Chapter 2
At the start of the following timeline, the group met up at Fluttershy’s cottage a few towns over. Lillian was fuming.
“I was there, I was right fuckin’ there!” She ranted, seated next to Sunset and Twilight.
The girls had all found spots around the warmly lit loungeroom as the tradition of their meetups to discuss the ongoing problem of being in a time loop continued.
“Henry done fucked up.” Applejack commented from her spot leaning up against Rainbow as the two of them shared a chair.
“I’ll say, wasn’t Pinkie supposed to warn him to not ditch Ellie?” Rainbow asked.
“I did!”
“So, Henry Stickmin is an uncaring prick, great.” Lillian drawled, her voice dripping with annoyance.
“At least the last timeline provided us with plenty of data,” Twilight spoke up, eyes glued to her laptop. “Lillian being with the Toppats is a constant, significantly less anomalies occurred after she got in contact with Reginald.”
“Define anomaly.” Rainbow said.
“The insane number of times one of the other CCC branches completely break reality or drop a nuke on us because things got a bit too out of hand,” Twilight recited. “We’re essentially taking preventative measures to stop the rest of the CCC from pressing the panic button…”
“Have we confirmed if Henry is aware of the timelines?” Sunset asked.
“We can’t approach him directly, he’s at the epicentre of all of this, and we could risk an early end to the timeline if we make the wrong move.” Twilight advised.
“I know…” Pinkie groaned, deflating, and sliding down the armchair she occupied. “This sucks!”
“What should we do?” Fluttershy asked as she pet the rabbit sitting in her lap.
“Any advice Lillian?” Twilight asked.
Lillian blinked. “You’re asking me?”
“The Toppat Clan is your territory so to speak, and the Toppat Civil Warfare timeline is one the more chaotic ones we haven’t derailed yet.”
“Hm…” her brow furrowed as Lillian thought it over. “All I can do is try and advise Reginald. I can’t do anything about Henry, aside from breaking Henry and Ellie out of The Wall ourselves, I don’t know what else we can do given how stubborn Dmitri is.”
“Why are we even still doing this?” Rainbow asked suddenly and the others looked at her.
“Because we’re stuck in a time loop?” Twilight suggested.
“But we’ve been stuck for years, and nothing we do makes a difference!” the prismatic haired woman exclaimed. “And why are we all just ignoring the fact that we got someone enslaved to the CCC in trying to fix it!”
“We did no such thing.” Rarity argued.
“Tell that to Lilian, she has a tracking device on her wrist! She can’t go anywhere without authorisation from the commander! She hates us.” Rainbow pointed out.
“Hate? It’s more like resigned tolerance.” Lillian admitted with a shrug.
The awkward silence that followed was telling.
“W-What should we do?” Fluttershy asked timidly.
“Should we try and get Lillian out of the CCC?” Twilight asked.
“You and I both know I’d just join the Toppats right off the bat if we did that.” Lillian said.
“After everything we’ve seen, I don’t blame you,” Sunset said.
“Hey, so what would we even do once this time loop thing is sorted?” Rainbow wondered.
Applejack looked tired. “…I don’t rightly know Dash, how long have we been at this again?”
“It’s kind of sad that we’re some of the most competent people in the US branch.” Twilight added.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Rarity said with a sigh. “I sometimes wish we’d never accepted Luna’s invitation to work for her…”
“You guys can still quit.” Lillian pointed out.
“We can do that?” Pinkie exclaimed, bolting up in her seat.
Lillian looked around at the stunned faces of the Rainbooms. She tilted her head in confusion. “Uh yeah, what’s stopping you?”
“The same year repeating itself?” Rainbow suggested.
“Just plan your resignation ahead of time and go through with it every loop.” The non-human replied easily.
“But what about you? We’re the reason you’re in this mess…” Sunset said, looking concerned. “We can’t just abandon you. I’ll ask Luna about it tomorrow at work.”
Commander Luna peered at the group of young women gathered in her office. Her darker blue uniform spotless and decorated with the many accolades and awards she’d earned over the years.
“I’m afraid it is out of my hands girls, as far the Administration board is concerned, Lillian Meadows is the property of the CCC when her artifact fell int our possession.” Luna explained, looking apologetic. “I won’t stop the rest of you if you truly wish to resign, from what I’ve read of Twilight’s reports, you all seem to have done everything within your power to end this crisis.”
The girls shared worried looks. Lillian looked indifferent.
“I’m sorry, until the board decides to return the Orb to one of you, or to Lillian herself, there is nothing I can do,” the commander stated. “Even the laws regarding magical entities classify her as a familiar bound to an object, so the CCC is legally within their rights to keep her under their control so long as the object is within their possession.”
“I see, thank you for being honest with us Commander.” Sunset said and led the girls out of the office.
Once they were out of earshot of their superior, Rainbow let loose.
“God damnit!” She snarled and Applejack walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.
“Look, it’s nice that you’re trying to make up for what is an honest mistake, but I’ll be fine,” Lillian said. “You girls focus on whether you want to quit or not.”
“But we did this to you, it’s our fault!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I just can’t stand that- we’re supposed to be the good guys!”
“We want to be your friends Lillian,” Twilight said sincerely. “But we know you won’t accept us until we make up for dragging you into our problem.”
Lillian adjusted her coat. She’d gone for a classier outfit this time around. The cuffs of her long-sleeved white dress shirt were frilly, and the shirt paired well with her black pants and black coat. Her pants were held up a pair of red suspenders that matched the red lining of her coat. The scuffed sneakers she still wore didn’t exactly fit the aesthetic, but Lillian somehow made it work.
She glanced around at the others, they wore varying expressions of worry and guilt.
She sighed. “Come on, we need to figure out what we’re doing for this run.”
Months passed, the airship infiltration came and went, and Lillian, already a Toppat by then, had been called back to the CCC after Reginald was arrested.
Her top hat now sat on her desk in her room gathering dust and she was confined to her room until the higher-ups could figure out what to do with her. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, and she was well aware the CCC was worried of the potential she had to cause chaos.
With nothing better to do, she browsed the internet on her laptop. That is, until her phone rang.
“Lillian, where are you?” Sunset asked.
“My room, why?”
“Have you seen the news?”
“No...” Lilian replied and within seconds, pulled up the news site she and the others used to keep track of events.
Toppats Break Leader out of Prison Days after Arrest
“The fuck?”
“That wasn’t you?”
“No! Did you ask the others?”
“It wasn’t any of them, we all thought you had something to do with it!”
It was something new. Something different from the ceaseless repetition they’d dealt with up to this point. The concept was so alien she couldn’t wrap her head around it.
“But how? The only changes should be the ones we make.”
“Twilight’s looking into it, but we think it might be a rogue element, or the timeline trying to compensate for our meddling.”
“This is so weird,” Lillian said. “Any orders from Commander Luna?”
“We’re to remain on standby until further notice and to record any other changes that occur,” Sunset stated. “Trust me, the others aren’t happy about it either.”
“You know where to find me if you need anything. Talk to you later.”
Lillian hung up and turned her attention to the article, wracking her brain for an answer. What had changed? She hadn’t told Reginald anything about the timelines this time, joining the clan as just another new recruit the Toppat Chief had stumbled across. But something had definitely changed.
The article commented on the break-out, that the police suspected it was planned ahead of time. She didn’t think she let anything slip, but she couldn’t be sure.
Lillian felt a headache starting to form above her right eye. She was frustrated at her inability to do anything and, feeling weary, she opened a blank document and started taking down notes on the situation in the hopes it would provide some insight.
It didn’t, but it felt productive and provided a welcome distraction from the headache.
The next thing to change wasn’t until a few months later. Lillian had left her room in search of food to find a package on her doorstep. Placing it on her desk and untying the string keeping it closed, she opened the cardboard box and stared at the small bundle of vibrant red roses. There was also a letter, folded up on top of the pile. Lillian wondered if she’d been given someone else’s mail by mistake and read the letter.
Dear Lillian,
Well, it was for her then. That fact only made her more curious as she kept reading.
It took quite the effort to track you down. At first, I assumed you left the clan of your own volition but to learn you’re being held captive by the very people you work for.
Truly detestable.
By the time you read this, I will have retrieved the necessary information needed to free you from your unjust situation and be en route to rescue.
I do hope you enjoy the flowers, I made certain to choose ones that would convey the appropriate message.
Rest assured my dear, I will free you.
Forever in your debt,
R.C
“What.” Lillian said flatly as she looked down at the roses. She knew what red ones meant, everyone did, but she couldn’t believe it.
This was new, too new, and she wasn’t sure what she was more worried about, the fact Reginald knew things he shouldn’t be aware of in this timeline, or that he-
She was aware she was panicking, her mind going a hundred miles an hour as she wrestled with the idea.
Reginald liked her as more than a friend. For quite a while now, she held him in high regards, more than she had anyone else in her life, and she had dutifully ignored that feeling in fear of losing him as a friend.
She wasn’t quite sure what to do, desperate for something, anything to make sense. It was almost funny in some twisted way, here she was grown adult, a being that at one point had bent the raw forces of nature to her will, and yet she was panicking over the idea her friend might fancy her.
Laughable.
The idea wasn’t terrible the more she thought about it. Reginald was passionate when it came to his duty as leader of the Toppats and even before she’d really known who he was they had a healthy dose of respect for one another.
“Fuck…” She groaned as she realised that yes, she was crushing on him.
She needed advice.
She rounded up the Rainbooms in her small room and showed them the letter and the roses.
“Oh my.” Fluttershy said.
Rarity was cackling.
“I knew it!” she crowed. “I fucking called it.”
“That’s not helping…” Lillian whined.
“Is anyone else worried that the leader of the Toppat Clan is going to raid the base?” Sunset asked.
“I say let him. We’re finally seeing something different!” Rainbow said.
“Lillian? Are you alright?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, no… I dunno!” she replied, sitting on her bed. “I don’t think I love him yet, but I like him as more than a friend, because he’s considerate and driven, an’ I’ve known him for a few years from his perspective, and who knows how long from mine because time loop-”
Her rambling was broken by Applejack placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. Lillian took a shuddering breath.
“I don’t look at someone and fall in love like Rarity does, I don’t have crushes, or find people hot or sexy or whatever. Romance was something that happened to other people,” she tried to explain. “It’s not a choice, it’s how I function. So, I’m sorry that I’m losing my shit over this, but this is new and scary, and I have no idea what to do.”
“This is a big deal to you, isn’t it?” Sunset asked.
“Yeah…”
“But what about the time loop? Or the CCC?” Fluttershy spoke up.
Sunset shrugged. “All in favour of joining the Toppats say aye.”
Lillian was stumped as there were ayes all around. “But you all have jobs, and families.”
“And we’ve been living the same year on repeat,” Rainbow stressed. “They’ll be fine.”
“Our families haven’t been in danger in the past, no reason to worry about it now.” Applejack added.
“I don’t think I’ve even seen my parents or my brother since we started working here.” Twilight commented.
“I still don’t get why you want to follow me though…” Lillian said. “Is it because of guilt? Responsibility?”
Several of the girls looked hurt by the accusation.
“I’m sorry,” Lillian apologized. “I’m just so used to accepting that this is my life now that… I don’t know anything else. If you wanted, all of you could have a life outside of the CCC…”
She sighed. “Maybe I’ve been alone too long…”
“Have you never had friends before?” Sunset asked.
She opened her mouth to say yes, of course she’d had friends, but the words caught in her throat. Because the reality was, the only friends she had were Reginald, Right Hand Man, and the handful of Toppats she got along with.
“Outside of the Toppats? No.” She finally replied. “So, you’re all serious about this?”
Their conversation was interrupted by the blaring ringtone of Lillian’s mobile phone.
And Lillian’s panic was back in full.
“Shit that’s him!”
“Answer it.” Rarity hissed as the others watched curiously.
Lillian grabbed her phone and pushed the call button, holding it up to her left ear as her nerves made her feel jittery.
“Hello?”
“Hey Girlie, you holdin’ up alright?”
She blinked and pulled the phone away to check the caller ID. Now more confused than nervous she focused on her attention back on the caller.
“Right? The hell are doing with the chief’s phone?”
“Borrowed it,” Right Hand Man said casually. “You get his message?”
“Uh yeah…”
“How badly are you losin’ your shit?”
“I think I’m panicking to be honest,” she said, glancing around at the seven women crammed into her room. “This is new and scary, and you know full well I’m a complete dumbarse.”
Right knew of course, he’d been the one to introduce her to Reginald in the first place. She and Right had been thick as thieves for as long as she’d known him. While she never did field work, she was well known in the clan as Right’s sparring partner, mostly since she could dodge everything the man threw at her.
“So, you like him then?” Right asked and she could faintly hear something in the background.
Talking with Right was easy, there was no pressure, no judgement, and the question gave her something to focus on, something to help her wrestle her emotions under control.
It also helped that Right understood.
“It’s sort of like, I dunno if I love him yet, but I like him as more than a friend, so the potential is there you know?”
“Disney movie?”
It was a call back to something they’d discussed ages ago, when she first figured out she was demi. Right had helped her through the ensuing existential crisis by virtue of just having someone she could talk to about it. Since then, she’d confided in him across the timelines even though he never remembered.
“Yup,” she paused. Now calm enough to pay no mind to the group listening in to the conversation. “Is that weird?”
“Nah, knowing Reg, he’d like that. Let him go ham.”
The noise in the background was getting louder, someone shouting angrily.
Lillian smiled. “The chief figured out you were gonna call me, didn’t he?”
“He’s got it into his head that he has to do something big, so someone had to make sure you were alright.”
“…Thanks Right,” she said. “What’s the plan?”
“Head to the vault an’ wait for us there if you can. Otherwise, jus’ sit tight.”
“Got it, stay safe.”
“You too. See you soon.”
She hung up and the girls watched her expectantly. She blinked tiredly at them. “Gonna meet the clan at the vault, Reginald’s up to something.”
She started packing her things, unplugging her laptop and slinging her satchel over her head to hang across her left shoulder. She stuffed her mobile phone in her bag, followed by her laptop and grabbed her hat, putting it on her head and adjusting it as she looked around the room.
“You lot still in?” she asked.
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You’re more into Henry stickmin than I expected, I think it’ll be following you
10691062
Yeah, I made an A03 account, and a tumblr, so I could post more Henry Stickmin stuff.
10691085
I’m still new to tumblr so I don’t know how to follow anyone yet lol
10691142
What's your tumblr? I'll follow you and walk you through it if you like.
10691155
You can find all the other places to find me on my user page to the right, and at the very bottom of the list should be my tumblr account. Plus, thanks for the follow
10691161
I can't find you, I'm guessing you don't have any posts up yet?
My Tumblr Blog
My Henry Stickmin Ask Blog
To follow a tumblr, there should be a follow button in the top right corner of the blog, click it.
And hey, I always appreciate a fellow Stickmin fan, and I've been trying to get out of my shell a bit more, I'm quite the introvert.
10691171
So I already figured out the follow part since I do follow quite a few ask blogs already, and yes I don’t have any posts up yet because I’m still figuring out what I want to do. Also, I think I’ll check out your askblog soon. Lastly, have you read my Henry stickmin story yet? It’s called “Rainbow dash and a stickmin”
10691210
...You have a Henry Stickmin Story?
Link?
10691215
Here it is: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/486949/rainbow-dash-and-a-stickmin
It’s unfinished and I doubt it will get finished anytime soon
10691219
Found it, am reading it.
Sorry, bit too tired for words, but I'm trying.