Twilight creates a bracelet that allows time travel. Hijinks ensue.
Twilight Sparkle decides to create a new form of time travel that can be used more than once. The time has come for experimentation. Who knows what the consequences could be for this invention.
On a calm and fairly sunny day in the small town of Ponyville, a certain purple alicorn in the basement/laboratory of the Golden Oakes library was concentrating all her mind on the enchantment she was placing on a small golden bracelet with a violet gem in the centre. Her purple drake assistant soon came down carrying a tray with buttered toast, oatmeal and orange juice.
“Uh… Twilight, what exactly are you doing with that bracelet?” The curious baby dragon asked.
“Spike, I already gave you a very detailed and articulated explanation several days ago about what I’d be doing this morning.” Twilight replied.
“No, you started giving me an overly complicated lecture that made me fall asleep after fifteen minutes. I woke up three hours later and you still weren’t finished!” Spike huffed.
“Oh, fine. I was doing research in the study of temporal and spacial transportation, as posited by…”
“In plain equish, Twilight.” Spike interrupted.
Twilight growled. “I was reading up on time travel, like what Star Swirl the Bearded wrote about.”
“Oh, why didn’t you just say that in in the first place? It would have saved you some time.”
Twilight’s left eye started to twitch before she continued. “Anyway, since Star Swirl’s time travel spell can only be used once, I decided to attempt to create a new method of time travel that could be used repeatedly.” A large grin started to cross Spike’s face.
“That does sound pretty cool, but wouldn’t it take years to create a spell like that from scratch?” Now Twilight was smiling proudly.
“Exactly, which is why I started by reverse engineering magical properties of the original spell to use as the basis of my prototype enchantment.”
“And what’s the bracelet for?” Spike asked while pointing at said bracelet.
“I decided that would be best to make an enchanted object to for my prototype. I set it up for multiple purposes such as magical energy efficiency…” Spike decided to stop her to prevent another coma-inducing lecture.
“Yeah yeah, but how would you get back to our time if something goes wrong?”
Twilight walked up to her number one assistant and gave him a comforting pat on the back. “Don’t worry Spike. I’ve built the bracelet to act as a tether to bring me back to when I left to within one second. I can return manually, and it’s set-up so that it would send me back if anything would imminently impact the wearer enough to cause serious injury, be it either magical or physical impact.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought of just about everything to keep yourself safe. So, when do plan on taking that thing for a test run?”
“In about two minutes. I just need to make some final preparations before I head to Canterlot several years in the past.” Twilight then peered into the page of a book she had left open.
“What?! B-but Twilight, wouldn’t the sudden appearance of a new alicorn out of nowhere in the middle of Canterlot impact on the timeline or something?” Spike asked while shaking nervously at the thought of would what could happen to both history and his big sister figure.
“Way ahead of you Spike, I’ve already come up with a disguise for this.” Twilight’s horn started glowing and Spike looked on the illusion being place before him. Twilight’s wings seemed to disappear as her coat became a pale green. Her eyes turned blue while her mane and tail became a fiery orange. The last change was that her cutie mark of multiple pink and white stars was replaced with the image of a ball of fire.
“Tada! Introducing Firecracker Burst, expert pyrotechnician. What do you think of how I look, Spike?” Spike stared slack-jawed for a moment before rapidly shaking his head.
“It looks pretty good for a recolor if you ask me, just be really careful Twilight. I don’t want to have something like you being your own grandmother to deal with.”
“I will Spike, I Pinkie Promise.” Twilight proceeded to perform several hoof gestures before jabbing her foreleg into her right eye. “Ugh… Every frickin’ time.” She slid the bracelet onto her right foreleg and held down on the gem, causing it start glowing brightly. After a few seconds, there was a bright flash and Twilight was gone.
In a secluded section of the Rosedust Memorial Park, a bright flash appeared for less than an instant, leaving behind the disguised and slightly disoriented alicorn. After giving her head a quick shake, Twilight managed to get her bearings. She remembered this place from all the times her and Shining Armor would play here when they were foals. “Alright, I’ve made it to Canterlot. So far, so good. Now I just need to find out today’s date.” Twilight headed toward the park’s exit. She was able to find a newspaper dispenser on the street near the exit. With a quick glance, she spotted the date. Upon reading the date, her eyes shrank slightly as she reeled back at her discovery. “I… I’m about thirty years in the past… I only meant to go back five! Okay Twilight… Deep breaths… Deep breaths…” After doing her breathing exercises and calming down, Twilight started to assess the situation. “Okay Twilight, don’t panic. Though you did overshoot how far back you wanted to go, the tether enchantment is still intact and able to take you back home any time. You are safe as can be in a time travel scenario. Since you’re not in any danger of being trapped in the past, you might as well explore and see what your home town was like long before you were born.” And with that, she set off.
Twilight started her journey by going down the familiar street and seeing how different things were. Several being were either smaller or painted radically differently. In place of one of her favourite restaurants was an empty building with a small sign in the window that read, “Coming soon: Joe’s Donuts”.
After fifteen minutes, she came across a store that held much more nostalgic value to her, so much that her eyes were practically glowing. The marquee read, “Night Light Book Binding House”.
“Wow, I didn’t know that Mom and Dad’s shop even existed back then… or should I say now? I’ve just got to check it out.” Twilight quickly galloped to the door, being careful enough to not tear it off its hinges as she entered. Upon entering, Twilight spotted many things. Rows upon rows of bookshelves filled to the brim along with racks filled with magazines, but what caught her eye the most was the young stallion standing at the register. His coat and mane were different shades of blue and his mane was spiked in a very odd style, but Twilight still easily recognised him.
It’s so… weird seeing Dad looking so young. I think he may even be younger than me at this point.
The blue stallion spotted and waved to her. “Welcome to the Night Light Book Binding House. I’m Night Light, how can I be of assistance?”
“Oh, hi. I… just arrived in Canterlot was wondering if you had a certain book.” Twilight said as she poorly tried to hide her nervousness.
“Well, you’ve come to the right place. All I need is a title and I can find it in the index I’ve got, miss…?”
“Oh, my name is Firecracker Burst. Do you have a copy Safe Spells of Shrinking by DawnChaser?”
“Give me a minute and I’ll see, Firecracker.” Night Light quickly flipped through index while Twilight glanced around. “Sorry, it doesn’t look like we have that one. But if you’re interested in advanced magic, we did just get some copies of Emerald Lamp’s Guide to Creative Constructs.”
“Aw shoot, I just remembered that I left all my bits at home. Sorry.”
“That’s okay. Hey, I’m about to go on lunch break soon. How about I show you some of the sights and get us both something to eat?”
“Hmm…” Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin and tapped it several times. “Sounds like a like plan to me.”
“Alright, just give a one second.” Night Light turned his head towards the back of the store and called out. “Dad! I’m heading out for my lunch break!”
A loud voice from somewhere in the back replied, “’Kay son, just remember to pick up some milk before you get back!”
And with that, Twilight Sparkle and her future father headed out into the grand city. After two minutes of silence, Twilight decided to break it.
“It’s pretty nice that your dad named the store after you.”
Night Light turned to look at the mare as they continued to walk. “Actually, the store’s named after my grandfather, but it’s nice of you to say that. Hey look, we’re here!” Night Light pointed at the snack stand they’d arrived at. “I’m going to get some corndogs, what would you like?”
“I’ll have the nachos with cheese and get us a table. Thanks for all this.” Twilight wandered off while Night Light placed their order. By the time Twilight took her seat, Night Light had started heading to their table with their food levitating close behind him. Twilight started to ponder something.
I wonder if he’s dating mom yet.
“So… Night Light, do you have a girlfriend?”
Night Light looked up with half a corndog filling his mouth. After swallowing the morsel, he replied. “Nope, but there is this one mare I’ve had my eye on. The only reason why I haven’t asked her out yet is because… she’s just so damn intimidating.”
Twilight couldn't help but smirk a little while eating her nachos. Yep, that’s Mom alright.
“So how about you, Firecracker? Do you have a have a special somepony?” Night Light inquired.
“Well, not really at the moment. It’s… complicated.” It involves alternate universe counterparts and changing species.
“Oh, well. I’m just going throw this out there. You’re really cute.”
Night Light didn’t seem to notice either Twilight’s eyes bulging or her nearly choking on the mouthful of nachos she was eating. Oh no! This is bad, very bad! Quick Twilight, change the subject!
“Oh… well… ugh… My dad always said I was a cute filly.” Good thinking, talking about parents always steers the subject away from se… “Oh, a “Daddy’s girl”, huh?” Night Light leaned uncomfortably close to her ear and whispered, “I’ll be your daddy.” Before giving her a smirk and a wink.
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Twilight fell over in her chair and accidentally unleashed a huge burst of magic directly at Night Light. She quickly got back up try make an excuse for her odd behavior. “I’m sorry! It’s not you; it’s just that I… I… I…” Twilight’s eyes bulged out and her pupils became pinpricks as she saw that instead her father sitting in the chair was a smoldering pile of ash.
“Oh no no no No No No NO NO NO NONONONONONO!!!” Twilight screamed out as she slammed her hoof on to the bracelet to return to the future and disappeared in a flash.
In the Golden Oaks library’s basement, Spike looked on as Twilight Sparkle vanished in a flash of light with a confident smile on her face, only to return a second later with such a look of panic and dread that it looked like she thought the world might end. Spike rushed up to her side and embraced her to try and calm her down.
“Twilight, what happened? What’s wrong?” He asked while trying not to sound panicked, hoping she would calm down. Twilight grabbed him by the shoulders and started to shake him violently. “SPIKE, I’M ABOUT TO FADE FROM EXISTENCE!!!” She screamed at volumes just below the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“W-w-what?!”
“I just killed my father years before I was born, Spike! That means that I’ve just undone my entire life! I’m about to disappear from history!” Twilight yelled at a lower volume as tears were forming in her eyes.
“Uh, Twilight?”
“Oh no, if Dad died that long before he was dating Mom, than that means Shining Armor never existed either!” Twilight cried out as she turned away from Spike.
“Twilight?” Spike approached while Twilight started pacing back and forth.
“And if I was never born, then it’s likely that Equestria help fell to Nightmare Moon or some other evil force without my friends and I being there to stop her!”
“Twilight…” Spike growled as he started to grow frustrated her ignoring him.
“Oh… no…” Twilight covered her eyes with her hooves. Her voice started as barely above a whisper before escalating into a yell. “Spike… because of this… I never hatched you from the egg, so you were never born either! I’m so sorry Spike!” Twilight then proceeded to cry over how horrible she felt over the terrible mistake she had caused, fearing her own, Spike’s, and possibly all of Equestria’s coming oblivion.
“TWILIGHT!” Spike yelled out, starlings Twilight enough to drop her hooves to the floor as tears were streaming down her face. “If we never existed, then how are still here?” Spike asked in the calmest voice he could muster at the moment.
“I… I… I hadn’t thought of that. Sorry, Spike. I was too panicked to think clearly.” Twilight spoke before taking several deep breaths to try to settle her nerves. She let out a large sigh before she resumed speaking. “My actions should have had a drastic impact the timeline, and yet we still exist. Something odd is happening scenario. The first thing we must do is see if what I did actually changed anything. Spike, I need you to take a letter.”
“Just a sec.” Spike called out before he began rushing up the stairs, returning soon after, carrying a lavender quill and a piece of parchment. “Fire away.”
“Okay, just give me a second to come with what to say. Right. Ah-hem. “Dear Father, I was just wondering how things were for you and Mother in Canterlot. I must admit, it has been a while since I really talked to either of you, and I wanted to make up for that. Signed, your loving daughter, Twilight Sparkle.” That should cover it, oh! “P.S. Could you tell me what herbs and spices Mom uses in her potato wedges? I’ve been trying to figure that out to no avail.” There, now it’s perfect.”
“No… A..vail… Done, but why did have me add that last part?” Spike inquired as his eyebrow rose.
“Simple, Spike. First, I didn’t want my letter to sound odd or suspicious. My parents would probably ask me about what’s going on and I really don’t want to tell my Dad about what happened. It currently sounds like fairly natural conversation.”
“Okay, that makes sense. Any other reasons?”
Twilight scratched the back of her head as she started to very lightly blush. “Heh heh, well… It’s just been a really long time since I had Mom’s potato wedges and I really wanted the recipe.” Spike let out a small chuckle as he rolled up the letter.
“Well, they are pretty good.” Spike said before letting out a jet of green flames on the letter, sending it off to Canterlot. “While we’re waiting for a response, you might as well have you have your breakfast before it starts to get cold.” He said as he gestured towards the tray he had brought down earlier.
“Right. Thanks for breakfast, Spike.” Twilight said before levitating a piece of toast towards her.
Several minutes passed before Spike belched a large stream of flame along with a new letter. Twilight set down her half-finished glass of orange juice before bringing to letter in front of her and reading aloud.
“Dear Twilight. Velvet and I are pretty much the same as any other day. Business has been pretty steady recently. Sales have gone up fairly well since your coronation, lots of ponies have been wanting interview us or asking for our permission to marry you, and your mother thinks some of them did look pretty cute. I think she said she’ll mail you some photos of these would-be suitors, mentioning something about grandchildren and hoping you breed like a rabbit.” Twilight facehoofed and blushed while let out a groan. “As for your other question, I don’t really recall anything about your mother’s recipe beyond the fact that she fried the spuds in sunflower oil. I’ll ask her once she gets back from her publisher. I hope you write to us more often. Remember, no matter how big you get, you’ll always be my little princess. Signed, Dad.”
“Well, it sounds like everything’s alright with your folks.”
“It does, Spike. But we still need how this is possi… Of course!” A large grin crossed Twilight’s face as realization came to her.
“Sooo… you’ve figured it out?”
“Yes. It all makes perfect sense. This may very well be the magical breakthrough of the millennium!”
“Okay, I guess you’re about to explain this in a way that hopefully won’t make me full asleep, but could you please turn off your disguise first? It’s kinda creepy hearing your voice coming out of somepony else.”
“Oh right, I’m on it.” Twilight closed her eyes as her horn started to glow, her wings started to fade into existence as her colours and cutie mark dissolved back to their normal colours. “There. Much better.”
“Great, now you can explain how you and your Dad are still when alive when you said you killed him before you and your brother born. Also, why did you kill him in the first place?”
Twilight eyes quickly shifted back and forth. “Uh… the details of why aren’t important, beyond the fact that it was an accident. Now, as for the time travel, I have an explanation and I’ll try to keep it simple. You see, my method has a different way of affecting time than Star Swirl’s spell. Whereas Star Swirl’s technique created a temporal loop in my timeline due to the fixed timeline theory of time travel, my new technique has no impact on our own timeline by creating a parallel timeline upon the time-traveler’s arrival in the past.”
“So you’re saying that just arriving in the past creates an alternate universe?” Twilight gave her faithful assistant a happy nod.
“Very good, Spike. Um… out of curiosity, how did you …?”
“It’s just like this comic I’ve got. It was awesome! It had this swordfighter going back in time and saving this super monkey warrior guy from a heart condition and fighting a bunch of killer cyborgs. Wanna check it out?”
“Uh… Maybe later. Suffice to say, this could open all sorts of potential magical and historical breakthroughs.”
“That sounds pretty cool, Twilight. Say, can I give that thing a try?” Spike inquired with his eyes practically glimmering as Twilight slid the bracelet off her foreleg.
“That will have to wait until later, Spike. I want to make some modifications to the enchantment, such as improving the accuracy of the chrono-skimming components to prevent overshooting or undershooting one’s destination, and maybe add a perception filter so no one in the past would notice it.” “Alright, I just have two questions about this. First, can you travel into the future?”
“No, Spike. The bracelet is supposed to take you back by having you picture the moment you want to go back to, be it either from the user’s memory or a historical event. It still needs to be fixed though. So, what was your other question?”
“Oh, if you travel back to a point when you exist, would that mean there would be two of you at that point?”
“Nope, a component of the enchantment will make it that you are controlling your past counterpart. Now, factoring breaks for meals, our plans with Pinkie and usage of the lavatory, I should have all the modifications not too long after dinner. Um… speaking of lavatories…”
That evening, after having lunch, stopping by Sugarcube Corner to meet their friends, having milkshakes that Pinkie Pie made, being informed by Mrs. Cake that Pinkie had accidentally grabbed the milk meant for the twins from the fridge, making an emergency visit to the restroom due to said discovery, having a second lunch consisting of warm, flat ginger-ale and soda crackers, three hours of tinkering with her bracelet, dinner and another forty-five minutes of tinkering, Twilight had completed all the planned modifications.
“Oh, Spiiiiiiiike!” Twilight called out in a sing-song voice. Spike ran to her side so quickly, he had practically left a smoke trail.
“Is it all set to for my turn?” He asked while hopping in place.
“Yes, Spike. The Time Band modifications are complete.”
“Alright, that’s… Time Band? Really?” Twilight’s eyebrow rose at this.
“What? What’s wrong with Time Band?”
“Twilight, it’s just that Time Band is kinda… generic.”
“Well, Spike. If you have any ideas for a better name, I’ll gladly go with that instead.”
“Okay, how about… Um… No… Uh… I’ve got nothing.”
Twilight smiled as she levitated the Time Band onto Spike’s wrist. “That’s okay. So, when and where did you plan on going?”
“Well, remember last week when you had me bring that educational film to Cheerilee?”
“Hmmm…” Twilight brought her forehoof to her chin while reminiscing. “Ah, now I remember.”
“So, remember what happened the next day when she was playing film for her class?”
“If recall, right after she started it, she headed to bathroom. When she tried to leave, she found that the doorknob broke and she was trapped in the bathroom for several hours. Once the movie was done, all the foals just decided to go home.”
“Let’s just say my plan involves that day.”
“Oh, so you’re going to back and get Cheerilee out of the bathroom early?” Twilight smiled, not noticing Spike eyes shifting back and forth. “… Uh… Sure…” Spike then muttered, “Let’s go with that.” “I really proud of you, Spike. You care so much about the foals of Ponyville that you plan on using time travel that the versions of an alternate timeline get the most education possible!”
“Uh… You bet. I’ll see you soon, Twilight.” He said while pressing his claw down on the Time Band’s gem.
“Good luck, Spike.” And with that, there was a bright flash and Spike was gone.
Spike found himself in the bedroom he shared with Twilight, holding a broom in mid-sweep. Unlike when he left, it was late in the morning rather than early evening. Spike looked down and saw the Time Band on his wrist.
Alright, I’m the first dragon to travel through time!
“Spike, could you please come down here?” He heard Twilight’s voice call out from the ground floor.
“Coming, Twi.” He shouted before placing the broom by the door and heading down stairs. Spike saw Twilight gathering several books into a pile. “What’s up, Twilight?”
“Ah, there you are, Spike. I need you to run an errand for me.” Twilight’s horn began glowing as she levitated a film canister off a nearby table and into Spike’s claws. “I need you to bring this film to Cheerilee’s house. It’s for what she’ll be teaching her students tomorrow.” Spike looked down and saw that the label on the canister read “From Foalhood to Adulthood: Your Body is changing.” Twilight then continued speaking.
“I would give it to her myself, but I need to cross-reference several books on temporal studies for an upcoming project of mine.”
“You got it, Twilight.” Spike walked over to a closet to dig out a bag. “I just need to swing by Sugarcube Corner first.” Twilight turned to look back at Spike, slightly confused.
“O...Kay, Spike. Um, out curiosity, why do you need to swing by Sugarcube Corner?”
“Uh…” Shoot, I didn’t think of a lie. Think Spike, THINK! “Uh… Pinkie promised me that I would try her new Super Spicy Rainbow Cupcakes. She said she’d throw in rubies, sapphire, emeralds, diamonds and pearls!” Please, buy it!
“Alright, Spike. Just don’t take too much time at Sugarcube Corner. I told Cheerilee that she would have the film before two-o’clock.”
Spike saluted before heading towards the door, “You’ve got it!” Ha! This is going perfectly, nothing can ruin this!
Just as he opened the door, Twilight called out once more. “But don’t eat it too quickly! I don’t want you to get a tummy-ache!” Spike facepalmed and blushed furiously at Twilight’s words.
“Yes, MOM! I won’t eat it too quickly!” Spike retorted angrily before slamming the door. Spike then took a deep breath before turning back, opening the door again and looking down apologetically. “Twilight, I’m sorry I yelled and slammed the door like that, but did you really have to say ‘tummy-ache’? It just sounds really… babyish…” Twilight took in a deep breath before letting out a calming sigh.
“It’s okay, Spike. I was just concerned. Just be sure not to get a stomach-ache.”
“Thanks Twilight, I love you.” Spike said while giving a small smile.
“I love you too, Spike.” Twilight smiled back at him. “Now, off you go to Sugarcube Corner.”
“Sure thing. Bye!” He responded before gently closing the door behind him and running off. After a few short minutes of travel, he arrived at the entrance of Sugarcube Corner just as Pinkie Pie was exiting.
“Hiya, Spike. What brings you here? Well other than your legs, of course.” The mare with the cotton candy mane asked.
Man, time is really on my side today. “Hey, Pinkie. Twilight sent me over to ask to borrow a movie from you.”
“No problem. So, what kind of movie would she like you to borrow? I’ve got plenty of comedies, though she wasn’t too crazy about the ones that I’ve got. I lent most of my action movies to Rainbow Dash so she could give her parents a movie marathon for their visit. I let Fluttershy borrow most of the documentaries on animals and Electric Sky the ones on technology. And…” Pinkie was cut off by Spike interrupting her.
“Actually, Twilight asked me to get one from the collection that she thinks I don’t know… uh… I mean the one she thought I didn’t know about.” At the mention of her and her friends’ private collection, Pinkie began to sweat metaphorical bullets.
“Uh…” Pinkie turned her head back and forth to make sure no one would overhear them. “D…d…did she have any particular movies in mind from that set?”
“All she said on the subject was ‘surprise me’.” Spike said with a small smirk.
“O…Okay, just wait here for a second.” Pinkie then rushed into the store and swiftly vanished; she was next seen jumping out of the store’s open second-story window with a film canister in her mouth that she quickly shoved into Spike’s arms. “Sorry it took so long, but make sure nopony sees the name of the movie you’re carrying, got it?” She spoke in a very serious whisper.
“Got it, Pinkie.” Spike said as he slipped the canister into his bag.
“Alright.” Pinkie’s voice had returned to her normal volume. “If you need anything else from me, I’ll be checking out this weird antiques kiosk that rolled into town earlier. My Pinkie Sense is telling I’ll get something really awesome there.” Pinkie and Spike started to part ways, when after a few second, Pinkie shouted, “WAIT!” before running up to Spike.
Uh oh, I’m busted.
“Remember to tell Twilight that even though it’s a sequel, she doesn’t need to see the other movies first.”
“Oh, alright. I’ll be sure to tell her that. Thanks Pinkie.”
“Okeydokey, I just wanted to make sure. Bye Spike!” Pinkie then hopped away. Once she was out of sight, Spike ducked into a nearby ally. Once he was sure no one was looking at him, he took out the film canisters and switched the contents, replacing Cheerilee’s film for health class with Pinkie’s copy of “Donkey Dong Country 3”. Once the deed was done, Spike let out an evil laugh.
After tossing the the biology film down a well and giving the other film to Cheerilee, Spike returned to the library and his day went on as normal. He helped clean the library once Twilight had finished going through her books, had dinner and went to sleep. When he awoke, he felt more energized than ever before, looking forward to seeing the end-result of his mischief. He checked out the clock repeatedly through-out the morning. It had gotten to the point where Twilight had noticed how frequently he would was staring at the clock.
“Spike, is there something you’re waiting for?”
“Meh, I was just think about the movie the students are gonna watch. I just know that film will have a huge impact on them. I just wonder how they’ll react to it.” This is gonna be the funniest thing ever!
“Well, it may be a shock to them, but it’s something they have to learn about eventually. Remember how you were after Princess Celestia gave you the talk?” Twilight asked while starting to drink a glass of orange soda. Spike saw a great opportunity in this.
“Yep, I was pretty freaked out and curious after that” Spike soon gained a wicked grin. “In fact, if it weren’t for me interrupting your parents at the last second, you would probably have a little sibling!”
With that, Twilight did a wild spit take, sending soda all over the floor and making her cough.
“Ow ow ow! It went up my nose! Oh, it burns!” Twilight spotted Spike laughing in the corner at her misfortune. “Spike, did you make that up to see me do a spit take?” she asked while glaring at him.
“Hehehe, yeah. I did.” Spike said while wiping a tear from his eye.
“Well then, since you decided to set up this mess on the floor, then I guess you really want to mop it up!” Twilight used her magic to toss a mop and bucket from the closet towards Spike, which he managed to catch.
“Meh, it was worth it.” Spike retorted as he head to the kitchen to fill the bucket.
“Alright then. I’ll head out to get some groceries and tissues to clear my nose while you clean up the mess you caused. I think that is quite fair.”
“Yeah, it seems fair. I’ll see you later!”
Five minutes after leaving the library, Twilight managed to purchase some lettuce for a salad when she felt the ground shaking and she soon heard what sounded like screaming. She turned to look behind her and witnessed a massive stampede of screaming foals barreling towards her, forcing her to take to the air to avoid being trampled like several of the stands and kiosks in the market. The screaming herd passed after a few seconds, only for them to turn back at the sight Cranky and Matilda, leaving the donkey pair very confused. After the children had passed, Twilight managed to hear a certain voice laughing in the distance. With the sound of the voice and the knowledge of who delivered the film to Cheerilee, Twilight very quickly figured out who was the likely cause of the truant children. The young princess was so enraged that when she turned to see the library and the laughing culprit who was rolling on his back, that it looked as if her eyes had turned red and her mane and tail had turned to flames.
“SPIIIIIKE!!!” she bellowed in the Royal Canterlot voice. Twilight could just barely hear Spike shout something before appearing to slap his wrist.
Twilight Sparkle witnessed her young drake assistant reappear in a bright flash, clutching his stomach while rolling on his back and cackling like a maniac. Twilight looked on as her eyes half-lidded.
“…Spike, why do I have the feeling you didn’t really go back in time to free Cheerilee from the bathroom?”
“Heh heh heh, as much as I’d love to tell you about what happened during my trip…” Spike let out a yawn that seemed convincing enough for the alicorn. “… I’m pretty tired and it’s getting pretty late. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, ‘kay?” Spike asked while heading towards his basket. Twilight let out a tired sigh.
“You’re right, it is getting pretty late. We’ll talk about this in the morning, alright?” Spike gave a thumb’s up in response before the two dozed off and had pleasant dreams.
Twilight awoke the next morning when she felt a heavy landing on her chest. She slowly opened her eyes as the blurry image became clear. What had landed on her turned out to be Spike, carrying a large tray covered with buttered toast, hay bacon strips, waffles with whipped cream and berries, pancakes that were drenched in maple syrup, half an orange and thermos full of fresh tea.
“Good morning, Twilight. I figured that you creating a bracelet that let you travel through time was such a hugely important thing that it should be celebrated! And what better way is there for you to celebrate than having the best breakfast in bed ever? So, do you like the spread?” He asked as his eyes practically glimmered.
“Why yes, Spike. It looks absolutely scrumptious and I can tell you put a lot effort into this.” Twilight gave as smile as she levitated a piece of toast over to her mouth and took a bite out of it. “Hmm… Nice toast.” She said with her mouth full before swallowing. “And nice try. You’re still going to tell me what you did while time-traveling.” She finished with a smirk.
“Darn it, I was hoping this make you forget about this. Oh well, might as well tell you what happened.” Just not one-hundred percent accurately. “After getting leaving with the film for Cheerilee, I headed over to Sugarcube Corner because I remembered that there was a sale on cupcakes that day that I’d missed. After getting one, I went upstairs to check on how Pinkie was doing. She was reorganizing her movie collection. I asked her if I could borrow a movie from her, like Figurine Fantasy 3 or something. She tossed me this canister and said sure thing. As I was leaving, I tripped and the film reels fell out of the canisters. I must have gotten them mixed up when I put them back in. Anyhow, I went and gave Cheerilee one of the films and came back here. I didn’t get to watch the movie until the next day. Just as I was kicking back to watch Figurine Fantasy 3, I saw it was that borin… I mean, informative film about puberty. So I figured that meant the foals would be seeing a fun movie about the secret lives of toys, but when I went to get the film back from the school, I saw what was printed on the canister’s label. It didn’t say Figurine Fantasy 3; it said Donkey… something-or-other Country 3.”
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie burst out of the bathroom. “Oh my gosh! They saw Donkey Dong Country 3?! Oh no! That’s the third filthiest movie I own!” Twilight stared on as her jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
“What th… Pinkie, what were you doing in my bathroom?!”
“And given the reaction the foals had, what could be filthier than what they saw?”
Pinkie chuckled. “Well first, I was in your bathroom because me and Dash were going to prank you by covering your toilet bowl in cling wrap…”
“Pinkie! You aren’t supposed to tell them how we’re gonna prank on ‘em!” The cyan mare shouted as she flew from the bathroom.
“Silly Dashie, we were already busted when I came out, so there wasn’t really any point trying to hide what we we’re doing in there.” Pinkie let out a small chuckle before turning to face Spike. “And to answer your question Spike, the two movies I have that are dirtier are Backdoor Ruts 9 and Pielander II: The Dickening.”
“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted from her bed. “Ix-nay alking-tay about our-yay ornography-pay in ont-fray of Ike-spay!” Spike, after quickly deciphering Twilight's message, decided to get one last laugh when it came to Pinkie’s movies by acting like a somewhat innocent child.
“Hey Twilight, have you seen those movies? Also, what’s a Dickening?” This ought to be good.
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……” Twilight said as her coat turned redder than Big Mac’s. She then started rapidly shoveling her breakfast into her mouth. “Kent Tukk Spi, eeing!”
“Sooooo… Twilight found a new way to time travel?” Pinkie asked as Dash turned her attention to the young drake while holding in her laughter.
“Oh yeah, and it’s really cool too! You can go back to any time and take control of your past self, and you can do anything you want without consequence because what you do ends up making a new alternate universe!”
“Oh, neat-o!” Pinkie called out as she started hopping around on her hind legs. “Twilight! Can we try it?! Can we can we can we?!”
“Ugh…” Twilight groaned as got out of bed and held her stomach, which had swollen enough in size to rival the belly of mare that was ten months pregnant. “Sure, Pinkie. Spike can tell you two how to operate it. Ugh… this is worse than the Apple family reunion… I’ll be in the bathroom if any of you need me…” Twilight said before hobbling towards the bathroom. Rainbow Dash then shot her foreleg upwards before shouting.
“I call first dibs!”
“Alright,” Spike said as he slid the Time Band off his arm and giving it to Dash. “All you have to do is picture the time and place you want go back to, and then hit the gem in centre of the band. You press it again in the past to bring you back to right after you left. Any questions?”
“Nah, I think I got it.”
“What are you gonna do, Dashie? Is it gonna be awesome?” Pinkie asked excitedly.
“You bet, Pinkie. I’m gonna make it so that my debut is the best debut anypony has ever had!” She said with a huge grin.
“So… when you say your debut, do you mean your major flying debut like when you were at the Best Young Flyers competition?” Spike pondered.
“I think she means the scene where she met Twilight by crashing into her back in the first episode.” Pinkie answered.
“Wrong on both counts, guys. See ya!” Rainbow Dash then hit the gem and vanished in a flash.
When Rainbow Dash found herself in the past, she felt like she was being crushed. She was being squeezed all over by something very hot and damp.
Okay, I may have timed this wrong.
Dash then suddenly heard some muffled voices coming somewhere nearby.
“C’mon Firefly! You’re almost there! I know you can do this, push!”
“I AM PUSHING!!! AAARRGGGGHHH!!! YOU DID THIS TO ME!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, RAINBOW BLAZE!!!”
Scratch that, I timed this perfectly. Now I just have to put up with all this squeezing and my awesome plan will be put into motion.
After several minutes that had felt like hours, Firefly’s agony was finally over.
“Congratulations Firefly, it’s a filly.” An older pegasus mare said before handing the little bundle of joy to the new mother. She then turned towards her young assistant. “Nurse Pond, put down the time of birth at 1:05 PM.”
“I’m on it, Dr. Song.” the pegasus stallion said before finding his clipboard. In the bed, the pink mare was closely looking at her daughter as her husband approached.
“Aw, look at her, Rainbow Blaze; she looks so much like you.” She said while simultaneously smiling and holding back tears.
“She certainly got my mane, but she got my mother’s coat.” The periwinkle stallion responded as he saw her beautiful cyan coat. He then noticed that his daughter’s eyes started to slowly open. “Look dear, she’s got your eyes.” Once the filly’s eyes were fully opened, she looked back and forth between her parents before reaching her forelegs out.
“Baby wants cider!”
“… W-WHAT THE?!” Everypony in the room responded as they heard what just came out of the baby’s mouth. She turned to look towards Rainbow Blaze with a grumpy look on her face.
“Listen buddy, if you went through what I just did, you would need booze too! So Baby wants cider, now!” The newborn filly screeched at the adults, causing all the adults in the room except the nurse to faint. She then looked around the room, seeing all the fainted ponies around her before setting her sights on the nurse. “Sooo… where’s that cider?”
“Y-y-yeah. I’ll get some cider for both of us. Faust above knows I need it.” He said as he was heading out of the room. Once she was sure that he was out of earshot, Rainbow Dash started to laugh uproariously before pushing her tiny hoof on to the band’s gem to return to her time.
Spike and Pinkie witnessed Rainbow’s return, rolling around on the floor and laughing like a mad mare.
“So, what did you do Dashie?” Pinkie asked as she leaned in towards her cyan friend.
“Ah ha ha ha ha ha… I… ha ha ha… pulled a prank on… hahahaha … my parents right af… hahahaha after I was born! Ahhahahahahaha!” Dash was laughing so hard that she had started to cry as Pinkie joined her laughter. “This can’t get any better!” Their laughter was soon cut off as the trio heard Twilight scream from the bathroom. Spike ran up and rapidly pounded on the door.
“Twilight! Are you okay?!” The three heard her groan.
“Yes Spike, I’m fine. I just… forgot about what Pinkie said about the cling-wrap.”
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Dear Faust, it’s so funny, my sides are splitting! Ahahahaha!” Rainbow soon felt the Time Band being pulled her foreleg before it floated into the air, suspended in magenta light. She then saw that Twilight had just left the bathroom.
“Well Dash,” Twilight spoke as her horn glowed. The band then levitated towards Pinkie and a mop appeared in front of Rainbow. “I guess you’ll be cleaning to bathroom while Pinkie is taking her turn.”
“Ugh… fine. Enjoy your turn, Pinkie.” Dash sighed as she headed towards the bathroom.
“Okeydokeylokey, Dashie! Here I go!” Pinkie pressed the gem and vanished in a bright flash. She returned a second later. “Alright, mission accomplished!”
“So Pinkie, what did you with your little trip?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, nothing much. I just went back to yesterday and grabbed the correct milk jug from the fridge so that nopony would get sick when they found who the milk came from.” Pinkie said while beaming.
“Wow, I think that was actually the first nice thing that anypony has done with the Time Band so far.” As Twilight said this, Dash emerged from the bathroom.
“Twilight, wouldn’t that mean you also did something bad while using that thingy?” Rainbow questioned.
“Oh… uh… well… you see…” Twilight spoke as a light blush came across her cheek and she rubbed the back of her neck. “I… accidentallykilledmyfather…” She blurted out, hoping that nopony would be able to figure out what she said.
“WHAT!?!” Pinkie screamed.
“You killed your dad? Why?!” Rainbow shouted as she flew directly into Twilight’s face. She gently pushed Rainbow back so she could explain.
“I didn’t mean to, it was accident! I panicked and let out a magic blast at him!”
“Yeah, but that still doesn’t answer why.” The pegasus responded.
“I’ll tell you and Pinkie why later…” She then whispered. “…when Spike isn’t around. I really don’t want him to hear this.”
“Ah, gotcha.” Rainbow said with a wink and thought to herself. Translation: Your dad wanted to mount you like a picture frame.
“Anyway, Pinkie, since you did something really nice, I’ll give you one extra turn with the Time Band.”
“Aw, thanks! Say Twilight, could I bring a thing from the present into the past with me?” Pinkie asked curiously.
“Well, yes. If you couldn’t, then the time band wouldn’t be on you when you arrived in the past. The only things you need to know are that what you bring with you won’t have the perception filter that the band has, so ponies will notice that you now have an object with you that you didn’t have before, and if you aren’t holding or carrying what you brought with you when you activate the gem to return, then the object will be left in that divergent timeline. Do you understand that, Pinkie?” The earth pony responded with a nod.
“Sure thing, Twilight. Don’t drop anything and everypony will see I’ve got something new, got it. And I know just what I’m gonna bring.” Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out a strange necklace. It had an amulet shaped like a silver cross with an orange gemstone in the centre.
“What the-? Pinkie, what is that?” Twilight asked as Pinkie put the necklace on.
“It’s called the Sun Stone. I got bought it last week from a kiosk run by somepony named… I think it was Beaumont or something. Anyhow…” Pinkie spoke as she dramatically raised her foreleg to the sky. “It’s time to split!” Her hoof slammed down on the band’s gem, making her vanish in a flash.
In Ponyville’s town hall, what was meant to be a time of celebration to welcome summer had turned terrifying. Standing on the balcony before the town’s citizens was not their beloved and expected Princess Celestia, but the horrifying mare of legend; Nightmare Moon.
“Remember this day, little ponies, for it is your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!” The dark alicorn bellowed before giving off an evil laugh.
“Not so fast, Nightmare Moon!” A high-pitched voice called out from the crowd below.
“What foal dares to stand against me?! Step forward to face our wrath!” Nightmare Moon shouted at the cowering ponies below her. A pink blur jumped up from the floor to the snack table and then up to the balcony, bringing a pink earth pony with a necklace staring down the massive black alicorn.
“I am Pinkamena Diana Pie of the Pie clan, and I shall save Equestria from your reign of terror, Nightmare Moon!” The proud mare shouted while facing the great menace, standing her ground. Down below, a purple was staring at what her new friend was doing in horror.
“Pinkie! What are you doing?! Get out of there! She’ll kill you!” Twilight screamed, unable to find herself able to move, paralyzed in fear.
“Oh no oh no oh no!” A yellow pegasus said while hiding behind a bird perch, her eyes filled with tears. “Pinkie’s going to get gobbled up!”
“Muhahahaha…” The dark mare chuckled while looking at Pinkie. “Are you really Celestia’s last line of defence? A filly in cheap jewellery. If so, than it seems that she and her standards have fallen far since our last battle. Stand aside, peasant, and I may be gracious enough to spare your pathetic, misguided life.”
“Not a chance, Queen Meanie. I’ll take you down, once and for all, and I’ll do it without the Elements of Harmony!” Pinkie shouted, causing the gathering below to murmur amongst themselves.
“Oh? And pray tell, how do you to hope to do that? Even with all her power and the Elements, Celestia was only able to contain my power for a limited time. Thou art truly diluted if thou believes that I can bested in combat by a mere earth pony.” Nightmare Moon said as she glared and her opponent.
“Oh, I’ve got just what I need to beat you right here!” Pinkie shouted while lifting her necklace up towards the alicorn. “Cross of silver, ray of light, in ender’s hoof will end the night!” As Pinkie spoke, in the gem in the centre of the necklace started to glow. When she finished, a large beam of orange light shot out, striking Nightmare Moon in the chest. The alicorn screamed as the beam continued to pound away at her, cracks of white light soon started forming all across her body.
“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted from the crowd. “What’s happening?!”
“Don’t worry, Twilight! Everything’s fine! Soon, Nightmare Moon will be no more and she’ll be turned back into…” Pinkie was cut off by a loud bang which preceded a wave of red that covered everypony in the building, save for the three fillies that were hiding under a table. “… a blood fountain! … Wait, that’s not right.” Pinkie said the last part she looked the amulet. She then looked down at the scared and disgusted masses below. The first thing she could make out was Twilight coughing. Why would she be coughing?
“Oh Faust and Zacherle above, I think I swallowed some of her!” Twilight’s coughing continued. Pinkie’s thoughts on this outcome were soon summarized.
“Uh oh… Uhhhh. Well… uh… I guess it’s time to spli-” Before Pinkie could press down on the gem, a large sphere of light appeared above the crowd. The light quickly dissipated to reveal Princess Celestia, who looked on in horror at the carnage that had taken place.
“W-w-What happened? Where’s Nightmare Moon?” She asked, barely able to keep herself together.
“Princess Celestia…” Twilight called out to the hovering Princess above her. “Nightmare Moon appeared.” *cough* “She was struck by an orange light.” *cough* “And then she exploded…” Twilight wheezed.
Princess Celestia brought herself on to the balcony. At the very epicentre of the bloody explosion, she found Nightmare Moon’s bloodstained helmet. She picked up helmet and stared at it as tears formed in her eyes before she pulled it her chest and screamed.
“NOOOOO! LUNA! It wasn’t supposed be like this! IT WASN’T SUPPOSED BE LIKE THIS!!! You were supposed to come home… and we would free you… and we’d be together again! Oh sister, why!?!” As Celestia continued to cry at her loss, Pinkie could only stare on and see what her actions had caused.
“I… I’ve gotta go…” She quietly spoke before reaching for the bracelet.
“Well… That really didn’t go as planned.” When Pinkie returned to the library, she heard the voices of all the other occupants screaming at her “What is it guys? What’s wrong?”
“I think we should be asking that!” Rainbow shouted while point a hoof at her.
“What are yo… Oh, I got it. I’m covered in blood… right. I forgot all about that. Silly me.” Pinkie said as realization dawned on her.
“Yeah, you look like when I found you when you were talking to that bag of flour… only much, much creepier.” Rainbow said while backing up slightly.
“Well, it makes sense that all this blood would weigh my mane and tail down.”
“But that doesn’t explain where the blood came from in the first place!” Everyone turned to look at the panicked princess.
“What happened was I tried to purify Nightmare Moon without the elements. As you can probably tell…” Pinkie said as looked down at herself. “… it didn’t really work. Sorry everypony, I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I guess this thing only supposed to be used on vampires.” At that, everyone besides Pinkie let out a sigh of relief.
“Wait…” Rainbow piped up. “Are you saying that that blood you’re covered in is Nightmare Moon’s blood?”
“Yup.”
“… Y’know… That actually kinda cool.”
“Rainbow! How can you say that?!” Twilight shouted.
“Well… she blew up a super powered evil alicorn who would’ve destroyed the world. I figure that’s kinda cool. At least she didn’t blow up somepony like say… her father.” Rainbow said the last part with a smirk. Twilight let out a tired sigh.
“You know what? Fine. I’m not going to argue about this anymore. It’s way too early in the morning for this.” Twilight said as Pinkie took off the bracelet.
“I’m gonna go hit the shower, I see you all later.” Pinkie said as she wandered off.
“I’d better head out too; I’ve got some clouds to bust. Catch ya later!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew towards the window.
“And I’ll take care of the dishes.” Spike said as he went to get the plates from Twilight’s breakfast.
“So I guess that means…” Twilight then saw the bloody trail on her floor before sighing again. “I get to clean up the mess that Pinkie left behind. Wonderful.” Twilight levitated the mop and bucket from the bathroom before realizing something. “Wait… the hoof prints aren’t heading to the bathroom. They’re heading… downstairs!” Twilight tossed the mop and bucket aside as she flew down the stairs as quickly as possible, all the while shouting. “Pinkie! Use the shower here! Don’t go…” Twilight was cut off by the sound of many ponies screaming at the sight of the apparent baker turned butcher. “Outside…” Twilight facehoofed and groaned. “I just know I’m going to get an angry letter about this.”
On a late evening in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle and Spike had arrived at the royal palace after receiving a summons from Princess Celestia. Spike had gone to his and Twilight’s guest room while Twilight went to the throne room. The guards let the young princess into the room, where her former mentor and Princess Luna were waiting for her.
“Good evening, Twilight. I assume you know why Luna and I have summoned you here?” Celestia asked while having a cup of tea.
“Yes, Princess Celestia. You both want to know why Pinkie was covered in blood and caused the town to panic.” As Twilight spoke, Luna eyes widened with shock.
“What are you blathering on about? We called you to discuss an error on a zoning permit for your library. What’s this about Pinkie Pie being covered in blood?!” Twilight proceeded to sweat bullets as her situation apparently went from bad to worse.
“Uh… Well… You see…” Twilight stopped talking once she spotted that Luna was biting her lip to keep from laughing. “Princess Luna, what’s so funny?” As Luna broke down laughing, Celestia rolled her eyes.
“I apologize for this. It appears Luna thought it would be funny to make you panicked.” Celestia’s horn glowed with a golden light as a small, dark cloud materialized behind Luna before a small lightning bolt shot out, striking the blue alicorn in the rump, causing her laughter to cease with a yelp. “Now, would you please explain to us exactly why your friend was in such a shocking state? I assume that there is an explanation.”
“Rest assured, I do have one.” Twilight said with a nod. Her horn glowed magenta as a golden bracelet floated out her saddle bags. “This is a bracelet I enchanted to become a reusable time travel device. It has no effect on the timeline that we inhabit any way.”
“And how are you sure of this, Twilight?” Luna asked as she brought an ice pack to her smouldering plot.
“Well… could you promise not to tell anypony what I’m about to tell you?” Twilight asked hopefully. Celestia’s eyebrow rose.
“That depends, Twilight. Please continue.” She said sternly. Twilight took a deep breath before continuing.
“On my initial trial-run, I accidentally killed my father thirty years ago. Since I still exist, I assume that you realize what that means.” Luna looked confused while Celestia nodded.
“I assume that means… that thy mother is a harlot?” The confused princess spoke with a note of uncertainty.
“LUNA!!!” Celestia bellowed as Twilight flew up to Luna’s face, glaring.
“Don’t call my Mom a whorse!!!” Twilight exclaimed.
“My apologies, Twilight Sparkle. But how can you be certain that the explanation for your continued existence is the possibility of alternate timelines or some such thing rather than your mother inviting another stallion into her heart and parts beyond?”
Twilight spoke with gritted teeth. “Because I wrote a letter to him to make sure that he was okay, and I briefly saw him and my mother when I got off the train from Ponyville.” At this, Luna stared down at her hooves and blushed. “Also, the fact that you’re still alive is more proof the alternate timeline theory.” Luna’s head rose at this with a confused look returning to her features.
“Beg pardon, Twilight. But what do you mean by this? It so far has been a most confusing of nights.”
“What I mean is actually why I was called here in the first place. When Pinkie used the Time Band, she went back in time to try to turn by you back from Nightmare Moon without using the Elements of Harmony. The end result was… well… Nightmare Moon exploding. That’s why she was covered in blood.” Luna jaw dropped in a rather un-princess-like manner upon hearing this news, Celestia could only stare on.
“My word, that is rather shocking.” Luna said. “How could she dispatch of Nightmare Moon in such a… gruesome manner?”
“From what I can tell, she used a magical amulet she had purchased called the ‘Sun Stone’.” When Twilight said the name of the amulet, Luna’s eyes narrowed as she slowly turned her neck to glare at her sister, who was staring down at her hooves while a light blush came across her cheeks.
“Sister.” Luna spoke with clenched teeth. “What did you do?”
“I’m sorry, Luna.” Celestia said while continuing to stare downward.
“What did you do?”
“I hadn’t used it in centuries.”
“What did you do?” Luna voice started to rise.
“I completely forgot it was weapon! I thought it just another piece of jewellery!” Celestia shouted as she threw her hooves over her eyes.
“What… did… you… do?!” Luna said as a large vein became visible on her neck.
“You want to know what I did with that blasted stone?! Fine!” Celestia exclaimed as she threw her hooves down as she faced her younger sister. “I sold the damn thing along with the rest of my disco outfit! There! Are you happy now?!”
“YOU WHAT!?!” The Royal Canterlot Voice caused the windows closest to the throne to crack as the others in the room trembled. Celestia let out a sigh.
“Luna, please try to understand. It had been at least 1,100 years since I had last used to stone in combat. It had been so long, I mistook it for just another necklace that had been in my possession for an unknown amount of time. I wore it with me during the time when disco was a popular music and dance fad. After the fad had died out, I had the outfit, Sun Stone included, sold off in a charity auction. I hadn’t realised it until years later, and I thank Faust for the Garlic Festival that was being held then.” Luna harrumphed like a small child at her sister’s explanation.
“I still find your explanation somewhat unsatisfactory, dear sister.”
“I know Luna; you’re upset over my mistake. I do promise to reclaim the weapon from civilian hooves. In the meantime, I do have something that’ll put a smile back on your face.” Her horn glowed as a small photo had appeared in a flash in front of Luna’s face. A large grinned crossed her face as a golden barrier appeared over her. Twilight could clearly see that Luna was laughing so hard and leaning back that she had caused her and her throne to tumble back.
“Wow. She seems to be enjoying herself. What did you show her to make her laugh like this?” Twilight piqued up. Celestia let out an embarrassed sigh.
“Me in my old disco outfit. Other than this, I’m pretty sure I burned all the pictures of me with an afro.”
“Was it really necessary to put a barrier over her?” Twilight looked at the muted blue alicorn whose legs were kicking wildly into the air.
“Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I cannot risk having her Royal Canterlot Laugh destroying all the windows in the throne room. The budget just won’t allow it.” After several minutes, Luna had finally calmed down and the barrier dropped.
“Sooo… is there anything else we need to take care of tonight?” Twilight asked.
“Not tonight, Twilight. All three of us will be meeting with a special guest tomorrow morning. Her train will be coming in very late tonight from Appleloosa. The guards shall escort to her room and we shall meet her at breakfast.” Celestia responded.
“Well, if all business has concluded for the day, might we venture to my chamber for some fun?” Luna asked after catching her breath.
“Um… What kind of ‘fun’ did you have in mind?” Just as Twilight finished her sentence, Luna’s horn shone for an instant before both of them vanished in a flash, leaving Celestia on her throne.
“What am I? Chopped liver?”
Twilight’s eyes took a moment to adjust after the teleportation. She found herself and Luna in a room very much like Celestia’s bed chamber, but there were several differences. The most obvious was that the colour scheme was primarily dark blue and black with some purple and silver accents. The next that Twilight noticed was that instead of the golden birdcage that normally housed Philomena was a silver perch that a possum was hanging from by his tail. The final difference was all of the boxes scattered all across the room. Twilight decided to ask the first question that came to her mind.
“Luna, I still need to know, what do you have planned for our fun? Please tell me it doesn’t involve spying on my friends in their dreams.”
“Neigh, Twilight Sparkle. I don’t go into the dreams of others for my own entertainment purposes… often.” Luna quickly muttered the last part under her breath. “Besides, I have been avoiding the dreams of your friends unless necessary ever since I stumbled upon the dream of Pinkie Pie’s where she performed a wedding ceremony for Rarity and some… strange cat/unicorn hybrid. After that, she turned into a gerbil and Celestia became a massive teacher with a glass tube and…” Luna shivered. “Just the thought only causes my buttocks to ache… Of course, that could be due to the lightning.”
Twilight decided now to try to quickly change the subject away from Pinkie’s dreams. “So… um… what’s with all the boxes?”
“Ah yes, those were some boxes I stumbled upon within a storage area within the palace walls. These boxes were apparently Cadance’s, but she did not see fit to take them with her to the Crystal Empire. Since she seemed to leave these behind, I believe the modern saying that fits this situation would be ‘Finders, keepers. Losers, weepers.’ Besides, it mostly appears to be either clothing that one would call, ‘out-of-style’, or costumes for Nightmare Night… which brings me back to why I brought you here this night.” As Luna spoke, she started to grin wider and wider. “Remember when I visited Ponyville on Nightmare Night and you lent me your assistance? It was a most wonderful of nights. Since then, I have spent some of my free time to read up on this holiday and the ways it is celebrated. When Nightmare Night comes next, I hope to make it an even more wonderful night.”
“Um… and what would that have to do with me being here right now?”
“Why it’s quite simple, my friend. What I have planned is currently just theory, so intend to put my plan to the test. I would like to use your time band to practice my Nightmare Night routine on the citizens of Ponyville past. This way, should something be amiss with my plans, it would be, as I believe the young foals say, ‘No harm, no foul’. Yes?”
“Hmm... that does sound like a fairly safe plan. Alright Luna…” Twilight horn glowed as she flew the time band to Luna. “Here you go. Remember, just picture the time and place want to go to and press the gem.”
Luna quickly slipped the band onto her right foreleg. “Ah, but it appears that something important has slipped your mind, my good friend.” She said with a slight smirk.
“I did? What could I have missed?”
“It’s quite simple, dear Twilight, for what is Nightmare Night without the delightful costumes?” Luna then ran behind a screen near her bed. “Tis a good thing I’ve prepared some costume ideas in advance.” Soon after she disappeared behind the screen, her necklace and crown were tossed over the top, hitting the possum’s perch and causing it to wobble. The possum let out angry chittering noises towards the pony behind the screen. “Sorry Tiberius, Mommy’s getting ready to test out her plans. I’ll get you some treats to make up for this offence.” After a minute, Luna emerged from behind the screen. “So Twilight, what do you think?”
Twilight’s jaw dropped at what she saw the night princess was wearing. Along with her regular silver boots was a purple cape with a pale-violet fringe, clasped around her neck with a pink opal pendant. Upon her head was a dark purple wide-brimmed hat with a long pink feather. Sitting on her nose was a small set of gold-rimmed glasses with rose coloured lenses. She carried a gold cane in her left foreleg.
“I see that my attire has rendered you speechless. Excellent, that is exactly what I was hoping for. And with that, I am off!” Luna’s hoof reached for the gem in the band.
“Luna, wait! Stop! You look like a…” Twilight rushed to try and stop her, but she was too late. Luna had vanished in a flash and returned a second later.
“Twilight, what is a ‘pimp’?” She asked, confusion written all over her face.
Twilight groaned. “A pimp is a sort of manager one or more prostitutes. I tried to warn you before went off. Sorry.”
“Ahh… no need for apologies, Twilight. It was I who rushed in. I thought this was merely festive yet casual party attire, though this would explain why several ponies on street corner were offering me their services. Perhaps my attempt to introduce myself with modern vernacular also may have given ponies the wrong impression of me.”
“What did you say?”
“‘Sup homies, Luna in da house!”
Twilight bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. “Err… Maybe you should try dressing like a superhero. That would probably help you connect better with your subjects.”
“Splendid idea, Twilight Sparkle!” Luna shouted as she tossed off her clothes. “I shall garb myself like one of the colourful heroes of the novellas of many pictures! I may know little about the medium, but I believe I know the perfect one to go as, the perfect shining beacon of hope and light! One that I doubt anypony has looked properly like.”
“Oh, and which hero would that be?”
“Watch my friend, and be amazed at the sight before you!” Luna shouted has her horn lit up, engulfing the room in a bright flash. When Twilight could clearly see again, what she saw made her go slack-jawwed. She saw that Princess Luna was covered in flames, yet she seemed unusually calm for a pony that was on fire. “Are you impressed by this display, my friend?”
Twilight shook her head to regain her senses. “Luna, are you supposed to be on fire?!” She nearly screamed.
“But of course!” The burning mare answered. “For I am the mighty and marvelous mechanical mare and the courageous creator of conflagrations, I am The Equine Torch!”
“Is… whatever you’re doing to yourself safe?” Twilight asked, on the verge of panic.
“Certainly, I have used this spell many times in battle before. It completely engulfs the user in flames while leaving them unharmed.” Luna said with a flick of her tail, not noticing it brush against one of the many boxes behind her. “And now, I go forth into the past again. Excelsior!” When Luna vanished, Twilight’s eyes widened at the sight of the blazing box.
Upon arriving in the past, Luna had decided to forgo her personal chariot. She believed it would be much more fitting to fly in by herself, to appear like a shooting star with her arrival. When she landed in the town’s square, everyone was stunned into silence by her appearance.
Excellent, my subjects have truly never beheld a costume quite like mine. Now, let’s get this show on the pathway!
“Greetings, citizens of Ponyville.” She called out joyfully. “Let us have a most wonderful of nights. I can clearly see that you have to effort in preparing for these festivities and the results speak for themselves.” Luna jumped to the various games that were set up. “You’ve set catapults for pumpkin launching, webs to toss plush spiders at; you’ve even set up a dunk tank. I believe this shall be quite fun.” Luna then ran passed closely to the many stands that were lining the street. “You have set many stands filled with treats, sweets for the young ones and spirituous beverages for the adults.” Luna hopped onto the stage were a band was standing slack-jawwed. “You’ve erected a magnificent stage so we may be serenaded with many a merry melody.” She flew off the stage and on to the roof of a house before running across several others. “And last, but most certainly not least, you’ve all put a great deal of time and effort in decorating your homes for the occasion.” She jumped off the last roof before gently gliding back down to the centre of town. “So with this improvised speech out of the way, let the festivities begin!” Luna closed her eyes, waiting hear her subjects give out shouts of joy, but what she heard instead where screams of panic.
“Quick, find some water!”
“Run!”
“Protect the foals!”
“My cabbages!”
“Somepony! Get some pegasi to make it rain!”
Luna then opened her eyes. “Rain? Why would you want rain at a time like th…” Her voice died in her throat at the horrific sight before her. All the attractions she had visited were now ablaze. She soon realised that she was the cause of the catastrophe the town now faced. “Oh… poopie…”
“Don’t worry, Princess Luna! I’ll save you!” A voice yelled out.
“What?” Luna turned to see the source of the voice. It was Twilight Sparkle, running toward her with her horn glowing as she levitated the tub meant for apple bobbing beside her.
“Twilight, wa-” Luna was cut off as the tub landed on her head, soaking her to the bone, extinguishing the flames and causing an apple to get speared on her horn. “Ugh… this time was a total train wreck.” Luna pressed on the central gem on time band to return home.
When Luna returned, she saw that Twilight had just grabbed one of Luna’s blankets and was using to smother a small fire. After making sure that the fire was out, she then turned her attention to the damp alicorn.
“So… um… how did it… go?” Twilight asked nervously.
“Disastrously.” Luna replied as she levitated a towel and brush towards her. “Twilight, you did say that nothing we do in the past has an impact on the time we live in, correct?”
“Yeah… why?”
“Good, I really don’t want to have to deal with burning down a town right now.” As she spoke, Tiberius climbed up her mane and on to her head to steal the apple away.
“Err… maybe… I should pick out a costume for you…”
“Very well, it couldn’t possibly be worse than what just happened.”
Twilight started searching through the various boxes that we’re scattered across the room, searching for something suitable. “Hmm… let’s see… no… that won’t work… Ah ha! I think I’ve found the perfect costume for you.” She shouted before tossing the clothes at Luna. “Don’t forget this wig.” She said as she tossed the last item.
“I won’t.” Luna said before going back behind her screen once more. After a minute Luna emerged wearing her costume. Her hindlegs had long, pink boots with a white trim with an angled top. Her forelegs had long, white gloves with pink bands at the top. Her body was covered by a blue pleated skirt and white blouse with a blue sailor collar and a large pink bow. In the centre of the bow was a small gold pendant. Lastly, her mane was completely covered by a blond wig with two buns and long pigtails. “You’re certain that this costume is ideal?”
“Positive. You’ll have a great time. Have fun, Princess Luna.” Twilight said as she waved at Luna.
“Hopefully, I shall.” Luna pressed the gem and vanished. A second later, she had returned. Her belly was swollen and her face looked somewhat green.
“Um… Are you alright, Luna?” Twilight inquired as Luna walked towards her balcony.
“I am quite fine, Twilight. I simply indulged too much on sweets and spirits. I simply require some fresh air to settle my stomach.” She said as she placed forelegs on railing.
“Okay, how did things go?”
“Splendidly! I played many games with the young foals and feasted on the most delightful treats I had ever had. It was truly one of the most wonderful of n…” Luna was when cut off as her cheeks expanded suddenly. Twilight looked away as Luna quickly turned her head and retched over the balcony.
“Luna, are you okay? Is there anything I can get you?” Twilight asked as she rushed over to Luna’s side and started rubbing her back.
“Urgh…”
“FAUST CURSE IT LUNA!!! I JUST GOT OUT OF THE SHOWER!!!” A Royal Canterlot Voice shouted out from below.
“Sorry sister, I ate way too much can- BLEURGH!” Luna said weakly before vomiting again.
“URGH! LUNA, THAT WENT IN MY MOUTH!” Celestia spat before lowering the volume of her voice to a much quieter shout. “Ergh… Just make sure that you’re ready for our meeting in the morning. I’ll be in the shower and brushing my teeth till my tongue sparkles. Maybe by then I’ll get the taste of sick out of my mouth.”
“I will, sister.” Luna responded weakly before turn to look at Twilight. “I should be fine now that my stomach is empty. However, there is something I must inquire about this costume you game me.”
“Sure thing, what would you like to know?”
“Could you please tell me about the strange stain I found upon the inside of the skirt? I am unsure about what this stain between the hindlegs could possibly be.”
“Hmm… well… I did make the outfit from a box of Cadance’s old things, so it’s probably…” Twilight suddenly paled at the mental image that suddenly came to her. “Eww… Shining!”
“You believe that Shining Armor is the cause of this stain? Why is that?” Luna asked as her eyebrow rose.
“Urgh… I really don’t want to think about it. I’m going to go to sleep and try not to think about Shining and Cadance doing… that…” Twilight said as she headed toward the door. Once she had left, Luna was left to ponder.
“Hmm… To what was Twilight referring to when she mentioned Shining Armor and Cadance?” Luna asked as her mind started to wander. “I wonder what they are doing now.”
In the Crystal Empire, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince-Consort Shining Armor had entered a dark chamber in the palace.
“Is everything thing ready?” Shining Armor quietly asked as he closed the door behind them.
“Yes, I managed to get the last pieces for the chest plate. Tonight will be the night I’ve been waiting for since I was young.” Cadance said as a large smile crossed her face. “I put it with the swords and everything else you’ll need for this.”
“Alright, I’ll get ready.” Shining answered before heading towards a nearby room.
“How do feel about this, Shiny?” She asked with concern.
“I’ll admit I’m a little nervous.” He then put on a turned to face her and smiled. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Excellent, you get prepped. I’ll be going over my maps while you get ready.” Once her husband was out of the room, Cadance went to her desk. On the desk was a map of Canterlot. Cadance opened one of the desk drawers and carefully pulled out a highly detailed replica of the royal palace and placed it in the centre of the map. Searching through the desk once more, she found the last items she would need for the scenario she was planning. She reached in and pulled out two small figurines, one was of a purple alicorn with a crown that she carefully placed in the replica’s garden. The second was of an orange pegasus in golden armour that she placed in front of the alicorn figurine. She gently placed her hooves on the backs of the figures as she started to speak in voices that we’re not her own.
“Flash Sentry, were you staring at my royal rump?” She spoke in a feminine voice as she moved the purple figure back and forth.
“Uh, my apologies your highness, I didn’t mean to…” Cadance said in a much deeper voice.
“Hehe… Oh, you cute colt…” She returned to the feminine voice before turning the purple figure so that it was facing away from the orange figure. “I didn’t say to stop.” She said in a sing-song voice she wiggled the purple figure’s plastic hindquarters towards the orange one’s face.
“Oh my! Princess, would you be offended if I said you had the most perfect plot in all Equestria?” The deeper voice asked as she moved the figure side to side.
“Not at all my beloved, but I think we should take this somewhere a little more private. Woosh!” The feminine voice said before moving the figures off the desk. She quickly put the model palace back in her before replacing the map of Canterlot with one of Ponyville. She placed a dollhouse replica of the town’s library in the centre of the map before placing the figurines in the dollhouse’s bedroom with another “Woosh!”.
“Ah, welcome to my bedroom.” She said as she moved the toy alicorn. “Don’t think that me letting you in here is an invitation for any funny stuff. I mean…” She carefully used her magic to levitate a tiny riding crop into the purple toy’s hooves. “Not that I have a problem with funny stuff.”
“Cadance…” Shining Armor called out as he stuck his head out of the bathroom door and turning on the bedroom light. “Do you really need to play out these fantasies with Twily doing these kinds of things?”
Cadance looked to her husband as she levitated a figure of a white unicorn with a blue mane and tail out of her desk. “Do you want Mini-You to join in with them again?” She said with a slight glare.
“No!” He answered quickly. “I mean… not really, no.” He said more calmly as he put a mask on over his eyes. “Anyway, I’m all ready for your other fantasy.” He stepped out of the bathroom with the outfit that Cadance had prepped for tonight. He had a large turtle shell on his back with a matching chest plate. A blue belt that matched his mask was wrapped around his waist. On his knees were matching blue kneepads. Lastly, on the back of the shell was a pair of ninjaken in their scabbards.
“Wonderful!” Cadance shouted as she discarded her toys before back flipping onto their bed. “Now Leonardo, whisper bad things to me!”
Shining Armor gave a sigh before he climbed onto the bed.
The things I do for love.
On a train headed for Canterlot, a mare sat alone in a train car, looking at the bright lights of the approaching city through the window. A knock came before a green stallion with a white muzzle opened the door and stuck his head in.
“Excuse me, can I sit here?” The freckled stallion asked. “All of the other cars are full.”
“Knock yourself out.” The mare said as she gestured to the bench across from her, never taking her eyes off the window. “Thanks.” The brown maned stallion said as he took his seat. “You headed to Canterlot?”
“Yeah.”
“Neat… Might I ask why?”
The mare gave a sigh. “Might as well. I’ve basically been living in a box in some small town named Apple-whatever until a member of the guard or some such recognized me and contacted Princi- I mean, Princess Celestia. I then got a request to see her and a promise that she would give me something.”
“Wow, that sounds cool. Did the princess say what she would give you?”
“No, not really.”
“Oh… Is there anything you want in particular?”
“Eh, hopefully what anyone in my situation would want.”
“Okay… and what would that be?”
“Oh, y’know… food… a place to live… revenge…”
“DUN-DUN-DUUUUNNNNNN!!!”
“Waaaahhhhh! Waaaahhh!”
“Darn it, Pinkie!” Mrs. Cake shouted. “You woke up the twins!”
Sunlight shone through the guest room window of Canterlot palace, shining right in the eyes of Twilight Sparkle and stirring her from her sleep. Spike awoke as Twilight got out of bed and stretched her wings.
“Morning Twilight.” Spike yawned. “So, what’s on the agenda for today? Are we heading back to Ponyville this morning?”
“Not this morning, Spike.” Twilight responded as she headed to the mirror. “We have a meeting with a guest from Appleloosa at breakfast this morning, so we’d better get ready.” She said as she levitated a brush to her mane.
“’Kay. Did the princesses say who this mystery guest is?”
“All she said was that the guest was a mare, but I assume she’s probably an official of some sort.” Twilight answered as she set the brush down. “Are you ready for breakfast, Spike?”
“Yep, let’s go!” Spike called out as he opened the door to the hallway.
The two of them walked down the hall for several minutes before coming across Princess Celestia as she walked out of her room.
“Good morning, Princess Celestia.” Twilight called out. “How are you this morning?”
“Oh, good morning, Twilight. I’m fine; I was just listening to some music before going down for breakfast.”
“Oh, may I ask what you were listening to?” Twilight inquired as the three walked towards the dining hall. Celestia was about to respond, but Spike cut her off.
“It was probably some of that classical stuff that you hear at the opera or some such.”
“Actually Spike, I was listening to ‘The Touch’ and ‘Dare’ by Standing Bush.” At Celestia’s response, Twilight’s jaw nearly dropped. “What’s wrong, Twilight? Are you surprised by what my favourite genre of music is?”
“Um… Just a little, Princess.” Twilight answered with a nervous chuckle as they had reached the dining hall door. As the door opened, Twilight saw that Luna was already seated and enjoying a salad. She was about to greet Luna when she saw who was sitting to Luna’s right and was stunned. Sitting next to the blue alicorn was a unicorn that she thought she would likely never see again. Though her eyes were sunken in and she so sickly thin that Twilight could see her ribs, there was no mistaking the orange mare before her.
“Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight called out.
Sunset looked up from the grape juice she was drinking to see the two staring at her. “Well, I guess it’s time for our little meeting to start.” She said as she slowly got out of her chair.
“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be back in that other world.” Spike said to the approaching unicorn.
“You’re damn right I should.” She replied to the now confused drake.
“Huh? Why’s she agreeing with me?”
“Princess Celestia,” Twilight looked up towards her former mentor. “What’s going on? Why is Sunset Shimmer here?”
“That I can answer, Twilight.” Celestia said as she moved past Twilight and towards Sunset. “This is not the Sunset Shimmer you knew. She is the Sunset Shimmer of the world you visited.”
Twilight looked towards Sunset with shock. “Whoa. The does make some sense. Spike and I did encounter counterparts to several ponies we know, and Pinkie mentioned a girl who could have been my counterpart, so it seems possible that there would be a Sunset Shimmer. But how did she get here?”
“Well Twi-” Celestia spoke before Sunset raised her hoof.
“I’d like to handle this, your highness. It is my life story, and after all the crap I’ve been through, I think I should at least be the one to tell it.”
“Very well, Sunset Shimmer.” Celestia said with a nod. “Proceed.”
“Alright.” Sunset then sighed. “I don’t think I could ever forget that day. You guys may want to grab some chairs, this story isn’t exactly short.” Celestia, Twilight and Spike sat the table before Sunset began her story.
“It was the Friday before spring break; I was a ward of the state so I had a house all to myself. My day at school went pretty normal until near the end. I was asked to bring sports equipment to the storage shed because what’s his name was sick.
Anyhow, when I went to the shed, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw a girl who looked exactly like me. She said, “Hello, Sunset Shimmer.” And she then put a cloth to my face. I guess she stole some chloroform or something because things very quickly went dark.
When I woke up, I was in a dark box with some air holes in it. I when I stuck my head out of the box, I saw that I was in an old-fashioned looking town full of gryphons.”
“Whoa, hold up!” Spike shouted as he made a time-out gesture. “Hold the heck did you end up in the gryphon kingdom?”
“I don’t know, I guess she mailed me their or somethin’.” Sunset somewhat angrily replied.
“But that would mean that she knocked you out, put you in a box, went back through the mirror to Equestria, took it to the post office, had it shipped, and then got back into the palace and through the mirror again without being caught by any of the guard. How the hay is that possible?” He said as he glared at her.
“How the hell should I know? All I know is that bitch knocked me out and made me deal with all this horseshit!” Sunset exclaimed before Twilight cut in.
“Could you please not swear in front of Spike, he is a child.” At this, Sunset rolled her eyes.
““Yeah yeah, sure. Either way, I kinda figured that she slipped past you guys because Equestria had really crappy security.”
“… Really?” He said flatly.
“Yeah. I figured it would explain how I got where I was and why most bakeries here don’t seem to lock their doors at night.”
“Wait, what?!” Twilight shouted.
“Hey, if the choice is either eating out of a dumpster or stealing the day-old donuts from a bakery with an unlocked door, what would you do?” Sunset retorted.
“Err… I guess you were in a really bad situation… Anyhow, could you please continue your story?” Twilight asked.
“Sure. Anyhow, when I found out that I was now some freaky horse with an butt tattoo in town full of gryphons, I did what anyone would do in a situation like that.”
Spike spoke with a raised eyebrow. “You ran away while screaming like a lunatic?”
Sunset stared at him with her eyes half-lidded. “I would probably punch you if that wasn’t completely accurate.”
Celestia decided to speak up. “Sunset, please don’t threaten the baby dragon with violence. Remember, I did summon you here so we could try to help you.”
Sunset looked down and sighed. “You’re right, princess. Sorry ‘bout that. In my defense, wouldn’t you run away if a gryphon then started chasing you while shouting something like, ‘Orangefarben Einhorn, halt! Sie haben Ihre Beutel von Pony-Münzen in der Box!’? I know I would.” Luna nodded solemnly before speaking.
“It probably wouldn’t have been as bad if thou were as familiar with the gryphon tongue as I.”
“Tell me about it.” Celestia interrupted. “Oh, that reminds me, Luna. They should finish installing the soundproofing on your room before the ambassador arrives later this afternoon.” She said with a wink.
“Ha ha. Ha ha dear sister. Please, Sunset Shimmer, continue to regale us with your tale.”
“Sure thing, Princess Luna. Since then, I’ve basically been wandering around this world, scavenging for food and looking for a half-decent shelter while trying to get used to this stupid unicorn body.”
“Oh… I know that finding food and shelter would be very difficult for somepony in your situation, but being a unicorn instead of your previous species couldn’t have been that horrible, right?” Twilight asked nervously as Sunset started to glare at her.
“Are you friggin’ kidding me? Being a unicorn sucks! Especially at the beginning, since I had to relearn how to walk, I’ve got a ridiculous tattoo on my butt, I get this dumb horn stuck in nearly everything, I get extremely hot and bothered every six months, and these hooves are the absolute worst appendages ever! I can’t pick up or hold things like I used to, forcing me to learn how to use a disgusting tasting pencil with my mouth, I given myself tons of bruises whenever I tried to facepalm, which is often due all the insanity here, and having hooves makes it next to impossible is to mastur-”
“There’s a child here!” Twilight shouted while pointing to Spike. Sunset blushed as she realized what she almost said.
“Err… next to impossible to… mast…er the piano. Yeah, I just can’t stand the fact I can’t play with a piano anymore, and just as I mastered Beethoven’s sixth symphony. Heh heh… heh…” She chuckled nervously as her eyes shifted back and forth. Spike just rolled his eyes.
“Please, I know what you really mean by ‘master the piano’.” Spike air-quoted. “Twilight’s not exactly quiet when she gives herself a ‘private recital’.”
“SPIKE!” Twilight screamed as her face became the same shade of red as half of Sunset’s mane. Celestia levitated Luna’s bottle of wine to herself and started to chug it.
“Sister, is that really necessary?” Luna asked as Celestia had polished off the bottle.
“Luna, there are certain things I do not need nor want to remember, talks of my formers students’ masturbatorial habits are one of them.” After two minutes of silence, save for the sound of Celestia downing another bottle of wine, Twilight restarted the conversation.
“So… Princess Celestia, how did you find out about Sunset Shimmer being in Appleloosa?” She asked.
“A former member of the guard recognised her. He was one of the guards that our Sunset Shimmer had knocked out on her way to the magic mirror and he remembered that she was declared missing after that. Once I received his letter, I contacted her through the mail and arranged our meeting.” Celestia then turned her attention to her guest.
“As for you Sunset Shimmer, I apologize for what has happened to you due to my former student. Alas, the portal to world won’t be open again for at least two years. However, I would be more than willing to provide you with a place of residence and arrange remedial magic lessons for you.” This brought a smile to Sunset’s face.
“Thank you, your highness. Besides, I don’t really have much interest in return to my world.” This made Twilight’s eyebrow rise.
“And why’s that, Sunset?”
“Well I was kind of a loner for the most part, I knew some people, but I didn’t really know them if you catch my drift. Also, I’ve gotten used to being a unicorn for the most part. Sure, I may not like that I’ll never have a chicken and bacon sandwich ever again, but I’m starting to become comfortable in this form and I think that it’ll be kinda fun to learn magic. I think the only thing I would miss is some my stuff, there’s nothing in this world that’s quite like it.”
“You do have a fair point there; I’ve seen that your world’s technology is much different from ours.” Twilight scratched her chin as an idea came to her. “Say Sunset, I think I know of a way to get for you to get your things back.” Sunset’s eyes widen at Twilight’s statement before a large grin came to her face.
“I’m listening.” Sunset leaned closer as Twilight pulled the time band out.
“This band allows the wearer to travel back in time without affecting the timeline. You just wear it, picture the time that you want to go back to, and then press the gem in the centre, and you’ll be controlling your past self. Once you’re in the past, you just have to press the button again to return to the present. You should be able to bring back whatever you can carry with you.” Twilight then floated the glowing band onto Sunset’s foreleg.
“Y-you’re… really letting use this time travel device?” She asked as she stared at the band in disbelief.
“Yes. It may be my only one, but I could make another without too much hassle, and I think you currently need it more than I do.”
“Thank you Twilight, but before I get something for me, I want to get something for you.” Sunset Shimmer than pressed her hoof against the gem and made a bright flash.
Sunset saw that she hadn’t moved from her seat, but that Twilight had brought the time band out of her bag, despite it currently being attached to her wrist.
“This band allows the wearer to travel back in time without affecting the timeline. You just wear it, picture the time that you want to go back to, and then press the gem in the centre, and you’ll be controlling your past self. Once you’re in the past, you just have to press the button again to return to the present. You should be able to bring back whatever you can carry with you.” As Twilight levitated the glowing band towards Sunset, she held up her other foreleg.
“Thanks Twilight, I’ll make sure that you get both rings soon.” She said as she attached the second band to her leg.
“Wait, wha-?”
“Bye!” Sunset then pressed her hoof on the gem once more.
“I’m back!” Sunset called out as to the confused crowd in the dining room.
“And where did you go exactly?” Celestia asked as one of the kitchen staff brought her a menu.
“I just went back a minute in time to bring Twilight this!” Sunset said as she used her mouth to take the second band off and tossed it to Twilight, who caught it just before it hit her snout.
“Did… Did you just use time travel to get me another time band?” She inquired as she blankly stared at the band before her.
“Uh-huh, I figured you would like a spare one. Oh hey, Twilight, I’ve got a question. Say I somehow went through the portal to Equestria and back to my home world, where would I end up?”
“Well, you would end up in front of the base of the statue by the Canterlot High entrance. Why did want to know that?”
“Oh, no reason. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some stuff to get.” A look of wicked glee crossed Sunset’s face as she pressed the button once more, vanishing in a bright flash.
Sunset Shimmer felt groggy as she woke up. As she started to stretch her arm, she noticed not only the golden band on her arm, but she once again had hands. She quickly realised that she wasn’t dreaming about her old home again, but that Twilight’s band had brought her back to her home world. Sunset couldn’t hold back the joy she felt as she leapt from her bed and gave a shout of victory.
“YES!” However, she soon regretted that as didn’t remember how to stand as a human and consequently fell on her face.
“… Note to self… I’ve got to re-adjust to the old control scheme…”
After two hours of relearning to walk, showering, getting dressed and devising a plan, Sunset Shimmer had made her way back to her old school. As she got close, she saw a girl with poofy pink hair standing near the entrance and holding a serving tray with some desserts that she couldn’t make out. When the pink girl spotted Sunset approaching, she started hopping up and down while waving both arms.
“Hiya Sunset!” She happily screamed before running up to Sunset.
“Oh… uhh… Hi there… um…” Crap, what the hell’s her name… “Pink… y?” As she nervously smiled, the snack carrying girl started to grin like the Cheshire cat.
“Alright, you finally remembered my name! So Sunset, would you like to try some of the delicious treats that I’ve made?” Sunset looked down at the tray that Pinkie was carrying, seeing that her desserts appeared to be brownies.
“Uh… Pinkie, isn’t it a little early to have brownies?”
“Normally, it would be, but these are a special brownie recipe that I got from Flax Seed and Wheat Grass that make them just perfect for breakfast. I know that they're the bestest brownies ever because when I tried one, I ending up eating that whole batch. After buying the special ingredient from them, I decide that best thing to do is make a batch and share them with my fellow students. I’m selling them for fifty cents each to cover the cost of the ingredients. So, are you now interested in trying one of my hash brownies?” She asked with a happy smile, not noticing the shocked look on Sunset’s face.
“Pinky, why do you think that selling hash brownies in the front of the school is a good idea?” Pinkie chuckled in response.
“Well what student wouldn’t like a brownie that you can eat at breakfast like a hash brown? Why else would they be called hash brownies if they not brownies for breakfast? That’s what the herbs in them are for!” Sunset stared slack-jawed at what the grinning girl had said before she started to chuckle at what Pinkie had said. After regaining her composure, she purchased eighteen of the treats and stored them in her backpack. As Sunset started to head to the entrance, Pinkie walked backwards in front of her.
“Say Sunset, think we can hang out this weekend?”
“Sorry Pinky, but I won't be around then.”
“Why? Are you heading out of town for spring break?”
“Something like that, Pinky. Something like that.”
As the school day drew close to an end, things started to play out in an eerily familiar way to Sunset as she traversed down the hall.
She'll be coming round that corner in 3… 2… 1…
As her count reached zero, Vice-principal Luna had just rounded the corner in front of her, barely avoiding bumping into Sunset.
“Ah, Sunset Shimmer, I wast hoping to encounter thee. I wouldst like to requesteth a favor.”
“Uhh, Vice-principal Luna…” Sunset ask confusedly. “Why are you talking like you just came out of a renaissance festival?” Luna blushed in embarrassment before scratching the back of her neck and replying.
“Ah, forgiveth me for mine antiquated tongue. I wast assisting that drama club and I sort of fell into the zone as it were. At any rate, I just received a call from Coach Hondo Flanks that their bat-boy, Verdant Range, was sick and the baseball team and he forgot to put any of their equipment away before they went for pizza. Would you please put their equipment away in the shed, please? I would get it myself, but I have an appointment at the spa… uh… I mean I have an appointment with the uh… spaaaace program! Yes, I have an appointment with the space program. I’m needed for… deep… lunar surface analysis. Yes, that’s it.”
Wow, her lie is even crappier the second time around. Oh well, might as well have fun on my last day here.
“Sure thing, Vice-principal Luna. I’ll take care of the bats and whatnot. Oh, speaking of the moon, did you hear that it looks like there’s going to be a huge super moon really soon?” Luna eyebrow rose as she handed Sunset the keys to the shed.
“Really? No, I hadn't.”
“Yep,” Sunset then started to run towards the exit. “But you can prevent by not eating all of your sister’s cake!” Sunset shouted before slamming the door behind her, barely muffling Luna angry shout.
Sunset was soon heading to the equipment shed, moving slowly due to her backpack, the bag full of bats in one hand and another bat in the other. Once she was standing in front of the shed, she set the bag down and started to fish for the keys. Before she could find the keys, a figure silently approached her from behind and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hello, Suns-”
*THWACK*
Sunset had quickly spun around and smacked her Equestrian counterpart in the head with her bat, knocking her unconscious.
“I was ready for you this time, bitch!” She said before tossing the bat aside. “Now, let’s see if you’ve got anything to compensate me.” After digging through her doppelgänger’s pockets, she found a bag full of gold coins.
“Aw, you brought some Bits with you. These would probably be just enough for a nice lunch and dinner in your world…” She happily said before her tone became bitter. “Or enough to ship a large parcel.” She tossed the bag into the air before catching it in her other hand. “I figure I could make more use of these by pawning ‘em.” Sunset stuff the bag into her backpack and taking out a large garbage bag.
“Now, it’s time to send you home.”
Sunset strained to carry the heavy garbage bag to the front of the school. At the rate she was going, it was going to be sunset by the time Sunset sent Sunset through the portal.
“Hey! Do you need a hand?” Sunset heard a girl’s voice call out. She then saw an athletic teen with light blue skin and storm gray hair run up to her.
“Sure, I need to carry this bag to the statue in front of the school.” The girl lifted up the dragging end of the bag and started to carry it. “Thanks for helping me, miss…”
“The name’s Twister, and I’m glad to help. What’s your name?”
“Sunset Shimmer. Now let’s get going.” She said with a smile. After a couple minutes of silently carrying the bag, Twister piped up.
“Say Sunset, what’s in this bag?”
“An evil unicorn.” Twister gave Sunset a half-lidded glare, her piercing red eyes seemingly looking into her very soul.
“Did you have some of those brownies that Pinkie was selling earlier?”
“Oh I’m completely somber and serious. There’s an evil unicorn in this back that we're going to toss into the portal that’s on the statue in front of the school.”
“O… kay… Whatever you say.” Sunset rolled her eyes at Twister’s reply before notice that they had arrived at the statue.
“Alright, are you ready to toss it?” In response, Twister sighed.
“Sure, whatever.”
“Alright, here we go. On the count of three.” The girls then started to swing the bag. “One, two, three!” The pair tossed the bag, which smacked against the base of the statue. “Crap, the portal’s got to be on one of the other sides.” Sunset ran over to the bag and started to it drag around. As the bag was being pulled, Twister heard a groan come from inside it.
“S-S-Sunset… What the hell’s in the bag?”
“Ugh… I told you, an evil unicorn.” Sunset groaned as she lifted the bag up. Using the last of her strength, she tossed the bag towards the statue. To Twister’s shock, instead of crashing into the side like last time, it vanished in a flash of light. Twister’s continued to stare as in disbelief while Sunset pulled a hammer out of her backpack that she used to smash against the top of the statue’s base. After a large chunk broke off, Sunset placed her hand against the base. A grin broke out across her face.
“Yes, the portal’s closed. That unicorn’s not going to mess with the me of this timeline ever again!” Sunset replaced the hammer in her backpack before going up to Twister. “Thanks for the help, Twister. I'm about to go on a bit of a shopping spree, y’wanna come with?” Twister shook her head to bring herself back to reality.
“Uhh… no thanks, Sunset. I promised my friend Rune that we'd do our homework at Arcane’s house. Sorry.”
“No problem. Bye Twister!” Sunset called before she headed off towards the local pawn shop.
A bright flash filled the dining hall of Canterlot palace on Sunset Shimmer’s return. Twilight was somewhat surprised by she had brought back with her, she held a very large garbage bag with her teeth, headphones around her neck and a backpack with what Twilight believed was a device called a CD player clipped on to one of the straps.
“So Sunset, what exactly did you do?” Twilight asked as Sunset started to open the garbage bag.
“Well the first thing I did was relearn how to walk on two legs. After that, I caught the other Sunset and made sure she wouldn't be a problem ever again.”
“Sunset,” Celestia piped in, “Please tell me that your counterpart is alive.”
“Relax, she’s alive.” Celestia sighed in relief at this, not hearing her mutter. “At least the last time I checked she was.”
“And how are you certain that she won’t present a problem in your world again?” Luna inquired as Sunset dragged a wagon full of otherworldly technology out of the bag.
“Easy, I smashed the portal with a hammer. Anyway, after that, I went on a shopping spree, bought a ton of electronics, games and DVDs, pigged out at KFS, packed up whatever I could into this wagon and came back here.”
“It seems like you had quite the full day, Sunset. Tell me, what exactly have brought to our world?” Celestia asked as she eyed the collection of strange devices.
“I'll tell you, but first…” Sunset turned her head around, opened her backpack and pulled out a tray full of brownies in cling wrap that she placed on the table. “I brought you some special brownies from my world. The girl that made them, Pinky, said that these are a special kind of brownie that’s meant to be eaten at breakfast.”
“Thank you for the treats, Sunset. I'll probably have one later.” Twilight said as Celestia and Luna both tried some of thee foreign delicacies. “So, you were going to tell us what you brought.”
“Well I brought a couple of TVs, my movie collection, a couple of Blu-ray players, a pair of laptops, a 3DS, an Xbox 360 and some games for them. I figure I'll be to get everything in Arkham City once I figure out this magic stuff. Oh, I also brought my CD player and some discs so can listen to music while I'm here. I bought some spares of almost everything so your scientists can reverse-engineer something, along with a book called, ‘A Beginner’s guide to Electronics’ by Electric Sky.”
“Thank you Sunset, I’m everypony will be able to benefit from every we could learn from these. May I examine your CD player?”
“Sorry, but I've only got the one right now and I was really hoping to listen to the CD I put in it, it’s one that got recalled from store shelves.”
“Really, why would they do that?” Twilight asked as she tilted her head.
“Eh, some BS reason. The government said that the CD was made by some guys to take over the world or something. But seriously, who ever heard people trying to take over the world by singing? While that may be possible here, I know it would never happen in my world.”
“Pfftt… Ha hahah ha!” Sunset and Twilight looked towards the source of the laughter, seeing Luna giggling like mad as Celestia was stuffing her face with the remaining brownies.
“I'm guessing that Luna agrees with me. So Twilight, want me to show you what some of this tech can do before you turn it over some scientists?”
“I would love to once I have some breakfast.” Twilight said as she and Spike opened their menus.
“’Kay, I'll see you guys later. I’ll be in my guest room.” Sunset replied as she wrapped the end of her tail on the wagon’s handle and pushed the headphones onto her ears. As she walked down the hall, Twilight could hear her singing along with her CD.
“We’re Cold Slither; you'll be joining us soon.” Once Sunset couldn't be heard anymore, Spike tapped on Twilight’s shoulder.
“So, I guess we won't be back in Ponyville until tomorrow, right?”
“I think so, Spike. I would really like to learn about some of that technology. At any rate, one we're back, I'll be sure to tell Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy all about the time band. I’m sure that when they use it, they'll use it much more responsibly than Pinkie and Rainbow did.”
“GUARDS!” Celestia shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “BRING ME ALL OF THE CAKES!!!”
In her cottage in Ponyville, Fluttershy had just set a kettle on top her stove and was about to start it when a knock came from her door. She soon opened the door and saw her friends, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, standing before her.
“Good morning Pinkie, Rainbow, what brings you here this early?” She asked as Rainbow Dash leaned in close.
“Well Fluttershy, there’s a little thing me and Pinkie would like you to help us with.” She said as a huge grin crossed her and her pink companion’s faces.