The Timeline

by ItalianMugshot

Chapter 2 - A Glimpse of the Past

The next morning, I woke up a little light-headed. I got out of my room to see my brother, Fauna, making breakfast for both of us. He was too preoccupied to notice my awakening, and I decided not to bother him. I sat down at the dining table and pondered for a bit, wondering "what should I do with mom and dad today?" Wait, why am I asking myself this? You know that they're not here anymore, Flora. Get a hold of yourself. But I wanna spend some quality time with my family. No, I have to forget about my parents. The only pony I have left is-

"Oh! Hey Flora, I'm sorry if I woke you up," Fauna confronted.

I gave him an apathetic grin and said, "It's fine. I'm just..."

"Can't get them out of your head, can you?"

I responded by giving him a small nod in confirmation.

"I know how close you are to them and I understand how much they mean to you-"

"Before you go on your tangent about how I need to get over their deaths, I understand that I need to get over it, and I'm trying my best to get over it."

He gave me a look of confusion. "What are you talking about? Mom's at her flower shop and dad is still serving his post in Canterlot."

Wait, they're...alive? No, that's not true! You know what happened to them. You witnessed what Sombra did to dad and what dad did to mom and himself. They're dead, without a doubt.

"I know that you miss them a lot, but don't treat the situation like a funeral, sis."

Maybe I'm wrong. What if they are still out there, and everything I saw was a nightmare that Sombra implanted in my conscious. Whatever my brother was saying was either the truth that I've been trying to talk myself out of, or he's trying play a "small" prank on me.

"You okay, Flora?"

I snapped my attention back to the situation at hoof. "Uh...actually, I did wake up a little light-headed this morning."

"Maybe you just need to get some fresh air."

"Yeah, I just need to get my head out of the cloud." I opened the front door and what I saw was a complete different reality. The buildings that were once the homes of townsfolk were more temple like, and everypony seemed to have a more strict attitude on their faces. It's almost like I had gone back in time.

"Are you sure you're okay, sis?"

"I will be. It's like you said. I just need some fresh air." I stepped out of my home and trotted around this "new" environment. What the hay is going on here? Here I am standing in the middle of, what I think is, Ponyville, trying to tell the difference of my reality and fantasy. If mom really is alive, then I know exactly where I can find her. I trotted over to my mother's flower shop, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Is this really my mother? There was only one way to find out.

"Mom, is that you?"

The mare turned to look at me. "Hi, my little blossom. What brings you-"

I cut her off by giving her a tight hug. "Oh my Celestia, it really is you!"

"Um, yeah. I've been working my shift all day. Don't you worry, Flora. I ain't going anywhere."

Oh right, she's alive...well that was awkward. "And dad's in Canterlot, right?"

"He's serving his post like the honorable stallion I married. Are you okay, dear? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Well, I guess I've been having some awful nightmares lately."

"Oh, come here now little blossom," she empathized, bringing me in for a small embrace. "Everything's going to be alright. But you know what Flora?"

"What is it mom?"

"Those nightmares..." she paused for a brief moment. "They will never go away." Her voice changed, and the figure that I was formally hugging turned into a cloud of smoke and darted out the front door. I went outside the shop to chase after the smoke when all of the sudden, I saw the dark sky and a giant figure forming into a familiar face: King Sombra.

"NO!" I screamed, not wanting to believe the situation I was forced to be put under.

"Your turn, Flora." the figure claimed. He charged right at me. I tried to move but some kind of earthbound force wouldn't allow me. The cloud of smoke came towards me and put me under a choke hold. I was starting to lose my breath and began to suffocate from the smoke fumes.

"Come and rejoin your parents once more," the smoke said as it was suffocating me. I felt like this was the end, this is how I die. Was it better to accept my death, or should I just-

---

"Gah!" I exclaimed before hyperventilating like my life depended on it. Then I heard a bang on my door.

"Flora, are you okay?" Fauna shouted from the other room.

It took me a moment to realize my reality or what I thought it was. To make sure I wasn't dreaming, I grabbed the quill on my night stand and-

"Ow!" Yep, definitely reality. I went to my brother's room to open the door and greeted him with a small hug.

"Flora, what happened?"

"I just had some nightmares, that's all." Right when I was about to let go of the hug, he reconnected the embrace once more as I hugged him back.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Fauna asked, clearly in deep concern.

"Do you mind if I get some fresh air first?"

"If you think it'll help. But I'm not letting you out of my sight."

I made my way out of my room, into the kitchen, and over to the front door. When I opened the door, it was just another regular day in Ponyville. "I...think I'm a little better."

"Okay, but you need to tell me what the hay hap-"

"I'm fine!" Clearly he wasn't convinced, but I bolted out the front door anyway. I headed towards mother's flower shop to discover that she wasn't there. She would either be tending the shop or spending time with her "little blossoms". But since neither outcome was proven...I sighed in defeat. "Maybe she is dead," I thought. "Maybe I should-"

"Flora!" Fauna scolded. "What's happened to you?"

The townsponies in the flower shop stared at us in awkward silence.

Fauna chuckled nervously. "Sorry 'bout all this. Just needed to talk to my sister." He pulled us both out of the store and back over to our cottage. "Flora, I am deeply concerned about you. I know that mom and dad are deep down in your heart, but this is not like you. You need to tell me what happened so I can help you."

Listening to my brother's advice, I had no choice but to tell him what happened last night. "I had a nightmare last night..."

---

"...And that's what happened."

"Oh my Celestia! Flora, I'm so sorry. Now I really wish you told me this earlier." He came over to me and gave me the biggest big he's ever given me in our lives.

"I'm just worried that Sombra might come back and plan an evil plot for revenge. I don't want us ending up in mom and dad's place."

"Flora, you're not worried. You're paranoid. Just remember that we still have the Princesses watching over us, making sure all of us are at peace and tranquility."

"Peace and Tranquility?" I asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Do you want my support or not, sis?"

"But I understand what you're saying. It's just...that nightmare. Maybe it's telling me to be weary of Sombra for when or if he returns."

With that said, a butterfly came into our house through the open window and landed on the kitchen sink.

"We gotta remember to shut these windows," my brother noted.

"We?"

"Fine! I! I gotta remember. Happy?"

"No, because then it'll get all stuffy in here."

"Well, I'm gonna go see if there are any job listings on the billboard. I think you should take some time to relax."

As much as I wanted to take some time off, "We're still a team, Fauna. I may not be fully recovered mentally, but I still wanna find some job listings."

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm gonna be fine. I promise. Let's just go to town and find ourselves some jobs to do."

"Okay then," Fauna said still showing concern. "Let's go."