Time Enough For Three

by Valtyra

Arc 2: Chapter 5

Celestia held onto Twilight as tight as she could, almost forgetting her sister was right next to her. She didn't want the mare to leave once again; it hurt each time she imagined that scenario. Gently letting go, she pulled back and stared down at the frazzled, mud covered, sweaty mare with confusion- then horror as her eyes drifted over to Twilight's wing, or lack thereof.

"This-" she choked, causing Luna to lean back and see the limb. "I didn't realize this was when that happened."

Luna winced at the sight, feeling her own wings ache at the thought of losing one of them. "We're glad that you're back, that's the important thing, right sister?"

"Of course, Luna," Celestia replied, placing a hoof on Luna's withers. "If I remember correctly, ourselves are currently waiting through those doors?" she asked, gesturing to Twilight's chambers.

Twilight, through all this, was simply happy for the affection, then remembered the others were waiting and grew guilty at galloping out to find the future versions of the mares she was with. "Uh, yeah," she replied, backing off and ruffling her wing anxiously. "This wasn't exactly the meeting I'd have hoped for, but it will have to do," she said, turning and walking towards her chambers.

The sisters happily followed, glancing at each other now and again, before settling with warm smiles. The pair had simply missed their Twilight too much to really focus on anything else, including each other. Before the pair wandered through the portal into the room, Celestia unfurled her wing and covered Luna with her fluffy appendage.

"I love you, Lulu."

"I love you more, 'Tia," Luna replied, ignoring the warm fuzzies appearing in her chest.

Twilight passed through and smiled wide at the group of ponies who had decided to descend her stairs and wait at the bottom. With a sharp inhale and a self-assured nod, she began. "I don't know what happened, but everything is alright. Your future selves," she began, turning to the sisters, "are right here."

At that moment, the sisters entered and quickly locked eyes with themselves. Their younger selves froze as their eyes widened upon seeing themselves so much taller, slender and more regal. Celestia was the first to inch forward and, much to everyone's surprise, closed in on Luna.

"Sister?" she asked as the older versions lowered themselves down. She gently placed a hoof upon Luna's chest, then leaned in and nuzzled up to her. "You smell the same," Celestia whispered, causing Luna to flush crimson, much to the older Celestia's delight.

The younger Luna hesitantly moved over to Celestia. She didn't particularly know what to say, so she only did the one thing that popped into her head; nuzzle under her sister's wing and snuggle up to her. It didn't take long for her to let out a sigh and look rather content.

All the while, Bone sat there, looking confused at what was going on, but knew better than to question it. So, she simply made sure that Checkered was still tied up and couldn't get away. "Princ- Twilight, what should we do with him?" she asked, magically tapping the mare on the shoulder.

Turning, Twilight groaned and picked up the stallion with her magic. "We'll give him to the guards to keep in the dungeon," she stated, exiting the room with the pony levitating beside her.

Reentering a couple of minutes later, Twilight smiled over to Bone as she neared. "Okay. Now that we're all acquainted, should we see about getting you back home?" she suggested, getting the other Princess's attention.

"Oh, Bone!" Luna gasped, looking a little sheepish. "My apologies. I didn't realize you were there."

"Don't worry, your majesty!"

"Nonsense. Guards!" Luna called, causing a pair of golden-clad stallions to enter. They did their best not to look at the younger versions of their Princesses and focus on Luna's orders. "Escort Bone setter to the maids and tell them to drop everything and get a room ready for her. She will need somewhere to stay while we make sure she is adequately protected."

"Yes, ma'am!" they both replied, bowing for a second. They raised their heads and waited patiently for Bone to follow.

Bone couldn't help but feel her bottom lip quiver as she bowed as deep as possible. "Thank you!" she squeaked, sniffling. "I'll assist with whatever you need as well. Checkered wasn't as secretive as he likes to think he was."

"That would be most appreciative, Bone," Luna said. "I do hope you will be available for dinner. It would be a shame to not miss tonight's celebration."

Twilight watched her mares with a smile, then asked, "Celebration?" as she hugged Bone, who was escorted out and down the hall.

Luna nodded and felt the younger Celestia nestle down on her back. "Indeed. I would have imagined you'd know why? Sunset came back to us."

Almost as if the mention of the mare caused her to appear, Sunset tapped on the door with a grin. "I was wondering when you would turn up again," she laughed, seeing the younger sister's pull away and gallop over. The mare's eyes fluttered closed at the feeling having her two students embrace her once again and she squeezed back.

Twilight walked over, causing the sisters to grin and move aside for Sunset to meet her. "Sunse-"

"Your wing?!" Sunset interrupted with a cry. "I told you to stay safe!"

"and I said I couldn't promise that," Twilight muttered, looking off to the side. "I lost it getting the first artifact. I didn't know the crown would give the king Necromantic magic."

Sunset stared at Twilight, then shook her head with a tired sigh. She was still angry at what had happened to the mare, but wasn't going to shout; no doubt Twilight had gone through enough. "I'm-" she choked up. "I'm just happy you came back."

"So am I. It hasn't been long but it feels like an eternity since we just relaxed," Twilight said, looking around at everyone, to which they nodded. "Celestia," she asked, then chuckled, "Uh, older Celestia; Princess? Do you think the gardens could be closed for the afternoon?"

"I don't see why not," the Princess replied, smiling and rising up. "But first, I want you to get your wing checked out. I forgot how bad it looked," she winced, moving over and leaning down to nuzzle a little more forcefully than usual.

Twilight nodded and leaned into the affection, a content look appearing on her face as she closed her eyes.

"It just dawned on me," past Celestia said to Luna. "This is really weird seeing what I'm going to do in the future."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Savour it. These memories will last forever, my cutie," she cooed, leaning in to nuzzle and kiss her cheek.

Younger Celestia giggled and said, "You know I'm two thousand years your junior? Kind of scandalous if you ask me."

Luna giggled and levitated herself over to cuddle. "That's alright. I can always cuddle myself instead."

Her past self squeaked and squirmed. "Ah, this is so confusing!"

Young Celestia blinked. "Hey! I didn't say I didn't want it," she huffed, jumping over and forming a dog pile.

Twilight and the others glanced over and smiled at the scene. A mixture of relief and calm flowing over them.

"So, garden picnic?" Sunset asked. "I have yet to really try any foods and some time out in your sun would be nice."

"That sounds lovely, Sunset. I'll get that all arranged while you," Celestia said as she turned to Twilight, "go and get checked up. I suspect that wing isn't the only injury you've suffered back then. Ask for a Doctor Note Pad. He's lovely."

Twilight sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Fine... But only because I miss having proper balance," she lied, shrugging. "I'll see you in a bit. Love you."

Celestia slid her hoof out of her metallic horse-shoes and brushed across Twilight's cheek as a deep frown appeared on her face. "My love. It pains Luna and I to see you this way."

Twilight took a step back and looked confused, even as Luna wandered over and next to her sister. "There's nothing wrong, girls," she said, shrugging. "I'll get my wing checked out and meet you at the picnic."

"As you wish, our Moon," Luna replied, leaning against her sister. "Remember that we have been through it... we don't wish to see it again."

Nodding, Twilight leaned in and nuzzled the pair affectionately before pulling away and trotting down the hall towards the castle's infirmary, leaving them outside her room.

She couldn't help but let out a sigh once she moved out of earshot and glanced to her missing wing. "I'm such a stupid pony," she grumbled, fighting back tears.

It was the first time in quite a while that she had been able to actually think about what had been happening to her and it was starting to get under her skin. Thoughts of what-ifs and maybes raced across her mind while she wandered the halls trying to take her time with getting to the doctor.

Twilight would never ignore the sister's plea to go see about her wing, she loved them too much to do so, but she could string it out a little.

Slowly, she wandered around the castle, taking the long way around while she enjoyed Celestia's long, summer evenings where the sun would dip low against the horizon, setting the sky aflame.

Stopping, she moved over to one of the windows and felt a smile work its way into her face as she looked out over Equestria. Turning, she nodded to a pair of maids which were making their way back to the kitchen and pushing a cart with various teas and cutlery sat upon it.

Just as she turned back to the picturesque view, she let out a whimper when a teaspoon clattered to the floor.

"Oh darn it," one of the maids groaned, levitating it back on and continuing on their way.

Twilight leaned against the windowsill, her heart thumped within her breast, her eyes clenched tight as flashes of Titas raced across her vision. "Not again," she whimpered, jumping at the feeling of some pony gently pressing their hoof against her shoulder.

Cracking open her eyes, she saw Bone standing there, a worried look on her face. "Princess? Are you okay?" she asked, pulling her hoof back.

"Yeah. I, uh- I'm fine," Twilight replied, glancing around and standing up straight. "I hope the guards found you a suitable room?"

Bone nodded and sheepishly rubbed her leg. "Oh yes. They've been super helpful. I just found myself rather restless. I came out for a walk and found you."

"I see," Twilight said, looking the mare over. "Well, I'm sure you'll be called for dinner at some point," she stated, smiling a little more. "For now, please wander to your heart's content. The flower garden on the other side of the castle is lovely in the evening."

"Oh!" Bone gasped, smiling wide. "I read that there's luminous flowers growing there that Princess Luna planted. If you'll excuse me, Princess," she said, bowing.

"Have fun, Bone," Twilight replied, watching her leave and then quickly closing her eyes and leaning against the windowsill again, her lip quivering as her anger rose up within her. "Stupid, stupid mare," Twilight grunted, knocking her head with her hoof.

Twilight stayed like that for several minutes, simply watching the sun slowly descend behind the horizon, with a tired expression on her face. At least until she jumped at yet someone else nudging her on her shoulder. "Ah- oh... it's just you," she muttered, giving Discord a glare. "What do you want?"

Hovering next to her, Discord grinned and spun upside down to stare at her. "Oh my," he laughed. "Is someone in a bad mood? I know what will cheer you up!"

"No, Discord. I really can't be dealing with this at the moment," Twilight groaned, pushing off the windowsill to start walking down the hall and causing Discord to blink and pause. "If you're here to give me another lecture, then don't. I've got thi-"

"Under control? Uh-huh, Looks like it," he huffed, floating over next to her and hovering beside, then gestured to her missing wing. He frowned and floated around to stop in front of her. He touched down, his grin having faded to a simple smile and asked, "Look. I give you a hard time because you can take it, okay? But if you ever need to talk, I'm always available to listen."

Twilight stared up at the draconequus for a second, then shook her head and brushed past him. "I'm fine, Discord. I'm getting my wing checked now," she replied, her ears folding back as she felt a cold chill wash over her, causing her to pause and take a deep breath. "I-I'm fine."

Discord watched as she wandered past him and crossed his arms while tapping his paw. "I don't need to believe you, Sparkle. It's plain to see," he said, beginning to move closer.

"What is?" she asked, turning and glaring at him. "The fact that something horrible always happens to us wherever we go? Or maybe it's that this 'Sun Dial' is a time traveller as well and could turn up at any time to do... I don't know what!" she shouted as her horn grew progressively brighter. "Hell, it might be the feeling that I have which tells me things are only going to get worse?! I've already given up one body part, why not all of me?"

Discord gazed down at the mare for a second as she stood there, her eyes inching down to look away while she panted her anger away. With a soft sigh, he knelt down and wrapped his arms around Twilight, pulling her in and giving her a tight hug. She squirmed and struggled in his grip- even with her Alicorn strength- but couldn’t break away.

“Let go of me, Discord!” she growled, struggling as she tired herself out. “Please...” she mumbled, her ears folding back.

“Shh. It’s okay, Sparkle,” Discord whispered, gently running his paw through her mane which caused her to jerk against him.

Twilight couldn’t help but let out a soft whimper as she went slack.

Discord slowly unwrapped his arms around the mare and brushed some hair away from her face. “Twilight,” he began, smiling. “I’m your friend. I learned from you that friends help each other.”

The mare looked off to the side, then took a deep breath when she felt her lip quivering again. "Discord," she said, looking up to him with a ghost of a smile. "I... I think I just need to lay down and actually rest. You know how I get when I'm tired."

With a chuckle, she gently patted his chest and took a step back. "Thank you. I- it's lovely to know you were actually listening to those friendship lectures."

"Twi-

"Uh-uh-uh!" Twilight interrupted. "I'll be fine in the morning. Promise. Besides, the younger versions of 'Tia and Lulu are outside right now. Surely you'd not want to miss a chance to see them?" she asked, raising a brow.

Discord stared down at Twilight for a second in the hopes that she'd relent but when it became clear that she wouldn't, he gave up and nodded. "Fine, you win this one, Sparkle," he sighed, rising up to his full height. "Young versions you say?" he mumbled, stroking his goatee. "So. Many. Ideas. Gotta go!" he laughed, clicking his fingers and poofing away, leaving Twilight standing there alone.

Twilight waited, in case Discord reappeared, then let out the breath she was holding. She placed a hoof on her breast and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Twilight Sparkle, you are perfectly fine," she said, hoping it was true.

---

Twilight didn't wait around after Discord left to make it to the infirmary. Entering the main area, she took a look around and saw several beds lined up on the right side of the room, each with a curtain divider between them, as well as a bedside table.

The room itself was sparsely decorated with white-wash walls, a couple of windows built into the left side of the room and cupboards installed between them.

A couple of nurses were wandering around to either clean up, make beds or care for the few soldiers which hurt themselves training.

One of the nurses, a lime-green stallion with a dark blue mane and a stethoscope for a cutie-mark, glanced over and saw Twilight enter. His eyes widened and he rushed over before bowing.

"Princess, what bring- dear Celestia!" he gasped upon seeing her missing wing.

"Please, Twilight is fine," Twilight replied, falling back into routine with her ponies and holding a hoof up to stop him. "I have come to see if Doctor Note Pad is free. I've been told he is quite good?" she asked, finding the pony's eyes linger on her wing.

"I, uh, can check if he's free," the nurse replied, looking worried. "Please take a bed," he said, gesturing to one of the free beds.

Twilight strolled over and climbed onto the nearest bed, laying down and looking around at the rather lethargic infirmary. She took some solace in the fact that she was the only pony to need it and waited patiently for whomever this doctor was.

After a brief moment the nurse returned, still rather unsteady around the Princess. "Princess, the doctor will see you now," he said, gesturing to a door at the end of the room.

The door opened up into a wide hallway which held several doors; two on the left and three on the right. Each of which were more private rooms.

There was one door at the end of the hall which stood out; red mahogany with silver, flowery, etchings around the outside. The windows were tinted and the plaque itself read: 'Dr. Note Pad'.

Twilight's eyes flicked around to the unremarkable hallway, her eyes unable to really catch in anything to take her mind off the fact that she doubted this Note Pad was anything other than a therapist.

They really tricked me to a therapist, She mentally scoffed, her hoof-steps slowing slightly. The fur on the back of her neck bristled when the ostentatious handle turned slowly - too slowly - and the door creaked open.

Stepping out to meet her was a young unicorn stallion. His coat was a pale Amber and his brown mane was windswept back.

Twilight assumed the smile was simply courtesy as he sized her up - his eyes holding on her stump for a second too long.

"Welcome, Princess," Note greeted, bowing ever so slightly. To annoy her, Twilight would assume.

"Hello, Doctor," Twilight replied, trying to at least look amicable. "My apologies, but there seems to have been a misunderstanding as I was sent here under the impression that you would be somepony who could examine my, well, this," she finished, gesturing to her side.

Note raised a brow and paused, as if examining the Princess's explanation. "Is that so?" he muttered. "I can definitely look into booking you a physiotherapy session if you would like to step inside?" he asked, stepping aside for her.

Twilight hesitated as she looked inside the well-decorated office. A plush red carpet covered the floor which travelled up to eggshell painted walls with a brown trim.

Several bookshelves were placed around, filled to the brim with not only psychological tomes but books for all ages. Off to the side sat a brown faux leather couch, a glass coffee table in the middle, and placed opposite a matching Chaise and a chair.

The other side of the room was his desk, covered in books and paperwork, showing that she had interrupted him in the middle of work. Note Pad's degrees hung on the wall behind the desk, alongside several pictures of ponies.

"I won't bite, Princess. Promise," he joked, gesturing for her to enter with a warm smile.

Twilight only hesitated for a second this time, but finally inched forwards. She made sure to avert her eyes as she passed the stallion, even as her wing's feathers ruffled anxiously.

Twilight winced at the click of the door closing and turned to see Note levitating a notepad over to him as he made his way over to the couch.

"Please, Princess," he continued, gesturing to the chair and the Chaise. "Pick whichever you're more comfortable with," he said, moving around to the couch and laying down.

"I'm not here for a session," she said, watching him closely.

Looking over, the doctor nodded slowly. "When was the last time you had a session, Princess?" he asked, giving a sympathetic smile at her frown. "It was the way you examined my office. I have plenty of ponies who do the same."

Twilight glanced away and let out a soft huff. "Years," she replied and shook her head.

"Why did you wait so long for a follow up?" he asked, levitating his notepad over onto the table. "No notes. Just a nice chat."

She sighed and wandered over to the Chaise to lay down. She sighed with relief and simply melted. "I kind of had other stuff to deal with," she replied. "There were a lot of problems to fix."

"What do you mean?"

"I-" Twilight paused for a second as she looked around the room, trying to focus on a single aspect. "You know, friendship problems. Pri- Celestia told me to make friends, so I did. Therapy gets put on the shelf when I'm attacked every year."

Note nodded then hummed. “I can understand that. But you’re no longer attacked now, are you?”

“Well, not exactly,” Twilight replied, looking back to her missing wing.

Note let that simmer for a minute before getting more comfortable. “Can you tell me how that happened? I would have thought it would be big news; a princess losing a wing?”

“It’s... complicated.”

“Complicated is good. Means we can break it down into manageable chunks.”

Twilight closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. She resisted the urge to clam up and reopened her eyes. There was a slight quiver in her voice as she began to recount her journey to this point...

---

Watching Twilight trot down the hallway, Celestia couldn't help but find a pit had opened up in her stomach from the act that she had just committed. She knew what Twilight would go through, after all she had gone through it with her, but she wasn't sure lying was the right thing to do.

"Lulu," she asked, turning to her sister, who was sitting next to her, her eyes following Twilight and a warm smile upon her lips. Receiving a simple hum, she asked, "Are you sure this was the right thing to do?"

As Twilight turned the corner, Luna tore her eyes away. "Sister," Luna muttered with a sigh. "Our moon will need some help with what is to come and that can only come from herself."

"I... I know," Celestia whispered, feeling that pit weigh her down. "Are you so sure that doing it now is the best time? We didn't do it until we came back later; the last time round I mean."

Properly turning to her sister, Luna placed a hoof on her shoulder and gave her the best reassuring smile she could. "We... This is our time round," she said while turning her attention to the pair of younger Princesses who were looking over Twilight's bookcases. "They'll get to choose what to do next loop. I have to hope that this will help her this time."

Celestia turned to the younger pair and nodded. She was still unsure but took a deep breath. "Fine. Since everyone will be back for a little bit, perhaps we could have Cadance and Shining over?" she asked as Luna looked over with a shake of her head. . "Oh, probably not until Twilight gets a new wing I guess."

"Yeah. I feel that's for the best. Though, Cadance might be fun to have over... We could, and I quote, have a girls night," Luna added, looking rather proud of her use of modern language.

Celestia hummed and nodded. "A girls night. I guess Cadance would take the news a lot better than Shining, that's for sure. She always did have a higher tolerance for Twilight's mishaps," she said, chuckling.

"What about us?"

"What about us?"

Luna blinked then rolled her eyes while her tail flicked against Celestia's cutie-mark. "You know."

"Oh... Oh! Uh, I guess Cadance will notice it as soon as she arrives."

"Pretty hard to hide it when you're sneaking out of my Chambers in the morning. I don't know why you don't teleport. Or maybe it's because you want to be caught?"

Celestia's cheeks erupted into a crimson bloom and she rose up to begin walking back into Twilight's Chambers. "I have no idea what you're in about, my love," she replied, smirking as her tail brushed over Luna's cheek. "Now, should we look after ourselves?"

Luna's eyes flicked between Celestia then the pair inside of the room and she nodded. "Uh, yeah. Probably for the best," she replied, moving up and entering the room with her sister, a pleasant smile forming while she looked Celestia over.

"Alright!" Celestia said, smiling wide. "While we can't show you around Canterlot, for obvious reasons, we can take you over to the outer gardens."

The pair of alicorns giggled as they heard that and haphazardly forced a few books back onto the shelf; not knowing that Twilight felt a shiver from the heinous crime against literature- then rushed over.

Sunset winced at the display and followed them over, a smile returning over she leaned against younger Celsstia.

"Sure! Though, wouldn't your guards find it strange?" Young Luna asked, looking confused.

"Well, yeah, but they're trained enough to know not to interfere in our affairs. Plus, strange sorta happens a lot in Equestria nowadays," Celestia answered with a chuckle. "Come on. We'll have to send a letter to Starlight as well. She'd want to know that Twilight's back," she continued as the group left Twilight's Chambers and began to walk down the hall.

Luna nodded. "I can send one of my scouts to fly there. It will be faster," she said while her horn lit up. With a sharp burst of magic, she sent the instructions off. "Done. I'm sure Starlight will be with us for dinner tonight."

"With any luck, yes. It will be nice to see her again. She's been rather secretive lately."

"Who's Starlight?" young Celestia asked, sliding between the pair of older alicorns and smiling up at them while they walked. "It's not like I'm going to remember everything for thousands of years. I'd trust myself."

"It's true. She barely remembered what she had for breakfast," Young Luna agreed, causing Sunset to giggle.

Young Celestia rolled her eyes. "Look, this 'trip' is going to be really boring if we don't get to know anything. I want to see what our country will be like, what we get up to after we gather these artefacts and how we spend our time with Moon!" she announced, rising up to strike a pose, to which everyone simply stopped and stared.

"I was like that?" Celestia mumbled, causing Luna to laugh.

"Tell me about it; I smiled too much," Luna added, grimacing.

Young Celestia dropped back down to her hooves and shared a confused look with her sister. "Ew... We actually became old."

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

"What? It's true," young Celestia teased, brushing past the Princesses with a smirk. "I want to know everything though!"

Author's Note:

Hey guys!

Hope you have enjoyed this chapter. I've tried my best to not make it over the top, other than the whole... past meet the present.

Comments

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Huh. Loops. That couldn't possibly go wrong...

[Kessie_amarra]

Thanks for the chapter! You did a great job with it.

[Valtyra]

10498034
Thanks. It was a tough one for sure.

[flowgninthgil]

luna realy is the best pony, and now luna has been doubled!

[Vulpine Dynamic]

Twilight has book sense. She can sense book mistreatment...
Interesting.

[aCB]

I'm excited to see the princesses interact with themselves some more. It's a great opportunity to see how their personalities and relationships have changed. It's a rare, but neat, setup for a story where character development can be discussed through dialog, and the way the adventure changes them can be seen in the middle of the story.

This story is one of my new favourites and I can't wait to read more

[Valtyra]

10498673
Aw thanks! I can't wait to write more ^^

[The Scarlett Mare]

Oh Gods I'm loving this so much

[Valtyra]

10501976
<3

[Enderstorm]

Therapy usually works better when you're not literally tricked into going.

Speaking from experience.

[Alyarin9000]

Oooh. So it IS actually an unstable loop, and hasn't properly settled yet... Intriguing

But why would they change things in each loop? Unless... Unless Twilight actually dies each time, and the sisters are desperately trying to nudge events to save her? Each one knowing that they'll have only a short time with Moon before their reality is replaced... Something to think about...

[Yutah123]

Celestia turned to the younger pair and nodded. She was still unsure but took a deep breath. "Fine. Since everyone will be back for a little bit, perhaps we could have Cadance and Shining over?" she asked as Luna looked over with a shake of her head. . "Oh, probably not until Twilight gets a new wing I guess."

*whew*

Good, good. I...

I was beginning to fear out would be permanent. I have the thought of permanent injuries.