Act Two: Tempest Gathering—Chapter VIII: Dance of the Hours
Chapter VIII: Dance of the Hours
Sunset’s plan had been simple. Find the other half of the broken airship, and they would find their missing friends. Against the backdrop of yellow sand, finding a blue airship was an easy feat. Sunset, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow had walked about what Sunset guessed was a mile before cresting a large dune and spotting the front end of the Blue Moon embedded into the sand, the balloon canvas obscuring most of it from the baking sun. Excited to reunite with their friends, the group rushed down to the wreckage. However, there was one small problem...
The ship was empty.
They scoured the wreck, looking for any sign of the three missing ponies and Spike. It wasn’t until Sunset used a homing spell and picked up traces of magic that they finally discovered something slightly useful.
Gathered in front of the broken hull, Sunset addressed her friends. “Well, Twilight definitely used magic, and seeing as nopony is here, they all made it out alive.”
“Yeah, but where are they?” Applejack inquired.
Sunset brushed out stray bits of sand that had found their way into her mane. “Well, my guess is Twilight either used a shield spell upon impact, keeping all of them safe and they went out to look for us, or a teleportation spell was used.”
“Teleportation?” Rainbow slapped her face and groaned. “Great, they could be anywhere in this stupid desert! How are we supposed to find them?”
“Well…” Sunset closed her eyes in thought. “If Twilight did use a teleportation spell, I might be able to find the leftover magic of her re-entry point. If she didn’t teleport too far away.”
“Well, we got nothing else to go on, so give it a go, Sunset,” Applejack said.
Sunset kept her eyes closed, a field of teal light cloaking her horn. From beneath her eyelids, the interior darkness lightened to a dull grey color. Sound and feeling fell away as Sunset brushed against the veil of the astral plain, trying to glean the knowledge of where her other friends were. All around her, the world stretched into a void of grey emptiness without a drop of color in sight. She pulled more energy into her spell, widening her range of vision in an effort to find Twilight’s signature within the monotone field.
On and on Sunset searched, pushing the edge of her circle of vision further and further, beginning to strain under the effort. She had spread her magical gaze over two miles in every direction, and had still failed to find anything. She could feel her concentration slipping, as the grey of the astral plain flickered to the darkness of her eyelids. Sunset needed more power if she was going to maintain her spell, not to mention extend her field of view.
Sunset sighed. Part of her was unwilling to do it, and another part of her knew it was a risky idea, given their location. Still, if it meant finding her friends, then Sunset was willing to take a risk, she would just have to keep it short.
Taking a deep breath, Sunset redoubled her concentration, focusing not on her homing spell, but on the flow of energy around her. The grey exploded in a wave of bright yellow light, illuminating the astral plain. Streams of solar energy flowed and spun about, crisscrossing everywhere without rhyme or reason.
With a single thought, all of the streams gathered and began to swirl around Sunset’s incorporeal form, spinning faster and faster, and changing from bright yellow to the familiar teal of her own magic. Despite the fact that she had changed pure energy into useable magic, it was still dangerously hot. Sunset could already feel her body rapidly warming up with her use of the sun’s natural energy. She quickly turned her efforts back to the homing spell, the walls of the astral plain shooting out and giving Sunset a wide view.
She finally spotted a mist of purple light in the far distance, quickly losing color with each passing second as the magic faded away, dissolving back into the aether. Sunset focused on the direction of the mist, memorizing it before she severed her connection with the ribbons of solar energy. She opened her eyes, temporarily blinded by the bright sun, and feel to her knees, feeling woozy and very hot.
“Woah there, Sunset!” Applejack rushed to her side, putting a steady hoof around her shoulder. “You okay? You were just zonin’ out for the longest time.”
Sunset coughed and smacked her lips, the inside of her mouth and throat feeling incredibly dry and scratchy. “Yeah, just… spent a little too much magic, that’s all.” She didn’t feel like wasting time or energy explaining her ability to Applejack.
“R.D, Pinks, go see if y’all can’t find any water in there,” Applejack said, pointing back to the marooned airship.
Rainbow turned and zipped off without a word, with Pinkie close behind. Sunset, meanwhile, was taking deep breaths in an attempt to cool herself off. Waves of heat still coursed through her body, and the burning sand underneath her was not helping in the slightest.
“So, did ya find ‘em?” Applejack interrupted Sunset’s breathing with a soft, curious voice.
Sunset nodded and pointed out to the distance. “About four miles out that way,” she rasped.
Rainbow and Pinkie returned, both carrying two metal canteens around their necks. “This was all we could find, but they’re each filled up with water,” Rainbow said, tossing one to Applejack, who quickly handed it to Sunset.
She snatched it with a hoof and twisted the cap off before drinking its entire contents in one go. The water was lukewarm, but Sunset didn’t care. At the moment it tasted heavenly and quenched her terrible thirst, massaging her throat and cooling off her insides.
Sunset gasped for air after completely draining the canteen, and wiped the edges of her mouth with a hoof. “Thank you,” she said, looking at each of the three ponies in turn. She shook the container, making sure there was no water left inside, before tossing it away.
Getting to her hooves, she said, “Come on, we should get going.” She pressed onwards across the sand, towards the last location of the purple mist, hoping Twilight and the others hadn’t strayed too far, or weren’t hurt in anyway.
“How big is the desert anyway?” Pinkie asked.
Sunset got to the top of a small hill and looked out over the maw of sand. Sitting on the horizon was a small point that looked like the tip of a rock.
“Very big, Pinkie,” Sunset said grimly. “Very big.”
Today Twilight thought that Celestia was a cruel princess. How could she let the sun burn this bright and hot for this long? It had to be ninety-odd degrees under the brutal, unyielding ball of fire, and it wasn’t even noon!
She forcefully trudged through the grainy sea, heading for the rock formation in the distance, desperate for shade. Behind her was Fluttershy, quietly suffering in the heat, while Rarity openly bemoaned their situation.
“Twilight, again, I appreciate you saving us from that fall, dear, but why did you bring us here of all places?” Rarity’s voice edged on a whiney tone, which, if it reached that point, Twilight thought she might have to zip it shut.
“For the third time, Rarity,” Twilight said, trying her hardest to keep the irritation out of her voice, “I didn’t specifically intend for us to wind up here. I just teleported to what I thought was the safest place in the vicinity. I didn’t know we were over the San Palomino Desert. And you should just be lucky I didn’t splice one of us or teleport into the ground.”
Rarity let out a huff of discontent. “I said I appreciated your efforts, but this the absolute worst place in all of Equestria that we could have landed! This sand is getting into my coat and my poor mane. It’s going to take weeks to get it all out! And this horrid heat is dreadful for my complexion, not to mention all the sweating I’m doing! Oh, I must smell as terrible as I look!” Rarity threw her head back and let out a cry of anguish.
“Um, actually, Rarity, I think you look just fine,” Fluttershy said.
“Oh, you’re so kind, Fluttershy, but go on, admit it. I look like a poor street beggar now, don’t I?”
“No you don’t,” Spike said from atop Twilight’s back. He was lying across her, and unlike the three ponies, he showed no signs that his body was even acknowledging the searing heat. There wasn’t a drop of perspiration to be found on him, nor were there any injuries.
Twilight came to a sudden stop, trying to remember why she was carrying him.
Spike continued his praise, not noticing Twilight’s pause. “You’re still the most radiant, beautiful, talented and generous mare in all of Equestria! No amount of dirt could cover that up!”
Rarity turned a bright red, hiding an eye behind a curtain of her purple mane. “Oh, Spike, you are such a gentledrake. You know just what to say to make a lady feel better.”
Spike gave her a goofy, love struck smile. “Anything for you—ow!” Spike suddenly found his face in the hot sand, as Twilight had abruptly sat down, forcing Spike to roll off her back. “What?”
“Why am I carrying you? You have two legs, use them!” Twilight practically hissed the last part of her sentence, causing her friends to reel back.
“Twi, are you okay?” Spike asked.
Twilight sighed and rubbed her forehead, then quickly stopped, realizing that she was just spreading more sand across her face. “I’m sorry; this heat is just starting to get to me. We need to find some water or shade, and fast.”
Spike got up and dusted himself off, then gave a wide gesture with his hands. “Why don’t you just make some water with your magic?”
“It doesn’t work like that, Spike,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “I need at least some moisture in the air so I can replicate it and make water, but the only moisture around right now is our sweat.”
Rarity gagged. “I think I would rather get heat stroke.”
Twilight looked down at the ground, staring hard like she was trying to see through it. “Maybe there’s some water beneath us somewhere. If I can find it, maybe I can bring it to the surface.” She scrunched her face in concentration, horn alight as she searched through layers of sand and rock, trying to find a well of water.
The probing tendrils of magic dug deeper into the earth, desperately searching for the tiniest drop of water, only to find more dirt. Twilight retracted her magic and flopped onto her back, growling in frustration.
Spike leaned over her. “So, no water?” Twilight’s glare was enough of an answer for him.
Fluttershy took a seat next to Twilight, flapping her wings like a makeshift fan. “I hope Rainbow and the others are okay.”
“Me too,” Twilight said, giving Fluttershy the most grateful smile she could muster. “When we reach that rock, I’ll try another homing spell. Hopefully, by then, Sunset will have used at least a little bit of magic.”
“Fluttershy, why don’t you fly up and see if you can’t spot any of them,” Rarity suggested. “They might be closer than we think.”
Fluttershy nodded, ceasing her fanning of Twilight, much to the Princess’s discontent. She jumped into the sky, slowly climbing higher and higher, until she was just a yellow dot against the cerulean sky. She descended a few minutes later, shaking her head.
“I didn’t see anything that looked like ponies, just some buzzards.” Her voice dripped with disappointment and worry.
“I’m sure they’re all fine,” Spike said with a dismissive wave. “In fact, I bet they’re already over at that big rock setting up camp!”
Twilight got back to her hooves, using her wings for balance. “I hope you’re right, Spike. And I hope they have water.” Taking the lead, Twilight led her friends further into the desert, ignoring the distant cry of the buzzards.
“Huh, those birds have been following us for a while,” Pinkie observed.
Sunset looked up at the five birds circling overhead, their features blurred by their distance and the glare of the sun, now resting in the center of the sky. They had indeed been following the group for the better part of an hour now, though Sunset had paid it little mind.
“Probably just some buzzards waitin’ for us to drop dead so they can get their next meal,” Applejack said, not even bothering to look up at them.
Sunset nodded in agreement, returning her attention to their long march. They had covered a good amount of ground so far. The rock spire continued to slowly rise from the ground, revealing a larger cluster of small bluffs around it. It would make the perfect place for camp, if they could make it before the sun roasted them alive.
So far, everypony had been careful about how much water they drank in an attempt to conserve it for as long as possible. The first of the three canteens was almost empty, and Sunset was contemplating taking another sip with how parched her mouth was. It was as if somepony had shoved saltine crackers into her mouth and dared her to leave them in for as long as possible.
Trying to ignore her thirst, Sunset kept her mind on other things, like what Los Pegasus would look like when they arrived, or where the other piece of the Dark Regalia was, the Obsidian Hoofguards, were and how they would find them. Yet, eventually, Sunset would be reminded of her dry mouth and crave for just the smallest sip of water.
At last she turned to Pinkie, who had been put in charge of carrying the canteens, and asked, “Can I have some more water?”
“What’s the magic word?” Pinkie sang.
“Pinkie!” Sunset snapped, her patience drawing thin from the heat.
“Correct!” Pinkie lifted the strap of the topmost canteen from around her neck and handed it to Sunset with a smile.
Sunset couldn’t understand how Pinkie could remain so upbeat, and she didn’t feel like questioning it. She took the container and tossed her head back, letting the cool liquid fall into her mouth. She eyed the buzzards still circling above them.
Stupid birds. Just can’t wait for us to keel over, can you? Go find something else to snack on. She brought the canteen back down, shaking it a little to confirm there was still a little water left inside. Sunset handed it back to Pinkie and looked out at the collection of rocks. Huh, those buzzards are kind of a long way out to be looking for a meal. Especially when the only thing out here are scorpions…. She looked back up and narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look at the birds.
“Are you sure those are buzzards?” Her question was directed to all three of her friends.
Rainbow followed Sunset’s gaze skyward and flew up a little to get a better look. Her eyes widened and she quickly dropped back to her hooves. “Those aren’t buzzards,” she said in a panicked whisper. “Those are griffons.”
Applejack looked up. “Why would griffons be all the way out here? More importantly, why would they be followin’ us?”
The four of them shared a concerned glance between one another.
“Okay,” Rainbow began in a forcefully calm tone. “Nopony panic, just act natural.”
Sunset pointed. “I think they know we know.” Sure enough, the griffons were slowly descending on them in a feathery halo.
“It’s okay, just be cool—”
“Run!” Pinkie yelled, taking off across the dunes.
In a predatory response, the griffons let out screeches signaling the beginning of a hunt, and dove after the ponies who had taken off behind Pinkie. They swooped overhead with outstretched talons, sharpened to needle-like points.
Pinkie yelped as one narrowly missed her poofy mane, having ducked just in the nick of time. The large griffon soared around and came back for another dive, which Rainbow intercepted by slamming into his side. She had no time to celebrate, however, as another griffon tackled her down to the ground and pinned her by the head.
Applejack slid to a stop and ran back to help, only to be blocked by the most slender griffon of the group. “An’ where do you think you’re goin’, love?” she said with an Eagleland accent. She had a thin frame, but was armed with various weapons at her sides and across her back. Her black plumage and purple eyes only added to her lethal look.
“Ah’m goin’ to help mah friend, now outta the way!” Applejack said, starting her charge. Before she could blink, the griffon had moved faster than lighting, and placed three knives at Applejack’s throat, one between each knuckle.
“No you’re not.” She smiled devilishly.
Sunset charged her horn, preparing to bury their attackers in the sand, when something smashed into her from behind and grabbed her horn, breaking her concentration.
“No, no,” a rough voice whispered in her ear, “none of that magicy stuff now.” Sunset was tossed onto her back, a lion paw pressed into her chest, while a pair of talons still held her horn. She looked up at the face of her attacker, the burliest griffon of the bunch. Several scars adorned his face, and what looked like a recent burn mark ran across his chest, disturbing the symmetry of black feathers.
He curled his beak into a snide grin. “‘Ello, poppet.”
Sunset struggled under his weight, unable to remove his claws from her horn. “Let go of me, or I swear I’ll—”
“Don’t try and bluff your way outta this, love. I know for a fact you unicorns are right useless with enough pressure on your horns.” To prove his point, the griffon squeezed harder, creating a sharp pain in Sunset’s head, making her squirm in discomfort.
To her right, Sunset saw Pinkie get thrown on the ground next to her, another griffon holding her down. “Let us go, you big bullies!” Pinkie shouted.
“In good time, love,” Sunset’s holder said. “I’m in a pretty good mood, so I might let you lot go, if you tell us where the princess is.”
“Which one?” Rainbow asked smartly, earning her a rough hit on the head from her captor.
“Don’t get cute; you know which one he’s talkin’ about,” he said.
“We don’t know where they are, and even if we did, there’s no way we’d tell any of ya!” Applejack said defiantly.
The griffon leader gave a light chuckle. “Well, that’s too bad, ‘cause now we gotta kill ya. Which is shame, really. You lovelies have such pretty faces.” With his free claw, he reached for the scabbard at his side and pulled out a short, curved sword that caught the sunlight, making it gleam. “But, a job’s a job. Too bad you made it so easy.” His cohorts each drew a weapon, preparing to strike down their targets.
A sharp wind picked up, whipping up the sand into a frenzy. The horizon lit up with a salvo of purple pinpricks, gunning straight for the griffons. The beams of light struck their targets with brilliant flashes, blasting the griffons to the side, stray beams striking the ground around them, pulling up dust in their wake. The bombardment was swift, ending in just a few seconds, sand filling the air.
Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike rushed through the veil of sand, taking defensive positions around their recovering friends, as their attackers quickly gathered themselves and formed a circle around the group.
“Well, well, well,” the lead griffon said, “the little princess came to us; I should’ve expected as much.”
Twilight glared at him. Behind her, her friends stood up and fell into position. They were all in a close circle facing the griffons, their backs to one another. “Who are you and what do you want with us?”
“The name’s Razor,” the leader said with a mock bow. “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. You see, we’re the crew of the Deathwing, mercenaries for hire, and we’ve been tasked to, er... acquire you, and specifically kill ‘er.” He pointed a claw at Sunset, who stood next to Twilight.
Sunset growled and lowered her horn, steeling herself for a fight. “And who hired you? Vesper Radiance?”
Razor scratched the side of his face, a small smile pulling at his beak. “Vesper Radiance? Never heard of ‘er.” He raised his scimitar and pointed it at Twilight. “Now, let’s make this nice and easy-like, eh? You two come quietly, and we’ll let your little friends go.”
“Not gonna happen!” Rainbow called. Her back was to Razor, her focus instead was on one of his lackeys. “We’re not giving any of our friends over to you!”
“Hehe, loyalty. I admire that. Unfortunately, that just means we hafta kill the rest of you lot as well.” He motioned to lunge, but both Twilight and Sunset were quicker. There were two flashes of magenta and teal light before a roaring wall of sand erupted around the ponies, blocking them from the griffons, and reaching up towards the sky.
Twilight shielded her eyes from the flying bits of gravel and looked at Sunset. “How did you know I was going to do that?”
Sunset shrugged. “It was kinda the only move we had at the time.” She looked at the miniature sandstorm they had created around themselves. “But we can’t stay here forever. What do we do now?”
“We have to teleport out of here,” Twilight said over the hissing sand.
Sunset looked at her, then to the rest of the group behind her. “Uhh, we’d have to make a few trips.”
“No,” Twilight shook her head. “We can do one mass transportation spell to take us to the rocks.”
“Are you crazy?” Sunset asked, dumbfounded. “You know how dangerous that is, right?”
“We can do it. If we put our magic together, we can teleport all of us at once. It’s not that far.”
“But, I’ve never even seen the location! Blind teleporting is one of the worst things you can do!”
Twilight gave Sunset a pleading look. “Just trust me, Sunset. You can do it.”
Sunset bit her lip, turning and seeing all of the worried expressions her friends wore. She had only teleported two ponies at once before, and she had seen pictures of what had happened to ponies who didn’t teleport successfully. But Sunset knew the sandstorm couldn’t protect them forever, and the griffons would attempt to murder them the second it faded.
Seeing no other option, Sunset took in a short breath, trying not to swallow any of the sand swirling around them. “All right, Twilight, let’s do this.”
“Get close to us, everyone,” Twilight instructed. “Okay, Sunset just relax and focus. Just try to picture all of us as close to the rock formation as you can put us. It isn’t that far; you can do it.”
The ponies gathered around Sunset and Twilight. The former took a deeper breath this time, closing her eyes and trying to visualize a magnified image of the rock formation in her head. A familiar teal glow enveloped Sunset’s horn, complementing the purple glow radiating out of Twilight’s. The two mares stepped forward, bowing their heads until the tips of their horns touched.
Sunset felt her magic combine with Twilight’s, a feeling of pure warmth draping over her, before the entire world lurched underneath her hooves. Sunset felt herself hurtling through space at unholy speeds, feeling every particle in her body before landing face first in the sand once more.
She raised her head and spat out a mouthful of the gritty earth. Examining the area, she noticed that the sand was thinner here, revealing patches of dry, barren soil. Sunset looked up and saw in front of her a labyrinth of stone, varying in different shapes, sizes and positions. Some were tall pillars of rock, while others were formed into canyons and ravines that rose up before her.
Turning to her friends and seeing that they were uninjured, though a little disoriented, Sunset beamed in triumph. She felt a hoof on her shoulder, and looked to see Twilight giving her a toothy smile.
“I told you you could do it.”
Sunset opened her mouth to respond, but felt Spike tug at her tail. “You might want to save the celebrations for a bit. Look!” he said, pointing out into the distance with a claw, although his expression already told Sunset everything she needed to know.
Five large dots could be seen in the sky, heading straight for their location. Though their forms were still blurry, the screeches the griffons released could be heard quite clearly.
“Quick, everyone, we have to find someplace in here to hide!” Twilight said, urging them all into the collection of stones.
Sunset obeyed, though she was uncertain of how well this plan could work. Griffons were natural hunters, and while there were plenty of nooks and crannies one could squeeze into, there was nothing around that could be considered a good hiding place from a predatory creature.
They ran deeper into the complex. Walls of sandstone at least two stories high rose on either side of them. The pathways twisted and branched out, distorting everyone’s sense of direction. Though, from an aerial view, Sunset knew they would be easily spotted. The paths were fairly wide and provided little shade or camouflage.
“Camouflage…. I wonder,” Sunset muttered under her breath. She noticed a particularly flat wall and came to a stop. “Everyone, wait, I have an idea! Get as close to the canyon wall as you can get.”
The ponies gave each other questioning looks, but decided to follow along anyway, pressing themselves against the flat stone. Sunset joined them last, pushing back against the wall as far as she could. She raised her head skyward and released a pulse of magic that came back down in a teal sheen, coating them, and tinging the world in blue.
“That’s your plan?” Rainbow said irritably. “Another shield spell?”
“It’s not a shield spell,” Sunset said with equal annoyance. “Now shut up and don’t move.” She heard Rainbow huff, but otherwise fell silent.
The minutes slowly dragged on with no sight or sound of the griffons. The entire desert was silent; not even the wind breathed. Sunset was beginning to think her plan might have worked, until a shadow flew over the ground not far from their position.
Two griffons dropped down onto the desert floor, kicking up clouds of dirt that thankfully drifted away from the cowering ponies and dragon.
The large one, which Sunset identified as Razor, clicked his beak angrily. “I know I smelled ponies around here somewhere. Keep an eye out, Eliza, they might be tryin’ to pull some pony trick on us.”
“Aye, Captain,” Eliza, the only female griffon Sunset had seen with the mercenaries, saluted. They both began prowling the ground, talons gentling ticking against the rough dirt, while their back lion paws barely made a sound.
So far, so good, Sunset thought, as the pair marched right past them, occasionally stopping to sniff the air. Eliza would stop and shoot wary looks in the group’s direction, but Sunset knew all she could see was the face of stone behind them.
“Curse this desert air,” Razor growled. “Must be messin’ with my senses. I swear, those ponies should be right around here.”
The sound of wing beats drifted through the air as the three remaining mercenaries dropped out of the sky, sending more dirt scattering into the wind. “We can’t find them anywhere, Captain,” one of them reported.
“They can’t have just up and left!” Razor said through his clenched beak. “I’ve hunted down plenty of unicorns, and none of them could ever teleport that far. We’re dead in the middle of a bloody desert!”
“Well, this is one of the princesses we’re dealing with,” Eliza said.
“I don’t care! I smell them; they have to still be here!”
“Ah… ah…”
From the corner of her eye, Sunset saw Pinkie clamp her mouth shut, puffing her cheeks out, clearly trying desperately not to sneeze. Sunset bit her own lip in cold anticipation. Her camouflage spell could only alter sight, not sound. Her eyes darted between Pinkie and Razor, who was slowly edging closer to their location.
Pinkie then let out a silent sigh of relief, which Sunset mirrored, only to tense back up when she saw how close Razor had gotten. His beak was inches away from the camouflage barrier, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
A lone rock sailed through the air and smacked Razor in the back of the head with a satisfying thunk. He gripped his skull and grunted in pain, turning himself around. “What in blazes—
“Achoo!”
“What was that?” Razor asked, whipping his head back and forth along the wall.
“Dammit,” Sunset swore under her breath before pulling back a hoof and connecting it with Razor’s beak. “Run!” she yelled, as the illusion around her and her friends broke, revealing them to the waiting griffons. They immediately scrambled off in different directions, vanishing down the labyrinth roads.
“Well, what are you waitin’ for? Get them!” Sunset heard Razor call behind her. She had picked a solitary path and found herself separated from everyone else.
She took a sharp turn around the canyon bend, down a narrow path. She blinked twice. For a moment, she thought she had seen a flash of blue light, but quickly dismissed it. A shadow passed over her, revealing itself to be Razor, as he dropped onto the path in front of her, forcing Sunset to slide to a halt.
“Well then, poppet,” he said in a dangerously low tone, flexing his claws, “seems like I owe you a little payback, now don’t I?”
Sunset noted the nice layer of blood staining his beak and smirked. “There’s plenty more where that came from if you keep following us.”
“Sorry, love, but I’ve got a contract. I’ve got to come back with your head, or the boss won’t be happy. And it’s a real bad idea to make ‘er unhappy.”
“And who is your boss?”
Razor wiped a dribble of blood from his beak. “I could tell you, but you're about to be dead in a minute, so it really isn’t your concern.” He lunged at Sunset, swiping at her with his claws.
Sunset jumped back, narrowly avoiding a deadly gash, and jumped to the left as Razor followed up with an uppercut. Sunset’s horn sparked to life, drawing up two large rocks from both sides of the canyon wall, and bringing them together to smash her foe.
Razor sprung into the air, avoiding the crushing boulders and dived down at Sunset in full force. Sunset leapt backwards, evading the initial dive, but was unable to avoid the follow up punch Razor delivered, sending her sprawling across the ground as a sharp pain filled her chest. Razor quickly fell upon her, bringing his drawn sword down in a wide arc. Sunset threw up a thin shield between her and the metal blade. The two forces collided inches away from her face.
“You have to break eventually, girl.” Razor sneered, throwing his weight into the sword.
Sunset knew he was right; she couldn’t lay there forever, but as a pair of pink hooves wrapped around Razor’s face, she knew she wouldn’t have to.
“Guess who?” a cheery voice asked.
“What the—? Get off me you little…” Razor flailed trying to get the pony off of his back, failing miserably.
“Nope, try again!” Pinkie smiled, winking at Sunset.
Sunset got back to her hooves, a dull ache settling in her ribcage; no doubt one of them was bruised. She shook off the pain and focused her attention back on Razor, just as one of his companions swooped down and ripped Pinkie off of his neck.
“Hey, let me go!” Pinkie yelled as the griffon dragged her into the sky.
“Pinkie, hold on!” Sunset yelled, when a rush of wind whipped past her, carrying a multi-colored blur.
“Don’t worry, I got her!” Rainbow called, as she shot after Pinkie’s assailant.
Sunset turned back to Razor and ducked just as he swung his sword at her neck. Sunset twisted her body while she crouched low, taking advantage of the extra momentum Razor had put into his swing. She brought her back hooves up with as much force as she could muster, delivering a square buck straight into Razor’s throat.
He dropped the sword and clutched his neck, gasping for air. He fell to his knees, continuing to make sounds like a fish out of water. Sunset would have pitied him if he hadn’t been trying to kill her only moments before. Still, she wasn’t cruel. Levitating a flat stone, she slammed it against the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.
She dropped the stone and gave him a cold glare.
“Tell your boss I’m going to do the same thing to her when I get to her,” Sunset said, though she knew Razor couldn’t really hear her. She turned and charged into further into the labyrinth, hoping to find her friends before the griffons could do more harm.
Rainbow slammed into the griffon holding Pinkie, causing him to squawk with surprise. He dropped his cargo, which Rainbow dived and easily caught, much to Pinkie’s relief.
“You okay, Pinks?” Rainbow asked.
“Yeparoo! But uh,” —Pinkie pointed up— “he looks kinda mad.”
Mad might have been an understatement; pulling out two katanas, the griffon looked absolutely livid. Letting out a war screech, he charged at Rainbow, swords crossed.
“Uh oh.” Rainbow dropped out of the sky, deftly avoiding the two swords. The griffon dove after her, swinging madly and forcing Rainbow to retreat, with Pinkie in her hooves. She took off over the rock formations, swerving and ducking as the griffon behind her kept pace, the tip of his sword just out of clipping range of her tail.
Rainbow flew over one of the canyons, veering to the left to avoid losing her tail, when something caught her eye. She grinned as a dangerous idea formed in her mind.
“Get ready to dive bomb, Pinkie!”
“Ooh, I love dive bombs!”
Rainbow swerved again, coming back around a particular section of the canyon at a lower angle. In front of her, Twilight and Spike were fending off another mercenary who was backing them against a dead end. Rainbow came in close, counting off seconds in her head. When she got to one, she released Pinkie and cried, “Bombs away!”
Pinkie fell, legs and hooves splayed out like she was belly flopping into a pool. Instead of water, however, she fell onto the unsuspecting griffon, knocking him to the ground.
Rainbow Dash began her ascension again, pulling up from the canyon. “Another perfect strike,” she said to herself. “Now to deal with slasher boy here.” Behind her, the griffon was still relentlessly chasing her, though perhaps with a little less gusto. “He’s getting tired, perfect.”
Kicking it into high gear, Rainbow began to open the gap between herself and her assaulter. She looked back and saw him put in the extra effort to keep up, but the exhaustion was written all over his face. Rainbow broke into a perfect vertical climb, feeling the air steadily grow cooler as she rose, a welcome relief after spending so much time in the heat.
When she had reached what she felt was a satisfying height, Rainbow came to a stop and hovered in the air, waiting for the griffon to catch up. The look of fury in his eyes had been replaced with a look of sheer annoyance. However, he did not waste any time in attacking the idle pegasus. Rainbow narrowly dodged the oncoming slashes. Though the griffon had grown sluggish, his attacks were still rather fast.
Rainbow stayed on the defensive, reading and avoiding his attacks with her superior agility, waiting for an opening. He delivered a wide horizontal cut while his other sword was still down, giving Rainbow the perfect opening. She leveled a hard kick at his left claw, knocking the sword out of his grip. It flew into the air, spinning and catching the sunlight on the silver metal, before dropping to the world below. Rainbow wasted no time in diving after it, catching the pommel in between her hooves. The sword was not meant for pony hooves, but Rainbow was able to get a steady enough grip on it in time to parry another oncoming blow.
The two swords clashed, the sound of metal against metal ringing in Rainbow’s ears, and the vibration running up her forelegs. She was glad she chose not to hold it in her mouth. They pulled apart, and Rainbow tightened her grip, bracing herself for the next clash. She remained in a defensive position, knowing her opponent had the upper claw in both skill and speed. She had to careful and wait for another opening. The griffon was tired and frustrated, two things Rainbow knew made for bad flying… or bad fighting.
Both swords met, again and again, the sound of metal shrieking through the air. Rainbow grit her teeth, ignoring the painful shocks that coursed through her forelegs with each hit. The swords met once more, but while Rainbow had to use both hooves to hold her sword, the griffon only had to use one claw. With his free hand, he swiped at Rainbow’s face, forcing her to pull backwards, dodging the blow. Unfortunately, she couldn’t outmove the sword that followed through with its slice. The tip of the blade came down diagonally, catching Rainbow across the forehead, right above her eye, and cutting off the tip of her mane.
She cried out in pain, and with a strong flap of her wings, pushed herself backwards before she could take another hit. She could feel the blood freely flowing out of the wound, obscuring the vision of her right eye. Before Rainbow could fully assess her injuries, the griffon was on her once more, swinging his sword at Rainbow’s midsection. She brought her sword up, barely blocking the attack, but the force behind it was enough to knock Rainbow’s sword from her hooves. It spiraled down to the world, leaving Rainbow defenseless. She quickly ducked out of the way of next wave of oncoming slashes, back to simply dodging for survival.
Rainbow broke away from the engagement and dived after the falling sword, knowing she would need it if she wanted to overpower her adversary. She pressed her wings tight against her body, the wind roaring past her as she plunged towards the earth. The griffon fell after her, sword hand drawn back, ready to run it through Rainbow.
The sword slowly spun about in the air. Rainbow drew ever closer, waiting for the right opportunity to grab as not to cut herself. The sword hilt turned and pointed in Rainbow’s direction, and she quickly snatched at it with both hooves, whirling around and slashing at her opponent, who was caught off guard by Rainbow’s speed.
Her sword caught the tip of his and sent it flying to the side, reversing their positions. The griffon stopped short, holding his claws up as Rainbow pointed the sword at his heart.
“Give up,” she said simply.
He gave her a cocky grin. “You ain’t got the guts.”
Rainbow narrowed her eyes and jerked her hooves to the side. The griffon gave a cry of pain and clutched at his chest, covering the long cut Rainbow had left him. “Try me,” Rainbow said cooly. She wasn’t entirely sure if she could actually bring herself to kill him, but injure him to the point where he knew not to mess with her or her friends? She could definitely do that.
The griffon growled and jumped higher into the air, reaching into a small sack next to his empty scabbards. He pulled out a small spherical object with a small wire sticking out from the top. He yanked on it, and the small black ball immediately began emitting sparks and hissing madly.
“Uh oh.” Rainbow moved out of the way as the bomb was hurled at her. It sailed over her head, then down to the stone complex below. Rainbow didn’t watch to see when it detonated, for the griffon was already pulling out another one. She rushed at him just as he lit the explosive, crashing into him and forcing the bomb from his hand. Rainbow then took her sword and, with as much force as she could, delivered an upward slash, catching the griffon’s wing at the carpal joint, slicing it in half.
The griffon screamed in pain, blood leaking out of the exposed veins in his wing. He began to fall out of the sky, his working wing flapping feebly, trying to slow his descent.
Rainbow watched him, unsure of how to feel. Seeing how hard his wing was working, she was sure he would make it to the ground okay. But the fact that she had permanently disabled him nibbled at her mind. She knew what it was like to not be able to fly.
Then again, he tried to kill me. So, really, this is all his fault. It’ll teach him not to be a jerk!
Rainbow nodded to herself, feeling reassured. She reached up and wiped the blood covering her face, opening her right eye for the first time in minutes, blinking rapidly to get it readjusted to the sun. She felt the cut across her forehead and was relieved to find that it wasn’t that deep, though it stung fiercely.
Her ears jumped to attention, as she heard a loud cry from down below. Looking beneath her, she saw a large cloud of dust and smoke curling into the air.
“The bombs!” Rainbow cried, diving towards the center of the smoke. “Oh man, please let everything be okay, please let everyone be okay!”
Sunset exited her teleportation spell on top of a small bluff between two canyons. Not far from her was the tallest tower of rocks that stood as a sentinel in the lonely desert. She had spent a good ten minutes running around aimlessly trying to find everyone else until she realized she’d have a better vantage point from a higher surface.
She had barely taken three steps when an arrow struck the dirt in front of her. Sunset jumped back and looked up to see one of the griffons loading another arrow onto a crossbow.
“Hold still, and I promise I’ll make quick work of ya,” he said, taking aim again.
Sunset opened her mouth for a smart retort, but the mercenary quickly fired, cutting her off. She ducked as the arrow whizzed over her head, grazing the top of her mane. “Alright then, two can play at this,” she murmured.
As the sniper reached into his quiver for another arrow, Sunset charged the magic in her horn, focusing it into one of her favorite spells. While her horn was coated in a teal glow, magical threads of red and gold blended together and curved in front of her, making an ethereal facsimile of a bow. An arrow formed next, the back end still tethered to her horn. Both Sunset and the sniper took aim at each other. Sunset’s arrow retracted slightly, like she was drawing back on the bow string, preparing to fire. The sniper kept a claw over the crossbow trigger, his eyes locked onto Sunset.
There was a still moment between them. Simultaneously, both of them fired their projectiles and rolled out of the way. Sunset’s magical arrow flew into the air, vanishing into the sun, while the physical arrow entombed itself into the earth.
They began their dance, quickly reloading and firing their arrows one after the other. But while the sniper had to reach back and grab his, Sunset merely conjured her ammunition with a thought. For every shot he fired, Sunset launched two, sometimes three when one would get dangerously close to its target.
Sunset had had her close shaves as well; the griffon wasn’t a bad shot by any means. At times she would have to retract her bow and throw a shield up to make sure she didn’t get impaled. Still, the earth was littered with arrows that had never found their intended destination.
Dodging another one of Sunset’s arrows, the griffon took aim and laughed. “This has been more fun than it should have been, lass. But, I gotta put an end to this now.”
“You’re right,” Sunset said with a grin. “This is getting old.” Her horn glowed brighter and two additional arrows appeared along her bow. She drew them back, her grin becoming a wide smirk at the look on the griffons face. She fired all three of them, watching them fly at her opponent, leaving gold contrails behind that were quickly brushed away by the wind.
To his credit, the griffon had been able to dodge two of them, but the third one pierced his wing straight through, leaving smoldering embers around the hole, and causing his wing to catch fire. He dropped his crossbow and grabbed his wing in agony, trying to put out the growing flames.
Sunset willed her bow to dematerialize and, in its place, summoned a powerful gale, streaming it directly at the sniper. Still nursing his wing, he had no time to put up any resistance and was blown away, along with his crossbow. He sailed through the air until the current dropped him off in a distant crevice.
With an exasperated groan, Sunset flopped to the floor, wincing as she landed on her sore ribs. That display of magic had taken a little more out of her than she had meant it to. She took a few deep breaths to get her heart rate back to normal, then pushed herself back to her hooves. “Don’t have time to relax; gotta make sure everyone is okay.”
A cry like that of an eagle filled the air, coming from the canyon to Sunset’s left. She rushed over to the edge of bluff to see Applejack engaged in a mostly one sided fight with the female griffon, Eliza.
Eliza rapidly made swipes at Applejack with the knives she held in between her knuckles. Applejack swiftly danced out of her way, being pushed further and further back into the narrow canyon. She continued to move with the grace of a gazelle, evading each swipe and stab like she could see each move before they were made. Every now and again, Applejack would lunge out with one of her hooves, catching Eliza in the chest and jumping out of range of the retaliatory slash, eliciting a cry of frustration from Eliza.
As amazed as Sunset was with Applejack’s prowess, she couldn’t let her friend fight alone, not when she didn’t have to. Summoning her bow again, she prepared an arrow and took aim, trying to get a square hit on Eliza. Sunset paused, a faint hissing sound passing through her ears. She turned her head and saw a small, round object drop out of the sky and hit the ground a stone’s throw away from her.
An explosion rocked the earth, sending Sunset rolling across the bluff, her ears ringing in the aftermath of the detonation. She got back to her hooves, feeling new spots of pain where she had been struck by rocky shrapnel. She rushed back over to the lip of the cliff, where she was relieved to see Applejack unharmed. Both her and Eliza were shaking themselves off from the blast, which had caved in the canyon behind them.
“Applejack, look out!” Sunset called, pointing a hoof at Eliza who had already recovered. She took a swipe at Applejack, who ducked, losing her hat instead of her head.
BOOM
Another explosion interrupted their battle. The tall rock spire began to crumble, sending large chunks of rock into the canyon. Eliza looked up, then with a mighty shove, pushed a distracted Applejack into the shadow of the falling stones.
Time slowed to a crawl for Sunset. She saw the look on Applejack’s face change from surprise to despair as the boulders came down on her. Too slow to do anything, Sunset could only turn her head away, unable to look. With a crash loud enough to wake the dead, the rocks collided with the ground, sending clouds of smoke and dust into the air.
With a gust of wind, Sunset cleared a small path to the canyon floor so could see her teleportation path. In a burst of magic, Sunset appeared next to the rockslide, desperately hoping to find a conscious Applejack. She began sifting through the rubble, tossing rocks aside with her magic and digging with her hooves.
“Applejack, Applejack!” Sunset yelled, praying to the Maker that she would respond. Still, no call came. When the dust finally settled, a hill of stone stood in the canyon, and a few yards away from where Sunset was digging was an old stetson caught between two stones.
As silent as a ghost, Sunset moved over to the hat. Her heart was caught in her throat as she pulled the hat out from its entrapment. Sunset held it in her hooves, looking at how flattened it was. She let out a scream of anguish and buried her face in it.
This wasn’t supposed to happen! Applejack wasn’t supposed to die! No one was supposed to die! She can’t be dead, she just can’t be! This is all my fault!
“Sunset!”
Sunset looked up and saw Rainbow Dash come to a stop just above her.
“Wh-what happened? I saw the explosion and I heard somepony scream, and… and why are you holding A.J.’s hat?” There was denial in her voice. Sunset knew she had already pieced together everything. She just didn’t want to admit it.
“Applejack… she… I couldn’t… she was…” Sunset couldn’t get her voice above a whisper, nor could she string more than a few words together.
Instead, she held out the stetson in front of Rainbow and just said,”...Gone.”
Rainbow’s wings immediately stopped working and she crashed onto the rock pile. “What do you mean, ‘gone’? She just can’t be gone.” Her voice was hoarse, no doubt struggling with tears that were imminent.
Her own voice quivering, Sunset said, “Eliza pushed her into the way of the rockslide, and… I couldn’t move fast enough!” Sunset burst into tears. “I’m sorry, It happened too quickly! But she’s… she’s gone, Rainbow.”
“No…” Rainbow shook her head vigorously. “No! She can’t be dead! That’s not possible; she’s Applejack!” Letting out a scream of frustration, Rainbow tore into the rocks, tossing them aside. “She’s in here somewhere, and she’s alive! I know it!”
Sunset just shook her head and placed Applejack’s stetson on the rock in front of her. “I’m sorry, Applejack… I failed.” She closed her eyes and bowed her head in shame and defeat. She had promised Princess Twilight that she would save everyone, but now, one of the Bearers of Harmony lay dead, buried in a tomb of stone. How would the others react to this turn of events? Would they blame Sunset for Applejack’s death. How would this affect the future?
When Sunset opened her eyes, something gold flashed through her vision. She stared down at the hourglass gently swinging on her neck. All of the sand now lay at the bottom. A shadow of an idea flickered through Sunset’s brain.
Maybe… maybe it’ll work this time…
But think of the consequences! a voice of reason shouted.
But I could save Applejack…
But you would create a paradox!
But I could save Applejack!
But you could jeopardize everything!
“But I could save Applejack!” Sunset exclaimed.
Rainbow, who had still been fruitlessly moving rocks stopped and snapped her head back. “What did you say?”
Sunset jumped to her hooves, a gleeful look in her eye. “I think I can save Applejack! It’s so incredibly risky, but I might be able to do it!”
Twisting her entire body, Rainbow gave Sunset her full attention. “How?”
Sunset lifted the hourglass with a hoof. “Time.”
“But you said that thing didn’t even work!”
“I know, last time it didn’t, but if I can get it to work this time… Even though there’s a thousand different things that could go wrong, I might be able to save her.”
Rainbow looked from the hourglass then to Sunset, her expression becoming hard. With a determined stare she said, “Let’s do it.”
“‘Let’s’? As in ‘we’? Oh no, time traveling by myself is dangerous enough! I’m not taking a partner,” Sunset protested.
Rainbow’s hard stare didn’t falter. “Yes you are. Applejack is one of my best friends, so I’m going to make sure she comes out of this alive.”
“But—” Sunset didn’t bother finishing her sentence. The unwavering look on Rainbow’s face told Sunset that she would not be denied. Sunset sighed. “Sure, why not. What’s a few more paradoxes to the ones we’re about to make, huh?”
With a less stoney expression, Rainbow stepped closer to Sunset, picking up Applejack’s hat as she did. She looked curiously at the hourglass. “All right, so how does this thing work?”
Sunset took a deep breath, raising the timepiece to eye level. “It’s pretty simple, actually, just hang on to me.” She felt Rainbow put a hoof around her back, squeezing a little tight, like Sunset might try to run off. Sunset concentrated on the hourglass, focusing her convictions on one thing. “A noble heart, a righteous cause,” she whispered.
The world around her steadily drew quieter. Only the wind and Rainbow’s nervous breathing made any noise. Sunset had opted to hold her breath, trying to repeat everything she had done when it had worked the first time. “Please,” she spoke softly yet forcefully. “Take us back… twenty minutes. Just twenty minutes so we can save Applejack’s life.” She twisted the hourglass upside down, watching as the sand began to trickle into the bottom bulb. She bit her lip at the spectacle, her heart sinking at the thought of Applejack staying dead.
Then, the sand stopped falling. It shot back into the top bulb with the rest of the waiting sand, until only twenty beads were left. Sunset’s eyes widened and she looked up, seeing the color slowly drain from the world until the entire landscape was painted black and white. The sound of the wind died away, and Sunset was aware that even Rainbow Dash had fallen silent. Briefly fearing that the hourglass had chosen only to bring her and no one else, Sunset looked over at Rainbow, who was still holding onto her.
It was impossible not to see that Rainbow had indeed come with Sunset; her bright colors were more prominent against the dull background than Sunset’s own. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was half-open, and she seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.
Sunset couldn’t help but laugh at her expression. That laugh in turn seemed to put the wheels of time back into motion, only in reverse. Sunset could hear the familiar noise of a backwards winding clock echoing around her. The stones and gravel underneath her hooves flew up into the air, reforming into the tall pinnacle of rock it had once been.
Twisting her body around, Sunset saw Applejack and Eliza having their battle in high speed reverse. They moved backwards through the canyon and out of sight, while Sunset found herself back on top of the bluff, with Rainbow still hooked around her.
The ticking stopped and color returned to the world, followed by sound and smell. Sunset was met with the musty odor of the desert. She lowered the hourglass, letting it hang loosely around her neck again, and looked back at Rainbow, who was still gaping like a fish, Applejack’s hat resting on her head.
“Yeah,” Sunset chuckled. “It’s kind of a trip.”
“I just… did we just… did we really…?”
“Time travel? Yes,” Sunset said matter-of-factly.
Rainbow looked at her, like Sunset was sprouting a second horn. “So that means… you were telling the truth. The whole time, you were telling the truth about being from the future, and being Twilight’s student! Which means you aren’t out to take the Regalia for yourself and use it to take over the world!”
“You thought I was going to what?” Sunset asked incredulously.
“Nothing,” Rainbow said quickly, though the embarrassed look on her face said something else.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Anyway, we need to move quickly. We’ve only got twenty minutes. Which means, I have less than twenty minutes to figure out a plan to save Applejack and not completely destroy the space-time continuum.”
“You mean you didn’t have one before we left?”
“I didn’t think we’d make this far.” Sunset shrugged. “But, now that we’re here, we have to be careful. We have to save Applejack with as little to no interference in what is supposed to happen.” She slapped a hoof against her face. “And then I have to figure out how to make it so there aren’t two of us in the same time period.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it, Rainbow. If we do save Applejack, that means we never go back in time, and if we never go back in time that means that the two of us as we currently are will cease to exist... or we’ll have to explain to our other selves why there are two of us.”
Rainbow’s left eye gave a subtle twitch. “Wait, what?”
Sunset flailed her hooves. “Just don’t think about it! And hope that I can figure something out. Now come on. The best way to save Applejack is to keep an eye on her from afar.”
“Then why don’t we just wait here? This is where everything happens.”
“We can’t stay here because we’ll be seen. We have to interfere as little as possible, and if we stay up here, past me is going to see us… and then I’ll probably blow a brain gasket.”
Rainbow crossed her hooves in annoyance. “This time travel stuff is starting to sound pretty lame.”
“Well, how would you react if you saw another you walking around?”
“I’d be like, hey, Dash, lookin’ awesome! Wanna have a race?”
Sunset facehooved. “Nevermind, just follow me.” With a bright flash, she teleported to the canyon floor, Rainbow swooping down next to her. Sunset looked right, then left, trying to figure out which way to go. Above her, in the distance she heard the distinct cry of an eagle.
“Hide,” Sunset hissed, scouting for a suitable place to conceal herself. She spotted a small crevice in the side of the canyon wall and grabbed Rainbow by the hoof, dragging her over. They both squeezed into the narrow passage which opened up a little more after the threshold.
“Ugh, why are we hiding?” Rainbow asked, trying to look over Sunset’s shoulder to the outside world.
“I told you, we can’t be seen, especially by the griffons, and they’re about to do their fly over.” Sure enough, two shadows flew across the dirt in front of the mouth of the crevice, and the sound of beating wings could be faintly heard.
Sunset waited a few seconds before deciding that they had definitely left. She crept out of the cave, motioning for Rainbow to follow her. The duo snuck through the canyon, Sunset creeping along the stone floor, while Rainbow hovered over her. They came to a bend, and Sunset pressed herself against the wall, carefully peering over the edge.
In front of her were the griffons, pacing about in the opening. On the other side, Sunset was sure her past self was against the wall, hiding everyone with a camouflage spell.
“Curse this desert air,” Sunset heard Razor growl. “Must be messin’ with my senses. I swear, those ponies should be right around here.”
“Geez, this is so weird,” Rainbow whispered.
“I know, talk about déjà vu.” Sunset nodded in agreement.
As they watched the scene play out before them, Sunset continued to craft a plan to save Applejack in the least paradoxical way possible, though each plan was more ridiculous and complicated than the last. She heard something scrape the ground behind her and turned to see Rainbow picking up a small rock.
“What are you doing?” Sunset asked warily.
Rainbow tossed the stone up and down in her hoof. “I got an idea; let’s just get the griffons to chase us instead, that way everyone else can get out of here alive.”
Sunset shook her head. “No, Rainbow, I told you, we can’t—no, Rainbow, stop!” she hissed as Rainbow lobbed the stone at Razors head. She grabbed Rainbow by the tail and pulled her back further out of sight.
“What in blazes—”
“Achoo!”
Sunset exhaled a sigh of relief upon hearing Pinkie sneeze, knowing that it would distract Razor. She glared at Rainbow, who was pouting in disappointment. “Rainbow, stop doing things that… didn’t… happen… the first time….” Sunset trailed off, a look of realization flickering in her eyes.
“Run!” Sunset heard herself yell, snapping her out of her thoughts. Sunset grabbed Rainbow by the hoof again. “We have to move before someone comes down here and sees us.”
“Ugh, you and your stupid time rules—woah!” Rainbow was cut off by Sunset yanking on her tail, leading her back down the canyon path.
Hearing the rapid approach of hoofsteps behind her, Sunset pulled Rainbow closer and charged her horn, wrapping both of them in her teal aura and teleporting away.
They reappeared at a three-way intersection of sorts, part of the canyon running both ways in front of them. Rainbow fell to the ground, her eyes spinning in their sockets. “Man, I hate it when you guys do that.”
“Sorry, but we really have to be careful. At least until I can piece together a plan.”
Rainbow used her wings to dust herself off. “All right, all right, you and your time mumbo-jumbo. So, what do we do now?”
Sunset looked down each of the three paths, listening for any activity. “We need to keep an eye on Applejack so we can intervene at the right moment.”
“And what exactly is the right moment?”
Sunset didn’t answer, her mind had retreated back to when Rainbow had thrown the rock at Razor. She had seen that event from both perspectives now. The first time, she had barely regarded it, since it had done nothing to help her. She then thought of the blue light she had seen when she had been fleeing from Razor, something else she had just dismissed as a trick glare.
“What if…” Sunset mumbled to herself. She picked up a pointed stone and began to scribble in the dirt, drawing a large circle and marking various points on it. “If Rainbow threw the rock, and what I saw was us teleporting, then that means….”
Rainbow floated in the air above her, examining the hastily made diagram. “What are you muttering about?”
Dropping the rock, Sunset rubbed her dusty hooves together and gave a rather devious laugh. “I’ve got a plan! The perfect plan to fix everything!”
Her face lighting up, Rainbow asked eagerly, “What is it? Tell me.”
“In a minute. First we have to get into position. By now, I should have finished knocking out Razor, so we have to get back to that part of the canyon before Eliza and Applejack do.” Sunset galloped off without waiting for a response from Rainbow, deciding to run just to make sure she didn’t teleport into the middle of another fight that may have taken place after hers.
They navigated the rocky labyrinth, eventually making their way back to where they started, just in time for them to see the sniper Sunset had dueled swoop down and collect Razor’s unconscious form, moving him somewhere else.
Sunset led Rainbow down the path and back to the crevice, stopping to examine the area and the position of the pillar of stone looming over them. “Okay, Rainbow, pay attention,” Sunset spoke quickly. “Those rocks are going to fall, and Applejack will be standing right about there.” She pointed with a hoof. “You’re going to be about over there, camouflaged, until I give the signal. When the second explosion goes off, Eliza is going to push Applejack almost directly into your line of sight. I’ll slow down the boulders for two seconds in which you’re going to move as fast as you can, snatch Applejack and bring her into the cave, got it?”
“Wait, you want me to save A.J. at the last possible moment... why?”
“Because, and I know this is going to sound cruel, we have to think Applejack died. Let me explain,” Sunset pushed, seeing Rainbow was about to protest. “When I saw the boulders falling towards Applejack, I looked away at the last moment because I couldn’t bear to watch. When I looked back, all I saw was a mountain of stone and I assumed she had been buried underneath it. That’s what prompted us to go back in time. If we recreate at that, then the past versions of ourselves will still think that Applejack got crushed, thus creating a need to time travel. Don’t you see? It’ll create a closed loop, meaning no paradoxes! The perfect time travel!”
Rainbow looked at the large smile plastered on Sunset’s face and took a step back. “So, you want us to trick ourselves so that we go back in time and trick ourselves?”
“Exactly!”
Rainbow stared at her, constantly opening her mouth to say something, only to close it and shake her head. Eventually she said, “Fine, sure, let’s do this.”
“Excellent.” Sunset beamed. “Now go stand right over there. A little more to the left… perfect! Now, I’m going to cast my camouflage spell on you, so make sure you stay as still as possible until I give you the signal.”
“Got it!”
Sunset backed into the cave, crouching low, believing that it would decrease the chance of her being seen. Her horn glowed softly and created a teal outline around Rainbow until she blended in against the rock she was braced on.
We only get one shot, so we have to make it count. Sunset couldn’t bear to think what would happen if they failed. But, it had to have worked before right? We’re just fulfilling the roles that were set for us. But history isn’t set in stone… right? So we could still fail… She shook her head of the thoughts. They couldn’t fail. There was too much at stake!
The two mares didn’t have to wait long. Eliza’s screech was soon heard echoing across the desert, and she and Applejack soon came into view, Applejack swiftly dodging all of Eliza’s attacks and countering with a few of her own.
“Damn earth pony, you’re really startin’ to get on my nerves,” Eliza said, making a wild slash at Applejack, who moved left and struck out with her right hoof, catching Eliza in the ribs.
“Shoulda known better than to mess with earth ponies.” Applejack smirked.
Eliza snarled and resumed her onslaught, the two of them moving closer to their destined positions.
Squinting her eyes, Sunset looked up and could just see the tiny black sphere, dropping out of the sky and impacting against the bluff. Here we go, Sunset thought, as the first explosion went off, rocking the ground. Bits of debris fell from the ceiling, and a piece of rubble dropped onto Sunset’s head, causing her magic to sputter. Rainbow flickered in and out of view until Sunset got control of her magic again. Thankfully, Eliza and Applejack hadn’t noticed.
Somewhere up above, Sunset heard herself call Applejack’s name, warning her of Eliza’s next attack. Applejack dodged, and the two combatants resumed their fight until the next explosion went off.
Sunset braced herself, watching as Eliza shoved Applejack forward and took off as the boulders hurtled downward. Applejack recovered from the sudden push, only to see how close the rocks were, a look of hopelessness in her eyes. Sunset disabled the camouflage spell on Rainbow while simultaneously grabbing a majority of the boulders with her magic and shouting, “Now!” Her voice was almost lost in the din of the avalanche.
Still, Rainbow heard her, and like a prismatic lightning bolt, shot forth, snatching Applejack from underneath the waiting boulders that had been mere inches from her face. The two tumbled into the cave, as the rocks crashed to the ground behind them, partly sealing the entrance.
“Applejack!” Rainbow and Sunset cheered, embracing her in a tight group hug.
“Uhh… what just happened?”
A teal glow lit the dark cavern, allowing the ponies to see one another. “It’s kind of a long story,” Sunset said, relief flooding her voice.
“Wait a second, weren’t you up on top of the cliff a second ago?” Applejack looked at Rainbow. “And weren’t you flyin’ around in the sky with that other griffon?”
“Like I said, it’s a bit of a story.”
Rainbow nodded her head. “Yeah, basically, me and Sunset went back in time and saved your life.”
Applejack blinked. “Ya’ll did what now?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Rainbow said. “The point is, you’re okay!” She flung her hooves around Applejack again. Sunset saw a tear escape from Rainbow’s eye.
“Well, Ah can’t argue with that,” Applejack said softly, returning the hug. “When Ah saw all those rocks headin’ towards me, Ah thought Ah was a goner. Ah’m not sure what ya’ll did, but thanks for doin’ it.”
Sunset leaned against the wall, smiling in content. They won’t die. I won’t let them. I won’t let any of them. Her mind flashed to Sky Chart and his body as it fell out of sight after being hit with a powerful blast of magic. She couldn’t help but grimace. He may have been a coward, but nopony deserved to die like that.
You ruined one future, Vesper Radiance, but I’m not going to let you ruin another, no matter what you throw at us!
“You okay there, sugarcube?”
Sunset snapped her head up, seeing Applejack looking at her with a concerned frown. “Yeah, just resting. It’s been a long day.”
Applejack offered her a hoof, which Sunset gladly took. “Ah know, and Ah for one can’t wait to get some shut eye, but right now, we still got some griffons who need to learn a lesson. Sometimes, us ponies don’t play nice.”
Rainbow pounded her hooves together. “Yeah, time for a little payback. No one tries to kill my friends and gets away with it!”
Sunset gave them a weary smile and walked over to the blockaded entrance. Sunlight filtered through the top where there were fewer rocks. She could just make out herself and Rainbow on top of the pile. Rainbow was gripped onto her and Sunset was holding the hourglass. Sunset watched with wide eyed amazement as they slowly vanished into thin air, fading out like apparitions. Her plan had worked.
“Coast is clear,” Sunset said, moving the boulders out of the way and clearing an open path. She stepped into the light of the sun, instantly feeling the temperature rise and wishing she could just stay inside the cool cave.
“Alright girls, let’s get movin’,” Applejack said.
“Wait,” Rainbow flew in front of her and held out the flattened stetson. “You almost forgot this.”
Applejack beamed at her. She took the old hat and shook it out before placing it on her head. “Thanks, sugarcube. Now let’s go!” Without another word, she charged off.
Sunset motioned to follow her, but Rainbow place a hoof on her shoulder, holding her in place.
“Wait, Sunset. I, umm… I wanted to say… look, I said some pretty mean things about you behind your back and I judged you before I really knew you. I was just trying to look out for my friends but… I’m sorry.”
With a sympathetic smile, Sunset said, “Its okay, Rainbow. And I’ve been meaning to apologize to you, too. I’m sorry I threw dirt at you. I never did take name calling very well.”
“Yeah well, I’m sorry I called you an egghead. I mean, you are, but I still shouldn’t have said it.”
They both looked at each other, then broke into short fits of laughter. After a moment, they collected themselves and Rainbow held out a hoof, asking, “So, we cool?”
Sunset grinned and bumped it. “Yeah, definitely cool.”
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You had my attention, my curiosity....now you have my full attention...
Still, good chapter
Always thrilling for the reader.
This chapter put me in the mood to play Prince of Persia: Sands of Time again! Great use of time travel!
This, as always, is awesome.
The way you handled the time travel was smooth, and believable. pony/pony interactions were handled well.
And Sunset isn't OP and does have limits. All in all, good chapter. will keep reading.
The bit with Dashie throwing the rock, was that inspired by Harry Potter by any chance?
doctorwhotv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/tom-baker-4th.jpg
I like this. It made sense.
Great chapter.
And that, Vesper, is why you take care of your dirty work in person.
Great chapter. I was surprised and impressed by how competent the griffons were, I hadn't expected them to be so efficient. I still want to know why they call her 'Majesty' though. Please tell me that's going to come up, it's bugging me.
While I'm so glad Applejack didn't die (talk about a gut-punch), the fact that time travel apparently works in a stable loop doesn't bode well for Sunset's quest. So far it's looking a bit like the ending to Terminator.
3188240 I want to say no because I haven't read the third book in such a long time. But I tend to do things subconsciously a lot, so it's possible.
3189874 It'll come up eventually. Just don't put too much thought into it.
excellent story ya got here. I like how believable the time travel is. I wana see more of dark sunset with maybe some of the mares besides celestia noticing. Also, some romance! Anyway, keep up the good work; I look forward to more.
3192196
Trixie is the villain in every story.
this definitely sounds like an interesting story, can't wait for it to be finished (i can't read a story until it's finished, too much anxiety)
I'm just gonna say that I really really really really really really like this story. Spectacular job
Your story encouraged me to write my own, even though mine has nothing to do with Sunset Shimmer. But that's not important.The fact I love this story and will continue to read it is!
3210676 Your kind words flatter me!
And I'm glad I inspired you to write, I didn't think I was capable of doing that! I wish you luck in your own writing endeavors.
Going well so far.
Just waiting for the point where Sunset realizes that Time Travel always works like that and the world will still end.
3190456
So wait, did you just spoil the ending?
3238071 Not even remotely.
3259347 That passive voice idea sounds really helpful actually. Thank you.
3197278
3290595
Not in the slightest.
3290595 no Twilight Sparkle is a synonym of Sunset Shimmer!
Caught up with the current release now.
Calling it now for the record (especially after looking up "Vesper"'s various definitions), Vesper Radiance is Sunset Shimmer, likely current time version.
Likely more to that than simple that twist, like ending up creating the future Sunset. Maybe something that will counter the loose use of time travel 'logic' this whole 'fix what will happen' has, but not holding out hope. I've seen some creative ways tales have gotten around the limits of time travel mechanics, but here its the not-thought-through movie kind. If not for the mystery of the Sunsets, I don't think I would have continued with this fic. Currious if the mirror or finding Starswirl's book will be part of this.
3324734
Pretty sure I was going to make a joke somewhere in this story...
And wow, you're just breezing through this aren't you? And leaving a comment on every chapter. I like you!
3324757
I read really really fast. Finished a thoushand page book in under day. And reading your stuff is the least I could do after you read mine.
It fits really well and looks really really cool. Which I could track down something half as appropriate for my story, but their is a rather annoying lack of pony Sunset Shimmer art, and none if it in an even somewhat relevant pose/situation.
The ability to time travel at will(well, at the will of the hourglass) is a very precarious road to go down. Be careful not to write to many situations where doing so is the way out, because it destroys suspense knowing that the character can potentially go back and fix things. Of course you also need be careful when a situation does come up that you don't want the time travel to work but doing so would be a logical choice for Sunset that her inability to do so is better explained than the hourglass just wont work. Used to many times that gets really cheesy and well, smacks of bad writing/planning.
In short, be careful, I've read far to many stories that were ruined by poorly applied time-travel, and I don't want that to happen to something as good as this.
3188801
Fourth Doctor is best Doctor.
Oooooh, I like this griffon.
You just gave him a concussion, and possibly a skull fracture, in the middle of a desert. Nope, not cruel at all.
I thought thees griffons were British hoodlums, not Japanese.
Rainbow! You're not thinking fourth dimensionally! Now be quiet and get in the Delorean.
Damn, Rainbow just went badass! I approve
Don't think I don't know where you got this idea:
Awww yis. I love reading about time travel done right. Fantastic job.
3623327 Everyone keeps mentioning that scene from Harry Potter, but I honestly do remember any rocks being thrown. I need to go re read the book again.
They both looked at each other, then broke into short fits of laughter. After a moment, they collected themselves and Rainbow held out a hoof, asking, “So, we cool?”
Sunset grinned and bumped it. “Yeah, definitely cool.”
This part was cute!
So much action and timey-wimey stuff. Love It!
Loving the time paradoxes in this chapter, very clever of Sunset to craft that closed loop for sealing up any loose ends.
So far this story has me hooked I love the plot (no pinkie not THAT kind of Plot
) and shall eagerly continue reading the rest of the chapters. I really liked the scene in this chapter with RD and Sunset it was awesome 
That was actually some pretty well-executed time travel nonsense. Well played.
Time Travel is a bitch and complicated with it's laws and regulations. Timey Wimey Stuff is fucking bullshit... but it causes heroes to save each other when they die and Applejack was saved.... so I guess one can't complain too much. I may not like Applejack, Pinkie or Rarity as much, but I don't want them to die and I still felt overwhelming dismay that Apple Hat Pony got crushed by a boulder.... so just because they aren't high on the list of Best Ponies or anything, doesn't mean I want them to die or suffer....
I get the feeling that "creating closed time loops" is going to become something of a theme in Sunset's life, to the great detriment of her sanity.
3187590 i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/000/207/234/you-must-be-new-here-willy-wonka.jpg
>pulling out two katanas
Katanas. Being used by gryphons from Eagleland.
Crossbows fire bolts or quarrels, not arrows.
I'm going to call it: Sunset's presence is a stable loop, going from canon!Sunset -> Vesper -> harmonized -> Twilight's student and back again.
That may also explain the memory leakage. Sunset was struck by the Elements, but her old memories from Vesper are returning.
Well.... the remark about act 1 just being a slightly bumpy ride up to the top of the first hill before the roller coaster gets going was far, far FAR more accurate then I thought. This thing has become one wild, AWESOME epic ride that just.... I do not want to stop reading. Which is a bad thing. At least, it is when you primarily read on a kindle at work during breaks and this makes you not want to put it down and get back to work.
Now to try and get a bit caught up on comments.
Did really love how the story set up both the ability to home in on magical beacons like this, to trace unicorns and their magic. And also the ability Sunset uses to power it up, in a way that feels perfectly natural, has a reason they bring it up, not just being used to set this moment up, but being very well worked in, only to some up like this? So well done!
Also really loved the description of Sunset trying to track down Twi's magical signature. So evocative and well done. Just great scene and atmosphere setting.
And then... lots of fighting. Let's get this out of the way.. even though I am likely going to bring it up rather often. The fights with the griffons are, overall, SO FUCKING AMAZING!
being able to balance things out, have their skill, experience, and natural ability be able to hold their own mostly with the Ponies, give the Mane 6 a real fight, and make it work very well in multiple ways. And the saved by Twilight Bombardment was awesome.
Probably get into this more later with other points but... just so love how you've got the mindsets here. Not afraid to fight (well afraid, but more of the whole, getting hurt thing, not afraid of fighting in and of itself.) Willing to stand up, no compunctions about that. But, still not having the real 'killer instinct' needed to go all out, which does give the Griffons an edge here, as they are not going to pull their punches. But right here, this was... just very well done. Dash knows... this is major, she's not just ignoring it, but at the same time, not getting overwhelmed, she's able to understand she had to fight, that it a the only way to save herself and her friends. She's not happy about what she did, but not upset either, simply accepting it as something she would have preferred not to do, but had to do. Now, that mentality can go south, but as is, very mature and reasoned. Though kind of curious and hoping this will come up later, once things have settled down, the mane 6 trying to talk over this stuff and work it out. because I would love to see some follow up on this.
Though.... if they made it all the way to the ground before exploding.... how the hell was he thinking they'd make a good weapon to use agsint RD?
okay, few things about this whole scene. 1. Like before, so freaking exciting and well paced, just you can feel the tension, the stress, picture it clearly, again, this was epic. 2. Crossbows fire bolts or quarrels, not arrows. Just using one term for them both is a rather modern change, and even then not universally accepted. 3. The bit about him having to fire slower due to the reaching for a new Arrow, valid, but the bigger issue would be that Crossbows simply take longer to reload and prep to fire then bows do. That's the trade off. Crossbows have slower fire rate, but more power per shot on the whole.
Finally.... I am very curious how one of her favorite spells, was a magical bow that shoots incendiary arrows. How often does the need for something like THAT come up?
Now onto AJ's 'death' overall it was well done for what it was, though brings up a few topics of potential issues, like overusing Sunset's ability to basically save scum reality. Now yes, limited by the Hourglass, but without a firm, clear set of rules to understand it's limitations, it just becomes a Deus ex machina that will work or not as needed. (Although given it allowed her go back to save AJ, but not herself... is it a case of it simply not being usable for personal things, even saving yourself, or.. being a time travel device, it could tell Sunset would survive and so had no need to go back, while AJ would not without time travel?
But beyond that, is ho having this ability... is one that needs to be used very, very carefully. If it's just used an excuse to build tension by killing off Mane 6... it would fall flat quick. We know there is no real danger even then. But rare, just in very, very limited circumstances, it can work. So it's not anything that will go wrong, just, this is heading into territory that is very tricky to pull off right. Though from what I've seen so far, I'm pretty sure the story will do it right. Also, was going to say it was kind of a cop out having AJ 'die' so.. Disney Villain-esque, rather then use the chance to make it hit harder, but given how it played out, it works great.
Which brings us into the whole Time Travel thing........ ohhh boy. So, Sunset is acting like this is needs to stay a stable time loop... yet her whole plan is to change history... and really Kevyn sums it up best in this strip. (Also seriously that webcomic is SO DAMN GOOD!) But the best summary is
The pretty much sums up the thoughts there. So.. see how things play out.
See Sunset, it's really a very short story. You just have to know how to tell it simply enough.
Which as above, how does she think she can do that, if she's so worried about causing paradoxes and acting like time travel needs to be Stable Time Loop? I can get Time Travel not working that way, yes Twi's spell did, but Hourglass may work differently, hence the stricter requirements. But, it's Sunset's attitude about it that seems contradictory. Granted even if this allows changing the future, there was a good reason to play it that way, avoid having to deal with figuring out what to do with two RD's and Sunset's. Well..... what to do after the sexy, sexy times are over at least.
That was a really sweet way of edning it, and just d'awwwwwwww... Now go kick Griffon ass!
So yeah, this chapter..... LOVED IT, so so freaking great, just, the fights were well done, the time travel stuff bringing up all kind of questions, just all around, yeah the roller coaster is over the hill and starting speed into it's full glory.
3324757
Wow..... one can only wonder what you think of me then.
ok, so Rainbow and Gilda didn't part on the best of terms, but that doesn't explain why she'd be panicked about seeing them.
I find this amusing, because clearly you were aiming for English, but the trope for Eagleland is hardcore 'Murican.
Wanderer D? Why are you trying to kill Pinkie?
"No, that's still my plan. Mwahahaha!"
There's more than enough clopfics that cover that answer.
delete "at"
And now Sunset embarks on a journey to learn necromancy.
I have to say I have really enjoyed this so far, Albinocorn, and now, it is really taking off. Effective griffon mercenaries? Mysterious villain that may or may not be closely connected to Sunset Shimmer? Nice.
I was directed to this story after someone mentioned some similarities between your Sunset Shimmer and my OC Antagonist. I had to check it out to see, and was amused to find other overlaps, like featuring the Alicorn Amulet, the using magic to home in on other magic, and a main character that is warring with something inside mentally. 
Liked it so much in fact that I am stealing a nice feature you are doing, that of inserting Sunset's cutie mark between sections within a chapter. Except it is my OC's cutie mark, that is. Anyway, I Like it! Now I am starting to like the story so much that it is drawing me away from working writing on my own. Sorry to come so late to the party, but well, I am late to the party! 
Usually the default answer to someone trying to explain Time Travel.
I'd love to know why Eliza completely disappears from the scene the instant Applejack 'dies'. I mean, the whole "Oh my Goddess, my friend's dead!" moment was the perfect opportunity for her to stab one or both of them in the back, and instead she just vanishes?
At least she found something out of this.
Hopefully that's enough to get them through the desert.
Classic Rairty. Always complaining on her appearance.
Sometimes it's best not to know.
Good timing!
That was quick!
Wow, guess she really had it in herself to do it!
At least she finally trusts Sunset. Albeit after going back in time 20 minutes.