Destiny Book 2: Time Traveling Foal Sitters

by SirScribe

The end of the Alicorn Empire

Cloister bells echoed throughout the castle of Everfree. Those echoes reached the settlements in the region, alerting the mortal equines nearby. Alicorn airships had dropped their flags for Sea Crest, the Doctor and Applejack, whom all were still inside when the explosion occurred. The sky turned gray as thunder and lightning crashed over the Everfree.

The castle was as silent as the grave. A wind howled through the castle and through the paneless windows. Images of Solaris and Cosmos on stained glass were all shattered along with the torn remains of Changeling flags. Multiple chrysalises littered the halls and surrounding areas, all of them were empty.

The TARDIS, in its great and infinite glory, sat in a cloud of smoke and dust. The light on top was shattered, however that would be easily remedied by her pilot. Imprints of spears and helmets belonging to Changelings were left on the TARDIS's doors, giving the impression the energy caused more destruction than anticipated.

The doors of the time machine opened up slowly. Stepping out of the TARDIS was the Doctor in a new attire. Dressed in a long brown coat with flight goggles attached to his head, the Doctor took in a deep breath. On the bridge of his muzzle was his traditional reading glasses, now a part of his ensemble. He cracked his neck before surveying the area.

He smiled. "Applejack, Sea Crest, they're gone!" he called out to his friends. He trotted to the throne room, his faithful companion in tow. Applejack also surveyed the area around her and took in a deep breath through her nose. The smell of smoke immediately filled her nostrils as she sneezed.

"Bless you!" the Time Lord called out.

Applejack chuckled. She peered into the TARDIS to see Sea Crest inching toward the door. The spell used by the Changeling King left more than a singe on the alicorn's chest. Applejack moved to help him move faster, but he shook his head. He was going to walk on his own, even if it killed him. He motioned for Applejack to go on ahead to find the Doctor.

The apple farmer reluctantly nodded before moving to find her friend. Sea Crest took in a deep breath, an act that caused him great pain in his chest, and fired a spell through the castle ceiling. The blast was low enough to stay out of sight of nearby settlements, but it attracted the attention of one of the remaining Alicorn airships still in the area. The ship began its descent toward the castle.

Sea Crest sighed as he slowly began to walk toward the throne room. A misstep threw him off balance, but before he could hit the ground, his long-time friend Solar Shine swept in and carried him.

The alicorn mare gave a coy smile. "You old stallion, you should know better than to walk without your wheelchair," she playfully quipped.

Sea Crest chuckled, fighting the urge to groan in pain from his action. "Love you too Shine. I thought I told you to leave the forest area," he said.

"Welll, if you know me at all, you'd know that I rarely listen to orders that a suicidal and fairly stupid stallion would bark. Besides, I felt no energy from the Cataclysm," Solar said. "Where is it?"

Sea Crest turned toward the TARDIS behind him. "The Doctor will have it. I trust it is better in his hooves than ours," he said.

"That is a foolish thing to say, even for you."

Sea Crest nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the Doctor's voice echoed through the halls. "Sea Crest, come here real quick!" he shouted.

The two alicorns faced each other before advancing into the throne room. Once entering, even Rarity would faint at the discovery.

The once clean throne room, the same that was transformed by the Changelings, was completely bare of anything and everything. The stained glass windows were all shattered without a single piece of glass in sight. The chrysalises were all vaporized, leaving shadows of what once was. Images of Changelings pressed into the walls haunted the former soldier as he continued to scan the room.

In the middle of the room were the royal highnesses Princess Celestia and Luna, both of whom were passed out cold on the floor. Their horns continuously sparked as though they were still trying to cast spells. Where King Wolfsbane once stood was empty with no evidence he was ever there in the beginning. The throne he had transformed into his own was destroyed.

The Doctor had finished scanning one of the nearby walls where a Changeling's shadow was. In his mouth was his Sonic Screwdriver, the device he soon spit out and sheathed behind his ear. "Welcome to ground zero," he muttered slightly.

As Sea Crest continued to scan the room in horror, Solar Shine addressed the Doctor. "Sir stallion, care to explain why the Royal Highnesses are sprawled out in the middle of the room?"

The Doctor sighed. "King Wolfsbane had captured them and wished to destroy them so his Changelings would take over the future," he said. "He's responsible for making them orphans in the first place."

Solar Shine's face fell. She bowed her head with a small light emitting from the tip of her horn. "Blessed be the souls of King Cosmos and Queen Solaris. It's terrible," she muttered. "The Changelings must answer for their crimes against the Alicorn Empire!"

Applejack, who was once curled up next to the fillies, shot up. "Y'all can't do that!" she cried out.

"They killed our king and queen! They killed hundreds of alicorns in the castle and they nearly killed Celestia and Luna while we have done next to nothing to their empire! To say that we don't have the right to enact revenge is..."

"Is what?" the Doctor asked sternly. His piercing eyes met Solar Shine's. "Vengeance is a short-term solution that will come with long-term consequences. You cannot simply march into Changeling territories and avenge the king and queen."

"Watch us," Solar dared. She turned her back on the Time Lord and trotted toward the doors with Sea Crest on her back. She barely made it out before the Doctor's voice cut through the room.

"You sound like Silverstar."

The air grew cold in the room. Solar stopped in her tracks. "To commit genocide on an entire race just because of the actions of a few soldiers sounds awfully like something he would do, Solar Shine. If I remember the report, Silverstar slaughtered dozens of Draconiqui because they destroyed the village he grew up in. It was his choice then to commit the worst war crime in the history only to fall short! You're not going to achieve what you want by using violence!" the Doctor boomed.

Solar spun around to meet the Doctor's eyes. Her own eyes sparkled with rage and a lust for revenge. "You're one to talk, Doctor! You don't know what it's like, having to endure days and years upon end fighting a war only to see everything you've been fighting for destroyed! I watched many ponies, alicorns and mortals die in front of me! I will not allow for this injustice to carry on!" she returned.

The Doctor seemingly flew across the floor. "I know what it's like, watching loved ones and good soldiers die! I've endured over 900 years of that, and that includes the seemingly endless Time War! It never ends, Solar Shine! I know the consequences of committing genocide, and I live by that every day of my life. Every time I save somepony's life, I feel like I'm saving a Time Lord or Lady! Taking revenge will not make the situation better! You'll create another war, and I'll be damned if I stand by and watch you destroy civilization!" the Doctor swore. "You take one Changeling life, and you'll be answering to me!"

The room was quiet. Solar sighed as she returned to the throne room with Sea Crest. Applejack, who stood guard for the two fillies, scratched her head. "So, what do we do now?" she asked.

"Well, they'll wake up at some point, but if they remember what happened, they'll feel it's their duty to go after the Changelings. For the time being, it's best if they woke up with no memory of what happened," the Doctor said. "That way, we can avoid a future war in the process."

Sea Crest shook his head. "That's too much, Doctor. They need to know what happened," he said.

"Ah think the Doc is right," Applejack chimed in. "Ah wish ah could ferget all them bad days when ah was younger."

Solar Shine agreed. "I second that. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have always dreamed of peace, and this may be the only way they could find it," she said. "King Cosmos would want peace for his fillies."

Taken back at her remark, Sea Crest eyed his former companion. "A-are you serious? They're still too young to handle this! To forget this pain, they must forget everything up until now, including all of the alicorn race." He paused in realization. "We would have to disappear."

The Doctor set heavy eyes on the two fillies. Solar Shine shifted her weight as she looked toward the sky. "We could easily disappear Sea Crest. If anything were to happen, King Cosmos had us scout ahead for a fallback point. We found some unclaimed land just west of us, over the Celestial Sea. It's easily a week's journey by airship. We could all start a new life without war," she said.

The Doctor clapped his hooves. "And Celestia and Luna never traveled beyond the sea during their time as rulers. It'd be perfect, but they cannot remember their parents nor the Changelings ever invading. Those ill feelings could generate some bad things if they could act," he finished.

The two alicorns simply hung their heads low. The Doctor and Applejack eyed each other and silently held a conversation. "We won't get to see them grow up in person, but we can always be there in spirit," Sea Crest said. He chuckled slightly. "And I was just getting used to them."

Solar Shine cracked a smile. "Perhaps you should've thought about having fillies. Who knows, maybe it'll do you some good," she said.

"I'm 1500 years old. I think I'm a little old to have fillies," he quipped.

Solar Shine rolled her eyes. "1500 is just a number," she remarked.

The two time travelers had reached a verdict. "Ah don't like it, but ah don't like the idea of 'em goin' to war," Applejack said.

The Doctor nodded. "It seems that, even though it didn't go off, the Cataclysm still happened. The disappearance of the alicorns, the centuries of unrest leading up to Celestia and Luna's rise to power and the rise of Equestria. Who knew it all happened here, built on a decision by four ponies. Well, three ponies and a Time Lord," he said.

Applejack rolled her eyes. Sea Crest chuckled before he removed a foreleg from where Solar Shine had propped one up. Finally on all four hooves, he stood proud and strong as he extended his wings. "Doctor, Applejack, I trust that Celestia and Luna are in capable hooves," he said.

The two time travelers smiled as they nodded. "Ah doubt y'all can find better hooves than ours," she said. "It'll take years to find somepony better."

"Spoilers," the Doctor muttered.

Solar Shine smiled. "Then we proudly decree that you, sir Doctor and miss Applejack remain their caretakers until they are mature enough. Thank you for being the guardians to the last survivors of the alicorn race." She winked to move the point across.

The two earth ponies chuckled. Solar saluted to the two before taking off out of one of the pane-less windows and onto the airship. Sea Crest, who took in a deep breath, finally relaxed. "If it wasn't for you and those little fillies, I'd probably be dead by now. Thank you, Doctor and Applejack. I pray to the gods that Celestia and Luna finally find the peace they need," he said.

The two ponies nodded. "So what'll ya do now?" Applejack asked.

Sea Crest sighed as he peered out of the pane-less window. "You know, Solar Shine has a point. I'm 1500 years old and I've yet to have a single filly or foal of my own. I've always thought of Celestia and Luna as somewhat my foals, even though they were clearly Cosmos' and Solaris'. I suppose I should finally hang up my armor and settle down," he said.

The Doctor smirked. "Solar Shine knows you're thinking about this?" he asked playfully.

Sea Crest blushed violently, yet he did not try to deny it. "In the past, with me being her commanding officer, having an open relationship would've complicated so many things, such as the chain in command and personal attachment. Besides, how can one be quiet with someone in a tent in the middle of a military camp?" he asked.

Applejack rolled her eyes as she removed her Stetson. "Ah didn't want a hear that," she muttered.

"I swear, noise canceling spells only work when nopony knows you actually casted it. It used to keep me awake at night sometimes," Sea Crest continued.

The two stallions started barking in laughter, leaving Applejack as red as her barn doors. Celestia and Luna were still passed out, thankfully. She wondered if they ever had conversations similar to this in her time.

She didn't want to know.

Sea Crest wiped a tear. "Anyway, I'm sure she would be open to the idea. We've both made that clear in the past. Well Doctor, and miss Applejack, thank you for this horrible adventure we've had to endure," he said.

The Doctor chuckled. "All in a day's work," he said.

Sea Crest smiled. "Doctor, one more thing. If you ever need any help, you let us know. The remaining alicorns are forever in your debt for saving the royal bloodline. Stories will be told of this day; stories of heroes from a different time returning to ensure the alicorn race would live on in a new light," he declared.

The two earth ponies agreed. "Thank ya Sea Crest. Ah never would've thought y'all were existin' an such," Applejack said.

Sea Crest laughed. "Honestly Applejack, in your time knowing Celestia and Luna in the future, did you really think they were the only alicorns in existence? That they just popped up out of nowhere and ruled for hundreds or thousands of moons? Who would think that?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow as he eyed the reader. Sea Crest hugged Applejack and the Doctor before flying out of the Everfree Castle, never to return. The alicorn ship, now with a new passenger, began to make it's final ascent before sailing west into parts unknown and for a new home.

Officially, there were now only two alicorns left in existence.

Author's Note:

I got two more chapters, one of them being the epilogue before this story is finally put to rest. I'm sorry to those who actively followed this story and are now bored out of their minds. You know what happens when you make one-shots? People demand sequels and those take forever. This won't become a habit guys, I Pinkie Promise!

Keep Calm and Flutter On, little bronies! /)