• Published 29th Jan 2018
  • 1,997 Views, 58 Comments

History Reimagined - Pun System



A few months prior, Starlight Glimmer drank a potion which showed the tragic demise of one of the worlds she affected when she sabotoged the first Rainboom. Now, she must undo the damage she's caused before it can get any worse.

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Ch. 2: Intel and Inquisition

The corridors resounded with the sound of “click, click, click, clunk, click, click, click, clunk” as Rainbow Dash walked down the hall. The metallic clunk was produced each time Rainbow’s right hind leg contacted the floor. This leg was unlike the other three; in place of muscle, it had hydraulics. In place of bones, it had steel rods. In place of skin, it had a metal casing. In place of fur, it had rough brown fabric which stopped just high of the “hoof”—a replaceable piece of metal approximately the shape of an actual hoof. Just below the knee, the fabric stopped and Rainbow’s fur began. The seam had long since been sealed. An entire team of Equestrian experts from many fields of study had lent their talents towards patching up the General. The fruit of their labor was the highest quality magio-cybernetic anywhere in Equestria.

The leg had been created specially for Rainbow Dash. It was hers, and it was her. It was strong and powerful, but it wasn’t supposed to be in this place where it now found itself. Nevertheless, it was doing the job that was required of it. Its materials had been molded and sculpted by the ponies around it into a fine-tuned piece of machinery. Now, it was a specialist. It had a specific task that it performed with proficiency, and it carried out this task with whatever level of strength, efficiency, and speed was required of it.

Today, Rainbow was not behind a strategic map, nor was she in the skies or on the battlefield. Today, she was paying a visit to the Manehattan jail. A suspect of note, she had been told, had just been captured. This suspect had been acting suspiciously and had claimed to have connections to Rainbow. Yet her story was, as the messenger had said it, “scrambled.” As of yet, there were far more questions than answers. Beyond the next door, Rainbow would have her answers. Then, she could return to the fight.

Rainbow opened the door to a small room adjacent to one of the jail’s holding cells. “Attention! Officer on deck!” called a soldier.

“At ease,” Rainbow called. She approached the room’s central table and addressed the mare behind it. “What’ve we got?”

“Suspect was going to be issued a warning at a checkpoint for being unpainted when the checkpoint guards found this,” she said. She passed Rainbow an unusual-looking ID card which apparently belonged to one Starlight Glimmer. “As you can see, this ID has the seal of Princess Celestia, but its issue date is after the Princess’s death. There are also several other abnormal design features, and not nearly enough security features. After the checkpoint guards discovered the false ID, the suspect was painted, which caused her to glow.”

“Glow?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Rainbow put a hoof to her chin. Glowing was not on the usual list of side effects of the changeling paint. “Are Chrysalis’s changelings learning to fight the paint?”

“We don’t know, ma’am. That’s why we called in an expert, Changeling Inquisitor Zecora,” she said, pointing across the room. Rainbow turned to see the zebra sitting in a chair on the other side of the room.

The guard continued. “After the suspect was painted, she exited her cab and resisted arrest on hoof for several blocks before she was neutralized by police,” she said as she pulled a slip of paper with the suspect’s charges on it out of a file folder.

Rainbow thoughtfully examined the paper for a few moments. “And she claims to know me?”

“Yes, ma’am. Once she regained consciousness, she asked again to see you. She mentioned a few other names as well, including Zecora, Pinkie Pie, Big Macintosh, and Shining Armor. We found in her saddlebags some basic survival equipment and some sort of notebook. She’s been sending the notebook back and forth to Twilight Sparkle, and she used it to ask how she might convince us that she’s not a changeling. Additionally, she is under the impression that Twilight Sparkle is a princess and her mentor. Oddly enough, from the reply on the next page, Twilight seems more than willing to play along. We’ve sent for her as well. So far, no word from anypony except Zecora and you.”

“Is Twilight working with Chrysalis? She seems content just to sit in on our meetings with her brother and give us advice—” Rainbow paused and gave Zecora a horrified stare. “When we first met her, she had her bear attack me, and now this; it all fits together too well!” Zecora raised a hoof to her chin as Rainbow turned back to the mare behind the desk. “Get Twilight in here as soon as you can. Send an Inquisition Squad in riot gear to subdue her and bring her back for interrogation.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The mare’s aide took her place while she left the room to deliver her message.

Rainbow walked over to a one-way window which looked into the adjacent holding cell. “Is that ‘Starlight Glimmer’ as she calls herself? This ‘friend’ of mine?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said the aide.

Rainbow shook her head as she stared at the shackled mare with the iron band on her horn as she lay with her head resting on her hooves. Her chest and front legs were covered in cuts and bandages, and her hair was dirty and unkempt. “Horse feathers. I've never seen her before.”

“Yet somehow that pony we’ve captured knows you
And many additional officers, too,” said Zecora.

“Yeah. I think it’s time we found out who she is and how she knows so much about us.”

Zecora nodded her approval, and the pair left the room. They walked out and around to the door on the far side of the holding cell. The guards saluted and opened the door for the pair. The door creaked open as Rainbow Dash walked in.

“Why have you come to Manehattan, changeling?” Rainbow demanded.

Starlight paused, looking up into the face of her accuser. “I’m not a changeling,” she stated. “I’m here to fix your world.”

Rainbow snorted as Zecora slipped something into her saddlebags and closed the door. “All the evidence points to you being a changeling,” Rainbow began. “Why did you resist arrest?”

“I—I don’t know. I guess I just panicked.”

“So Twilight Sparkle is your friend?” Zecora asked.

“Yes. She—”

“You called her ‘Princess’ at the end.”

“At the end?”

“We found your little book you were sending back and forth.”

“Oh, my journal.” Starlight sighed. “I guess I’ve got some explaining to do.”

“Got that right. Now spill,” said Rainbow Dash.

“It all started back in my world, not here in yours. I really had it out for this pony named Twilight Sparkle. I lost a friend when I was little because he got his cutie mark before I did and moved away, so I tried to make sure that wouldn’t happen to anypony else by—stealing their cutie marks.”

“What!?” shouted Rainbow Dash.

“I know! I know! It was wrong of me to do that. It’s definitely not my proudest moment.”

“No, not that! What you’re saying doesn’t even make sense! Stealing cutie marks, other worlds, losing a friend…”

“I’m sorry. You wanted me to explain. I’m explaining. It’ll make more sense when I’m done.”

“Perhaps, Starlight, you could elect
To speak in manner more direct.”

“Right. After my cutie mark-stealing incident, Twilight Sparkle came along and undid everything I worked so hard to build. I was so angry I—I tried to sabotage your first Sonic Rainboom so that Twilight and her friends would never form their special cutie mark connection. And, well, it worked. Several times, actually. This timeline is one of the results.”

“Woah, woah, woah, woah. My Rainboom and our cutie mark connection?” Starlight nodded. “You mean me, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity? Yeah, you didn’t sabotage that. I was there when it happened.”

“But I did. It was supposed to happen earlier and affect Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy as well.”

Rainbow raised a hoof and leaned forward as her wings unfolded behind her. “You knew Fluttershy? But—How?—She—You aren’t even a pegasus!”

“She’s one of my friends back home.”

Rainbow scowled. “That's not funny. Fluttershy died when we were just fillies. You were not friends with her!”

“I know. She died the same day you got stuck in that purple crystal, didn’t she?”

Curiosity fought with suspicion for control of Rainbow’s words. “I—I mean it could have been. It was that same night when she first went miss—Listen. I’m the one asking the questions here. How do you know so much about me and Fluttershy?”

“Because… I was the one who put you in that crystal. You were supposed to fly over and see Fluttershy getting bullied, then challenge the bullies to a race and do a Sonic Rainboom a week earlier than you actually did. And… Fluttershy wasn’t supposed to die.”

In an instant, Rainbow Dash picked up Starlight and slammed her against the far wall. She lowered her voice and put her face just a few inches away from Starlight’s. “Let’s pretend I don't dismiss that story for the load of horse feathers it is. Let's pretend I decide to believe what you’re saying. Are you ready to face the consequences of that story being true?”

Starlight gulped. “Y—yes.”

Rainbow put a hoof over Starlight’s throat. “If that’s all true, then you’re the mother-preening pony who killed Fluttershy!”

“I know.—And I’m—sorry.”

“‘Sorry’ won’t bring my friend back from the dead!”

“In my world—she’s—alive! And there’s—no war, either!” Starlight choked out.

“How?”

“Twilight Sparkle—almost became Celestia’s student—in your world.—She could have stopped the war—before it started.”

Rainbow tightened her grip. “Do you have any idea how many ponies have died in this war? Are you telling me that their deaths were bucking preventable?” Starlight's hind legs kicked the air as she strained against Rainbow’s grip with her shackled forelegs. “Well, do you?”

“Rain—*gasp*—Rainbow Dash!” Starlight whimpered.

“Rainbow!
Let go!” Zecora ordered.

Rainbow briefly pressed her hoof harder before dropping Starlight to the floor. She coughed and gasped on the floor as Rainbow flew away. “And that’s General Rainbow Dash to you, ya mother-preening changeling.”

“I—I’m sorry!” Starlight gasped. “I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry! For Fluttershy—for your friends—for everything! That’s why I came back. I—I just want your world—to be free again!”

Zecora dipped her right front hoof into a jar of green paint and began walking towards Starlight on three legs.

“When this green salve on your coat becomes warm,
It will reveal unto us your true form,” she said as she stretched forth a green hoof dripping with changeling potion.

“I know.” Starlight didn’t even wait for the mare's hoof to reach her face, but sat up on her haunches and grabbed Zecora’s hoof with both of her own. Zecora drew back while Starlight rubbed the paint on her hooves. A look of shock crossed Zecora's face in two distinct waves.

“My changeling salve you do not fear!
How is it that you—Oh dear!”

Exactly as the mare in the other room had described, Starlight’s body began to glow.

“See?” Rainbow blurted. “Just like we thought! The Green Changelings are learning to fight the potion! She’s glowing, but she didn’t revert to her base form!”

“I didn’t revert to a changeling form because I’m not a changeling!” Starlight said. “This world is my doing, and the pony I wronged when I lashed out against her sent me back here so I could repair the damage I’ve done. You have to let me do this.” Rainbow Dash and Zecora exchanged glances. Starlight put her forelegs out in front of her and looked up at her captors. “Please,” she pleaded. “I just want a second chance.”

Zecora placed the jar of changeling potion in her saddlebags and drew out a ring of keys. After singling out one of the keys and putting it in her mouth, she lowered her head to Starlight’s shackled, painted hooves and placed the key in the lock. With a twist of her neck, Starlight’s shackles fell to the ground.

Both Starlight and Rainbow Dash looked at Zecora in disbelief. Zecora smiled down at the prisoner and extended a hoof. Starlight hesitated a moment, then accepted.

“Zecora, what are you doing?” blurted Rainbow.

"The changeling salve did not act right.
It should not make her coat glow bright!
A changeling this one may not be;
There’s more to her than we can see.”

“Thank you,” Starlight offered. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t ready for you to accept me so quickly. Especially not after waking up here only to be Mareandized and interrogated.”

“Can we talk about this outside?” asked Rainbow.

Zecora knocked on the door to the holding cell, and a guard outside opened it. Starlight sat down as Rainbow held the door open and glared at her. “Not all of us are quite as enthusiastic about your arrival as Zecora is.” She flew out of the holding cell and kicked the door shut with her metal hoof. The kick was strong, and the sound of metal on reinforced metal echoed throughout the corridor. “What in Tartarus were you doing in there, Zecora!”

Zecora calmly began as the mares began walking down the hallway. “The shackles go; the horn ring stays.
In house arrest she’ll spend more days.”

“House arrest? This pony is a threat to society! She’s a suspected changeling accused of magical assault of a soldier, resisting arrest, and forgery! She should be getting a life sentence! Or worse!”

“She’s in the system; that is true.
But what’s this ‘changeling’ here to do?”

“Her story—I don't know. You actually believe it?”

“If even Blue Changelings will aid in our fight,
Then what of this pony whose coat does glow bright?”

Rainbow shook her head. “You really do want to trust her. Why?”

Zecora halted abruptly, stomping her hooves. “Tell me, oh General, if it be true:
When did the expert of salves become you?”

Rainbow stopped and turned towards the zebra. “Listen. I mean no offense to your knowledge of changeling paint or salve or whatever, but I know a fishy story when I hear one. I’m Bon Bon Zero’s best friend; I’ve heard stories about undercover Green Changelings getting caught before.”

“If you don't trust her, then that’s up to you.
I have some research on potions to do.
Perhaps this new glow is some strange side effect.
If we are lucky, then I'll be correct.” Zecora turned and began walking the opposite direction down the hallway. Rainbow stood sideways in the hallway, one hoof in the air as she watched Zecora leaving.

“Well fine!” she shouted back. “But make sure there’s somepony to replace you at the paint factory when you go missing! And make sure whoever it is can recognize when the stuff has been tampered with!” With a snort, Rainbow began walking the opposite direction as Zecora.


Rarity could still hear the alarm bells ringing, signaling a breakout in the crystal dungeons. From her hiding place behind some bushes, she watched a trio of crystal soldiers gallop by. After they rounded a corner and turned towards the Crystal Spire, Rarity rose and began galloping in the opposite direction—towards the Crystal Gate. The dungeon was behind her; freedom was ahead of her.

Rarity rounded another corner, and the gate came into view. But so did its guards. She skidded to a stop and dove behind a nearby crate, hoping they hadn't seen her. Rarity's heart raced as she heard hoofsteps approaching. She looked around, and found a sizable rock on the ground. She waited a few more seconds and held her breath.

Then, the hoofsteps stopped. For a second, Rarity almost dared to breathe. Then, the crate shattered, smashed by a buck from one of the soldiers. Its contents—which turned out to be crossbow bolts—pelted Rarity along with splinters from the crate.

Rarity gasped and rose to her hooves. “What were you doing in a restricted area?” a crystal stallion bellowed. Rarity lit her horn. “Hold on. I know you. You're—” Too late. A rock the size of his head smacked against his chestplate, knocking the wind out of him. The other two guards charged forward, but Rarity levitated some of the crossbow bolts and flung them at their legs. With the guards neutralized, Rarity made for the gate.

She galloped through the gate and out of the Crystal Empire proper. The road ahead was going to be a long one, and a cold one for sure. Already, the grass was giving way to ice and snow. Rarity was thankful she had escaped at evening rather than at midday. The snow’s reflection might have been blinding then.

It was almost too good to be true. The conditions were perfect for her escape. Perhaps she had been assisted in her escape. Surely no guard would be so clumsy as to leave the key sitting right there in the lock. Were the Blue Changelings operating in the Crystal Empire? The thought was certainly an encouraging one, lifting her spirits and giving her hope.

It soon became apparent, however, that there was a significant difference between a mare who could maintain her figure and a mare who was physically in shape. Though Rarity had been very careful to meet the first condition, she had never seen a need to meet the second. She galloped as far as she could before slowing to a stop to catch her breath. The weary mare toppled over towards one side before rolling onto her back. She tucked in her hind legs and spread out her front legs on either side as she gasped for air.

When she turned her head to one side she noticed that her coat matched the snow she was lying in almost perfectly. “Why—I’m practically—camouflaged!” she exclaimed. She would have to tuck her tail underneath her and bury her mane into the snow, but if need be, she could make herself all but invisible to her would-be captors. She laughed to herself as her breaths became more controlled.

Suddenly, the ground beneath her rumbled. The tremors quickly intensified, prompting her to roll back onto her hooves. She steadied herself and lifted her head just in time to see a massive black crystal with just a hint of red erupt from the ground. Well, no, not exactly red; more crimson, really. Perhaps a few shades closer to burgundy than the color described by the word “crimson.” Within a few moments, the color-identifying instincts that she never quite found a proper use for were dominated by the terrifying prospect of her recapture. She took a few tentative steps backwards from the giant crystal.

No! I need to be going away from the Crystal Empire, not towards it! she reminded herself a second later. She turned and made an arc around the crystal, keeping the Empire behind her. Suddenly, a very large shadow crossed her path. She looked up to find herself in the shadow of a large black cloud.

“Crystal Trap!” King Sombra called from out of the cloud. Suddenly, the snow in front of her flashed with light, and a large sky-blue circle appeared on the ground. Rarity tried to avoid it, but couldn’t turn fast enough. She leapt when she reached the leading edge, only to land within the circle, still several strides from the far side. A moment after touching down, a ring of dark black crystals rose out of the ground along the perimeter of the trap. Rarity locked her knees and turned her head sideways, anticipating contact with the curved surface of the inner wall. Her right shoulder took the brunt of the hit, and she stumbled onto one knee.

“Into the ring with her!” Sombra said. Rarity watched as half the black cloud descended into a swirling mass opposite the circle from her. With a flash of green light, Trixie appeared, clothed in a black hooded cloak.

Rarity rose up off her knee and onto her hoof, triggering a sharp pain in her shoulder. She turned her painful shoulder away from Trixie and rolled it around a few times before attempting to walk. Trixie also began walking, and the two began circling within the ring. Every time Rarity put weight on her bad shoulder, she felt the front half of her body drop just a bit. Trixie smirked as she watched Rarity limp around the perimeter of the ring.

“Trixie, please, show mercy,” Rarity begged.

“The Dark and Malevolent Trixie is impressed by your escape. But it is now your turn to be impressed by all that Trixie has learned!”

“Root her,” Sombra instructed. Trixie fired a blast of Dark Magic at Rarity’s left front hoof, pinning it to the ground. Rarity pulled at it, but failed to free herself. She watched in horror as the crystal began to grow, creeping up her leg. She placed her right front hoof under her other front knee and began to pull, but this too was fruitless.

“Disable her.” Trixie’s horn and eyes glowed as she sent forth two black ethereal tendrils. The tendrils were aimed quite high, almost above her head. Rarity ducked her head as they closed in around her. The tendrils also dove, appearing to track the motion of her head. At the last second, Rarity thrashed her head upwards, but the Dark Magic reacted and engulfed her head. Within seconds, Rarity felt her horn go numb. She reached up for it as the Dark Magic receded. She felt not a smooth and spiraled surface, but a rough and jagged one as if her horn were covered in small crystalline objects.

“You should never have tried to escape,” Trixie scolded.

“Please,” Rarity begged bowing with her left front knee, “forgive me.”

“Finish with her however you please,” Sombra said.

“Don’t kill me!” Rarity blurted. “Or—at least don’t make it hurt too much.”

Trixie’s smirk became a full-fledged grin as she slowly walked towards Rarity. It appeared as if she was savoring every moment of her victim’s terror.

Rarity began to wonder if her previous pleas had not been enough. She dropped her head to the ground and frantically tried again. “Oh, Dark and Malevolent Trixie, High Acolyte of King Sombra, please spare me, I beg of you!” As Trixie drew ever nearer, Rarity became aware of a terribly strong dark presence which seemed to dominate her every emotion, save fear, which it amplified a hundred times. She felt a magical grip on her chin, then felt Trixie tilt her head upwards.

Gone was Trixie’s smile. In its place was a scowl which made Rarity’s blood run like ice. With her chin held high, Trixie looked down at Rarity as a confirmation of her authority and power. She bared her teeth and inhaled before letting loose a thundering roar. Rarity felt her willpower buckle from the intensity of her fear. She tried to scream, but could find neither voice nor breath. She tried to stand, but found herself weak. She tried to stay awake, but felt the darkness take her.


General Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, sat at the head of a conference table. Along the left side sat the former agent Sweetie Drops, Minister of Propaganda and Element of Honesty; a vacant seat reserved for Inquisitor Zecora; Majors Limestone Pie and Pinkamena Pie, joint commanders of Ursa Company; and another empty seat. On the table in front of the last empty seat rested the Element of Generosity, its bearer missing in action. The first chair on the right side—the only one embroidered with the Wonderbolts’ insignia—was empty. The next two seats were filled by Applejack, former Element of Honesty; and by Big Macintosh, Minister of Agriculture and Element of Kindness. The remaining three seats, two on the right side and on the far end, were also empty.

“Sorry about the short notice for the emergency meeting," Rainbow began. "I know we’re not all here, but we really should get started. We’re here to discuss this suspected changeling we’ve captured.”

“Caught another one, did we?” asked Limestone. “Let’s see how much we can get it to talk.”

“Talking isn’t the problem for her. Making sense is.”

“You can say that again,” said Bon Bon. “I talked with her after you did, and she apparently knows about myself and several others here. She also has a knowledge of recent events that cuts out midway through the battle at Fillydelphia.”

“I know," Rainbow replied. "She even knew about things as far back as me and Fluttershy. Personally, I think she knows too much. Yet she didn’t test entirely positive as a changeling. That leaves only her own explanation on the table; she claims she’s from another timeline.”

“And that she saw the start of the war through the use of an alicorn potion,” added Bon Bon.

“Well that makes less sense than a square-wheeled wagon!” Applejack blurted as she crossed her chitinous forelegs.

“I wish Sunburst were here,” Pinkamena lamented. “Magic is his field of expertise. If a potion like that exists, he’d be the one most likely to know about it.”

“What do you make of her journal, Rainbow Dash?” asked Bon Bon. “Do you really think Twilight is involved?”

“I’m not sure what to make of that. Twilight has been placed under house arrest until we can figure out what the hay is going on. Right now, there’s too many questions and not enough ans—”

Without warning, a purple aura engulfed the room’s double doors. The doors flung open, crashing against the walls behind them with a resounding thud. “Where’s my sister?” Shining Armor demanded, glaring at the council with his one good eye.

“Your ‘sister’ may be a changeling!” Rainbow shouted as she rose out of her chair.

“Dashie,” Pinkamena began, “I painted Twilight when we first met her. Once we got you aboard the Soarin for medical treatment, that is. She’s not a changeling.”

“That may be true,” Bon Bon countered, “but what if she got replaced sometime after that?”

“That’s impossible!” Shining said as he took his seat at the far end of the table. “Twilight and I painted each other’s faces every day since she came back. There’s no way the changelings got her.”

“Chrysalis’s changelings are learning to fight the potion,” Rainbow said.

“Rainbow, that’s not confirmed,” Bon Bon replied.

“Really? Because it didn’t work on the changeling that replaced Twilight, and it didn’t work on this ‘Starlight Glimmer’ either.”

“That’s because my sister. Is not. A changeling!” Shining said, pounding his hoof on the table. “You have no right to arrest her!”

“With all due respect, Shining Armor,” Applejack said, “this does sound at least a little bit behind the barn. First, your long-lost little sister shows up outta the blue, then she gets put on this council, then this ‘Starlight’ gal shows up talkin’ to your sister and knowin’ all about us, even when we don’t know the first thing about her.”

Shining Armor sighed before he spoke again. “She’s innocent, I swear. No changeling would dare strike so close to us. We’d catch them for sure.”

“On the other hoof,” Bon Bon stated, “the sister of General Shining Armor would make a very tempting target for a changeling. You share a lot of love with your sister.”

With a sigh, Shining Armor sat back in his chair and thought a moment before forming his response. “What would it take for you to clear my sister’s name?”

“We need to figure out who ‘Starlight Glimmer’ really is. All we know so far is that she’s using the name of one of Sunburst’s old friends as an alias. Applejack, I think we need to call on your expertise for this one. I’m not going to lie; this is going to be a tough case to crack. Think you’re up to it?”

“You can bet your boots I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

"I'm coming too," added Bon Bon. "As acting leader of the Order of the Blue Changelings, it would be the duty of the council to extradite any of Chrysalis's changelings to me for detainment, conversion, ... and if need be, execution."

“Great. Looks like the three of us will get to pay a visit to ‘Starlight’ in the house where she’s being held,” Rainbow said as she headed for the door behind Shining Armor. “After that, we might stop by and see what we can figure out about Twilight.” The two changelings rose to follow her.

“‘You might’?” Shining asked. “You’d better! And you owe me an apology after all this is cleared up.”

Rainbow stopped right beside Shining Armor’s chair. “I’ll apologize if I’m wrong. I make no apologies for saving your sorry flank from Chrysalis. Again.

Rainbow trotted off as Bon Bon approached. “Sorry about her. She’s just trying to be careful.”

“Truth is,” Applejack added on her way out, “she’s always had a knack for puttin’ actin’ before thinkin’. Sometimes her instincts are right.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Shining muttered as the doors closed.