Rainbow Dash felt the cloud she had been resting on give way, and darkness enveloped her. She fell within a void, losing notion of which way was up or down.
She felt something hard hit her back. The darkness gave way, replaced by blinding light. Still dizzy, she closed her eyes and used her flying practice to recover her bearings.
She could now feel that she was on her back, on a hard floor, wings spread by her side. Not dizzy anymore, she opened her eyes, and rolled into a standing position.
She flexed her wings, first one, then the other, checking for damage. They did not seem to be hurt. Satisfied that she would not be bound to a hospital bed again, she finally looked around.
“What is this place?”
She was near the middle of a very large plaza. In the distance, she could see some kind of buildings around the plaza. It sort of reminded her of the Crystal Empire, with its shiny buildings and hard floor. But the buildings here were larger and more spaced.
Rainbow Dash took off vertically, to look around from a better vantage point.
“Okay, there is large, there is huge, and there is excessively, ridiculously huge.”
The few ponies walking or flying around were like small dots in the distance. Each of the buildings looked so big, that they could fit a mountain within each one, with space to spare.
Other than the buildings, and a few smaller constructions, there seemed to be nothing else. No uncovered ground. No trees. No clouds. And not even the sun—everything was covered by a single immense dome, which radiated a bright light.
One of the flying ponies attracted Rainbow Dash's attention. Instead of flying normally, that pegasus was performing aerial tricks. Rainbow Dash flew closer, to take a better look.
The yellow pegasus had as her cutie mark a rainbow over a cloud. She was in the middle of a complicated sequence of spins and loops, which she executed flawlessly.
“Nice moves, kid.”
“Thanks! I am trying to become as awesome as my idol!”
She stopped upside down at the top of a tight loop, flipped back to normal orientation, and looked at Rainbow Dash with a large smile.
“Your idol?”
“Yes, my idol, Rainbow Dash! She flew with the Wonderbolts hundreds of years ago, when they were at their top, and saved all of Equestria several times! You must be a huge fan of her too, you look just like her! My name is Rainbow Wing, what is yours?”
“Er... I am also called Rainbow Dash, nice to meet you.”
“Wow, your family must really love Rainbow Dash too! My parents gave me my name as a homage to her, but they gave you her full name!”
“Er... Yeah...”
“Want to fly with me for a while?”
-*-*-*-
Both mares flew high and fast above the strange city, at times switching to aerial tricks before resuming normal flight. Rainbow Wing showed herself to be a really good flyer, effortlessly doing complex maneuvers without warning, but Rainbow Dash did not have any difficulty following her. Neither pegasus talked, both focused on their flight.
No matter how long they flew, the scenery never changed. There were only the gigantic buildings, separated by vast expanses of hard floor, with a few smaller constructions. A few ponies walking or flying around. And nothing else. The only variations were small differences on the shape of the big buildings.
Rainbow Dash took care to not show off. She could do maneuvers harder than these, if she wanted to. But it was clear something was going on, and it would be better to not call too much attention to herself.
Rainbow Wing slowed down.
“Hey Rainbow Dash, I am getting thirsty! Want to get a drink?”
“Sure.”
Rainbow Wing entered into a downwards glide, followed closely by Rainbow Dash. They landed on a large plaza, next to a small construction. Rainbow Wing touched something on the side of the construction, and it dispensed two cans of cold beverage.
“You are a really good flyer, Rainbow Dash! Not every pony can keep up with me easily, and you did it without any effort!”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Want to see my Rainbow Dash memorabilia? My home is not far from here, and I think my collection is the best one that there is! I have things you could not find even in the best Rainbow Dash museum!”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Follow me!”
Rainbow Wing took off, followed by Rainbow Dash. They flew high, towards a small opening on the side of one of the buildings. As they came closer to it, what looked like a small opening revealed itself as a large semicircular tunnel, wide enough to be able to give passage even to an adult dragon.
At the end of the tunnel, Rainbow Dash found herself flying within an immense atrium, which ran the whole height of the building. The walls were dotted with platforms, windows and balconies, of many different shapes. Natural-looking light flooded from the high ceiling, and the building itself also glowed softly. Thousands of ponies could be seen, either flying in the large open space, or standing on the balconies. And hundreds of floors below, the ground was covered by a large forest.
Rainbow Wing led Rainbow Dash towards one of the balconies, where they landed. Behind the balcony, there was a single room, large enough to fly comfortably around, and covered with all sorts of decorations, most of them Wonderbolts posters or pictures of Rainbow Dash. A small cloud was tied to a corner.
Rainbow Wing went towards an old wooden cabinet, and started digging into its drawers.
“Look! A commemorative coin of 100 years since Rainbow Dash saved Equestria! Only twenty were made, and I have one of them!”
“A signed ticket to her first show with the Wonderbolts!”
Rainbow Dash, however, was more interested on a small picture frame which was on top of the cabinet.
“You like that picture? It is my ancestor together with Rainbow Dash, signed by the hero herself!”
The picture showed Rainbow Dash, together with Scootaloo.
-*-*-*-
After seeing one too many commemorative items about Rainbow Dash saving Equestria, she decided to risk asking a question.
“You know a lot about Rainbow Dash. Could you tell me the story of her saving Equestria? I am sure you will tell it better than any history book!”
“Sure! It all started on a sunny day at Ponyville...”
The stories went on for a while.
There were some Rainbow Dash already knew, like their defeat of Nightmare Moon, Discord, and many other villains. There were some Rainbow Dash did not know, about their defeat of villains Rainbow Dash had never met. But the last one was different.
From what Rainbow Wing told, she was already one of the Wonderbolts at that time. Scootaloo was her pupil. During one of their presentations, some sort of generic villain came out of nowhere, similar to several she and her friends had fought many times before. Equestria was on the brink of disaster, as usual, and they used the Elements of Harmony again to save the day.
The Elements of Harmony did not work.
Reality was cracking everywhere, and time was running out. Equestria was about to be destroyed, if it were not for Rainbow Dash. Asking her friends to use the Elements one last time, she dove into the dark portal the villain was holding open, doing a Sonic Rainboom at the last moment. The combination of the Sonic Rainboom and the Elements of Harmony was able to break the portal, killing the villain and saving Equestria.
Rainbow Dash did not survive.
-*-*-*-
Rainbow Dash was not feeling well. This was not like the dizzyness she felt when arriving at this strange place. This was worse. Rainbow Dash liked to hear about her moments of glory. But she was not prepared to learn about her own death.
She had to find Twilight. The brainy unicorn would be the only one who could find a way to prevent her death. And her other friends—she was sure they were here too. She had to find them.
“Sorry kid, I have to go. I have to look for my friends.”
“Think, Fluttershy. I was at home, feeding the animals. Then that light hit me, and now I am here. What strange trees are these!”
Fluttershy looked at the sky, but she did not see the sky. Instead, what she saw were endless walls encircling the forest. A distant ceiling glowed with bright light. In the distance, creatures that looked like pegasi flew, entering and exiting through gaps on the walls.
Fluttershy started walking cautiously. Strange critters walked around, examining her from a distance. They seemed cautious, but not afraid.
Except for one. A large critter was trying to hide from her, and seemed to be scared. Fluttershy approached it slowly, and noticed that it had large, beautiful butterfly wings.
It was a pony with butterfly wings.
“Don't be scared, I will not hurt you.”
The earth-colored pony with butterfly wings and a butterfly cutie mark retreated a few steps, looking scared. Several of the forest's animals circled her, ready to defend her.
“Do not worry little ones, I will not do any harm to her.”
A few of the animals approached Fluttershy cautiously.
It did not take long for Fluttershy to earn the trust of all these animals. That left only the scared pony in front of her.
“Y-you like animals too?”
“Yes, I do. I take care of many animals, so I know how to calm them. It is you who takes care of these animals here, isn't it? I could notice by the way they wanted to protect you.”
The brown pony nodded.
“My name is Fluttershy. What is your name?”
“I-I am Butter.”
A few of the animals pushed Butter forward, so she would get a bit closer to Fluttershy. After a few moments, she stopped resisting and let herself get near the yellow pegasus.
“N-not many ponies come here.”
“I don't know how I came here. I was at Ponyville, taking care of my animals, when a light hit me, and when I noticed I was here.”
Butter seemed interested.
“T-these animals of yours, how are they?”
Fluttershy described her animals, telling stories of her bunnies, squirrels, ferrets, mice, birds, and many others. Butter told stories about her animals too. It did not take long before both were talking like long lost friends.
-*-*-*-
They talked for hours. Finally, Fluttershy gathered courage to ask the question which had been on her mind since she first met Butter.
“Your wings.”
“Uh?”
“I never saw a pony with wings like yours. I mean, I saw one once, but they were temporary, magical wings.”
“These are permanent. But they are not my original wings.”
“What happened to your original wings?”
“I was born a pegasus with deformed wings. I was told I would never be able to fly. No pony ever said it to me directly, but I felt they considered me as a freak. A pegasus who could not fly. I never felt comfortable around other ponies, because of my wings.
“Then one day, I decided to try. I went to a high place, and jumped. But my wings could not hold my weight, and I fell.
“I do not know how I did not die. I think my deformed wings felt bad about how useless they were, and saved me. They hit the ground instead of me.
“They broke completely.
“The Administrator herself took pity of me, removed my wings, and replaced them with these new wings.”
To demonstrate, Butter started flapping her wings, and hovered briefly over the ground. The ambient light filtered through the delicate structure of her butterfly wings, projecting an intricate pattern of colors.
“They are a bit delicate, so I cannot fly fast, and they are very sensitive. But I like them.”
“They are beautiful.”
“Yes, they are.”
-*-*-*-
A multicolored streak fell from the sky, stopping right next to the pair of pegasi. Butter quickly flew behind a tree to hide.
“There you are, Fluttershy. We have to go. Now.”
Butter peeked from behind the tree. Rainbow Dash looked at her, who quickly hid again.
“I am sorry, Butter, but I have to go. I do not know if we will meet again, but it was very nice to know you.”
“G-goodbye.”
“Goodbye!”
Both pegasi took off, leaving the butterfly-winged pony behind.
Pinkie Pie had found herself in the middle of a very large circular room. Its clean, smooth walls curved to become a single domed ceiling, high enough to allow pegasi to hover comfortably. A mirror ball hung from the middle of the ceiling, reflecting the light which emanated directly from the walls and ceiling. Several large desks, all covered with festive patterns, were spread around. But the most striking feature was that the walls were almost completely covered with balloons, of all shapes and colors.
A blue unicorn appeared out of nowhere right behind Pinkie Pie.
“Hi!”
“Hi!” answered Pinkie Pie, turning to face the newcomer.
“I do not remember seeing you here before. I am Happy Party, nice to meet you!”
“Well, I do not remember seeing you too. But I do not remember being here too, so maybe that is the reason. My name is Pinkie Pie, nice to meet you too!”
“Pinkie...”
“Are you preparing a party here? Because I see the decorations, and the ballons are new, but the desks are empty, and there is no food, perhaps that is why the desks are empty, and your cutie mark is just like mine, so you must love parties too!”
“My cutie mark has just two balloons. Yours has three.”
“And that is no reason for overdoing the balloons. Because a party has to have balloons, but if the guests see only balloons, they will get tired of them, and that is bad, because the balloons are there to make the guests happy, but if they get tired of the balloons, they will get tired, not happy.”
Happy Party hung her head slightly.
“Come on, smile! Nopony gets it right all the time. Did I tell you already the time I overdid the food? Of course not, we just met!”
Happy Party smiled weakly.
“There, that is better. If you are down, the party will be down, and that cannot happen! A party is to make everypony happy, and everypony cannot be happy if anypony is sad!”
Happy Party smiled more broadly.
“Hey, look, food!”
Pinkie Pie bounced towards the several ponies who were entering the hall carrying sweets. Happy Party followed her after a pause.
-*-*-*-
“There, that is better.”
Happy Party took a glance at the bouncing party pony to her side, and looked back at the walls. Half the balloons had been replaced by all sorts of colored ribbons, and a few banners.
“I have to agree with you.”
Happy Party looked happier.
“I can't wait for everypony to get here!”
Before Happy Party could answer, somepony called from the other side of the hall. “Happy?”
Pinkie Pie looked at her side, but Happy Party was not there anymore. Pinkie found her on the other side of the room, and bounced there to hear what they were talking about.
“I am sorry, Happy, but the Administrator said that she might not be able to come to your party tonight. Something urgent came up, and she had to look into it. She asked me to tell you.”
Happy Party looked disappointed for a slight instant, but quickly hid it with a smile.
“It is all right. I am sure she will come the next time!”
The messenger left without another word.
“I am sure she will come. She loves my parties. She comes every time. She will come.”
Pinkie Pie looked at her worriedly. Suddenly, she had an idea.
“I know! If this friend of yours cannot come, I will bring my friends instead! Then we can all party together!”
Happy Party's eyes brightened for an instant.
“Will you do that for me?”
“Of course! Just wait here, and I will come back with them! Pinkie promise!”
Rarity looked around. Right next to her, there was a large and tall wall, made of some sort of crystal that she could not identify. The floor was made of the same material. On the distance, she could see several strange buildings, which also appeared to be made of crystal. And on the sky, there was nothing—not even the sun, even though she could tell by the light that it was daytime.
“Oh Rarity, what are you going to do? You have to finish that dress today! And you have no idea where you are! Alone, in this beautiful shiny city!”
Rarity started walking around.
“I do not know why, but I am sure this is Twilight's fault! I must find that pony and tell her to be more careful with her magic experiments. At least when other ponies have deadlines to meet! And, of course, I have to ask her to take me back to Ponyville.”
A few minutes passed. Rarity could see a few ponies flying around, but they were too far to see her. The place was deserted.
Rarity noticed a pegasus walking out of an opening on the wall, and quickened her pace to meet the pegasus before she flew away.
“Excuse me.”
Rarity noticed that the pegasus was wearing an interesting dress. It was a simple dress, but it was dyed in an elegant pattern with several shades of white and blue, matching the white coat and blue mane of its wearer. The dyes seemed to shift, as if by some sort of optical illusion.
The pegasus turned to face Rarity. Her deep black eyes gazed at Rarity, as if they were able to look into her soul.
“I am not from around here, and I think I am lost. I need to find a friend of mine, but I do not know where to look. Could you help me? By the way, that is an interesting dress you are wearing.”
The pegasus smiled lightly.
“Do you like this dress? I made it myself.”
“Why yes, such an elegant composition! I love the way it matches your colors. And the dyes you used, I have never seen anything like that. It is almost like the patterns are moving!”
“I can see you have a good eye for clothing.”
“I also design clothing. But one does not need to have a good eye for clothing to notice how pretty your dress is.”
“Thanks.”
“By the way, my name is Rarity.”
“Rarity. What an interesting name. My name is Sweet Light.”
“Interesting?”
“Oh, it is nothing. So you need help to find a friend of yours?”
“Well, yes. She is a lavender unicorn, with a star for a cutie mark. Have you seen her around here?”
“No, I haven't. But I know a pony who can help.”
She paused for a second.
“Do you want to see my studio? It is not far from here. I can call the pony who can help you from there.”
“Yes, please.”
“Follow me then.”
-*-*-*-
Sweet Light returned to the passage on the wall, followed by Rarity. After a few short corridors, they entered a small room. The far wall of the room was transparent, allowing Rarity to see the exterior.
Sweet Light touched the wall near the entrance of the room, and part of the wall slid sideways, closing the entrance. The entire room silently moved upwards, giving Rarity a better view of the scenery.
Sweet Light moved near Rarity, who fixated the sight of the city.
“Not used to this?”
Rarity could now better understand the scale of the place. She could see the few ponies who were outside as small moving dots. Next to them, the buildings were massive, and Rarity understood that they were inside one of these buildings.
After a few minutes, the moving room slowed down and stopped. The back wall opened again to reveal the exit to the room. Rarity could not be sure due to the complete lack of clouds, but they would now be above the highest of them. What she thought was the sky was instead a glowing dome of light.
They entered a large corridor. The pegasus was no longer walking; she was flying slowly, checking how the dress reacted to her movements. Rarity could glance her cutie mark, which was a pair of sewing needles, each tailed by a short segment of thread.
A short distance later, they arrived at Sweet Light's studio.
It was a large and very organized room. The far wall was transparent, like the wall on the moving room. One of the other walls had many shelves, stocked with all kinds of fabric, thread, and other sewing implements. The opposite wall had a couple of doors, leading to other rooms. Several cushions and an oval low desk were arranged on the partially carpeted floor.
“Make yourself at home. I will be back in a minute,” said Sweet Light, entering one of the side rooms.
She soon returned, carrying a few items.
“Unfortunately, I could not contact the Administrator. I am sorry.”
“If you forgive me, who is this 'Administrator'?”
Sweet Light gave Rarity an odd look.
“She is the one who made this whole city. She protects us, and we owe everything to her.”
“She sounds like a nice pony.”
“She is more than that. Everypony learns, since they are a small filly, that the Administrator has been watching over Equestria City for hundreds of years. She makes sure no harm will come to any of us. She works, tirelessly, for the peace that we have.”
Rarity noticed that she should not have asked about that. She quickly decided to change the subject.
“What it is that you brought here? What an odd piece of fabric.”
Rarity levitated the small piece of white fabric, no larger than a small headscarf.
Sweet Light smiled.
“Put it back on the desk and let me show you a trick.”
Rarity deposited the fabric back on the desk. Sweet Light touched it lightly with her forehoof. As if by magic, patterns of color formed and moved over the fabric. And at the same time, the patterns on the dress she was still wearing shifted and changed color.
“AMAZING!”
“You can try it too. Just touch it and think about the pattern you want. It does not need unicorn magic, you just have to know that it works.”
Rarity tried it. It took her no more than a few seconds to make complex patterns on the piece of fabric.
“This is fun!”
“You can keep it. It is a leftover from this dress which I made for a friend. I can get more later.”
“Many thanks! And what is this other thing that you brought here?”
It was a black retangular slab of metal, with rounded corners.
“This can be used for many things. One of these things is to view photos. Let me show you a picture of one of my ancestors.”
Sweet Light touched the bottom of the object. Symbols formed and moved over the object, finally being replaced by a single picture of a pony.
The picture showed Sweetie Belle.
-*-*-*-
Rarity's reaction had given her away. She managed to hide it, but not quickly enough, and she had noticed Sweet Light was very perceptive. It was obvious that she had chosen that picture on purpose.
During the uncomfortable moment of silence that followed, Rarity noticed a familiar multicolored streak on the sky.
“Oh, look! My friends are looking for me. It was such a pleasure to meet you, but I really really have to go now.”
Rarity walked towards the door. Then she remembered something and paused.
“By the way, how do you make that moving room work?”
“Ouch! What the hay is going on? I bet this is Twilight's fault again.”
She looked around.
“I guess I am not in Ponyville anymore. Reminds me of the Crystal Empire, but I cannot see the castle.”
She could see just a few ponies around. One of them caught her attention. Not because of the pony's appearance—the pony was just a normal red-maned orange-colored earth pony, with three seeds as her cutie mark—but because she was pulling an empty rustic wooden cart. Wood looked out of place next to the walls and floor of this place.
Applejack walked towards the earth pony.
“Howdy!”
The earth pony looked at her.
“My name's Applejack, and I couldn't help noticing the cart you are pulling.”
“You can laugh if you want. I think I am the only old-fashioned pony who still uses one of these.”
“Why would I laugh? I think it is nice.”
“Thanks. My name's Apple Seed, by the way.”
“Where are you going to?”
“I just delivered a load of sweets to Happy's latest big party, and am going back to my home at Ponyville District.”
“Ponyville District?”
“Yeah, it is an old preserved historic town. Which means that we are basically moving displays for the tourists. The Administrator says that it is a way of not losing our memory of the days of the past, but I think she is the only one who sees it that way.”
“The Administrator?”
“Who doesn't know her? She is the one who paved over all nature with these tall buldings of crystal and glass. She says it is for our protection, but sometimes I wonder if she just does not like trees.
“In the past, all this place was forests. Rivers. Mountains. But now we can see them only in the history books, except for the few pieces that she preserved within these buildings.”
They moved towards a large opening on the nearest building, while Apple Seed continued talking.
“You know, some ponies say that we should not say ill of the Administrator, and that anypony who says anything bad of her will disappear. I say that is a load of manure. I have been badmouthing her for years, even in front of her, and nothing has happened to me.”
They emerged from the passage. They were now stepping on grass, instead of the solid floor outside. Surrounded by the inner wall of the building, Applejack could see Ponyville.
-*-*-*-
It was Ponyville as Applejack knew it, with only a few differences. A few of the houses were missing, and there were some new houses. Her friends' homes looked the same. She could not see Fluttershy's cottage from where she was, but she could see Rainbow Dash's cloud home. And in the distance, an apple orchard was visible.
They went through the middle of the town. While the place was mostly unchanged, the same could not be said of its inhabitants. There was nopony Applejack could recognize.
Sweet Apple Acres also looked the same. Other than the normal changes with the seasons, not much had changed. The barn was new, but given how often they rebuilt their barns, that was no surprise.
Apple Seed left the cart outdoors and invited Applejack to her house.
Not much had changed within the house too. There were a few new pieces of furniture, and the walls were covered in portraits.
“These are my ancestors and their families. There are more, but they would not fit in the walls.”
Applejack examined the portraits. There were many that she did not recognize, but she soon found Granny Smith. Next to Granny Smith's portrait was one of Applejack's parents. And next to that one, Apple Bloom.
-*-*-*-
“Listen, sugarcube, I have to tell you something.”
Apple Seed looked at her.
“I am not one of those fancy magic-using unicorns, so I cannot explain how it works, but I am from the past. I am Apple Bloom's older sister.” Applejack pointed at the portrait.
Apple Seed stared at Applejack for a second. Then she dived towards a nearby drawer, and pulled an old photo album. She quickly flipped through the pages, stared at one of them, and stared again at Applejack.
“So that's why you had not heard of the Administrator?”
“Exactly. Who is this Administrator, after all?”
“She is the most powerful unicorn in Equestria City. As far as anypony knows, she is immortal. The history books say that she defeated many powerful enemies, and that she created Equestria City to protect us from them.”
“Equestria City being this city of crystal.”
“Back in the day, it was called only Equestria. When it was paved over, its name changed, because now it is all a single large city. A city where there are only a few places where you can stand on real ground.”
“I noticed.”
“It is the same for pegasi. Have you seen how few clouds are there?”
“I only saw one. Rainbow Dash's home.”
“That one does not count, it is a museum. I think only unicorns felt no difference, since they were already used to living in their urban cities.
“It has been so long, that most ponies do not know what it is to be in contact with nature. I only know because my family kept the traditions. Not all of them, unfortunately, since the nearby forest was destroyed long ago.
“Perhaps this is why the Administrator sometimes comes to visit this house. She is old enough to still know the importance of nature. Even if she denies that importance to others.”
There was a knock on the door. And another one. And another.
“Coming!”
Applejack opened the door. Pinkie Pie knocked on her face.
“Pinkie?”
“Hey girls, I knew I would find her here! Look!”
“Applejack. We have to go. Now.”
“Are they your friends?”
“Yeah, they must have come from the past with me. Sorry, sugarcube, but I guess this is goodbye. It was nice to meet you.”
“It is always nice to meet somepony else from my family. Goodbye!”
“It should be a simple remote spatial displacement spell. It should not work like this. It should not teleport me. It should not teleport anypony else! And now I don't even know where I am. Or when I am. Or who else I teleported with me.”
She was quickly working herself into a panic.
“I have to find them before anything bad happens. I think I saw Rainbow Dash falling through the spell. Let's see, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack... Just great, I got all my friends involved in this mess.”
Another unicorn approached her from behind. “Excuse me.”
Twilight jumped and turned to where the voice came from. The one who spoke was a white unicorn with pink mane and a sunflower cutie mark, wearing a black collar.
“It would be better for you to hide quickly, before you are found out.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Use of unregistered magic is illegal. Especially one as powerful as the one you just used.”
“Okay, something bad already happened,” thought Twilight. “Calm down, Twilight, do not panic. You have to find a way to get out of this mess and save your friends.”
“Come with me. I know some hidden ways out of here. With enough luck, we will be far enough from here before she arrives.”
She led Twilight to the nearest wall and touched it. Without making any noise, a small section of the wall slid downwards, revealing a sloping unlit tunnel. Both unicorns entered, and the wall restored itself behind them.
Twilight lit her horn to provide some light, and both walked carefully downwards.
“This is a maintenance tunnel. There is a large network of them below this city. This place needs so little maintenance, that most ponies forget these tunnels exist.”
“Thanks, er...”
“You can call me Sunny.”
“I am Twilight Sparkle. Excuse me, Sunny, but where are we, or better, when are we?”
“I see, so the spell you used was a time displacement spell.”
“It was not supposed to be a time displacement spell! It was supposed to be a simple remote spatial displacement spell! I know space and time are related, but the spell should not have worked that way!”
“You are probably from the past, to not know how dangerous it would be to end up here.”
“To make things worse, I think I accidentally dragged my friends here with that spell! I have to find them before it is too late!”
“We will be lucky enough if we manage to escape from her. Worry about your friends later.”
“Who are we running from after all?”
“The Administrator. The pony who rules over Equestria City with an iron hoof.”
“Equestria... City?”
“Yes. In the distant past, Equestria was a place of magic and harmony. Then the Administrator came. She took over everything.
“Nowadays, most ponies accept her rule. They know of nothing else. It has been that way since before they were born, since before their parents were born, since before their grandparents were born.
“They say that she is a fair ruler, and that is true... As long as you do not oppose her.
“Of those who oppose her, some disappear, never to be seen again. Some come back changed, accepting her rule unconditionally. And to a small few of them, for some reason, she gives another chance.”
Sunny stopped walking.
“You know, Twilight Sparkle, I am one of these few. Some time ago, I went against her, and lost. She let me go, with one condition. This amulet I am now forced to wear blocks almost all of my magic.”
She resumed walking, now silent.
They entered another section of the tunnel network. The tunnel they were in now was parallel to a larger tunnel, and separated from it by a transparent wall. A long vehicle passed by at high speed within the larger tunnel.
Sunny resumed her explanations.
“There are some things that you have to know, Twilight Sparkle. Most ponies would not be able to oppose her, even if they wanted to.”
“Why?”
“Almost all ponies born in Equestria City receive an injection while they are still little fillies. That injection contains nanomachines.”
“Nanomachines?”
“Yes, microscopic machinery powered by magic. Most ponies believe that they work to keep the ponies healthy. That is true. The nanomachines prevent disease, and can even heal small wounds.
“However, these nanomachines also have other functions that very few ponies know about. For instance, they can detect the use of magic by a unicorn, notifying the Administrator whenever a large amount of magical power is used, or whenever an uncommon spell is cast. And they also can prevent the unicorn from using magic, if the Administrator so desires.
“That is how the Administrator finds out about the use of unregistered magic. Every unicorn who wants to use uncommon magic spells has to register them. If they do not, the Administrator will know when the spell is used, and she will be able to block the use of that spell.”
“But I came from the past! I do not have these nanomachines!”
“Yes, and that is why the Administrator will be after you. You are a pony who can use very powerful magic, and a pony she cannot control. You are a risk to her rule.”
“But I just want to go home!”
“And I hope you manage to do so, before the Administrator finds you.”
-*-*-*-
They were now in an ascending tunnel. At its end, Sunny touched the wall, which opened to the outside. They exited from the wall of a small construction, right next to the massive wall of a tall crystal bulding. Sunny walked towards a large opening on the wall of the building, followed by Twilight.
The opening closed itself, before either unicorn could get near it.
Several black winged oblate spheroids appeared from either side of the wall. A few more appeared behind them.
They were surrounded.
The bottom of the largest of the flying objects opened. A ramp extended from it towards the ground.
Sunny stepped between Twilight and the ramp.
A unicorn descended the ramp. Her eyes were completely covered by a pair of round metallic glasses. She had an indigo mane with purple and pink streaks over a lavender body, and her cutie mark was a star. “That is the Administrator,” whispered Sunny.
The Administrator spoke to Sunny.
“Which pathetic plan of yours will I have to stop today, Celestia?”
“Sunny” gave the Administrator a hard look. “I will not let you hurt my student!” Her cutie mark changed, and her body began to grow. Blue lines flowed from her collar over all of whole body, before centering on her sides, where her wings started to painfully emerge.
The Administrator was amused by the situation.
“I see, so this is that time when I accidentally teleported myself and my friends to the future. Relax, Celestia, I will not do anything bad to myself.”
They exchanged a look.
“I promise. I remember what I will do.”
Celestia relaxed. Her body regained its previous size and cutie mark, and reabsorbed her wings.
Suddenly, a multicolored streak dropped from the sky.
“There you are, Twilight. We have to... Two Twilights?”
The rest of her friends soon arrived, while the black flying vehicles silently left.
Pinkie Pie bounced around the group. “Now we can go to the party!”
“Pinkie, there is no time for a party!”
“Actually, Rainbow Dash, there is,” interrupted the Administrator. “I will answer your questions there, and after it is finished I will take you all back to your time.”
“Yay! Party! Party! Party!”
“I thought I would miss it. I really like these parties. You are invited too, Celestia.”
“CELESTIA?” shouted Twilight's friends in unison.
“It is a long story, I will tell it at the party. I think it has already started. Could you lead them there, Celestia? I have to prepare a few things.”
-*-*-*-
Celestia led the group, through well-lit passages, to an underground station. Many other ponies were already waiting there. Soon, a long vehicle arrived behind a transparent wall, and doors opened between it and the station.
They entered the vehicle, which closed its doors and left. Within it, the time-traveling ponies shared what had happened to them since they arrived in this future.
They exited at another station, where a ramp led directly to the party hall.
The place was full of ponies, who were chatting, dancing, and eating.
“The Administrator told me that you all were coming. Welcome to the party, Rarity. So I was right about you.”
Before Rarity could answer, Rainbow Wing glided towards the group.
“I can't believe that I flew with the real Rainbow Dash! Come here, Butter! She is not scary at all!”
“H-hi.”
“What a beautiful dress, Butter. It really matches your wings,” said Fluttershy.
“One of my friends made it for me. It can change its colors, like my wings.”
“Your wings can change their color?” asked Fluttershy.
“And she only uses it to hide better from other ponies,” snarked Apple Seed.
“You did it, Pinkie!” exclaimed Happy Party, appearing out of nowhere with a wide smile. “You brought everyone here, and the Administrator told Sweet Light that she is coming too!”
“Let's party!” shouted Pinkie Pie and Happy Party at the same time.
-*-*-*-
A low murmur announced the arrival of the Administrator.
She greeted many of the partygoers, adressing each one by name, slowly making way to the desk where Celestia was seated. It was in what Happy called the “quiet corner” of the hall, where the music volume was lower and the lighting calmer.
“Enjoying the party?”
Celestia did not answer. The Administrator seated herself at the desk.
“I asked Happy Party to leave us alone with my past self and my past friends. We have a lot to talk.”
The ponies from the past soon arrived at the desk and seated themselves. After they all were comfortable, the Administrator started the story that she had promised to tell.
“You know how, back in the day, it seemed like every month there was a new threat to Equestria. Every time we had to fight, and every time we defeated it.
“That went on, until one of my best friends had to sacrifice herself. She gave her life for all of Equestria.
“It was then that I decided that this had gone on for far too long. That instead of waiting for every new threat, instead of reacting only when it was almost too late, I should be more proactive. That I should go after anything which could menace the ponies of Equestria, and deal with it before it became a risk.
“Some sacrifices had to be made. Sometimes things only got worse. But I persevered. One by one, I dealt with problems before they happened. I disrupted, drained, or controlled every magical phenomena which could pose a danger to our lives. I killed, imprisioned, or neutralized any being which could attempt to undo the peace I was working for.
“And it worked.”
-*-*-*-
The six time-traveling friends were speechless. She had created a peaceful utopia, but at what cost?
After a long moment of silence, Celestia spoke.
“And of course, your first victim was the mentor you admired.”
“I had no choice. I knew you would try to stop me as soon as you knew what I would do. It was the hardest thing for me to go against you. But I had to.”
“And Luna?” asked Twilight.
“She was her second victim.”
“I made a deal with Celestia. She could live as a normal unicorn in the society I created, with most of her power sealed. But Luna never accepted that deal. If I ever released her, she would try to destroy everything that I worked to create. So I have to keep her imprisioned. Celestia visits her often.”
“This friend who sacrificed herself, it was me, wasn't it? Can't you do anything to avoid it? Go into the past and fix it?”
“I thought about that a lot. Setting aside the fact that none of the spells I could find allows the past to be changed, I made several simulations. On all of these simulations, saving you only makes things much worse. Without your death, I would not be as proactive in hunting threats to Equestria. Some of these threats, if not dealt with very early, would cause an untold amount of death and suffering.
“In the end, I had to resign myself to accepting your death. You cannot fight fate.”
-*-*-*-
The party was ending. The place was now almost empty.
The Administrator called Rainbow Wing, Butter, Happy Party, Sweet Light, and Apple Seed to say goodbye to their distant relatives.
“It is time to take you all back home. I already prepared most of the spell. Say goodbye to the ones you met here, and let's go.”
After the farewells, they went to a room in another building, where the Administrator had prepared the spell.
“Before sending you all back to your proper place in the time stream, I will erase your memories of this visit to your future. We have to make sure that your history is not damaged by any knowledge you might have acquired about what will happen in your lives.”
“But when we met, you mentioned that you remembered going to the future and meeting myself, I mean, yourself!”
“True, but I only remembered much later, after I had already been on my path for a long time, and long after all my remaining friends had fully lived their lives, happy in their ignorance of my schemes. Or, at least, as happy as they could be after their loss.”
She paused, and with a thought, released and removed her glasses, revealing at last her purple eyes, flickering with emotion.
“Even if you do not forgive me, I am really happy to have seen you all again. For all these hundreds of years, I have missed you all so much.”
She could not speak anymore. Slowly raising her special glasses back in front of her eyes, she silently started working the complex spells. Moving patterns of magical light filled the whole room. Before finishing the first spell, which would make her past self and friends forget all about their meeting, she almost inaudibly said a single word:
“Goodbye.”
-*-*-*-
At the very top of the tallest skyscraper in Equestria City, near the top of the dome, within a single large room with transparent walls occupying the whole floor, the Administrator was silently looking at her city. The cybernetic glasses, which she normally wore all the time, lay at her side.
Making as little noise as possible, Celestia entered the room and approached her former pupil.
“Having second thoughts?”
“Sometimes I wonder if that was really the only path open to me. Sometimes I wonder if there wasn't any other way. Sometimes I wonder... And then I lock these feelings away... but not today.”
Celestia sat down at her side. Neither spoke for a long time. Below them, millions of ponies went ahead with their peaceful and happy daily lives, blissfully unaware of any sadness or danger.
“Oh, and Celestia? Your attempt to put a magical compulsion into my younger self, to make her think it over and not do all the things I did, will have failed. A few months after returning to her present, she will have accidentally removed the compulsion, while trying to cure a headache caused by studying too much.”
The Administrator weakly smiled.
“I guess I foiled your plans again. It has been how many times so far? I think I lost count.”
“I had to try, you know.”
“Yes. I am happy that you are still here with me, even after all that I did. It seems that, somehow, I am still your faithful student.”