Time Gone, Time Ahead
That evening, as the sun gradually dipped towards the horizon, Twilight found herself waiting on the second story balcony of the Golden oaks library for her teacher to come speak with her. The Summer Sun Celebration party was still in full swing. Ponies danced, sang, played silly games and ate meals at tables. It was all highly enhanced by the frightening experience of Nightmare Moon showing back up, only to be reformed back into Princess Luna, although the small alicorn currently stayed by her big sister’s side and hid from the world, by the looks of it.
Twilight would have ruminated on it further, but Celestia herself was seen approaching the library with a happy, if tired, expression on her face. Once at the base of the tree, her wings unfolded and, with a few gentle flaps, she arrived on the same balcony as Twilight. She wasted no time in sitting down beside her student and looking over the town.
For almost three minutes, the two sat in perfect silence. Finally, Twilight took a deep, shaky breath. “Were… were you planning on turning me into an alicorn? Into a princess?” she asked hesitantly, scuffing the wood beneath her with a hoof.
Celestia looked down at Twilight with an unreadable expression. “...I still do, if you pass my tests.”
Twilight gasped and looked to Celestia. “Wait, you said foreknowledge is a dangerous thing to have! Why did you just tell me?”
Celestia tittered softly. “Because you already know, Twilight. Besides, you don’t know what trials you will have to pass to achieve such a position.”
“Right… fair enough, I suppose.” Twilight murmured before looking straight ahead. “...and what about Rainbow? I mean, she’s already a princess. She’s only really missing the horn.”
Celestia closed her eyes in thought and hummed to herself a moment. “...I don’t know, to be honest. I would love to have my daughter join me and my sister with such an ascension. I can already imagine the wonders she could achieve with that kind of power…” Celestia opened her eyes and frowned. “But she is… reckless. She is overconfident and self centered and such qualities would be… immeasurably risky for her.”
“Why’s that?” Twilight asked, suddenly feeling a little worried by Celestia’s very blunt assessment.
“Being an Alicorn carries risks that no other pony must face. A duality of the mind, so to speak. The magic of an alicorn can manifest in terrifying ways if the pony cannot control their emotions… that is how Nightmare Moon was born, after all.”
Twilight nodded slowly before looking down. “Right… well, I’ll keep you informed on how she’s doing,” she said with a wide smile. “I’m sure she’ll get the hang of her emotions in no time.”
Celestia laughed outright at that before looking down at Twilight with a wide smile and tears in her eyes. “Oh… oh I am going to miss you two. You have influenced each other in so many ways… just then, speaking with such confidence on her behalf… you kind of sounded like her.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “You keep reminding us. We know.” she said before a yawn gradually left her. She stretched and looked up at Celestia with her eyelids slowly becoming heavier.
Celestia smiled that warm, motherly smile that she gave everypony. “You’re tired, Twilight. And so is my daughter. I’m pretty sure she already retired for the night, to be honest. Why don’t you do the same? You’ve had a rough couple of days, after all.”
Twilight nodded slightly. “Heh. you don’t need to tell me twice. Goodnight, Princess…” she yawned out before standing and turning to head back inside.
“Oh! And Twilight?” Celestia called gently while standing to go. Twilight turned to her curiously. “...Take care of each other, won’t you?”
Twilight grinned. “We were already planning on it.”
Celestia nodded slowly before turning and stepping forth from the balcony, using her wings to slow her descent to the ground below. Twilight waved before stumbling inside and heading for her loft, where both of the beds were. Sure enough, Rainbow was already sacked out in one, snoring contently.
Twilight looked charmed before swaying over to her own bed and climbing under the blankets for a good night’s sleep. For a moment, she lay there, letting sleep come for her.
“That you, Twi?” Rainbow called drowsily from her bed.
“Mmph.” Twilight replied into her pillow, a simple enough response.
“...thanks for… you know… being my friend back in Canterlot. I… I really needed somepony like you when I go there.”
Twilight’s smile softened and she closed her eyes. “You’re welcome, Rainbow… I’m happy I met you.”
“Yeah… same.”
“Goodnight, Rainbow Dash.”
“Yeah… goodnight.”
There they slept, in their new home in Ponyville, the celebration outside winding down until only the peaceful silence of the night remained.
Over the years, they had caught little glimpses of the time that had come before. Now, sleeping in their beds, they smiled and dreamt of the time that waited for them just ahead.
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Good ending.
Also, nice title drop at the end
I'm going to be honest... I didn't really enjoy the whole Nightmare moon arc/ending. It basically felt like you were going "I've built up this whole alternate world, and none of it matters". It felt like too much was a callout to the show instead of being a reasonable extrapolation of events. Like, all of the episodes are still going to happen in basically the same way as before except for minor, inconsequential differences that don't mean anything in the long run.
Up until this arc everything was original. While having to deal with Nightmare Moon is obviously a thing, the fact that they didn't do anything fundamentally different from canon makes it somewhat boring to read. While in universe that makes some amount of sense (Celestia knows it ends well and wants to try to keep it on-track as much as possible) it's still just kinda boring.
That being said, endings are always hard, and I can't think of any good way to end it. I enjoyed the prior arcs, and even if I was disappointed by this latest one I still consider it time well spent.
Well done, little pony. Well done.
Superb work all throughout the story. Once again, the exchanges and characterizations were very well done, of course. It's been quite a ride and well worth the price of admission. :-D
D'aaaaw~
What a great way to end it, always leaves us wanting more. I wonder if there'll be a sequel. You've just set it up so perfectly.
cool
The ending is good and satisfying.
... though, does this mean Rainbow will get her cloud house as a birthday gift?
Really enjoyed this story but there is one loose end, Starlight Glimmer. They are aware she was the one who changed the timeline right? I feel like there should have been a mention of what they intend to do about that.
8535719
Yeah, what about Glim-Glam? Even in this alternate timeline, she still kind of a big deal.
8535719
I agree! That needs explaining!
8535756
I agree! That needs explaining!
Pretty good. I don’t think the whole other timeline would be erased though.
8535756
Glim-Glam? Who the buck is Glim-Glam?
now all we need, if you want to that is, is a sequel with discord, chrysalis, sombra, and twilight turning into an alicorn at the end. with maybe a sequel with tirek as a one-shot. but otherwise great story.
8535806
Starlight Glimmer.
The point does still stand how will Starlight's plan work here? Will she knock the timeline back into it's original alignment when she time travel's this time? Of course with multi-verse theory every "realigned" time line also spawns an additional universe
8535833
Twilight AND Rainbow turning into an Alicorn!
It was a fun ride. Good story overall!
Really wish I was better at comments, all I've got is 'this was a wonderful experience, thank you'
8535478
Well, I have an idea for a sequel buzzing around in my noggin that would really derail things from canon by a thousand percent. But im not gonna write it right now.
8535837
It is important to remember that Starlight went back in time for revenge against the mane 6 after they kicked her out of 'our town.'
8536249
Umm yea? But you didn't say Starlight's past was altered in anyway. As far as we know Sunburst still left, Starlight still hates Cutie marks and the events of Our Town will still happen.
Nooooo, why it end? I don't want it to end
8536448
Hm. I can't really get into it. If I decide to write a sequel (kinda on the fence at the moment) then the issue of Starlight would be the main point of the story.
I will keep my eyes peeled if you ever mention making a sequel I'll be very happy to read it
Congrats on the big finish! I enjoyed your writing a lot.
Out of curiosity, will this be a series? Or will you end it with this book? Both options would work well considering the ending you wrote, but this universe has a lot of potential. :)
8536706
I have a sequel idea, but I have another story I have to finish writing first. Once I finish the fiends trilogy, maybe I'll come back to write a sequel to Glimpses. :)
8537306
Actually, the instance where Future Twilight saw Past Twilight and RD in the flash was literally a couple seconds after she finished speaking to past Twilight at the start of the story. Over the course of maybe ten seconds, Future Twilight saw herself as a filly, herself in her early teens, and then herself as a full grown adult pony wearing the element of magic atop her head. But the meeting at the start was the first time either of them had spoken to one another.
And then Twilight and Rainbow fused together to become Dashie Sparkle.
Of course, the question I asked 2 chapters ago wasn't answered in the story. So, did I make a safe assumption?
8535525
Considering how much you paid, are you saying this story was worth $0?
8535554
If there's not gonna be a sequel, there are plenty of people willing to take the reigns.
8535719
8535756
It's the perfect excuse for a sequel.
8536479
and raise you a 
I see your
8537414
These reigns are mine! Mine I tell you! My precious! HIIIIISS!!!
8537491
Your reigns, does that mean a sequel will happen?
8538125
Possibly. I have an idea in my head, but I'm not going to write it right now.
Very good story, I really enjoyed this, and I hope this isn't the end of this universe. There are so many things that could be changed by this, Discord's first appearance and Cadance's wedding come to mind (speaking of Cadence, have we even seen her in this story?). I will say that I would've used Celestia's explanation of why she adopted Rainbow as an opportunity to show that our hero has feet (hooves?) of clay, but other than that, really thought you did a good job with the wrap up.
8538599
As I keep mentioning, I have an idea for a sequel, but I have another story I need to finish first. :)
8538608
Cool, looking forward to it.
8538503
yay, I see so much pontential for how things can be different with Dash being Tia's daughter.
Proving her loyalty:
Hey RD, you weren't the only foalknapping victim after all. Congrats...?
Lotalty's conundrum. Save your friend but betray her to do so, or stick to your guns but get your friend killed because of it. If she were an AI she'd have burnt out by now.
All bets are off, Luna. You do not mess with Applejack's hat!
Who we were:
Uh... this is new.
So... this is bad, right?
So... did Twi have time to run around Ponyville and tell her friends what was happening before their timeline collapsed?
Busted!
...Who we are:
Which is exactly what she did in the original timeline, albeit without the time aspect.
I have the headcanon that Celestia gave RD captaincy of the Weather Team right out of school just to get her in Ponyville.
Just ignore the blackmail and torture on Moonbutt's part.
About that certain statue in your garden, Celestia...
Time Gone, Time Ahead:
T'is awkward, wouldn't you say? Given the night lasting forever and all that.
Technically she's not planning to turn you into anything, you just will under the right conditions.
And the earth pony part.
And that's all folks, nothing more to-
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/f/f9/Starlight_Glimmer_sinister_grin_S5E1.png/revision/latest?cb=20151129094117
Great stuff here. I think it made sense to end it with the NMM arc, since this is what Celestia was anticipating throughout the entire story. You varied it enough from the original pilot so that it never felt boring, at least not to me. And, this doesn't mean that events will now continue the way they did in the original timeline. The biggest difference is Dash being Celestia's daughter and Twilight's longtime friend. It would be interesting to see the way they handle the other antagonists from here on out. I think Twilight would have more confidence at the start than she did in the original timeline, with her two best friends there to support her. I'd be interested in reading a sequel if you ever decide to write one.
Well I'm a little disappointed that they didn't use the Elements to revert the timeline to its original state, if only for the sake of Rainbow's parents, but that was a good story none the less.
8544861
They basically would have undone their entire lives up to that point. Not exactly desirable to creatures with the self preservation instinct.
Loved it, will there be a sequel?
8570079
In the future, probably.
8574882
It's an Undertale reference
im garbage
Holy crap this was so good though! I've never seen a fic use the series premier as its ending climax, and it fit really well. Thanks for sticking with it! Definitely going in Favorites.
Kinda hope you do a slice of life kind of thing with them.
Showing how they live, sharing a home and all as apposed to how it is I’m the show
Either way, I loved this
The jump from coma to NNM was... idk, at the time it was annoying but after reading the rest it turned out just great.
This was a very interesting read; believable characterization, great dynamic between Dash, Twi' and Celestia, as well as well-written alternate chain of events.
It has been a while since a fic caught my attention like this, where reading "just a chapter or two" actually turned into a few hours spent reading large chunks of the story. Be it the fillies being able to act out their friendships, or the overwhelming question of "wonder how X will handle Y?", it all flowed well.
Thanks for a good read.
8604232
You are very welcome. With any luck I'll be able to start on the sequel sometime in 2018. :)
8619208
Heresy, you say?
*Refuses to play Undertale harder.*
I think this song it's fitting for the occasion:
This was a very fun story to read. Good job I really enjoyed reading this.