• Published 19th Feb 2013
  • 21,526 Views, 3,440 Comments

The Thousand Year Change - Darthvalgaav



After seeing what happened when she accidently changed her friends destinies, Twilight is curious about about the 'what if'. Like, for example, what if Luna had ponies a thousand years ago who noticed her.

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Metal Toys and Zebra's Making Pies

Twilight walked out of the platform station with Scootaloo in tow, along with several other ponies. The purple mare had some light bags under her eyes from staying up most of the night, only getting in a quick nap. The young filly’s saddle bags contained several books to study.

Twilight hadn’t wanted to take the young pegasus to work with her, but there was no other option. Originally, Derpy had volunteered to foalsit Scootaloo, as well as her own daughter. However, due to the situation going on at the castle, she had to go to work. In fact, nearly everypony who worked there was going to work. This was most likely due to Princess Luna leaving in the middle of the night.

Twilight could only imagine how scared and confused everypony was right now. Rumors had already begun to circulate. Some said that Princess Luna had gone down to the planet to fight Celestia, while others said she was trying to take what the Republic needed. Twilight had also heard, from some of the royal guards, no less, that Gigawatt was trying to get the other Senators to go to war.

Luckily, Senator Land Share held firm to the letter of the law saying that only Princess Luna can issue a war vote. The only exceptions to this were if she had been captured or incapacitated. Without proof of either, they could not proceed.

While this was good news for Twilight, she was still worried. She had no idea what her Princess was doing right now. Nor did she have any idea what was going to happen next. It was like there was an error in their computer systems that was causing everything to go wacky, that would eventually led to something horrible.

“Ah, Mom,” said Scootaloo behind her. When Twilight heard this, her eyes widened with some confusion. Did Scootaloo just call her Mom? Quickly, she turned her head to look at the filly.

“Did you just call me Mom?” she asked. There was no anger in her voice or anything to suggest that she was upset. Just a little confused.

“Y-Yeah,” stammered Scootaloo. “Is it ok if I call you that?”

“Yes, of course it is,” said Twilight with a smile. “It’s just that I’m surprised that you started to call me that so soon.”

“Oh,” said Scootaloo as she scratched the back of her head while looked a little embarrassed. “Well, last night Midnight called you my mom and it felt really good. Back in Equestria, I always imagined what it would be like to have a mom. She’d be able to help me with my homework, cook amazing meals, and be awesome! And that’s what you’ve been so far.”

For a moment, Twilight didn’t say or do anything. She just stood there with her head lowered. As time passed, Scootaloo began to wonder what was going on. Twilight had said that calling her mom was ok, didn’t she?

Before Scootaloo could ask what was wrong, Twilight raised her head to show the filly the tears running down her smiling face. Then, Twilight quickly wrapped Scootaloo in a big hug.

‘If only Mom and Dad could have met you,’ thought Twilight.

Scootaloo, at first, was a bit uncomfortable with the hug. It was, well, too cheesy for her tastes. But, after a few moments, she began to feel the same warmth that she felt last night. It was coming from inside her.

It was a warmth that told her that this was alright. That everything would be ok. And, Scootaloo began to wonder if this was what a mother’s love felt like. And, if it was, then she liked it.

-x-

Meanwhile, in Equestria, Applejack was heading to her family’s farm as fast as she could. It was only several minutes ago when their flying chariot had landed in Ponyville, but it wasn’t going anywhere for at least another hour. That was how long she had to get packed for a very important trip.

After seeing Princess Cadence off, the farming mare thought that she and her friends would be heading straight home. Instead, waiting in front of their ride home was none other than Princess Celestia. To their surprise, she announced that they would be the first ponies from Equestria to visit the Lunar Republic. Not only that, they were leaving today!

Applejack, Fluttershy, and (to everypony’s surprise) Rarity stated that they couldn’t go. According to Rarity, she had a mountain of orders she had to finish and that this trip had already put her far behind. Applejack said that she had been away from the farm long enough, and that she had to get back to work. Finally, Fluttershy informed the princess that she had to take care of her animal friends. Before she had left, she made sure that they had plenty of food for a couple of days. Any longer and they might go hungry.

Rather than being put off, Princess Celestia promised them that everything would be taken care of. She would have one of the royal dressmakers take care of Rarity’s shop, the royal grounds keeper look after Fluttershy’s cottage, and have several guards help out at Applejack’s farm. She was also going to let them head home to pack and say their goodbyes.

So, there Applejack was, heading back to her house as fast as her four legs could carry her. When she saw the front door, she came to a screeching halt. As she prepared to open the door, her ears stood up as she heard two ponies laughing inside. One of them was Apple Bloom, but she had no idea who the other was. It sounded like another mare.

When Applejack opened the door, the laughing stopped. She turned her head to look into the kitchen to see her sister and the other pony covered in flour. On the kitchen table were several pie tins.

“Howdy, sis,” said a happy Apple Bloom as the other mare took a few steps back. “We all thought ya’d never get home. What took ya?”

“I’m sorry, Apple Bloom,” replied Applejack. “Things kind of got a bit complicated. Ah wish ah could stay and tell ya more, but ah got ta get going soon.”

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to ask why, but at that moment Granny Smith walked into the room. The elderly mare surveyed the kitchen with her ancient eyes for a moment, taking in the mess and the lack of pies in the oven.

“Hurry up, ya silly fillies,” said Granny. “We got ta make at least a dozen apple pies before noon. Now shake ya caboose, Apple Bloom. Ya too, Zecora.”

At the mention of that name, several ponies in the room had different reactions. Applejack’s eyes went wide when she realized that the flour-covered mare was the evil enchantress of the Everfree Forest. Apple Bloom looked surprised and confused as her sisters eyes narrowed at her new friend. Zecora simply facehoofed.

“What in tarnation is she doing here?!” demanded Applejack. Then, to her great surprise, both Apple Bloom and Granny Smith moved so that they were in-between them. “What’s goin on with ya two? Don’t ya know who that is?”

“Applejack,” said Granny Smith in her best nagging voice. “Is that how we treat a guest of the Apple family? No siree!”

“There’s nothing to worry about sis,” said Apple Bloom. “Zecora is a nice pony.”

“Nothin’ to worry about?!” yelled Applejack. “Don’t ya all know what ponies say about her?!”

Zecora let out a sigh. “I did not mean for my presence to cause a feud. Please listen to my story before you brood.”

Applejack looked at Zecora for a moment before looking at her family. Granny Smith was giving her a disappointed glare, the same one she always gave her whenever she messed up. Apple Bloom, on the other hoof, was giving her an innocent pleading look. Snorting in frustration, Applejack sat her plot on the ground. She would listen to Zecora and that was all she could promise at this point.

-x-

“Ok,” said Twilight after their hug ended and she wiped away her tears. “W-We’d better get going or else I’ll be late for work.”

“Do you think we can visit Shadow first?” asked Scootaloo. “I’d like to see where the Royal Guard trains!”

Twilight thought about this for a moment. The training grounds were along the way, so it wouldn’t take up too much of their time. Also, she wanted to see how Shadow was doing. Twilight knew he could take care of himself and all, but with everything that was going on, seeing him would be a big relief.

Of course, Twilight knew the most likely reason why Scootaloo wanted to see the training grounds. Last time she was in Scootaloo’s room, she had noticed one of the pamphlets the pegasus had brought back from the programming office had been taped to the wall. It was one for the royal guard.

“Well, now that I think about it,” said Twilight as she scratched her chin with her hoof. “I believe the Department of Research and Development is revealing a new fighter jet today. Might as well take a look.”

Scootaloo let out a cheer as the two hurried over to the training fields. But, when they got there, the two were greeted by an odd sight. Usually the field would be full of ponies in various forms of simulated combat, weapons training, or doing exercises. Instead, they saw that everypony was crowded up in the middle while looking up at the sky. Slowly, the two walked over to Lightning Dust, who continued to stare at the sky above without even noticing that they were standing next to her.

Finally, the two looked up to see what the big deal was. When Scootaloo saw it, her jaw dropped. It was a craft that moved faster than anything Scootaloo had ever seen before. It was almost half the size of her old school in Equestria with long silver wings. Whoever was piloting it was doing some impressive stunt work, like barrel rolls and the like.

Then, from underneath its wings, it fired six objects towards the opposite side of the grounds where nopony was. When they hit the ground, they erupted in a huge ball of fire. Moments later, the dirt that was shot up into the air began to fall on the crowd. Luckily for them, Twilight saw this and reacted by creating a magical barrier to protect them.

Just then, the fighter jet began to hover in the air, before it slowly began to lower itself to the ground. As it got closer, Scootaloo noticed a pair of strong metal legs that looked a bit like a chickens coming out of the fighter near the back. Also, two more smaller objects that looked like cylinders come out near the front. Once it landed, the fighter walked over to an area that had target dummies. From the cylinders came red laser blasts that shot holes right through all of the targets.

As all of the Royal Guard, as well as Scootaloo, began to cheer, the filly realized something. Sure, the legs did remind her of a chicken. A chicken of pure metal awesomeness!

There was, however, one pony who was not impressed. ‘That is what all those bits went into,’ thought Twilight with a frown. ‘What’s next, a high tech suit of armor?’

“Ok everypony,” came Shadow’s voice. The young filly moved to the outer edge of the crowd to see Shadow Blade standing in front of them in his armor. “This concludes the field test of the latest addition: the Windigo! Now let’s hear it for the inventor of this fine machine, as well as the pilot, Poindexter!”

The hatch on the Windigo opened up to reveal the nerdiest looking stallion Scootaloo had ever seen. He was a white earth pony with a slicked back brown mane wearing a green bowtie and thick glasses. As he tried to get out of the metal awesomeness, the stallion tripped and landed on his head. In this position, Scootaloo could see that his cutie mark was some kind of robotic figure.

Poindexter then rolled onto his back. “I-I’m ok,” he said as he touched his head with one of his front hooves. “Just feeling a little…dizzy.”

“Private Silent Strike,” yelled Shadow. A moment later, one of the unicorn guards appeared next to him. “Take him to the medical wing.” The unicorn saluted his commanding officer before picking up the fallen scientist and taking him to see a doctor.

“The rest of you, I want to see you all sparing.” This received a collective groan. “I know you all want to try the latest toy, but you will have to wait. Now, if I catch any of you paying more attention to the Windigo, then you will be giving me fifteen laps in the gravity hall. And it’ll be set to three times normal gravity.”

As soon as he finished speaking, all of the guards raced to begin their training while Shadow let out a little laugh. Once they were all on their way, Shadow notice his fiancé along with Scootaloo.

“That thing is awesome,” said Scootaloo, racing over to Shadow.

“It is, isn’t it?” replied Shadow.

“I guess,” said a slightly unimpressed Twilight. “I just don’t see why it needs legs.” This earned her a stare from the two.

“Well,” began Shadow. “Poindexter is a fan of those old cartoons. You know, the ones with the colts who piloted those giant mechs? Can’t remember what it was called. But, anyways, he’s always wanted to make one and the Windigo is the first prototype.”

“But, we have tanks that can fire laser cannons that can fire six times the energy that that thing does,” replied Twilight. “I will admit that it can only fire one blast at a time and then takes six seconds to recharge, while the Windigo can fire multiple energy blasts without needing to recharge, but that’s its only improvement. Also, the hover tanks are far more maneuverable on land.”

“Sometimes, you just have to go for style points,” said a voice behind the purple mare, causing her to jump. When she landed, Twilight turned around to see Land Share’s smiling face. “Trust me, Twilight, some ponies just prefer things like that.”

“What brings you out here, Uncle Land Share?” asked Twilight as she hugged the old stallion.

“Just doing a favor for the princess,” he replied. “The senate just got out of a meeting with the princess.”

“She’s back?” asked a relieved Twilight.

Land Share nodded. “Yes and she wants to see you,” he said. “Since Derpy is busy right now, I volunteered to get you. This works out pretty well for me, since I also needed to talk to you. I wanted to invite you to lunch at my place. You know, to celebrate your adoption and upcoming wedding.”

“I’d love to go,” said Twilight with a smile. “It’s been so long since we had shared a meal.”

“Good, but I think there might be some company,” noted Land Share with an odd look on his face. “Anyways, we’d better get going.”

Before Twilight took a step, she realized that she forgot about Scootaloo. A meeting with the princess might take a while and were usually private. She couldn’t leave Scootaloo sitting outside the door for an unknown amount of time. Luckily for her, Shadow realized the situation and had already come up with a solution.

“Why don’t you leave Scootaloo here with me,” said the bat pony. “While you’re with the princess, we can get some flying in.”

The orange filly’s wings buzzed with excitement. “That sound awesome,” she said happily. “Can I, Mom?”

When Shadow heard this, he looked at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. He felt that it was a little fast for Scootaloo to be calling her that. But, when he saw the happiness in Twilight’s eyes, it no longer mattered.

“I suppose so,” said Twilight. “It’ll give the two of you some future father-daughter bonding time.”

“Well then, now that that’s settled,” said Land Share as he got eveypony’s attention. “We really have to get going. I also have to inform you, Twilight, on just what is going on.”

-x-

“Now Apple Bloom, I want ya ta promise me that ya’ll be careful while Ah’m away,” said Applejack as she and her sister made their way to where the chariot was.

“Ah will,” said Apple Bloom for the thousandth time. “Geez, ya said you were fine with Zecora staying with us.”

This was true, to a point. She had, as promised, listened to Zecora’s story, believing that nothing the zebra said would change her mind. At first, she was right. She could understand why the good ponies of Ponyville would believe that Zecora would do something like that.

But, as the story continued, Applejack began to think back to the events of the last couple days. She remembered how she treated Shadow with fear and mistrust, because of what other ponies said about bat ponies. Then, she thought about Twilight, who was from the Lunar Republic. If she had told the farmer mare where she really was from, then Applejack knew she would have treated Twilight like a monster. Now that she knew the full truth, she didn’t blame either one of them for being upset with her and Equestria.

Then, her thoughts turned towards Zecora. The simple truth was that all she knew about her was from the rumors. She had never seen her do anything wrong nor do anything that could suggest that she had evil intensions. In fact, this was the first time the two of them had really spoken to each other.

As she looked the zebra over, Applejack noted the wounds she received. Zecora paused before talking about how she got them. She looked at Apple Bloom before saying that she got hurt, and then moving on. This gesture didn’t go unnoticed by either Applejack or Granny Smith. Zecora didn’t want Apple Bloom to hear the details of what she went through.

When the story was done, Applejack didn’t know what to think. On one hoof, she still felt there was something off about Zecora. Maybe it was because she talked weird or looked weird, or whatever. On the other hoof, the rest of her family let her stay at the farm. And, if they were willing to give her a chance, then maybe Applejack should too.

But, that didn’t mean she wanted her little sister to let her guard down.

“Ah just worry about ya sometimes,” said Applejack as they got close to the meeting spot. Looking dead ahead, Applejack could see everypony was there, except Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie was there with balloons tied to her waist. Fluttershy was there with her animal friends as she said goodbye to each and every one of them. And Rarity was dressed in some fancy blue dress, observing ahead toward another little filly that was putting her bags in the chariot.

“Sis, could you please lend a hoof?” asked the filly.

“And get this dress dirty?!” gasped Rarity. “Never! We are going to be representing not just Ponyville, but all of Equestria, so we simply must look our best.”

“Well, why don’t ya help Sweetie Belle out with your magic?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Well,” said Rarity slowly. “I guess that won’t be too much work. Don’t want to get a stain on this dress, after all.” She then sighed. “Very well, then.” With that, all of her seventeen bags were lifted into the air before being neatly placed in the chariot. While this situation was taken care of, a new problem was noticed by everypony, except Rarity.

“Great, now where do ya suppose the rest of us are goin’ sit?” asked Applejack.

“Well, it’s not my fault that-” began Rarity before Rainbow Dash crashed into her. The two ponies rolled around in the dirt for a few seconds before stopping in a muddy puddle. “MY DRESS! Rainbow Dash, I know you are used to-”

“Sorry,” interrupted Rainbow, getting to her hooves. “But, I just found out something big! Did any of you hear that Scootaloo has gone missing?” A few of the ponies nodded their heads. “Well, it turns out she’s in the Republic!”

-x-

“Come in,” said Princess Luna after hearing somepony knocking on the door to her private chambers. The door opened, revealing Twilight Sparkle. The Moon Princess smiled as her student walked in. “Good morning, Twilight. I take it you heard about what’s going on?”

“Yes,” replied the purple unicorn. “Land Share told me about the alliance.”

“And?” asked Luna.

“I think it better than merging with Equestria,” answered Twilight honestly. “Not only will we get what we need, but we will also keep our independence. Plus, over time, Equestria will see us for what we really are. But, by allowing ponies from Equestria into the Republic, we run the risk of them attacking us.”

“Senator Gigawatt said the same thing,” replied the princess. “Steps are already being taken to ensure that something like that doesn’t happen. Now then, do you know why I wanted to see you?”

“Uh, no actually,” replied Twilight.

“I called you here because I have an important mission for you,” said Luna. “Later today, Equestria will be sending their representatives to the Republic. I want you to show them around.”

“But, why me?” asked Twilight. “I mean, sure, I was down there for a while with Shadow, but surely there are ponies better qualified for something like this?”

Luna let out a soft sigh. ‘It’s now or never,’ she thought to herself.

“Twilight, what I’m about to tell you is something that my sister doesn’t want me to,” said Luna. “But, I’m going to anyways, because I believe you are ready to hear it.” Twilight’s eyes widened when she heard this. All kinds of possibilities raced through her head as she tried to figure out what it could be.

“Long ago,” began Luna, “my sister and I used several powerful artifacts, known as the Elements of Harmony, to fight the most powerful evil forces on the planet. The Elements were capable of doing what normal magic couldn’t. However, not just any pony could use them. Only ponies who represented each of the six Elements could use them. The Elements are Laughter, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. But, when I left Equestria, the connection we had to the Elements vanished.

“Over time, the Elements reached out to various ponies. Some had a strong link, while other had a weaker one. Sometimes, a few Elements found ponies that could be a bearer for their power, while at other times they couldn’t find any. It was only until a few years ago that all the Elements found ponies suitable to be new bearers.

“In Equestria, there are five. But, the sixth was born here in the Republic. And that is you, Twilight Sparkle.”

When Twilight heard that, her jaw dropped. How could that be true? She was no different from any other pony in the Republic. Ok, maybe she was a bit more knowledgeable than the average citizen. But, other than that, there was nothing that she felt made her worthy to be connected to such an amazing source of power.

“I don’t believe this,” said a shocked Twilight. Then, she looked up at Princess Luna. “How long have you known?”

“I knew you were a bearer the day your parents died,” replied Luna as she lowered her head.

Now, a new emotion entered Twilight: Rage. Princess Luna, the pony she trusted more than any other, had been keeping something like this a secret from her for years. She said that Princess Celestia told Luna not to tell her about this. Well, she didn’t have a problem with that before!

“Then, why didn’t you tell me?” demanded Twilight. “Why were you keeping this from me?!”

“Because, you had already been through enough,” replied Luna, which caught Twilight off guard. “You had just lost two of the most important ponies in your life. Reporters wanted to talk to you, wanting to talk to you about what happened in that cave-in. At the time, I thought that the connection you had with the Element was a temporary one. That you had instinctively called out to it with your magic in order to survive. So, I kept quiet and hoped that soon you could return to a normal life.

“As time went on, the link didn’t vanish. You entered my school and became my Prized Student. Again, I thought about telling you. But, I became aware that you were being bullied. Those students thought that I was giving you special attention. I thought that if I told you the truth, you might believe that as well. That I was only keeping you around, because of this link.

“So I let you live your life, like any other filly. Every day, I was so proud of you. You were once a shut in, but you worked past that to make many wonderful friends. You passed every test I gave with flying colors.

“And with all of your successes, you never let it change who you were inside. You remained the same kind filly I met all those years ago. You didn’t turn into an egotistical mare like some others. How could I not be proud of you?

“But then, I began to get letters from Celestia. She also sensed that the last Element had chosen its bearer. I became worried for you.

“I knew she wanted our countries to unite, so that she could get to the both of us. Me, her sister, and you, a new pawn. Once she had you, you would be sent on dangerous missions that should have gone to trained soldiers. I never wanted that kind of life for you.”

“That’s why you wanted the Department of Research and Development to find a way to stop enemies like Discord,” said a shocked Twilight.

“I started those long ago,” said Luna. “But, as time went by, I put more pressure in that department to make progress. I had hoped that the day would never come that I would have to tell you about the Elements.

“But, the situation has changed. We don’t have years until Discord awakens. We have months! I understand the need for the Elements, but I still refuse to let Celestia have you, just so she can use you. This alliance will allow you to remain a citizen of the Republic, so Celestia will have no power over you.”

“Princess,” whispered Twilight. All anger she had vanished. Princess Luna had done all of this for her own good. Because she cared about her.

And in the end, did it matter? She was still the same Twilight. Knowing this changed nothing about her past, for it could never be a lie. She had lived each day of her own free will. This was just some new data for the future.

“I understand,” said Twilight firmly. “And…I’m sorry I got mad at you.”

“There is no need to apologize,” said Luna with a smile. “I felt the same way every time I found out my sister kept something from me. It’s never pleasant to find out that somepony you trust is keeping something from you, no matter what the reason is. But, the reason can help speed up the forgiveness.”

Twilight nodded. “So, what happens now?”

“Now, we wait for the other bearers to arrive,” said Luna. “Sadly, they don’t know the real reason they are hear is to become your friend.”

“My what?” asked a shocked Twilight.

“Friendship is the key to awakening the full power of the Elements,” said Luna. “Without it, they will be useless.”

“Great,” sighed Twilight. “I just have to make friends with ponies who think that we’re monsters that eat fillies and colts. No pressure there.”

“Well, maybe this might help take some of that pressure off,” replied Luna as her horn began to glow. A moment later, a stone claw appeared in front of Twilight who took a hold of it with her magic. “This is one of Discord’s toenails. I took it with me after I talked with Celestia.”

“Did you tell her?” asked Twilight as she examined the object with great interest.

“No,” replied Luna. “She wants to use the Elements of Harmony to seal Discord away again. She has never considered any other possibilities. Perhaps reforming him, but that is much more risky. With this-”

“With this, we can test some of our anti-Discord technology,” interrupted Twilight with a gleam in her eye. “We might even be able to make sure that Operation Umbrella only affects Discord!”

“Very true, my little pony,” said Luna. “But, that doesn’t mean that I don’t want you to try and befriend those coming from Equestria. This isn’t just about Discord, but the fate of both the Republic and Equestria. Just keep an open mind. Who knows, after a while, you might realize you all have something in common.”

“Yes Princess,” said Twilight. “I’ll give them a chance.” And she meant that.

Author's Note:

The Windigo is on StarCraft 2 Viking's.

Well, lately I have been reading the MLP comics. For those of you who haven't read them, you really need to! My favorite so far is the two parter that tells how Shining Armor and Cadence got together. I laughed my ass off seeing all the things Shining did as a teen and while trying to get Cadence's heart. And Cadence's first time foalsitting Twilight: PRICELESS!

There are other good stories too. Like another two parter where Big Mac is trying to get a nail to fix the gazebo. The only problem is that he has to walk through Ponyville during the Summer Warm Up fair to get to the hardware store. Then the Changeling come back with plans of revenge in another multi-parter. And lets not forget Nightmare Rarity.

The only comics that have been iffy for me are the micro comics. They're a bunch of one shots dealing with the main characters. Lets just say that the worst, in my opinion, is Celestia's. It just looks like she's keeping this old teacher at her school out of friendship even though she is causing many problems while endangering the students.

Now then, my second favorite episode is Read It and Weep. How could anyone not love this episode. It's Iniana Jones crossed with My Little Pony!

And for my number one favorite it's Boast Busters. Not only was this the episode that first showed Trixie, but it also showed something else. Growing up, my mother always told me to follow the crowd in I wanted friends. That I should say I liked or disliked things based on what was popular.

I refused.

In this episode, that's what Twilight is going through. She's afraid to use her magic feeling that it would drive away her new friends after she hears them complaining about Trixie's magic. Is this any different than how most people act? Fearing that if they do something they might lose their friends?

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