dead alicorn that no longer held the correct mental programming or magical aura to continue functioning. One had been given away, and the other completely spent. Five seconds after that, the body vanished as the temporal rubber band effect caused Twilight’s original body to disappear in another flash of light.
The unicorn blinked at her last thought, and how she had thought of the alicorn form as hers. She reached up and touched a hoof to her head as she recalled a million other things like Rainbow Dash’s Wonderbolt’s inauguration, Rarity’s first wedding, dozens of battles, the hundred thousand experiments she had done to come to this point in time, her friends…
A shiver passed through her body as she remember seeing them in their private hospital room that last time before entombing them. As well as the several times after that.
And later, when she had...
Twilight forced her eyes closed to keep from crying while she fought to keep her emotions under control. The battle was lost in the blink of an eye, and tears began to form. The unicorn let out a sob before she managed to surround herself in a soundproof force field as the pain of loss became overwhelming, and tears fell down her face like from a waterfall.
She remembered their slumbering faces, Applejack...Fluttershy...Rarity...Pinkie Pie…and… Another shudder passed through the unicorn’s body as she remembered Rainbow Dash being awoken and… Twilight let out a piercing wail as the memory washed over her.
Ten minutes later, after her tear ducts had run dry, Twilight found herself laying on the floor and trying to find her breath as she ordered her thoughts. Crying…it’s been...centuries? Millennia? How long has it been since I allowed myself to feel for them? Yet, as the former alicorn dried her tears and conjured a tissue for her to blow her nose, she had to admit that it had felt…good.
She wondered how long it had been since she felt like that too, but Twilight shoved the petty concern for her own mental wellbeing to the side in favor of thoughts of her friends. Her Family.
They needed to be cried over, they deserved it. The fact that she hadn’t done it in so long made Twilight feel sick to her stomach. It didn’t matter that she didn’t have time to do it before. It didn’t matter that she had needed to push her emotions to the side in order to get the job done!
The fact that she had stopped mourning them, stopped honoring them…it made Twilight sick with herself more so than anything else that the alicorn had done afterwards. She should have built monuments to them! Not that stupid little statue in Canterlot Castle’s garden that Celestia made!
They deserved better than that! They deserved every pony in Equestria knowing their names from the first year they got into school and thanking each and every one of those mares for the day their sacrifices allowed them to live through every night before they went to bed!
And they will, Twilight told herself in order to calm down. I’ll make sure they get everything they want and more! What the buck did Celestia ever give them? Some windows when they were alive? A statue when they were dead? Never once gave them what they really wanted, what they needed, what they deserved. ALL SHE DID WAS TAKE IT ALL AWAY!
Twilight frowned when she noticed her breathing. She was…upset?
First the tears, and then…anger? She hadn’t been angry since…she couldn’t remember. Since Celestia at least, or… No, it had been the last time she and Cadence had spoken, before the alicorn had left her former sister-in-law to her rather ironic fate.
Bile rose in Twilight’s throat at the memory, and the unicorn barely kept herself from throwing up. Sweet Celestia I...I did that to her and… No, she was the one who wanted the heart, the unicorn reminded herself. She was the one who started everything! She was the one who said I-Twilight realized she was paning through her teeth again, and forced herself to calm down...again.
She had to wonder if it was that the other Twilight’s presence. The former alicorn didn’t feel all that different that she had a second ago, but…there was no denying the fact that such emotional responses had long since been under control. Twilight couldn’t have done a tenth of what she had needed to if she had been so controlled by her emotions.
A wave of memories pushed themselves up from the depths of Twilight’s mind. The experiments… Twilight’s eyes widened as a million memories play out in her mind, and she felt like retching again. I…how could I have…oh Celes-No! I won’t think of her like that anymore! It was her fault! It was all HER FAULT! I shouldn’t feel guilty! None of that happened anymore! AND IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! I WON’T LET IT!
Twilight realized she was panting, and forced herself to slow her breathing down using an exercise she hadn‘t done in forever. “Okay, focus Twilight, focus on the good things,” she told herself as the light of a day began to shine through the windows of her library’s bedroom.
Minutes ticked by, and slowly, Twilight forced herself to get herself under control. She looked at where she was. Reminded herself when she was. She was before when everything went wrong. The exact date was hard to pin down as the memories of Twilight’s future-past self continued to find a place to settle in her mind, but that was a worry for another time.
“The library,” she told herself as a smile started to creep up on her cheeks. “I’m in the library. Golden Oaks Library. In Ponyville. It’s not a reconstruction, a simulation, or a dream. I’m really here…I’m home.”
A tiny laugh escaped her lips, and Twilight dropped the magical barrier that stopped sound from escaping within the small radius around her.
“I’m f-finally home!” she exclaimed as several more laughs escaped her mouth. “I…hehe…I…hehehe…I just…WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!”
Twilight finished her recap of the events, careful to leave out a few minor details, like the fact she had been an alicorn at the time. They didn’t need to know something like that until it was time. The bare bones version of things would do until they were ready for when she could tell them more; if they needed to know at all.
“So wait, Ah’m confused. Are you…future-Twilight, or…past-Twilight with future Twilight’s memories?” Applejack asked as she gave the former alicorn a tilted look.
Twilight forced herself not to call up the series of images that came with the farm pony’s face. Weeks of exposure to her friends had allowed it to become second nature for the unicorn to block out the dozens emotions and memories that came with just seeing them, but it was still something Twilight couldn’t allow herself to dwell on for too long before the guilt came.
The guilt for having to lie to her friends.
For abandoning them when they needed her most.
For not giving them enough.
For not standing up for them.
For not loving them enough.
But this was different than most times. She felt no cramps in her stomach from having to tell even the smallest of deceits, or the sadness of needing to hide something from the ponies she loved.
Twilight lifted her shoulders in a shrug while resisting the urge to giggle at the silliness of feeling good just for being able to tell her friends the truth…or most of it anyway. The important part of it. The rest...didn’t matter.
“I don’t think it’s that simple. I…my memories, the way I remember things is like they happened years ago, for me anyway. But…I’m not…I don’t have something that I used to.” Or was it that she had regained something? “It’s like I’m not as…hard as I used to be, I guess you could say. Back when I was…older,” she said before giving them all a smile as a blush crept up her cheeks.
A second later a better descriptive entered her head. Cold...I should have said cold. But cold sounds too...cold. And if they found out-NO! I can’t tell them that. They’d never understand. It doesn’t matter anymore anyway. That never happened anymore. None of it happened, and if none of it happened, then it doesn’t count. “I’m fine,” Twilight whispered to herself. “Perfectly fine. Just fine.”
“Twilight?”
The low whisper from...Twilight guessed with a 89.764367% certainty that it had to have been Fluttershy who talked...it brought her out of her self-assurances and back to reality.
The fact she had given such a shoddy explanation despite numerous decorates, three of which in fields Twilight had herself invented, embarrassed the former alicorn to no end. “Sorry, I’m usually better at this. It’s just…new! And I’m here with all of you!”
Which was so exciting that she wanted to shout out in joy and yet scary in a way that made her want to crawl into a ball and hide both at the same time. Things had changed from what she remembered, or half-remembered from before since her memory of every little thing wasn’t all that perfect as she knew it should be, but Twilight knew there was going to be some small alterations from what had been. She had realized that after her second week in Ponyville.
Several moments would be relived, that was unavoidable because of how things were, but Twilight was certain...the worst of things could be avoided and the good times made better with her efforts. Twilight couldn't wait to see a real Rainboom again, or experience authentic Sweet Apple cider, to listen to Fluttershy’s voice in pony...
“Twilight?”
The sound of her friend’s voice brought Twilight out of her introspection, and she looked over to Fluttershy. Twilight cleared her mind and her throat, then gave Fluttershy her full attention while mentally berating herself. The pegasus deserved her full attention, she deserved everything Twilight could give her, but attention was all she needed right now.
Thankfully, her face was just curious, not guilty or sad, or...afraid…
Fluttershy looked up from where she covered on the floor of Twilight’s treehouse, giving the unicorn a terrified look with wide eyes. The simple act froze Twilight solid and made her breath seize. Fluttershy had NEVER looked at her like that. Even after Twilight had become an alicorn, Fluttershy had always put her trust and faith in the purple pony.
Now she had scared Fluttershy. Failed her. Twilight’s breath seized as she realized that fact, her entire being buckled, and everything she had worked to prove to herself came undone at that moment as she realized that she really was...
Twilight banished the memory from the forefront of her mind and into the dark recesses where her older ones were kept as she reminded herself that she had not failed her friend. It had been a mistake, all a mistake! Fluttershy had forgiven her, and they were all friends again.
So why does it haunt me so much? Twilight asked herself.
Because it was new?
Because it couldn’t be undone?
Because...it truly was her fault, this time?
Twilight realized that the pegasus was giving her an odd look, and then realized she hadn’t responded to Fluttershy’s question. She had cast her aside...again!
“Yes Fluttershy?”
“Rainbow asked you a question,” the pegasus said before pointing over to the cyan pony.
The sight made Twilight wince. The last time she had seen Rainbow, just ten seconds ago, she had been fine. Since then, she had become a hair’s breadth away from a nervous wreck that was barely holding it together as she waited for Twilight’s response. She may have looked fine, but Twilight could see the worried expression she was trying to conceal.
And…
“Twilight PLEASE!”
The former alicorn pushed the memory away before it could fully form and beat it down harder than the previous one along with the guilt that came with it. That didn’t happen anymore, it NEVER happened! NONE OF IT! RAINBOW IS FINE, SHE’S RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND HAPPY!
After her thoughts cleared, it took all of five seconds to figure out what the blue pegasus had asked with a 99.999% chance of certainty; especially with her reaction to Twilight’s delayed answer factored in. Seeing Rainbow just a hair’s breath from cowering on the ground made the unicorn wanted to kick herself in the head for ignoring the pegasus like that. But Twilight managed to put on a gentle smile to hide her self-hatred over causing the situation and addressed the troubled pony.
Risk assessments with giving her future knowledge weren’t even calculated. Twilight simply told her what she wanted to hear in order to ease the pegasus’s nerves. “Rainbow, of course you’re going to be a Wonderbolt. You’re the most amazing pegasus in Equestria.”
Rainbow gave Twilight a curious frown. “Wait…really? That’s…that’s awesome!” she said before picking herself up in the air and doing a backwards flip while laughing with enough joy to put a real smile on Twilight’s face.
But despite the joy her former guard was experiencing, Twilight began to wonder if telling her that had been a mistake. Rainbow’s stint with the Wonderbolts hadn’t lasted that long, or brought her any real joy thanks to everything else, but that bit of her future was easily changeable.
“But uh…that’s not what I asked,” Rainbow said, shattering Twilight’s recollection of things.
Twilight blinked. Wait…I guessed wrong? I guessed wrong? How can I guess wrong? Becoming a Wonderbolt is the only thing Rainbow cares about…except…oh, right…the things we’ve been talking about for the past few days, she realized with a sigh before she dropped her head in shame. She needed to pay more attention! What kind of friend ignored her friends when they were speaking?
The mares she was talking to weren’t a bunch of noponies, or traitors, or monsters that needed to be crushed under hoof, they were her best friends! Her family! HOW CAN YOU JUST IGNORE THEM LIKE THAT? Twilight scolded herself.
She would have never have ignored them like that before...except for during extenuating circumstances. But that was back before Twilight had understood just how precious each and every one of them truly was! How important their happiness was!
If she couldn’t make them happy and give them the lives they deserved, then everything she did...it would all be for nothing!
After taking another breath to calm herself down, Twilight looked back up at Rainbow Dash. “I’m sorry Rainbow, I let my mind wander,” she apologized, taking extreme care not to sound as pathetic as she was feeling on the inside. She didn’t want to worry the girls. She couldn’t worry them like that and add even more to their discomfort.
It was awkward enough with Twilight being mentally old enough to be their great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother. She couldn’t make them feel even worse than she already had. Not them! Never them!
“It’s okay,” Rainbow told her, making Twilight nearly smile at being forgiven so easily. But of course Rainbow would forgive her for that. Rainbow forgave anything…as long as the pony was one of her friends. Once somepony got into that circle the pegasus drew around herself, there was almost no way of getting out unless a pony pitted themselves against another pony in that circle and forced Dash to choose.
But Twilight knew she would never do that.
Ever.
“We were all just kind of wondering,” she said in a tone growing more uncomfortable by the second. “Why um…what happened that was so bad you uh…went back in time?”
Oh buck, am I gonna die? I did, didn’t I? Rainbow Dash asked herself as she saw Twilight’s expression change after hearing the question.
It made sense. She was the dare devil. She was the one who always charged in first. Now that she knew she was going to be in the Wonderbolts, a military organization that did some pretty dangerous stunts in their off time to keep their skills sharp left Rainbow Dash feeling like she was going to throw up because it could very well be the reason everything went wrong for her.
The news that she was going to be a Wonderbolt cheered her up a bit, but once she thought about it for a second, Rainbow just saw joining that legendary team as the path that would lead to her eventual death!
Which was totally messed up! Live the dream, and then die because of it? Sure there was that whole brightest candle burns the fastest saying, but that was just a stupid saying! What the buck did a buck of words know? Sayings didn’t die!
Then she noticed Twilight’s reaction a second later. As soon as she saw the unicorn, Rainbow Dash knew she had made a mistake. While not the most emphatic of ponies, the pegasus did realize what it meant when the purple pony’s eyes got all wide. It was the same expression Twilight got those few times the pranks they played went a bit too far, and Twilight begged for forgiveness in her Twilight way before magically fixing everything with her awesome nerd skills.
Rainbow dropped out of the air, and waited for a second before Twilight started her whole apologizing thing. Then her lip began to tremble and the sniffles started not a second after tears began to form in her eyes, and Rainbow got a bad feeling that she was about to be hit with a whole new level of a Twilight freak out. “Um…Twilight?”
“I’m sorry!” she cried before he whole body began to shake and her head dropped to the floor before tears poured from her eyes like rain, while her breath came in short gasps for air. “Rainbow, I’m sorry!”
The pegasus gulped at the reaction, and then slowly approached her friend, unsure of what to do. At which point Twilight latched onto the pegasus with her forelegs, and buried her head in Rainbow’s shoulder. The extra weight dragged her down for a moment, and then Rainbow found herself spreading her wings to get the unicorn upright before she rebalanced herself into the hug while Twilight half whispered, half whined into her ear. “She lied Rainbow…she said…said you’d all…”
Twilight’s words degenerated into a fit of pure sobs and whines Rainbow would have expected from a little filly instead of some ancient, all-powerful unicorn that could just buck the rules of time and space in the face. Rainbow gulped, and put a foreleg around Twilight’s neck while desperately looking around at the rest of the girls for help. Upset ponies were not something a pony like Rainbow Dash was used to dealing with.
A few seconds later, Rarity and Fluttershy joined in on the supportive embrace, and Pinkie was there shortly after them. When Rainbow looked back to see what was taking Applejack, she saw a look of stark fear in the farmer’s eyes before Rainbow rolled her own and motioned for the orange pony to come over already.
Ten minutes later, after they had managed to get Twilight calmed down, and she trotted off to the guest suite’s bathroom to clean up, Pinkie called an Elements of Harmony minus one meeting and looked at all the others with a face that was actually so serious it kind of creeped Rainbow out.
“Okay, nopony is allowed to ask that question anymore,” the usually happy go lucky pony said with a straight face and mane that looked a lot less poofy than it should have been.
No kidding, Rainbow told herself as she tried to calm her own nerves. All of a sudden, she wished that she had voted no when it came to the whole thing. While knowing about the Wonderbolts was great and all, there was no way it was worth causing that kind of pain to her…well…Rainbow supposed that Twilight could very easily take the title of oldest friend in more ways than one considering all the time travel stuff she had been involved with.
There was a round of nods, except for one, which made Rainbow frown at Applejack a moment before the farmer started speaking. “Now just a darn minute! That was the whole point of taking that stupid vote!” she said with a stomp of her hoof. “We deserve to know what’s sposta happen!”
“I said yes because I wanted to help her, not make her cry!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
“Besides darling, I hardly think that knowing what’s going to happen is going to do us any good other than cause extreme amount of stress…for…us,” Rarity trailed off before she looked over to the bathroom for a moment with a sad expression. “Oh you poor dear. It isn’t just guilt that’s weighing you down, is it Twilight?”
Applejack stomped a hoof onto the floor. “Consarnit Rarity! Quit trying to change the subject!” she demanded with a frown on her face. “This ain’t about how Twilight feels! This about her keeping her word to us and telling us what we want to know like she agreed to do!”
As the unicorn and the earth pony exchanged glares, even more of the stuff Pinkie Pie used to make her mane all poofy wore off, Fluttershy fidgeted on the couch she was sitting on, and Rainbow Dash felt torn over everything.
“Well…do we even need her to?” the butter-yellow pegasus spoke up, drawing everypony’s attention. “I mean, she’s already said so much about everything…maybe Twilight’s told us what happened without meaning to.”
Rarity sat back on her haunches before placing a hoof on her chin. “You might have a point there Fluttershy,” she mumbled before looking at everypony else. “Think about it. Twilight’s shown an intense…dislike for Princess Celestia, not to mention what she said to me the other day inside her tree house. She mentioned friends in the hospital, and…something about being made to do something.”
“She’s so sad and afraid all the time,” Fluttershy added softly.
What Twilight had whispered into Rainbow’s ear replayed in her head for a few seconds, and Rainbow Dash sighed. “And she kept apologizing and saying somepony lied.”
A sigh drew Rainbow’s attention, and Applejack shook her head while looking at the ground. “Well if ya’ll wanna play it this way…it’s pretty obvious that liar thing’s got to be ‘bout Princess Celestia,” AJ said after she raised her head to look at the others. “Course Ah don’t right see the point when we can just ask that pony what’s going on.”
“Because guessing games are more fun!” Pinkie Pie chipped in, with her hair becoming a bit more…Pinkie as she sat down to think. “Now what about that other stuff? Oh, like all the crazy writing in her lab? That’s another clue, right?”
Rarity nodded, then winced when all the ponies looked to her for an answer. “Well don’t look at me if you’re hoping to understand it,” she told them. “I make dresses. Twilight’s a…an arch-mage or something. I have about as much chance of understanding that as the rest of you have when it comes to understanding Pinkie Pie’s…intuition.”
A moments pause made all the other ponies look at each other with lost expressions before Rarity spoke again. “At the moment, I’m more concerned with what Fluttershy and I heard about a hospital. It’s pretty obvious some of us ended up there.”
Rainbow Dash gulped as a theory started to take form in her head. “What if there was this big bad monster or something like that dragon, and we got into a fight with it, and we…lost?” she asked. The idea was pretty stupid, something being able to take down Rainbow and the other girls that had beaten Nightmare Moon and the Everfree, and a dragon?
She couldn’t even imagine something like that, but…it was the only thing that made sense to her. So when Rarity shot Rainbow’s idea down with a shake of her head, the pegasus was left frowning at the unicorn. “That wouldn’t explain her anger at Princess Celestia, or all that work she’s doing down in her lab.”
“Plus she already said it wasn’t a dragon,” Fluttershy reminded everypony. “So I don’t think it was a fight.”
Before Rainbow could say that it might have to do with some super awesome combat spell to beat whatever bad guy that had managed to cheat his way to victory the first time around, Fluttershy spoke up again, cutting her off.
“What if it was an accident?”
Once again, all the ponies turned to look over at the yellow pegasus, while Rarity was the one to speak. “What do you mean darling?”
Fluttershy gulped from all the attention being focused on her, but went on. “Well…we know Twilight is Princess Celestia’s student…or, she was, or is still?” she said before pausing to shake her head. “Anyway, we all know that Princess Celestia gives her things to do. What if the princess gave her an assignment, or an experiment to do, and something went wrong? What if we got hurt because of it?”
A sense of guilt slammed into Rainbow Dash so hard she winced. “And that’s why she started crying,” the pegasus realized out loud. “I might as well have said, hey Twilight, remember when you sent all your friends into intensive care?”
“She lied to me, she made me,” Rarity went on in a distant tone. “If Princess Celestia told her to do something, and said nothing bad was going to happen…” The unicorn shivered.
Pinkie tilted her head. “But Princess Celestia is super nice, she wouldn’t do something like that,” she said. “That’s like a pony sending a bomb in the mail in a box with a bow on top, and not a party bomb either!”
“Are ya’ll realizing what we’re talkin’ about here?” Applejack spoke up. “Ya’ll are makin’ it sound like Princess Celestia sent Twilight some kinda kooky project that she meant to blow up in Twilight’s face.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m not saying that. It could have all been an accident.”
Before Rainbow could add her two bits about how ponies didn’t go psycho crazy angry over accidents and decided to rewrite history, the door to the bathroom creaked open and Twilight walked back into the room, killing all further conversation on the subject. Twilight looked a bit better, but her eyes were still red from crying, although the wash her face had just been through kind of made her a little less…pathetic looking. Although that was offset by the slightly confused look that was plastered on her face as she turned her head back and forth.
“Hey girls…what were you talking about?”
All the other ponies shared a look of trepidation, and Rainbow could see that they were just as torn between going out and asking her, and not knowing. For a moment, Rainbow thought since she had already bucked things up once, that she might as well be the one to send Twilight into tears again…but, she just couldn’t do it.
Although she still thought it would be cool to know a few things about her future, how she she got hurt or even checked out definitely wasn’t one of them. Sheer creepiness aside, Rainbow couldn’t do that to Twilight a second time.
“Okay Twi, what happened to-”
Pinkie stepped in front of Applejack, cutting her off. “Hey Twilight, how old are you?”
The question made the unicorn blink, and actually had Dash wondering just why Pinkie would ask something as random as that before she realized something. Twilight was from the future, far enough for Rainbow to have at least joined the Wonderbolts. Which mean she had to be from at least four years in the yet-to-be.
So, the purple unicorn that had been the youngest member of their group was now the oldest? That actually seemed a little cool.
“Um…actually, I…don’t really know,” she said as her ears dropped and the visible signs of depression quickly started to return.
“What?” Pinkie demanded like she had run into an impossibility that was greater than even her. “How could you not know? Didn’t you have to know how many candles were on your birthday cake?”
As Pinkie had her conversation with Twilight, Rainbow saw Rarity trot over to Applejack and mumble something in the other mare’s ear that the orange pony apparently didn’t like. Then, after a brief argument that was so low even Rainbow’s pegasus hearing couldn’t make it out, Applejack rolled her eyes and let out a sigh of defeat.
Back at the center of attention, Twilight looked away from the slightly irate party pony as Pinkie drew in closer. “There was…they just weren’t as important as before. So, I didn’t really count the years, or have any parties.”
A silence descended on a room for a moment as the other meaning of that statement set in. It wasn’t the fact that Twilight Sparkle stopped having birthday parties that floored Rainbow Dash, it was the fact that information led to that gave the pegasus pause. There was no way Pinkie Pie wouldn’t throw a birthday party for one of her closest friends whether that pony wanted one or not.
Unless she…couldn’t.
Right Dash…hospital, remember, the pegasus reminded herself. Although, she had a hard time seeing even something as bad as being in traction managing to stop Pinkie from throwing a party once she got really creative.
Pinkie Pie gasped in horror and stood up on her hind hooves in absolute terror as she backed away from what she probably saw as the greatest atrocity in the world. “No birthday parties? It’s worse than I thought!” she said before turning to the others. “Okay everypony! Our emergency slumber party starts right now! …or, non-slumber party since you’re not allowed to sleep at a slumber party!”
Then, she reached into her mane to pull out several rectangular boxes, followed by several other items. “Let’s see, we got games, my emergency party cannon for noise in case somepony tries to fall asleep, a spin bottle for Truth or Dare, Gummy…oh that’s where you went. Punch bowl…aaaaaaaaaaand, that feels like everything.”
“Excuse me darling,” Rarity spoke up. “But won’t we need some makeup, curlers, and conditioner for when it comes time to do our makeovers? How come you haven’t pulled out any of those?”
While Applejack rolled her eyes and grumbled something unintelligible, Pinkie Pie gave Rarity a confused look. “Why would that kind of stuff be in my mane?”
Despite the immaculate…everything about Canterlot Castle, fifteen minutes of wandering its halls had Rarity thinking they could have put up a few signs to give directions or something. She would have liked to ask a guard, but the setting of the sun was apparently a sign for a shift change and the unicorn hadn’t seen a single one of the new guardstallions come around.
A part of her, albeit small, was also blaming her rather distracting company for her lack of directional sense. Although Applejack hadn’t spoken a word since they left to find some beautification supplies, Rarity was finding the other pony’s dour presence to be quite the fly in her ointment.
She had wanted to get her away from the others to talk, but...it seemed that the unicorn would be needing to make the first offer with Applejack being as silent as she was. “So, would you like to share what’s bothering you dear, or do you wish to continue suffering in silence?”
“Wut?” the farmer replied a second before a frown crossed her face. “Ugh, Rarity, what’s got you all in a fuss now?”
Rarity resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she slowed her pacing to let Applejack catch up with her. “Darling, I think you’re the one out of sorts here. What’s wrong?”
The question got a huff from Applejack, and Rarity braced herself from the coming tirade. “What’s wrong? You were in there Rarity, Twilight’s been lying to us from day one!”
After giving the orange farmer a moment to make sure she was done, the fashionista nodded. “Well, I wouldn’t say it was that bad...especially considering the alternative would be everypony thinking Twilight was even less stable than she is now, but...you’ve been in a huff since this morning, long before Twilight’s time travel was made public knowledge. I’d like to know why.”
“That ain’t-” Applejack let out a groan. “That’s...private. It’s tween me and another pony.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow at the withdrawal. Although seeing as how she had seen Applejack glaring at Rainbow Dash all morning whenever the pegasus even began to open her mouth, it wasn’t hard to guess the cause of her distress. “Rainbow Dash play a prank on you?”
The slight bristling of Applejack’s coat was all the confirmation Rarity required that she had chosen the right subject.
“No,” the farm pony replied, making the unicorn frown in thought.
“But it is about Rainbow Dash, correct?”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Yes,” she grumbled. “Apparently, everything’s about Rainbow Dash these days.”
For a minute Rarity found herself trying to think of what kind of action Rainbow Dash could take that would create such a hostility in one of their best friends but...for the life of her, Rarity couldn’t discern an answer. The pegasus was quite brash, but she hadn’t thought that somepony like Applejack would have been put off by such a thing. At first Rarity had supposed Rainbow could have pulled a prank on the farm pony, but Applejack had shot that idea down.
“So...what did she do?”
Applejack stopped and turned to face the unicorn, and Rarity saw the anger in the earth pony’s eyes ratchet up a few notches. “What did she-Rarity! You were listenin’ to her yammerin all morning too! Don’t tell me you didn’t hear all that boastin’ bout how great she thinks she is!”
With Applejack’s explanation doing nothing for her, Rarity raised an eyebrow. “I was in the car same as you but...I’m not seeing the problem here,” Rarity continued. “What’s so wrong with Rainbow being vocal about her accomplishments?”
“WHAT?” Applejack demanded before she looked the unicorn up and down. “Don’t tell me yer okay with all that manure she’s spouting ‘bout her being so great an runnin’ her mouth all the time?”
Rarity stared at the farm pony for a moment, not sure of how she could follow that. “Excuse me?” she asked to buy herself some time and not appear apathetic.
“She just goes flyin around all day doin’ nothin’ steada puttin’ in an honest day’s work,” the mare went on. “Sleepin’ through half the day and bein’ all lazy fer another third!”
As Rarity continued to listen to the orange mare rant on about Rainbow Dash’s work ethic, she had to fight to keep a scowl from forming. Ever since Rainbow had saved the unicorn’s life, Rarity had made it a point to get to know the mare. While they had only had a single lunch together so far, that one meal had been quite satisfying in the way the two of them had managed to...dash the misconceptions each mare had about the other.
Despite her habit of napping, the unicorn knew that Rainbow Dash wasn’t a slacker on the job or otherwise, and ponies that thought so usually irritated the pegasus to know end. It was something Rarity had learned from personal experience when she commented on it. “You know Applejack-”
“-no good mare that ain’t never done nothin’ even apprachin’ a hard day’s work like an honest pony,” the mare finished before she looked over to Rarity. “You say something?”
Rarity sighed at the question. “Applejack, is this another one of your looking down at another pony because she’s different than you?”
The farmer’s scowl lessened a bit into a confused frown. “What the hay you talkin ‘bout Rarity? I don’t look down on nopony! That’s...them, hoity-toity frou-frou ponies like-”
“Me?” Rarity asked, not bothering to keep the dry irritation out of her tone.. Then, before the farmer could get another word in, Rarity kept going. “Applejack, the only pony in our little group that looks down on everypony else is you!”
Applejack went back to glaring and directed her anger at the unicorn. “What’d you say?” she demanded loud enough for an echo to be heard in the hallway. “I ain’t some kinda nose in the air fancy pants pony like you!”
The other pony’s ire made Rarity let out a long sigh. “You know darling, just because you don’t dress up in fancy clothes doesn’t mean you’re not a snob that likes to judge everypony around her,” she replied evenly before anger began to find a foothold in her voice. “If a pony isn’t covered in sweat all day like you then she must be lazy! If she actually wipes her feet on the carpet puts on makeup then she must be stuck up because you never do!”
“Hey! Quit putting words in my mouth Rarity!” the farmer pony said angrily.
Rarity rolled her eyes and repressed a snide comment about how they fit so well. “And then there’s the way you’re behaving with Twilight,” she went on, choosing to try and focus what was left of her conversation towards something constructive.
“What about Twilight?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Rarity went on. “The poor dear’s traumatized, and you pressure her like that!”
“Well maybe she should just bite down and take care of business!” Applejack exclaimed before her nose let out an angry snort. “All she’s doin is holdin on to what’s eatin’ at her! She just needs to bite the spur and yank it out! Lettin everythin’ fester just makes it worse!”
The train of thought Rarity’s anger was riding in her mind hit a bump, and the fashionista blinked. “Wait, what?” she asked after a second. It almost sounded as if Applejack was…
Applejack let out a sigh. “Ya know what?” she said before holding up a hoof. “You go find yer frou-frou things on yer own. I gotta go cool off fore Ah do somethin’ Ah’m gonna regret.”
Rarity felt that she needed to chase after the other pony for a moment, but the realization that even if she got the stubborn farmer to halt, she had no idea what to say to defuse the situation came and stopped her. For the first time that night, the unicorn found herself agreeing with Applejack and decided to wait till they had both gotten a bit of air to continue their discussion.
“Still, I need to find somepony who know’s the castle,” the unicorn mumbled to herself as she continued on down the hall to make a few more random turns in search of a guard.
However, several minutes later, she had yet to find such a stallion... So Rarity was reduced to walking up to a kind of pony best avoided by mares that detested anything icky such as herself: a member of the cleaning staff.
The stallion in question was an earth pony and looked a bit…rough around the edges, specifically his rather unkempt gray mustache that could have used a good trim. But Rarity consoled herself with the fact that this would all be over in a moment, and she would be getting a makeover…and hopefully save Rainbow Dash from that mess she called a mane now that she finally had an excuse to.
“Excuse me my good stallion, I am Rarity,” she introduced herself as the pony in question turned to face her. For a moment she thought about just making her request, but the dereliction of one’s manners was a slippery slope. “And you are?”
“Scruffy, the janitor,” he replied in a rough voice. It was a fitting name, considering his appearance.
Rarity nervously cleared her throat. “Yes well, I was wondering if you could direct me to where Princess Celestia keeps her beauty products…or perhaps the royal beautician?” she asked.
With Canterlot Castle being a small city in and of itself, Rarity was certain she had such a pony on staff…unless the princess knew a spell for always making her white coat eternally bright. Which the unicorn supposed was more than possible when Twilight could travel through time.
“Right this way ma’am.”
The janitorial pony put up his mop, and Rarity followed him down the hallway without another word. While the unicorn would have liked to have been polite and made some conversation…she had no idea what to approach as far as topics went with a pony like him without it either going over his head, or sounding pretty condescending. So she chose the lesser of two evils and kept quiet.
Thankfully, the stallion didn’t seem to mind.
Unfortunately, the silence gave time for her mind to wander back to the encounter she had just left. Part of her felt bad for just leaving Applejack like that but...the other mare hadn’t even been willing to listen!
They came to a pair a extremely immaculate doors that seemed to have the only non-bat pony guards in the castle at such a late hour. Rarity was left wondering if they had wandered into the wrong hallway for a moment while her guide knocked on the door. Then Rarity realized that they had come to the wrong hallway. In fact, it wasn’t just the wrong hallway. Rarity had been led to the worst possible door they could have possibly come to in the realm of possibility! Because a telltale golden glow surrounded the doors a second before they opened to reveal Princess Celestia sitting on a couch in her personal chamber’s private parlor.
Princess Celestia looked over and blinked at the sight. “Yes?”
“Princes Ma’am, this Lady here wants to borrow some of your fancy shampoo,” Scruffy told the goddess as if he were talking to just another pony.
The whole thing set Rarity’s eye to twitching quite a bit, and the unicorn spoke to defend herself. “But the, no that’s not… Um…Princess Celestia!” Rarity managed before finally remembering her manners and bowing to her ruler and goddess.
A sigh escaped the alicorn’s lips, and Rarity was worried that she had offended the Princess of the Sun. But she managed to hide her embarrassment…not in the slightest as the goddess spoke. “Thank you Scruffy, I will take it from here. Ms Rarity, would you like to come in?”
After what felt like forever, Rarity managed to get her legs working and make her way into the princess’s room. Princess Celestia closed the doors behind her, and the unicorn found herself trapped in what was probably the most uncomfortable situation of her life. At least at the tea party she had her friends and a table to hide behind while Twilight took most of the princess’s attention.
Now she had nothing.
“What was that about shampoo?” the goddess asked, making Rarity fidget for a minute before replying.
“Well, um, you see…makeovers! My friends and I wanted to give each other makeovers and we didn’t have the materials so I decided to go find some and then I ran into that janitor and he led me here and then I started talking to you and now I’m rambling and I’m dreadfully embarrassed and I can’t seem to stop talking and you’re starting to give me an odd look that-urp!”
Rarity blinked when her mouth shut on its own accord. Then she looked up to Princess Celestia to see her horn was glowing and a sad look covered the alicorn’s face. “Ms Rarity, there’s no need for you to be so nervous,” she told the little pony before a hint of a smile pushed its way to the forefront. “And I apologize for forgetting that makeovers were part of any good slumber party. I will have the staff collect what you need at once.”
As the princess opened the door to call for a guard and delivered some instructions, Rarity found herself pushed forward by the alicorn’s magic until she was sitting next to a small table. A cup of tea landed beside her a moment later.
“Drink this, it will calm your nerves,” Princess Celestia told her before the silence resumed.
Rarity looked down at her tea in worry. Like Pinkie had said, slumber parties weren’t supposed to include any slumber, and a tea that calmed one’s nerves would most undoubtedly make her tired as well. On the other hand, she could hardly just say no to the Princess. So, unsure of what to do, the unicorn could only sit frozen while she stared down at her drink.
“Is there something wrong?”
The question drew Rarity’s attention away from her drink, and up to the alicorn. “Oh, um well…it’s just…I’m not…thirsty?” she replied nervously, unsure how bad it would be to decline the offer of simple tea.
Thankfully, Princess Celestia said nothing in response, which brought about another uncomfortable silence.
“So…tell me about yourself,” the princess commanded, making Rarity looked back up at her with wide eyes. A second later, the alicorn winced. “If you would like to, I mean.”
Rarity gulped, but managed to make conversation thanks mostly in part to the fact that Princess Celestia had started the topic was one she knew well. “I design dresses your highness. Mostly they’re special orders for well to do ponies in Canterlot. I also design and build other things upon commission, but it’s the seamstress work I enjoy the most,” she explained before looking at the area directly behind the princess to try and ignore the building pressure of being in the same room as the alicorn.
It didn’t last. Princess Celestia let out a low sigh, and Rarity’s attention was back on her once again as she spoke. “Why do I make you so nervous?”
The oddity of the question made Rarity tilt her head and actually forget herself for a moment. “E-Excuse me?”
“When I spoke to Twilight earlier, she was angry at some perceived slight I might have done to you girls, whether it’s now or to come I don’t know, but…it did get me thinking about things. My personal relationships of the past…and present, or lack thereof I should say. And so I wish to know, what is it about me that makes me seem so unapproachable?
“Is it my title and the authority that comes with it? My strength in magic? My age? My size?” she asked before paused for a moment and smirking. “Do you know my first coltfriend dumped me because I outgrew him by a head?”
Curiosity overcame nervousness for a moment, and Rarity found herself latching onto what could quite possibly the juiciest piece of gossip in…well, ever! “Y-You had a coltfriend? And he…dumped you? You? Princess Celestia?”
A soft giggle escaped the alicorn’s throat and she smiled down at the unicorn. “I wasn’t always a princess you know,” Princess Celestia informed her. “You remember the stories about how the three tribes were once separate? Well, back then, Luna and I traveled from place to place, finding what adventures we could. And yes, I did fall for a strapping young stallion...or...five.”
Rarity frowned at the information. “When the three tribes…you mean...you predate Equestria?”
The alicorn looked at the unicorn for a moment, then let out a tiny laugh and shook her head. “Well, at least you’re not one of those foalish ponies that thinks I made Equestria from dust or something,” she said before shaking her head at the notion. “But yes, Luna and I are a few years older than Equestria. But...not that much older.”
When she realized just how close that came to asking Princess Celestia’s actual age, Rarity’s eyes widened, and she remembered just whom she was talking to.
Then the alicorn sighed. “And now you’re looking at my crown again,” Princess Celestia mumbled before she reached up a hoof, and took her crown off before she tossed it into a corner of the room behind her. A second later, her torque went onto the floor as well. “Let’s see what else? Ah, since we are alone, let us drop the formalities shall we, Rarity?”
Sheer confusion over the impossibility of what was going on made the unicorn down her tea in a single gulp, despite the steam that still rose from the cup. Rarity hardly noticed the heat. “W-What?”
“It’s something Twilight…yelled at me about,” Princess Celestia admitted. “I find myself thinking, she had a bit of a point about matters earlier today. At least in the fact that I only used the lot of you to get her to come along with me. For that, I am sorry and…to be perfectly honest, I would like to get to know the five mares that saved my sister from the Nightmare better than just what we are now.”
Rarity stayed silent unsure of what to say, and not even sure as to what Princess Celestia had said. By dropping the formalities…did she mean her title? It certainly seemed that way with how she had simply tossed the thing aside, but…it was just unthinkable!
She was Princess Celestia, Alicorn of the Sun, Princess of the Day, and up until recently, The Supreme Authority of all Equestria! To think of her as otherwise would just be…be…scandalous!
“Princess, I just...I couldn’t,” the unicorn admitted.
The eyebrow Celestia raised made Rarity need to hide a flinch. “And why not?”
With such an question posed to her, Rarity found herself at a loss. “Well, it...you...you’re...you and-” Before Rarity could finish her comparison, the door opened, and a unicorn servant poked his head in. “Princess, we have the items you ordered.”
“Well, so much for that,” Celestia mumbled before she ordered the servant to come in and drew Rarity’s rather strange audience with her to a close. “It was nice talking to you Rarity. Perhaps I shall make time to visit Ponyville in the near future and we can have a proper discussion.”
After her heart started beating again, the unicorn started to turn and make her departure. Halfway to the door, Rarity turned and summoned up all of the courage she possessed. “Prin...Celestia,” she said after forcing herself to drop the title using every bit of willpower available, “may ask you for some advice?”
Celestia smiled at the smaller white pony, and nodded. “Please do. It’s rather rare for a pony to ask for such a thing these days I’m afraid,” she said. “At least...before the mistakes are made.”
“One of my friends...I don’t want to name names you understand,” Rarity told her while hoping the goddess didn’t pry. When no questions came, she continued on. “I know she’s a good mare but...she can be rather stubborn to the point of foalishness and...doesn’t like it when a pony calls her out on something. I was wondering...how would you approach such a pony?”
As she turned down yet another hallway that looked like the last five she had walked down, Applejack was starting to regret just ditching Rarity and trying to head back to their apartment. After all, the unicorn would probably have been able to puzzle out just where the hay their room was. Without the sun or moon overhead to help give some direction, Applejack had to admit that she was just plum lost.
However, the sound of several hooves approaching made Applejack sigh in relief. Just because Rarity didn’t want to talk to any of them hard-working ponies didn’t mean Applejack had to avoid them now that she was gone. Then, as the footsteps came closer, the farm pony was able to make out voices.
“Of course we’re still waiting for word of the northern and southern colonies Princess,” a deep voice said, making Applejack freeze at the last word. “But they have kept the faith like the East and our own. Your guard should be fully staffed within the month, and another should enable us to give proper training so all of the brothers and sisters are able to work together as a unit.”
A bit of indecision had the farm pony wondering if it would be right to ask Princes Celestia of all ponies for directions, and then the princess turned a corner with a pair of pegasus guards flanking her.
Only...it wasn’t Princess Celestia, and the guards she had were unlike any pegasi Applejack had ever seen.
Despite her slightly larger than average pony size, Princess Luna looked like she should still be in high school. The dark alicorn didn’t have the signs of age that a full grown pony should have, or her big sister’s impressive size. She just looked like an...overgrown filly.
But more than twenty odd years of stories from her parents and Granny told Applejack different. The filly in front of her was in fact Nightmare Moon, mother to the Pony of Shadows, cause of all the bad dreams in Equestria, the Mare in the Moon that came around once the sun was down to gobble up all the bad little fillies and colts that didn’t do their chores like she did to Great Uncle Slacker when Granny was just a filly. She was the monster that could take the form of any pony she wanted, who was always on the lookout for somepony new to eat.
Then there were the strange ponies she was with. Applejack had never seen their like before. Both of them had wings but...where there should have been feathers, there was just an expanse of skin. Eyes like a predator's looked down at Applejack, and the ears of the strange ponies were just too big a pointy to be natural. It was as if a vampire fruit bat and a pony had some kind of monstrous foal together.
“You there, remove yourself from Princess Luna’s-”
“Savior Applejack, is it thee?” the princess spoke up as she walked between the guards with a smile on her face. Despite the soft voice that came from her muzzle, the large bat-pegasus closed his immediately once she started jawing. “Oh lucky stars it is! Tis a great pleasure for Us to see thee again! What brings you to Canterlot?”
A second later, Applejack realized that she had been spoken to, and gave an uneasy smile to the overgrown filly that was very much the stuff of nightmares. “Oh, just...me and the girls...we was just...takin’ care of some business in town is all and...things happened to slow us down a bit so….yer sister was kind enough to let us stay in the castle.”
“And thou wished to visit Us!” she exclaimed she exclaimed with all the excitement that a giant filly of supreme darkness could manage, which was apparently as much as Applejack’s little sister could show. “Excellent! We shall retire to our quarters and partake of some confections.”
She turned to the odd pair of pegasi and smiled. “Nightwing, Wane, head into the kitchens and bring forth something suitable for our guest. We shall take her to bed ourselves!”
Oh horse apples, Applejack thought to herself before Luna’s horn lit up and the world disappeared in a flash of light.
As everything came back into focus, Applejack looked around to find herself in a room that was decorated with every shade of dark blue that existed, a ceiling made to look like the night sky, and several fancy chairs that didn’t look all that comfortable to be sitting in. Although she found it a mite peculiar that all the dark blue and such were several shades darker than the alicorn’s coat. Applejack might not have been Rarity, but she knew that ponies tended to decorate their homes to match their colors. The way things were inside Luna’s apartment were just a tad off.
“Bah!” the little alicorn exclaimed. “Apologies for the lack of proper seating Good Applejack, but some ponies seem to think that We shall devour them whole should We receive less than the most immaculate furniture. Come, We did secret away something that does not feel harder than stone or make thine plot itch from contact within Our bedchambers.”
The mare’s eyes widened at the invitation, and she parted her plot right where it was. “T-Thank ya kindly Princess, but...right here’s fine fer me.” There was no way in the pit of Tartarus that Applejack was going anywhere near Nightmare Moon’s bucking bedroom!
Luna turned and gave her a good eyeballing, then let out a sigh and hung her head. Despite what the pony in front of her was, Applejack got an odd feeling in her stomach, like she had just kicked a puppy. “We understand...thou...did not come to visit Us upon this late hour, did you Applejack?”
Caught redhoofed, the farmer gulped. “Um…no ma’am, Ms Princess...ma’am.”
“No,” Luna held up a hoof. “Tis our fault for acting with such haste. We did merely glimpse you up at such a late hour with a troubled mind, when all but our own guard and the good servants that tend to the halls slumber and jumped to conclusions, believing you did seek our counsel.”
For a moment, Applejack’s curiosity overpowered her fear of the mare in front of her and she frowned. “Pardon?”
Luna looked up at her, and the mare’s face became even more...depressed. “Of course...nopony remembers that about us either. It’s all Nightmare Moon blocked out the sun,” she grumbled in a imitation of a terrified voice while waving her hooves in the air. “Nopony seems to remember that We were the guardian of dreams and the protector of Equestria when the sun went down and the horrors came out to hunt.
“But some ponies didn’t wait until their subconscious decided to ruin their sleep and sought out our advice on how to deal with such things before slumber came upon them,” she continued before shrugging. “Plus, the line of our nightly court was shorter than a que that consisted of every sleeping pony in Equestria. Even at the height of our power, We could only do so much.”
After translating all of the princess’s fancy talk, then sorting through the information, Applejack tilted her head. “So...back in the day...yer job was to listen to ponies problems and help em with whatever was givin them troubles?”
“Or the reassurance and guidance they needed to solve their problems themselves,” she replied with a tiny smile before her face turned all analytical again. “Do you wish such aid?”
Applejack started to tell the goddess no. She was a big pony after all, and could deal with her own problems like always. But...it did seem a mite rude to get the alicorn filly’s hopes up like she had and then walk away. “Well...it’s all a bit complicated.”
“If thy conundrum were not, then We doubt it would be a problem,” Luna replied. “And tis usually best to break such things down to their roots. Once done, things become simpler.”
The sound advice had Applejack nodding before she knew it. “Well, I reckon it all started with this dragon,” she said before telling Luna everything she remembered...with the princess actually adding information that Applejack had forgotten as the yarn went on, making her wonder just how much Luna could see when it came down to it. “And now we’re all waiting to get paid.”
Luna nodded. “Yes, the old dragon code of might makes right. We doubt you need to worry about reprisal from the beast by the way. They are a cowardly lot that tend to stand down when confronted. Several of the beasts that thought to take from Equestria in the past turned tail and fled simply from Sister or myself shouting at them. But...We still do not see what grief gaining such wealth would cause.”
“It ain’t bout getting the bits,” Applejack began before she sighed and corrected herself. “Well...it is...but… Okay, you remember how Ah said it was me, Twilight, Dash and Rarity that went up the mountain? Well...Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are also getting some of the loot, and they didn’t do nothin!”
Instead of nodding her head in agreement, Luna raised an eyebrow. “Did not Ms Pie and little Fluttershy keep the town safe from hysteria and panicking wildlife?”
Applejack let out a sigh. “Well, yes...but that’s a whole different kinda apple than having to climb a mountain to mess with a dragon!”
“But from your recollections and what We can see...you did not do battle with the beast,” the princess replied evenly before she frowned at something above Applejack’s head. “You...carried lunch?”
“Well Ah woulda, Twilight just...needed me to look after Spike!” Applejack said with a bit more heat than she mean to. Then, she remembered just whom she was talking to, and gulped.
If Luna had noticed, she didn’t seem to care, and if she didn’t...Applejack figured she had just about used up all her luck for the following three weeks. Either way, all she did was nod. “But you didn’t. In fact...if we were to combine the...usefulness of your efforts and measure it against the others...you would come in next to last in overall importance when it came to the activities of your quest.”
“NEXT TO LAST?” Applejack asked rather forcefully.
Luna raised an eyebrow and Applejack flinched. “Yes. While Lady Rarity offered her magic to aid in negotiation. Things never progressed that far. But Rainbow Dash did battle with the beast alongside Twilight Sparkle, and the rest of your companions insured the safety of the town. Depending on thy views and giving weight to the short or long term. Although personally, We believe the whole confrontation with the dragon to be a rather foolish risk to the lot of you and place highest honors upon young Pinkie and Fluttershy. Sister should have handled the beast rather than risk the lives of those to whom We are so indebted.”
Applejack’s mouth dropped. “Wait, yet tellin me the whole thing was...pointless?”
“Oh, We are sure our sister had some greater plan and saw this as some foolish test in destiny’s great web. She was always better at seeing such things than We were, but...well, no use talking about such things now We suppose.”
Once again, Applejack found herself a little put off and confused by the alicorn’s words, but shook her head and went on. “But...Ah mean...it just don’t seem right to me that they should be gettin equal shares when they didn’t even walk up that mountain. They ain’t even gonna use the money proper.”
“Like you?” Luna asked.
Applejack nodded fiercely. “That’s right. Ah got a whole mess of family in need of help! Mah farm could use a whole bunch of new tools, and mah granny needs hip replacement surgery, and mah cousin Braburn could use some bits to help get Appleloosa up and running better, and mah cousin Carmel is in powerful need of a new barn and mah other cousin Cobbler could use a few fixes to his shop up in Manehattan, and that’s just what Ah could think of off the top of mah head!”
A moment of silence passed, and Applejack was fretted that she might have gone and rilled the alicorn up somehow. But after a moment, Luna raised an eyebrow. “And if your family is in such a...powerful need...why did you not simply ask assistance from the crown? You actions would have warranted at least such a reward back before our banishment. If you like, We will address all the financial needs of your kinsmen yourself and insure they want for nothing.”
“No!” Applejack exclaimed, then gulped when Luna frowned at her. It didn’t look like one of them angry frowns but...better safe than sorry. “Princess...I...my family couldn’t accept that kind of help.”
“Oh? And why not? Is our charity something to be looked down upon now?” she asked.
She couldn't stop herself. Applejack stomp her hoof and nodded. “My family don’t need no charity!”
“Yet you just told me how many problems your kinsmen face that could be solved by the addition of funds,” Luna pointed out as she raised a hoof at Applejack. “Or is it the fact that the help shall not come from thine own hoof that bothers you?”
Applejack frowned at the accusation. “W-What?”
Luna went on as if she hadn’t even heard the farmer. “From our curiosity of thine family We have...researched thee, in a way. One would do such for the ponies that hold the safety of the realm within their hooves you understand? We do believe thy Orange relatives hold a great deal of financial clout, do they not? If thy family required aid, would they not give it if asked?”
“I…” Applejack mumbled as she tried to tell Luna just why they hadn’t asked for her Aunt and Uncle’s money, if just to fix Granny’s hip. They would have given her the money. But… “It just...wouldn’t be right is all.”
“Because you must ask for it first?”
Applejack shook her head at that. Even if Aunt and Uncle Orange just showed up with a mess of doctors and everything, she knew it still would have been too much to accept. “It just...ain’t right.”
“Yet you can offer aid to others and it be right?”
The question made her hesitate for a moment, but Applejack nodded. “Of course. Ah should be able to help mah family when they need it!”
Luna let out a snort. “Pride, it is certainly a double-edged sword, is it not?”
As the P-word reached her ears, Applejack frowned. “Pardon?”
“Why is it that you can offer aid, but can never accept it? Why your contribution to Twilight’s quest should be seen as the greatest, or how a frown crosses your face whenever you speak of Rainbow Dash’s involvement in the affair and do We detect a bit of green in thine eyes?” Luna asked. “Your pride lays at the source of all these things that trouble you so. It blinds you to the truth, and keeps you from even taking joy in another's accomplishments, one that you call friend even. Did not she announce your triumph when Ponyville was saved from a stampede?”
Applejack frowned. “How in the hay do you know about that?”
A giggle came from the alicorn filly. “Our sister may have better foresight, but my hindsight when it comes to a pony We look upon is all encompassing dear Applejack,” she said before her eyes narrowed. “Now answer the bucking question.”
“...yeah, Rainbow was up there with all the others,” Applejack admitted as she felt a bit of shame creep up on her. After all, she hadn’t patted Rainbow on the back for what she had done, but… “Still don’t change the fact she wouldn’t have been able to do what she did without Twilight! Ah probably coulda done it better, Ah’m stronger and faster than any pegasus! And she hasn’t stopped goin' on about it since! Ah woulda just been happy to help get thanked and be on my way, but her ego’s gettin outta hoof and somepony needs to do something about it!”
Luna smirked at the outburst. “So sayeth Applejack, the most loyal, hardworking, and dependable of ponies, supreme judge of modesty and she who looks down from upon high to pass sentence on all. Greatest hero of all Equestria, to whom not even the sun or moon can compare!” she said to the mare who flinched at all the accolades before becoming serious once again. “Just because you do not speak of your actions to others does not make you humble my friend, only more quiet. Especially when you pride yourself in your humility. Nor does it mean thy jealousy is not plain for all to see.”
Despite her youthful appearance, the steady gaze Luna gave Applejack made the earth pony wilt under the alicorn’s glare. “Take it from one who knows just how much harm such feelings of resentment can do. Let. It. Go. For such a path can only lead to thine own destruction, and that of which everything you hold dear.”
Applejack gulped, and nodded at the mare ponies had called Nightmare Moon. “Ah uh...see you might have a point there,” she mumbled while frowning at her own thoughts. Was she jealous of Rainbow Dash?
No, that’s just stupid, Applejack told herself. She had no reason to be. She had so much more than Rainbow. Not counting their shared friends, Applejack had her farm, her family, the respect of the town, and Rainbow Dash had…
Well…
She had…
I don’t rightly know, Applejack told herself. Despite all the time they had spent together...she didn’t know all that much about the other mare. All she seemed to go on about were her plans for the Wonderbolts and that flying competition of hers. While everypony else had at least mentioned their family in passing once or twice, Applejack couldn’t remember a single time Rainbow Dash had ever talked about her past.That seemed a mighty...telling omission.
“Is something amiss?”
Applejack looked up at Luna’s concerned gaze, and shook her head. “Naw, Ah was just...thinkin is all.”
“Well, as long as the thoughts are good ones,” Luna replied. “So...is anything else troubling you Applejack?”
The farmer let out a long sigh, and shook her head. She had to admit, talking with Luna seemed to help get a weight off her chest that had been building since...well, for some time. “Ah think Ah’m gonna be-wait,” she said before something occurred to her. “There is something else that’s been gnawing at me, if not as long. Um...ya see, apparently...Twilight used some fancy spell to come back from the future and-”
Luna’s eyes widened. “What? That filly used Starswirl’s spell to jump through time?”
“That’s what Princess Celestia said, but-”
“Is she alright?” Luna demanded in a panic.
A frown crossed Applejack's face. “Well...not...really,” the farmer admitted. “There’s somethin’ really bothering her. But she says she can fix it somehow and everything’ll be fine as far as she’s concer-”
“And she is wrong,” Luna spoke cutting Applejack off.
“W-What?” Applejack stuttered as she felt her gut lurch as Rarity and Fluttershy’s theories ran through her head. “But...but Twilight said...she said…”
Luna sighed and shook her head sadly. Somehow, the effect made her seem older than even Granny, despite her being a filly of an alicorn. “If what you say is true young Applejack, then We pity that poor foal. One can sooner change that mark upon your flank than stray from the path that destiny has decreed for you,” the young goddess explained. “Thus is fate.”
As the door behind her opened to admit Luna’s guards, Applejack slowly rose up. “Ah...um...Ah think Ah need to get going,” she mumbled. “Um...thank you kindly Princess. Fer all the help, Ah mean.”
The other female pony barely seemed to register the goodbye as Applejack made her way past the guards that were bringing in a cart of food. As for the farmer, she had too much on her mind at the moment to bother with a quick bite.
Although Pinkie’s parties weren’t something a pony fell asleep at, Pinkie had decided that she didn’t want Rarity or AJ missing out on anything and declared a break for everypony to take a few minutes for themselves to do what they needed to do. For Rainbow, that involved catching some high-altitude air to help her fight off the complaints that her wings were giving her about not doing any real flying all day. So a good ten minute trip around Canterlot had put an end to the lazy soreness that the pegasus had been experiencing and killed some time in the most awesome way possible.
It was nothing fancy or death-defying though, she needed to keep the balcony that their room had in sight and Twilight had kind of threatened to tell everypony about her most embarrassing secret if she accidentally missed out on any of the fun. However, the fact that she found Twilight waiting on the balcony like she was checking up on the pegasus made Rainbow a little angry.
As soon as she landed, Rainbow shot the unicorn a frown. “Geeze Twilight, I said I’d be back. No need to watch me.”
For her part, Twilight gave a little jump, and Rainbow realized she had been taken out of Egghead Land, or wherever she went when she just zoned out…which meant she probably hadn’t been guarding the pegasus to make sure she didn’t fly off.
“Oh! Rainbow, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” she apologized in a normal tone. Considering it was the first time Rainbow had heard her friend say those words when not in a panicked mess...it actually made her worry. “I just needed to get some time alone to think about things.”
Rainbow got an uneasy feeling in her gut from those words as she thought about Twilight’s lab, all the stuff she had laid on them just awhile ago, and how the unicorn had just broke down crying afterwards. The pegasus may have not have had the unicorn’s IQ, but Rainbow understood that up until then, Twilight had been keeping herself isolated from the rest of the girls in more ways than one. She had been all alone.
Being all alone was bad.
So Rainbow wouldn’t let her be that way, whether Twilight wanted it or not.
“Thinking about what?” she asked, trying to make conversation so the lavender unicorn wouldn't just slip off again.
Twilight looked over to her in confusion for a second, and then a tiny smile appeared on her lips before she looked back out at the night sky. “Oh just life, the universe…everything,” she told Rainbow. Then she stood around for a few seconds just staring at the confused pegasus, and let out a sigh. “Right…sorry, you wouldn’t get that joke yet.”
That little hint Rainbow managed to pick up on. “Future stuff?”
“The joke, yes,” Twilight replied before she sighed and looked back out at the sight sky. “And…actually, I guess I really am thinking about everything. At least everything that’s happened, going to happen, and…what I hope’s going to happen.”
“And not happen, right?” Rainbow reminded her. Even if she didn’t understand half of what was going on, she did get that Twilight had to have come back in time for a reason.
When the unicorn visibly stiffened, Rainbow realized she probably should have been a bit more careful with her words. She moved closer to Twilight while trying to think of some reassuring junk to say in order to cheer her up, but froze when Twilight looked at her with teary eyes. “I…I’ll keep my promise this time Rainbow, y-you won’t-”
Before she could start up the waterworks again, Rainbow held out her hooves to grab Twilight by the shoulders and help steady the mare. “Hey whoa there Twilight, it’s okay,” she said in an uneasy tone. “I…um, I’m sorry I probably shouldn’t have said-”
Rainbow looked away from the unicorn for an instant in the middle of her uneasy apology, and grunted when she felt Twilight latch onto her in a hug. Despite the total uncoolness of the situation, the pegasus reached around with a foreleg and put a hoof on the other mare’s back.
“It’s okay,” she said, making Rainbow a little surprised. Hadn’t Twilight been the one who’d been doing the comforting just a second ago? How in the hay had she managed to turn it all around?
Then Twilight nuzzled her a little, and the pegasus started to feel that things were starting to get a little awkward, Twilight froze again and suddenly backed off. “Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t think…oh pony feathers…sorry,” she apologized as a small blush showed on her cheeks.
After putting two and two together, Rainbow raised an eyebrow at Twilight’s actions. It looked like she was embarrassed. Like, when a pony accidentally made the move on another pony kind embarrassed. “Uh Twilight…in the future…are we um…you know…a couple?”
It wasn’t that she had anything against ponies like that, but dating a brainiac like Twilight…well…Rainbow just couldn’t see it happening no matter how messed up the future had gotten. Although when Twilight’s frightened eyes changed to show a look of revulsion, Rainbow didn’t know if she should be relieved…or insulted.
“What? Rainbow, no! Just…ew!” the unicorn replied, all her nervousness gone in a wave of denial. “You…for Harmony’s sake Rainbow, you’re like my sister!”
Rainbow Dash’s brain threatened to shut down for a moment as it tried to process that bit of information…and failed rather spectacularly. Twilight had told everypony she had an older brother, but she had also declared him hooves-off material when Rainbow had asked if he was hot.
Not that she was into unicorns, or had anything against them really. Big wings were more her thing.
So when Twilight just went out and declared they were family, Rainbow couldn’t make the leap of logic that took to reach understanding of what she meant. “Um…what? How the hay are we…I thought you said your brother had somepony or something.”
“Well not officially!” Twilight declared before she let out a sigh. “Buck, I didn’t want to go into this but…you and me, we’re a lot alike.” Rainbow had to let out a snort that that information, and Twilight raised an eyebrow at her, but otherwise ignored the pegasus as she went on. “You and I, we spent a lot of time together, and…you…well, while the other girls were kind of finding other things to get involved with…you stayed with me.”
As that bit of information made its way through her system, Rainbow noticed something wrong with what Twilight had said earlier, and the two of them seemed to butt heads. Wait a second…how can I be a Wonderbolt, and ‘stay’ with Twilight?
Although she helped Rainbow practice her moves and actually had several helpful suggestions…which Dash was pretty sure came from the fact Twilight already knew what her best moves were going to look like now, Twilight hadn’t really seemed all that interested in flying. In fact, she had outright said plenty of times she was just there to help Rainbow.
So the thought of her being a Wonderbolt groupie just didn’t work.
Plus, even with that cloud walking spell of hers that allowed Twilight to visit Rainbow’s house, the pegasus didn’t think the unicorn would be moving to Cloudsdale anytime in forever.
The whole thing just confused the hay out of her, and Rainbow Dash hated confusing things. So she decided to ditch it and get the conversation back on track. “So uh…what future stuff were you thinking about again?”
Twilight blinked at the question and just stared at Rainbow for a few moments, probably trying to get her brain back on track or something. Dash had seen her do that a few times when they had been out pranking. While Twilight was probably the smartest pony alive, when somepony caught her off guard, she seemed to just shut down for a few seconds longer than most other ponies.
“Oh, right…your original question,” she finally said before pausing for a moment to think. “Well, I was thinking about how our paths have diverged since everything started.”
Since the explanation was about as clear as an Everfree storm cloud, Rainbow Dash cocked her head in confusion. “And that means…what?”
Once again, Twilight took a moment to reply. “Okay um…if you and the girls haven’t guessed yet, some things are happening differently than when I did things the first around. I...changed things...sort of, unless they correct... Sorry, the full explanation of how-"
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, I kind of guessed that when you started yelling at Princess Celestia about the dragon,” she said while trying not to let her irritation at that whole thing show. Twilight had been a bit angry, sure…but that had been Princess Celestia she was yelling at! It wasn’t Twilight’s most awesome moment.
“”Of course I was yelling at her!” she exclaimed, going from uncompromisable nerd to full on angry in a split second. “Celestia! She-she sent all of you into danger again, just hoping that bucking destiny would see us all through because of…AGH! I really hate that old nag!”
Completely lost, Rainbow titled her head. “Uh…what?” From what she could remember, Princess Celestia had did what she did because she didn’t want anypony else getting hurt. While the pegasus totally stood by Twilight’s decision to keep Fluttershy out of the mess, everything else had turned out okay enough…except for how Rainbow had almost gotten Rarity killed, that memory still kinda stung.
For a moment, Rainbow wasn’t sure if Twilight had heard her, what with the unicorn simmering in anger and all, but she shook it off a few seconds later and sighed. “Sorry, it’s just…something Celestia and I are going to end up butting horns over and…I really don’t want to have to make you worry about it.”
A bit of the unease from hearing that must have made it to her face, because Twilight gave the other mare a surprised look and held up her hooves. “It’s nothing bad!” she assured Rainbow. “And I’m not going to ask you to choose between us or anything like that! I know how divided loyalties can tear at you. It’s just a…difference of opinion she and I have. Nothing serious like me wanting to rule Equestria or anything!”
The look of regret on Twilight’s face told Rainbow it was probably way more than that, but…after what had happened inside… Rainbow shook the memory of Twilight breaking down right in front of her off. She trusted her friend, and when it really came down to it, that was all that really mattered.
But before she could figure out a way to tell Twilight it was alright without sounding too mushy, the door to the common room burst open and Pinkie stuck her head out. “Hey girls Rarity’s back! It’s time for makeovers!”
After Rarity returned a good ten minutes after Applejack, Twilight managed to point out an error with the sleepover 101 book that had the girls performing beautification treatments before a pillow fight that would leave a few of them out of sorts, so the makeover session was delayed for a bit…but not forever. Thankfully, the pillow fight didn’t last too long, and only served to get the blood flowing again after the party’s lull tried to remind all the mares that they should have been asleep hours ago.
Once the girls had their mud masks on and curlers in their mane, with Fluttershy doing Rarity’s, Applejack taking care of Fluttershy before Twilight did hers, Rarity managing to get Rainbow to hold still for her, and Twilight ending up with a mess thanks to the fact she was taken care of by the cyan pegasus before everypony cringed at the sight and Rarity straightened it all out. Pinkie Pie was considered a lost cause in the hair department since her poofy mane managed to resist any attempts to tame it. It did make Twilight giggle a little as all the girls attempted it though.
Apparently, it hadn’t been the first time somepony tried to turn the poofy to curly...at least in Twilight's recollection.
Then came the Truth or Dare activity, and Twilight found herself the center of attention as the bottle pointed to her from Applejack’s spin. However, it was the question that put a disbelieving frown on her face.
“Seriously? You’re are going to ask me about future stuff now? I’m more than happy to tell you girls anything you want to know…with certain restrictions of course. Besides, I thought truth was supposed to be things like embarrassing secrets involving that pony’s past.”
Fluttershy found herself confused for a minute. “Well, we are asking about your past Twilight...in a way, I think.”
A pang of guilt hit the yellow pegasus a second later when Twilight cleared her throat and looked away. Fluttershy realized the actions of a pony remembering something painful and wanted to withdraw her question, but felt that would simply draw too much attention to Twilight’s distress, so she kept silent.
Pinkie Pie interjected, holding up the sleepover book. “Sorry Twilight, but you chose truth, and that means you have to answer any question asked to you truthfully, or pay a penalty,” she said before a little frown appeared on her face and she looked at the others. “But we won’t be asking any mean questions, right girls?”
The slightly regretful looks the rest of the girls gave Pinkie showed that they all understood what she was talking about, but Twilight didn’t seem to notice the change in atmosphere since she was lost in thought.
Applejack let out a tired sigh, and asked something different from the usual thing that had been on her tongue all night. While Fluttershy was glad she had finally dropped it, Rainbow Dash scowled at the question and Applejack as well, while Twilight began to answer.
“Okay…I guess Rainbow’s most embarrassing moment would have to be…our one month anniversary party that Pinkie threw for us,” Twilight said, getting a confused ‘what?’ from everypony present, with Rainbow actually rising up into the air.
“Wait a second, back on the balcony you were all denying the whole couple thing!” she exclaimed.
Rarity’s ears perked up. “A couple? You and Rainbow Dash? Oh my this is just so-”
Twilight’s giggles cut Rarity off, and everypony went back to looking at her for a moment. She held up a hoof and waved away their questions, then looked back up. “That’s just it, we weren’t a couple…everypony just thought we were because of this article that was printed that talked about me and Rainbow sharing a bed this one time. The suite we had reserved got water damaged, and thanks to the magic conference I had to go to, nearly every other room at the hotel was taken. Then the pegasus paparazzi saw us through the window and it kind of snowballed from there to the point where we were declared Equestria’s cutest couple! After that, everypony just assumed and…um…well, it’s pretty embarrassing when your own friends think you’re are going out for a month and don’t realize it’s all a mistake. I mean, just because we spent a lot of time together didn’t mean we were dating!”
“That doesn’t sound that embarrassing,” Fluttershy admitted.
A sigh escaped the unicorn’s mouth, and she rolled her eyes, “Well I think it was. Although some ponies would probably say the time Rainbow got turned into a stal-”
“Wait a tick, what was Rainbow doing at a magic conference?” Applejack asked, cutting Twilight off.
Despite it being another question without a spin, Twilight answered. “Rainbow was….well, you know how I said she was going to be a Wonderbolt, right? Technically that’s part of the EUP, and so...a princess assigned Rainbow as my personal guard.”
Fluttershy looked over to Rainbow Dash for a moment, remembering what Twilight had said when they were in her tree house the other day about the pegasus being miserable in the Wonderbolts for some reason. Although personally, she couldn’t see how. Rainbow had been training to be a stunt flier for practically her whole life. She knew everything about the Wonderbolts, including what to expect from their work schedules, daily lives...everything.
The information did bring up a worry in Fluttershy’s mind though. “Um Twilight? Does that mean we’re all going to have personal guards following us around all the time?” She didn’t really like the idea of a pair of ponies practically stalking her.
Twilight’s mood visibly darkened as the cheer just seemed to drain out of her. “No, apparently, I was the only one Celestia considered important enough to-”
“Twilight you’re breaking the rules!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, cutting the purple pony off and drawing her attention. “If anypony wants to ask another question, they have to get you on the bottle spin! Now hurry up and take your turn.”
For a moment the unicorn’s cheeks blushed with embarrassment…or flushed with anger, Fluttershy wasn’t sure, but she hoped it was the first one, and then Twilight brightened back up and nodded to Pinkie before spinning the bottle.
When it ended up pointing to Rainbow Dash, the pegasus rolled her eyes and smirked. “Dare.”
The response seemed to make Twilight a bit confused for a moment. Then she glanced at Applejack, and turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash. “Right…dealing with Rainbow Dash here,” Twilight mumbled to herself barely loud enough for Fluttershy to hear. “Okay Rainbow, I dare you to tell me three things you like about Applejack.”
Rainbow frowned at the question, and looked around until she saw Pinkie holding the sleepover book. “Can she do that?”
As the game went on, each pony got to find out some future success or embarrassment that Twilight had seen them experience. Most usually asked how good their life was going to turn out when they got Twilight the first time, and on the second…
“Well…I’d have to say Applejack’s most embarrassing experience was when she accidentally swallowed some poison joke,” Twilight said in response to Rainbow’s question.
Rarity seemed to take the strange news as absolutely horrific. “You mean that awful plant that caused Spike so much heartbreak? Dear that…wait…what did it do? Turn her into a dragon?”
The question made Twilight shake her head as second after the mirth disappeared. “No, the plant affects everypony differently depending on the victim,” she explained before her face became serious. “At first we had thought that it just did something silly to a pony as a pun on their name, but…what it really does is attempt to ruin a pony’s life, usually by making it next to impossible to practice their talent. Like when Rainbow Dash got exposed, it messed up her wings and made it impossible for her to fly properly. She kept running into everything. Spike just giggled and renamed her Rainbow Crash but…”
Rainbow shuttered for a moment and Fluttershy had a brief flash of memory from their foalhood when that had been a nickname several bullies had tried to stick on the other pegasus. “I couldn’t fly? How is that a joke?” Rainbow demanded.
“It’s not,” Twilight replied. “It’s just cruel, and that’s what he finds funny about it.”
Before Fluttershy could ask just who this ‘he’ was, Twilight cleared her throat. “But we’re getting off topic,” she said before addressing Rainbow. “Anyway, poison joke usually spreads its magic through skin contact when a pony goes to sleep, although special salves can be made to make the effect take hold quicker. So when Applejack swallowed some, we had to wait for it to pass through her system before the cure would take and…she end up spending about four days as a three-inch tall pony. You can imagine how being so helpless and unable to do any farm work would affect the strongest earth pony in town.”
Applejack gulped as the color drained from her face. “That…don’t sound too fun.”
“Tell me about it,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “The first day alone, Opal and about half of the animals around Fluttershy’s cottage tried to eat you, the...a group of foals played with you like a doll, and I don’t even want to think about when I nearly drowned you in the bathtub after that bubble bath mix of Spike‘s fell in… If it wasn’t for Rainbow Dash taking care of you those last two days in her cloud house where nopony or animal could get at you, I don’t even want to think about what could have happened.”
Fluttershy frowned at the story. “Twilight! None of my animal friends would ever do something like try to eat another pony! Especially one so helpless and…why are you all looking at me like that?” she asked while everypony in the room stared at her with deadpan expressions. “What?”
“You mean them snakes you keep around, or that bear…and Ah’ve chased them rabbits outta my field at least once a week,” Applejack replied evenly.
Before Fluttershy could explain about the circle of life and tell Applejack that her animal friends needed food too, Rarity spoke up. “You grow carrots darling? I thought apples were your families specialty.”
The farm pony let out a suffering sigh. “We just sell apples, but we have a little bit of land set aside for food the family eats. Just because they’re the best food don’t mean we can live off apples alone…unfortunately,” she mumbled. “Plus it’s cheaper.”
The game got off track from there, with Twilight simply answering questions in return for being able to ask questions which involved things like what other ponies thought Rarity’s best quality was, or what everypony liked most about Fluttershy while everypony else got questions about the future answered.
Twilight refused to answer a few questions, mostly ones that involved personal relationships, or the one Applejack posed involving her sister’s cutie mark.
Other answers were somewhat vague. Pinkie Pie learned that her best party would be a wedding reception, although Twilight was silent as to just which pony it was for. Rarity was eventually told she would be discovered in Ponyville so there was no need to move to Canterlot and ruin her inspiration. Rainbow Dash didn’t have many other questions that revolved around herself, having already learned about her future as a Wonderbolt, she asked Twilight what was the coolest trick she ever did, and then about just how successful the others would be later on; all of which got vague replies as well from Twilight. Applejack asked about her family, which Twilight admitted to only knowing the barest of information when it came to her extended family, although…
“Wait…me and Pinkie are related?” Applejack asked with wide eyes.
“THAT’S SO AWESOME!”
“I don’t see why it’s so surprising,” Twilight replied after Pinkie landed back on the floor. “The Pie family has lived around Ponyville for awhile, and the Apples settled the town in the first place. I have the genealogy records at the library if you want to see them.”
A second after Twilight had spoken, Pinkie Pie wrapped her forelegs around Applejack’s neck in a hug. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before! I mean, look! It’s so obvious you can tell just by looking at us.”
In all honesty, Fluttershy couldn’t see it as she studied the most down to earth pony of their group as she was being squeezed to death by the most out there pony in history. But, the pegasus didn’t want to draw anypony’s attention by pointing that out.
Hours passed with all the ponies asking Twilight about their futures, and the purple unicorn got asked something by Pinkie Pie that made her pause for a moment and repeat the question. “My happiest memory?” she asked.
“Yeah!” Pinkie replied. “We’ve been asking about everypony else tonight, but what about you?”
Twilight was silent for a good minute, lost in thought. Then she looked back at the others with a smile on her face. “This is.”
Fluttershy, along with all the others frowned in confusion at the response. But it was Applejack that spoke. “Come again?”
“Look girls…when I first got here, I was…well, to be honest…I landed a lot earlier in the timeline than I expected to,” Twilight told them. “Then, as everything started happening I was so happy to see you all again, but…at the same time I just felt horrible because I couldn’t…show you…the real me. I couldn’t even tell you half of what I knew, and I was so afraid about w-what would happen if-”
Rarity cut her off with a hoof to the other unicorn’s mouth. “Twilight, we’re your friends,” she said with a smile. “And I daresay, I would have hoped you’d have known us better than that. Especially considering how long you’ve known us.”
As a chorus of agreements went up around their circle, the lavender unicorn got even more teary-eyed. “I-I know, but…well…when Applejack-”
“Hold on there Twi,” the farmer interjected as she raised a hoof. “I’m a little peeved at this whole darn hiding secrets from us thing…and, wait…that first morning we met, did you already know everything I was going to tell you?”
Twilight shook her head at the apple farmer while the orange pony gave her a measuring look. “Not really. I mean, I did remember the gist of how you got your cutie mark, and some of the basic information about your farm, but it had been years since I got any specifics about it. Plus I remember your orchards going through some expansions and contractions over the years. But, what does that have to do with anything?”
“Contractions?” Applejack grumbled in surprise. “Might need to talk to ya about that later I guess. Umm…it’s just…you know… Are you really friends with us? Or are you friends with the ponies you remember in your head?”
A silence fell on the room from Applejack’s question, and Fluttershy suddenly found herself wondering if that was also the case. When she had first met the changed Twilight the unicorn had seem so much more…accommodating to the pegasus’s needs when they were alone…most of the time anyway. It wasn’t nothing really big, but Fluttershy realized that one day Twilight had just started being less invasive than other ponies when they were together, giving the pegasus her personal space, and just doing things that made Fluttershy feel a bit more comfortable when Twilight came over to visit and have tea. It was just a million little things that her animal friends picked up on as time went by, but Twilight acted like she had been doing it for years the first time she had come over.
Probably because she had.
But…those actions had made Fluttershy like her more. Without them…would she have even considered Twilight such a close friend?
Or a friend at all?
Oh now I’m just being silly, Fluttershy told herself. Twilight was a nice pony…despite her quirks…and forcefulness…and mental instability…
But then she remembered what Twilight had said about Fluttershy’s singing, and the Ponytones, and it also stood to reason that if she knew about that secret passion of Fluttershy’s, she also knew about the pegasus’s penchant for sewing and knitting. Oh please don’t tell Rarity about that Twilight, she mentally pleaded. Having a real seamstress critique her work would be just awful!
“What kind of question is that?” Twilight’s voice pulled Fluttershy out of her fear-filled spiral, and she looked back up to see the unicorn was looking at Applejack with a pained expression. “You’re my friend Applejack, you all are!”
The gaze put the farm pony on the defensive, and she broke eye contact with the unicorn. “Look…I just…it’s a fair question Twilight,” she replied.
“I love you for who you are Applejack,” Twilight replied in an even tone. “A little stubborn and bullheaded, but a kind pony who always does what she thinks is right. Just because I...well...I know some thing you will do, does that change how you feel about me?”
For a minute Applejack held Twilight’s gaze, then looked away from her. “Sorry Twi...it’s just...Ah got a lot on my mind right now. Sortin’ through some things and all.”
“Do you need some help?” she asked in concerned voice before a tiny smiled appeared on her face. “I mean...that’s literally what I’m here for Applejack. To help you girls. Well...it’s a bit more complicated than that but...it is what I’m here for when it comes down to it.”
“Not...right...now,” the farm pony admitted. “Ah just...need to think about something for a bit.”
The unicorn studied her for a moment, and nodded. “Okay Applejack. But...don’t let whatever's bothering you weigh you down,” she said before looking around. “We’re all here for you...for eachother. Please don’t forget that.”
For some reason, Fluttershy thought she saw a bit of uneasiness in Applejack's expression as Twilight spoke.
Applejack fought to keep the sleep out of her eyes as she sat her whole body on the bed. Despite Pinkie’s best efforts, exhaustion had set in when everypony started with the boardgames and she had called another bathroom break. With the time being 4AM, nopony wanted to kill the achievement of staying up all night together, and they had all agreed to a good fifteen minutes for taking care of their needs and getting the blood flowing again.
It also gave Applejack the chance to talk to somepony she needed to in private. The sound of running water cut off, and a few seconds later, the pony in question came out from the bathroom.
“Oh, hey Applejack. What’s up?”
The farm pony gulped the nervousness she was feeling. “Rainbow, Ah um...wanted to apologize...about um...hoo, boy. This...um, sorry, Ah don’t hoof out many of these apologies.”
The pegasus gave her a measuring look. “Um, is this about that frown you’ve been giving me all day?”
“I…” Applejack blinked. “Wait, what? How in the hay do you know about that?”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the earth pony. “Um, don’t you remember when I asked Twilight what the coolest thing about me is, as she went into that omni-direction information absorption...thing?” she replied before giving a shudder. “I mean geez, I know she’s an egghead and all, but how in the hay can she say the coolest thing about me is the ability to learn stuff? How does that compare with a Rainboom? Which we all know I’m going to do again, and be like the most awesome pegasus in the history of ever!”
For a second, Applejack stared at the ego of the mare and felt...nothing. Part of her wondered why, but before she could ruminate too long on it, Rainbow opened her big mouth again.
“And then there’s you,” she went on in an excited voice. “What’d Twilight say? Most um...ribbons won in a single rodeo at Canterlot? That’s gonna be pretty sweet too, right?”
Applejack blinked as Luna’s words repeated themselves in her mind. “Um...yeah,” she managed while looking at, but not really listening to Rainbow’s words about how awesome it was that the most powerful unicorn, coolest pegasus, and best rodeo pony were all on the same team.
When Rainbow finally stopped gushing about everything, Applejack cleared her throat. “Um, look Rainbow about mah apology...Ah um...the looks Ah was givin you all day...and to be honest, the thoughts Ah’d been having for the past couple of days… Ah just wanted to say Ah’m sorry.”
“Oh, okay,” she replied like it was nothing. “What was all that glaring about anyway?”
Applejack gulped. “Ah was...jealous...and being stupid,” she admitted before looking away. “Course it ain’t much better being stuck in Canterlot. Ponies in these parts are born looking down at every…an there Ah go, doin it again.
“Look, long story short, Ah heard you bragging all that about the dragon this and dragon that and...Ah started hearing it as how much better you thought you were than everypony-or, me Ah mean, cause you kept going on about that dragon thing.
“So...Ah’m sorry.”
The pegasus landed on the ground and gave Applejack a measuring look, then shrugged. Eh, so what?” she asked. “Honestly? I don’t like it when ponies show me up either. But you know, that’s what being an athlete is about, right? Can’t be the best if you don’t care about it.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”
Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion. “What’s it?”
“What about...the whole...lookin’ down on ya? And the...the snootiness! Ain’t you gonna let at me fer that?”
A burst of laughter came out from Rainbow Dash’s gut. “You think you’re snooty?” she got out before another bout of laughter escaped. “Oh...oh mare Applejack, you...where the buck did you get an idea like that? You’re like the most...non-snooty pony in Ponyville. Well, cept you know, for me. You actually comb your hair.” She reached up a hoof to touch her madeover mane. “And this doesn’t count.”
“Ah…” Applejack managed before she shook off the oddity of the fact Rainbow was bragging about being a slob. “It was something Rarity told me.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Pfft! That mare is way too...what’s the word I’m looking for? You know how she like...makes everything a big deal?”
“Overblown?” Applejack suggested.
“Yeah!” Rainbow agreed. “I mean, she’s awesome and all, but...have lunch with her sometime. She’ll be all Worst. Possible. Thing. Ever! And...did you know she has a couch to faint into now?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow at that. “Really?”
And Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, but...hey, if she’s feeding you that kind of stuff, we should definitely have a talk with her. Like I said, she’s cool and all, but...way overblown.”
“Wait,” Applejack called out. “Ain’t ya...mad or somthin?”
Rainbow Dash looked back at the farm pony in blinked in confusion. “What for?”
“Cause I was...you know...mad about yer goin on about that dragon and all!” Applejack exclaimed.
“...eh, if it was getting annoying, I’ll tone it down,” Rainbow replied with a shrug. “I mean...I suppose if somepony else was going on and on about themselves…I’d be...well...nah. Nevermind. But if you want me to tone it down, sure. No problem.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow at her friend. “Wait, you can’t just, that ain’t…”
“What?”
The farmer let out a sigh and hung her head. She didn’t get why Rainbow Dash wasn’t getting all upset at her for being all judgmental. “Never mind.” She didn’t see the point of trying to make Rainbow get all riled up after all the apologies were said. Maybe she just didn’t get that way with other ponies. “Ah still gotta go talk to Rarity anyway.”
A snort came out of Rainbow’s nose. “No kidding. I mean, calling you snooty? We need to go set her straight.”
“N-No Rainbow, that ain’t,” she paused, and let out a sigh. “All right come on, just um...let me do the talking.”
Rainbow shrugged, but followed Applejack towards the door. But before the farmer could reach it, Rainbow touched her on the shoulder. “Oh hey AJ, before I forget...um...I’m changing my vote,” she said, making Applejack whip her head around in surprise.
“Say what now?”
The pegasus stopped, and cleared her throat before looking away. “Yeah...look...I thought it was cool and all that we’d get to know the future and everything but…not anymore,” she said before turning her head back to Applejack. “So...ask Twilight whatever you want at the party, but after tonight...we’re not doing this again. Ever. I saw what talking about this stuff does to her, and...I know Twilight’s my friend. The rest...I don’t care about. And if you don’t like that, then I’m the pony you need to blame, not her.”
For a minute, Applejack opened her mouth to argue that Twilight still needed to be upfront with them. All the way upfront. Hearing about a few things here and there was fine and dandy, but not getting the whole truth made it seem...wrong to Applejack.
She had seen how carrying whatever burden Twilight was lugging around was crushing her. Being honest about it, sharing the truth about what was bothering her with her friends would help. Pinkie had said so too, if in slightly different words.
Twilight herself had even cheered up and said how much better she was with the whole time travel mess out in the open!
Although, now that she looked back on things. Applejack supposed that she could have been a little bit more tactful in the asking, fancied it up a bit. She understood that the truth was sometimes painful, but it was like pulling out a bad nail in a horseshoe. It hurt some while it was inside, hurt a lot coming out, but felt a lot better when it was done, and needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.
If Twilight would just tell them what had been so horrible they could face it together and… “One can sooner change that mark upon your flank than stray from the path that destiny has decreed for you,” Luna’s words resounded in her mind.
Applejack’s mind froze as her memory replayed the conversation from just a few short hours ago.
The words Luna had spoken to her came to the forefront of her mind, and went up against what Twilight had told them about the future unicorn coming back and giving her memories to the past Twilight. From the sound of things, something bad had happened from when Twilight had come from, something she was hoping to fix somehow, or prevent.
But Luna had more or less said that was impossible.
As much as it pained her to admit it, between the formerly crazy goddess with the odd way of talking, and the kooky unicorn from beyond the land of tomorrow...Applejack was inclined to believe the alicorn. Which meant what Twilight had seen happen, what had already happened for her, what was going to happen to the girls...Applejack was starting to think that it couldn’t be stopped.
Like...destiny.
That revelation made the farmer’s mental gears grind to a halt completely as they came upon the problem in front of her, and she remembered Twilight’s words from earlier as well as the desperation that had filled her voice, the sadness and panic. A deep, cold feeling filled Applejack's stomach, and all of a sudden...she didn’t want to know what Twilight did.
Maybe not ever.
The unicorn...she wasn’t trying to be deceitful, at least...not really. She was trying to be like when Applejack had to not tell her little little sister something...like what Big Mac did in the barn every now and then, or back when she was younger and the town had to deal with a certain problem every month.
Twilight was trying to protect them from something they just weren’t ready to know yet. She may have been going about it in a...disagreeable manner, but Applejack could at least see the good intentions in her actions and respect her for them. And I suppose that’ll have to be enough.
“Okay Rainbow,” Applejack said after a moment of rumination. “Ah...maybe that’s for the best. Ah mean...just what pony wants all them spoilers anyhoo, right?”
A yawn escaped Rainbow’s mouth and she shook the tiredness from her eyes. “Ugh, I’ll be glad when this is over and I can nap on the way back to Ponyville.”
The mention of sleeping during the day and the pegasus’s usual habits made Applejack stop...and chuckle. “Well, least you’ll have a good reason this time ‘round,” she said. “Shoot, Ah might even join ya.”
“...don’t be getting weird on me AJ,” Rainbow Dash told her after a long pause and a frown that made the earth pony confused. “I already had the whole fillyfriend scare with Twilight tonight. Now come on, let’s go get this whole snooty thing cleared up with you and Rarity. She’s probably doing something with her mane in the mirror again. Why she wanted somepony to do it for her if she’s gonna just keep messing with it...mare, that unicorn is confusing.”
The orange apple farmer just laughed. “Partner, you don’t know the half of it. The first...well, Ah guess it wasn’t her first sleepover, but...me and Rarity got trapped in her library, but before then, she was turning leaves into some kinda garden art when we needed to be pulling branches down!”
“Pfft! That’s nothing, do you know why she has the accent?” Rainbow asked as the two friends opened the door and talked quietly on their way to the bedroom Rarity had been given.
As they tried to make their way across the common room while talking, Applejack saw Twilight was still off in her room, and Fluttershy was getting some fresh air on the balcony while Pinkie was looking through some pamphlets.
The the party pony called out to them. “Hey girls! We need to decide to do for our now we have a ton of money, or we will tomorrow at least, party. I was going to do it tomorrow, but then I realized it is tomorrow from the time I was going to do it and just figured to go ahead and start planning! It’s time to let the good times roll with a real road trip vacation get away once we celebrate our windfall! I was thinking, monocle party for Ponyville, and then...well, what do you think? Trip to Manehattan, or Los Pegasus?”
The two ponies shared a hesitant look, and then turned their attentions back to Pinkie. “Pinkie, ain’t this the celebratory party?”
The pink party pony rolled her eyes. “No, this was just to stop Twilight from falling asleep. I mean, did you see the look on her face when Princess Celestia said she couldn't sleep in her own bed? Total scaredy pants. Which is weird because she doesn’t wear pants,” she asked before immediately changing the topic as Dash and Applejack shared a worried look.
“So, Manehattan, or Las Pegasus? Come on! I mean, I know the first ones fancier, but...Los Pegasus is like...party town! And what better place to celebrate than a party town? But then I remembered it’s a vacation, not a party, but we could have a vacation while on a party, or a party on a vacation! I might even hire a party pony to plan it because I’m on vacation! But then I remembered how much fun I have when planning parties, and you're supposed to have fun on a vacation so… Las Pegasus, or Manehattan?”
Rainbow blinked. “Um...wait, is it Las, or Los?”
“I’ve heard it both ways,” the pink party pony replied with a shrug. “Now what about-”
Applejack cleared her throat. “Um, how about you just give us a few to think on it Pinkie. We need to go see Rarity for a spell.”
The comment got a cock of the head from Pinkie. “But...wouldn’t Twilight be better? I mean, she’s got to me like a super, mega old and ancient powerful unicorn if she can’t remember the number of birthday parties she’s had. It must be like when my great granny got so old she couldn't even remember my name, but don’t worry, I’ll always remember everypony’s name! Hey, that reminds me, I been thinking about Twilight, and why she’s so sad, and I think-”
As Pinkie continued to ramble, Applejack leaned over to whisper into Rainbow’s hear. “How much coffee you think she’s had tonight?”
“-and then, Twilight was probably all, ‘no! it’s not true!’ and the bad guy was probably ‘go ahead and search for-”
“Honestly? The thought of Pinkie with any amount of caffeine...scares me,” Rainbow admitted before she shook her head. “I don’t want to even try to think about it.”
“-then I bet she got really, really really really really really angry, and was all-”
Applejack chuckled and pushed Rainbow forward. “Well then, you keep her busy fer minute, and I’ll go talk to Rarity.”
“-and Twilight probably got all, lose one friend, lose all friends, lose yoursel-”
“Applejack!”
“-so she worked super duper mega super hard to-”
The farmer chuckled as she looked at the rainbow pony with the look of terror on her face. “Come on now Rainbow, compared to a dragon, Pinkie’s easy!”
“-got like ultra mega unbelievably desperate-”
“Hate you AJ-”
“-all kinds of experiments that-”
“-so much right now!” Rainbow finished before Applejack opened the door to Rarity’s room and went inside.
“-and that’s probably why Twilight’s all bonk-”
The door closed, and of course, Applejack found Rarity fussing over her mane. But instead of calling attention to it, the farmer just took in a deep breath. “Rarity, can we have a talk? Ah think...there’s some air we got to clear between us before it...gets all...murky and bad.”
Despite the fact that they had a little more than two hours until sunrise, Applejack figured that it was going to be a long night. After all, she still had another unicorn to talk to after this one.
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Should be "It would have been nice to have had them".
@LordBrony2040...
Phew, quite a whopper of a chapter (7) for Word Count. But a good one, nonetheless.
4962768
I was about to start reading it before getting ready for work, but then I saw the word count. I couldn't read that much even before I had to leave for work; not even close.
If what Luna says is true, then it must not be that hard to change the future considering Starswirl made a spell that changed Cutie Marks. And then there's the Cutie Pox so I think Luna should try a different comparison
I think I've figured out what Twilight is mad at Cdelestia for...but I'm not gojn g to say anything in case it spoils the story. But if it is what I am thinking of then I'd say she does have a right to be angry, but Time Travelling to stop it seems a bit overboard.
Twilight, you're jumping around the issue with Celestia. Not the most mature moment there.
Luna was very interesting. Nice to see her so soon, and this should really open doors between Applejack and her. Though she might be wrong about this case of time travel. This one is a big doozy.
Still seems Twilight's in the wrong here, it's quite obvious she's emotionally shattered due to the issues forced upon her.
And even the Alicorn from the future might not be the real thing.
This chapter rubbed me the wrong way because I don't believe in destiny.
But I like they had a slumber party, and I'm intrigued as to what happens next!
4962923 Tell me! Just used [ spoiler ] with no spaces to black it out!
And despite having an appointment I ought to be getting to in less than half an hour, I'm still sad that the chapter ended there.
I think Luna is full of it. 'Sides, in canon, it's not as clear-cut as she makes it sound...
I would love to see her proven wrong.
4962826
I agree. Did the chapter have to be this long?
4962905
Cutie pox didn't change marks. It just added them. Starswirl's spell did change the cutie marks, but that took the greatest unicorn of the pre-classical era to do.
Luna thought she was saying it's impossible to change fate. I think the lesson is that it is hard. Which is fine by me. The fic wouldn't be interesting if it was easy.
So basically Twilight is doomed. She is wasting her energy because the big parts of the future are set?
I see you are no longer going with the episode redo format. So I see no Griffon Brush Off in the future.
4962968
There is something you have to consider. They didn't have this slumber party in a previous timeline, so already things have changed.
The destiny of every living non immortal inevitably ends in death; it's just that getting there can be completely different then what you would expect. A whole slew of different things could happen and the future could be altered tremendously, but in the end you will still die no matter how much good you do in the world.
Even if you do all of that good leading towards a seemingly eternally bright utopian future, there will be just as many people around that can just as easily undo everything or possibly even keep it going while bending its original purpose horribly out of shape.
Unless Twilight's friends become immortal or alter their plans for the future, then whatever happened might happen again anyway but at a different later time and it would be completely unexpected.
Twilight could better all of her friend’s lives and they could just live in the moment, she’ll never become an alicorn and she will actually die of old age. In turn for doing so she could be causing a horrible future for the rest of the world without even meaning to.
Celestia has literal foresight and Luna has hindsight, one always looking to the bright future and one always bitterly in the dark past. Neither of them matter as much as looking at the present itself where things are still subject to change and can be altered for better or worse. If they actually bothered to truly work together then they could possibly see both the forest and the trees at the same time.
I think there's always a final destination, but not a true destiny or path leading to it.
4963161 Well, you have to remember: Celestia thought Twilight had just rubber-banded from the present to the future, grabbed some info and came back. Even though Twilight has said that that isn't the case, it's likely Luna thinks that that is the situation as well. Luna's probably working under the belief that, even if what she might know from a short info-grab may be extensive, it might not be enough to change things. That's not the case, Twilight went the long way for her knowledge.
4962962 If she's jumping around the issue, it's only because we the reader aren't supposed to know what it is yet.
And then there's Pinkie, accurately guessing Twilight's history with everyone thinking she's just rambling.
"Eh, just a hunch!"
4963201 That makes sense.
Me happy.
Nice. There were some typos.
Did the mane six have a bad disease and had to be quarantined?
I was just thinking "hmm, did you take a while before writing this again, or did you take your time and write a massive chapter?". And then I see the length of the chapter and squee!
4963201
So you're saying that one can see the future in the light of day but can stare darkly into the past at night. Then that means one is most aware of the present during that twilight time between day and night? Yes I set this whole thing up for a bad pun. :P
I wondered what happened to this story...a large chapter update indicates it's ALIVE!
My thoughts are actually pretty simple on what happened: Twilight was forced to watch all her friends die of old age. She saw them in the hospitals as that's where they were being taken care of in their last moments. All during this time, she remained ageless. Twilight probably wanted to keep them alive somehow or offer them alicornhood in some way and Celestia refused as that's either "not their destiny" or just didn't want to give it to them.
So Luna believes destiny can't be changed...I really hope Twilight proves her wrong.
4963263
I always figured Twilight has insight in comparison to Luna and Celestia. That might explain her love of books because she has a ceaseless need to understand the world around her and books are one of the ways to find out.
I'm not about to guess at what the author has in mind, though I'm sure it'll be entertaining at least.
My reaction to seeing an update:
My reaction to seeing the wordcount:
Anyway, I enjoyed reading. There's a lot of typos, though. Maybe you should get a proofreader.
I'm thinking that Applejack and Rainbow Dash should have listened to Pinkie's "guess."
Wow, this chapter is almost the length of a 100 page novel! I was a little annoyed at how long it took, but it was reasonable for what came out of it .
Hmm. I'm having a lot of difficulty feeling any sympathy for Twilight. The theories I have onw hat happened are getting narrowed down and I don't especially like where they are leading for her motivation. The sheer fact she's perhaps hundreds or thousands of years old but never apparently got over her friends is... Not an attribute I find either laudible or especially comforting. And her anti-authority attitude twoards Celestia rubs me the wrong way, too.
It was good to see AJ get her pride given a good smack in the face though. And yet in the same breath, I had to concur with AJ's attitude in the start of the chaoter with regard to Twilight's lack of forthcoming. Coming back to prevent something and not giving as much information out - at the very least about the critical incident is... Foolish. If she had her head on straight, Twilight would have swallowed her own pride and angry feelings and at the very least told Celestia - or Luna even - everything and get some high-level assistance in crisis prevention.
Yay, great chapter and long chapter...
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It's pretty obvious what happened from things Twilight has said.
Her friends died. Not from violence or disease, and not all at once. Most likely, it was simply losing the battle with entropy one by one.
More than that, however, is that they were forgotten. Twilight was the only one left who remembered them, and she says as much.
That she was unable to accept their passing after countless years speaks of deep-rooted psychological issues, and so Celestia may be facing more blame than she deserves.
Twilights goal, then, is to make her friends immortal. That would explain why talk of her experiments is written in a way that treats them as affronts to all that is right - you can't research immortality without experiments involving making things death-resistant.
what a chapter!
Can't wait for more.
Huh, that didn't feel like 28,000 words. Oh well, times flies when reading a good book. Applejack pisses me off in this story. I get why she is acting the way she is, but I can't understand it. She is being a super bitch.
Wow applejack was a huge insensitive jerk
Even though she can see that it is stressing and hurt. Twilight a lot, she still insists.....no DEMANDS that Twilight tells them nothing but the complete truth as if Twilight is not allowed to have secrets.
Good chapter! Quite a few grammatical mistakes, though.
4962968 What does you personal beliefs in destiny matter when reading a story about magical talking ponies? I don't believe in souls, yet in this story souls most likely exist, mainly due to the fact that consciousness transfer was done without swapping neurological tissue. If I didn't read stories due to not believing in some philosophical idea I wouldn't read any story whatsoever. With that said, I don't believe in destiny either. I do however believe that if the universe is a closed system then everything that will happen will happen in an exact way.
I like this story but I'm getting a bit tired of being jerked around. You've been building up this reveal for six chapters before now, building the mystery up over a long period of time until finally you get to this chapter with a slam dunk word count twice as long as any of your other chapters and thirty percent of your overall story with a provocative title including the world 'Revelations' which ultimately reveals...nothing.
Sure, the truth comes out and we learn a bit more about her friend's futures but everything that I (and presumably others) was invested in, such as why Twilight came back, what happened in the future, why Celestia is at fault...none of that has been answered and frankly it feels like you just missed the most opportune moment to do so. I was content to wait for the mystery to build up, but after this uber-chapter with almost no answers or developments to the central premise of this story (FIX EVERYTHING), I find myself just annoyed.
I'll certainly keep reading though. I enjoy the other elements of this story beyond the central mystery, but ultimately I think this chapter just hurt the overall narrative you were building.
Holy shit I hate the destiny bull crap! I won't do a rant. I'll only point out that things went differently than the first time, so yeah there's that. IT'S ALL SET IN STONE!! WELL NOT EVERYTHING BUT SOME THINGS ARE! DERP!
I spotted some spelling mistakes, but I couldn't point them out. I only remember one, where you wrote "I'b" instead of "I'm".
The difference being, Dash, that Applejack is your soulmate, and you hers~
That was fun. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
"I'm on a break..."
I am really liking this story. keep up the good work! ^_^
I really really want to know what things Twilight did when she went off the deep end because she's repressing memories of some clearly very bad stuff
Jesus.
Don't get me wrong, this was a pretty good chapter...but was it even edited? :-\
I still ship it.
Shipping wars aside, you managed to make me like Applejack's character arc. I'm still disappointed that most of the humongous wordcount was devoted to the resolution of said arc, but... Whatever.
And also, um, destiny?
Doesn't exist. Never has, never will. I don't like seeing the fatalistic attitudes the destiny meme is inspiring in the characters.
Applejack vs Luna
Luna Wins. Flawless Victory.
Though I do agree with ClanCrusher. I saw the wordcount with the title and expected huge revelations. Felt like I just got lead on.
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It was really weird to hear someone complain about that, though, I'd have, maybe, released the material in parts (aka split the chapter), making everyone antsy in the meantime and giving author the time to write more.
Still long chapter gave me joy. Even if there wasn't a lot movent, you can't have proper drama without lead up.
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Maybe if you had an author's note on the length we wouldn't have had a reason to comment on it. I couldn't tell if it's justified or just a big rush to finish the story. The fact that it's still incomplete says otherwise, but I still think you could have easily split it into two chapters at least.
I'm not railing at you so much as other commentators that would downvote me just because my comment is negative without so much as a reason why. Even when I argued with popular authors I didn't get downvoted this hard.
Thetitle is misleading; nothing got revealed
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Cant get the flipping blank text thing to work so POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
I think Twilights friends are forgotten by Equestria, and Twilight hates Celestia because she promised that wouldn't happen. Twilight talks about a small memorial in a courner of the Canterlot Gardens and how their names should be known throughout Equestria, with heavy implications they are not known beyond her and the ruling Alicorns.
As I said thats my idea so it could be completely wrong.
Technically, Twilight didn't change the past. Dr Brown, want to help?
She changed things in this reality so that the didn't not follow her memories.