Catching Up with the Sun
Mid-afternoon was tea time. The afternoon tea had been an addition to the schedule for over a decade. Every day, the castle staff would supply the Princess with her royal tea set and leave her alone.
Princess Celestia poured herself a cup of tea, hovering it nearby as she paced in her throne room. The tea always had helped soothe her nerves. Today, she looked over the stained glass windows.
The glass workers had promised beautiful, moving pictures in the stained glass, installed in the latest iteration of the room. Unfortunately, all of the motion served as little more than a distraction during affairs of state.
They also had a tendency to malfunction and detonate. Thankfully, nopony had ever been seriously injured. Over the course of twenty-four months, all but one of the moving windows had blown out and been replaced with old-fashioned, stationary versions.
The remaining enchanted glass was the most powerful of the set. When its counterpart across the room had blown, most of the window ended up embedded in the front door, which happened to be opened at the time. Four ponies owed their lives to that door. The last intact window had a curtain placed over it, lined with armor of course, as a precaution for when it eventually failed. Forty years later, she was still waiting.
Various rumors and urban legends had sprung up surrounding the mysterious hidden window, about what terrible things it undoubtedly depicted that the Princess had to censor. She did not have the heart to disillusion them.
The Princess's eyes moved down to the drainage groove that ran the length of the room along the wall. This was the first throne room in six hundred years without a water feature, although not on purpose.
Behind her seat, a thin waterfall used to run. When the light struck it, it projected a beautiful, moving rainbow across that entire section of the room. However, whenever anypony opened the door too quickly, the change in air pressure redirected the waterfall directly onto the throne.
Princess Celestia took a sip of her tea. She doubted that she would ever forget the Griffon Peace Talks.
Ordering the doors to only be opened slowly worked for a short time, specifically until her sister discovered why. Princess Luna then came down with a tragic case of acute selective amnesia, forcing the waterfall to be shut off permanently.
There was a thump outside the door. Princess Celestia ignored it in favor of pouring herself another cup.
She began to reminisce about the time the so-called 'innovative' columns in the room forced an evacuation and a refit when the thump occurred again, along with the sounds of shouting and a scuffle.
Celestia sighed and set down her tea. She made her way to the door, making a mental note to have the guards disciplined for allowing such a disturbance this deep within the castle.
The Princess straightened herself up and magically flung open the doors.
"What is the meaning of this?"
A guard saluted. "Princess! There is an intruder in—"
A purple unicorn ran into Celestia's field of view, before vanishing under an armored dogpile. A flash of purple light later, she stood on top of the guards.
"Princess Celestia! I've been trying to get to you but—"
A guard tackled her to the ground.
Princess Celestia gasped. "Twilight?" She cleared her throat. "Guards! Stand down!"
Immediately, the castle guards stood up and saluted. "Yes, Your Highness."
Twilight Sparkle walked to the Princess's side. "Thank you! I've been trying to tell them, but some ponies"—She narrowed her eyes at the guards—"wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise."
Princess Celestia wordlessly led Twilight into the throne room. As soon as the doors were closed, the Princess dropped to the ground, wrapping her wing around her prized student and pulling her to the floor as well. "Twilight Sparkle! It has been such a long time! I was beginning to think I'd never see you again!"
Twilight looked up at her mentor's tear-filled eyes. "Princess, has it been that long?"
Celestia looked down at her. "Twilight Sparkle, you have been gone for three hundred and fifty years."
Twilight looked away. "Three and a half centuries? I guess I overshot a little with the apparatus." She giggled. "But just last week, I was talking with you, but... I guess it has been longer for you."
Princess Celestia got to her hooves. "A very long time, Twilight. We have a lot to catch up on. Would you like some tea?"
"Certainly, Princess." She took a sniff of the proffered brew, then closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "Mmm, is that masaddle chai and earl grey lavender? That's my favorite blend."
The Princess added a dollop of cream on top. "Have as much as you like, Twilight."
Mentor and student drank together in silence. For the first time in over three centuries, Princess Celestia enjoyed tea time with her best student.
The two ponies' moment was interrupted by the door opening. An aide stuck her head in. "Princess Celestia, the time for your tea recess has ended. Would you like this afternoon's agenda now?"
Celestia turned to her aide. "Cancel the rest of my appointments for today. I have a personal matter to attend to."
The mare nodded. "Yes, Your Highness." She began to close the door before Celestia interrupted her.
"And inform Princess Luna that Twilight Sparkle has returned. She will know what you mean."
"Yes, Your Highness." The aide backed out of the throne room, closing the door.
Celestia heard giggling behind her. As she turned to look at Twilight, the sitting unicorn broke into a full laugh. The Princess raised an eyebrow at her student. Twilight, grinning, licked the tea's cream off of her own nose. Celestia rubbed her snout with her foreleg, leaving a spot of cream on her own shoes. Twilight laughed again. Celestia smiled for a moment before chuckling herself.
After the two had calmed down, Twilight looked up. "You mentioned Princess Luna? How is she doing these days? I'd love to meet her again, too."
Celestia sighed and averted Twilight's gaze. "My sister has been spending her time on the moon lately."
Twilight gasped, raising her hoof to her mouth. "The moon? What happened? Did she... turn back?"
Celestia's eyes widened slightly and she shifted backwards before she relaxed again. "Oh, oh no no, nothing like that. Luna has simply preferred to spend her time at the lunar colony lately. I haven't spoken with her for a few years now."
Twilight blinked several times. "Lunar... colony...? Oh, I mean, why haven't you talked with her?"
Celestia put on her best reassuring smile. "We have simply drifted apart. It is nothing to worry yourself about, Twilight. This isn't the first time that this has happened since you've left. She will come around again. I'm sure of it."
Twilight's ears drooped. "But years? That's terrible. I can't imagine why she'd leave you for so long." She perked up again. "I know! I can head to the moon and ask her! We can do that, right? Oh, it sounds so much fun! I bet Sweetie Belle would love to go, too!"
"Sweetie Belle?" Celestia's face lit up. "Of course, Sweetie Belle. She had completely slipped my mind. She was the reason you came, after all. I take it that she has recovered, then? Modern medicine can do so much these days; I am very impressed at today's doctors. It has been quite a while since I've seen Sweetie Belle, too. Do you think she would mind if we visited her?"
Twilight stood up. "Not at all. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you too."
---
Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up when she saw Twilight Sparkle enter the hospital room. "Twilight!" She looked past the unicorn. "Princess Celestia?"
Doctor Sun Shine was examining Sweetie Belle's chest with her stethoscope. Upon her patient's question, she turned, noticed the Princess, and bowed. "Your Highness."
Celestia nodded slightly. "You may stand, doctor. Your patient needs your attention more than I do. Sweetie Belle, you are an incredibly lucky unicorn to have a friend like Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight blushed. She noticed the doctor levitating her clipboard. "Oh! Princess, I'd forgotten to ask. How is it that the doctor can use magic? Isn't she a pegasus?"
This drew a strange look from Doctor Shine. Twilight sheepishly grinned back.
Celestia replied, "Of course, she is a natural pegasus. But do you see that amulet that she is wearing?"
Twilight looked at the purple amulet around the mare's neck. "I was wondering about those. Do they have something to do with it?"
"Yes, Twilight, they do. We have learned quite a lot about how a pony's body processes its natural magic while you have been gone. You see, that amulet allows its wearer to redirect the power that would normally be used to fly, and use it for unicorn abilities instead."
Twilight gaped. "That's amazing! And the pony at the reception desk—"
"—was an earth pony, whose amulet gave both unicorn and pegasus power."
Twilight thought for a moment. "Princess," she asked, looking at her mentor, "what would happen if I put on the doctor's amulet?"
"Nothing. You are already a unicorn, Twilight. It cannot make you more of one. Neither can it enhance your power. In fact, Doctor Shine has access to only the most basic of spells. You are still the most powerful unicorn I have ever known, Twilight. No trinket can change that."
The purple unicorn scratched her chin. "But I've seen artifacts that could enhance a pony's power, and enable greater magic than she could normally use."
Celestia smiled. "But they all corrupted their users. We know now that they interfere with a pony's natural magic, which does not take kindly to being tampered with. These modern amulets simply guide magic along another path, not artificially force power into a body not meant to take it."
"What about—"
Celestia raised her hoof. "Twilight, I could talk all night about how the amulets work, and give explanations which some ponies find rather dull." She motioned to the bed, which held a snoozing filly. "Or I could show you what a pegasus amulet does to a unicorn."
A wide smile slowly spread across Twilight's face.
"But not tonight," the Princess finished. "I think it is about time to go back to the castle. I will have a guest room prepared for you, Twilight. Doctor Shine, please tell the hospital staff to send all of Sweetie Belle's legal and financial paperwork to the castle. I will ensure that this situation is taken care of." She walked towards the exit, pausing in the doorway.
The pegasus bowed slightly. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Goodnight, Sweetie Belle," Twilight told the sleeping unicorn. She walked to Celestia's side, taking one last look at Sweetie Belle before the two ponies walked away.
---
Twilight climbed one of the many spiral staircases around the outside of the castle to find her room waiting for her at its top. It was finely decorated with paintings from a time Twilight missed adorning the light blue walls, as well as a picture window giving a gorgeous view across the moonlit landscape, down to the base of Canterlot Mountain and beyond. Twilight angled herself below the window to look at the moon, searching for any sign of the colony that the Princess claimed it held, but the orb was exactly the same as the one that she had extensively studied, with no little twinkling lights to betray habitation.
The entire ceiling glowed with a soft light, providing even illumination for the entire room. On a table sat a plate of steamed vegetables, garnished with sweet clover, which Twilight consumed with delight.
After her meal, Twilight headed into the bathroom. She stepped into what she assumed was the shower to find that there was no nozzle. Each wall was covered in tiny holes, including the one that doubled as the stall's door. There were no knobs, no levers, no way that she could see to turn the water on.
Twilight looked around the shower for a moment. She sighed. "I'll figure it out tomorrow," Twilight said to herself, walking out. The bathtub was spacious and inviting. It also lacked any visible form of control.
Her eyes moved to the sink, dreading what she may find. There sat a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a mane brush, and a shedding rake. There was also a sink and a faucet, but no controls.
Twilight gazed at the sink. "What kind of future is this where a pony can't even brush her teeth?" She stomped out of the bathroom. At least the bed looked straightforward.
She crawled into the bed magically pulling the incredibly soft sheets over herself. Yawning, she looked for the switch to turn off the glowing ceiling. She couldn't find it. Neither switch nor button sat on the walls. Twilight sat up.
"How do I turn the lights off?" she asked to nopony in particular. Looking around, there was no sign of anything that resembled a light control. "Maybe it's voice activated." She cleared her throat. "Lights off."
Nothing.
"Room, turn off? Lights out? Off?" She paused. "Please turn the lights off?"
Twilight grunted and banged the wall in frustration. The light remained on.
"How the hay do I turn off the light?!"
The light didn't answer. Twilight stuffed her head under her pillow.
---
The light from the ceiling was overwhelmed by the light of the sun rising through the empty sky.
Twilight awoke and once again failed to operate the bath or the shower. After a breakfast of alfalfa flakes, found outside the door, she managed to activate the sink by placing the toothbrush in it. Having conquered this small piece of the future, Twilight Sparkle was ready to seize the day.
After checking up on Sweetie Belle at the hospital, Twilight visited the most sacred place in Equestria: The Canterlot Castle Library.
White arches supported the high ceiling of the new library, which glowed with the same power that had befuddled the unicorn the previous night. Occasionally a pony would fly by, in search of some piece of wisdom.
Twilight closed her eyes and breathed deep. Despite three and a half centuries' difference, the library still smelled the same. Memories of a filly with her nose buried in a book for hours on end flooded back.
She opened her eyes. A new library meant new knowledge. She trotted past the shelves, picking out books. Many of these she had read not two months previous, care keeping them preserved across the ages. She took the opportunity to choose some newer tomes that looked promising as well. Just because the apparatus used old magic didn't mean that new magic wouldn't help.
A little over two hours later, the unicorn levitated a pile of books that weighed twice what she did to the front desk.
Twilight smiled at the librarian. "I'd like to check these out, please!"
The librarian looked over her glasses at the stack. "Ma'am, you can only check out three books at a—Wait. One moment, ma'am." She levitated a small card, then looked between it and the unicorn. "The Princess has got to be kidding me," she said under her breath. "All right, Miss Sparkle, just let me..." She sighed. "...stamp all these."
---
Twilight pranced through the castle, the locomotive in a train of hovering books. The unicorn ignored the strange looks and muttering she received from the guards, lost in literary bliss. The route between the library and her room became the sight of pony traffic jams, as the staff were forced to overfly her cargo and surface-bound carts sat idle.
Soon the line of books stretched across the courtyard and up the stairs, past the pony sitting by her door, watching every one file into her room. Hundreds of books floated past Twilight, guided by her careful magic into neat piles inside. Dozens of scrolls and a half gallon of ink finished the procession off.
Twilight followed her new prizes in. She picked up one of the books, took it to a desk, and sat down for some quality browsing time.
"Let's see," she said to herself. "It took two months to make the apparatus last time, but I should be able to refresh my memory sooner. Shoot I forgot to get quills. I wish Spike was here to go get some—Spike!" She stood bolt upright. "Oh my gosh I forgot about Spike!"
Twilight ran from the room, her studying forgotten.
---
For the second time in as many days, Twilight ran up the stairs to the highest room in Canterlot. Her hooves clacked on stairs alternating between gold and silver. She ran under the domed archway with the depiction of the sun and the moon to the throne room door, which held the two heavenly bodies among the stars.
At the door, the guards crossed their spears. "Halt! Who goes—oh it's you again. Proceed." An earth pony guard magically opened the door. Twilight trotted in.
"Princess Celestia!"
The Princess looked at her student. "You are here earlier than I expected. What is the matter, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight tried to maintain her composure. "Spike! I mean, Spike is still around, right? Dragons live longer than that, don't they? Where is he? I'd love to see him again."
"Spike is presently the Equestrian ambassador to the Dragon Nomads. He keeps me up to date on their doings, and has been instrumental in keeping our relations civil."
Twilight walked to the throne. "Oh that's wonderful! When does he get back?"
"The next scheduled break in his assignment will be in about ten years."
The unicorn took a step back. "Ten years? I can't wait that long! Can't you recall him early? Send him a letter or something?"
Celestia shook her head. "If I recall him, the Dragon Nomads will take it as an insult. I cannot cause a diplomatic incident, not even for you, Twilight. As for sending him letters..."
The Princess paused. "You left a long time ago, Twilight. Spike has already moved on, and he has his own life to live now. If he knew you had returned, but could not see you, it would simply re-open that old wound. I think it is better that Spike not know, don't you? He would be happier that way."
Twilight lowered her head. "I... I suppose he would. I'm sorry, Spike. Thank you anyways, Princess." She turned to leave.
"One moment, Twilight. I have something for you." Celestia brought out a small wooden box.
Twilight levitated it over and opened it. Within was a blue amulet, with small swirls etched in its front. She gasped. "Is this...?"
Celestia smiled. "Yes, Twilight. It's yours. Try it on."
Twilight brought the amulet to her neck, magically closing the clasp behind it. Immediately, she felt as if a pair of saddlebags had been placed on her. She turned to look at her back to find a pair of translucent wings, the same color as her coat.
"That's amazing!" she said.
"Now, concentrate on your wings like you would your horn. Then, try to move them like you would any of your muscles."
Twilight imagined her new wings opening. She put her mind to her back. Her wings twitched, then slowly unfolded. She closed them, then opened them again. She flapped them down. She could feel air rushing down her sides, and an upward tug on her shoulder blades.
"Now Twilight," Celestia started, "there are a few things you should know. First of all, your amulet redirects your magic; it doesn't create any. While you will still be at your full power on the ground, your spells will become substantially weaker while in the air. I recommend practicing your magic while low to the ground, to get used to this effect.
"Secondly, the amulet does not give you a pegasus's lightness or agility, so you will not be able to fly as well as a natural one."
Twilight, who hadn't taken her eyes off of her wings, gave them a mighty flap, putting herself into the air. She immediately pitched forwards and landed on her face.
Celestia magically set Twilight back on her hooves. "It does not give you a lifetime of practice either, my faithful student. Don't go to any high altitudes until you are comfortable with your wings, and don't fly upside-down unless you are very sure your amulet will not accidentally fall off. Many ponies also choose to take their amulets off at night, although there is no harm in sleeping with it on. Finally, while these amulets are not hard to obtain, my accountants will have my crown if I give too many of these away."
Twilight chuckled. "I'll try not to lose it, Princess." She massaged her nose. "Princess Celestia, can I walk on or move clouds?"
The Princess slightly tilted her head. "Yes you could, Twilight. But what clouds?"
"The clouds that were..." Twilight stopped. She could not remember having seen a single cloud since she had arrived in the future. "There's... there's got to be clouds in the future, right?"
Princess Celestia stood up. "Come with me, Twilight."
The two ponies walked out a side door to the balcony outside of the throne room. Below them, Equestria stretched out in a field of green to the horizon. Above them stretched a field of blue, with no clouds. Princess Celestia sat down at the edge, her student beside her.
Twilight looked at the sky. "But how can there be no clouds? How do you water the fruit trees?"
"What trees?"
Twilight gaped. "What... what trees? There are no trees either?! Where do the birds—" She came to the answer herself. "I mean, how do we eat, then? Where does the food come from? Ponies still eat in the future, don't they?"
Celestia nodded at Twilight. "Of course we do. Food is simply grown in magiponic farms now." She saw Twilight's look of confusion and continued, "Fields where food is grown in specialized tanks, given water and nutrients in a controlled manner, and guided by spells. A magiponic farm can be maintained by a very small number of ponies while feeding a large population."
Twilight looked down. "But... what was wrong with the old way? We had plenty of food then, too."
Celestia put her wing around Twilight. "Only through the efforts of a great deal of ponies. Take Sweetie Belle's doctor, Sun Shine, for instance. She is a pegasus, of course. If she were born two hundred years ago, Miss Shine would have been a weatherpony. She would have spent her whole life moving clouds around to ensure that everypony could eat. A useful role, but ultimately unfulfilling.
"But without the need for clouds, Miss Shine was able to pursue a higher calling, and now she helps save lives. Millions of ponies like her are no longer forced into a life of menial labor simply because of what they were born as. Isn't that an improvement, Twilight?"
Twilight touched her hoof to her amulet. "When you put it that way... I guess. But, it's just so... different."
Celestia chuckled. "It isn't so bad when it happens over centuries. Besides, a pony from a thousand years ago would say the same thing about your world, Twilight, how you could possibly consider not having children at every opportunity, when so few live to see their cutie marks." She closed her eyes. "I remember a time when I ruled from a little hut made of living trees, on a throne of piled rocks and grass. It was very drafty, and leaked terribly whenever it rained. And the ponies made me wear this absolutely ridiculous set of gold armor." She laughed.
"Very few ponies even knew my coat color, much less saw my face. Seeing my cutie mark was supposed to carry the death penalty. I never did get a straight answer on whether or not anypony had ever actually been executed for it. The nobility back then was very bloodthirsty, so it would not surprise me if they used it as one of their excuses. I hate to imagine what it would have been like if you were around back then, Twilight; a mortal with your powers would have been very dangerous."
Twilight was lost in thought. A minute later, she asked, "So what happened to the armor?"
Celestia shifted her weight. "I took it off, piece by piece, over the centuries. Maybe one day I'll finish." She raised a forehoof, the golden shoe shining in the sunlight. "But not in your lifetime, I think."
Twilight looked at her teacher's throat. "Your necklace!"
"Seventy-five years ago. It's with the rest of the set now, collecting dust in the vaults."
Twilight looked at the cloudless, treeless landscape ahead of her for a moment. "I understand, Princess, but I'd like to go back to my own time anyways. Thank you."
Celestia did not say anything as Twilight began to walk away. The unicorn then turned back. "Actually, Princess, I do have one more question."
The Princess looked at her student. "Yes?"
"How do I turn on the shower?"
---
Days worth of research and note-taking followed the purple unicorn through the hallway to the throne room. A good flap of Twilight's wings gave the mare a head start up the stairs, taking four at a time with the help of her new power. She opened the door at the top, and glided the length of the room to Princess Celestia's seat.
The Princess looked down at Twilight. "I see that you are taking well to your amulet."
Twilight twirled on her hind legs, wings extended. "This is the best magic that I've ever experienced! It's a shame I'll have to leave it when I go back. Speaking of which, I've finished my research and I'm ready to rebuild the apparatus. I should be able to recycle most of the old one, too." She smiled at Celestia.
Celestia did not smile back. "Twilight, show me the old apparatus."
Twilight's face dropped. "Uh, all right. It's a little outside the city."
Celestia stood up without saying anything else and followed Twilight out of the room.
---
Twilight Sparkle led her Princess across the treeless field, under the cloudless sky. Neither said a word, but Twilight occasionally glanced backwards at Celestia's unreadable face.
Soon enough, they reached what was left of the apparatus. It was just as Twilight had left it. The magic circles had faded entirely and all but one of the tall pillars had cracked. Three had shattered entirely, one had split vertically and fallen to the grass, and the last lay whole across the crystal slab. A spiderweb of cracks ran across the surface of the base. Crystal gravel was all that remained of the former floating gems.
"It'll need... a few new parts, but I've gotten all my notes in order."
Celestia lowered her head. "I see. Twilight, before I say anything else, I just want to tell you that I am very, very proud of you. In a short amount of time you created the most sophisticated magical device Equestria has ever seen, and you risked your life to use it, to save one filly. You have more than exceeded every expectation I've ever had of you. I just wanted you to know that, Twilight."
Twilight stared. "Th... thank you, Princess! But... why are you telling me this now?" She shifted backwards.
Celestia didn't look up. "Twilight, before you left, those centuries ago, you took something from the castle vaults."
Twilight stood straight. "That's right. It was the Nexus of Starswirl the Bearded."
"Where is it?"
Twilight began to turn. "It should be right over—" Her eyes met the fallen pillar. The blood drained from her face. Twilight darted to the pillar, stepping on a wood shard as she arrived.
"No no no. This can't be happening." The unicorn flared her power, lifting the pillar and tossing it aside. Underneath, among the broken stand, was a flattened sheet of silver, with gold foil splayed around it. But what got her attention most of all was the light blue crystal shards scattered around.
"No no no no no. The Nexus can't be broken." She poked a larger chunk with her hoof. With a pop, it bounced away, popping again on each impact with the slab until it landed in the grass with an unceremonious thud. Twilight desperately looked to the princess. "It... it can be rebuilt, right?"
Celestia still didn't look up. "You should know as well as anypony that nopony was ever able to fully decipher its secrets. Scientists spent centuries studying the Nexus while it was intact. Not even you can make use of the destroyed one, Twilight."
Twilight gazed at what was left of the Nexus of Starswirl the Bearded. "But... I worked out what the apparatus would have had to have been like without using it. It would have to be the size of a city... the pillars would crack under their own weight. The base would have to be far larger than any crystal known to ponies. And it would need power orders of magnitude beyond what I'm capable of. It just can't be done."
Twilight looked to her mentor. "Princess, how do I get home?"
Celestia avoided her student's gaze. "I'm sorry, Twilight."
"No..."
"When you left three hundred and fifty years ago... you never returned."
Twilight paced back and forth. "That... that can't be right. There has to be a way back."
"You can't change the past, Twilight. You've learned that lesson already."
"I don't care about my lessons!" Twilight shouted back. "I want to go back! I want to see my friends again!"
Celestia still hadn't moved. "Your friends lived long, fulfilling lives, before they met the same fate that all ponies do."
Twilight placed herself in front of the Princess's nose, forcing her to look at her student. She looked into Celestia's eyes, her own filling with tears.
"There has to be something I can do! Anything, Princess Celestia! Name it and I'll do it, as long as I can go home! Anything!"
Celestia blinked away her own tears. "I'm sorry. You built the apparatus prepared to sacrifice yourself for Sweetie Belle... and you have."
"Sweetie Belle... what am I going to tell her? In fact, what am I going to do at all? Where will I live? How will I find work?"
Celestia drew herself up. "Twilight, you are going to be my High Magician, at my side in the throne room during affairs of state, and free to research what you wish otherwise, to advance the study of Equestrian magic. As for lodging, I have selected a house near the castle for you to live, provided you approve of it. I will also have you legally registered as Sweetie Belle's adoptive mother, since you are the only adult she knows in this time, unless you wish to place her into foster care instead."
Twilight moved to Celestia's side. "No. I'll take care of Sweetie Belle. And when I have time to research, I will find a way home. I don't care what the past is, I am going to see my friends again."
Celestia smiled. "I would not expect any less determination out of of you, my most faithful Magician."
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Wow. I actually kind of expected that to happen.
OMG I think this is my first first.
Second!
So, what about the Changelings?
What twilight doesn't realize is that it might be possible to utilize pocket dimensions and other space/gravity manipulating spells to make the apparatus physically feasible. The resources to build it isn't as much of a problem if she grows them herself using crystals of a smaller size placed in a solution that causes them to grow along with a spell to increase the localized time flow around the tank the crystals are growing in.
Well the shit has hit the fan
Pacing was a little too fast towards the end of the chapter. It made Twi seem just ever so slightly OOC to me. Then again, that could just be me being anal retentive. Either way this is still good and will not be removed from my favorites list for as long as I live. Or as long as the site lives. Whosever death or submission to the nether of disconnected data that equates to death for a website comes first.
... Trying to think of an intelligent comment to make other than "great chapter" ... Thinking ... processing ... I got nothing.
Is Twilight going to find out how Sweetie's family got over losing her? So sad.
Oh wait, maybe she shouldn't. That would just cement the past even more...
Second
Great Chapter.
Well. Overall the pace of this story is a tad fast, but it's shaping up for something nice. I hope that things end happily for Twilight, either with her going back to when she came or her learning to live in the future. As long as it ends happy. That's my creed.
damn....... i want to see her be able to get back but the time line.......maybe some interference from the doctor?
either way GREAT chapter keep up the good work
One does not tell the Element of Magic what magic supposedly can't do.
I have to agree with the pacing criticism. It was a bit too fast. I also expected a more emotion reunion between Celestia and Twilight.
I wonder if Twilight will find any relatives of her friends or family.
my god...
Well. That was.. interesting. Very amusing that she can't use any apliances in her chambers. Very good chapter! My only complaint: NOTHING!
The only thing I could think off was the three seashells from Demolition Man.
Absolutely awesome chapter. I like where this is heading, I'm just disappointed for Twilight -- she made the ultimate sacrifice.
Well shit. That sucks for you Twi.
Yes, as a matter of fact it did - or at least made me very very sad.
Ouch. Tough break for Twilight and Sweetie Bell.
Didn't see that coming at all, great job.
I did not read the chapter fully, but I can see a trend with the chapter names and the title. You can say that Twilight would be "catching up with the sun...three hundred and fifty years later."
Well, ain't that some shit?
On a side note, I wouldn't have expected clouds and trees to disappear, just for them to become decorative instead. Even in our modern cities, we still put trees everywhere, for comfort and shade.
It is never NEVER right to help a time traveler return to the past in a non-determined timeline. If you do then you essentially will cease to exist in favor of a different version of yourself or your universe will poof. In a determined timeline you KNOW whether or not the traveler returned. It is part of history. Plus the timeline gets polluted anyway. I mean just KNOWING the existence of an amulet that allows wings would let a unicorn like twilight re-make it. Worse that she is reading all of those books. The more details she has the more dangerous she becomes should she ever make it back.
You're going to rewrite equestrian Time Rules... you sneaky prick.
Picard approves of this tea blend
picsthatdontsuck.com/img/picard-tea.jpg
This is the fastest paced story I've read in ages, yet it... works... How this is accomplished so easily in a slice of life story I'll never know
Loving it in any case though, can't wait for Sweetie and Twi's inevitable bonding
How do we know Celestia wasn't supposed to say that, to give her the initiative to find her way back? (you don't.)
1895068 All of this is theory, BTW. All of it has been made up to make such things as time travel seem scientific.
ENJOY THE STOOOOORRREEEEHHH!
Well, at least she'll get to see Spike again, right?
...right?
...
Nicely Done
I expected a bit more eye-blinking with Celestia at first, but now that I think about it, she might have already prepared for this. We might have a Twilight-ception on our hands!
Was wondering if you would allow Twilight to go back home. I like this 'stuck in the future' path you're going. Twilight going back home with the knowledge she's gaining would be very dangerous.
Alternatively, you could have it were Celestia told her she couldn't go back, knowing that Twilight would take that as a challenge and succeed in doing so only because of that perceived challenge. Their technological advances could have also come from Twilight's notes from the future, but that would also be adding in some time travel issues as well.
As my interactive Rainbow Dash just said: "Dun dun duuuun!"
So... there's no animals in the future?
Fluttershy would not approve of the future. Or maybe they just live in giant futuristic nature bubbles or something? One of the two. In any case I'm sure they'd still have domesticated animals around for pets/ food, yes? I'm overthinking this. I only do that when I really like a fic though, so that's good!
I knew that the can't-go-back thing was coming by how Celestia was avoiding mentioning anything about it to Twilight, but it was still a bummer to read. Sweetie Belle would have died if she'd stayed, so this is the lesser of two evils for her, but Twilight sacrificed everything...
Granted, if Twilight is forced to stay, she'll definitely see Spike again, right? I'm sure Twilight is gonna live for a lot longer than another ten years, epecially with the improvements in healthcare and such. She should probably tell Spike about her return sooner rather than later, no? That would be really awkward if he came to visit after ten years to find that Twilight was alive and she was just like "yeah I've been here for the past decade. Sup?"
"Advance the study of Equestrian magic"? Sounds like a good way to keep Twilight busy, but a pony that is three hundred and fifty years behind the rest of society is going to struggle to figure out how to advance beyond them. I mean, to Twilight a spell that was invented two hundred years ago would seem like a radical new advancement. I know Twilight's awesome at magic and all, but... well, I guess we'll see. :)
Great job! I like it.
Oh man that's messed up, but not like we did not see this coming. Still, there are so many stories with time travel that say you cannot change the past, especially on this site. Which is why my story did alternative universes when you travel in time...I think Twi can find a way, even if it is not exactly what everyone wants.
MOAR!
Well, I read the full chapter. Not bad. But, the way Celestia handled Twilight's reaction was a bit....underwhelming for my tastes. I mean, when you live 350 years past the point when your most prized person (or pony in this case) happens to just show up that many years later, you would probably be...I dunno...shaking so much your body feels like jello, your knees become very weak, and ultimately you would be slightly hysterical. Or at least, that is what I would have come to expect, but then again, Celestia is one who is usually very composed, so she probably had the mental faculties to shrug those kinds of feelings off, I guess.
I will admit, while the admission of the fact that pony society has advanced to have modern conveniences and other life improving features is interesting, they are kinda....well, bland and mostly uninteresting for me, being that all you are really doing is copying and pasting, more or less, modern human society into the mix. For me, it just lacks that sense of grand awe and wonder one would expect from traveling in the future, because all they have achieved is, for lack of a better word, similar to what we take for granted today, making the impact for me seem less effective than it aught to be. Try to explore more advancements that would evoke an unusual or wondrous feeling, something a person (or pony) would not ordinarily expect, like your amulets, for example. There is plenty of potential here for this fic, you just have to try a bit harder and tap into it. But, an ok job none the less. Its not stache worthy, but this will do for now.
1895116 Devious Celestia is most certainly devious. And she knows how to "tweak" Twilight ... so to speak.
Buuuuut, what about Cadance?
While I'm glad Sweetie Belle will be all right (physically), I'm not looking forward to the shit storm that will blow up when the news is broken to her.
Bland. 
Sterile. 
Literally? 
I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks Equestria may be all that Celestia said, but it's ... average.
I can feel for Twilight. I don't know that I'd want to live in a Utopia, given what she left behind.
Nope, no way. I'd want to go back, too. With what I've learned safely tucked into my brain, of course.
Screw casuality. Twilight has friendship!
Besides, if anyone can puzzle out Starswirl's timey-wimey ball, it'll be Twilight. Even if she apparently didn't. Who's to say the timeline won't just split?
Twilight Sparkle doesn't believe in the no-win scenario.
Also, I can't quite see farms and cloud-work going away entirely like you say they do.
So, no getting home for SB and TS. Sweetie Belle will probably bring some nice flavor to the story, considering that what you do with the characters now is up for grabs. I'm curious as to how Sweetie Belle is going to play a role in getting back home. You've already given her a solid point of reference with which you can build her as you see fit. Now you can literally shape her into something more.
I can definitely see the young unicorn being critical, if not central to the plot of the story. Hopefully we can see a little more of Sweetie Belle in the story, perhaps as the main reason the pair gets back home. I don't know, it's your story. Also, wouldn't Cadance or her relatives have a say to how things progress?
I'm considering Cadance to have been simply a winged unicorn and not an immortal god-pony. So she died centuries ago with everypony else.
My headcanon might differ from yours in that sense, but that how it is in this story.
In the case of time travel there may be two universes created by the travel, one where she gets back and one where she doesn't.
Well... that's not good.
actually, i can see that happening eventually. just not so soon. and to you, mister author person.....please let twilight go home!
1895367
It also helps if you have warning 350 years ago that she's going to pop up. I have no doubt Twilight is going to discover a way back eventually. Celestia could be telling her she can't go back just to motivate her to find a way.
1894870
Celestia could be lying about her never making it back, and Twilight would never think to question it. What if Twilight made it back, but told Celestia she never would have figured out -how- if Celestia hadn't told her she -didn't-.
So...two of the most integral parts of nature have been 'removed' with zero consequence?
If there is no water cycle or carbon cycle in Equestria anymore...how does anything live there?
Talk about a slap to my Willing Suspension of Disbelief.
1895714
Interesting., but what is the motive.?
1895716Rain and trees exists for a reason people. Listen to this guy.He seems to know what he talks about.
1895741The motive for
telling 
that she has no way home? Well, if Celestia told her that there is no way home, Twilight might try to find a way despite it, as we saw here. If Twi succeeded and indeed made back to her own time, she would want to tell everypony of her and Sweetie's adventure. When she tells Celly, "You told me I never made it back to the past, but here I am" the Celestia would probably keep record of that event.
A good way to keep record of that event would be a Stained Glass Window. Around 290-350 years later cover it up so that when at some point in that time period Twilight shows up, she won't immediately find out, and Tia can tell her that the two time travelers won't return to their time, in order to motivate her to fix the Nexus.
I can see so much potential here!
I look forward to more! And especially the interactions between Sweetie and Twilight!
well twilight there is a way to create a portal back home, keep in mind it is potentialy dangerous and there is no total garuntee of the outcome, but if you mixed the starswirls time travel spell with the wild magic of dragons, you could stabalyze a wormhole back to the moment you left, however, there is a 1% chance of destroying the universe in the process, and a 30% chance your body well not recombobulate properly.