Rise of the Elements Epidode 0: Silent over Time

by Dream Volt

Tea at Fluttershy's

"WE DEMAND YOU EXPLAIN CAPTAIN."

I had been hiding in the bushes, but now tumbled out. Fluttershy gasped. That seemed loud even to me. Luna and Fluttershy were having tea as usual. It was still snowy, but Winter Wrap Up wasn't that far away, so at least as far as pegasai were concerned it was fairly warm. Though if Luna wasn't there to keep reheating the tea I'm sure they would be inside. Dream was as per orders hiding in the tree. This time he was still awake, reading a book. He had on a long black coat that didn't seem that warm, but he insisted it was even though I suppose it didn't matter. It did cover his wings well at least. Some ponies still came up to me to ask about the wings but most of the ponies in Ponyville had already decided it wasn't that interesting and moved on. I thought about darting back into the bush, but then decided to rush to Luna's side instead.

"Mam." I saluted. "I am avoiding somepony. I had hoped they would not learn of my visits here, but now I know they do."

"Wait, is that why thou were absent earlier?"

"No, that was because I decided to give Dash some Wonderbolts tickets in pony while I was here." I laughed. "She was a little annoying regarding the Wonderbolts when she was younger, but she's fine now."

"We don’t understand."

"Obviously I am more than a few years older than her, and this stallion in my class became a wonderbolt so she kept bugging me even though I didn't know him well."

"Yes, she was just a little too…" Shy paused "…energetic about it."

"Eventually dad got her a VIP pass so she could visit them backstage, and after that she only ever bugged him." Then I let out a short chuckle. "But it's dad, so obviously she didn't try it that often."

Fluttershy giggled.

"Hmm, who is thou father. I do not believe you have mentioned his name."

"We have not?" I said

"Oh, he's Steelwing." Said Fluttershy. "I know some soldiers say he's mean but he's really a big softie. Just like a bear. They look like they might be mean, but they're really just big fluffy teddy bears."

"With huge claws. You are so strange sometimes Shy-shy. When it comes to animals you're just not afraid of the right things at all."

Then I noticed Luna was just staring off into space. I suppose she somehow really did miss me saying that. Either that or this is the first time she'd really made the obvious conclusion that he's also Fluttershy's father. Then again maybe it's just her having a hard time picturing dad in any way a big softie?

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just they don't seem very scary at all."

"To be fair…" Luna then paused, briefly shaking her head. "I think there is little thine sister has to fear from even the largest beast."

"Even Dragons? Because…" I began, frowning

"That isn't the same." Said Fluttershy, shaking slightly

"Dragons are not beasts. Like griffins, ponies and others they are more than that."

"Of course your…"

Then I cringed. It hit a very small section of flesh under my armor. Azalea could hit my bare flesh with pebbles from surprisingly great distances, and each one really hurt. I know my old armor protected me from projectiles, and this should do the same, but as good as my girls are they certainly aren't Luna herself. Luna said it might not matter, but other than it being an earth pony throwing the rocks wouldn’t elaborate. I turned to see Azy wearing a thick winter coat and fur lined boots.

"Luna. I meant Luna."

"Oh my, did somepony really…" began Fluttershy, looking around

"She did agree to it." said Azy

"Not as such but…"

"Fine, Luna asked you to do something. It's the same thing really."

"Eeep."

Fluttershy was now under her own table. Azy trotted up closer, looking around for another pony, and not immediately looking down. Then she blinked.

"Is she under the table?"

Luna and I both nodded.

"So I'm her one too many ponies to talk to?"

"She is not precisely like thou."

I sighed. "Shy-shy can have issues with far more than just too much attention. Like strange ponies. And, well…"

Azy blinked. "But she's met me before?"

"I'm sorry. It's just with that coat you looked so scary and…" There was a short pause. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so big."

Azy leaned down. I heard a little "eeep" in response. I guess she had stayed under the bed the whole time, didn't she. Fluttershy backed even further under the table. Azy and I sighed at the same time.

"So anything I can do to coax her out?"

"Not really. Shy-shy. She's a nice pony, or zony rather. You know this."

I heard Fluttershy mumble something, but it was far too quiet for me to make out.

"A zony is a pony who hath one zebra parent." Said Luna.

I laughed. "I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you about how that works. Dad nearly had a heart attack when you asked him that question about procreation so young."

"From what you've said that doth not sound like her."

"Well it was really about rabbits, but she phrased it in such a way it didn't sound like it."

Azy suddenly smiled. "Oh, I know."

Then Azy started whistling. At first it just sounded like any other pony, but eventually it sounded much more like bird song. It wasn't long before she had a dozen birds around her, and one even on a hoof she was holding up. Fluttershy was now peeking out from under the table, but still keeping her distance. She looked up at me.

"Is her talent animals too?"

I shook my head. "No, it's music. But even I know birds respond to music well."

"She even hath an idea to create a choir of birds. Tis a wonderful idea, but the difficulty of such a feat would be immense."

"Oh it's really not that difficult."

Luna then blinked, and stared at Fluttershy. No doubt remembering my sister has that choir. In fact she was performing with them during the summer sun celebration, wasn't she? Luna then briefly frowned, then smiled. What is she thinking?

"She, doesn't really look that scary up close, does she. No matter how big."

"Yet thou intend to remain hidden, don't…" Luna cringed. "She is very good, would you not agree my captain."

I nodded. "I didn't even see her throw that time. Shy-shy are you sure you won't come out? You believed me about Luna."

"No I believe you, I just like it under here. It's safe." Then she looked down. "Okay, I'll come out in a second. Sorry Azalea."

Then Fluttershy shrieked, and was suddenly out from under the table. Pinkie followed out a moment later, smiling. Fluttershy was blushing brightly.

"W-w-w-why did you just lick me Pinkie?"

"Because I like butterscotch." She rolled her eyes. "Duh."

"What?" I said

"Thy answer makes no sense. That would suggest yon pegasus…"

"Actually most ponies taste rather like some sort of candy or other sweets." Said Azy

"You would know, wouldn’t you?" I said

"Hey, that includes colts." Azy then stuck out her tongue. "Though they tend to be more spicy than sweet." Then she suddenly blushed bright red. "Wait, why are we talking about this?"

Pinkie raised up on two hooves, raising a front hoof in the air. "Ooo, oo. I know. Pick me, pick meeeeee."

"WE SHALL SPEAK NO MORE OF SUCH THINGS."

It was amazingly loud. I was surprised anypony was still standing. I figured even Azy would have been knocked off her hooves but somehow she managed to remain upright. The birds were gone though. I shakily got to my hooves. Fluttershy was once again cowering under the table. Pinkie then threw her hooves in the air and giggled. With every action I was more and more sure all the stories were true, even the ones that made the least amount of sense. I was fairly certain there is no way she could have gotten under that table for example.

"Whoo, that was fun. I wanna do it again."

"Thou art not afraid of me?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Why would I be afraid of you silly. I mean you're Princess Luna. You make the night all pretty and cause of you we had the best Nightmare Night ever."

"I know thou said it's fun to be scared sometimes but…"

"It was, but it's over, so I'm not. Simple. And you don't have to worry about me being all meanie weanie about you being Nightmare Moon. That's all over."

"So thou hast no quarrel with me?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Of coruse not, ponies give birth to other ponies crossbow bolts." She shook her head. "You are such a silly princess."

For a moment there was silence. Then Luna laughed. After a moment I smiled too, even though the very idea of somepony getting something that wrong is ridiculous. Yet Luna just laughed and laughed. Pinkie then got an even bigger smile on her face.

"You wanna get us all to like you, right?" Pinkie was very suddenly in front of Luna, inches from her face. "I’m easy. Just keep smiling and laughing like that."

I had trouble following her movements properly. The strange thing is it seemed like more than speed. Like sometimes when she moved it was simply impossible to perceive. Then she hopped away without another word. Though she was humming some upbeat little tune. That was, odd, to say the least.

"She flew inside your…" I then suddenly stopped and looked at Azy. "Luna."

"Not the best save." Azy then smiled. "But it will do."

"Why art thou here Azalea?"

"Oh, I just like winter is all. Ponyville is a nice place to visit, so I wandered over here."

"You mean you walked?" I asked

"It isn't really far, especially for me. No big deal really. Oh, by the way, Trixie is in town making a scene, so you might want to do something about that before she wastes all the work she's done regaining Ponville's trust by doing something dumb."

"What does thou meanest by a scene?"

"First, I have told you you're not consistent with your speech and sometimes it's outright wrong. As in you're not even speaking Shakes Spear's Equish, but a random mix of rubbish that was never really right."

Luna sighed and nodded. "I am aware. Some things are more scrambled than others, but it is a minor issue, as I improve a little each day."

"Okay. Then back to what I was saying. I shouldn’t really need to elaborate."

"Also it was such a large crowd you immediately ran for it." I said

She looked away. "Well, yes. I mean it was just so many ponies. But I saw a bunch of flashing lights and could hear Trixie over the din."

"I think that's enough of a conformation…" I briefly paused. "Luna."

"Then let us be off."

Luna began walking off, Fluttershy just now coming out from under the table. I was going to offer her a hoof up, but then something grey seemed to be going strait for Luna. Of course once I intercepted the blur I realized I had made a mistake. I immediately dove into a bush the mare with the wandering eyes certainly not a threat to Luna. She blinked, wavering in the air a moment. I hope I didn't hit her too hard. Derpy looked around wildly, each eye going in different directions. Then both eyes focused on Luna for a brief moment and Derpy was quickly dropped to the ground in front of Luna and bowed. Luna raised an eyebrow.

"You, may rise miss Doo."

"Thank you your majesty." She then stood up, a smile on her face. "Though I go by Derpy nowadays." Then she giggled. "It's been a long time. It's nice to see you again."

"Indeed. Why are you after my captain?"

"Do you mean Silent Sky?"

She nodded. "WE DO."

The mare shook her head, possibly trying to clear her ears. "Oh, she, well…" She paused, then looked down. "It's sort of a personal thing, but I really need to talk to her, but she always does her disappearing thing."

"Is this truly important?"

"Well, it might not seem that way to you your majesty but…"

Azy gasped. "Omigosh Sky did you experiment in college?"

"What. No I didn't. Why would you even…"

Azy laughed about the same second I realized I broke cover. I felt my ears fold back. Wow that was dumb. I face hoofed. Then I sighed.

"Derpy, for the last time I don't know where he is. Yes he was in my class in the academy but I really don't know where he is."

"But…"

"I don't know. I can tell you where that other stallion is. The one that…"

Derpy rolled her eyes. They went in different directions. "I already know that. I needed one thing from him once. He seemed so nice a pony, but my older daughter is the only good thing that stallion has ever had any part of. I'm glad he stays away."

"Have thou yet asked my sister to find this deadbeat stallion?"

Derpy blinked. "Deadbeat…" Then she laughed. "Oh no, it's not like that. See this stallion owes me a really important clock. I don't want to bother Celestia. She's always so busy. I mean she must have more important things to do."

"We are fairly certain not. You are an old dear friend miss Doo. There are precious few of those we get to keep. Do you have any idea where he is?"

"Yes, but just barely." I said. "He's a unicorn part of an expedition currently mapping the wildlands."

Luna gasped. "The magical wildlands?"

I nodded "His talent is navigation."

Derpy took to the air. "Yea, he's like the opposite of me. My magnet is all messed up so even when I use a compass I still feel like it's the wrong way."

"Your magnet?" asked Azy

"Pegasi, like birds..." I began "…have a natural internal compass in the form of a small magnet. Derpy has a legendarily bad sense of direction."

Derpy nodded, then turned to Azy. "But I'm time locked, so I cant get it or my eyes fixed. At least not for long. But Celestia told me a long time ago they're not exactly a defect. It took a long time to figure out what she meant, but I trusted her and waited."

"Time locked?" said Azy

"Yes, we remember miss Doo fondly from long ago."

I laughed. "I knew you were immortal, but I did not think you were that old. I would have asked about Luna if I knew."

"Well, it's more than that really. I revert to the exact state I was during the chrono thingie accident. It's really useful most of the time."

"You're really immortal?" said Azy

"It is more common than many ponies think." Said Luna "This is a world with much magic." Then she suddenly blinked. "Wait, was thou on the Hindberg when it was attacked by that dragon?"

Derpy nodded and blushed. I didn't believe her at first, but she really is the pony of doom. For as far back as anypony can tell she seems to at least show up, if not cause, a lot of the greatest disaster's in pony history. There is no doubt she means well, and that she certainly can't cause a volcano to erupt, but some ponies get nervous whenever she's around. It's mostly ridiculous, especially since somehow nopony ever gets hurt, but the idea still persists. Though she isn't just in the background of photos relating to disasters, but countless other things.

Derpy nodded. "I was in a bunch of pictures too. I'm also the reason why they can never agree if there was a casualty or not."

"We wondered about that."

"That's also why I don't usually bother with serious relationships." She then smiled. "It's worth it but it's also so painful when they go."

She kept smiling. No matter what, she just kept smiling. There was of course one other example to go on, but Fluttershy has always been a pessimist like Luna. In fact she's more a, I sure hope the half glass of water left isn't poisoned type. Though she has gotten better with time, and seems especially positive lately. The awkward silence dragged on for a while. Fluttershy was then giving Derpy a hug. She didn't say anything, but Derpy's smile looked suddenly a lot more genuine. Then Fluttershy quickly flew back inside her house. This led to a shorter, only slightly less awkward pause.

"Derpy, is mine sister aware you live anywhere near her?"

"I don't know. I haven't really talked to her much or anything. I accepted an award or two from her over the years, but we never really talked."

"Thou should. Mine sister has so few true friends because she puts so much of herself into her friendships, and despairs when they end. Also while the spell you would need to find something within the magical wildlands would need to be very powerful, it is also very simple. For our sister it is a trifle."

"Ohhh. Uh, okay. Should, I just, uh, go now?"

Luna nodded. "Truly. Thou need wait no longer, and bother my friend no more."

"Okay." She waved. "Goodbye princess. Thank you your majesty."

Derpy then sped off. Then she stopped, looked around, and turned toward Canterlot. This time she flew off in the right direction. There were jokes about her not flying strait, but she has had plenty of time to practice and flew as strait as anypony.

"I have a question." Said Azy "You said Celestia…"

"I have never been my sister, no matter how hard I tried to be. One of the truths yon elements of harmony showed me is how much that led to my unhappiness."

"Luna." I then sighed, and leapt into the air to hover at Luna's side. "Does this mean you care less about us?"

Luna shook her head. "No, but I have always been more accepting of the inevitable decay of the world, and it's inherent chaos. Sunny strives to keep things in a perfect eternal order whenever she can."

"Wait, you mean the tyrant Celestia…." Began Azy

"NEIGH."

This time even Azy fell over. I was very confused for a moment, but eventually climbed out of the tree with only minor bruises. Luna's horn lit up, and suddenly my injuries were gone. I assume if any of the others were hurt I would no longer be able to tell. I then blinked. Was my vision slightly sharper? Maybe dad had been right about the glasses after all? I doubt it matters now. Also it's not a big change if it's even there.

"My apologies."

Azy laughed. "Eh, what's a little hearing loss between friends."

"I have pledged my life to you, anything else is nothing."

She laughed. "As I was saying, it is merely rumors spread by the nobles who don't get what they want. Though Sunny would love to keep things perfect, she loves freedom of choice far more. Equestria is no true democracy, but she is a guiding hand, not a tyrant."

Rainbow Dash then sped down, and landed in front of Luna. She gave the most half-flanked bow ever then looked around at everypony else.

"Hey Luna. So Derpy was just here right?"

Luna nodded. "Indeed she was Rainbow Dash."

"She wasn't looking to help was she? I mean Derpy's great in a bunch of ways, but one time I saw her drop a cloud. How is that even possible?"

"I may not have had quite the problems my sister had with weather management but losing grip of a cloud doesn't seem that improbable."

Dash shook her head. "No, that's not what I mean. I mean she was moving a cloud, and lost her grip on it like you would expect, and then wham, it fell to the ground like it was made of rocks or something, and spilled water all over Applejack."

There was silence. I wracked my brain trying to come up with any solution, but nothing came. Finally I shook my head and turned to Dash.

"If that is true then why don't you just refuse?"

"Well, she's my boss. I mean I don't think she can fire me or give me orders or anything, but she is the head of the transport authority in Ponyville."

"But are thou not the head weather mare here?"

"Yea, but the transport authority covers just about everything involving pegasai moving stuff. She's not directly in charge exactly, but she oversees Boxy in charge of the local shipping, and that old mare who runs our post office."

Luna smiled widely. "OH JOYOUS DAY." Luna then cringed. "Yes, we are quite happy our sister took our advice and made the use of pegasus fliers more efficient. We always thought it was so wasteful to have ponies doing nothing when the weather was clear, and the extra trials of delivering in the rain."

"Yea. I mean the post office used to have some motto about rain and sleet and stuff, but it's way better just to only deliver packages between bad weather. Though I'm so glad I'm the head weather mare and don't have to deal with boxes anymore."

"I believe to answer your question Derpy is off to Canterlot to talk to Celestia." I said

"Good. I mean she somehow never messes up delivering mail, which she does sometimes, but like anything else is just a disaster."

"And as she is in charge, you cannot refuse her help." Said Luna

Dash nodded. "Yea. But the thing it she's really good at her job, so of course she couldn't get fired for that. Well, that and she's, well, Derpy. I mean no one wants to fire her. Usually it's nothing too bad though."

"What about that incident involving Twilight Sparkle?" I asked

"Yea, that was lame, but way I see it she got lucky. I mean I know high powered healing magic is a last resort kinda thing, but Twilight was good as new after that."

"Thou does realize that such is restricted only when a pony's life might be in danger correct. It is very serious."

"Yea, and I know it totally wears out anypony that casts it so the doctor unicorns gotta conserve it for when they really need it, but I still wish one of them could have just waved their horn and fixed my broken leg."

"We suppose that is true enough. Fluttershy, will you be coming back out?"

There was no answer. Dash and I sighed nearly at the same time. The question is whether she can't hear us, or she's just too spooked to answer.

Comments

[BenRG]

I'm pretty sure that Time Mare Derpy's clock might be something that has locked away certain of her powers so she can better integrate and hide on Equestria. Unfortunately, it didn't work properly (or there is a proximity effect). But, yeah, maybe she should talk to Celestia about it."