Temporal Walker

by AcelJean

(Chapter 5) Lone Wanderer

Lone Wanderer: Chapter 5

(Thunderstorms booming are heard from outside the window)

I hear steps approaching from outside my bedroom. “Daddy? Is that you?” I asked, frightened. My mind was conjuring up images of a monster which could possibly be closing at the very moment. I wasn’t able to stand it, and thus coward under my bedsheets.

“Walker… It’s just me”, my father answered.

A pegasi with grey coat and black mane entered my room. His cutie-mark reflected with the coming of the next thunder. A golden compass. That was his cutie-mark. It was my father. I was crying. My tears were overflowing from fear. “WAHHH!!!” I cried endlessly while being hugged by my father’s hooves.

He had a caring look at me. “Don’t worry, daddy is here… I won’t let anything get inside your room!” He claimed.

I hugged him tighter by the minute, and then I stopped crying. I looked up and rubbed my tears dry.

My father waited until I calmed down before speaking. “Now… What were you thinking about this time?” he asked.

The thought came back to me and then a shoved my face in his belly. “Zombie ponies!” I said, voice muffled.

He giggled at the thought. “How could something ‘stupid’ as a zombie pony, hurt you?” he told me. He went out of my bed and started kicking and punching his hooves all over the place. “Just buck them at right at the muzzle! They’ll run for the hills!” He claimed.

And then I laughed from the expression on his face. I already forgot the feeling of being afraid of zombies. Instead, I was just laughing about it. And I thought to myself ‘how come I got afraid of such stupid things!’ But my father wasn’t always going to be there for me… after all, I’m growing up sooner or later.

Alone again…

Never thought I would feel the same thing I felt when I first started flight camp. No pony of which I knew was there for me. Not even my own mother! But then again, it’s kind of like a boarding school. I can even remember the times where my father was always there for me.

“I feel like I’m being thrown to a different universe every freaking time I time travel!” I told to myself.

I found myself at the edge of a cliff at the ends of Equestria. I know that for a fact because I recognize it from my patrols. Never knew those kind of knowledge would help me at my current situation. Not to mention this is a different time… Now I know I have wings to prevent me from falling off the cliff without warning. But I think being spat out by the portal directly someplace so dangerous, well… let’s just say it caught me off guard.

I looked to my surroundings and thought of an idea to widen my search. “I better go fly back to ponyville”, I said to myself.

And with that, I took off from the ground and hurriedly dashed towards the pleasant little town. It took me about an hour before getting there. Even in my fastest, this place is farther than anything ever reached! To my surprise, I was shocked to see that the town wasn’t there. And that’s when I remembered that this time has a millennium’s difference from the current temporal plain. It was until granny smith arrived here that the town grew and prospered. I never did listen to my history lessons. I even forgot the Wonderbolt’s history! Which I probably read only to get past the written exam needed to become a Wonderbolt.

I scratched my head and took out my map that Time Turner gave me. “Where am I supposed to go now?” I asked, fully unaware that nopony else was near.

And then a voice answered. “How about trying to find the princesses…” it suggested.

I looked around my surroundings and was shocked to find a unicorn hovering inches behind me. He wore a pointed hat with small bells in the sides and a robe which has them too. Yep. You probably guessed it, Starswirl the Bearded.

You probably didn’t anticipate it but, seeing the great unicorn with my own eyes, I couldn’t resist! “(Holy Crap! IT’S STARSWIRL THE FUCKING BEARDED! I bet Twilight wouldn’t believe this!) (Clears throat) Err… what did you say?”

He looked at me closely, examining every aspect he could probably notice. “You are not of this time… are you?” he asked.

Just my luck! Somepony already knows who I am and what I am. Crap! What do I say?! Princess Celestia only remembered me but I didn’t actually mean to reveal her that I was from another time! What the heck do I say in this situation?!

Starswirl giggled, and then looked to me. “Don’t worry. I’m not at all too hyped up to know… You don’t need to answer”, said Starswirl.

Huh?! Wait didn’t he just-? Oh forget it! I should probably just be glad he said that, huh? “Phew!” I sighed in relief. “Let’s cut to the chase. Do you know where they are?” I asked.

He only shook his head in reply. “I apologize, but no. The two princesses are prophesied to be our saviors. But nopony has actually seen them.”

So I’m supposed to find the royal sisters? That could be fun, assuming discord is not in reign that is… Yet. “Do you have any suggestions on where I could find them?” I asked.

“No. But I imagine you can do that part quite easily, right?”

Uhm… tru-truth is, I’m probably tired. And flying all over Equestria will simply drain my energy… so, yeah. I can’t do it without a guide. “No.” And imagine all the trouble of asking! I shouldn’t even say that they’re princesses!

After making that claim, he disappeared out of sight. I saw no flash from a teleportation magic, nor did I felt a sudden change in the wind’s strength. What’s going on here? Am I going crazy or something? As far as I can tell the only pony I saw here was Starswirl… That’s not a good sign, Walker. “Something’s definitely wrong here”, I told to myself. And then, snow started to fall. The clouds were thicker than the usual ones I know back home. It feels as if the weather has its own will! To top it up, this thing wasn’t even here when I got here!

That was the moment that I heard somepony underneath me, down below, screaming and crying out to me. “Hey!” I heard them say. I couldn’t make out the other things they we’re saying but surely I’m supposed to fly down to check, right? So, I immediately glided down. To my surprise, I spotted two beautiful mares shouting and waving at me from a cottage below. They were both earth ponies, yet they looked so… I don’t know how to describe it!

I touched down, flapped my wings and folded them, then turned towards them… Leveling my hooves onto the ground where the two of them are.

“Hello there! My name is Chocolate Cookie, and my friend here is-” she said, introducing herself. “Purity Spring…” The other one added.

It would have been rude to not answer, so I simply replied back with my name. For some stupid reason, I didn’t even remember to fake my name. Should I have done that? Well you should ask professional spies for that! “Temporal Walker, lovely mares…” and then posed as though I am greeting a royalty.

One of them took out a rugged cloak and gave it to me. Although, I can’t remember anymore who it was. “What were you doing flying that close to the clouds in such a storm?” Chocolate Cookie asked.

I wore the rugged cloak for the time being. My wings were practically freezing! “Chocolate Cookie was it? May I simply refer to you as ‘Cookie’?” I asked, simply pointing out the hard to say names.

“Sure!” She answered.

Well that’s a relief! Not too used in addressing the whole name of a pony when taking to them. “I was looking for a creature, namely discord? Do you know him?” I asked.

They looked at me fixed and then held my both my hooves. “Let’s head inside the cabin…” Cookie suggested. And then we took shelter inside.

(Inside)

There was a fireplace in the middle of the cottage. Dozens of round rocks prevents the fire from spreading to any other wood inside. Quite ingenious if you ask me… “Nice cabin”, I commented. It was very homey, not to mention frequently lived. I bet they live here. The place was decorated with books and small flask of potions and a few apparatus for research. In my opinion, they live here for a special reason.

“Thank you very much! This cabin belonged to my cousin, Twinkle Toes. She’s not around at the moment so I live here”, Cookie replied.

That would explain the homey atmosphere I’m feeling. I figured, there were probably 2 to 3 ponies living here together. “You’re welcome…”

The other pony was holding 3 cups of tea in a plate balanced only by her right hoof. Such talent would make for greatness! “So Temporal Walker, Discord you said? Earlier… when we talked outside?” Purity Spring pointed out.

I took one cup from her tray gently as I could. “Yes. Heard of him?” I asked.

She shook her head and laid at the hay bed near the window. “I haven’t heard of the fellow before. But I think I heard a prophecy about it…” She claimed.

WHAT?! “Prophecy?! What is it?!” I asked, ecstatic.

“Not sure. But it does have something to do with Equestria falling into complete chaos.” Cookie explained. Bingo.

Well… that’s definitely Discord no doubt. But, wasn’t I supposed to be brought to a time where discord is already wreaking havoc causing misery to the ponies of Equestria? When exactly is this? I feel like I’ve been played for by that Time Turner again!

I tried changing the subject about a more pressing matter of the moment. My being alone caused me to bring it up. “I have another question really, simple question in fact. Have you seen two unicorns or rather any unicorn that has a lavender coat and the other one snow white?” I pictured out.

For some odd reason, they looked back to each other. Either confused or worried… I couldn’t grasp their expression. “We really haven’t seen any unicorn for quite some time now. You could say, their hold up in their village”, Purity Spring claimed.

Village? Hmm… sounds sketchy. I better check it out for some clues. Oh! I almost forgot! Darn idiot, the princesses! “I plan to check out this village for some clues on my quest but before I go, do you know any alicorns named Celestia and Luna or rather Princess Celestia and Luna?” I told them.

“They’re the first-ever unicorns to be blessed with, not only wings, but also incredibly powerful magic! No pony alive knows where they are”, Cookie claimed.

Dead end. I feel like the two are morons, but we’re in a time before their reign. So I guess I could take the claims to be true. And probably leaves me with nothing but the fact that they’re impossible to locate! Should start searching for the Elements of Harmony if anything else. And I feel like I should keep my trap shut to any strangers about this certain topic.

I sat down the tea cup and stood up. “Thanks anyway, for answering my questions”, I showed my gratitude. “And that leaves me to a dead end”, I murmured. Well, I really can’t help but mop about it!

“Don’t mention it!” she modestly claimed. “Usually, when we meet new ponies, they’re not so filled with questions. Are you by any chance, not from here?” She added.

I shook my head. “I’m not legible to say that right now. But I’ll tell the truth later.” I tried avoiding the question. “Oh! And one last request, if I may?” I told them.

“Oh? Sure… what is it?” Cookie asked.

I took out the map of Equestria that was in my saddle-pack. “Could you show me exactly where the unicorn’s village is? I just wanna know…” I pointed out.

(At a camp near the village)

I built a regular fire near an old vantage point that I saw earlier on the way to the village. I also built a wind breaker under the tower to keep me from getting cold. The walk to the village is quite hard, and frankly, I think my wings had reach their limit. Time to be like daring-do for the time being. What’s more, is that Purity Spring volunteered to take me there in worry. And while I was with her, we had a little chat. Her coat looked an awful lot like lyra, but her hair was azure. As her name points out, her cutie-mark was an underground spring, it looked as pure as her name sounded so. I didn’t want to point out what she looked like exactly, but I just couldn’t help it.

Purity Spring reached out her hoof and spoke to me. “Would you mind passing me another apple?” she asked. And then, I took out another apple from my saddle-pack. I could swear that I’m running out because I already ate 9 pieces. “Save it though, I only have a few left…” I reminded.

And then she lost her appetite. Good work, Walker! You just had to keep your mouth shut! Now she won’t even eat. “It’s okay though… you could eat that one if you’d like!” I reassured. Although I feel it’s too late for that now.

She started eating it anyway, but a little slower. I didn’t notice it, but the topic she talked about next was pretty random from our current state of affairs. “Unicorns aren’t so much cut off a few years ago from the other races. But they’ve focused more in studying ever since the prediction of that one prophecy”, She claimed while eating the apple I gave her.

I wasn’t paying attention so much at the time to her that I almost fell over when she made that simple claim. Of course it’s silly, because we’re only a few feet away from each other. “Really?” I probed.

Apparently, since Discord’s presence was sensed. The unicorns held up in their village for protection and studying. Trying to find out what they can about Discord’s arrival. If you ask me, they should have focused more on finding the princesses.

“Uhm… Purity Spring? About the Princesses, what else do you know of them?” I asked.

She seemed rather disappointed with the answer she gave me then. I could vouch for it because she said, “Nothing but the knowledge you already know.” I knew I would get the same dead end answer, but I think it’s more saddening now then it was before.

“You should get some rest though. We don’t exactly know what will happen tomorrow”, she told me and then tucked up near the fire. No sleeping bags though, she slept like a dog would. I would usually get a stiff neck sleeping like that, so I’ll just lie down, back on the ground. I forgot to notice the weather though. The storm stopped, and it seems it was clearer than transparent, the night sky. I bet Princess Luna would be enjoying the view tonight.

(Next Morning)

I forgot to keep track of time! I’ll estimate it as 1 week and 3 days left, tops… “Oh, I am so dead!”

Since it’s already morning, I went up to the top of the vantage point and looked for the village. Luckily, I spotted it north of our direction. About 3 miles of distance. “I can’t believe we wasted the night sleeping here if we’re so near it!” I told to myself. Time’s a wasting…

“You saw the village?” Purity Spring shouted from below.

I nodded and then flew down. “Looks like we wasted time for nothing…” I told her. She didn’t seem to mind it though. Did she do it on purpose? If so, what? We took our saddle-packs and headed towards the village. The whole place was enclosed within a huge wall, separating anypony on the inside from the outside. If that was deliberate, they’re doing a pretty good job. But to frank, it was the biggest wall I’ve ever seen.

“You haven’t been here before?” Purity Spring asked.

I didn’t notice that she suddenly spoke. It took about 7 seconds before I replied. “Hu-what? Oh… No. Have you?” I replied, stuttering horribly.

She nodded and then turned her gaze towards the village. “Several times. But I never went beyond the walls. Nopony other than unicorns are allowed to enter anymore.” She answered.

Anymore? What does that mean? Were they letting in other ponies before? I think the answer to that is a bit obvious. Speaking of, we saw several pegasi outside the walls. They were standing right in front of the entrance. Practically being bullied or otherwise, bullying the guard. We could hear them complain from a distance.

Purity Spring noticed and then asked herself, “I wonder what is going on there…”

I kept staring at the ponies arguing, practically trying to listen to what they’re saying. “Their probably asking permission to enter. From your claim, they weren’t allowed”, I said to her.

We got nearer and heard the conversation more clearly. A stallion was speaking for the Pegasi who wanted to enter. He was trying so desperately! “We need to see Starswirl immediately! If you want to keep your life, you’ll let us enter!” he said to the guard.

I went closer to see their faces. To tell the truth, the guard didn’t exactly look like a guard. He looked more like a priest to my observation. He had a cross pendant and a weird top hat that didn’t really fit the condition he is in right now. He had a yellow-white coat and short blonde mane like mine. Well… not as ‘short’ as mine. “Starswirl isn’t here, Sir Claymore. Even if he was, you can only get his permission to enter.” The guard pony replied.

The pegasus was already clenching his teeth in anger. And then he had enough, practically flew off like a rocket. The other pegasi followed him and never looked back. “That was a regular bouncer-customer scene right there…” I murmured. We headed to the guard and to my surprise, the mare accompanying me actually knew the pony.

Her expression became a little livelier. “Fireheart blaze, longtime-no-see!” Purity Spring shouted and waved at the unicorn.

The pony was looking at the leaving pegasi and then turned his gaze to us when he heard the mare call out. He examined our faces and as predicted, he knew her too. “Purity Spring? Is that you?!” Fireheart curiously examined. “I missed you so much!” he then ran towards our direction and hugged the mare. Reminds me so much of Snow Angel. I miss the girl… Twilight too.

“What are you doing here? I thought you went to research with Chocolate Cookie near the mountains? Did that get cancelled?” He asked.

She shook her head. “We’re still in working progress. I just stopped by to drop-off my acquaintance here… His name is Temporal Walker”, she told him.

He turned to me and held up his right hoof. “The name is Fireheart Blaze! Dark magic specialist!” he claimed and then I shook his hoof.

Dark magic? That sounds weird. The only ponies fitting the description of using such use of magic is, Discord, Nightmare Moon, and maybe King Sombra… Any than that, probably a magicalholic. “Dark magic?”

He looked at me discreetly. He then saw my wings and said, “Oh! You are a pegasus after all… It’s the use of forbidden magic in the place of normal unicorn magic”, he explained.

That was kind of offending. If only I could tell this guy about my knowledge on magical potions and spells, he’d be surprised! For now, I guess I’ll play along. So, I tried to play dumb. “Oh… That sounds kind of grim though. Are you really allowed to use such magic?” I asked.

He then explained further because of my question. “There are only quite a few chosen to be able to use this type of magic. But enough about that. What are you doing in our humble village?” Fireheart dotted.

What a way to be straight forward… okay, how should I say this? Should I tell the truth? I think no, because that’s what Time Turner told me to do. Or did he told me that? Frankly speaking, I can’t remember. Oh well, prophecy first, I guess. “I’m here to know more about that prophecy of yours… The one where Discord is prophesied?” I asked.

Fireheart blaze’s eyes widened and held me around the neck, practically covering our conversation. “How do you know that name?! Nopony but the dark magic specialist’s and Starswirl knows that!” He asked.

I gave him a grin and answered. “Let’s just say, I’m here for a reason”. “Now, would you let me in?” I inquired. That’s probably going to be a yes.

He poked his horn several times while thinking of what to do. “I shouldn’t, without anypony else’s consent. But because of what you just said, I think I can let it slide”, he told me. He then opened the gate using his levitation, which practically amazed me because it was so big!

Yes! Jackpot! I better be careful though. I don’t know what else might come up whilst I’m here. “Thanks, I guess…” I murmured.

We continued on inside. Purity Spring was also happy to be able enter the premises, especially because she’s never been here before.

Our guide let out a breath and spoke to us discreetly. “A little warning though you two…” Fireheart reminded.

“What is it?” Purity Spring asked.

He then whispered to the both us. “Try to be considerate of the ponies around here. They know every single pony here. So if they see a new one, they might do something weird. That depends on these ponies though, okay?” he explained.

Makes sense. I should probably avoid attraction or anything like so. I wouldn’t want to scare them without any apparent reason. “I’ll keep that in mind”, I told him.

Right after that claim, a lot of ponies were looking at us fixedly. Any suggestions how we can take the eyes of these ponies off us? No? I thought so… “Speaking of which… look around you, Purity Spring”, I told her about the lot looking straight towards us.

“You never let any other pony inside, ever, except us do you?” I asked Fireheart.

He simply nodded. “I don’t think anypony would have any good reason to enter this safe/study zone”, he explained.

We’re pretty lucky to enter then? Anyways. We headed directly to the elder’s house. Fireheart Blazed said something to me earlier about the elder but I didn’t listen. Or maybe I was just too ignorant? My first choice was to head towards the towering castle, a lot taller than the walls we saw earlier. But Fireheart said that would be wasting time. Nopony of such importance is there at the moment. So I went with his suggestion. After all, he knows this place better than we do. I just hope he doesn’t waste more of my time.

“We’re here. Elder Clover’s house”, he claimed.

Clover? Wait a minute… “It isn’t ‘The Clover the Clever’, is it?!” I asked Fireheart.

“Wait a minute, you know her? She’s not exactly widely known you know…” Fireheart asked me.

Ecstatic, I didn’t notice that I was practically making him know that I’m not from here, nor am I from someplace else. “Of course I know her! She is Starswirl’s apprentice!”

“Wait… How do YOU know that?! Whatever… doesn’t matter! We’ll visit her house anyways. I’ll ask there.” Fireheart said.

He knocked on the door. I was anticipating the mare to be as old as granny smith. But it looks like she’s not that far from Twilight. They even look identical! Well… mane style anyway. She had a white coat with streaks of cinnamon mane. Her cutie mark was… well… a clover. 3 leaves, not 4 though. She was wearing a more genuine cloak unlike the one she wore back in the days. I’m probably looking at a version of her which is far more talented and knowledgeable than the one we knew. If Twilight was here, she won’t resist her thoughts flooding out of her mouth! Anyways, back to reality!

“Good Morning, Elder Clover. There are a few ponies who wanted to see you”, Fireheart greeted.

“Good Morning to you as well, Fireheart Blaze”, she greeted. “Who are these ponies of which you speak?” She asked.

He then introduced us both to her. “This pegasus hails by the name of Temporal Walker. And this is my friend, Purity Spring”.

She waved her hoof at us and went towards me and shook my hooves. “I’m Clover the Clever, the Elder of this village. Please feel free to address me as Clover. The ponies around here are too used in seeing me as their superior so they also got used in calling me Elder! I really don’t like the calling very much”, she told me.

“Please call me Walker, Clover. I have to cut to the chase, I don’t have much time left. Do you know anything about the Elements of Harmony and where to find them?” I asked.

Her expression just changed dramatically from cheerful to serious. “Come inside please”, she insisted.

Due to the topic being very… Important, we continued our conversation inside. Sadly, Purity Spring was forced to stay outside by her own friend, village rules I guess.

(Inside Clover’s house)

“I have records that they can be found in cave. Embedded in a tree called, The Tree of Harmony…” Clover claimed.

The wha-? “Tree of Harmony?” I repeated.

“THE Tree of Harmony!” She clarified. Okay, I think I get it.

I took the book that had record of the information and held it in my hooves. I looked into the information myself and found out that she was telling the truth. “No use looking into those books, Walker. If you don’t believe me, you shouldn’t believe them either”, she told me.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“I wrote and recorded them myself…” She claimed.

Oh. That would make sense. “But I thought it had always been in Princess Celestia’s care?”

“Nothing is without origin, Walker. I also wrote a book about it if you’re interested?” Clover reminded.

“No thanks!” I declined. I think I get the idea, if anything else that is.

Fireheart Blaze then stepped forward to remind Clover the clever about a certain something. “Elder Clover. Are you not going to ask Temporal Walker of his knowledge about all this?” He asked.

“No need. I already know he’s not of this time”, she answered.

“Huh?!” Fireheart was confused.
“Huh?!” I gasped.

Although we spouted the same words with the same letters. Fireheart and I had different expressions. “What are you talking about, Elder?” He asked.

She took out one scroll from the shelf beside him and made him read it. “The one thing you need to know, Fireheart Blaze. Is that when my mentor created that spell, he anticipated ponies from other time to come and visit us for a purpose.” She told him.

Wait. She already knew that I was a time traveler? Or rather… traveled through time? That explains why Starswirl knew my identity. “So, you already know?” I asked.

“No other pony of this time knows so many things about some of our very secluded secrets. All the ponies that knew this information has a very tight muzzle, Walker…” She claimed.

I knew I should have been more careful about my words! I could have changed the future more than change it back to its original state! Good work, Walker! Keep this up, and you won’t even get born.

“I’m sorry, I should have watched what I said more”, I apologized.

“On the contrary, I think you might be able to help us”, she said.

I’m not sure if what I heard was good or bad. Because I feel more surge of the bad than the good right now. “Help? What do you need help with?” I asked.

“We recently received news of a dracconiquis terrorizing the farther villages in the edge of Equestria. We believe this is the creature mentioned in the prophecy. He hails by the name of…”

“Discord”, she said.
“Discord”, I said.

She grinned. “Seems like you already know its name. Can you help us with this?” She asked.

I hate to say no, but I absolutely have no time for such ludicrous request! Or maybe not so stupid, but I still have no time! What should I say? If the two were here, they might help me decide. I never noticed it until now, but those two seem to give me some sort of will to go on. Ugh! No time to think about that!

“I’m sorry. But I need to find the Elements of Harmony first! After that, I need the Princesses to deal with Discord himself! Just as it should be!” I regrettably told to her. I just noticed now really, I accidently told them what the future should be. I hope it doesn’t affect anything.

She went near me and held my shoulder. “We still don’t know where it is. But if you could help us with Discord, we might find a way to look for the Elements that much faster! All I ask is that you buy us sometime… Try to stop him from causing destruction, okay?”

I really can’t say ‘no’ to such an offer. But even if I solve that problem… “What about Princess Celestia and Luna?” I asked them.

The two looked at each other. Practically telling me, “We still don’t where or what they look like. But we’ll try our best to look for them too”, Fireheart answered.

It’s good to have a little help, especially without Angel and Twilight around. I hope they’re okay though. “Alright. I’ll stop Discord!” I told them.

(3 hours later)

After making preparations, I was ready to fly over to hoofington pronto! It was the last known village that was played for by Discord. Gee, this makes me feel like a knight! I feel like a warrior ready to battle a pony eating dragon. Literally!

“Are you sure you can do it alone?” Purity Spring asked.

I flew down towards her. “Don’t worry! I’m only going to check it out. I don’t need to beat the guy, Purity Spring. I think you’re worrying too much”, I told her.

“That’s actually how she is to everypony she knows which goes to life threatening situations”, Fireheart blaze told me.

I guess her name fits her personality. Caring and pure, like… uhm… Angel? Should I be saying that? I not exactly sure about that little claim. “Well, I guess I should be taking off”, I told her.

I fluttered up while she waved me goodbye. “Try not to sprain your wings! It’s not looking too good, Walker!” She reminded and then I took off.

The weather was a bit cloudy. And the sun wasn’t the hottest either. It felt as good as it could possibly above the ground. It felt good to be riding the fresh air again!

(An hour later)

I managed to get to where Discord was wreaking havoc. A growing village called hoofington. Though I suppose now it’s literally growing. Discord turned half of the houses upside down and made them grow like a plant. Let’s say… about 3 times bigger than Clover’s house.

I went nearer but not too near he’d notice my presence. I suppose it was too late for that. “Somepony’s already distorted! I haven’t even used my magic at the fellow”, Discord told to himself and the searched his surroundings.

Distorted? Does he mean me not being supposed to exist in this time?

He finally spotted me, hovering above him from about half a mile. “There he is! You there, little pegasus pony!” He called out to me. “Can you come down here?” He requested.

Wait. Am I really that stupid to just go down there and listen to whatever this moron has to say? Of course not! But apparently, I ended up doing so anyway… Craptard!

I fluttered down towards him and asked. “What do you want?”

He hovered his claws and paws right in front of me. “Let me examine you for just a few seconds. I promise I won’t do anything bad to you!” He claimed in a mocking voiced.

I don’t even know why I trusted this guy, but it sure as hell was not a good idea! “You’re from a different time! And from that time, you’re not even meant to exist!” He told me. “Are you here to stop me from doing something very bad?” He asked.

“Yes. That’s a tad bit obvious, isn’t it?” I clarified in an expressionless face.

What did he meant by ‘not meant to exist’? Could it be that my very own existence will never occur in this current future?! If that’s the case, I should probably be quick to dispose of this joker and King Sombra!

Discord was shaking his head. “What are you think inside that small head of yours?” He asked himself.

I looked at him fiercely, trying to be cautious. Can he read my thoughts? If that’s the case, I’m not the pony that’s supposed to be here! “I was simply wondering, what do you hope to achieve in changing the way the world works?” I answered.

He was surprised to get an answer. After all, he did asked that rhetorically. “Oh! I wasn’t talking to you… But to answer that question…” I then saw a flash of light and a sound of some small explosion, and then he teleported behind. “-I need give you some history lesson!” He added.

He then started explaining his intentions. You would not believe what he answered, but it was predictable… “Every recording in history, there was a villain or rather, an evil that a hero would battle to achieve glory, honor, and all those things. But if there’s no villain, there would be no hero!” He answered. Predictable. “And then I thought, ‘Discord, you’re talented in magic and evil! Why not assume the role of history’s new villain?’ and that’s where I answered, ‘I will!’”. He added.

I cleared my thoughts and tried to process the idea of that ridiculous reason! “You try to wreak havoc to an entire kingdom, with reason like that?! You’re more screwed-up than I thought you were!” I commented.

“You’ve only seen the first stage, my little pony!” He clicked his fingers and with a flash of light that came from my rear, my wings vanished while I was hovering in front of him without a trace. As a result, I crashed to the ground. It was only a few feet above the ground, but I sprained myself from the fall. I was shocked in the moment that I realized my wings had vanished!

I clenched teeth and hardened my hoof. “DISCORD! Give me back my wings!” I cried out.

He giggled in front of me while he was standing like he hasn’t moved an inch. “Oh of course I’ll give them back! But first, we’re gonna play a little game!” He claimed. Discord! “Try to get back to the unicorn’s village without using your wings. If you get there in time, your wings are as good as yours!” He explained. “Are you game? Because you have no choice… But if you fail, I’ll change your whole personality and reason to be!” He added. And then made a strong maniacal laugh.

“Damn those rules!” I told him, and then pulled out the special potion I had hidden in my saddlebag. “I’m gonna change them with this!” I showed to him.

He examined the potion from a far. “Oh! What have you got there? Are you going to defeat me with that? I’m afraid it won’t work.”

I scoffed at him. “That’s where you’re wrong. It’s not a splash potion of some kind of element that damages you instantly, it’s an altering potion!” I told him, the look on his face was priceless!

“Altering potion?” he repeated while I drank the potion.

I felt like time stopped within my own soul. The surged of power ran into my whole body. My entire being was changing from the outside, as well as the inside. Thunder rushed into my veins and struck my very heart. The pulse within was so great, that I could feel it without touching my own chest! From dust and with dust, a horn forged itself within my forehead within seconds and…

(Boom!)

I accidently created an explosion from out of nowhere! I stood up, trying to control the overwhelming power of the berserk horn. Now, I’m a unicorn! The very same being Snow Angel is! The very same race that I had lived with all this time and tried to blend with. The very same reason magic can be synthesized!

The look on Discord’s face says it all, he was amazed, awestruck, and afraid… He knew that a newly born foal will bring overwhelming magic with them from the moment they existed. He knew that I was the same, because I just got these horns! “What’s the matter, Discord? Cat got your tongue?” I mocked.

He simply giggled at me. I was several meters away from him because of the explosion a few moments ago that I created. The horn I was giving was sparkling and cracking. It was literally surging with energy! Giving of too much of what it’s supposed to. I guess this is the reason it doesn’t last very long either. “I wasn’t expecting you to do something only I can do whenever I please. It really caught me by surprised.” He said.

Without warning, I felt a flash of light within me. My horn went berserk and teleported me without warning. The next thing I knew, I was swimming within an endless sea of infinite light.

(An hour later)

I was still dazed from the sudden surged of power. When I came to, I was already outside of the unicorn village. My wings came back too! But my horn’s time limit had reached its end. With that drastic change in power, no wonder the potion had reached its limit so quickly! If I don’t learn to lessen the magic pouring out inside me, I won’t be able to use the special potion to its true potential! With that thinking ended in a feeling of wallowing with power residues, I decided to head towards the village. As weird as it may sound, I have to say it. Discord acts so much like Time Turner.

I looked to my saddlebags, practically wanting more of that potion now. It felt like a drug to me, but it was incredible! Although, I had to control myself. “Next time, potion. Next time…”

I trotted towards the gate and saw the elder, Clover, standing right outside it. I continued running towards her. She was standing with 4 other unicorns all wearing a pendant that resembles the one Fireheart Blazed had. I reported in, but was already out of breath from running. “Clover! I found Discord!” I told her.

She nodded in joy. “Hopefully you bought us enough time find the Elements of Harmony.” She claimed. And then, she gave me a small smile. “We found The Tree of Harmony’s whereabouts inside a cave in the Everfree Forest!” She added in her statement.

That’s just good news! Something I was practically waiting for ever since I came here in the first place. But apparently, my celebration was interrupted with silence. Their faces tells me that there’s a problem. So I turned to Clover and asked. “So what’s the problem then?”

Elder Clover was simply muttering to herself. “There is a little problem. Only chosen ponies are allowed inside the cave… Which means none of us could get it for you”, she told me. Nuts… Just what I needed. Some kind of barrier to hold us off.

I practically clenched my hoof and stomped it in the ground. “How can we get there then?! Equestria’s in danger and Discord is only doing this for his own amusement!” I shouted at Clover.

Elder Clover kept a calm personality. “Please calm down, Walker. We suspect that the only ones who can enter the place, is either you or the alicorn princesses”, She claimed.

Me? I thought to myself the possibilities, then immediately got back to her. “Me?” I repeated. “Why would you think I could control the elements?” I asked her. And then I pointed out myself. It’s pretty obvious that the reason I’m here is to change history. But I’m not a pony which would fit such a role! If only Twilight were here, she could enter and use the elements herself! Of course counting the fact that she can only use it when her friends are with her, would mean that they have to tag along with us too. Not a vacation really…

While I was denying the possibility of me being an important character in this history, Clover had already answered my question. “Because you’re the only one which coincidently, knows a lot about these things!” She explained.

That would make more sense. But I really doubt it!

“Oh! I completely forgot!” Clover said to herself. “I received a message for you, Walker”, she told me. A message? Who could it be from?

(Inside the village, at the Elder’s house)

“Walker…

By now, you’ve probably located the elements of harmony. That’s good! As for my instructions. I have a list down this letter that pertains to you current crisis. Some do’s and don’ts. Remember to do this correctly or there will be consequences! Also… Don’t trust me when you see me during your time travel…

-Time Turner”

The first don’ts in Time Turners list was to never fight Discord. Too late for that… Although I suppose he meant was ‘try not to beat him’. But I guess ‘not fighting him’ has the same meaning too. The first do’s was to find Clover the Clever. Did he really just made this now? Because if he gave this letter to Clover the Clever herself, then he wouldn’t need to write that one that! “Second don’ts. Okay…” don’t bring Twilight sparkle anywhere near the tree of harmony. Nor tell her anything about this information. That one was completely useless though! Twilight’s not even with me. If she could, I’d be grateful!

I scratched most of the list after a couple of minutes. Everything in here was either done already or accidently done without any consent. But before I threw the letter because of useless reminders. I found a very eye catching reminder. I remember because I said it out aloud. “10th do’s… retrieve the elements only by yourself. 10th don’ts… don’t try and find the princesses, they’ll find a way to you”, I read. I guess this is like a… clue to what I’m supposed to do next. Thanks for that info, cousin…

“I need to get the elements myself…” I turned to Fireheart Blaze.

He was busy reading the reports and obviously organizing them. So he couldn’t take his eyes off his work until I made that comment. “Huh?! But I thought you said you can’t access them either?!” He clarified.

I picked up Time Turner’s letter and slid it to my saddlebags. “A certain something caught my attention. And I guess it motivated me…” I told to him. After that, I walked out of the establishment.

Surprised by what was waiting outside, I got caught off guard. Elder Clover was already there waiting for me to leave. “Leave the princesses to us. We’ll send scouts around to search for them, while you get the elements”, She simply said.

Apparently, she already read the letter given to me by Time Turner before I could have even read it myself. Not very trustworthy don’t you think?

Anyway… I simply nodded and went along with the plan. And then took off like light. I barely remember the feeling of losing my wings. I sensed something weird though. It was nothing like the air that I flew on before. The atmosphere felt the same as it did in Discord’s presence. But… If that’s the case, then-

Out of nowhere, I heard a maniacal laugh. If you knew what happened next, you’d be very confused on what you felt about me. Do you blame me for it or not? Because what happened was, I practically led Discord to the village. I knew I shouldn’t have play that game! Let alone go back here without finishing it first.

He turned to my direction and spoke. “That was absolutely funny! I can’t believe you actually went back!” and then he kept laughing. Discord!

And then, the weirdest thing happened. I know… Can anything else top up Discord?! He’s the master of chaos! Somepony weird whispered to my ears. “I’m sorry, Walker. You can’t confront him the way you are”, I mare whispered from the back of my ears.

Before I could even turn around and look, she already knocked me out cold by hitting me in the head with her bare-hoof! As if there wasn’t enough problem! I had to be taken away from my quest too.

(After Discord’s assault)

I woke up feeling woozy, at a rolled bed near a fire. It was obvious that whoever took me away, was somepony from the future. Time Turner? No. He did say not to trust him during my time travels. I guess that goes without saying.

Now, for the matter. There were 4 other beds spread out near the fire. Two of them were made of hay and some leaves. 2 others were like my bed. It’s safe to assume that the ponies who took me was-

“Oh… You’re awake, Walker!” A familiar voice greeted. A white coated unicorn hovered above my head as I lie facing the side at my bed. Snow Angel… I should have known. And if she’s here, Twilight is also present! But where in Equestria is she?!

I stood up, still feeling wobbly from sleep. I then turned to Angel and wrapped my hooves around her neck. I missed her so much that I couldn’t help but give her a simple hug. “Please let it slide for the moment, Angel”, I requested to her. Even though they knocked me out cold again, I’m really thankful they’re unharmed and was able to get here safely.

She gave a soft giggled from the back of my ears. “Take your time…” She whispered softly.

And so I did. It took me about a minute before I detached myself from her. I didn’t notice but my tears were showing, flowing out of me. It reminded me of my father. He was always there for me when I needed him. When I was a foal anyway… But I guess such things still leaves a feeling in your heart.

To be continued…
End of Chapter 5