Chapter 20: The Cutie Re-Mark Part One
Chapter 20:
The Cutie Re-Mark Part One:
Twilight stood before a podium in a classroom as she spoke. "If somepony had told me when I was just a blank flank that one day I'd give a speech to a class at Celestia's School of Magic, I wouldn't have believed it, but..." She paused and grinned nervously and struggled of what she wanted to say next. She looked through her note cards so she can remember where she left off. "I hope that I have been up to the task, because I can tell that all of you are and that the future of Equestrian magic is in good hooves." She then said as she got back on track with the rest of her speech.
Spike being the only one watching over her speech clapped his claws together.
"Wow. That was even better than the first eleven times you gave it." He complimented, before clearing his throat.
"Eh, I don't know, Spike.” Twilight replied unsure about that. “I'd like to be able to get through the whole speech without looking at the cards. I want to project the utmost confidence in my words."
"Come on, Twilight! You can't be nervous about giving a speech to a bunch of magic students!" Spike reassured she’ll do fine even if she does or doesn't look at her notecards.
"Oh, I'm not nervous, Spike," Twilight returned. "But I do have to set a good especially for magic students. And that's why this speech has to be..." Twilight stopped there expecting Spike to finish her sentence.
"Perfect?" Spike answered as he knows what Twilight’s own expectations for this speech are.
"Exactly. Now let's go through it one more time." Twilight answered as she walked back over to the podium so she can deliver her practice speech for the twelfth time. "When Princess Celestia asked me to speak to you today, I was honored to have the opportunity to talk about my favorite subject: magic."
As Twilight delivers her practice speech again Spike watches her while trying to listen and be supportive at the same time.
Unbeknownst, to the two of them, Starlight was watching from the doorway, with the intent of listening to Twilight’s speech as well since it involves cutie marks, especially the past of the Mane Six’s.
“Don’t worry, Twilight. I’m sure you’ll do great. Especially since you be telling vital information for me.” Starlight sinisterly said as she secretly teleports herself away.
The very next day, the classroom was filled with ponies all gathered for Twilight’s speech. Twilight’s Canterlot friends including Moon Dancer, her sister, and the librarian, were all they in support of her and wanted to see her give the speech when they heard about it.
When Twilight was starting her speech there was a slide showing the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their recently obtained cutie marks.
"Obviously, the long term effects of the simultaneous acquisition of cutie marks has yet to be determined, but…" Twilight spoke before she took a brief break to sip her water. She turned back having expected the next slide to be changed, but nothing happened. So she had to clear her throat to get Spike’s attention. "Ahem. Next slide, please."
Spike had been snoring away almost from the minute Twilight had started talking from having listened to her rehearses her speech twelve times so Moon Dancer who was taking notes from her clipboard had to rub the dragon's belly with a hoof to get him to wake up while finding his sleeping adorable.
"Huh? Huh!!" He said as he immediately snapped to attention quickly spoke as he changed out the slides. In his haste, he accidentally inserted a slide depicting him on the beach relaxing much to his embarrassment, and he had to swap that one out for the correct one to which he had to correct himself again since he inserted it upside down. Thankfully for him, Twilight didn’t notice as he managed to correct his mistake as Twilight points a hoof to the picture of her and her friends.
"I can speak from my own experience that the power of Cutie Mark Magic is very real, and in the instance of my friends and I, it can be traced to a single event!" The slide changed to show the Sonic Rainboom Rainbow Dash first performed to where she and her friends got their cutie marks at the same time.
"Without Rainbow Dash's race to defend Fluttershy's honor, this rainboom wouldn't have happened." She explained, as the slide changed to show each of her friends at the moment they gained their cutie marks one by one. "Fluttershy might never have discovered her love of animals. Applejack might never have realized that she belonged on her farm. And Pinkie Pie might never have decided to leave hers. It must be hard to imagine Rarity without her sense of fabulousness. But it's even harder to fathom what my life would be like.” She explained as the slide included her just after she got her cutie mark. "Without this rainboom, I might not have gotten into magic school. Celestia wouldn't have taken me on as her pupil or sent me to Ponyville to meet my friends.” She said as she then directed her attention towards Spike. “And of course I would never have met Spike because without the rainboom I never would have hatched nor met the young dragon and go on to raise myself who would grow up to become my number one assistant or is always there for me when I needed him the most. To me, he is like the son I never had before." She added with a heartwarming smile in Spike's direction as she continued. "And the most powerful thing about Cutie Mark Magic that I found is the connection I share with them." Twilight continued as she addressed everypony.
Twilight struggled to remember what she wanted to say next when she spotted a familiar unicorn in the audience. She blinked, and the unicorn in question immediately disappeared. Thrown off-track she looks at her note-cards to remember where she picked off.
"But, um. The real question about... Cutie Mark Magic is... who it seems to affect." She said after remembering where she left off.
Aside from that brief moment, the speech went through smoothly no problem. Although Twilight is feeling a little uncertain now that she knows that Starlight has returned.
After the speech, Twilight and Spike returned to Ponyville to where Twilight explains to Spike of why she paused in the middle of her speech.
"Starlight Glimmer?" Spike asked with concern. "That unicorn you see a lot of her past self in?"
"I was sure I saw her, Spike. But when I looked again, she was gone!" She said sounding worried. "I'm just worried what she could be up to, ever since helping everypony there, no pony has seen her since then."
"Probably up to no good I bet!" Spike growled at the very thought of her. "It still really ticks me off that she had the nerve to the turn the entire village and made you cry like that. I'd like to teach Starlight a lesson myself for doing that to the pony who raised me as a son. If Starlight was as smart as you she wouldn’t even think of trying to attempt whatever revenge against you nor try to take away your cutie mark!"
“Forcing everypony in her village to have the same cutie mark wasn't right. We had to do something!” Twilight rightly justified while also feeling glum to the point of feeling bad for her plight. “I just wish I knew what she is up so I can stop her before she does something that threatens the fate of Equestria."
"Especially now she's coming back for revenge." Spike added in a low tone, before he noticed how much the thought of that made Twilight tremble in frozen fear due to how much Starlight is like her when she was evil, so he rushed over to reassure her to snap her out of it. "Uh, or she was just really interested in your speech!”
“I don’t think so Spike.” Twilight said in response knowing from past experience. “Even you don’t know what your enemies are planning doesn’t mean they’ll stop at nothing in order to get what they want. Surely, you and all of my friends would all know that from past experience too.” She said as pulled out her crystal orb from her saddlebag. “And now I’m going to find out.” She added with determination as she has her orb show her where Starlight is as Spike watches in amazement at what Twilight is holding.
When the magic is working on her orb, it shows her Starlight is currently inside the castle and in the throne room lounging on Fluttershy’s throne with her legs resting on the table map apparently waiting for her to return.
“Come on, Spike!” Twilight told Spike as she quickly puts away her orb and used her magic to levitate him onto her back as she quickly heads on over to the castle, hoping she hasn’t done anything to her friends.
“Have you been using that to spy on other ponies?” Spike curiously asked Twilight as she flies over to the castle at top speed.
“Can we please focus on dealing with Starlight first?” Twilight replied in an annoyed tone that he is asking that question right now.
In little to no time, Twilight and Spike made it to the castle and then rushed inside the throne room where Starlight is.
"Welcome home, Twilight!" Starlight evilly greeted the glaring alicorn as Spike stands by Twilight’s side for protection.
"If I you were I get out here before I have you arrested for breaking and entering!" Twilight ominously warned the unicorn with her horn lighting up. “You know what I am capable of and what I can do to you if you’re not careful.”
Starlight just chuckled in response to her threat as she pulled out the scroll she got from Canterlot. "Oh I’m aware of what and who you are, Twilight, a.k.a. Midnight Sparkle. Which is why I brought this with me in preparation for this encounter.”
Twilight watched as Starlight pulled out a scroll and zapped it with her magic. "What are you doing, Starlight?!" Twilight demanded to know what she is up to this time to which Starlight laughed her off again.
"I'd tell you, but I don't want to ruin the surprise! Won't be needing that anymore!" She said as she crumpled the scroll up and tossed it aside. She then casts a beam of magic at the table map while cackling as she is sucked up into a giant magical portal, with ticking clocks all around it. Twilight tries to use her magic to stop her but her magic is unable to cancel out the power of the time-travel spell as Starlight flies into the portal and disappears while is Spike curled up under Twilight’s wing to avoid being blown off.
"Where'd she go?!" Spike asked as she looked up in the ceiling.
"I don't know, Spike, but I think we better find out!" Twilight answered as she walked over to the scroll Starlight tossed aside. “Hop on!” She told Spike as she hopped onto her back as she touched the scroll causing the time-travel spell to activate again to suck them into it as Twilight flies into the portal causing the two to disappear in a flash in a similar fashion.
Twilight flew through the portal with Spike screaming for his life while Twilight mainly focused on stopping Starlight looks on with determination. As they reached the end of the tunnel, she flew down towards the ground and then quickly flew up at the last second and back up in the air. She looked around as they see of where they have been sent, Cloudsdale.
"Cloudsdale? Starlight doesn't even have wings! Why would she come here?" Spike wondered out loud. "What’s her plan?"
"I don't know, Spike, but it looked like she could fly with just magic!" Twilight replied while trying to keep her guard up. "Keep your eyes open. We don't know what she might have planned."
At that moment a filly and two pegasus colts zipped past them as they nearly ducked to avoid getting hit.
"Hey, isn't that, Rainbow Dash?" Spike asked recognizing the rainbow maned filly.
"It is Spike. A very young one too." Twilight answered as she observed Young Rainbow from a distance asked in reply. "And I didn't see a cutie mark on her. And..." Suddenly Twilight’s eyes widen in realization. “We traveled back to the moment Rainbow Dash performed her first sonic rainboom. This is what she set out back in time to do. This is Starlight’s plan.”
"We traveled back in time to when Rainbow Dash raced the bullies who made fun of Fluttershy and performed her first sonic rainboom?" Spike repeated Twilight’s conclusion in surprise. "But I thought that was something only Star Swirl the Bearded could do."
“I know!” Twilight replied just as puzzled of how Starlight can pull this off. “How could Starlight do more than the greatest wizard in Equestria?" She pondered. "There's no way she just happened to get that good in the span of a few months unless that scroll…” She stopped as another realization dawned on her as the scroll fell into Spike’s hands. “…That scroll was Star Swirl’s spell!”
"Well then, let's go!" Spike immediately said as he walked off ahead.
"Go where?" Twilight asked. "In case you haven't noticed, this is the past. If we do anything so much as change one small thing, the fate of Equestria will be at stake!" She warned Spike of the dangers of messing around with the past in time travel.
"To the Sonic Rainboom. “ Spike reassuringly answered. “I don’t wanna miss the Sonic Rainboom!" He said as he walked off, only to fall through the clouds the second he stepped on one of them. Luckily for him, Twilight quickly caught him with her magic and placed him on her back.
“How about you just ride on my back the whole ride while I keep an eye out for Starlight.” Twilight told Spike who grinned in embarrassment after remembering that unicorns and earth ponies need a cloud-casting spell in order to walk on clouds if they aren't Pegasus ponies.
Twilight and Spike quickly found a good place to stand and watch the race on a lone cloud as the three ponies lined up at the starting line. Once Young Fluttershy waves the flag, the three racers flew off causing Young Fluttershy to fall off of the cloud she was standing on.
As much as Twilight wanted to save Young Fluttershy she had to completely remind herself that history depends on her falling down to discover the critters where she would get her cutie mark.
The three fillies were all neck and neck as Young Rainbow takes the early lead. One of the young colts lost control on a sharp turn and flew into a column knocking the living daylights out of himself while the other filly tries to keep pace with him and resorts to body slamming him just to take the lead from her.
“Heh. Later, Rainbow Crash!” The young colt taunted as he flew off ahead.
“Hey!” Young Rainbow angrily said as she flew at top speed to catch up to him.
The two were now neck and neck as Young Rainbow as Starlight evilly smiles as she emerges from her hiding spot from one of the clouds
Before long, the fateful moment of the Sonic Rainboom was drawing near.
"Aw, so sorry about this." Starlight insincerely said as she fired off a magical beam that froze Rainbow Dash in place.
"Hey! What gives?" The young Rainbow Dash demanded as she struggled under Starlight’s grasp as the colt crosses the finish line first thus winning the race and stopping the Sonic Rainboom just like she planned.
Twilight immediately flew over to confront Starlight having caught her at the last second. "Do you even realize what you just did?!" She angrily asked the smug unicorn who laughed in response.
"What I did was for the good of Equestria." She simply responded and watched as another time bubble sucked up Twilight and Spike.
“Mission accomplished.” Starlight said to herself as she watches Twilight and Spike get sucked back into the future.
The time bubble sending Twilight and Spike back to the future left the two landing on the ground with a thud, and already they could tell things were different thanks to Starlight stopping the Sonic Rainboom. But Twilight could only think about Starlight at the moment.
"Ugh... I don't know what Starlight did by stopping the rainboom, but we'd better figure it out before it's too late." She said to as she observed the table
"Um, Twilight? Spike told Twilight as he looked around to their surroundings. "I think the answer is right in front of you."
Twilight did so and then dropped her jaw in shock to see that the place to where the map stood is where the castle it appeared over wasn’t there.
"Where's your castle?!" Spike asked her.
"The map pulled us back, and by stopping the rain-boom in the past Starlight changed things here!" Twilight answered.
"But why? And how did we get here?" Spike asked. "And where's here?“
"More like when!" Twilight corrected Spike as she pulled out the scroll from Spike’s backpack. "Starlight altered Star Swirl's spell, then used it on the map to travel into the past and change history by stopping the rain-boom! Once she did, the map pulled us back to the present!"
"So then, we're back to where— I mean, when we started?" Spike asked still very confused by what had just happened.
“Yes.” Twilight answered as she looked at the altered map which wasn’t removed despite the lack of a castle in this altered timeline. "The map doesn't even make sense anymore! The Crystal Empire takes up half of Equestria!"
"Plus there’s a whole missing castle thing." Spike added.
"Right! This is too big for us to handle on our own!" Twilight said.
“You think?” Spike asked.
"We need to find our friends, assuming they are still alive, and get help! And find what's going on." Twilight said of what they need to do now.
Twilight and Spike made their way into the center of Ponyville, but they have so far found the place is nearly and completely abandoned without any traces of happiness or life lying around.
“I’m getting a bad feeling about this Twilight.” Spike nervously told Twilight as he briefly waving at a pony hiding in her home before she closed the curtains immediately.
"I know Spike." Twilight reluctantly acknowledged as she looks at the abandoned and eerily quiet Ponyville before coming across an abandoned place.
“Is that Sugarcube Corner?” Spike asked Twilight as she looks at the empty building before eyeing and running towards the empty Cantelot Boutique store.
“Rarity?” Spike worriedly asked as she knocks on the vacant store where his crush lives in an alternate timeline before trying to look for her through one of the windows. “Rarity?!”
“She’s not here, Spike.” Twilight told Spike sadly. “A lot has changed thanks to the sonic rainboom never happening. But I know one place that could never change! I hope.” Twilight then said with newfound certainty, mostly as they made their way to Sweet Apple Acres but to their dismay find that even it had changed leaving them both jaw-dropped in shock of how wrong the former was.
The area had been converted into a factory to make canned apple products instead of the traditional growing, harvesting, and bucking apples like how it should be done. Twilight peered through the nearby window to see the apples being placed into cans inside the factory room where she also sees Applejack and Big Macintosh wearing face masks and factory uniforms instead.
At that moment Applejack came out, pushing a barrel.
"Applejack?!" Twilight called out as she approached her.
“What can I do for you?” Applejack asked her as she hardly made eye contact with the alicorn.
"We’ve been looking all over for you." Twilight told her hoping she can make sense of things even with all of the changes that have happened. "What about Pinkie Pie, or Fluttershy, or Rainbow Dash, or even Rarity?” She hopefully asked if she knows them in this timeline.
"Who in tarnation is Pinkie Bow and Flutterdash? Or you for that matter?" Applejack simply and stoically responded as the names don’t ring bells to her as she loads the barrel onto the wagon.
“You... don't know who I am?” Twilight figured Applejack has never met her in this timeline.
“Nope. Honestly, the only name I recognize is Rarity, but she left for Manehattan years ago.” Applejack simply replied as she rolled another barrel onto the wagon.
“Probably to become a world-famous fashion designer, I bet.” Spike figuratively guessed.
“Not that I know of.” Applejack bluntly answered. “Last I heard, she went to help with the cause like everypony else.”
“The cause?” Twilight asked what it is. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with the Crystal Empire taking over half of Equestria, would it?” Twilight asked Applejack.
“Yes it would be ever since King Sombra took over and declared war.” Applejack answered much to Twilight and Spike’s shock.
“What?!” Twilight and Spike both said in shock.
“Where have you two been.” Applejack asked the two feeling they should have known this by now.
"I know this is hard to believe, but you and I and those other ponies I mentioned are friends! At least in a different timeline as we are time travelers." Twilight explained to Applejack.
“Did you bump your head on a crate of cider or somethin'?" Applejack asked Twilight still not finding elements of truth in her words.
“I'm telling you the truth! And if you come with me, I'll prove it.” Twilight honestly told Applejack as she dragged her back to where the map stood with her magic.
“Well, I'll admit. I've lived in these parts my whole life and I've never seen this before.” Applejack honestly told Twilight as they eyed the map on the ground.
“There's also supposed to be a castle that goes with it.” Spike added.
“But I still don't see what this has to do with you and I bein' friends.” Applejack wondered where Twilight is getting at.
“Another pony named Starlight Glimmer used this map to travel through time and change things in the past. For some reason, the map's here but everything else is different!” Twilight explained to Applejack.
“Different how other than you being an alicorn from wherever you came from?” Applejack again asked in confusion while taking note of Twilight’s wings.
“Well mainly, where we came from, there's no war with King Sombra." Twilight honestly answered to the farm pony. "Maybe you could tell us from the best of your knowledge of how the war started so we can figure out things from there.” She then suggested to her to fill her in what's happening in this timeline.
“That’s easy enough.” Applejack complied with Twilight’s request with a sigh before beginning to tell the story. ”When the Crystal Empire returned, it brought King Sombra back with it.” Applejack started to explain as the map showed a projection of the past.“ She said as the image showed the reemerged Crystal Empire with King Sombra himself walking out to the balcony with blue and green flames appearing by his side as he overlooked the empire where the crystal ponies are walking towards the castle all chained up and shackled while hanging their heads in despair. “And it didn't take long for him to force every one of his subjects to fight for him against Equestria.” She said as Sombra has all of the Crystal Ponies wearing mind control helmets and armors similar to his.
As the crystal ponies all march towards the heart of Equestria, Princess Midnight motions her soldiers including her royal guards and the Wonderbolts to attack the approaching crystal ponies.
“Attack!” Princess Midnight told her followers while raising a hoof in her direction.
The soldiers from both sides charged at each other as they prepare to fight for their lives at for victory as they collide.
Both armies evenly matched both fought evenly matched with various ponies fighting and attempting to gain the upper hoof over each other.
As King Sombra enters the battlefield he sees three of the royal guards attempting to charge at him to which he quickly responds by using her dark magic to create a crystal rock formation to which he rises on leaving his chargers crashing into the wall with King Sombra laughing off their attempt off as he oversees the battle himself.
In the mist of the chaos, a familiar pony Rainbow Dash was mostly covered in Wonderbolt armor to which Twilight recognized who is currently kicking crystal flanks all around including the one that attempted to tackle her off of her back causing her helmet to fall off to reveal her scarred left eye, cut left ear, and her missing left wing replaced with metal over it in its place as she pressed forward into battle.
Two crystal ponies then push a boulder off of a cliff from above in an attempt to crush Rainbow Dash who is caught off-guard by the incoming object but thankfully for her. Maud and Pinkie Pie (who has flattened hair in this timeline) come to her rescue by drilling the boulder into little pebbles with multiple and rapid punches. The two sisters both salute her as their way of saying “You’re welcome.” as they all press forward with battle.
“And even with Princess Midnight leadin' the charge, it still takes every last pony in Equestria doin' their part, workin' day and night, to keep up the fight.“ Applejack said as Princess Midnight stoically walks onto the battlefield overlooking her beaten soldiers as four crystal ponies attempt to ambush her from underground to which she quickly counters by blasting them away with a force field spell.
Both Twilight and Spike were both surprised to see that Twilight still has become evil in this alternate timeline and left wondering how it still happened as the map shows what’s happening to Equestria outside of the battlefield which shows multiple sheep being unloaded from ships with Fluttershy shaving all of the fur off of the sheep much to her displeasure with an equally exhausted and saddened Rarity sewing together army uniforms to where they are handed to drafted ponies by royal guards who are boarding the train on their way to join the army.
Twilight and Spike were left speechless as Applejack’s story came to a conclusion. The horrors of war that happened because she wasn’t there to stop him. And the fact that Twilight turned into her villainous Midnight self even without the Sonic Rainboom happening.
"I just can't believe it." Twilight commented in shock of what she is hearing as if seeing Rainbow Dash with a scarred eye, a cut wing, and a notched ear wasn’t bad enough aside from seeing herself turning evil in this timeline. "How? We’re friends and I defeated King Sombra from where I came from."
"But we aren’t friends, at least not here," Applejack solemnly replied leaving Twilight saddened by what has happened. "Look. I hope all this helped, but I really need to get back to cannin' those apples."
“Thank you. We're going to set things right.” Twilight reassured Applejack while thanking her for telling them what happened while letting her go.
“I hope you do.” Applejack sympathetically told Twilight with a sigh before setting out back to the farm.
Because these are ponies from different timelines, it would make sense that both sides would be equally confused with their surrondings and what both parties had to say.
After Applejack had left Spike turned over to Twilight as he asked her.
"So... how are we gonna set things right, exactly?"
Twilight pondered for a minute before coming up with a solution. With confidence. "By going back in time!”
"Okay how?" Spike again asked.
"The map is connected to the Tree of Harmony! So it must sense that something isn't right! That's why it's still here! We'll just have to use Starlight's version of the spell, go back a little earlier, and stop her before she even knows we're there!"
"Even considering that Starlight already managed to slip past us once before." Spike pointed out.
"That time she caught us off-guard." Twilight firmly said. "No more matter how many times she may try to out-smart me she wouldn’t win in the end! And if we don't stop Starlight, Equestria might under the control of somepony else!"
By concentrating her magical powers on the table map, Twilight produced a new time bubble that sucked both her and Spike up, and they disappeared in a blinding flash of light.
When the flash faded, Twilight and Spike were back in Cloudsdale back before Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom attempt.
"Okay, all we have to do now is find Starlight and…" Twilight began to tell Spike only to be cut off by a magic blast that trapped them inside a giant crystal prison.
"Well, finding her will be easy! But stopping her's gonna be harder than you think," Starlight smirked as emerged from her hiding place and perching on top of the crystal prison. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I created that spell to send myself back in time. So even when you cast it, I still get sent back here. It wasn't difficult to change Star Swirl's spell. He'd already done the hard part. But figuring out I could use the map to go to any time or place and pull you along with me?” She briefly laughed as she floated over the imprisoned Twilight and Spike. “I even impressed myself with that. I knew you'd try to stop me. You're so predictable. Why else would I leave the scroll behind? Touching it triggered the map to whisk you here and watch me erase the one thing that linked you with your friends!” She evilly gloated to Twilight that she has taken lessons from the last time they faced off against. "My village was a sanctuary of equality, where nopony's cutie mark allowed them to feel superior! It was a special place, and you and your friends took it away!"
As Starlight continued to rant on and on about her village, Twilight looked down to see her crystal prison is sinking through the cloud and decided to wait until the crystal prison had dipped below the cloud base before teleporting her and Spike out of it. As soon as Starlight floats down to continue gloating to Twilight when she sees that she disappeared from her sight, Twilight immediately hit Starlight square in the chest with a magical beam, knocking the unicorn backward a little.
Starlight groaned, but managed to rise to her hooves without much trouble. "Well played you sly pony you got me monologuing. I give you props for that." Starlight told her. "But don’t think you’ll get the drop on me this time!"
"Do you not even realize what you are doing Starlight?!" Twilight told the unicorn while assuming a defensive stance. "Tampering with the past has serious consequences, and by doing what you’re doing you are hurting millions of ponies for the sake of revenge!"
"Like your one to talk about Twilight considering you had no problems pursing vengeance against the ponies you call themselves friends." Starlight retorted. "As I was saying, you and your friends took away my special future! So now it's my turn to take something special from you! Cutie marks for cutie marks! Sounds like a fair trade to me! Consider this me returning the favor!"
Twilight narrowed her eyes as she glared at Starlight in response.
"Not going to happen Starlight, because you will never succeed as there will always be somepony to stop you!" Twilight defiantly told Starlight.
“Who you?!” Starlight laughed off. “You may be strong, but no matter what you do it won’t be enough. You will meet the same fate as you friends. As soon all of Equestria will be mine!” She said as she evilly laughed and teleported away in a flash.
When the light faded, Starlight was nowhere to be seen. Twilight continuing to flap her wings set off in pursuit of Starlight.
“No…” Twilight silently retorted Starlight’s claim with narrowed eyes. “Not this time.”
Through stealth teleportation through clouds Twilight made her way though Cloudsdale while keeping an eye out for Starlight.
“Okay, keep your eyes peeled.” Twilight told Spike as she looked for Starlight.
“Right!” Spike seriously replied as he pulled out his binoculars from his backpack.
“We have to stop Starlight as soon as Rainbow Dash and those bullies race by!” Twilight told Spike while trying to find said unicorn.
“Uh, Twilight…” Spike spoke up when he spotted something. “I think it might be too late for that.” He told Twilight as he handed the binoculars to her for her see.
There she has found another way to stop the Rainboom by talking down the bully fillies who were picking on Fluttershy.
"Just remember how you would feel if someone said those things to you." Starlight lectured to the two ponies, in a very sweet tone.
Well, sickeningly sweet to Twilight since she is only doing this to stop the Sonic Rainboom from happening.
"What's going on here?" Twilight sternly asked the smug unicorn.
"Oh, I was just reminding these two colts here how hurtful teasing can be." Starlight simply answered. “Surely you of all ponies would know that.”
Twilight could only glare at Starlight seeing she has nothing to say to support bullying and teasing as the two colts have a change of heart towards Fluttershy.
"Come on Fluttershy. Maybe I can help you get through the course this time." One of the colts offered.
"Well I sure could probably use the practice." Fluttershy replied as she takes up the offer immediately.
Once the three walked off, Twilight turned her attention back to Starlight and glared at her.
"I know you only convinced those bullies to not tease Fluttershy in order to stop the rainboom!" Twilight told the heartless unicorn she is not fooled by her.
"Oh, that's not true.” Starlight said with faux innocence. “I convinced them not to be bullies because everypony should be equal. Stopping the rainboom is just a bonus.” She then said with calm anger towards Twilight.
Just then, Young Rainbow Dash zoomed past.
"This isn't over yet!" She vowed to Starlight as she flew off in Rainbow Dash’s direction as she got an idea to which Starlight just smirks in response still feeling she has the alicorn right where she wants her.
"If you say so."
Twilight and Spike payed no attention to Starlight’s taunting as they just took off in pursuit of Rainbow Dash with the hope that there was still a chance they could make things right.
Rainbow Dash was flying across the sky at top speed as Twilight flew up beside her.
"Hi!" Twilight greeted Young Rainbow Dash with a bright smile with Spike waving while holding onto Twilight’s tail.
“Um... hi?" Rainbow reluctantly greeted.
"You think you can stop for a moment or two?" Twilight asked Rainbow.
"Sure." Rainbow replied as she came to abrupt halt to which Twilight quickly and abruptly braked as she skidded and turned herself around before running into a cloud.
"So, I hear you're pretty fast!" Twilight started off with a compliment.
"Pretty fast? Please! I'm even faster than that!" Young Rainbow proudly replied.
"Wanna prove it?" Twilight asked the young proclaimed fastie. "You know, you and me, a race to the finish line?"
"Um, that wouldn't really be fair. I mean, you're a full-grown pony, and... Wait. Are you an Alicorn??" Young Rainbow asked in reply as she observed Twilight.
"Come on, I thought you were fast!" Twilight attempted to goad Young Rainbow into taking up the challenge.
Rainbow didn't really like being taunted but was feeling that she wasn’t going to win by racing a fully grown alicorn.
"Uh, actually, I just remembered I have somewhere I need to be." She quickly and hastily replied and then bolted away.
Not wanting to give up there Twilight chased after Young Rainbow Dash and said to her.
“Come on, how do you know for sure you can’t race me?” Twilight further encouraged and goaded Young Rainbow Dash. “Afraid you might lose to me, Rainbow Crash.”
Young Rainbow Dash snapped hearing that insult as she glared and flew right up to the alicorn’s face.
“What did you call me?!” Young Rainbow angrily asked Twilight.
“Nothing other than calling you Rainbow Crash.” Twilight calmly smiled as she replied unfazed by the little filly’s anger as she sees that her attempted ploy is working.
“You better apologize to me for that!” Young Rainbow Dash demanded.
“You’ll have to catch me first.” Twilight tauntingly told her as she flew off onto the race course to which Young Rainbow Dash takes after her at top speed.
“Gotcha.” Twilight smirked as she sees an angry filly pursuing her. Since she is a full-grown alicorn she is calmly flying in stride seeing Young Rainbow driving herself at top speed to the point she is about to perform her Sonic Rainboom again until she spots Starlight waiting to stop Young Rainbow again.
“Oh no you don’t!” Twilight quickly said as she flew over to tackle Starlight before she can cast her freeze spell on Young Rainbow causing the two to tumble through the clouds leaving Rainbow abruptly skidding to a halt wondering where she went before flying off.
Starlight watched Young Rainbow take off without the motivation to race at top speed as she growled that the one who dared call her Rainbow Crash got away with it.
"Gee, Twilight, what's the matter? Couldn't convince her to do the impossible? That's too bad," She smugly taunted, rubbing her victory in Twilight's face as another time bubble appeared in the sky ready to suck Twilight back up to the future. But before being sucked back inside, Twilight uses her magic to ensnare Starlight to take her with her.
"Hey?!" Starlight exclaimed as she is dragged through the portal.
When the flash of light faded, Twilight, Starlight, and Spike both landed back on the ground with a thud in what seemed to be the Everfree Forest at nighttime. The map was still intact, but the castle was still gone.
"Ugh. Well, that didn't work." Spike said as he picked himself up and dusting himself off.
"What is going on here, where in the name of Equestria am I?!" Starlight asked in confused anger at being dragged here. "What did you do?!" She angrily asked Twilight.
“I've tried reasoning with you, Starlight!” Twilight calmly told the angered unicorn. “But you keep forcing me to take extreme measures!”
"I think I see things clear enough, Twilight." Starlight snarled at Twilight. "And I'll start to taking care of you once and for all." She furiously added as glared at the alicorn ready to pounce onto her while Twilight assumes the same fighting position does the same with hers along with spreading out her wings as the two circle around the area.
"Bring it!" Twilight challenged Starlight as they both glare each other down before charging at each other and then tackling each other as they deck it out fist to fist and hoof to hoof.
“Uh, Twilight?” Spike said to Twilight with a nervous and alarmed look on his face having heard something from the shadows.
“Hold on Spike!” Twilight paid no attention to Spike as she focuses on her fight with Starlight Glimmer as they continue deck it out with each other hoof to hoof landing punches and kicks to each other as they tackle and tumble across the ground.
"Twilight?" Spike called out to her a little louder and more alarmed then before.
"Stay out of this!" Starlight angrily yelled at Spike to back off as she continued to deck it with Twilight.
"ENOUGH!" Spike yelled out to the two mares as they continue fighting each other.
"What is it, Spike?!" Twilight asked having little patience with Spike constantly trying to break up their fight. "You better have a good reason to tell me why I shouldn't be doing this to somepony who deserves this!"
“I do!” Spike exclaimed as he pointed towards the direction of howling from timber-wolves that appeared right in front of them causing both Twilight and Starlight to freeze as Twilight has Starlight pinned with her right hoof twisted around a little with her left hoof pinned down. Twilight immediately lets go of Starlight who immediately stands up frozen in fear of the timber-wolves.
"What in the world?!" Starlight exclaimed in shock seeing them.
Twilight tries to use her magic to stop them, but her magic isn't charged enough to even do anything about it. The same result happened to Starlight when she tried to use her magic too.
"I can't use my magic?!" Twilight exclaimed in shocked surprise.
"Me neither?!" Starlight exclaimed in the same tone as the timber-wolves charge at them.
Thinking quickly, she charged towards one of them and punched it right in the face hard enough to destroy it, then quickly bucked her back hoofs towards another incoming timber-wolf who tried to quickly attack her.
With the two timber-wolves defeated, Twilight uses this opportunity to flee the scene while she still can with Spike quickly hopping on the alicorn's back with an equally frightened expression with Starlight following her. The three quickly make their way out of the forest until they come across the place where Castle of the Two Sisters resides.
"The Castle of the Two Sisters!" Twilight exclaimed as she recognizes the place as the timber-wolves are howling for back-up.
Twilight seeing they have to make inside the castle for safety Twilight runs ahead with Starlight looking back hesitant of doing so.
"Well, don't just stand here!" Spike called out to her after Twilight crossed the bridge as Starlight does the same as the three make their way to the castle and inside.
Once all three get inside, they all breath sighs in relief knowing that they escaped the timberwolves.
"Remind me when we get out of here to kill you for this!" Starlight angrily remarked as she recovers from her shock as she faced a problem that she really needed magic for but couldn't use it when she needed it.
"Don't worry about that." Twilight replied just as angrily. "Once we get out of here I will make sure of that except that the roles are reversed when that happens." She threatened Starlight in the same tone as they glared at each other again.
"Can we please save the fighting until after we figure what is going on here?" Spike felt the need to interrupt their argument again as she points to the castle foyer's torches lighting up with blue and purple flames.
Deciding to put their feud on hold for now, Twilight and Starlight join Spike as they walk through the room.
"This place looks a lot cleaner than I remember." Spike recalled from past memory as one of the banners from the floor is lifted off the ground by a unicorn who was wearing a dark blue fancy jacket, dark purple slippers, and had her mane and tail all tied up in a bun.
"Rarity?" Twilight asked her while relived that she is alive in this timeline.
"The castle isn't open for viewings today. The tapestries all need changing. Again." Rarity simply scoffed at the trio as she focuses on her task at hoof.
"Recognize this handsome fellow?" Spike ran up to her while sporting a charming smile.
"I don't socialize with dragons. I don't know anypony who would." Rarity coldly rebuffed his advance's leaving the poor dragon hurt and saddened by that remark to which Starlight chuckled at the scene taking pleasure at Spike's misery for a moment to which Twilight shuts her up with a smack to the face for that condescending remark towards her adopted young brother and son with her wing before focusing her attention back to Rarity.
"Rarity, you have to listen to me! The future of Equestria's at stake!" Twilight tried to speak to her.
"I don't know how you know my name, but I am far too busy to entertain some tourist's ridiculous fantasies." Rarity simply blew her off not even looking at her.
"But you don't understand! I have to get back to the map so the Sonic Rainboom can happen and prevent the past from being changed, because every present I come to is worse than the last!" Twilight tried to explain to the ignoring unicorn's off-putting attitude.
"You mean me stopping the rainboom from happening to ensure what's best for all of Equestria." Starlight retorted with her input.
"Shut up!" Twilight abruptly responded to Starlight as she still tries to get Rarity to listen to her.
"Time travel, you say?" A voice called out from the shadows from the castle throne room. "Now that's something I would like to see." She said as she emerged her head from the shadows with a malicious grin. "Wouldn't you agree...Midnight." She added as she turned to the other pony in the shadows sitting being her side on her throne too.
"Yes, it would be...Mother." Said mare who is revealed to be Midnight Sparkle as she sports an evil smile as she chuckles evilly leaving Twilight, Starlight, and Spike all stunned in surprise and shock seeing the two villainous alicorns before them.
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Wow I did not see that coming! THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!! 😆
So without her friends, Twilight would've walked down the dark path sooner. There goes the "Moondancer's life is what Twilight would've became without friendship" theory.
Why hello there, Syndrome.