Twilight Sparkle is 15. In one short year she will be accepted into the hive mind. But what happens in that year she and the rest of Equestria will never forget.
The streets are grey. The ponies are like drones. Any form of traitorous thoughts is banned, and will not be forgiven. Twilight has long since accepted these rules, until one day when a mysterious stranger appears and promises to show her the biggest secret in Equestria.
Dear Diary. Today is my 15th birthday. Everyone says I'm going to grow to be one of the smartest in the hive. I believe so. One day I'll be part of the hive.. part of them. It's a bit scary. I don't want everyone to know my secrets, but in turn I will know theirs. But think of the knowledge! Everyone equal. It's what the leader wants for us. I will regret giving away my sketchbook, though.
The dull lavender mare stared down at the pages of her diary, reading over what she had wrote. Indeed, this diary of hers wouldn't be necessary in one short year, but it was tradition of hers to write on paper. Her magic shut off and the pen she was holding hit the bench next to her. Soon after she folded the book shut and began to look around the area she was in.
Her eyes scanned the grey walls and the dulled coats of those around her. It was like someone had turned the contrast down on a photo. The air tasted stale on her tongue, like always. The city had been like this for many years now, the fifteen that Twilight had witnessed and the countless before her.
“It's peaceful.” She mused, running her hoof along a small book she had on her lap. The front cover was made of blank plastic, and inside were many sheets of paper. She had made this a few short months ago, after she was forced to throw the other one into a lake, lest the person following her find out what was inside. Her head tingled as she opened the first page, revealing a pencil sketch of an older stallion with wild hair and devilish eyes. He stood upon a cliff face that overlooked a beautiful city. She turned the page to look over the next sketch, a work in progress of the same stallion soaring through an open sky with his wings stretched out. She lifted her pencil and began to firm in some of the older lines, humming a tune to herself.
The sound of uneven footsteps brought her out of her trance as she glanced up and surveyed the crowd. As usual there were hundreds of ponies with earpieces moving around chattering between themselves. However there was one pony that stood out from the crowd.
An earth pony with a brown coat, darker brown mane and the bluest eyes you had ever seen was looking at her from far away. Her heart quickened as she glanced at her sketchbook, quickly closing it and stashing it away in her saddlebag. He was grinning. That was odd.
Now a days readers, it's very common to see a pony smiling at you. In fact, it's more often than not. But back then, when everyone was in the hive, no one smiled unless it was a very important event, a 16th birthday, a school award, or the killing of a traitor.
Yet, this pony wore a genuine smile! He trotted towards Twilight, holding the same calming grin. As he grew closer Twilight shifted uncomfortably.
“Hello there young lady!” The pony called from a few hoof-steps away, bowing his head in a polite gesture.
Twilight jumped to her feet immediately and began apologising. “I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I wasn't doing anything wrong I swear! Please don't hurt me, I didn't do anything!” She bowed down low, practically pressing herself flat against the ground, trembling visibly.
The brown pony flattened his ears and looked guilty. “Excuse me, why are you apologising?” He asked, dipping his head down to meet her eyes.
His eyes. His eyes. Twilight lost herself for a moment. They were brilliant.
The brown pony furrowed his brow. “Hello?”
Shaking her head slightly she rose to her hooves. “S-Sorry. I mean – nothing, I was just surprised. Sorr- er, sorry.” She looked directly at the floor.
The stallion chuckled lightly. “It's alright. I'm a friend. I have something to show you, if you want. But you have to promise me you'll bring your sketchbook, got it?”
Twi's head rose immediately as her heart began beating at a million bpm. “N-No! I mean yes I'll go with you! But I don't have a s-sketchbook, they're not allowed, remember? Th-that was just a diary, that's all! Please don't turn me in!” She stumbled over her speech and leaned forward slightly with a look of desperation. The stallion chuckled lightly and shook his head with a smile.
He turned around and reached into his saddlebags, pulling out a small book of his own. He opened the pages to reveal paintings stashed inside the pages of beautiful sunsets and summer days.
Twilight was speechless.
“My name is Timeturner. I regulate the clocks for the hive. But as you can see, I'm not connected to it myself. I have to keep the time separately in case the hive goes down, and that means I have to be separate from it.” He flopped his right ear down, showing the lack of an earpiece.
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as she began to calm down, rolling her shoulders to work off some of the tension. Still glancing down occasionally she introduced herself. “Twilight Sparkle. I'm not allowed on the hive yet, I'm only fifteen.”
The earth pony nodded. “I can take you somewhere really cool, but you have to keep it a secret, you got that?”
Twilight tilted her head, her ears flattening slightly as her trust wavered. “A secret? Why?”
Timeturner shook his head. “I can't tell you that yet. Not until you swear on an oath.” He placed a hoof over his chest. “I solemnly swear I will not break this oath by revealing the secret of Timeturner and his friends.” He paused and allowed Twilight to repeat what he had said before continuing. “I also agree to pursue an art form in absolute secrecy.”
Twilight took a step back. “Excuse me? Isn't that against the rules?! I'll be killed!” She hissed, voice barely above a whisper.
“Well if you want to live like them all your life, it's your decision...”
The mare shook her head. “No! No, I'll do it. I'll see what the secret is.” She took a deep breath and solidified her resolve. “I also agree to pursue an art form in absolute secrecy.” She reiterated, her heart fluttering on the last few words.
Timeturner grinned even wider than before, jumping forward suddenly to embrace the younger mare. “Thank you so much! You're going to be amazed! I swear I will show you the most amazing time ever!”
Twilight had doubts growing in her mind about making the decision to swear the oath, but they were hushed as she followed the mysterious stallion through the streets.
He had a light step and walked gently on his hooves, bouncing from one hoof fall to the next. It was.. what was that word again...
“Peppy.” Twilight mused, following with great haste.
Time Turner continued on, his hoof steps clacking rhythmically in Twilight's ears. It was quite a nice sound, and had Twilight almost asleep by the time they had finished moving through the several long streets. However she was awoken from her daze all too soon by Time Turner's voice ringing out loudly.
“We're almost there! But there's one thing I have to do first.” He turned around to meet her gaze. Twilight looked around a bit. They were still in the city, but far away from where they had begun. She surmised that about an hour had passed.
“Do what?” She asked, her head tilting to the side as she voiced her curiosity.
Time turner walked around to the side of Twilight and retrieved something small and black from his bag. He slipped a blindfold over Twilight's eyes, causing her to panic a little.
“What? Why are you putting this on me?” She shook her head slightly to work it off her face to no avail.
“I'm sorry, call me crazy, but just in case you decide to tell people about us, I'd like our place to stay hidden. Only for a short while, just until we can trust you. No hard feelings?”
Twilight hesitated, lifting her hoof into the air as if to turn around and run away.
“Well.. I understand... but at the first sign of something suspicious, I'll make use of this.” She tapped her horn gently to demonstrate her point.
Turner flinched slightly, but nodded all the same, an action unseen by the blindfolded mare. He quickly rectified this by saying “Fair enough.”
He put a hoof on the unicorn's leg, guiding her forward ever so gently. Walking without your eyes is pretty daunting, as Twilight soon discovered. The ground beneath her was uneven and coarse, with a few holes and rises. Every now and then Time Turner would give her a short vocal queue to steer her away from trees and deeper holes.
To Twilight's relief they soon entered a doorway, the ground smoothing out and becoming echoed. She heard faint noises from far away. They sounded very strange, attracting Twilight's attention. The noise grew louder as she walked further inside, evoking a strange feeling in Twilight's chest.
Time Turner decided they were far enough, and slid the blindfold away from Twilight's face. Her entire body froze as she looked around her surroundings, the sudden flashes of colour overwhelming her senses.
Ever had one of those times where you haven't eaten anything for a couple of hours, and your mouth is really dry, and then you bite into something with a really strong flavour, your mouth's taste buds exploding in shock from the sudden change in taste?
This is what Twi felt, only it was the visual equivalent, as she glanced around the room, awe struck.
Her brain ticked for a couple seconds, trying to work out what was around her. It was so alien to her, yet familiar.
“Co-Colours.” was all she could make out as she admired the various paintings, stained windows and sculptures all around her. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and it invoked all sorts of new feelings in her chest.
Time Turner moved closer to her, nuzzling her gently. “Yo Twilight, are you okay? Equestria to Twilight...”
Twi's ever curious nature took over as she squealed and got to her hooves, bouncing around the room to observe everything she saw. Firstly she approached a large stained window of the god of chaos in a frightening pose. The frame had rainbow colours around the draqonnequus. She gasped in awe. Next she bounced over to a statue of a strange looking pony, almost double the size of Twilight. She had a mane that drifted out in front of her, and a tail that looked similar. Her cutie mark was the sun.
“Who's this?” She asked, her spurt of hyperactivity brought to a halt.
Time Turner chuckled a little, a hint of sadness in his voice. “That's Princess Celestia. Surely you have heard of her...?”
Twilight's metaphorical brain hamster ran around madly on it's wheel as she thought. With one final push the hamster ground to a halt and passed out.
“Nope. Not a thing. Was she important? She looks very beautiful.”
Turner was shocked beyond belief. He had almost forgot about the restriction on any knowledge about the royal pony sisters. Even knowing about that, he still had an intense feeling of disgust in his gut. Not towards Twilight, but towards the leader of that insane country.
“Celestia. The Princess of the sun, used to rule Equestria. She was kind, loyal, honest, generous, and playful. She had magic beyond any other being. She raised the sun every morning, and her sister Luna rose the moon every night. But more on that later... I have some ponies to introduce you to!”
Time Turner grabbed the unicorn by her forehoof before she could look around any further and lead her towards the source of the sound.
Twilight was utterly perplexed as she racked her brain to try and work out what that noise was. It wasn't machinery, or voices, it sounded a bit like the time she found a sound file in the archives.
Her brain ticked. It was music! She wiggled out of Time's grasp and ran down the hallway, past numerous other knick knacks and through a large wooden door.
There she found several ponies, all with brightly coloured manes and coats staring at her. The music that had been playing previously had stopped, and the pianist left her hooves lightly touching the keys as her jaw dropped.
The ponies entered panic mode and looked around for a place to hide out of instinct.
One mare, a small filly walked towards Twilight with her ears flattened and shaking legs. “Are you going to take us away, miss?” She asked, her voice quaking.
Time Turner burst through the door, grinding to a halt behind Twilight. “Everypony I'd like you to meet miss Twilight Sparkle! She's not an official, she's here to learn. I would like you all to treat her as an honoured guest.”
At this, the ponies nodded and relaxed, the white unicorn filly running over to Time Turner to cling onto his leg. She whimpered softly. “I-I was so scared they had found out, T...” She buried her muzzle into his leg.
Twilight instantly felt insanely guilty and dipped her head down low. “I'm r-really sorry I scared all of you... I wasn't thinking straight. Will you forgive me?”
An orange earth pony stepped forward, grinning. “Course we will, new comer! Whai, if Ah remember mah first time down here, ah'd say ah was as excited as you!”
A unicorn mare nodded enthusiastically. “Why darling, it's understandable!” She trotted forward and patted the mane of the smaller white unicorn. “Come now Sweetie Belle, it's alright.”
Twilight's face lit up. “Oh good! Again, really sorry.”
As Twilight scanned the room, she recognised the faces of just about every pony to have gone missing in the past 30 years or so, along with some others she had seen about town.
One earth mare with a cream coat trotted up to her, with a mint green unicorn close behind. “My name's Bon Bon, this is Lyra. Do you have a cutie mark yet?”
The rest of the ponies went about their activities, chatting away, painting, sculpting, singing, you name an art form, it was being practised.
Twilight nodded gingerly and lit up her horn, revealing her cutie mark that had been hidden from the public eye previously.
Lyra stepped around to her side and eyed it in awe. “Ooooh, that's a unique one! What's it for?”
“I think it's about my magic... I haven't been able to fully explore it yet.” She glanced down at the purple star on her flank, admiring it. It felt incomplete somehow.
“Wooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” The unicorn let out a long display of admiration. “That's so cool! A magic talent... so I bet you're super good at spells, huh?” She asked.
“Well yeah, just a little. I don't like to brag...”
“Show us!”
“It's not that impr-
“It'll be like woosh! And zoom!”
“ It'll be a waste of time I think,”
“And we can invite the whole group to watch!”
Twilight froze. “The whole group? How many of you are there?”
“Last time I checked about 40 of us.” Bon Bon cut in. “Why?”
“Oh my leader. That's insane! How'd you all get here?” Twilight asked.
Bon Bon winced slightly at the mention of the leader, but continued on. “Well, some of us stumbled upon the place by happen stance, that was only one or two, but the rest of us were scouted out by TT over there.” She pointed to him momentarily. “He's kind of like the father around here. What he says goes, and we all look up to him.”
“He found me when I was playing my lyre. I thought I was quiet, but I must have gotten distracted. He brought me here a few days after and I decided to stay.” Lyra added in.
“I found this place after I ran away from the hive.” Bon Bon said, a slither of sadness in her voice.
Twilight nearly jumped ten feet in the air when she felt a hoof upon her back. She turned around quickly to see the grinning face of TT. “Hello there miss Twilight, making friends already?”
Twilight nodded in affirmation. “Yep. But what I'm really curious about is learning some new magic. Are there any unicorns around that can teach me?” She enquired hopefully.
“Why I know just the mare! Follow me!”
Twilight waved a hoof in a goodbye gesture to her new friends as she quickly trotted after Time Turner. He lead her through a door and into an empty room where a blue unicorn and pink earth mare seemed to be having a light hearted feud.
The earth mare shouted out “Ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch!” And jerked back from the door.
“Pinkie that's absolutely ridiculous!” The blue unicorn demanded, before the door hit the blue unicorn mare in the behind as she yelped. She growled in frustration. “Lucky guess!”
“Heeeeeelllooo there miss Trixie, Pinkie. I trust you are doing well?” Time Turner chirped happily, bouncing into the room. “This here's a new mare I want you to meet! Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she's come to learn!”
The unicorn known as Trixie turned round to meet Twilight's gaze, instantly transforming her persona. “Hello miss Twilight! Sorry about that awful first impression. Pinkie here and I were just having a heated discussion.” She smiled cheerily back at Pinkie, who proceeded to scratch her back.
“Back's itchy! Back is suuuuuuuuuper itchy!”
Trixie rolled her eyes and turned back to Twilight. “What do you need, TT?”
Trixie scoffed openly. “I doubt she could learn magic! It requires certain qualities that they do not possess!” She turned away from the rest of the room's occupants.
“What, you're saying because she was raised by the hive that she has no talent for magic?” Time Turner asked rather politely, ignoring Trixie's attitude.
“That's exactly what I'm saying, Turner!” She spun around to glare at Twilight, causing the purple mare to take a step back. “Magic takes soul. They have none! Trixie will not teach someone like her.” She stomped her hoof down for emphasis.
Twilight held back the urge to leave the room and stepped forward. “What do you mean? Needs soul? I don't understand...” She glanced over to TT but he simply remained quiet, tapping his muzzle with a knowing look.
Trixie took a step back so she had more room to move around in. Her magic sparked up and fireworks formed around her, twinkling gently like evening stars in the air. “Magic, miss Twilight Sparkle, takes heart and soul.” She punctuated her statement with a large red cartoon style heart that burst into a rainbow.
Twilight held back the urge to clap and gasped in awe.
Trixie had a face of relaxation and control, and every time her horn sparked up a new spell she would speak again. “It is from the imagination that spells take their form, and the power of the spells come from the heart.” She paused to glare directly at her. “Something that the hive despises. They breed it out of you, draw out every last bit of individual thought.” Another pause as her theatrics died down. “You're in a different world to me, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight took a moment to think, and then slid the saddlebags off her back, eliciting a confused look from the other unicorn. She used her magic to levitate her sketchbook out of her bag and placed it gently on the floor in front of Trixie.
Trixie eyed the book with a perplexed look. “What is it?”
Twilight shook her head, pushing it towards her with a hoof. “Just open it.”
Trixie levitated it in the air with her magic and opened the first page. Her eyes lit up as she scanned the page quickly. She flipped to the next page, gasping as she inspected it.
“Is it that bad?” Twilight asked, wishing for the other mare's approval.
Trixie remained silent for a few moments. “Y-You drew these?” She asked, unable to believe it.
“Yeah, in my spare time...”
Trixie set the book down and reverted to her quiet state, as if in deep thought. “Twilight Sparkle...”
Twilight dipped her head down.
“I will be honoured to have you as my student!” She beamed, bouncing forward to wrap her fore hooves around Twilight. “You are simply amazing!”
Twilight was speechless. She waited until Trixie had removed herself from the hug before speaking. “Thank you, Trixie! I won't let you down.”
Trixie scowled for a moment. “You had better not, I do have a reputation to uphold!”
“Ah. Yes of course.”
Time Turner rubbed his hooves together, content with his efforts. “Grand! I trust you two will be a perfect team. Miss Trixie, I would like you to further her knowledge of the arts for only as long as necessary. After that you will have to concentrate on other areas of magic. I apologise if I rush you along rather quickly, but it is important you do so with utmost haste.”
Twilight turned around to enquire about what this 'other magic' was, but before she got the change, TT was out of the door with the pink earth mare following behind.
Outside, Time Turner was quickly trotting down the hall with the pink mare behind him, matching his stride quite easily.
“Heya TT! You alright?” She asked, bouncing around to his side.
Time Turner hid his face from her gaze, pulling on a fake smile. “I'm just fine, Pinkie Pie.” He stopped in his tracks, digging his hoof into the ground. He exhaled deeply, rolling his shoulders and neck. “Well. Mainly.”
Pinkie Pie scowled, leaning down to meet his gaze. “That face doesn't look alright, T. Tell ol' aunty Pinkie Pie what's wrong. It'll stay between you and me, okidoki?”
He took a moment, scrunching his face in hesitation. “I-I'm worried, Pinkamena.”
Pinkie pie gasped and took a step back. “Pinkamena? TT are you alright? You never call me that unless,...”
“I took a massive risk today, all for that mare. I hope my gut was right, because I might have endangered all of us.” He slammed his hoof into the ground in frustration. “Stupid, stupid stupid me!”
“Hey hey, hold on now! What do you mean by a risk?” She asked, putting a comforting hoof on his shoulder.
“I spoke about us right in the middle of town! I got out my sketchbook, I was revealing information in the public... Anyone could have heard!”
“I'm sure it'll be fine, TT! After all, they've never found us yet! Why would that change now?” Pinkie pet him on the back. “It'll be fine!”
Inside the room with Trixie, Twilight heard a hoof slam from the hallway. Her ears perked up as she turned to listen in. Trixie got her attention by shouting out at her.
“Hey! Eyes front and centre! No distractions.” She demanded.
Twilight spun around quickly. “Aye aye! What do we do first?” She asked, sitting on her haunches.
Trixie allowed herself a moment to smile. “First we master simple levitation! I see that you can use it, but not very well. I assume after entering the halls you will find your magic to have improved by just being here. Try to lift up your saddlebags, for example.”
Twilight scrunched her face and activated her horn. Her magic formed around her saddlebags and whipped them high into the air, hitting the ceiling with ease. The noise of the bags hitting the ceiling so hard shook her concentration and Trixie had to catch the bags as they fell out of Twilight's grasp before they hit the floor.
“What... just happened?” She asked, rubbing her horn in amazement.
Trixie grinned. “It was easier to move the bags because your magic has more fuel. Remember what I said about magic needing imagination and soul? You've seen so much while you were here that it's already grown stronger.”
Twilight got to her hooves. “What do we learn next!?” She asked, positively radiating positive energy.
“Well in order to learn about the arts, I believe it's important that we work on something with either colour or sound. Which do you prefer?”
Twilight had always wanted to be able to turn her sketches in to paintings, so she quickly decided. “Colour!”
Trixie beamed. “We will teach you one of the simpler spells, miss Sparkle. To get the hang of things.” Her horn lit up with magical aura and spread forward, wrapping around a painting on the wall. The colours in the image randomised and reorganised themselves, turning from cool blues and purples to fiery reds and yellows. “Now this one is very simple, all you have to do is...”
Trixie's words fell on deaf ears however, as Twilight was deep in thought. She remembered the feeling of Trixie's magic and tried to emulate it with her own. The magical aura spread forth from her horn like wildfire, enveloping Trixie instead of the painting.
“What are you doing to Trixie, miss Sparkle?! Sparkle?”
With one last spurt of energy, Trixie's mane and tail turned a brilliant shade of royal purple. The aura dissipated quickly and Twilight slumped onto the ground, breathing heavily.
Trixie was speechless as she materialised a mirror in front of her, scanning her reflection. “How did you...?”
She glanced over to Twilight, who was fast asleep from the massive toll the spell had taken on her magic reserves. Without bothering to reverse the spell, Trixie materialised a couch for Twilight, laid her down on it, and made for the hall in seconds.
Trixie ran up to Time Turner, who was chattering away with two mares, a yellow Pegasus and a white unicorn. Without a word she caught the stallion in her magic and pulled him away suddenly, eliciting a gentle squeak from the yellow Pegasus.
Trixie pulled him with her, Time Turner simply pressing on the magic field as he chuckled lightly. Trixie had a habit of pulling him with her, and he had since become accustomed to the feeling. It was like being weightless, what you'd imagine space to be like, except it had this rather curious way of keeping you both wide awake and relaxed at the same time from the odd tingle that it sent over your coat.
Once Trixie was satisfied they were somewhere quiet, far away from the crowded common room, she began to speak in a breathless whisper of sorts. “How... from... hive...magic..” she managed to spit out.
Time Turner cocked his head in confusion. “Beg your pardon, G.A.P, but I'm hearing words and no sentence to go with 'em.”
The unicorn took a moment to steady herself, tapping her hooves against the floor as she composed herself and sorted out her thoughts. She simplified all her questions into one simple sentence. “How. Did. She. Do. That?”
TT was again partly left in the dark, but feigned innocence. “Whatever do you mean, Trix?” He asked with a smile on his face.
“That mare! She's incredible! Looking at my spell! That's all she had to do! That's simply impossible! Even Trixie cannot do that. And from a hive dweller, too! I must know what is going on, TT!”
He gave a light chuckle. “Surely you're exaggerating.”
She slammed her hoof down and pointed at her purple mane. “Trixie did not simply feel like a mane dye, Turner! She did this, first go!”
Time Turner grew a little more serious at this. “So this wasn't you demonstrating a spell and then having her try it...? It's flawless.”
Trixie held back the urge to face hoof. “That's what I'm saying, T! She has raw magic power far beyond Trixie. I doubt the hive would simply ignore or nullify that.”
“What are you getting at, Trix?”
“We have to keep her here. She must not be allowed to enter the hive mind. Ever. We can wipe her memory of this place, but her power will be known within minutes by every official in that damned city should she share her mind with them.”
“So... what do you suppose we do? We can't very well force her to stay, she might have family ther-”
“That's exactly what we do, TT.”
Time Turner couldn't believe his ears. He wiggled them a bit and leaned forward. “Sorry, didn't catch that, what did you say?”
“I said, she stays. No choice in the matter.”
“Yes, that's what I thought you had said. No, sorry. Not happening. It's her choice.” Turner furrowed his brow. “Unless you want to sink to their level, miss Trixie.”
Trixie sighed, backing off a bit. “Alright. I will speak with Twilight. And I hope you will come too.”
“I wouldn't have it any other way.” Time Turner quickly followed Trixie as she turned, trotting down the hall.
Time Turner scanned the walls around him as he walked. Everything here was a bit toned down, far less extravagant compared to the opening hall of the building. It was underground, which gave the air a bit of a chill, but that was the least of the colony's worries.
In retrospect, he thought, Trixie might be right. I've never seen her that worked up before. Twilight must be really impressive.
As the two filed into the room Trixie had been in previously, the pair turned to Twilight. She had been tossing in her sleep, and was breathing rather heavily. Her legs were tensed and curled up close to her body. This struck Turner as being odd, but hardly registered in Trixie's mind. Her magic wrapped itself around the warm blanket before TT held up a hoof to stop her. The magic dissipated instantaneously as TT walked forward, putting a hoof on Twilight's forehead. The mare flinched in her sleep, but otherwise did not stir.
“She's having a nightmare.” He whispered to the air around him, thinking aloud.
“Time Turner?” Trixie asked quietly.
“Ah, nothing. I was just thinking, we shouldn't startle her too much when we wake her up. It'd give her an awful fright.” He gently placed the hoof on her shoulder and shook her gently. “Come on Twily, up you get.”
The mare's eyes shot open suddenly, her hoof slapping Time Turner's away as she shot up into a sitting position.
Where am I? A room, books in the corner, there's a mare there. Oh right, I remember, the colony... But who was touching me just now? Her sleepy eyes drifted over to Time Turner, who looked slightly frozen with his previously outstretched hoof hanging in the air just in front of him.
“Right, the thing, with the stuff, and ponies, why am I so tired?” Twilight thought out loud, taking a while to wake up.
“You tired yourself out, Twilight. That spell took a lot out of you, like over exerting a leg you had been resting for years.” Trixie told her, mane and coat still bright purple.
The lighter purple mare rubbed her horn at the base slowly, as if to work out a headache. “Wow, it feels really numb. And I am really hungry.” She cocked her head. “Is that because of this too?”
“Exactly. Magic like that takes a lot out of you. But first we have to speak abou-”
Time Turner hushed Trixie with a hoof, the unicorn's face twisting into a scowl, yet she remained silent as instructed.
“Before we get to that, I'd like you to rest for a bit. You need some food to get your strength back. Follow us, we'll get you something nice.”
Twilight slowly slid off the bed, hitting the ground rather clumsily and almost crashing to the floor. Trixie extended a hoof to help her up, but she quickly steadied herself and began to walk. She walked backwards and forwards a few times before Trixie began to slowly trot out the door. TT slowed a bit and opted to walk next to Twilight for a quick word. Trixie still held the same scowl and stared daggers whenever she peered back at Time Turner.
Under his breath, but loud enough for the tired mare to hear, he began to speak. “That was some very advanced magic, you know.”
Twilight nodded sleepily. “My body is screaming that at me right now, I think...” She smiled, almost tripping over a hoof.
Time Turner smiled gently. “Come to think of it, I don't know that much about you. Got a family?” He asked, turning away.
“Just a brother... my parents died a while ago.” She answered, her voice creepily void of emotion.
Time Turner stumbled on his words slightly. “O-Oh.. I'm sorry...”
Twilight grit her teeth and looked away with a fierce gaze aimed at the floor.
“Did I over step your boundaries...?”
Twilight looked slightly panicked and turned back to him with a fake smile plastered across her features. “Not at all, I just didn't get along with them very well.”
“What about your brother?”
Twilight's smile faltered for a moment. “H-He's, um..” She sucked in a breath. “Away, I guess. F-For good.” She forced a chuckle. “Th-the territory disputes and all... he's gone full time guard.”
Time Turner knew what being a guard meant. He wasn't coming home in one piece. You joined the guard, you lived in the guard, you died in the guard. He nuzzled Twilight's shoulder ever so gently. “I'm sure he's having a nice time.”
Twilight smiled weakly. “Yeah, seeing all those new places... always had his head in the clouds. I used to tell him he was better suited to a Pegasus.”
Two large doors swung open in front of the two, revealing a quieter hall with only a few ponies inside enjoying their evening meal. Twilight was lead up to the kitchen by Trixie.
Twilight looked around the room. It looked like a school cafeteria. The kitchen was a bit run down, and a lot of the benches looked like they had been used in Griffon restaurants before here, with claw scratches along the surface. The walls were painted a dull white, with drawings all over them. It was cosy. The heat from the kitchen warmed up the entire room.
The kitchen and tables weren't separated as such, but a gap between tables and benches was there. One orange earth pony with a yellow mane was keeping busy in the kitchen, jumping from one place to the next making all kinds of dishes. Upon her head was a battered Stetson. It looked as if it had seen better days, but it seemed to fit the rugged mare.
She trotted up to Twilight, a certain rhythm about her movements. “What can I do ya for, miss?” She asked, her thick accent lacing her words. She sounded like a proper farm girl, alright.
“Anything that you have, but it needs to be filling.” Twilight responded, her eyes scanning the various tables.
“Sure thing! Hey, you're the new mare aren'tcha? Daylight was it? Daylight shine? Shoot, Ah've gone n fergot yer name.”
“Twilight Sparkle.” She corrected warmly.
The Farmer tipped her hat. “Applejack here! Nice to meet ya, miss. We love new ponies around here.”
With that the mare wandered back into the kitchen, calling out behind her. “Y'all go ahead 'n take a seat, now. Ah'll bring th' food when it's done.”
“Thankyou!” Twilight called, taking a seat at one of the desks, Trixie wandering off.
“Trixie will be back later!”
Twilight glanced across her table at the other mares sitting across from her. A blue Pegasus, white unicorn, yellow Pegasus and the mare known as Pinkie Pie.
This chapter is a filler that I wrote during a free period. The next chapter will be coming soon. For now enjoy your filler.
I strongly recommend reading this chapter. It provides insight into Twilight's life before the first chapter.
Twilight sat at her desk, trailing her hooves along it.
She was bored. Very very bored.
Class wouldn't start for another ten minutes, and she couldn't take out her sketchbook here. Her hooves tapped at the desk gently, making a quiet rhythm. She got carried away tapping this little beat, eliciting a glare from one of her fellow students. She knew him well, a brown Pegasus with ugly hair.
He strode over to her and sat down on a seat in front of her desk. "What exactly do you think you're doing?" He asked with a sneer.
"Oh I believe what I'm doing is called none of your business." Twilight answered, stopping to look at him.
"You're such a freak, Twilight Sparkle! I heard from my father that you got caught drawing a month ago." He teased. "But then the book was dropped into the lake and swept away. How convenient for you."
Twilight grimaced, shuffling in her seat. "Yeah, well there was no evidence to say I was doing anything wrong." She smirked. "Besides, who would believe that rat of a father anyway?" The Pegasus got to his hooves instantly, taking a threatening step towards her. "What did you just say, freak?"
"I said 'your dad is a filthy rat.' Didn't you hear me? I always knew you were dumb, but not deaf."
Twilight had no time to react as a hoof connected with her face, throwing her backwards with a shot of pain. She wiped her face with a hoof, looking at the blood on it. She summoned her magic and began warming it up before a teacher entered the room, glaring at the two students.
Twilight lost concentration as her magic dissipated and watched frozen as the teacher approached them. the teacher was a tall brown mare with dirty orange hair, and a look of contempt. She grabbed the Pegasus by the ear and pulled him out to the front where he sat at a desk in front of everyone. Afterwards she glared at Twilight. "Get that fixed up. Now." Twilight exited the room, leaving the stifled giggles of her fellow students behind her.
Twilight stepped out into the hall, moving as fast as she could on the legs, her right forehoof covering her nose. The blood on her hoof was sticky, and there was a lot of it. She sighed.
“This is the second time this term, Twilight...” She chastised herself with a groan. Her hooves carried her up a flight of stairs and through a short hallway, a door at the end of it. She pushed the door open gingerly and peered inside. The room consisted of one printer, one desk and one wheeled chair, with an earth pony mare sitting upon it.
Her eyes widened as she turned, gaze falling on the bloody mess that was Twilight. She got to her feet instantly and rushed over to the opposite side of the room where she fished some paper towel off a shelf. Returning to Twilight she handed them to the shaking filly, leaning down face to face with her.
“Did you get into a fight again?” She asked gently, patting Twilight's mane with a hoof.
The filly, still shaking slightly nodded and buried her head down into the paper towel.
It stings. She thought, holding the towel hard on her nose. It stings all over. I can taste the blood in my mouth. I'm an idiot.
The mare turned around, revealing a cutie mark with a stethoscope and band-aid on her flanks. She strode over to the desk and shuffled through some papers, pulling out a small form. She laid it on her desk and guided the bleeding filly over to a chair close to her desk.
“I've got to fill this out. Give me a second, alright?” She said with a light pat on the filly's mane punctuating her statement.
Twilight nodded slightly and looked at the Nurse's desk. It was truly a thing of wonder. Filled with messy papers, half filled out forms and scrawled notes to self.
One note was in purple pen and simply had the words: “order aspirin.” Twilight looked around the room for other ones. They were plastered upon the walls, like a collage that had been attacked by a cyclone.
“File papers for Sweet tune.” Twilight read aloud softly, the older mare either ignoring or not hearing her. “Find phone. Feed cat.” Twilight giggled at the ridiculousness of some of the notes, wondering why someone on the hive could ever lose their phone or forget to feed their cat.
Twilight thought about the hive mind, her thoughts drifting off track. About the uniform way it operated. Everyone had folders, branches, files, documents, all stored within the hive. And every brain controlled it directly through thought. It never controlled them, however. That's what school was for.
By the time you had reached the age of 20 you were considered a fully fledged adult member of society, free to do as you see fit, which for all but a few was their job.
“Miss Sparkle?” A voice brought the filly out of her daze, allowing her a few seconds to pull away the towel. She had stopped bleeding for now, at least.
“I'm gonna let you take the rest of the day off. We'll say you got seriously hurt or something. Wash yourself up a bit and head home, alright?” The older mare smiled. She paused, her smile fading. “I'm worried about you...”
“I'll be fine.” She assured the older mare, climbing off the seat she was on. “I'm just a bit roughed up.”
“If you say so...”
“I know so. See ya!” Twilight called, exiting the room with undue haste.
Twilight glanced across her table at the other mares sitting across from her. A blue Pegasus, white unicorn, yellow Pegasus and the mare known as Pinkie Pie.
Twilight smiled warmly and greeted the group.
“Hello everypony.” Twilight nodded politely to them all.
“Hello there Darling.”
“Sup?”
“Umm, hello...”
“Hiya again Miss Sparkle!”
“So, darling...” The white unicorn started. “I do hope you'll be staying for a long time, yes?” She questioned.
“I think so. It's very nice here... Miss..?”
“Oh! Where are my manners?” The pony laughed. “Rarity, darling.” She pointed her hoof around the table as she introduced the others. “This is Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.”
Twilight felt an odd surge wash over her, lasting for just a moment. “Have I met you all before? Outside here?” She asked.
The group shook their heads individually after a few seconds.
“We were all born here, with the exception of Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash stated, chewing a bit of apple as she spoke.
“Apart from TT, only a few ponies go back and forth from here to the city to avoid trouble.” Pinkie added.
“Ah'm one of those few.” Applejack approached the table, laying a tray of food between Twilight's hooves. Hay fries, an apple and a glass of water sit upon it.
Twilight's stomach rumbled, her magic sparking up instinctively as she took a sip from the glass. Applejack moved around behind her other friends, taking a seat at the opposite side of the table. Twilight looked over the group, the wave of familiarity coming back full force, more like a tsunami than a wave.
She zoned out for a second, staring into space.
“Ah, miss Twi?” Applejack gingerly said, furrowing her brow. “Is everythin' alright?”
Twilight continued to stare for half a second and then shook her head profusely. “Everything's fine. I'm just a little overwhelmed, I think..”
“Have you drunk any water today, Miss? You might have a, um.. headache... but I could be wrong..” Fluttershy seemed to cower slightly as she spoke.
Twilight nodded, her eyes returning to their former vividness. “A headache, that might be it. I think I'm getting a migraine.”
“Makes sense” Rainbow Dash nodded, hovering in the air with her arms crossed. “The air down here is pretty closed in, makes us pegasi claustrophobic. I was going to head outside soon anyway, why don't we all go together for some fresh air?”
“Oooh ooh ohhhhh!” Pinkie Pie shouted, bouncing into the air with a wide grin on her face. “I'll bring the party food! And it'll be soooo great!” She proceeded to produce a triple decker cake (seemingly out of no where). Twilight didn't have time to question this action as she dashed through the door, returning in a matter of seconds with a picnic basket overflowing with food.
“woah.” Twilight gasped in awe, mouth gaping. “How..?”
The group seemed unconfused by this action, choosing to stand up from their seats. “Alrighty then! A picnic date it is.” Applejack giggled.
“but how did she-”
“..I'll be there later... I havetogodosomething..” Fluttershy squeaked before trotting off slowly.
“What kind of magic was that?!”
“Right! Twi, hurry up slowpoke, let's go.” Rainbow dash flittered behind the stuttering mare and pushed her towards the large swinging doors on the opposite side of the room. Despite Twilight's stationary position, her hooves slid across the marble floor easily as Rainbow pushed her along, the two looking like ice skaters or something.
Twilight felt somepony tap her on the shoulder, pivoting on the spot to see who it was. Time Turner stood their with a grin on his face. “Heya Twilight, trying out some contemporary dance form? I've never seen it before.”
Twilight, not understanding his comment chose to ignore it and flipped the subject before waltzing into an uncomfortable conversation. “Oh, Mr Time Turner, we were going to go outside for a walk and a talk. Do you want to come with us?”
The stallions eyebrows fell closer to his eyes for a moment, his mouth twisting uneasily. He seemed to be in deep thought.
Twilight wasn't the best at guessing emotions, but he obviously seemed troubled. “....Mr Time?”
He nodded slowly and returned to his former demeanour, a playful smile on his face. “That sounds wonderful miss Twilight! Just what you need. Tell you what, I'll go and get a gift for you, how does that sound?”
“A gift?”
“A gift.” He nodded, tapping his chin with a hoof. “I have just the thing, I'll pull some strings. Meet you in the usual place in fifteen minutes, dash?” He asked, looking to the pegasus still hovering in the air.
“Uhh, sure thing T, I'll see you there?” She nodded, grabbing twilight in the crook of her forelegs. “Come on, Twi! Hurry up, we'll miss the best part of the day at this rate.”
“Not that I have a choice, but I'd hate to miss it anyway.” Twilight chuckled slightly. It felt strange, this sudden friendship with a stranger. Twilight enjoyed it none the less. “So, what is the best part of the day anyway?”
The golden orb sank low into the horizon, the clouds around it stained various shades of red and pink. Twilight stood unmoving, watching the sight before her. She looked around with small movements of her head, viewing the reactions of the newfound friends around her.
Pinkie Pie was busy humming to herself, the pink sky accentuating her coat. Rainbow was doing laps in the sky, moving the clouds around for the perfect view, in honour of Twilight's first night at the colony. Rarity was doodling new sun inspired designs in a sketchpad, and Fluttershy was nuzzled up to a small white rabbit. Applejack had a small portable table on the ground, preparing food for them to all eat.
Twilight looked back to the sun, it just slowly sinking out of view. The words “Welcome Twi” were written in the sky, the tired Pegasus returning to the ground for a rest. As the sky darkened, Twilight turned back to her friends and laid down in the fresh grass, running her hooves over it dreamily.
“I never want to leave...” Twilight mumbled to herself gently, laying her head down on the spongy greenery. “It's perfect here.”
Twilight closed her eyes for a few minutes, basking in the relaxation.
After a short time, she heard the sound of hoofsteps, awakening her from her daydreaming. She looked up to see Time Turner standing in front of her with his neck craned down to meet her eyes. She almost jumped back in surprise.
“Hiya! I see you're having a good time.”
Twilight nodded and pushed herself up to a sitting position. “I'm really lucky to be here.”
TT laughed with a boyish grin. “I bet you are, miss Twilight!” He pulled something out of the saddlebags on his back, wrapped in very beautiful wrapping paper featuring a myriad of butterflies in all different colours. It was topped off with a beautiful bow with a small wrapped lolly in the centre.
“The wrapping is from one of Lyra's designs.” Time Turner explained. “She wanted to know how you were doing, and couldn't resist helping with the gift.” Twilight carefully untied the ribbon and held the lolly in her hoof. “The lolly is from her partner, Bon Bon.”
“Partner?”
“Yes, they're a happy couple. The two work together on some of Lyra's side projects.”
“O-Oh.” Twilight nodded slowly, two mares going out was practically unheard of in the hive. It didn't produce any offspring, so it was illogical. This was a new idea for her. “So... they're like, husband and wife then?”
“Minus the husband part, yeah.”
Twilight nodded. It was definitely odd, but she had learned so many new things here that this was just another stick in the pile.
Using her magic to put the lolly aside, she carefully slipped off the wrapping paper in order to preserve it's beauty. Inside she gazed upon a steel box, which made a slight rolling noise as she tipped it to one side. She magic'd the top off, peering inside to find...
A whole bunch of drawing gear, all set up neatly. An eraser, fancy pencil, scrap paper, and a few coloured pencils where all uniformly arranged. Twilight gasped at the sight.
“These are really for me?” She asked, running a hoof along the box.
“Yep! There's just one condition. You have to make good use of 'em, alrighty?” Time Turner smiled warmly. “I have to go now, Twilight. But I'll see you later. Good bye for now!”
Twilight waved him off and then levitated the pencils over to a comfortable spot on the ground, putting pencil to paper. She began to sketch out the form of a long corridor, with the beginnings of a small pony leaning against the wall with a tired face. As she continued to sketch, her mind relaxed and she got comfortable.
“Twilight, wake up!” a voice shouted from atop her. It was laced with panic. Twilight slowly opened her eyes. “Up! Up! Please, now!” She focused her eyes, a brown stallion above her. She peered around at her surroundings.
Twilight groaned softly, her back aching. “Time Turner, what's wrong...?” She asked, pushing herself to her hooves.
“there's a scout team heading this way! We have to go right now.” Time Turner turned around, looking towards the hideout not too far from where they were. “You fell asleep outside yesterday and we didn't think to take you inside, but now we have to move before they get here!” Time Turner took off, Twilight wearily following behind him.
She was slowly connecting the dots in her head, working out where she was and what was happening. It was such an abrupt awakening that she was still half asleep, which made recalling last night's events very difficult. Everything was clear about the day, she had been taken to a complex with the most amazing ponies, learnt magic, met new friends, and then she.. she... what had she been doing before she fell asleep? Twilight's running had alerted her of a weight upon her back, the saddlebags she brought yesterday bouncing up and down on her back.
“I fell asleep while drawing?!” She asked aloud to no one in particular as Time Turner slowed and felt around the ground with a hoof. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“I am” TT started, pressing down on a certain patch of grass with a click. “Locating the back door.” a low humming sounded as something raised the ground up a few meters in front of them. The grass above the rising platform seemed to fall upon it like carpet, meaning once it lowered the ground would look the same as before. Twilight noted that it was not just a platform, rather a small room that had elevated. It was completely metal and very small with one inconspicuous door in the front. The door swung open and Time Turner scooted inside, motioning for Twilight to follow. It was pitch black, but Twilight was being led down a flight of stairs. After half a minute or so the room sank back into the ground, covering the entrance to the staircase. Looking ahead Twilight saw light at the end of the winding tunnel.
The floor flattened out into a long hallway. Time Turner slowed down and took to a speedy trot, not looking behind him. Twilight followed along, still slightly dazed from the experience with her heart pounding. She felt rather dizzy and stopped to lean against the wall. The earth pony in front's ears twitched at the subtraction of one set of hoofsteps. He spun to look over at his companion.
“Miss Twilight?” He asked, trotting back towards Twilight.
Twilight's head was spinning and she felt nauseous. She had originally thought it came from her elevated heartbeat, but she felt much worse than she should have. She shut her eyes tightly and paid special attention to her breathing.
“Twilight, are you feeling alright?” TT put a hoof on her shoulder, hoping to catch her attention. The mare didn't answer, sliding down the wall as she fell asleep.
It would be more trouble than it was worth to try and carry the mare back to the main complex alone, so Time Turner opted to run off and find a certain unicorn to lend him a hand. He arranged Twilight's saddlebags under her head for comfort and spun around, taking off in search of Trixie. The tunnel stretched forward for a few more minutes, leaving Time Turner to his thoughts. Time Turner tended to be a very active stallion, never wanting to be left by himself for large stretches of time because he preferred the excitement of conversation. So strong was his affliction for loneliness that he often chose to sleep in the cafeteria instead of in his own room. Applejack tended to his dinner and breakfast those nights out of gratitude for all the work he did for the colony.
The familiar feeling of doubt rose in Time Turners head as he cantered forth, thoughts flooding his mind. What if they saw me?What is a scout team doing out here anyway? What if they noticed twilight was gone?
The stallion shook his head briskly and resorted to focusing on the sound of his hoofsteps instead. The rhythmic hoof fall kept him occupied as he turned a corner and entered a door. Through the door the rooms were brightly lit as he found himself in the centre of the colony. Lyra spotted him and trotted up to him, a smile on her face.
“Hello! What's going on, TT? You seem tired out.”
Time Turner grimaced slightly and looked to the left of the unicorn. “Looking for Trixie, that's all. The new mare seems to have used up a lot of energy this past day.”
Lyra's face turned to one of concern. “Is she doing okay? Where is she?”
“Down the hall, just from the entrance. I had to fetch her from outside. I'm locking up the colony for the next day or two.”
Lyra nodded and turned in the other direction. “I'll go get some water for her then bring her back down. No need to worry, leave her to me.”
TT smiled, relieved. “Wonderful, I can always count on you.”
Time Turner spun around and took off in the direction of his room.
