Into the Everfree
What Didn't Happen
by Zeg
Chapter III – Into the Everfree
“You know, I could have carried that, Rarity.” Twilight eyed the white box that was floating in her friend’s levitation aura as they walked side by side. Along with the other three mares with their group, they had nearly made it to the final stop that she had been leading them too.
Rarity shook her head. “I'm afraid I can not allow it. Frosting would not go well with your new jacket.”
“Aha, so you're only worried about the jacket? I see,” Twilight playfully chided.
Fweeeeeet!
The group froze rigidly at the startling sound of a party horn, just outside the front door of the Golden Oak Library. A few popping sounds accompanied by confetti and streamers flying through the night air followed shortly after. Rarity held the white box only an inch off the ground with her magic, having very nearly dropped it.
“Surprise!” a voice called out from the direction of the library door. All eyes darted to the door way, or rather at the pony who was perched in the hedge that lined the top of the door's arch. Pinkie had managed to hide herself there thanks to the darkness. “Were you all surprised? I hope you were, because when I was setting things up earlier I started thinking to myself, 'Hey Self, they already know I'm setting up a party so it won't be much of a surprise, but what if I surprise them before the party!' So, did it work?”
Rainbow gently pried a terrified Fluttershy off her back leg. “Uh, yeah, I think it worked, Pinkie.”
Applejack's frustrated voice spoke up next. “I think I could have done without my heart skipin’ a beat, if I'm to be honest.”
Rarity looked to Twilight next to her, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I didn't realize we were heading to a party.”
Twilight put on an apologetic smile. “Well, think of it as more of a friendly get together than a party.”
Pinkie effortlessly performed a forward flip from her perch, landing on all fours just in front of the library door. “Everypony come inside! The party is just starting!”
The assembled group stepped inside, finding a library decorated with a rainbow of paper streamers and balloons all around, and a table that had a large punch bowl surrounded by trays of bite sized wheat crackers piled up with all kinds of different veggie snack foods. Pinkie had managed to snatch the white box away from Rarity at some point, and balanced it on her head as she pranced over to the table to place it there next to the rest of the party food. Twilight spotted a bottle of hot sauce there next to the punch glasses and snacks, and raised an eyebrow at it. Not this time, she thought to herself before turning her attention to the rest of the room. It seemed that every inch of the library had been decorated in some way. She even spotted the pin the tail on the pony game that Pinkie had always seemed to be so fond of tacked to one of the walls. It was definitely of the caliber of Pinkie Pie parties that she remembered.
Pinkie landed from a hop right next to Twilight. “So! What do you want to do first, Twilight? We have some games, some snacks, and lots and lots of books, because this is a library party!”
Twilight glanced around at the bookcases, recognizing some books on the shelves that in her own time were long gone. She felt the desire to bury herself in her old vice, wanting to lock herself away in the library's loft and just read. Of course she knew there wasn't any time for that, but the quick day dream had still brought a smile to her muzzle.
Humming a little sigh, she forced herself to put the day dream aside to focus on the important issue ahead. “I didn't just gather all of you here today for a party, there's actually another very important reason.” Twilight walked over to one of the library shelves hoping to see what she knew should be there. She smiled when she noticed the binding of the red book on the shelf, and used her magic to draw it from the bookcase. “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide,” she said as she turn to display the book's cover to the rest of the mares.
Applejack eyed the book. “This the thing that you were needin’ help with, a book?”
“No, but it will help explain,” Twilight said as she used her magic to open the book, mentally flipping it to the page she remembered the legend being on. Once she found it, she nodded and turned the open book toward the other mares and began to recite the contents of the page from memory. “There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now the Everfree Forest.”
A lingering silence hung in the room for a moment afterward, until it was broken by Pinkie. “Guys, this is amazing. Twilight... can read books without looking at them!”
Twilight laughed. “Actually no, I read this book a long time ago, many times... and this page has a lot of meaning for me.” She sat back on her haunches, closing the book with her magic and bringing it close to herself, hugging it to her chest with her forelegs. “I have a lot to explain.”
---
The room was silent, and painfully so. Around the room, each of the six mares had found somewhere to be comfortable while Twilight had told them what she could about herself, about the Elements of Harmony, and about what she hoped they would be willing to help her with. Twilight laid on one of the velvet pillows that were scattered about the library room, her jacket folded and placed to the side along with her crown laying just on top of it. She had tried her best to make her claim that she was a princess that had descended from the night sky in a magical fire ball from the future sound at least somewhat plausible, but her explanation had obviously been so lacking that it left everypony either confused or unwilling to believe since none of them seemed to have anything to say in response. “Somepony, please say something?” she asked as she nervously tapped a hoof against the floor in front of her.
Rainbow Dash noticed the concerned strain in Twilight's voice, and decided to speak up. “Well, I'll vouch for ya. I mean, both Fluttershy and I saw you fall out of the sky and there's a huge dirt hole to prove that, and you already knew our names without us telling you. So, of course we believe you, right?” Fluttershy nodded in agreement when Rainbow looked to her.
“I was right!” Pinkie playfully sung from where she was sitting at near the snack table, her head bobbing back and forth a bit. She was casually laying her chin on her forelegs that rested on the table's edge. “I mean, I didn't really know. I was just playing, but I was still right.”
Applejack leaned back against the wall that she had been sitting by while she had listened to the story, letting a long breath pass through her lips. “Well, it ain't that I don't believe what yer claimin’ about bein’ from the future, Twilight, as far out there as it sounds. Since yer a princess and all, I imagine you can do a lot of things that wouldn't make a lick of sense to me. What I'm havin’ problems with is... well, why us? I mean it all seems so random. Princess from the future comes fallin’ out of the sky and asks me to go help save Celestia from the Evil Queen. It isn’t that I don’t wanna help, I just don't see how I fit into that.”
Twilight was afraid of that; the possibility that some of her friends may not take to the idea that they were somehow destined to take the fight to Nightmare Moon. If even one of them didn't have the will to stand with her, then it wouldn't matter what she or the rest of them tried to do. The power that the Elements had would only work if they had all six, and even though there was the possibility that Twilight could face Nightmare Moon herself if need be, not even an alicorn would have the strength to break the prison that likely held Celestia captive on her own. For that, she needed the Bearers of the Elements. She knew that she had to keep trying. “I know it seems random, but it really isn't. Each one of you really does have a link with one of the Elements.”
Applejack nodded. “Yeah I got that, and mine's supposed to be Honesty. But I guess I'm still havin’ problems seein’ how that connection even happened, seein’ as I'm just a farm pony. Ain't nothin’ super magical about me.”
Twilight hummed at this as she thought. She knew about the bond that they had shared over their lifetime, but at this moment in time her friends had just been drawn together only hours ago. She needed something to tie this all together, to show them that their bond was something stronger and deeper than the short span of time they had spent together in this room. Something that would go further back than just a few hours.
“That's it,” Twilight said as her memories came across her answer. “You want to know how we're all connected? It actually almost slipped my mind it's been so long, but now I remember.”
Twilight shifted her glance over to her side toward Rainbow Dash, who was laying nearby. “Rainbow Dash, when you were a young filly, you were able to perform a Sonic Rainboom during a race in Cloudsdale.” It was more of a statement than a question, but Rainbow slowly nodded all the same to confirm it. “On that same day, Fluttershy discovered a whole different world beneath the clouds, Rarity's magic discovered a giant geode full of gems for the first time, Applejack was in Manehatten with her Aunt and Uncle Orange, and Pinkie had been working with her family at the rock fields. And all of you saw the same rainbow explode in the sky over Ponyville. Dash's rainbow.”
A quiet hush lingered in the air as the mares all glanced around at one another. “How...?” Rarity asked quietly.
Twilight continued her story. “How do I know all that? I know because I saw it too, and it helped me discover a part of who I was meant to be, just as it did for the rest of you. If that one thing hadn't happened, if we hadn't all experienced that same moment in time, none of us would be the mare that we are today.”
Applejack tapped a hoof against her muzzle as she thought on the story. “So because we all share that one thing, that's how it all connects,” she mumbled to herself.
The group fell silent again for some time. Twilight had definitely given them all a lot to think about, but she hoped that she had tipped the scales in her favor. She decided to try and drive the point home. “I'm not looking for a way to force you all into venturing into the creepy forest of doom. If need be, I'll go on my own to retrieve the Elements, but using the Elements is another thing entirely. We can only each use the Element that we are bound too, and they only work when all used together and only if we truly believe in each other. We already have my Element here, but without the rest of you, it really isn't much more than a pretty crown.”
Applejack nodded in understanding. “So what yer sayin’ is there really ain't no gettin’ off the hook for this one. Even if we didn't feel up to it, we're the only ponies who can do this.”
Twilight's ears fell. “I... no that's not—”
“I'll do it, Twi,” Applejack said with a smile. “Somepony has to, and from the sounds of it we're the only ponies for the job. Besides, you say you've seen us all do this once before, that means we can do it again, am I right?”
A chorus of agreement echoed around the room from the rest of the group.
“Right.”
Twilight smiled, feeling the weight of doubt being lifted off her shoulders.
---
Twilight had considered resting at her old home that evening, until she found that the loft had never been prepared for her arrival. Instead of finding a bed and her old belongings in the library loft that had been transported from Canterlot, she had found nothing but an empty and dusty storage room. This had caused her another fit of puzzled thought. It seemed Celestia had never arranged for Twilight to be in Ponyville. It was another small clue toward finding out what had happened that hadn't offered much of a conclusion, only serving to prompt more questions. Questions such as just how far did the change go back into the past? Had she ever been Celestia's student, or ever lived in Canterlot? Had she ever even existed? The thoughts were more than a little troubling to her.
Rarity had come to Twilight's rescue, bringing the future princess out of her deep thoughts and offering the use of Carousel Boutique's guest room. She wasn't going to leave a princess to 'sleep in the dirt', as she had put it, if she were able to do anything about that. Of course Twilight had accepted the offer, and actually found a pleasant night's sleep knowing that she had the support of her old friends once again. She wouldn't have to face her problems alone.
The 'night' had come and gone, giving way to the 'morning', though no change in the moon and starlit sky marked the passing of either. However, the group of mares still managed to meet at the library again at an arranged time shortly after breakfast, prepared to make their way into the Everfree in search of the Elements. They arrived with various essentials for the trip ahead of them, though what they each considered 'essential' varied from pony to pony. Twilight had donned her 'I'm just a unicorn' disguise, wearing her new velvet jacket and magically shrouding the Element of Magic from view on her head, and had thought to also bring a pair of saddlebags containing a couple reference books she had plucked from the library shelves that might prove useful. She had also brought a current map of the Everfree Forest, as current as one could get anyway. Applejack had brought some lengths of rope with her, Fluttershy had packed blankets in case anypony got cold, Rarity had chosen to bring her sun hat of all things, and Pinkie had decided to bring a box of chocolate chip cookies. Rainbow Dash had brought herself, which she claimed was all she needed to bring.
None of this bothered Twilight in the slightest as they had set off into the forest. She was grateful that they had chosen to come with her at all. The only problem was the forest and how it managed to change so much over time, making any memory she had of it rather useless and even the map only marginally so. After leading her friends through the gloom of the forest for a couple hours, she was now staring at the map hovering just in front of her face, glancing over it at the gorge that was clearly not on the map, but had blocked them from getting to their destination all the same.
Rainbow happened to be staring at the map too, looking just over Twilight's shoulder. “You know what I see?” she asked.
“What do you see?” Twilight asked, continuing to study the map.
Rainbow leaned forward, placing one hoof on Twilight's shoulder as she pointed the other at what she saw at various spots on the map. “Trees... trees... trees, trees, trees aaaaand... trees.”
“Ha ha,” Twilight mock laughed as the corners of her mouth turned up.
Rainbow stepped back a step, planting her hooves back on the ground. “Seriously, how do you see anything on this map, it's all trees. We're lost, aren't we?”
“We're lost?” Fluttershy asked with an edge of panic on her voice nearby as her ears perked up.
Twilight shot a glare at Rainbow. “No, we're not lost. We just have to go around. And it's not all trees, there's a creek nearby.”
“Oh, hey everypony! Twilight found a spec of water in the middle of all the trees!” Rainbow mock cheered. “You know, if you would just let me scout ahead—”
“No, Rainbow,” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes at the same time her magic rolled up the map. Stuffing the map back into her saddlebags, she began to walk along the edge of the gorge. “If there are any Nightguard patrols, they might see you. Besides, if we head this direction to the creek, there is a spot where we can all cross and then it's just an easy trip north east from there.”
“Easy, as in how it has been easy so far?” Rarity asked as she pursed her lips.
Twilight sighed. “Okay, I know. This place isn't very easy to walk through. We can take a break when we get to the creek.”
Other than the minor back-track, the trip had actually gone well without any incidents so far. Twilight knew better than to push her luck by saying such, and so just stuck with trying to encourage the rest of the group to keep going. As promised, they took a moment to rest and gather their strength once they reached the creek where the gorge ended. Pinkie had found this moment to be the best use of her supplies, and had doled out the chocolate chip cookie rations to the group.
“So all we got left is a jaunt over that a way?” Applejack asked as she finished up her snack and pointed off in a direction just over the creek.
“That's right. We should see the ruins pretty soon actually, it's right next—” Twilight suddenly trailed off as she looked around, her ears snapping erect and swiveling quickly.
“Next to what?” Applejack prompted when Twilight didn't finish.
Twilight raised a hoof, indicating that she wanted quiet as she strained her ears to try to pick up on something. Glancing back over her shoulder to the rest of the group, she quietly asked, “Do you hear that?”
The rest of the group listened for the sound that Twilight had noticed, but there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. In fact the forest was dead silent other than the sound of water trickling through the creek.
“I don't hear a thing,” Rarity said as she looked back to Twilight confused.
“Yeah, the crickets quit chirping,” Twilight mentioned as she glanced around slowly. The way she had said that statement made the rest of the mares feel a chill, and suddenly all of them were noticeably more alert.
A low growling noise echoed around the group, causing many of them to feel the hackles on their back raise. Applejack looked around quickly as her ears tried to pick out the source of the noise. “Alright, tell me that sound was one of you girls just wantin’ another cookie.”
“Not it,” Rainbow Dash claimed. The rest of the mares shook their heads to indicate that the sound hadn't come from them either.
“Shoot.”
The growling sound came from around the group again, causing them to huddle together.
“Stay close,” Twilight said as she kept a watchful eye on the trees. Just along the edge of where the tree line blended into the darkness of the forest, green slits of light could be seen darting between the tree trunks. What ever they belonged too seemed to be coming from all directions at once, circling to the left and right just out of view.
“Giiiirls,” Fluttershy's shaky voice whispered. She pressed herself against the rest of the group, pointing a hoof at the trees just in front of her. A wolf shaped head made up of sticks, twigs, and bark hovered there just at the edge of the darkness. It slowly crept forward, revealing its wooden front paws and legs. The low growling noise echoed from its maw as its glowing green eye sockets remained focused on them.
“Stay... close...,” Twilight repeated, her attention circling slowly around the group. All around them she could see the wolf pack emerging from the darkness cautiously, slowly moving in but not yet attacking. She picked out one that appeared to be the most aggressive of the group, the one that was inching forward slightly ahead of the rest directly in front of her. She considered that particular one to likely be their pack leader the way the rest of the wolves seemed to be following its lead. She stared back at it, not giving a single inch of ground up or showing any visible fear at its approach, for to show any signs of weakness would likely cause it to attack. For what felt like a very long moment, the staring contest between her and the alpha wolf lingered as it growled at her defiance. Finally, the stare down broke when the wolf made a lunge for her, signaling the rest of the pack that started to move in at the same time.
“BACK OFF!”
Twilight's voice came out like a clap of thunder, the force of which caused a concussive shock-wave that blew the alpha wolf back against a tree, causing it to splinter into pieces and a puff of glowing green smoke. The smoke hovered in the air for a second before it settled back into the pile of tree parts that had once been the wolf's body, and then began to pull its wooden body back together quickly as it struggled to scamper off. At the same time, the rest of the pack had immediately backed away from the sudden shout, and when they noticed their pack leader retreating they all followed suit, turning tail to disappear back into the woods they had come from.
The mares remained huddled tightly together for a minute after the wolves had left, slowly growing more calmed as they all realized they weren't about to become chew toys any longer. When Twilight was satisfied that the threat had passed, she let her focus on the surrounding forest wane and decided to check on her friends. “Is everyone okay?”
“Mostly,” Rainbow said as she rubbed one of her ears with a hoof. “I still can't hear anything but a ringing sound out of this ear.”
Twilight's eyes took on an apologetic look as she turned to face the rest of the group. “Sorry. I probably should have told you all to cover your ears.”
Applejack let a little whistle go between her teeth. “Ah still can't believe that sound came outta you. I think you got us all pretty good, Twi, but specially them timberwolves. Where'd you learn to do somethin’ like that?”
Twilight smiled humbly. “Oh, that was just a little trick I picked up over the years.”
---
Twilight cautiously picked her way through the brush around the gnarled roots of the trees. “Everyone be careful up here. There's a cliff just up ahead, but if memory serves me right we should find a bridge where we can cross.”
Rainbow Dash stopped as she blew a raspberry and rolled her eyes. “Who needs a bridge?”
Applejack elbowed the pegasus in the side as she walked past. “You do realize half of us don't have wings, right?”
“Minor detail. We can make it work,” Rainbow said with a dismissive wave of her hoof.
The tree line thinned right before a sheer drop off that the group walked up on. Glancing cautiously over the edge, they found that the bottom of the drop wasn't visible thanks to the fog hanging in the air below. Just across from the group, the other side of the cliff was barely visible through the haze in the air, but settled on the other cliff was something very large casting a looming shadow. Twilight squinted her eyes hard at the strange looking silhouette, and then quickly pulled her map open, glancing back and forth between the two. By what she remembered, and what the map was trying to tell her, this should have been the ruins that she was looking at, but this shadow was much larger than the ruins she remember.
Pinkie sat near the edge of the cliff craning her neck back as she took in the full size of the dark object ahead of them. “Oh wow, that must be the hive thingy. Didn't think it would be that big.”
Twilight glanced over at Pinkie Pie, confusion twisting on her face as she tried to understand what she had just heard. She glanced again at her map and then at the 'hive thingy'. “That thing is right on top of the ruins.”
“Oh dang, serious?” Applejack said as she trotted up to look at the map too, not that it made much sense when she glanced at it. It really did look like nothing but a drawing full of trees, just like Rainbow had said.
Twilight's magic suddenly scrunched the map together in frustration. She knew full well what this 'hive thingy' must be, and it was yet another thing that didn't make sense. She had seen one before, but never before in Equestria’s borders. “Why in Equestria is that thing here!?”
Everypony seemed suddenly shocked at Twilight's outburst. After a moment of silence, Rainbow spoke up to try and offer an explanation. “Er... well I think it's always been here.”
Twilight stared back at her friend. “Always?”
“I wouldn't say always,” Rarity began as she looked out at the hive, “however, it has been here for a time, since when I was still a little foal myself.”
Applejack nodded and hummed an 'uh huh'. “Yeah that sounds about right. Was probably around ten years ago or so that Celestia allowed them to settle down here. I've never come out here to see it for myself though. Not really a reason to.”
Twilight glanced around frantically at her friends that seemed to be unaware of the danger sitting right in front of them. “That is a changeling hive!” she screeched as she pointed a hoof toward the looming shadow.
The group was silenced for a moment once again. “...Uh... yeah?” Rainbow said as she shrugged her shoulders.
Twilight stared back for a moment in disbelief at how none of her friends seemed to care about this. Shaking her head, she tried to explain further. “Changelings are horrible creatures!”
Applejack took a cautious step forward and laid a hoof on her frustrated friend’s shoulder, trying to bring some calm to her. “Now come on, Twi. They ain't ever bugged anypony since they moved in here.”
A light snicker noise escaped from Rainbow Dash. “Heh... you said 'bugged'.” Her comment only got her eye rolls and head shakes from many of the other mares, except from Pinkie who giggled at it.
Twilight brushed Applejack’s touch back, stamping her hoof on the ground. “Guys! This is serious. I'm not joking when I say that thing should not be here. There was never a changeling hive in Equestria's borders.”
Rainbow suddenly dropped her joking demeanor. “Wait, so... is this another one of those crazy 'history got changed' things?”
Twilight turned to look out at the hive. She tried to think about how this connected with the other change she knew of; her past self possibly missing. Though she had no real way of proving a connection between the two, there were some frightening possibilities. However, anything she could think of at this moment would be mere speculation.
Twilight tried to calm herself as she let a huff of air out through her nostrils. “I don't know what you have all been told about changelings, but they are extremely dangerous. They have the ability to completely replace another pony, copying everything. Your looks, your memories, everything about you they can steal.”
“Why would they do that?” Fluttershy quietly asked.
Twilight spun around, looking directly to Fluttershy. “Because, it's how they hunt. They work their way into towns and cities unnoticed, and then when they have enough of a presence they strike all at once. The ponies they capture become their food, so to speak.”
Fluttershy made a face that seemed both terrified and disgusted at the same time as she drew her forelegs up against her chest. “They... eat ponies?” she squeaked.
Twilight shook her head. “Not exactly, no, though what they do isn't much better. It's more like they feed off of a pony's emotional energy. I've heard of some pretty bad things that go on in the hives, venom being used to put a pony into a state of euphoria so they can continue to drain them of as much emotional energy as possible, but that's just what we were able to learn from the changelings we managed to capture in my time. Nopony really knows for sure what happens in the hives because there isn't anypony crazy enough to try to go in one, but it can't be good.”
“That sounds horrible,” Rarity said as a shiver worked its way through her spine. “But why would Princess Celestia allow such creatures to be here? She seemed rather confident in allowing them to settle in the Everfree from what I remember. And I don't recall any mention of them ever being hostile.”
Twilight turned to glance out at the looming hive again, giving it a hard stare. “I don't know. Maybe they fooled her, or maybe she just didn't know yet what they are capable of. In the history I remember, the changelings never even tried to be peaceful. Instead, they just tried to invade Canterlot. They failed of course, and after that we made sure they were not allowed within Equestria ever again.
“But now they have a hive right here, practically on Canterlot's doorstep. This is... this is another really big problem. There is no telling how many ponies have already been replaced without anypony noticing.” Add another one to the list, Twilight thought to herself as she stared out at the hive. Nightmare Moon, and now changelings too; her list of threats to Equestria's history was starting to look a bit daunting.
Twilight closed her eyes, letting a frustrated groan escape from her throat. She then turned and began to walk away from the cliff side. “I need to think about this for a minute.”
However, Twilight wouldn't get her minute of thought. A shadow passed through the tree tops, hitting the ground right in front of her. Many more quickly followed, thudding to the ground and surrounding the group in an instant. Twilight quickly thought to charge up a very specific spell for this situation, lighting her horn.
“This area is off limits to civilians,” a mare's voice loudly proclaimed from the shadow just in front of Twilight. This caused her to pause in her spell casting. The shadow approached a couple more steps, revealing a bat winged pegasus mare with a charcoal gray coat staring back at her with cat-like golden eyes. She wore violet metallic armor that bore the unmistakable slit-eye shaped emblem of the Nightguard on her chest. Not what Twilight had expected to see, but not much better. She disabled the spell that she had been preparing and lowered her guard. She and her friends had been caught, but the Nightguard had no reason to suspect them of any sort of 'wrong doing' yet. Maybe this situation could still be salvaged, she thought. Her mind began to work over possible excuses that she could try to use.
“Twilight,” Fluttershy's weak voice called out, grabbing her attention.
Twilight glanced back at her friends, seeing their frightened faces looking back to her for help. She put a reassuring smile on for them. “Let me handle this,” she said quietly to the rest of the group before turning to face the Nightguard before her. “My companions and I came to investigate the ruins here. Is that a problem?” She hoped that maybe feigning ignorance of the royal decree to stay out of the Everfree would work.
The Nightguard stared hard at Twilight as if searching for something. Her mouth worked back and forth as she stared, and then she finally responded. “Not for me to say. Our orders are to bring anypony suspicious back to camp. I would say a group of civilians taking a waltz through the Everfree Forest fits that description. You and your companions will come with us. That is not a request.”
Without giving Twilight a chance to answer, the Nightguard turned around while calling out to the rest of her fellow guards. “We're bringing them in. Keep a close eye on them.”
The group of guards that had been standing just at the edges of the shadows moved in and made a tight circle around Twilight and her friends and began leading them back into the forest. Twilight could see the worried look on her friend's faces, and tried to offer what support she could. “It will be okay. Once we get there just let me explain everything. You guys just let me take care of it, alright?” Her friends remained quiet, only nodding in response.
The escort ended at a camp setup not too far from the cliff side, hidden just on the edge of the tree line. There appeared to be a large number of Nightguard present, some of them standing watch around the perimeter, others busily moving between tents as they attended to their given tasks. Twilight took notice of a few that were in an area that appeared to be for practicing with weapons and spells. This was a war camp, and it was very close to the changeling hive. It appeared that Nightmare Moon didn't agree with the changelings' presence within Equestria's borders.
The group finally stopped just in front of a large command tent pitched near the center of the camp ground. The lead Nightguard turned her head back toward Twilight, simply giving a command to 'wait here' before she entered the tent. A long moment passed as the group waited, nervousness growing as they noticed other Nightguard around the camp looking toward them curiously. Finally, the flap to the tent flew open, and the Nightguard mare walked back outside, stepping just to the side.
A slender black foreleg with a hoof clad in pale blue metallic armor came into view first, followed closely by the rest of the dark mare that it belonged too. Her ethereal mane spilled out around her as she exited the tent, hanging in an unfelt breeze. The moonlight glinted off of her pale blue helmet, and complimented the eerie glow of the crescent moon symbol on her chest armor. Nightmare Moon stared down at the group of ponies that had been brought before her with her greenish, cat-like eyes, the frown on her muzzle seeming to show only how displeased she was with their presence. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she spoke. “Which one of you is the leader of this group of... explorers.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.036 seconds
Total duration
1,055 users online
1,862,827 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Twilight used Royal Canterlot Voice! It's super effective!
And right after that the Mane 6 failed their sneak roll and are promptly found by NMM's forces who take them back to camp to meet.......NMM
Well folks in a situation like this when the GM has thrown in a powerful monster that will no doubt tear the players characters to little shreds there is but one thing to do!
Leap across the table and attack the GM.
You wouldn't believe how much xp their worth.
Alicorn fight!
If you ask me, attempting to find and use the Elements of Harmony without the original Twilight is a big mistake. Even if they succeed in stopping Nightmare Moon (and now the changlings) without her, it will seriously undermine the chain of events that led to Twilight becoming an alicorn princess.
2325187
At least they didn't roll a one. That would suck. And attacking the GM is a one way ticket to rocks fall, everyone dies. Or the GM being a douche for the rest of the campaign.
2325312 She technically doesn't exist so it doesn't matter anymore
We find thee unprepared. Seeing NMM is about the worst possible thing (falls onto day-bed)
2325187>>2325298>>2325407>>2325526
Twi's a smart cookie, she'll figure something out...
2325312>>2325516
Nopony really knows for sure what happened with past Twilly yet. And with NMM running around, fetching the EoH real quick seemed like a good idea at the time. I mean, just a quick trot through the woods to an abandoned castle with nopony else around for miles, right?
2325712
Well, duh! Twilight's been in this whole Princess business thing for two and a half centuries now. I'd say she has some experience in things like these.
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw8357-mlp_cliffhanger.jpg
Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! That is the worst cliffhanger I have read in a while. Danget, that new chapter better be out soon.
This should be reallllly entertaining. I actually wanna see like a Q&A session between twilight and NMM, because as Winston Churchill said, "When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite."
So Celestia let the changelings in the Everfree, and Black Snooty wants them gone? Well, you know what they say about my enemy's enemy, and besides, changelings are the best kind of pony!
2325407
Only if your out of character.
*hefts his club of +4 GM smiting*
Now if you'll excuse me I think its time to level up.
2325298 Ready, go!!!
Well there are about 100 different was this will end the most dominate ending being a intervention/fight need-less to say
[img]Image: http://denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw8357-mlp_cliffhanger.jpg[/img]
Well, this has go downhill for the gang, but Twilight could use this as an advantage to find out what more has changed in the timeline, how it has changed, what happen to past Twilight, and figured out something else to help. So, who know; this might actually be a very rare good thing in disguise. Great job so far, keep it up.
C&Cs:
“Surprise!” a voice called out from the direction of the library door.
> I am sure this is just a style thing, but just in case it isn’t, capitalize the ‘a’.
...that in her own time where long gone.
Correction: ‘were’.
If there are any Nightguard patrols, they might see you.
> Possible correction: ‘Night Guard’. This could be just a style thing, but ‘Night Guard’ is technically the correct form. But, I’ll let you figure out what to do about that.
Fluttershy's weak voice called out, bringing the Princess out of her trace.
> I’m not sure, but do you mean ‘trance’ instead of ‘trace’?
It appeared that Nightmare Moon didn't agree with the changelings' presence within Equestria's borders.
> Terms like Changeling, like Earth Pony, Unicorn, and Pegasus, should be capitalized. Technically, in normal condition, the word ‘changeling’ and ‘unicorn’ should not be capitalized, but this is the MLP world and Changeling is the name of the race (as well as Unicorn). Not sure about the hive...it is probably ‘Changeling Hive’, but I would ask for a second opinion on that note.
I'm impressed with this story thus far (despite Alicorn Princess Twilight, which I doubt I'll ever fully accept). The mystery of just how the timeline has been messed up is fascinating. I think at some point Twilight may have to recognize there's no way to fix this, or at least not without time traveling again. I'm also curious whether it's possible to reason with Nightmare Moon at all. I'd be surprised if Twilight doesn't at least try -- particularly since, from her own viewpoint, Princess Luna has (I presume) been her friend for centuries.
Well, counting this, I have found a total of about 8 new stories to follow today. Here's hoping it doesn't interfere with my school work and writing too much!
I am liking where this is going. How well will a 250+ year old Twilight fare against Nightmare Moon? Can she use her two and a half centuries of diplomatic experience to avoid a fight all together? Are the changelings secretly reformed here? Is younger Twilight Sparkle studying magic under Queen Chrysalis? Are the Changelings the main resistance threatening to take down Nightmare Moon in an attempt to return Celestia to the throne? Can my ideas get any more ridiculous?
Yes they can: Is Pinkie Pie a changeling? Is Rainbow Dash a spy? Will Twilight become the Doctor? Will one random historical change cause dragons to become the dominant species after another time jump? Is Twilight supposed to be sleeping with Luna in the future, being the only immortal alicorn who none of the others are actually related to? Will she find evil to be suddenly sexy? Was Twilight following Discord? Her own daughter by Discord?
No, but seriously, I'm liking this so far. Keep up the good work.
I knew It! A cliff-hanger, God-dangit! Why dose this story have to be so good?
2335767
Good points! And exactly the kind of questions that I'd intend the readers to be thinking about. Is it really wise for Twilly to be messing with things? What does it mean to be messing with a past that's already been messed with? Is it even possible to fix such a thing without properly finding where things originally got messed up?
But do remember, Twilly kinda randomly landed here, and as of yet has no clue as to what could have caused the changes, or even where or when they happened. So the odds of her ever finding the location, time, and cause of the changes by just randomly trying to travel through time again is next to none. She has no reason to attempt time travel again without first trying to figure some things out where she is.
So, stuck with that situation, she's doing the best she can at the moment, or at least believes she is.
2336037
...I'd think the best she can would be 'researching what happened rather than running around fighting Nightmare Moon', since it's all pointless if she plans on going back and fixing the divergence anyway.
Though, I suppose a grateful Princess Luna would be easier to work with in said research than Nightmare Moon.
This an interesting take on a very popular 'what if' scenario. That many have tried to 'add a twist to'.
However, upon reading this, there is one serious flaw in the way the characters are going about this.If Twilight wants to preserve the past and ensure the future remains as unchanged as possible. Then she shouldn't be doing it, her past self should. The unicorn Twilight should be the one to create the bonds with her friends not the alicorn version from the future.
Yes, stopping nightmare moon is something that should be done, but not by the future Twilight. A friendship...a bond was formed from that night and helped strengthen the group as a whole. Not having the unicorn Twilight there makes the entire thing pointless. Regardless if they defeat the possessed Luna and bring peace and light back to the land.
Unless it is to only to free Celestia from the prison she's in and to have her send the future twilight further into the past. Which if that's the case, then it won't matter what the alicorn tells her friends. Everything will put back to the way it was. (assuming she catches the one she was chasing through the time vortex.
Though i am curious as to what 'rules' you have come up regarding time travel in this.Are you using BTTF's that have it that every actions was a ripple effect or the ones from startrek that basically lets you do what and still have everything turn out the same.
4332739 She has no idea where her younger self is. Nightmare Moon has been in control for 2 weeks that she shouldn't have. getting the natural balance back is more important first.
4332739
4675525
This is probably the one question that I've seen asked the most early on.
Well, Twily may not have made the right call. All that is really important to the story is that she made a choice, and her choice was to try to tackle more than one problem at a time. Nightmare Moon was in control, the Elements hadn't been gathered, Celestia was missing, and her past self was no where to be found. Of those things, getting the Elements was the first sure bet and could possibly be used to solve almost everything else at once, which would then make the final remaining problem (locating her past self) much easier, and the journey might even turn a clue or two up in the process as she retraced her old steps that her past self should have taken. She is quite a multi-tasker after all, and so she went for trying to knock out as many of the problems at once as she could.
It's possible that I didn't go into great enough detail on Twilight's reasons for the actions she chose in the story, but to be honest, I figured it would be kinda boring and her reasons for why she makes her choices isn't near as important to the story as is what her choices actually are, and the consequences of those choices.
Twilight should've just beat the tar out of the night-guard and made a break for the hive. This eternal night thing can't be good for the changelings either, and it seems like they aren't exactly on friendly terms with Luna. I think they might be okay with them, considering "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Wait.. If future twi takes over present twi's place in all of this won't it change all of her future if her present self never meets her friends? and therefore she never becomes the princess of friendship.
5676239
I think this story follows the Dragon Ball Z logic of time travel, in that future Twilight went to a completely different timeline that she was from, as a result, any changes that happen in this timeline won't have any effect on future Twilight's timeline.
I'm not sure if my mind can't handle the progression of this story or if that I should really stop reading fan fiction at one in the morning.
Changelings too? Man, I hope you're not overreaching here. Introducing too many high-level threats too quickly has a sad habit of spiraling out of control and either irrevocably damaging an otherwise awesome story or sapping your of your creativity to write it out with the clarity, love, and originality that it demands.
it's not a party, it's an intimate get together!
I know this was written a long time ago, but wow, Equestria never made peace with the changelings in over 250 years? And they never allowed any of them to join Equestria, even defectors like Thorax? Twi seems pretty hateful.