Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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“Honestly, what was that stallion thinking?!” Cadance half hisses, half snarls as she gently rubs soothing cream between my wings, causing me to shiver with relief at the cool sensation and let out a huge sigh.
Currently we are in Cadance and Shining Armour’s living quarters in the castle, a fire in the fireplace warming the room.
Cadance is rubbing a balm-like cream meant to help with fevers, which, as you can probably guess, I have.
This is no ordinary cold though and, thank Celestia, it isn’t like the one Twilight had in the short, Ail-icorn.
What it is, however…?
“I get he and Starlight asked for your help, but putting a child through that kind of strenuous work is unbelievably irresponsible!” Cadnace snorts as I take a tissue in my hooves and blow. “Starlight, I can forgive, as the guilt of what she did would be impossible for any sane pony to ignore, but Star Swirl?”
“I’mb not a child, dough, Cadunce,” I say, sniffing. “I used to be an adult, after all.”
“Exactly!” Cadance says firmly and I flinch at the tone. “You used to be an adult, Autum. But, you’re not now. You may still have the mind of an adult, but your body is now that of a child and that has limitations. Yes, as an Alicorn, though limitations are somewhat less than any ordinary pony, but, even as an Alicorn, you’re still just a child. Star Swirl should’ve known better than that. He should’ve at least waited a few more years, when you’d be more physically ready to cope with that kind of effort.”
TWO DAYS AGO
I walk into the dinning room, expecting it to be empty save the maids… but am surprised when I see Cadance, Shining and Flurry Heart all sitting at the table, watching the entrance, as if they’d been waiting for me… and immediately I’m worried.
Those looks on their faces… Has someone done something I got blamed for again because some ponies still won’t accept that I’m not actually Cozy Glow?
The last two days, messages from Canterlot have come from Celestia asking where I’d been during the day to confirm if I hadn’t gone into several book and medical stores and stolen products from them.
The owners of the buildings had each time insisted they’d seen a pony matching Cozy’s description and, even though a lack of a horn would be an obvious clue it’s not me but a Cozy lookalike, they never got to see if she had a horn before she’d gotten away.
The idea someone is trying to frame me for crimes I didn’t commit and further fanning the Cozy Glow flame Luna, Celestia, Twilight and Cadance have each been doing their best to extinguish is bad enough, but the fact the witnesses never could tell if they’d seen a horn makes it all the more irritating.
Whoever’s trying to frame me isn’t even putting in the effort to match my appearance completely, just the base Cozy look. It’s honestly insulting.
Of course, Cadance, Shining Armour, the guards I usually have with me and Mistmane always came to my defense, as I was always under watch whenever I was out of the castle.
Deciding it’s better to get this over with, I sigh, sit and the table and ask the inevitable. “What am I being accused of doing this time?”
I’m taken aback when both Cadance and Shining are taken aback.
“What are you talking about, Autum?” Shining asks, cocking his head to the side, Flurry mirroring his action.
I cock an eyebrow. “Aren’t you wearing those expressions because somepony has framed me for another crime I obviously couldn’t have committed?”
The married couple turn to each other, blink, then shake their heads, Cadance being the one to speak.
“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that, Autum, I promise.”
I cock my head to the left, Flurry choosing to mirror me this time. “Then… what’s with the odd looks?”
The two exchange a glance, before Shining lights his horn, levitating a scroll into view.
I say nothing, indicating for him to go on.
“You’ve been summoned to Ponyville,” he says, levitating the scroll over to me.
I take the scroll in my own magic, almost dropping it. I’m still not fully able to grasp casting and hold onto spells yet. I’m doing better than most humans forced into a foal’s body could probably do, but I’ve still much practice to ahead.
“Star Swirl the Bearded,” Cadance says as I unfurl the scroll and start reading.
“You’re right,” I say slowly, frowning as I read over the scroll’s contents. “He’s summoning me to help aid him and Starlight in an endeavor to help many ponies suffering hard times.”
“To meet at Twily’s castle and provide the support,” Shining nods, frowning with worry, “but that’s all he’s saying. He hasn’t said what you’d be doing or how you’d be helping or who the ponies suffering even are.”
“Him and Twilight are more alike than either of them would admit,” I sigh, putting the scroll down on the table. “Both get so focused on the task at hoof they neglect to fully explain to others, expecting them to just understand and follow along.”
There are three nods of agreement.
“So,” I sigh, looking between my two appointed guardians, “when should I head off?”
Five hours later I’m walking through Ponyville with six guards tailing me.
Thankfully, Cadance and Shining Armour had the forethought to cast glamour charms on us, so nopony is questioning the group of seven ponies, including the second youngest Alicorn in Equestria, walking through town in the direction of Twilight’s castle.
Upon arrival, the guards stand at attention outside and I go in.
On a hunch, I head for the Map Room and, sure enough, there are Starlight and Star Swirl, standing in front of the Cutie Map, talking amongst themselves.
A quick glance around the room tells me, whatever is going on, magic is going to play a big part in this.
There’s scrolls scattered on the floor, some crumpled, others seemingly just cast aside. A few piles of books are stack in front of several blackboards with diagrams and charts I have no hope of understanding… though a hooful seem somewhat familiar to me for some reason.
After several moments of the two unicorns talking amongst themselves and apparently not having noticed my presence, I give a loud cough.
The two start, before sighing upon seeing me.
“Ah, Princess Autum Moonstone. Thank you for coming,” the bearded stallion says, giving a slight bow. “Your aid in this endeavor will expedite matters and allow us to achieve the desired goal.”
“Maybe we should explain it to her first, though, hmm?” Starlight says, giving her fellow unicorn a scolding gaze.
In confusion, he glances from her to myself, before my expression seems to make him understand.
They indicate for me to sit and I do, taking Applejack’s throne, while Star Swirl sits in Twilight’s and Starlight in Rainbow’s and they explain the plan… and BOY HOWDY, is it a doozy.
Star Swirl summoned me to Ponyville because he and Starlight are planning on fixing a mistake Starlight has left unattended to for too long now.
At first, I had no idea what they were talking about… until they showed me a scroll I thought was lost to the infinite realm of time, Star Swirl’s finished Time Travel Spell from the Season Five finale.
Well, not the spell, a replica he and Starlight made together, with a few slight alterations.
The plan they have is both simple and monumentally complicated.
The two of them are going to visit all the timelines Starlight’s altering the past have created.
I ask them how exactly they’re planning to fix several of those timelines, mentioning the Wasteland, Tirek and Discord timelines in particular.
Well, it turns out the Wasteland timeline is a no go as that timeline has wasted away so much, it actually no longer exists at all, so can’t be fixed.
The Discord timeline, they’re not even going to tough. According to Discord himself, ours, not the one from that timeline, it is going to be fixed the right way when the time comes.
When Starlight had asked him what he meant, he told her he’d promised himself he wouldn’t spoil the surprise… which, after a moment of thinking, means a version of him from the future must’ve told him it would all work out if it was left alone.
Whether that means Discord knows HOW it’s going to fix itself, I don’t know, but, I guess we’re just going to have to trust him on this one.
As for the Tirek timeline… their explanation was surprisingly blunt and simple.
Since those timelines are like our Equestria, only with the time changes starting from the point of Dash’s Sonic Rainboom, or lack thereof, anything established timewise before that point will still be the same, including the location of Grogar’s Bewitching Bell.
They’re going to go to where the bell was hidden in that timeline while Tirek is distracted with his mindless destruction, get the bell and use it on Tirek to remove the magic he’d stolen from him and release it back onto that timeline’s Equestria at large.
Any and all other problems after that will technically be that timeline’s Celestia and Luna’s job.
Interfering too much could have who knows what kind of problems further down in that timeline’s future.
While I am curious then how they plan on handling the other timelines, Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Cheese Legs and the Flim Flam Brothers, I decide, if they’ve got Tirek planned out so clearly, I should trust them to handle the others just as well.
Once I’ve agreed, Star Swirl explains what my role will be in this.
The altered Time Travel Spell, based on some of the information from Cozy’s spell that pulled me into her body from my dimension, will open portals to each of the altered timelines, allowing passage to and from them.
However, only those from this side of the portals, from our timeline, will be able to move back and forth. If any being from the other timelines tries to come through the portals, they’ll feel like they’ve slammed into a brick wall.
I have to commend him on that, as, when he mentioned we’re leaving all the portals open until the task is complete, my first concern was Nightmare Moon passing through into this timeline.
I shudder to think what her reaction would be upon seeing a younger Alicorn.
My actual part is to cast the spell itself and act like a battery of sorts, my near endless pool of magic thanks to being an Alicorn allowing me to maintain the spell long enough for them to go into each timeline respectively before returning here.
For me, it will barely have been a few minutes, regardless of how long it takes for the two of them to fix all the problems of each of the timelines.
My lack of skill with magic is brought up, but Star Swirl assures me I won’t need to be a wiz at spellcasting to keep the spell going.
We spend about an hour working things out, both Starlight and Star Swirl helping me feel out the spell’s form, channeling my magic through my horn and into the spell’s matrix.
Once I finally think I’ve got enough of a grasp on the concept, Star Swirl gives the order and I focus.
I feel the warm tingling of my magic passing throughout my body, culminating in my horn and then feel a hot flare, my vision going white.
I don’t actually know much of what happens after that.
I’m faintly aware of Starlight and Star Swirl saying something to me and hearing what I assume is the sound of them passing through one of the portals, but it’s hard to focus as my vision is filled with white, my ears feeling like they’re full of cotton and my mind feels like I’m trapped in a fog as I continue to channel my magic into the spell.
I get glimpses of what I have to assume are the alternate timelines. I see Tirek shrinking as the magic within him is sucked into Grogar’s bell.
I see Cheese Legs screaming in rage as her throne blows up, her being surrounded by the Changelings in their reformed stages.
Flim and Flam are thrown into a dungeon.
Sombra is reduced to a weakened stallion after Grogar’s bell is used on him.
The image of the Mare in the Moon disappears and Nightmare Moon’s visage vanishes into Grogar’s bell as Luna collapses in her malnourished-looking sisters forelimbs.
“Man, good thing this body has so much magic in it, being an Alicorn and all,” I hear myself saying… but am unsure why I’m saying it or whether my mouth even moved.
“Best be sure to wrap this up before things get too tricky, huh?”
After what feels like forever, a tap on my shoulder pulls me out of whatever trance I was in and I collapse to the floor, wheezing, faintly aware of the worried cries of a pair of voices… before everything goes black.
NOW
“Star Swirl is lucky Shining’s the one who was here when they brought you back!” Cadance says firmly as she finishes rubbing the soothing liquid into the point between my wings. “If that were me, I swear…”
“Why?” I can’t help asking, glancing at her in slight confusion. “Yeah, I’mb a child, like you said, but I’mb not your child. You make it sound like you’d react like you’re by mum or something.”
The firm yet soft glare I receive makes me squeak in fear, before she pulls me into a gentle hug, folding her wings over us like a hug on top of a hug.
“I may not be your mother, Autum, but I am your guardian. I’m the closest thing to a mother you could get and that means I’m going to treat you like I’m your mother. And nopony, friend or foe, puts this mother’s children in harm’s way.”
Any further talking is promptly halted by a popping sound accompanying a flash of golden light, Flurry appearing, sitting on the floor in front us.
She has her Whammy in her forehooves and holds it out to me.
I can’t help giving a small, tired smile, as does Cadance as she returns to applying the balm onto my back.
“Thanks, Flurry,” I say, gently taking the offered Whammy, followed by Flurry hugging me.
“Speaking of mothers,” Cadance says, her tone more jovial than a few moments ago, “you and Flurry are really close. One would swear you two are sisters.”
I can’t help giving a small smile as Flurry nuzzles into my chest. “Yeah. I’d be lying if I said I don’t want to protect Flurry like a big sister.”
“I’m sure Pinkie Pie would love to throw you are Autum Is Flurry’s Big Sister party,” Cadance laughs.
I start to laugh too… before I frown.
“Autum?” Cadance asks, noticing my mood change, Flurry also seeming aware of it, pulling her head back and looking at me inquiringly.
I shake my head. “It’s nothing. It’s just… you mentioning Pinkie Pie made me remember something odd, something I saw while I was maintaining Star Swirl’s spell.”
“And?” Cadance’s tone and expression immediately become a mix of pensive and encouraging, a very weird combo.
“Well,” I say, brushing my hoof through Flurry’s mane, causing her to coo and lean into the motions, “it was when they were in the timeline where Cheese Legs won during the invasion of Canterlot.”
There’s a very immature snicker from the older mare at the nickname and she indicates for me to go on.
“It’s like I said,” I say, choosing my words careful to best explain properly, “I only eber got flashes here and there about what was going on while those two were attempting to fix those timelines, but, in that timeline, for a brief moment, I could’be sworn Pinkie Pie was an Alicorn.”
Cadance’s hoof stops rubbing the balm into my back, the sudden motion making me flinch. “Pinkie… what?”
I glance over my shoulder, nodding. “Yeah. It was extremebly brief, but it stuck out to me. I saw Pinkie for a few seconds. Most of those seconds, she was an Earth Pony. But, in the middle of those brief seconds I saw her, she looked like an Alicorn before looking like an Earth Pony again, then I was seeing other stuff, so didn’t really habe time to process what I’d seen.”
Cadance is silent for a moment, the only sounds being the crackling of the fire in the fireplace. “Pinkie Pie… an Alicorn? But, why would you see her in that timeline as both an Alicorn and an Earth Pony?”
I shake my head slowly. “I dunno. Maybe she’s the one who finished Star Swirl’s Alicorn spell in that timeline instead ob Twilight? As for why I’d see her as both... either it was my perspective of her overriding what I was actually seeing or… I dunno, maybe she was using an Illusion Spell so Cheese Legs never realized there was another Alicorn in Equestria?”
“Pinkie Pie as an Alicorn,” Cadance murmurs, returning to rubbing my back and lightly chuckling. “Now that’s an interesting concept. Would she be the Princess of Laughter, then?”
I give a small laugh myself, Flurry giggling, even though I doubt she understand what’s so funny. “I wonder if our Pinkie Pie is also an Alicorn using an Illusion Spell to hide it.”
We both laugh at my bad joke.
“Nah! No need to worry your pretty sickly head, Autum!”
We all cry in alarm as the pink mare in question is just suddenly standing there… offering me some cupcakes.
“Made these special cupcakes to make you feel better,” she says, as if the fact she wasn’t in the room a second ago isn’t even a concern. “As for being an Alicorn,” she turns around a smiles eagerly at me, “you have nothing to worry about. Of all the other Alicorns across Equestria pretending to be normal ponies to hide from sight, I can Pinkie Promise I’m not one of them.”
She does the motions of the promise named after herself… and is just gone.
We don’t see her leave, she doesn’t move in any direction… she’s just gone.
Cadance laughs. “That Pinkie. Wonders never cease when she’s involved… Autum? Autum, what’s wrong?”
Cadance’s concerned tone is no doubt because my eyes are wide as dinner plates.
I hold Flurry a little closer, slowly turning to stare at the pink mare. “Cadunce, didn’t you just hear what Pinkie told us?”
“Y-yes,” Cadance says, her expression uncertain, before putting on a strained smile and giving a laugh as equally unconvincing. “She told us she’s not an Alicorn.”
I slowly shake my head, my heart beating faster and faster with every second that passes.
“No, Cadunce. That’s not what Pinkie said. Not what Pinkie said at all. She said of all the other Alicorns across Equestria pretending to be normal ponies to hide from sight, she is not one of them.”
Candace looks at me with confusion for a moment, before her eyes slowly widen as she understands exactly what I did.
Well, i'm sure THIS is a surprise to see updated after almost an entire year, huh?
For those wondering why i felt inspired to write a new chapter to this, for the last 6 nights (well, early mornings, as i've been going to sleep after 1am-close to 3am) in a row, i'll been fulling alseep listening to the It's A Pony Kind of Christmas album, both because it's the Christmas season, it's a great album to listen to and, due to some of the songs and who's singing them, i can imagine certain characters interacting throughout each song.
For example, during Rarity singing Deck The Halls, I picture Dora and Boots from Vámonos, Equestrian Exploradora! helping prepare for Hearth's Warming with her.
Silent Night, snag by Fluttershy, i can imagine Fluttershy and Taylor from A Child of Kindness and Laughter either going through the forest and it shifting between each of them singing it (as there is a point in the song where Andrea sings with a slightly different tone than her usual Fluttershy and the image just stuck in my head), with Fluttershy eventually putting Taylor to bed towards the song's end.
In Days Gone By sung by Applejack, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and Big Mac (and, if you've seen the music video, Grand Pear even though William Shatner clearly is not singing the song
), i can picture, in the music video of course, Sam from An Apple Far From the Tree, joining in, since she and Apple Bloom have the same voice due to Sam being a physical double of Apple Bloom.
And, as for It's A Pony Kind of Christmas, Twilight singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas and The Hearth's Warming Carol, i imagine all the characters from my fics interacting with the town as they join in the song.
it's a lot of fun, really.
Anyway, that's the mane reason i wanted to get this story updated at least a little before year's end.
Another reason is, oddly enough, as underwhelming as Make Your Mark Chapter 6 was for a lot of people, even those who want to like G5 (myself not included) the scene of Magic In Us actually is quite close in a way to what i have planned for this story's conclusion, a hint or two of which you might have notice in this chapter and slightly altered how i plan on tackling it once i finally get to that... though that won't be for at least two years in universe before that happens.
So, Starlight and Star Swirl have repaired the damage Starlight and his spell caused for those alternate timelines as much as they could, save one that Discord has assured them will fix itself in some way due to his future self telling him that.
That's good, but not at all ominous will that last bit, right? What could possibly go wrong there?
And Pinkie just dropped a massive bombshell withotu seeming to realize it.
There are MORE Alicorns in Equestria than Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Twilight, Autum and Flurry? And they're in hiding? Why? When? Where? What? How?
You'll have to wait and see.
Twilight's reaction to this news is going to be hilarious. She's gonna Twilight like she's never Twilighted before
What does this mean going forward? Are all the Alicorns going to become royalty now? If not, why?
Only time will tell.
Also, might there be more to the incidents of Autum getting blamed for the actions of a Cozy Lookalike than simply somepony trying to get Autum in trouble? 
Anyway, hope you enjoyed what might very well be the last chapter update to any of my fics for the year.
I may be off work for the next 3 weeks, but, if the weather is indeed going to become more like the Aussie summers they usually are, it may be more sporadic a release schedule, as too much heat in the day can really kill the writing groove.
Hope everyone has great holidays, have a Happy Hearth's Warming, Happy New Year and likely see you all in 2024, everybody
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So, when did Starlight shave Starswirl and put on his beard?
The kid in me is tickled, the OCD autistic part of that kid is crying with all the edits that need to be made after a good proof reading.
Canonically Pinkie is an alicorn (or at least was) she probably said that that way because when she held the bell she revealed herself and no one batted an eye at it thinking her transformation was all the bell's doing instead of only partly.
Laying on the foreshadowing kinda thick aren’t we?
Lets go new chapter
Liked this new chapter
Hey welcome back!
Very curious that Pinkie knows of other Alicorns. They likely have much to do about the timeline Discord told them not to go to.
Just because the other timeline folk couldn't escape from that particular portal, doesn't mean the incursions couldn't be traced....
No, she said of all the other Alicorns pretending to be normal ponies.
Silly Pinkie, you thought I wouldn't catch that attempt to lie without actually lying, didn't you?
I wonder if Cozy Glow still exists under alter-Timeline? it would be funny if all Cozies in other timelines had the same ideas as our Cozy Glow (switch body with the Main Character to escape their horrible environment), you got other Autumm running in another Timeline, hiding and trying to survive
It would make one hell of a show
Call her Mommy... I'm dead serious
In the mighty words of Goku's nerd of a son. "Ah, crapbaskets."
dun Dun DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!
I wouldn’t be surprised if pinkie is talking about the other alicorns in hiding to mask the fact she herself is also one.
lol what a cliffhanger i hope the author explores that concept of Alicorns hiding in plain sight under illusions further in the story
hell yeah author ain't dead! 🎉
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To be honest I do believe I seen glimpses of other alicorns in some of g4 episodes
Why did you act so surprised? At this point, you should have known better that Pinkie Pie is anything BUT a normal pony.
nice update!
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Nono she promised she wasn't one.
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Promising doesn’t mean anything
It wasn’t almost a year it was almost a year and a half.
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Technically no! She promised she wasn’t disguised to hide from sight. But if she had another reason to disguise herself, she could still be an Alicorn.
Pinkie dorsn't pretend she is a normal pony
But what a good way to spread the story is a good idea, although it was in a direct way, as I remember in the universe of this story to be alicornium is simply to have the magic of the three races and to be able to regenerate that magic, so it’s very likely that there are many alicorns hiding out there, either living their lives or making evil plans behind the scenes
Is this what happened to the alicorn city-state of Skyross in this story? They all just said, “Nope,” and went into hiding?