Angels and Demons 2: Timelock

by lunabrony

Boulder and Wiser

It felt funny walking back into Ponyville with a mane that graced his neck. A voice that was completely unrecognizable. How was it that no one had told him about this plant? Fluttershy had been on hand to provide some explanations of its properties, but had bolted before any could be given. If it could directed to be more specific, the possibilities were endless! In the meantime, time to make this disguise work. First order of business, find Rarity.

Her colors weren't the same, upon closer look, they were inverted. Instead of light blue fur with blonde mane, she had yellow fur with a dark blue mane. Interesting. Ponyille looked, more or less, the same as it always had, only bigger. Much bigger. Nightmare Moon had expanded it from a small town into what could arguably almost be a city. Carousel Boutique was where it had always been, in comparison to the other buildings which had existed before, and looked to be open.

He had never played a mare before, he hoped he wasn't overdoing it. First he checked his supply of bits. Alright, I'm in the need of something to fit this season but I haven't found anything that worked well with my colors? With a deep childish excitement making this fairly fun, he entered the Carousel.

The Boutique.. while on the outside, similar, inside, had been completely redecorated. The main waiting area had been turned into a lobby with sofas and old magazines. A mare at the counter smiled politely. "Welcome to Colgate's Dentistry! Do you have an appointment?"

That's what presumptions bought you, he thought. Okay you just act like a ditz. A wide beaming smile, she strode a little clumsily over to the counter. "Yes, I'm lost! I don't know how it could happen, I followed what he said to the letter. Do you know if a miss Rarity Belle, is anywhere near? She dug into the saddlebag, looking for her map, getting out but dropping it. "Whoops sorry, such a klutz!"

The receptionist smiled. "Oh, believe me darling, you're not the first to make that mistake. Right place, wrong time. Rarity used to work here, but as I understand got an enormous offer in Canterlot last year, and has since moved there and opened up her own high-profile clothing line. I hear it's doing well."

She sighed and snorted. "Figures, just my luck, well thank you." Picking up the map she struck her off the list until she'd found a way to maneuver her way through the waiting list. Exiting the boutique, she wasted no time and set a course for the rock farm. Something told her that he needed to go all the way to Manehatten to find Apple Jack.

Exploring a new identity would have to wait for now, she had a mission to complete. The Rock Farm looked more or less the way it always had, two adults standing near the house, bickering about what to do with a large boulder in the field, and could they afford to remove it and expand the crops this year? Three smaller mares of extremely dull color and straight manes were out in the field, chipping away at a large rock with pickaxes.
"Hurry up! Get the top of it!"
"I got the top of it last time!"
"That's because Inkie wasn't here, so it falls to you by default."
"Since when?"
"Since now!"

It was strange to be a mare, though how deep the changes went he wasn't sure. Except for an alarming lightness between his legs, he hadn't really found out yet. Would this herb have this effect consistently? Was it one time use or did he need to go back for more. It made him positively invisible unless some pony happened to notice the change. So he had worked up a quick new identity, she was Ageta Rubiks. It was the only name he could think of for some reason. "Oh, excuse me, are you the Pie family who's running this rock farm?" He asked, looking a little shy. Trying to think of how Fluttershy had acted, only not doing to such an excess.

If any of them was excited about getting a new visitor, they didn't show it. In fact they looked up at him with just about the most uncaring expression of boredom imagineable. "Yeah." The grey one nodded. "You need rocks delivered?" The other grey one spoke up. "Or broken down?" The dull pink one chimed in. "Or are you looking for something else?"

Okay, how would Fluttershy react? Whimper and run away, but she was her best bet for acting convincingly feminine without being ditzy. "Oh! Um, no... I mean kinda... the Canterlot University sent me, there's a pony there, her name is Twilight." She explained not keeping eye contact and scratching on foreleg with a hoof. He reached way inside to find the scared little kid he had once been. "And um, she had to be a little special! She... I have a test... that's... if that's okay." She shied away and whimpered a little. Feeling embarrassed and having a blast at the same time. Poor Fluttershy, it was even harder for her, more severe, and she wasn't acting.

He had the trio's attention now, and they had all stopped what they were doing. "Test? What kind of test?" The grey one asked. "Oh, I'm Inkie."
"And I'm Blinkie."
"And I'm Pinkie!" Yeah, that wouldn't be confusing at all. The stallion who was presumably their father called from the house. "Girls! What's the holdup?" None of them registered any knowledge of Twilights name.

First test done, it was just a consistency check to see whether they had known Twilight. She already knew but it was worth checking to be sure. The new voice required him to flinch in mild shock, it was hard to overdo Fluttershy's timidness. She hadn't thought of a test yet, Pinkie Pie would still be Pinkie Pie whether this world had allowed her to express her destiny or not. "Yes... its not a hard test, but Twilight wanted me to use it to find the right pony for the job." One of them had called herself Pinkie, he looked at that pony, watching for her cutie mark and her appearance. Wasn't that pony a little too young to be Pinkie Pie?

All three of them had similar cutie marks. A pickaxe, a shovel, and a rock. Pure blooded sisters, no doubt about that. She looked similar to how he remembered Pinkie had looked in the newspaper, but greyscaled, and her hair as flat and stiff as a board. Inkie looked confused. "The right what? Are you looking for a rock? We can help with that."

"No, Twilight says somepony here would be good, she didn't say why. I'm just here to give you a test and then she has a job at the University." Downcast, eyes almost retreating. Okay they were buying her behavior, even if they probably thought it was a bit weird. Too late to change it without seeming insane or not genuine. "Oh! And bits, she offered bits for it." She stuck her head into his bag and fished up the small leather bag, letting the coins clink before putting it back. "Um... the test isn't obligatory... I mean, and you were working so maybe I should just go..." She was inching away, looking about ready to bolt.

At the offer of bits, their eyes seemed to brighten up. Their father came over from the house, looking slightly annoyed. "Girls, what's the holdup? We have a schedule to-" He paused, noticing the new mare. His daughters looked up. "This nice girl is offering to pay us to take a test for her," Blinkie said. The stallion frowned "Is that right?"

No, that would require money to be exchanged now. "What! No!" She exclaimed in surprise, indicating that misunderstanding had been made. "I said Twilight Sparkle would pay for a job in Ponyville University. I... I have money, but its down payment only, and I need to do the test first." She couldn't fake tears, Fluttershy would be positively crying at this stage, but she really felt sympathy, if she had wings she'd be hiding his face behind them, instead she tried making it go under her cloak hood.

Pinkie Pie stepped forward, some part of her obviously seemed moved by the mares plight. "I will help her, father. I have some vacation days." Her father looked unsure. "I don't know." Pinkie shook her head. "No, I want to. I don't know why, but I need to help her." The stallion nodded after a moment. "Alright."

"Sorry, I just get so worked up at times." Hopefully the fates of this world wouldn't make her the new Fluttershy. She considered whether she should drop the act, but decided against it until she had reminded Pinkie Pie of who she was. Unfortunately of all the ponies, she was the one with the fewest consistent results. All she really had been able to figure about her, was that she was unpredictable and liked parties. Ageta doubted she could get her to spontaneously arrange something like that. "Thank you, um... we can do the tests, but I need some time to set them up... and they're not hard, so I don't expect you to fail, so... if its alright we can go to Ponyville now?"

Excusing herself from the rest of her family, Pinkie left for the road with Ageta, exchanging confused glances. "Ponyville is just a short walk away, what kind of tests are we talking about?"

"I can't tell you because then Twilight says it'll affect the results, d-don't worry its not a written test or an oral exam." Good thing she had always been terrified of exams, she could work with that. What kind of a puzzle could she give Pinkie Pie that would remind her of who she was? It was mildly frustrating, Twilight it had been a magically oriented puzzle, because that was her talent. They walked, she stayed silent, acting as if she was just shy. Pinkie's was laughter, but she wasn't exactly a humorous sort.. and she'd seen her gags on rare occasions when she had visited Canterlot castle and caught sight of Twilight in company with the pony, they were cute, but it didn't make me laugh. That wasn't the same case with Angel, she had laughed, her laughter was the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard. Completely natural and without a single bad streak to it. Genuine through and through. Her head hurt, but this was just as bad. She'd trade away any chance of curing her headache or even alleviating it from time to time, just to hear her laugh. Tears were starting to flow down her cheeks, crud, she'd see, it'd break her cover too early.

Pinkie cracked a weak smile, and something encouraging happened. "Is it a surprise? I like surprises!" With that bit of admission, a single small bright pink curl sproinged up from her mane. She did try to hide the tears, but of course she noticed, she was the most observant of the six. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, you didn't." She wiped away the tears, they were really flowing now. "I'm sorry." I'm so sorry Angel, I didn't handle you right, and now look at me, I'm barely able to put things together here. Ageta sat her rump down on a stump not able to hide the tears. "I'm really trying Pinkie... I said something wrong..." She had to shut his eyes for a moment, it hurt and tears rolled off from her eyes. "Someone... my fiancee, and now I don't know if I'll see he... him again. I'm sorry, I'll be okay.." All thoughts of a test was out of her mind, she felt ashamed and exposed.

Pinkie frowned. "Oooooh, I get it. You broke a promise didn't you?" She tsked in disapproval. "I'm not surprised, that's the quickest way to lose a friend you know." She stopped with Ageta outside Ponyville. "You sure you'll be okay? You look awful."

She felt awful, worse than awful. "I am awful." It was true, even if she was a pony, she was still a human. The fur, the hooves, the horn, it was all skin deep. Like it or not she came from a race that had darkness in them. Angel had finally come to see that. "I don't know what I'm going to do." She didn't fix this... yes... could she undo what had happened to Angel? If somehow she was able to arrive at the right moment to stop her from reading that book... would she then have been able to go off and change time? No she'd just have created a paradox.

She had really only one option. If she had done something in the past to cause all this, it would have happened already, and she wouldn't be here now. If she was going to stop this, it would have to be here. She'd have to find out who it was, and stop them from going back in the first place. If it was a unicorn, for example, she might have to break a horn, although that was an exceptionally crude scenario. Pinkie hugged the mare, and looked sympathetic. "What can I do?"

Pinkie's hug was welcome, it feel genuinely comforting. "I think my floodgates are slowing down a bit. I don't know if you can help me with my fiancee, I really, really wish you could, but its all my fault," She said, sniffing a little bit more, digging for a tissue. Was it because she was a mare now, she thought that was just appearances. Where had she put the hoofkerchief?

Pinkie was slowly beginning to be more like Pinkie, made even more evident by her reaching into a hole of a nearby tree and pulling out a hoofkerchief. "I have these stashed all over Equestria in case of tragedy, here!" She offered.

All over Equestria, hopefully she was exaggeration to make a point, he sincerely hoped that was the case. Ageta dried her eyes, dapping the moisture away, although the tears kept coming. "Thanks," She said, feeling a little weak. The tears had finally come, leaving poor Ageta crying on the side of the road. Pinkie, who other than her cutie mark and a fairly dull coat was more or less the way she was supposed to be, had slowly been slipping more into character. Frowning. "Hey! Don't be sad, there's no time for that! Your smile is lost... where'd it go?" She stood on her head, looking at her upside down. "Oh! Oh! I found it!"

She shouldn't have smiled, but her affectionate cheeriness was hard to dismiss. It didn't make her forget Angel, that part still hurt. Such a mare at the moment, she really needed to wash off these herbs, but the disguise was too important to lose. The element of laughter. In her human world she would have been a comedian, or a hospital clown, and she'd have made a lot of people down in the dumps feel better. "I'm not myself these days... you're good at cheering ponies up." She wondered if this was having an intended effect on her. "Did you know that Pinkie?"

Pinkie shrugged as if it wasn't all that big a deal. "I've been told that before, but it isn't really my thing. But I'm glad you're feeling better." She stopped, and pulled a map out from under a rock. "Is there somewhere we need to be going?"

She paused, considering that. Perhaps there wouldn't be any restoration of their destinies from here. If Twilight could do the timelock spell, then she had one and only one shot to go back and stop it from occuring at all. "Yes, Ponyville Library, and hurry!" She hoped Twilight hadn't spent the humongous gem, she might have need of it as well, but funding things wouldn't necessarily be a problem. That was a puzzle she had already solved.

"Oki doki loki, meet you there!" Pinkie dashed down the road. Yup, she was well on her way to being her old self again. As for Twilight, if luck was with her, she'd still be at the library as well.

She wasted no time, and she would not interfere with them finding each other. If she understood them right enough, that could only really be achieved by them. The Library was open, but nowhere near as vibrant as it once had been. Following the opening of the library in the University and the burning down of Canterlot Library, Ponyville library had been all but abandoned. She did a quick search in the library, to find Twilight, and the others, wherever they might be.

Twilight was in what, in another Timeline, would have been her bedroom, as was Pinkie. The room was completely empty and covered in dust. And, to his great surprise, so was Rarity. The mare was as beautiful as ever, with a needle and thread on her flank, however looked absolutely bored as if she'd rather be anywhere else. Twilight and Rarity looked puzzled, as they had not yet been privvy to the disguse spell yet. "Can we help you, darling?" The latter asked, though it sounded rather forced.

Ageta rolled her eyes. How was she going to dispense with that quickly? "Twilight if you look under herbs, you'll find one that grows in the Everfree Forest that has strange properties. It can among other things change your size, fur, appearance and..." He he shifted his hindlegs again. Odd feeling. "Gender. We met before, Silver Key, Took you to Trixie, made you discover your magical talent, told you about Timelock spells, asked you to research them, that the timeline had been altered." She decided to present them. "Rarity, meet Twilight Sparkle, one of your closest friends in an alternate timeline, along with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Apple Jack." She turned to Twilight, "Have you briefed them on this yet?"

Twilight took all this with seriousness and rolled her eyes. "Rarity has been my best friend since magic school, we don't talk as much as we used to, but when you questioned me before I sensed you might be interested in her, and sent for her at once." She explained. "I have not told her anything you told me, information is at your discretion." Pinkie, however had burst into giggles. "You're a STALLION? Oh, that's too much." She fell upon her back, legs kicking in the air with laughter. Her eyes glowed white, and she suddenly gasped as three balloons blazed themselves upon her flank. Twilight stared in amazement. Pinkie looked disoriented. Rarity backed away as if it was contagious.

It was working. "Pinkie Pie... your cutie mark! It turned back!" It was going to be a lot of information for Rarity, but he didn't want to waste time. "Rarity, have you ever heard of a cutie mark changing? In the timeline I came from Pinkie lived in Ponyville, and her talent was spreading laughter and cheering ponies. You weren't childhood friends with Twilight, but all six of you came together what would have been three years ago around now. Together with Twilight you became the bearers of the elements of harmony, and you saved Nightmare Moon, restoring her to who she had originally been!" She regarded Rarity, her cutie mark. She was an accomplished designer here instead of gems, a sense of preciousness and aesthetics as well as her natural ability to find them.

"Defeated Nightmare Moon? That's blasphemy, you could be imprisoned for such talk." She said in a hushed tone. "As for changing cutie marks, if I recall correctly there was one case of a young filly in Manehattan having something like that a while ago, covered in cutie marks, poor thing had to be institutionalized." She shook her head. "Some days I just don't know what the world is coming to. But judging from what I have just seen, I believe you're not completely crazy."

Twilight would have to fill her in. How on Earth these ponies had been able to accomplish anything was a mystery to her. No wonder Novaria was baffled with it half the time. "Twilight, you're free to fill in Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Have you found out anything about the Timelock spell, can you cast it? And what about Rainbow Dash, any luck there?"

"Yes, I'll fill them in. As for Rainbow Dash, nothing important. I found a record of her birth in the Cloudsdale Archives, but it's nothing we don't already know. Name, place of birth, weight. After that, it's like she doesn't exist." She sighed. "As for the Timelock, I will keep trying, but I don't know yet if even I-" Rarity chimed in. "That's great. I'm happy for you and Imma let you finish, but I have work to do if I'm going to get my order finished by Wednesday." She headed for the door.

Ageta quickly bucked the door, stopping her from leaving and turned to her. She sounded a bit ridiculous talking the way he did but with a mare's voice. "Rarity, did you even hear a word I said? The timeline is out of order, the world has been upturned, a villain that was defeated has been allowed to run out of check." Ponies didn't get this angry.. well they did, but it looked silly. "And.. you're worried about your dresses not getting delivered?" Too much to prove in one paragraph. "You're not leaving until you understand!"

Canterlot had done a number on Rarity. She seemed unphased. "Of course I heard you. But it's not my problem. I have a business to run, you however are more than welcome to run around doing your detective work." Twilight stomped her hoof down. "Rarity, this is more important than fashion! Lives may be at stake!" The fashionista looked annoyed. "Nothing is more important than fashion, now allow me to leave before I have you all arrested for ponynapping."

Ageta was convinced to make her understand. "Rarity, I have to know strongly that you're only with all six of you present will the magic be strongest. Its not something I understand well, its something you discover together. How much would it cost you to delay the shipment for a day?"

Rarity sighed with defeat and stomped her front hooves in tantrum. "Oh, fine! I'll delay my order, but if I get heat from Miss Novaria, YOU'RE going to be the one explaining why." She warned, obviously unimpressed. She was clearly used to getting her way on things. "I will help you. But I'm not happy about it."

Novaria, Rarity knew Novaria! Of course she did, shipments came in from all over Equestria. As for convincing Novaria, that was easy, she knew far too many secrets now having been her advisor. Though of course she might just take her for a spy and lock her up. "Stay with Twilight, get to know her and Pinkie, and Fluttershy and the others." He was quickly scribing a letter to Zecora. The part of Rainbow Dash just disappearing, but not turning up dead was odd... "Did you find out anything about Rainbow Dash's parents?"

"Yes, they live in Cloudsdale, but unless you know a spell for making a unicorn pony sprout wings you're not getting up there." She said apologetically. Rarity looked at her incredulously. "What are the chances of that?" The three mares saluted Ageta, and although Rarity was annoyed, she joined the others at a table, going over what information they had already found. Twilight sounded hopeful about the idea of pulling off a time travel spell of her own, though she was by no means prepared to do it.

Comments

[FicusCat]

Boring story.

Maybe because the first one didn't make real sense to me and was full of the flaws I find repulsive in a story ( HiE who don't give a fuck about what he see, don't care about being changed into a pony, love at first sight with a pony, said pony is an OC Alicorn, become a powerfull Mary Sue unicorn, yaddah yaddah ).

I hand it to you the words count is good, the story seems descriptive enough, no wall of text and good grammar. But I don't like it at all.

[Whisper The Saint]

I'm not forcing anyone to read this, writing this story with my friend makes me happy. PLEASE stop being hateful in the comments, it really hurts.

Please consider removing this phrase. You know, a phrase like this is like pouring blood where there is sharks. You can attract trolls and jerks with it.

Now I agree with you: when someone sees a story, that person should read the summary. If it's clear he wouldn't like it, then he shouldn't read or comment. However, there is another thing: if he reads the summary and consider he could like it, then 'don't like, don't read' doesn't really works. It shouldn't be an excuse to avoid criticism.

With this out of the way, I really don't feel like reading it. It just couldn't pick up my attention, so I will refrain from commenting on it. The only suggestion I can give you is: you made this story with your friend, so both of you did it to have fun. Would you enjoy reading a story like this, but with characters that aren't you and your friend? If no, then you really need to think about why you published it on the internet.

Also be careful with Ponycreator: it usually brings downvotes... along with alicorn OC.

[lunabrony]

2436037 Thank you for your constructive critcism and telling me why you think the story sucks instead of just saying I suck. That was very helpful and I am appreciative. I agree with you and the phrase has been removed from the summary.

[Whisper The Saint]

2438699

You're welcome.

If you want, I am admin of a group named Love and Tolerate. We accept all OCs and humans fanfic there. If you desire, feel free to join and share your stories there. ^^