0. Soft Reset

"Tell me, whose side, you're on."

Is it strange to want a restart? Is it odd for someone so young to already want to have "their" time again? More often than not, one would simply say, 'yes, it is strange to want a re-do, especially for someone so young!'

Yes, it is strange to wish for such a thing. Stranger would be a teenage boy, on the cusp of his seventeenth, wishing for such an opportunity. To be reborn, and to make better use of his time. To grow up and impact the way the world works in someway, leaving a legacy to be remembered. Ordinarily, one would blame such wishes to emotions; regret, guilt, sadness, loneliness, etc. Uniquely, for such a young man, that was not the case. No, he had no feelings of sadness or guilt. Sure, there may have been some regret and loneliness mixed in there, but ultimately, many actions are derived from such an emotion. Put simply:

A boy wants to be remembered for something in his life. Though, he's certain that in this point in his education, there was naught that could be done to reach such a goal due to such an obscene amount of procrastination. There are always five-minute heroes, like particularly brave policemen, or remarkably successful doctors. But ultimately? They are remembered only by their titles - 'that fearless policeman' or 'that miracle doctor.' Names are forgotten, it is always the way.

It is why our story begins with a semi-alert boy, lying splayed out across a double bed. His headphones blasted music in the early hours of the morning, scant minutes after two o'clock. The window in the corner of his room allowed the nighttime breeze to flow in, leaving the curtains rustled as it did. The boy felt the wind on his face, but made no sound or reaction. He simply laid there; eyes half-lidded with calming breaths. Often, the boy found himself running over the same train of thought each night; a fresh start. Usually, he simply wondered what it'd be like, to be able to start from scratch, before falling asleep due to exhaustion.

Tonight, however, was different. A small light flickered above the boys face, illuminating tired-ish brown eyes, and a messy brunette bed-head. A text message displayed itself on screen, expected and unsurprising.

Uncle P: Happy 17th Birthday, Bryan. I'll be over at some point today.

Uncle P: Now go to sleep!!

The teenager, Bryan Herring, sighed. He loved his Uncle Phil, really, he did, but the constant suffocating nature of his mothering often irritated Bryan, and the text messages (though less intense than the usual face-to-face confrontation) proved only to make the boy simmer with annoyance. That being said, his uncle did have a point; Bryan was getting quite sleepy at this point, and so decided to catch some Z's before waking up at six a bit later. Removing the headphones from his phone, Bryan cut the music off and gave his purple headphones a quick once over (one earcup was hanging by the wire, and though it hadn't broken yet, you can't be too careful). After ascertaining that indeed, the Beats were no more damaged than before he donned them, Bryan wrapped himself in his thick duvet, and closed his eyes with two final thoughts.

In the morning, I'll be seventeen officially.

What a fucking waste.

Bryan opened his eyes to the sight of blinding white. Wincing, he quickly jammed his eyelids shut, allowing the organs beneath to adjust to the intense light level of the dream he was obviously having. With a small "tsk," he opened his eyes again to the same retina-destroying light, but managed to keep himself focused enough to keep the eyes open.

Surveying his surroundings, Bryan found that he was surrounded by the white eye-fire, and attempted to shield as much of his eyes with his hand as possible. Honestly, why even dream something like this? His sub consciousness was a dick. The teenager scratched the back of his head, what was he supposed to do now?

So he wandered the empty plains of light, in an attempt to find something worthwhile in the dream. He walked and walked, long gotten over the fact he didn't have clothes here, and simply kept strolling. There was nothing. Empty, empty white. A sigh of aggravation tore through Bryan; he wanted to wake up, just so he could get gone with this useless dr-

Do you want a retry?

What the hell? Bryan looked around, trying to find the source of the strange voice. It was a deep, almost modulated sort of voice. Like it was talking through a computer. A Guy Fawkes mask appeared in Bryan’s head, and he smirked. Either way; he focused on finding the thing that had made the noise. Setting off at a light jog, he proceeded to search the blanc landscape with a bit more focus.

So he jogged, and jogged and jogged, noting that he wasn’t actually feeling any kind of exhaustion at all. The benefits of dreaming, I suppose, he thought as he continued to find nothing out of the ordinary. Eventually, he came to a halt with seemingly no difference from where he started, to where he was now. With a sigh, he figured he wouldn’t get be finding the owner of the mystery voice anytime soon, especially seeing as willing them to appear didn’t work, I mean, it is a dream.

“Are you gonna show yourself at all? Or are you just gonna sod off now that you’ve asked that vague question?” The teenagers voice echoed through the expanse. He waited a few seconds, and then a few minutes, and with yet another “Tsk,” Bryan began to try and wake himself up, that is until, the ground shook beneath him.

Do you want a retry?

This time the voice was a bit louder, and less modulated too. It seemed… feminine? Bryan tried to hone in on where the voice came from, but it was like standing in sphere made of stereos. The boy pondered his answer, placing one hand on his hip and the other behind his head. Obviously, of course I want a “retry,” but why is that even up for debate? I’ve been quite sure of that fact since-

His though process came to an abrupt stop as the white scenery changed to a dark room, with shattered glass littering the floor, spatters of red on the walls. Bryan widened his eyes and looked at himself, he was wearing torn clothes, his side gushed with the familiar red that was all over his hands. Before him were two prone figures that no matter how much he wanted them to wake up he knew they wouldn’t and he’d bealoneagainandhewasntreadydontgodontgoohgodplease-

The room disappeared and was once again replaced with white, Bryan found himself without clothes again, on his hands and knees, breathing heavily. Sweat (or maybe it was tears?) dripped down from his face and splashed at the solid white below him. His mind reeled in the aftershock of the scene he’d been returned to, and quickly tried to gather his thoughts. What the hell was that?! I thought I’d stopped having those dreams! Stumbling back to his feet, Bryan rapidly surveyed his surroundings, looking for the slightest discrepancy, before his eyes fell on a glowing yellow light.

The fates have dealt you quite the unfair hand, child.

The orb glowed as the voice rang out again, and the boy realised that this was the source. He tried to reply to the ethereal… thing, but found his throat dry, and mind unable to form sentences. He let the orb continue. It seemed to dim slightly, as it spoke this time.
A once ambitious and adventurous boy, full of hope and dreams, barely thirteen, and the ones he loved taken away in such brutality.

The orb seemed to show sadness, and Bryan noticed offhandedly that the voice was clear, and spoke with the voice of a woman, hell, an angel. It soothed his nerves, even while it (she?) brought up repressed memories and feelings.

I can give you what you desire, child.

“…what?” The dumbfounded teenager found himself, yet again, grinding to a stop. Any whirring thoughts and emotions about the orb, and the past it spoke of, went through the window, and Bryan started to doubt he was dreaming. The orb glowed in amusement at the child’s confused expression, “What do you mean, my ‘desire?’ Do you mean…?”

Do you want a retry?

This time, Bryan thought long and hard about his answer. For the last four years, he has wanted nothing more than to go back and start again, to prevent the tragedy that plagued his late-teens, the very source of his problems. He wanted to go back and feel his mother’s love again, see his father’s smile, and their collective pride. He wanted he family back, he wanted his life back. But if this thing was truly implying that he could go back, then, what happens to him here and now? Does he just wake up in the body of a child, with no recollection of the last seventeen years? It was a risk. A huge risk; if he went back, then… could it all be avoided?

Bryan stared at the orb, it glowed in a patient, yet caring light, reassuring him once again that whatever was happening, was not malicious. He stood there for what felt like hours, hell even days, before he finally came to a conclusion. If things were sent back to the start, then he’d make damn sure to remember that night, if nothing else, he would be damn sure that he remembered that day, what happened, and how it would never, ever happen again. He shut his eyes, took in a deep breath, and looked the orb down with a resolute fire in his eyes.
“Yes. I want a retry.”

Very well. The clock winds back, all is undone. The trees become saplings, the cities become villages, and the men become boys. For a better future…

I clean this slate.

The glowing yellow light expanded, and at the same time, brightened exponentially. Before Bryan could react he was engulfed, and the soothing voice whispered into his ear like his mother once had.

Be strong, child. The life you begin is in many ways the same, yet unmistakably different. You are very important to this world, do not forget this.

His breath hitched, different?

Sleep well, Bryan.

The world went a shining gold, and Bryan was gone.

"...tulations," A strange voice stirred Bryan from what was certainly an oversleep. He felt too well-rested and energized to have only received four hours sleep. He noted, that the weather outside must be quite nice, because the breeze was warm, and sunlight shone through his closed eyelids. "It is very rare for such a thing to occur, Mrs Herring." Bryan's mind went still. ‘Mrs Herring…?’ He felt himself move, like he was being cradled in someone’s arms. Which doesn’t really make much sense considering how large the person would have to-

The dream came back to him. The orb, the white, the flashback, the offer, his acceptance. Immediately, Bryan tried to open his eyes, only to find they weren’t opening. He tried to move his arms in order to rub the sleep from them – he couldn’t move his arms. He quickly found that he couldn’t move any individual limb; he could only wriggle around a bit. And even that felt different. It was like he was on his back, his arms and legs dangling uselessly in the air, while his neck craned a bit.

Another thing that bothered him was the air around him. It smelt clinical – like a hospital, yet there was an unmistakable country air behind it. Where the hell was he?

“This is the first time an alicorn has been born in, well, centuries!” The unfamiliar voice spoke again. Alicorn? What was he talking about? Slowly, Bryan managed to open his eyes, light seeping into is retinas. It blinded him momentarily, and for a second, he thought he was back in the white canvas dream world. But, shapes started to form from blobs, detail slowly returning to the scene before him, and when it did, he could almost feel his brain go into complete system overload and shutdown at the same time.

Directly in front of his eyes was, for lack of a better word, a horse. Not a normal horse, oh no, the horse was a strange crimson, almost maroon, and wore an expression on its wildly cartoonish face. A smile on its face, and eyes that looked at him exactly how-

“Born with his cutie mark, too! These are some very, very special occurrences,” The doctor spoke up again, looking at down at the foal in his mother’s arms. The mark he spoke of on his flank showed a collection of white gears, with the roaman numerals for one to twelve in a circle, in black lettering, representing a clock on top of the cogs. A bright red line pointed to ‘XII’ on his mark, with a smaller, brighter red line pointing at the same marking representing the minute and hour hands respectively. The doctor was in awe; there have been very few instances in the past where a foal has been born with his mark, and almost none of them were alicorns!

The doctor looked out of the window in the hospital room, and stared at the castle looming over all of Canterlot. He hoped that the arrival of this foal wouldn’t mean a bad omen for the world, and was simply a special occasion. His thoughts were interrupted once more by the sound of the other stallion in the room, the husband and now father, speaking to his new son.

“Hello, son,” another voice caught Bryan’s attention; and just managed to make out a dusty yellow horse with wings (A Pegasus? What the ever loving fuck is going on?!) staring down at him with again, another warm smile. The voice itself was wildly familiar, and sounded exactly like his father’s had. “It seems you’re a very important pony!"

...What.

Brain fully surpassing overload, Bryan's thoughts started going a mile a minute. He immediately recognized that this is what the dream meant by something different. Of course, he was expecting something like social changes, like friends, personality, home... But no. Of course not, there was no way he was allowed something that easy. No, he had to lose his entire species, and become a goddamn horse, Sorry, I mean "pony." Besides, what in the nine unholy hells was a cutie mark?! If he could move his mouth, rest assured that the now ex-human would be unleashing an unholy amount of expletives into the world. Though, it'd look quite strange if a supposed 'newborn' suddenly started screaming 'fuck' at the top of its lungs.

"He has your coat, hun," The male voice (his father) spoke again. Eyes slowly trailing over to the woman (mare?) that held him, he took in all over her features. Her face seemed rounded and feminine, more so than the stallion beside her. She too, had wings, ones that shielded his own frail body (honestly, he was getting shivers in here!). Her coat was a dark cherry red, with a long mint green mane falling just over the side of her neck. It was matted, presumably following the physical stress of child birth, and her expression was a tired, yet clearly delighted smile. With a hoof (oh my god hooves what in the-) Bryan's new mother stroked the mane behind his neck, making him shiver involuntarily.

"I don't know, Bow. I don’t remember my coat ever being such a strange colour," The mare cradling spoke to her husband without turning to him, fixated on the foal in her arms. As expected, the young alicorn had a short mane having just been born; his coat was an odd mixture of blue palettes, a pastel blue dominating the majority of his fur with almost highlights of darker blues all across his barrel. She gasped slightly upon seeing his mane; it bore a close resemblance to her late father's mane in his youth; and her eyes welled up again. "H-he has his mane, Bow, look!" The man in question was a smooth mixture of oranges, reds, purples and blues, bearing an incredibly close resemblance to the mother’s late grandfather.

The yellow stallion, Bow String, crept towards the bed, and for the first time in his new life, Bryan saw the loving of both his parents at the same time. It made him realize that the decision he'd made in that dream land was the right one, because the affection he felt from the two ponies before him was no different to his human parents, and while he missed them both dearly, they weren't too far from each other personality-wise anyways. Mustering up as much energy as he could, Bryan willed his mouth to curl into a smile, equally as loving as the two before him. He closed his eyes, and smiled as wide as he could. They both gasped.

"Look, Hegese, honey, he's smiling at us!"

"I know dear, I know!"

The two parent continued to coo their newborn foal, gushing over his smile, his small wings, and the mane of his grandfather. After a good while of this, the doctor cleared his throat, reminding the new family that there was indeed another pony still in the room. While unwilling to take their eyes of their child, and his eyes off the parents he'd missed so much; Bryan, Bow String and Hegese Herring all looked towards the doctor so that he could speak his mind.

"Do you have a name prepared for him, Mrs Herring, Mr String?" The doctor tilted his head with a serene smile, very much enjoying the love and affection in the atmosphere. It was moments like these that made the grueling, not so nice moments all the more worthwhile. The two parents stared into each other’s eyes, seemingly deciding on the fly what to name their child; something fitting for the mark on his flank. Without saying even a word, the two ‘debated’ over what to name their new born foal, and after what felt like forever, Hegese smiled broadly at her husband, who in turn just nodded his head with another small smile.

"We do, doc," she began, slowly letting her eyes drift towards the foal in her arms, noticing that his eyes were starting to fall - all ready at their half-lidded stage. With all the stress that came with pregnancy, all the struggle and emotion, she could honestly say that the smile (still present) on her foal's face had been so very, very worth it. With another deep breath, and smile as calm as the sea, Hegese spoke clearly for the doctor.

"His name is Quantum."

Bryan fell asleep, the smile still present. 'Quantum…'

He liked that name. He liked it a lot.

As night fell and blanketed the land of Equestria, upon a tall balcony in a large castle overlooking the capital of her country, Princess Celestia sighed as she stared up into the moon, more specifically, the silhouette that covered it. She’d done this most nights for the last nine-hundred or so years. For an immortal such as herself, one year, two years a decade, a half century, they weren’t as significant to her as they were for her subjects. No, it was the centuries, the millenniums, that dragged on. And yet, as we reach one-thousand years, sister, these days couldn’t be any longer…

Looking away from the moon, and instead opting to stare out over her balcony, the sole monarch of the land considered the coming years. The new bearers of the elements have been born, Discord’s statue was showing signs of activity, and Twilight Sparkle, a new born as of today, lay in the middle of the mess that was to come. Celestia felt guilty; mistakes that she’d failed to rectify would fall on the shoulders of such a young mare in just a few years. The goddess of the sun let out a wistful sigh, wishing for days long gone, Before Discord, before the royalty, the elements, Sombra, and this duty. Days when he was still-

Her reverie was interrupted as a knock echoed on her chamber doors. With a grumble of half frustration, and half confusion, Celestia opened the door with her magic and turned to the Night Guard Captain that had disrupted her night. There was excitement in his eyes, and anxiousness in the way her carried himself, awkwardly stepping from hoof to hoof. He bowed his head upon seeing the Princess of the Sun. She addressed the Pegasus, keeping as much impatience as she could out of her voice and putting on a terse smile.

“Captain,” She began, wincing internally at the irritation that had leaked into her voice, “To what do I owe the pleasure?” The Guard quickly rose again to his full height.

“Ma’am, news from the hospital,” The Guard began, not sure of how the princess may react to his news of the new born colt, “An alicorn has been birthed at Canterlot General.” Celestia’s brow instantly rose in surprise. This was unexpected. Over the centuries, yes, alicorns have been appeared. But they’re usually from a state of evolution through magic. For one to appear naturally from birth, like she or Luna had, was a very odd thing indeed. She would have to make time to meet this foal.

“I see, is that all, Captain?” Eager to return to her stargazing (she was never as good as Luna had been at placing the damn things), Celestia attempted to drop the hint that she wanted to be left alone. Of course, she only ended up being disappointed.

“No ma’am, there’s more,” She sighed inwardly. Of course there is, “The colt was born with his mark, Princess,” Now, her interest was most definitely piqued, and her hopes rose an infinitesimal amount. A colt alicorn? Born with his mark, no less? Could it mean… No, there’s no way of knowing. I need more information. Shaking her head, Celestia asked her question.

“I see. Do you have a picture of this colt’s cutie mark?” The guard nodded, and handed his princess the photo he’d taken while at the hospital earlier.

Celestia took the photo with her magic, and ushered the guard to leave. With a quick salute, the stallion cantered off to continue his patrol. Alone once again, goddess inspected the photo, and it took about a second for her to completely freeze.

White cogs… Black numerals… Red hands…

She knew the name of the foal before he’d even met him. Her breath hitched as Celestia slowly trotted to the four-post bed in her chambers, and sat down on the mattress. She hadn’t seen this mark for years, centuries, millennia, and yet it was there, imprinted in her memory, fresh as the first time she’d laid eyes upon it. She didn’t even notice the lone tear rolling down her cheek, but it was not of sadness, no, overwhelming joy.

The mark meant one thing:

Quantum had finally returned to her, and she’d be damned if she let him go again.

1. Homecoming

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Bryan sighed happily. Today, he was going to see his new home in this new world, for the very first time. His new parents (still very much resembling his old, human parents) had been over to the nursery wing of the hospital everyday while his mother recovered over the last few days, but now she was healthy and ready to be discharged, along with her foal. The cot he lay in was quite comfortable, he was almost going to miss it.

The nursery, where Bryan spent most of his time, was mainly filled with the snoring of other, genuinely young and new born foals, the newly dubbed Quantum being the only seventeen-year old new born human foal. Christ, that’s a mouthful, he thought. Still, his time hadn’t been completely sunshine and rainbows; he’d learnt several things about his new body. One, while slowly gaining control of his forelegs and hind legs, he still found himself unable to form sentences, coming out with the fitting ‘baby noises’ every time he tried to do so. Granted, it was somewhat amusing the first time, but after a while it just got plain aggravating. Two, because of the loss of his vocabulary, Bryan found himself at the mercy of the hospital meal times. He couldn’t ask for more, he couldn’t request a drink, and he sure as hell couldn’t open his muzzle and say ‘yeah doc, this food tastes like shit.’

Which brought him to his third problem. The most embarrassing, mortifying thing he could’ve been stuck with.

Quantum had lost control of his bodily functions.

The first time he’d had an… accident, he wasn’t even aware of it until a nurse had pointed it out. Which lead him to the biggest mental freak out session, ever. From that point forward, he tried diligently at delaying, or even just regaining control of his body, unfortunately, it was not to be, thus, he often found himself in a bad mood after eating or drinking anything until the following event passed. Especially if it’s a number two… ech. Therefore, he’d found himself sleeping 60% of the time he was here, because the uncontrollable movements of his body, in tandem with the complete boredom he faced, made him less and less inclined to stay awake.

The other 40% of his time was spent with his parents, and each time made him feel more and more comfortable in the new world he was in, even if he couldn’t control his own arse.

And so, that was how he spent his days. Literally, eat, sleep, poop; with some loving attention from Hegese and Bow too. When he was awake, he found himself contemplating the intricacies of the world. True, he’d only seen few a few people and had been confined to the hospital, but he wanted to know about the differences between Earth and this, ‘Equestria,’ or was that the country name? He’d often heard ponies mentioning the name ‘Celestia’ in shock, awe, terror or whatever it may be. The name sounded familiar, but Bryan put it down to the similarity between the name and the word ‘Celestial,’ Still, I always get this feeling just at the back of my head, whenever someone says that name…

Shaking free of his thoughts, Bryan drew his attention towards the opening door of the nursery. In trotted the doctor (from his day of arrival) and his horsey parents in tow. The latter pairing made a beeline for their foal with huge smiles on their faces, giddy with excitement at the prospect of returning home. Quantum basked in the attention, and allowed himself to be picked up tenderly by his new mother, being cradled in her wings (he’d made it hell for other nurses or doctors to do that to him, it had been one of his games). As the family of three turned around to face the doctor, Bryan found himself anxiously curious about the strange… bag thing the medic pony was carrying.

“As I understand it, your home is quite the distance, yes? Royal Plaza, the upper end of Canterlot, I believe,” the two parents nodded, and the doctor smiled, partly because he remembered correctly from their file, and partly because he knew what was about to happen, “Then I offer you two this, it’s a foal carrier. Simply strap it to your chest by sticking your forelegs through the loops, and the put little Quantum there in the holder. He’ll be safe, comfortable, and it’s less taxing on your wings, too. Don’t worry about his wings either, there’s enough room in the carrier to make it comfy for them.” The doctor finished his explanation and gave Hegese the foal carrier, while keeping just the tiniest smirk of pleasure trained on Quantum. His colleagues had informed him of the hell he’d raise every time medical staff would try to pick him up, so this was a small sort of revenge. Bryan on the other hand…

Oh, no.

No, don’t you dare.

Mum, I’m serious if you even consider putting me in that thing I’ll-

Before he knew it, Bryan was in the carrier, legs dangling out of the four holes pathetically, tail swinging from the bottom, and his back pressed against his mother’s chest. He was humiliated, and suddenly longed for his human body, at least then he could fight back and run away. The ex-human noticed the grin on the doctor’s face, and instantly realized he’d been set up. I swear, when I grow up, you’re gonna be in for a world of hurt, bub. Despite the embarrassing position he was forced into, Bryan did note that he had a much better view of everything here. He could see over the tops of the cots, and even into some of the closer ones. The walls of the nursery were covered in cartoony ponies (well, more cartoony), and the centre piece was big yellow sun, with a silhouette of an… alicorn, was it? on. Basically, the same thing as he was. The smell of the room was, for the moment, sterile. He was sure it wouldn’t take too long before one of the foals ruined that luxury.

Bryan pondered his situation, not the current moment, but more long-term. He was a human, seventeen years of age, in the body of a new born foal. Could he even tell anybody about that secret? Surely, people would think he was insane, especially if it did turn out that humans didn’t exist on this world. Bryan decided to keep his past under wraps for now. There may be a point in the future when I can trust someone with my life story, he thought to himself, But not yet, I want to enjoy my family being with me again, and I want to live something actually fulfilling this time around.

As the doctor and his parents finished up their conversation, Bryan was reminded of something that ground his mind to an absolute stop. Uncle Phil. The man that had acted as Bryan’s pseudo guardian after… that incident, had been very supportive. Didn’t push him, often offered himself as emotional support, and a method of venting. Honestly? That man was my crutch. I feel pretty terrible for leaving him, though I guess it’d be too much to ask for him to be with me here too. I really would’ve liked to see him, at least, just to let him know that I’m alright, and he didn’t do anything wrong… The foal let out a sigh, surprisingly not mistranslated to baby speak, and was misinterpreted by his parents as a yawn.

“Oh my, is baby getting tired?” The melodic voice of his mother asked, cooing him into a more relaxed state, letting his previous thoughts slip away. “I suppose we should get going, is there anything else, Doctor Cross?” Bryan inwardly raised an eyebrow, Doctor Cross, huh?
“Ah yes, of course,” Cross began, offering a hoof to the father who shook it, “I won’t keep you any longer; but if you’re interested in the extent of his magical capabilities in the future, make sure you go and see the School for Gifted Unicorns. Although, I pity you,” the parents cocked their heads in confusion, and the medic pony simply smiled and said, “An alicorn is going to be in high demand in schools all across Equestria. You’ll have no trouble finding a scholarship for him!” He laughed heartily, while the parents chuckled slightly in apprehension. Just what was coming their way?

“About that,” Bow began, “What advice can you offer in terms of his magical growth? We, uh, don’t actually have that many unicorns in our family, except for my brother Philips Driver, and you see we-“ the Pegasus stallion paused at the sound of a strange gurgling noise. Looking over to Hegese, and the foal in the carrier, he realized it was Quantum making the sound. The gurgling erupted into full on laughter, making the father smile. Did he say something funny? The young colt had lost control of himself, and was laughing like a madpony. Eventually though, he settled down again, with a smile on his face that made everything seem okay. Bow decided he’s finish what he was going to ask. “Like I meant to say, what do we do about accidental magic in the future? We both have little experience with it, seeing as how Hegese and I grew up in Cloudsdale.” The doctor thought to himself for a moment, bringing a hoof under his muzzle.

“Well, in normal cases, unicorn foals only start showing signs of magical development at around three or four years old, at which point, they enrol into a school so that they can gain control of their ability,” the doctor paced around the room, paused, and pointed a hoof at the foal, still dangling from the carrier, “But this is no ‘normal case,’ we’re talking about an alicorn, born with a cutie mark to boot. Alicorns are naturally more powerful, and possess more potent magical ability from the get go, so it may be worth seeking audience with the princess. She really is the only one that could help in this situation.” The parents looked at each other apprehensively, their foal was already known by the princess, as they both remembered the guard that came and visited their foal while he slept on the first day.

“I see, well, thanks doc,” Bow said, as he made to leave with his wife at his side, carrying young Quantum, “We’ll see what happens,” As they both left the nursery and made for the exit, Hegese turned around and waved at Cross.

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us, Doctor Cross, have a wonderful day,” The medic pony nodded at the couple, and smiled to himself as they left the building.

Bryan took in a deep breath of the fresh air outside. It was so much cleaner than anything he’d been breathing in before, even when he lived in the countryside with his old parents. The breeze was pure, and the summer sun glowed down on the town before him. His parents Bow and Hegese trotted with one and other through the town, now known to Bryan as ‘Canterlot,’ a name that caused him to snort and giggle internally. Ha, horse puns, he said to himself as he took in the bright buildings, the colourful inhabitants, and the breath taking sight that was Canterlot Castle, standing atop the mountain of the town.

The ponies around him came in every shape, colour and species imaginable. Bright colours, dark colours, unicorns, pegasi, normal ponies… This place is like a rainbow! He tracked a few of them, going about their daily lives, smiling and waving at one and other. Even with his restricted view (only his head was free, after all), he still loved looking every which way and finding another chapter in somepony (these ponies do say that, don’t they?) else’s story. His eyes were wide with awe, and his muzzle beamed at the bustling streets.

Hegese looked towards her husband, who was staring down at their new born. She felt the young colt’s still nubby horn poke into her chest slightly, and it moved every now and then just go get a better view of the street they were trotting on. She giggled at the sensation, as it tickled her slightly as it rubbed. Often, she found some of the towns ponies smiling at her, waving and offering their congratulations, some she knew, some she didn’t. The new mother had always liked this part of town, preferring it over the haughty, ‘head-up-their-own-arse’ part of town that she and Bow lived in. Everypony here was so welcoming and friendly, it made her want to move down here, but alas, it was not to be. Duty calls and all that jazz.

As they trotted on, the friendly ponies began to intermingle with the… less savoury types, getting barged out of the way by the ‘higher class,’ and sticking their noses up at all the ‘commoners.’ Eventually, the family of three were completely into the upper echelons of Canterlot, subtly increasing their pace as to get to their home in the Plaza all the quicker.

Bryan took note of the change in atmosphere too, noticing that some of the ponies that were trotting towards them on the same pathway, sometimes crashing into his parents and carrying on without anything more than a disdainful look and a small ‘tsk.’ Bryan also recognised that the houses were looking well, less like houses and more like mansions. His parents lived somewhere along here? What were they, rich or something? The castle also loomed ever closer to their destination, and the ex-human actually started to feel a bit anxious.

They eventually passed into a large square of these mansions, all different colours and all very expensive looking. The alicorn foal took note that his family were trotting toward a grand yellow building, trimmed with golds and silvers. A gate barred the entrance to the grounds, surrounded by another wall that lined the area. As the family of three approached the gate, Hegese made to lift a hoof to a panel on the gate pillar, covered in strange marks and runes. Before she could however, a rather sickly sweet voice interrupted her.

“Ah, Mrs Herring,” Hegese groaned and facehoofed internally, Bluebloods… “I see you’ve come back to us, I assume the delivery went okay?” The dark red pegasus mare donned a tense smile, and turned to face her neighbour; Prince Rex Blueblood, and his recently born son, Ingenio Blueblood lying on his father’s back. She responded in a similar tone.

“Ah, Rex, how wonderful to see you again,” She began, very careful to not let any disdain leak into her voice, “Yes, the delivery went fine, and my son Quantum is a healthy colt.” Looked at Rex, who looked amused.

“As I can see,” he smirked, “a unicorn, no less. Well, it will be nice for Ingenio to have a reminder of his superiority in the future,” Bryan’s eye twitched slightly, unnoticed by the three grown ponies. Hegese, however, took a deep calming breath, and smiled sweetly at her husband. It was time to knock him down a peg.

“Bow, honey,” she walked over to her lover, “be a dear and take young Quantum out of the carrier, would you? I can’t imagine he’s too comfortable in there right now.” Inwardly, Bow grinned widely. He knew his wife’s plan without even having to hear it from her. He walked closer to her, and began undoing the clasps with his hooves with a very simple, ‘Of course, dear.’

Bryan, slowly pieced together what was going on before him as his dad undid the prison he was held in. What do I know already? One, Ma and Pa clearly don’t like this sod. Two, ‘Rex’ is so full of himself, he may create a black hole if his head gets any further in his tail hole. Three, I’m an alicorn, Ingenio is a unicorn. Alicorn is greater than unicorn, Bryan smirked devilishly inside, as Bow undid the last clasp, and held his young body between his hooves.

Making especially sure that Rex and his son had eyes on Quantum, Bow lifted his colt out of the carrier, and moved him onto his back, mimicking the Bluebloods, and prayed that his foal decided to ‘have a stretch,’ after being cramped up in the carrier for so long. Sure enough, as soon as the alicorn colt was laid on his father’s back, he flared his tiny, infantile wings to their full size (which wasn’t very big, granted) and both Bluebloods eyes bulged out of their heads, stuttering and spluttering. The effect was only intensified when Bow slowly turned his body around, allowing the tow haughty nobles to see the cutie mark on his son’s flanks.

“B-But… Y-you… W-w-w-w-wings?!” Rex took a step back, and his legs wobbled in embarrassment, looking good and well ready to topple at any moment. Hegese just smiled at the two, before the senior Blueblood pointed an accusing hoof at the two recent parents. “How on Equus did you two manage to birth an alicorn, with his cutie mark?! Neither of you two are even unicorns! He’s just a… a… a freak of nature!” Bow took an angry step forward, innocent smile fully replaced with a full on snarl. Hegese ‘beat’ him to the ‘punch’ though. The slap echoed in the Royal Plaza, and Rex stood in shock, a hoof coming to his now reddening muzzle.

“How dare you,” Hegese began, her voice giving off quiet anger, “insult my son, Rex Blueblood,” she spat the name like it was poison to her, “and expect me to just sit here and take it.” She moved close to the now somewhat scared unicorn, nose pressed against nose, as a sickly smirk made its way on her face. “I will give you a warning, Blueblood; next time you or Ingenio over there insults my son, there will be Tartarus to pay. Understand?” Rex backed away quickly, nodded vigorously, and darted off towards his own home on the other side of the Plaza, tail between his legs. As they watched him disappear, she turned towards her gobsmacked husband, and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Bow, I’m a bit tens-“ She didn’t get to finish her sentence. It is hard to talk with another mouth pressed so passionately against your own.

In another part of Canterlot entirely, a regal princess trotted slowly through the gardens of her castle, her destination being the source of minor magic fluctuations that had been going on for the last year or so. Everywhere around Celestia was a luscious green, as the grass was wet with dew and birds sang happily in the hedges and in the tress. Squirrels darted over the paths, collecting food and other such things. She enjoyed the gardens, excluding the kitchen and her own chambers; the gardens were probably her favourite area in the whole complex.

She could count many times that she had sat out on one of the benches, eating some exquisite cake as nature worked around her. The sun goddess enjoyed watching the animals work together in the small ecosystem of her gardens. It often gave her inspiration and a drive, to help make her bigger garden (y’know, the one the size of a country) all the better and cohesive. Despite this, there’s always some form of wild card in a garden, some new element, like a new animal or plant breed that disrupts the harmony.

Celestia’s eyes locked with the petrified draconequus, responsible for the minor fluctuations in magic recently. The body of the statue was twisted in pain, the Elements of Harmony responsible for such a thing many years ago. She sighed, and conjured a chair in front of the statue, and she could feel Discord watching from beneath the stone.

She sat there in silence, as the God of Chaos desperately tried to influence her from beneath his stone encasing, but to no avail. The animals went silent, and the breeze itself stilled at the meeting between the two colossal beings of immeasurable power. Celestia sighed, somewhat amused bitterly that the only person she really had to talk to nowadays was an old enemy, and an even older friend. The pulses hit her, but made no effect on her or her magic.

“He’s back, you know,” The pulsing stopped, for just a brief moment, before it reignited into what Celestia recognised as horse code.

”What do you mean? Who’s back, dear princess? I am encased in stone, you know. Not great for visibility, you see, or not, as it were,” She could almost hear Discord’s sarcasm, and smiled slightly at his confusion, and her folly. Of course he wouldn’t know.

“Quantum,” And at this, the air grew cold. She could feel the slight trembling of chaotic being’s energy, and it pulsed out again, in another message.

”Let me out. I need to see him,” This time there was a very un-chaotic feeling about his magic. Celestia realised he must’ve been replying in quite the serious tone. It was unsurprising.

“I can’t. You know that, I know that,” she began, ignoring the now much stronger pulses of indignation coming from the punished God. The mistress of the day sighed, and continued, “He’s just been reborn, Discord. I doubt he’d have any recollection of back then even if we were to go see him,” She looked down at the grass below her, “You said you have about fifteen years until you’re free, give or take, didn’t you?” The statue pulsed in affirmation, “Then when you’re free, I have no doubts that you’ll go after him immediately,” Another pulse of confirmation, “Do you think he can fix you, old friend?”

There was a pause. A long pause, as Celestia instead opted to stare at her sun, looming overhead like the burden on her shoulders. It felt like years until he finally responded again.

”He did so before, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be able to again,” the air shimmered as the two Gods conversed, ”Fine then, when I break free once more, during the moments of clarity I’ll still have, I’ll find him. To keep up appearances, I suppose I’ll have to deal with you, but I don’t suppose you’ll struggle too much,” She shook her head, ”Good. Then I shall be still for you now, dear Celly, you have a busy decade ahead of you, no?” The air chuckled with mirth, ”See you on the flipside, princess.”

2. Follow the Leader

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And so, Bryan’s first few days began in the Herring Household. He’d learnt that the current head of the family was his grandmother, a woman by the name of Rouge Herring. His initial thought was something along the lines of treasure hunter bat that constantly pisses off red echidnas in attempts to get their big shiny emeralds, not euphemism, instead, what he got was ex-treasure hunter earth pony (so that’s what they’re called!) that constantly pissed off clan advisors with her off the wall decisions and brash nature. Simply put: one helluva granny.

Bryan had also learnt that his mother was next in-line to inherit the head of house title, and by definition, he after her, which was pretty cool. The property was big, and they owned smaller places by the ocean and in other countries, too, so he thought it’d be nice to actually own it all in the future. More importantly, Bryan had learnt that the Herring pony family was much, much larger than the Herring human family, and for the most part, all of them were at the house at the current time.

Why?

Because the heiress to the family had a foal, that’s why. An alicorn foal, no less. Therefore, an army of relatives ended up meeting him, cooing him, playing with his wings, prodding him, tickling him, etcetera, etcetera. So by the time the tsunami of family had finished, Quantum was really wishing he had the ability of magic sooner, even if it was to create a no touchy barrier around himself. Still though, with the Herring family satisfied with meeting him, he knew now that the String family had to come, and he was looking forward to it, because he was hoping against hope that ‘Philips Driver’ was his Uncle Phil; his human Uncle Phil.

The man had become the only family Bryan had back on Earth, and the more he thought about him, the guiltier he felt about abandoning him. Despite the overly protective mothering qualities that Phil had obtained over the four years since… the incident, Bryan still loved him dearly, and would never truly forgive himself if he ended up just up and leaving him forever.

But regardless, today was the day; his fifth day at the Herring Manor, and the ex-human would only be meeting one relative. The alicorn foal was giddy with excitement, the prospect of his Uncle being with him again opened up the opportunity of building an even stronger relationship with him, better than the last one, considering the circumstances.

So there he lay, in the middle of a three seater sofa in the grand lavish living room of the Herring home. Having gained some more control over his limbs again, Bryan lay down like a pony would; forelegs tucked in whilst sitting on his hindlegs, absentmindedly flaring his wings every now and then, just to relish in the feeling that I have fucking wings.

His parents Hegese and Bow sat either side of their colt, enjoying one and others company and chatting about the latest gossip, politics, and family. Bryan tuned in every now and then, finding out that one of the older advisors to the mistress of the clan had been cheating on his wife, and had since been disgraced. Bryan smirked inwardly, serves him right, prick. With his nose, the foal nudged the sofa beneath him, enjoying the comfort of the soft cream fabrics beneath him.

The room was decorated in a peculiar way; there were some pieces of what could only be described as abstract art, and a tall window overlooking the rest of Canterlot from their perch near the summit of the mountain. The walls were an off-white colour, with various shelves containing books, nick nacks, and of course, alcohol. The walls also hung a painting of the very first clan leader; Rubrum Herring.

His claim to fame was on a treasure hunt expedition with the clan leaders of the Bluebloods and Sparkles, a rock was found that Honos Blueblood dismissed as worthless, tossing it to the ground of the cave they were exploring, but Ignis Sparkle noticed the shining that this ‘rock’ was giving off in reflection of the flame he held with his magic, though yet again, he dismissed it as an illusion and quickly followed off after Honos. Rubrum however, decided to pocket the rock in his saddlebag, just in case. Of course, the rest of the treasure hunt came out bearing no profit or significant finds, leaving Ignis and Honos to sulk about their misfortune. Rubrum on the other hand, returned to his home and began to rigorously clean the rock he’d found; only for it to turn out to be a diamond fragment! Following this, Herring galloped straight back into the previously thought to be empty cave, and discovered that the diamond fragment was part of a much, much larger diamond, completely unrefined. So, with the help of his most trusted friend Ignis, Rubrum and the unicorn managed to dislodge the diamond from the cave, supposedly being as large as a fully grown stallion, and proceeded to get the giant gem valued and refined. They made millions of bits of the thing! However, the downside was the fact the Honos Blueblood was green with envy, and red with rage. He cast the two out of his circle of friends for ‘betraying his trust,’ and actually often tried to steal the diamond.

The story was told to Bryan on his first night in his new home, told by his grandmother Rouge. She called it, Rubrum’s Red Herring, and the ex-human used every bit of will power to not laugh at the coincidence.

Bryan was snapped out of his thoughts by a knocking on the door, and quickly remembered exactly who could be behind the door. His father Bow got up and moved out of the room, concealed partially by the wall, his arrow-marked flank sticking out from the hallway as he answered the door.

“Ah, Phil! Glad you could make it,” he called as he hugged his only brother. The stallion in the entrance was similar to Bow in terms of build; quite broad with a sharp jawline. His coat was brown, and his neat mane was a silvery grey, with two screws on each flank. He smiled broadly at his brother Bow.

“Happy to be here, Bow,” he stepped inside of the house and into the living room, following behind his brother. Bryan watched as Hegese stood up and trotted towards her brother in law, receiving a kiss on each cheek from Philips. “Hegese, it has been too long. Has my useless tool of a brother been treating you well?” She giggled at her husband rolling her eyes, but quickly replied back.

“Oh, yes he’s been wonderful the past few weeks,” she began, and looked over to her foal, still watching with oddly focused eyes, “He wasn’t too great during the delivery though, fainted like a filly as the little one came out!” Bow spluttered and made a look of indignation, while his brother laughed heartily at his younger sibling’s antics. Still, his laughter eventually died down, and his eyes drew towards the foal lying on the sofa, small eyes staring straight into his own. Hegese quickly took note of the look on her in-law’s face, and whispered to her husband. They both nodded at each other, and disappeared up the stairs, giving Phil his moment with his nephew.

Slowly, Philips Driver walked towards the sofa, and sat down beside Quantum, a strange, melancholic smile on his face. He sighed, as he lowered his muzzle to the colt’s, and stared into the red irises that bore back.

“You know, I have to wonder,” Phil began, lifting a hoof and stroking the foal’s mane, “Will you be anything like he was?” The brown stallion found himself taking a trip down memory lane; memories that he hadn’t thought to consider for the last few decades. His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he felt a tiny hoof placed against his nose. Philips looked down at the colt before him, one forearm against his snout, the other pointing directly at himself. The older male quirked an eyebrow, as Quantum took on a look of pure concentration. The baby made noises.

“…Buh…”

“…Rye…”

“…Aan!”

Each syllable, the colt would jab a hoof into his own chest, to punctuate what he meant. Bryan was taking a chance; thinking that the stallion before him was indeed his Uncle from the last life he lead. As Philips played the noises back in his head, his eyes widened, his pupils shrank, and his eyebrows moved so high up, Bryan thought they may escape his face. The unicorn spoke with soft words, almost inaudible, as his hopes began to skyrocket.

“…Bryan?”

The colt suddenly beamed at Philips, and nodded his head vigorously. Tears welled up in the older stallion’s eyes, and he hugged the small colt in his arms tightly, not wanting to let go. He couldn’t believe it. After all this time, you finally came back to me, kid! Questions started appearing in the unicorn’s head, how did he get here? When did he get here? Did he know he was leaving?

…Why didn’t he say goodbye?

And so, the only logical decision was to start reeling these questions off to the small foal, who rolled his eyes at his uncle's behavior. While Bryan most definitely wanted to answer all of the brown unicorn's questions, especially the last one that caused quite the pang of guilt in the mental teenager's heart, Bryan felt inclined to full on bash Phil's nose with his tiny hoof. As the the stallion backed away with a wince, Bryan started making more baby noises to emphasize the fact that he couldn't fucking talk. The larger pony smiled sheepishly, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"A-ah, right, yeah. Sorry kid, forgot you're a new born right now," Bryan rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep the happy grin from emerging across his face. Despite the tears still leaking down Phil's face, he too was over the moon at finally being reunited with his nephew. "I guess you're pretty curious as to how I got here, too, ain't ya?" The colt nodded vigorously, with a look of honest confusion plastered on his face. The unicorn smiled wiped his eyes with a fetlock, and began his story. "Well, I should probably mention that by the time I was given the option to come to Equestria, you'd been missing for two years, kid," Bryan's eyes widened. Two years?! Damn, her must've been through hell...

"Well, as you'd expect, they weren't the greatest times for me. Since your disappearance, I was trying everything to find you, hell, news agents, police, authorities, all of them were asking where the hell you'd vanished to. There were no signs of-" He coughed, looking away briefly, "No signs of suicide, so we assumed that you'd run away. I tried everything; old holiday locations, previous homes, I even went to see some of your friend's families; all of them turned up naught," Phil started to tear up again, as he avoided the foals compassionate stare, "I was s-so worried, y'know? You were the only family I had left, Bryan, all I had! I felt as if I'd personally failed you, especially at the end of those two years," He looked down at the sofa beneath him, another tear hitting the cushion, his voice lowered to barely a whisper, "I couldn't bring myself to see their graves again, I thought that they might not want me there, seeing as I'd lost their only son...

"But then, on the two year anniversary of your disappearance, your nineteenth birthday, I had the weirdest dream," The unicorn looked into the younger alicorn's eyes, a smile on his lips, "I was surrounded by this bloody blinding light, and for a while I just kept wandering, and wandering. It felt like I'd been walking for years! But then, I heard this soothing voice, it kept telling me that I was safe and that I had nothing to be afraid of," Bryan quirked an eyebrow, That's different to what I had, for sure. "And eventually, I saw this yellow light... thing, and it asked me, 'Do you want to follow him?' I knew it was talking about you, it didn't even need to say your name. So, I thought to myself, long and hard... for about two seconds. I replied, pretty eager to get you back, 'yes, yeah, take me to my nephew, damn it!' and sure enough, I appeared in this weird world.

"Course, there was a catch. I had to live another twenty-five years to see you. Every time it reached your birthday back home, I wished you'd just appear, y'know?" Phil smiled down at his reborn nephew, and Bryan smiled back, "Even when your father was born two years after me, I hoped that it was maybe you, in some strange, convoluted way. Though, after a while... I started to lose hope. Maybe you weren't here? Maybe I'd just gone off the deep-end, and everything I'd been through had just been a dream. Don't get me wrong; I love this place, and my life, much more than I did back on Earth, but I'd always feel that pang of guilt, thinking you were always back there, and I'd abandoned you," He frowned briefly, before a big beaming smile ripped through his sadness, "But then ol' Bow there got married to Hegese Herring, and my hopes began to soar again. Another couple years later, and boom! She's pregnant, and I thought to myself, 'it's him, it has to be, he's finally here!'

"And here you are, kid. You're one elusive sod, you know that?" Despite his words, Philips couldn't keep himself from smiling broadly, and hugging his long-lost nephew again. The foal returned the hug as best he could, with his small stubby baby limbs, and grinned through what was definitely not tears, as what felt like a huge weight lifted off his tiny shoulders. They stayed like that for a while, not noticing the eventual return of Bow and Hegese, who simply watched the two from the living room entrance, a serene smile on their faces, not wanting to ruin the moment.

After what felt like hours to the two, Bryan and his uncle Philips broke the hug, allowing Bow and Hegese to eventually join them and start the usual talks and catch-ups with each other. The atmosphere in the room was light, with the two siblings bantering with each other, with Hegese often ribbing her own husband in the process. Bryan giggled (giggling god damn it i'm pretty much a grown man inside!) every now and then, often drawing coo's and affectionate words from his parents. Behind them, Philips would grin at his nephew, knowing the truth about how he was inevitably feeling on the inside.

As the sun began to set, the family sat down for dinner, Rouge joining them. She traded her greetings with Philips, this time offering to embarrass her own daughter, telling stories of her youth, which again, caused the young foal to giggle. As dinner was served, Hegese ducked out of the humiliating conversation by opting to feed her new born son, which to Philips' amusement, was an assortment of mashed flowers and vegetables. At first, Bryan found himself horrified at the prospect of eating daisies, but realized the whole situation could very much be worse.

She could've breastfed him. Quantum shuddered at the thought.

As the night wound down, the foal let out a singular yawn, and the family all rounded on him to put him to bed. Rouge offered to put her grandson to bed, to which they all agreed. Before leaving, the elderly crimson pegasus offered a guest room to Philips, to which he declined with a shocking answer, at least, to Bryan.

"Ah, no I can't. Thanks for the offer though, Rouge, but my marefriend is waiting for me back home," with an evil smirk, he stared pointedly at the foal in the mare's foreleg, as the alicorn tried desperately to escape, just so he could hear about his uncle's love life, but, to no avail. As the Herring family mistress walked away with Quantum in her arms, Bryan glared daggers into Philips' eyes, with a look that simply said, 'this isn't fucking over.'

Resigned to his fate, Bryan allowed his grandma to take him to bed (but not before cleaning him up after a humiliating accident on the stairs). Rouge laid the foal out in his cot, and smiled peacefully at the tired alicorn. His room was a light blue and orange, with plans to decorate it as he grew older. Strangely though, Rouge had discovered on the foal's first night in her manor, that Quantum simply wouldn't be able to sleep without a clock hanging on his wall. So that's how it was. She bought a simple analog clock with Roaman numerals on, fitting for the lad's cutie mark, and hung it over his white wood, blue-sheet cot. Personally, she hated the ticking of a timepiece when she was trying to sleep, it made her nervous more often than not. But for some reason, this colt of her daughter's was calmed by it's rhythmic tick-tock.

Before long, the small alicorn had fallen asleep, a look of peace on his face. Smiling gently at him, Rouge tucked the sheets around him, and stroked his mane, painfully familiar to that of her late husband. Eventually, she got up and made for the door, shutting it with a soft click, and the foal slept peacefully.

Meanwhile, the remaining monarch of Equestria had a fitful sleep through the night. Tossing and turning in her large four-post bed, seemingly stuck in a nightmare. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her eyes clenched shut, as Celestia fought through her malicious dreams.

Two sisters, two brothers, connected by string,

One doomed to exile, the other plagued with madness' ring,

Two sisters, fated to fight, both infected by solitude's sting.

Mind's aspect waits, awaiting to be king.

3. Before You Gallop

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Following his reunion with Philips, Bryan’s first few months at the Herring household were peaceful. His days would be spent sleeping, spending time with family, reminiscing with his uncle (though the unicorn would do the most talking), or trying to regain control of his own body. As family friends from the other two families in Royal Square, besides the Bluebloods, slowly trickled through the door, the foal found himself on several playdates with the Sparkle new born, and the Mi Amore alicorn daughter, current protégé of Celestia herself (whatever that entailed). While Bryan was certain that he was comfortable and without a doubt happy with his current circumstances, there were always moments at night where he almost wished for the monotony of his old life back; not least because then he’d get some peace and quiet.

Another thing that kept him going, though, was the slow muscle build up in his legs. Very quickly, the young alicorn was finding himself more and more capable of standing on his own four legs, without toppling over. While his family and their friends were astonished at his fast learning curve, to Bryan, it still wasn’t enough. He could stand, sure, but the moment he attempted the slightest trot, he’d fall.
Finally, his little, ahem, accidents were getting fewer and far between. The thought of being able to actually control when and where he pissed brought the ex-human great relief, and helped bring some form of normality back.

His parents were as loving as ever, too; they would tell him stories at night, Hegese would sing for him while Bow did the strange voices to any book he picked up. Bryan, despite being seventeen internally, found that he’d be lying if he said it didn’t comfort him, or that he didn’t enjoy it, because truthfully, he was happy to be in the warming presence of his mum and dad again, even if they were colourful horses.
Thus, Quantum the alicorn stumbled through his new childhood, not quite the brain of a genius, but most certainly the body of a child. Each night he would sleep with the tick-tock of the clock above him, and found it would bring him no end of calm. It was strange, really, even through his old human life, he found himself easily put to rest by the metronomic sound of a timepiece. It remained one of the few constants in his new life, together with Philips Driver, Uncle Phil.

There were many strange things in the new world that confused Bryan. For starters, his own name. Wasn’t he technically Quantum Herring? Or, more strangely, was Hegese not Hegese String, not Hegese Herring?

Pony marriages sure are weird.

On one particular day, Bryan once again found himself in the company of one Twilight Sparkle, a small, lavender unicorn filly, born around the same time as him, and Cadence their foalsitter, much to the blue colt’s chagrin. Their respective families were out in Canterlot for a meal, and Rouge, though she would’ve loved to foalsit her grandson and young friend, found herself tied up with important clan meetings and formalities.

The three ponies were in the living room, like always, Twilight involved in her reading (being technically just a few months older than him; still, reading at her age?!) Cadenza sat on the three seater, while the young Quantum repeatedly dragged himself up on the furniture, and attempted to nail trotting. The oldest of the three found herself quite amused at the young colt’s shenanigans, and often giggled a little bit when the young foal would sigh each time he fell.

After falling flat yet again, Bryan decided he’d had just about enough of making an arse out of himself. So, with a fire in his eyes, the alicorn pulled himself up on the sofa (still not sure how I’m gripping things with hooves but whatever I’ll take it). After finally getting to a stand on all four hooves, the colourful-maned colt very carefully placed one foreleg in front of the other and placing it on the ground just an inch ahead, bringing the other hoof level with just as much care. So far so good, he thought, as his tongue stuck out in concentration.
Cadenza watched with wide eyes as the young colt on the floor in front of her actually managed a step. What surprised her was the sheer focus in the young one’s face; refusing to keel over for even a second. As his hindlegs followed the example set by his forelegs, Bryan very slowly got more and more confident in his ability to not fall over. The Mi Amore alicorn edged forward in her seat, slowly getting more involved in Bryan’s activity. She noticed absently, that Twilight had ceased her reading, and was staring somewhat slack jawed at her infantile companion.

Yes, Bryan took a larger step, and successfully kept balance. A grin slid onto his face. Hell yes, another step, as he started trotting slowly but stably around the living room. Each hoofstep made the task easier for him. Hell. Fucking. Yes, resisting the urge to not stand on his hindlegs and whoop like an imbecile, Quantum settled for a baby-ish laugh, as close as he could get to the manic laughter in his head. As he came to a stop nearby where he started, he heard a distinctly high-pitched squee and suddenly, he was engulfed in a pink aura, and levelled face to face with his foalsitter.

“Oh my Celestia, Quanty you amazing colt, you!” She grasped him in much larger forelegs and nearly suffocated him with a bone crushing hug. He would’ve whined in pain if he wasn’t caught up with the nickname he’d been given. Quanty? Do I look like a ‘Quanty’ to you, crazy mare?! Releasing him from suffocation, Cadence proceeded to coo him in the bubbliest, most excited way possible. Bryan, on the other hand, watched his lavender friend puff out her cheeks and set down her book, clambering her way to the sofa he was now sat on. With an inward smirk, he watched as Twilight inevitably tried to replicate his actions.

The smirk fell away within seconds.

Immediately, the unicorn filly proceeded to stand up, and strut somewhat awkwardly around the room. As she came back around, Quantum stared in complete confusion at the smirking unicorn before him, not quite registering the fact she’d seen his progress as a challenge. As Cadence repeated the exact same actions with Twilight as she did with Bryan, the two younger foals found themselves in a crushing embrace, Twilight smiling sweetly at the foalsitter, but shooting smug eyes at the colt next to her. …What the fuck just happened?

Leaving with the excuse of ‘gotta get you two little geniuses a drink,’ Cadence left the two foals on the sofa alone, Bryan still reeling from the event he’d just witnessed, and Twilight seemingly basking in the slightly younger foal’s confusion. Eventually, his mind came to rest at the whole thing, and he started giggling, and then erupting into full on rancorous baby laughter, taking note that Twilight had joined him in the action.

The mirth finally dying down, the atmosphere between the two foals was comfortable, and Bryan found himself enjoying the company of the filly beside him just a little bit more. He thought to the look of determination, that he had on his face, that she then mirrored not seconds later. He chuckled inwardly, glad that the first friend he had in this world was somepony of decent character, despite her age.

He was bought out of his thoughts however, as a nudge against his shoulder made him cast a glance to the filly currently occupying his thought process. One of her front forelegs were outstretched towards him, and for a second, Bryan simply stared at her, confused once more. That is, until, he noticed the look in her eyes. It was a look that simply said, ‘compete?’

Bryan cocked his head to the side, but grinned nonetheless, lifting his small hoof to her equally tiny one. Pressing both hooves together, they shook, signifying what Bryan would hope to be a long friendship of competition. Twilight grinned, and Quantum grinned back, and they both removed their hooves from each other’s, just as Cadence came back in with the damn sippy cups.

Honestly, he couldn’t help but laugh on the inside. Here he was, seventeen years-old, in the body of an absurd mythical creature, barely a year-old physically. Yet Bryan just agreed to competition with a unicorn foal over god knows what, for god knows how long. If he’d told this to anybody on Earth, they’d think he was insane, Hell, I still might be insane for all I know!

And so, more time would pass. A few months went by, and to the astonishment of both families, Twilight and Quantum very quickly reached a point to where they were galloping around the house, racing each other. The alicorn quickly found out that the Equestrian written language was exactly the same as English, to his great relief and apparent convenience. Therefore, without having to even worry about learning another alphabet and vocabulary, the two foals eventually started reading competitions, just because they could. The parents of both the filly and the colt, as well as the Mi Amore’s, often found their little challenges endearing, and sat down to watch every time that spark of competition was lit.

Despite the over-the-top nature of said trials, the two showed great sportspony (sportspony, really?) ship to each other. If one fell over, then the other would come back and help them to their hooves. If one got hurt, they’d try to carry each other to the nearest adult, and at the end of the day, the two were pretty much siblings. Cadence loved the two dearly, and both females often tried to drag Bryan into their strange greeting/chant. He shuddered; the day he did that would be when hell itself froze over.

With the newfound distractions in life, Bryan noticed that he thought less and less about Earth, his old life, and the bad memories that lurked there with him. He saw it as a blessing, and a small curse, too. On one hand, he was finally letting go of the past, allowing him to go and enjoy his new life all the more. That being said, on the other hand, Bryan didn’t want to forget the fact that his experiences on Earth are what shaped him, and turned him into what he was today; for better or for worse.

Despite that, Twilight’s first birthday (and quite near after, Hearth’s Warming) was soon rolling around, and Bryan wanted to get her something nice; something she’d most definitely appreciate. His first thought was: books. But then the question arose, which book? She was at least as intelligent as a five year-old, and she was already starting to form words; even at this age! Bryan had stepped off on that front, considering he had seventeen years of vocabulary under his belt. He figured he could let her win this one.

His first idea was a joke present, some kind of comedy book. Then, he quickly realised any joke from said book would probably go straight over her head. Next idea. A story book, maybe? She enjoyed reading a lot, so would that work? What else do I have? A book about science, she did like to learn new things after all, but again, would all the technical mumbo jumbo pass by her? He waved a dismissive hoof from his usual position on the sofa, this time flanked by Hegese and Rouge. He’d think about her present when the time comes; there was still just under a month to go, after all.

“So, mum,” Hegese spoke from Bryan’s right, “Are you busy with the family today?” Rouge sniffed a bit and scrunched her snout.

“Shouldn’t be, dear. Why, do you want to go out somewhere today?” Rouge tilted her head towards her still virile daughter.

“Well, the extended leave that the Princess gave me ends on Friday; I was wondering if you’d want to come with me so we can show Quantum the castle,” She smiled hopefully at the older pegasus, her dulling coat ruffled a bit. A smile split her elderly face.

“Of course, love. Should be nice for the young colt to see where his mum works!” Stretching out her stiff wings, being careful that she not hit the alicorn in question, Rouge flapped into the air, and landed gracefully in front of her kin. “Why not fly there? I’ll carry the lad.” It was at this point that Bryan noticed his grandma’s cutie mark (that weird thing on the flank, apparently), it was a bright diamond, with a silhouetted feather in front of it. Bryan made a note to inquire about it when he was able to talk.

“Why not? Should I grab you the carrier-“ Before Hegese could finish, she found her son firmly planted on the back of her mother, almost in refusal of being put in the wretched thing. With slightly wide eyes, Hegese chuckled softly, and relented to her beloved family. There would be no carrier today. “Just make sure he holds on tight, ok? Don’t want him slipping off!” she chuckled, with considerably less humour, very much thinking that it was possible. Rouge rolled her eyes, and with a scoff, turned to the door.

“The rascal will be fine, see?” She pointed a hoof over her shoulder, to show the blue alicorn holding onto the older pegasus mane with an excited grin. His tiny hooves wrapped in her fur, Rouge waved at her daughter before calling, “Last one to the castle buys lunch!” And with a hearty laugh, the dulling crimson clan mistress launched out of the door, closely followed by her terrified daughter.

Landing at a table by a café just outside of Canterlot castle, Hegese stomped her way over to her mother, currently wearing her son as a hat, as the elderly pegasus sipped a mug of tea between her hooves, while Quantum lay splayed out on top of her head, a lazy smile on his face. As the younger, lighter coated mare sat down opposite her mother, she opened her mouth to let loose a fury of ‘did you see how fast you were going’ and ‘he could’ve of fell’ as well as ‘what if he fell,’ but before she could even get a word in, Rouge simply turned a small silver plate towards her, a receipt just on top of it.

With a cheeky grin at her daughter, sipped the tea again, amused to hear the soft giggling coming from just above her eyes. Looking up, she saw the strange coloured mane of her grandson just fall barely in front of her eyes. In brought back memories of her husband, and while she missed him dearly, it was nice to see some traits had passed on to his grandson. Watching her daughter grumble as Hegese fished the required four bits out of her saddlebag, Rouge reminisced briefly about the days when her own daughter was but a foal. Some embarrassing stories to be had there, that’s for sure.

Bryan watched the patrol guards in golden armour trot around the perimeter of the castle gates, ever alert and ready for any kind of threat that may come their way. They reminded him a lot about the British Beef Eater’s guarding Buckingham Palace, only, horses. The young alicorn basked in the sunlight, feeling at peace under its rays, letting it warm his back. He’d always liked the sun, despite his… nocturnal tendencies on Earth. The sun was always there, always bright, warm and well, life giving. It certainly blew his metaphorical socks off when he found a living being was responsible for raising it and the moon here.

…Although, that last detail didn’t really sit right with him, for some strange reason.

Eventually, Quantum felt his makeshift pillow move from underneath him, and realized that he, Hegese and Rouge were all making their way to the castle gates. Before they could get through, however, one of the golden clad ponies stopped them, a commanding, yet feminine voice rang out.

“Halt! What business do you have with…” The mare looked the family up and down, before realising a folly of hers, “…Apologies, Crown Advisor Herring, please, welcome to the castle,” The guard stepped aside, allowing the family to enter, Bryan wearing a shocked expression. They were, however, interrupted again by the female guard. “Oh, Ma’am, is that your new born?” The stoic expression on the guard’s face was replaced with a rather excited expression. Bryan sighed inwardly, here we go…

“’Tis indeed, Feather, his name is Quantum,” Hegese replied with a smile at the younger mare. Rouge lowered her head, much to the blue colt’s annoyance, and eventually resigned himself to the inevitable squeeing and smothering from the pegasus guard.

“Aw, he’s adorable! And- oh, my! He’s and alicorn… and his cutie mark, too! And you just the specialist, most cutest little guy I ever met, d’awww,” She nuzzled the young squirming colt against he own muzzle, a blissful smile on her face as she overloaded. I’m in hell, thought Bryan, I’ve changed my mind; if it’s gonna be like this for the next few years of my life, then take me back, oh wonderful yellow light!

While he wasn’t returned to his bed on Earth, Bryan was saved by a loud, commanding voice coming from the other end of the courtyard.

“Feeeeeeeather!!” A specifically army voice yelled, like a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Super Intendant Chalmers. The mare let out a quick, quiet ’eep,’ returning the foal to his mother with an apologetic grin, before running off in the direction of the voice.

“C-c-coming, Captain Snowhoof!” She yelled, speeding off through the air. A sigh of relief left the alicorn’s lips. He found himself perched on his mother’s back, and the three Herrings made their way into Canterlot castle.

Absently, Celestia heard the loud cry from her Captain of Guard, Snowhoof. The stallion was getting older, and she’d soon need to replace him, especially with his plans for retirement on the horizon. As she dealt with the day court, the Sun Goddess found herself wondering how a brawl is raised over the ownership of a damned apple. Two earth ponies before her squabbled incessantly, over a singular, delicious red apple straight from Sweet Apple Acres, sitting on a small cushioned pedestal before her. The princess was glad that this was the last case she had to deal with for the day. It wasn’t as if she didn’t like her subject, oh no, she loved them! Just… some of their disputes could be a little, well, trivial. Celestia raised a hoof to intervene with the conversation.

“And… who exactly paid for the apple, out of you two?” She said with a very thin layer of fatigue, the two stallions didn’t notice. As expected, they both replied in kind.

“I did!”

“No, me!”

Resisting the very urge to facehoof there and then, Celestia wore as much of a kind smile as possible, and performed her solution.

“Well, how about this, then?” Her horn glowed a bright yellow, and the red fruit of such controversy was engulfed in her aura. With a dim flash, the apple became two apples, and one floated to each stallion. “See? Now you can both enjoy the apple. Isn’t that better than arguing?” She said without even a sweat. Magic was her specialty, being the controller of a celestial body, after all. Both stallions looked at each other, nodded, and bowed to the princess, and took their leave. Celestia leaned back in her throne as the great doors to the throne room closed.

“Ah, Luna, how long til’ I ca-“

And then she felt it. A gentle pull at the very core of her being. Celestia sat up in her throne, feeling the pull guide her. She hadn’t felt this feeling in over some millennia, yet it’s meaning was no hazier to her than the day she first felt it. The sun goddess’ eyes darted to the now opening throne room doors, three figures trotting in. She looked at the taller two, first.

Hegese and Rouge Herring; her right-hand mare in terms of her advisors, and her mother, the current clan leader of the Herring family. The younger of the two had been on maternity leave for quite some time, an extension personally gifted to her from the sun goddess herself. Rouge had also served in the castle halls before, as an advisor as well as an ambassador to other countries. She was a smart mare, knowledgeable in just about every form of language, culture and legend.

Then her eyes met his.

The varying blue coat, the precise blend of orange, red, blue and purple in his mane. Celestia’s breath hitched. While the pony before her was undeniably a recently born foal, he was equally as undoubtedly him.

Quantum stared into the sun goddess’ eyes, and everything seemed to slow down. His relatives either side of him came to a complete stop mid-step, the only thing drawing his focus was the princess sitting on the throne just before him. Something whispered into his mind, ‘go, go to her, don’t let her go, don’t let her go, go to her, run.’ Yet he couldn’t move, both alicorns were seemingly frozen in place, the only tell-tale sign of life being her billowing mane and his unusually loud breathing.

Celestia forced the tears back; he wouldn’t recognise her yet, no way. The tears of reunion would have to wait, but she really wasn’t sure how long she was willing to, anymore.

After all, I’ve been waiting long enough already; haven’t I?

4. A Sparkling Birthday

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He hadn’t slept well, ever since that day. Each night, Bryan found himself lying in the cot at the Herring Manor, staring. The ceiling, the walls, hell; even the pillow and mattress below him. He wasn’t sick, no, he was fairly sure of that. No fever, no sniffling or nausea. He just felt, well, empty. Seeing the princess had forced some sort of effect on him, being in her presence had stirred something within him, but now, when he wasn’t with the sun goddess, everything felt dull.

And I don’t have a damn clue why.

He sighed, it was late; familiarly late. The same sort of late it was nearly a year ago, when he first decided to take his ‘retry.’ The small alicorn had tried to slip into a night’s rest, he’d tried counting sheep, tried running himself tired, nothing worked! Each time he took his mind off of any task of his, Bryan found his mind wandering back to the princess of the land, and wondering why he felt such a strange connection with her.

The quiet wind blew gently into his room, and Bryan curled up slightly tighter than before. The frailty of his infant body was a bother sometimes; small chills feel like the fuckin’ arctic winds to me. He rolled over, his eyes drooping. Maybe now he’d get his long deserved rest? His mind drifted to the recent days since the visit. Twilight’s birthday was getting ever closer, and Bryan had bought his present to her a while back. Magic for Beginners: Ages 3+ was the tome that caught his eye, and the ex-human briefly remembered the enthusiasm for giving the gift. A soft smile drew across his face; she was sure to love it.

Bryan’s eyes drooped further, almost closed. The alicorn foal resigned himself to the arms of Hypnos, and the colt drifted into unconsciousness.

”Princess,” Hegese bowed before the steps to the throne, the strangely rigid goddess of the sun stood stiff in front of her claim, “I shall be returning to my duties at the end of the week; thank you very much once again for the extended leave,” The younger pegasus of the family of three lifted her head, and smiled at her ruler. “Also, I’m happy to introduce you to my son, Princess.” The alicorn colt behind her took awkward hoofsteps toward the steps. The young pony avoided the princess’ gaze. “His name is Quantum, though, it is surprising for him to have been born an alicorn.”

“A-ah,” Celestia rasped, cleared her dry throat, and smiled weakly at the three before her, “Yes, it is a rare occurrence for an alicorn to be born, indeed. I hear he has his mark…?” The goddess trailed off, somewhat anxious to see the mark this foal supposedly had. She’d already seen the picture of it; yet, for some reason, she very desperately wanted to see it for herself.

“Oh!” Hegese brightened up and puffed her chest out in pride; oblivious to her ruler’s awkward behaviour. “Yes, he was born with his cutie mark, here, take a look,” She trotted towards her son and nudged him forward, encouraging him to ascend the stairs. Bryan’s eyes fixed themselves to the floor below him, not wanting to gaze at the princess in fear of the feeling emanating from his chest. To his displeasure, however, each step he climbed only intensified that tugging sensation on his front, making him feel like he’d be dragged across the ground were it not for his resistance. What is making me feel like this?!

Celestia felt the pull as the foal slowly walked towards her, too. She forced down the urge to embrace the colt, not wanting to act out of order in front of her subjects. Each step closer, she felt as if she could hear a strange whispering. At first, she put it down to Hegese and Rouge; standing awfully close and conversing with each other as the foal made its way up, but then she realised; it was a male voice.
‘Just what the hell is going on with me? Damn chest.’

The voice, she recognised. It was younger than the last time she heard it, yes, but it was unmistakable. The ‘foal’ before her had a secret he was hiding, and Celestia felt a pit open up in her stomach as wild theories flew around in her head. She responded. ’Do you mean that pulling feeling, young Quantum?’

The colt froze. His head slowly rose to meet her eyes. His face was a mix of fear and surprise. Despite the situation she was in, Celestia couldn’t help but smile with mirth; it was liberating, she hadn’t smiled like this in a while. ’Well? Are you just going to stand there? Or are you going to show me this cutie mark of yours?’ The child’s muzzle opened and closed uselessly. Unable to even think of a response to the now invading voice in his head; Bryan just turned around, with even less grace than before.

’H-How is this possible? Are you telepathic?’ The colt stumbled on his thought speech; before quickly adding a ’P-Princess’ at the end of it. The goddess let out a melodic laugh, mentally of course. Bryan loosened up slightly; he liked that laugh.

’No, child. I’m not telepathic. You, however,’ Celestia quirked her brow at the colt, who had since fallen uselessly on her flank. ’You have quite the secret, hm? I do wonder what your story is, colt. Bryan spluttered out loud, before quickly silencing himself. To increase the time she had with the young alicorn; Celestia walked towards him, still donning the intrigued smile, and inspected him from all angles.

In response to her statement, however, Bryan’s metaphorical dam broke, and he gushed. About everything: Earth, his old life, his want for a retry, his past year on Equus. Celestia took all of his story in, and as he went over certain topics, she felt parts of his emotion; his elation at seeing the parents he had on Equus, yet, an unfathomable amount of loneliness when he spoke of his desire to have a retry. Her vision flashed a sickening crimson, briefly, and the implication set dread in her heart. When he finished his tale, Quantum just stood there, before speaking in his head again. ’…I just said all of that, didn’t I? Bryan felt like he’d just fucked up, well, royally, and started backing away down the steps. His mental voice grew quieter for Celestia. ’I… I should go. Sorry, you, uh, probably think I’m insane or something. Haha… Whoops.

The colt galloped down the steps to the bewildered Hegese and Rouge. Celestia wanted to go after him; to keep hearing his voice. The alicorn foal made his way behind his family members, and his himself from view. The goddess stood in shock; unable to fully comprehend the reality of his story. Even so, his voice was enough to make her desperate to never leave it again, and yet, she stood as still as Discord.

“I, um, apologise Princess, he’s not usually like this,” Rouge bowed her head as she spoke on behalf of the confused mother and rather shaken up foal. As Hegese tried to coax her son back out, Celestia remained still. The tale that the foal had told her was convoluted, and downright impossible; yet, words spoken eons ago rung in her head.

”I curse you to a life of isolation and despair, now weep!”

The evil grin of a malevolent being that once roamed Equus flashed in her head. The fate it had foretold so long ago forced her to believe the colt’s words. She needed time; and unfortunately, it was one of the things she didn’t, and couldn’t, have at the moment. The goddess of the sun watched the family of three hastily bow, before fast-trotting out of the throne room.

With the doors closed once more, she sighed and slumped back in the immaculate furniture behind her.

As Quantum woke up from his dream, he mentally grumbled about his subconscious constantly reminding him of his blunder in the throne room only a few days ago. The sun peaked from behind the curtains of his room, and Bryan absently noted that Twilight’s birthday was in two days. Sitting up, Bryan looked outside, the ever-bustling city of Canterlot. Despite the early hours of the day, the streets were still awash with the colourful pony river, all shapes and colours mingling into a colourful mess. His eyes roamed the town, taking in its oddly shaped buildings, how their looks clashed yet complimented each other in the strangest of ways; the city seemed unified. Bryan’s eyes settled on the grandest building of all, the castle just looming overhead. Once again, he found himself reminded of the events that occurred during his visit to the monarch. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Frankly, he just wanted to forget the visit ever happened. Unfortunately, his subconscious wouldn’t let him, and with a parent actually working as the princess’ advisor? No chance.

Bringing his eyes away from the window, the ex-human surveyed his room for the umpteenth time since arriving on Equus. It wasn’t really interesting; the room lingered with a smell of fresh paint; clearly in anticipation for his birth, the room had been redecorated. This made the foal wonder what the room was before his arrival; Probably nothing important, actually.

Teal irises (i mean, they look teal in the mirror) fell on the ornate clock hanging above his head. It’s rhythmic tick-tocking putting Bryan at ease. Clocks had always put the foal at peace, in his old life, there’d always been a clock in his room, right from an early age. Most people (ponies now, i guess) were distracted by clocks when they tried to concentrate; if anything, it actually helped Bryan focus. Even when on holiday when there was no clock in my room, Dad wou-

A sharp pain in his head, images flashed by, the foal hissed uncharacteristically and drew in a deep breath, as he swore he could smell that familiar coppery scent.

Bad memories; that wound is still open then, huh, the alicorn’s eyes clenched shut, I don’t really think it’ll ever close.

The tiny pony flopped back in the cot, willing to let sleep take him again. He sighed tirelessly before the dreamless rest found him, and Bryan fell to slumber.

In the distant city of Manehattan, a brown coated pony, with a silver grey mane grumbled incoherently as he fiddled with two small objects floating just above a steel bench. The objects were illuminated in an aura not too dissimilar from the unicorn’s coat, if not slightly lighter; his horn glowing a similar colour. The one of said objects was a cotton pad, soaked in what seemed to be cleansing alcohol. The second object was vigorously scrubbed by the pad, trying to remove dirty marks and rust.

Yes, Philips Driver, or Philip Herring as he was once called, was working on a very special project. Since following his recently rediscovered nephew to the world of Equus, Philips had established himself as an inventor; a job actually quite similar to the role he played on Earth. The two screws on his flank meant he was incredibly good with mechanics and fiddly objects; like many screws could be. His name, Philips Driver, was enough to suggest his occupation to the outside world, and yet, for the first years of his new life, the unicorn felt no end of aggravation at possessing the title. Because he was essentially Philips Screwdriver. Never knew that reality had a sense of humour until that day, he grumbled internally.

As time went on though, he warmed more and more to his new name, like he did many things in this world. He eventually saw Philips Driver as an in-joke that only he would understand, and now, he supposed his nephew (twice-over) would, too.

Besides, being an inventor isn’t really all that difficult when you have a whole other planet’s worth of knowledge and experience in your head.
Philips paused in his scrubbing, midway through pulling his object through the cotton pad. Surprisingly, he didn’t often think about Earth, or his old life, anymore. It felt like memories of a distant childhood. In fact, he actually only thought about his old life in reminiscence of Bryan, before, but now that he’s here, I don’t really have any reason to think about those days that much. Besides… The door to his workshop creaked open.

“Hon’? You workin’ at these unholy hours for a reason or…?” Cinders ‘Cindy’ Elem the Unicorn stood in the doorway, leaning against its arch. She fixed a gaze at her coltfriend of three years, working tirelessly once more. She’d been woken up by his grumbling. An endearing feature of his. He grinned with baggy eyes at the mare before him.

…My life is infinitely better here. Philips concluded his thoughts.

“Ah, right, sorry. Did I wake you up?” Cindy nodded, he winced, “Sorry, I just wanted to…” the unicorn rolled her eyes, and trotted up to her seated lover, and flung her arms around his back, leaning her head just next to his. He chuckled slightly.

“S’fine. What’re you workin’ on anyway? This ain’t like your usual stuff,” she inspected the object in question, picking it up with an orange aura, and bringing it close to her face. She squinted at it “What even is this, anyway? Looks a little small to be a necklace, and I don’ think this is bracelet size, either,” the object was a simple chain of gold, small circular links running a thin line making the piece; it had a few burn marks, it seemed, on different areas. Philips smiled a bit.

“It’s a present, for Br- My nephew, Quantum,” he began, berating himself for the slip-up. If Cindy noticed, she didn’t comment, “I’m fitting it with a size modification charm, later, but I’m busy cleaning off all the black marks at the moment,” He then pointed a hoof to an even smaller object on the bench; an earring with an Onyx stone in—but it didn’t even have a part to actually stick it in the ear! Cindy tilted her head, obviously confused. She didn’t bother asking, though, she’d seen her coltfriend churn out some downright crazy stuff in the past few years, after all. Better to leave him to it.

Quantum though, she’d missed the chance to meet the foal the past few times that Philips had gone. Work got in the way, and there wasn’t much she could even do to help it, work as the chief of the Manehattan Fire Brigade was a demanding job, after all. But the foal was approaching his first birthday, and she’d booked a holiday for the event. No way was she missing this, not at all. The city’s fires could just not for a day.

Gently, she placed the chain down next to the not-earring, and tugged her special somepony to his hooves.

“C’mon, I’ve got a few hours before I have to get to work proper, and I kinda really wanna just hunker down into bed for a bit,” So, Cindy dragged Philips out of the workshop, and into the bedroom that she emerged from. She muttered slightly as the bed had long since lost its heat, but it didn’t really matter, because now there was a stallion pillow next to her.

Mhm, Philips sighed, his lover’s head on his chest, definitely better.

Celestia stepped into her chambers, having raised her sun and lowered the moon ~~that didn’t belong to her,~~ the princess
unceremoniously flopped back onto her massive bed. Comfy though it was, it hadn’t helped her sleep a decent wink the past few nights. The meeting with him had done little to clear her mind, and had offered such a small amount of closure that it may as well have actually made her longing worse. Each time she closed her eyes, the goddess would see one of two things. It was either:

A, the images of the tale that the young foal had told her. The raw emotion that passed from him, to her, and the absolute despair that flowed from him during that scene. Every time she went through it, they got a little more detailed, and her a little more horrified at what the foal had experienced. The worst part was easily the fact that Celestia had a feeling that the younger alicorn had little to no idea how much it played his emotions, or at least, the magnitude of which it did.

Or, she would see:

B, ’The Root.’

Celestia had made, doubly, triply sure that all mentions of that had been erased through time. Nobody needed to hear about it; else the same mistakes may be made. The image of that sneering face, it sickened her, and shook her core.

The princess’ eyes drifted towards a calendar hanging on her wall, just besides the dresser. A day, not long away, was circled. It was the day she’d have to go and see the Herring’s, again. Some things needed explaining that those ponies needed to know; it wouldn’t be fair to let her beloved subjects, especially her most trusted advisor, worry themselves into a rut because their son started creating-

Celestia let out a long breath, only just realising how short her breathing had been. No, she merely needed to sort her head out. Luckily, the courts wouldn’t open for a good few hours; so she had time to pick up some breakfast (Some pastries really would hit the spot, right now) from the kitchens and have another conversation with a certain statue. To Tartarus with his beauty sleep, I need to vent, Celestia grunted internally, It’s not as if he’s sleeping, anyway. He keeps turning the grass pink!

With that final thought, Celestia donned her usual royal metal, golden slippers lightly clinking as she casually trotted down the grand hallway, making noticeable effort to speed up past the door with a large crescent moon on. Luckily, the guards were trained to not ask questions about their monarch’s actions.

It didn’t mean they couldn’t wonder about the other two doors in the chamber corridor, and exactly why they were always locked.
Celestia knew they wondered about the doors; that’s why she gave specific instructions to never, ever go near them, let alone try to unlock them. It probably helped that she put ignorance wards beyond that part of the corridor; only particularly strong unicorns could notice the doors nowadays, anyway.

Entering the dining room, Celestia sighed inwardly at the absurd amount of food that the chefs had prepared. The long banqueting table was filled with pretty much every breakfast food known to pony-kind; it was like they were trying to make her fat. She sniggered, though. I’d like to see them try! Benefit of Immortal Body Number One: Forever a perfect physique.

She ignored how forced her internal cheer was at the mention of ‘immortal.’

Taking about a dozen pastries all for herself, the Goddess of the Sun made way to the gardens and plonked herself in front of the Draconequus Statue. Celestia cast a powerful ignorance spell around herself, the statue and the majority of the gardens; after dismissing all the guards, of course. She didn’t really want them to see her conversing with an enemy of the whole country.

Celestia proceeded to cast a mental communication spell (privy to her spell repertoire only) on the statue, and lifted a cinnamon swirl to her muzzle, before taking a bite.

”Princess, this is unexpected, yet again. What’s it been, nearly a year since you last visited me? Surely you don’t plan to make a habit of these things.” Discord’s voice rang in her head, with definite mock sadness in his tone.

“Oh, quiet you, I really needed someone to vent at,” Celestia began, speaking out loud in a rather casual tone, “Most of the time, the guards just stand there, nodding silently for a bit before asking something rather abrupt, such as: ’Oh, Princess, it’s nice to hear about the current state of affairs and the stress it’s having on you, but would you like a servant to fetch you some tea?” she breathed in, “Of course I don’t want tea, I want you to give me a substantial response; honestly, it should be a topic they cover in the academy.” Discord’s voice sniggered in her head.

”What, How To Deal With A Moody Little Sun Goddess 101?’ For some reason I truly feel as though that wouldn’t even come close to preparing them.” The god of chaos laughed at her plight.

“You’re right, the requirements of such a heavy task must be daunting. Just to be an adequate listener, you must be an entombed enemy of the kingdom, trapped in stone in the royal gardens, and incapable of running away. Luckily, I have one I made earlier,” Celestia mocked the trapped God with just as much force, taking great pleasure in hearing him tut.

”Or, you could just be a very handsome alicorn stallion with a very large-” Celestia rolled her eyes and sighed at the God’s immaturity. ”What? I was going to say very large horn… That, may or may not, be compensating for something!” Celestia facehoofed, but hid a grin from the God’s ‘sight.’

“Well, I suppose that he did have a very large horn, I can’t fault you there,” the grin on her face gained a much more impish quality, “It wasn’t so much compensating per se, more, a match.” She stared directly into the statue’s eyes. Discord spluttered.

”Celly! I’m shocked and appalled that you would even speak something so vulgar. Has two thousand years really changed you so much?” Discord’s playful question hit her harder than expected, and she sighed, gaining a melancholy stare, grin dropping in the process.

“I suppose it has,” She began, thousand-yard stare piercing through the stone figure, “I’m curious, though, I really expected more violent threats and insults at this point, something the matter, Discord?” The Goddess was sure she heard a quiet sigh from the God of Chaos.

”Well, it seems one-thousand years in stone has… Subdued that part of me,” The God imagined the crazed, power hungry and chaos wreaking being he usually was, “Or maybe it’s his presence again, you know how much it helped.” Celestia nodded in thought, understanding on her face.

“It wasn’t fair, you know, what that… thing did to you,” Memories of days long gone flashed by her mind, there one second, gone the next, “I don’t think anybody deserves what happened to you, not even Sombra.” Celestia heard a soft growl from Discord, the mention of the entrapped King setting him off.

”He was just lucky that I was stuck in here; I’d like to see him deal with a Crystal Empire of Chaos,” The God let out a sigh, ”Of course, you haven’t had an easy ride, either, missy. Nor did Luna, especially Luna,” Celestia could almost feel the stare of the Chaotic being on her, “Let’s not forget him either. I assume by this point you have an idea of his ordeal; I felt his presence at the castle a few days ago.”

“I don’t know the whole story; more like one percent of it,” she paused, “Maybe not even that, but if what I know is any indication of what he’s been through… Then, yes, it’s quite um,” She paused, looking for the right phrase, her ancient vocabulary failed her, so she settled with a simple and powerful, “Horrifying.” Celestia relayed what she saw to the Draconequus, the overwhelming loneliness, rage, sadness. The crimson she sees every time that scene crops up. The statue took it all in, saying nothing until she finished.

”That is quite,” Discord drew a breath in, possibly just because, ”Foreboding. I can see why you’re nervous.”

“Isn’t it just, Discord, isn’t it just,” Celestia stared up at the sky, it shimmered with the magic of her ward just in front of her, “And, you know the burden of Time Mages, perhaps more so than I.”

”Very true, Princess. Very tru-“ Discord grunted, seemingly out of pain, and Celestia shot the statue a concerned stare. ”It’s… Fine. I’m not quite at the point where I can hold on for too long,” The Goddess took note of the seeping venom coming into the God’s voice, strange inflections on words briefly hinting on what was coming. She sighed, So time’s up.

“I shall be leaving now, Discord,” her voice held no amicable tones like they had, and she leveled a royal, stoic gaze at the statue. The grass slowly turning different colours beneath it.

”Of course, Celly,” he chuckled darkly, “Just… make sure you keep Equestria nice and warm for me; I’ll be coming for it in just two decades! Toodles~!”

Celestia sighed; well, at least she got a decent conversation out of him this time; a year ago he wouldn’t even lasted a tenth of what he did then, and even so, that part of him always came up in the most abrupt way, the only warning being a headache.

Despite her conversation being over, Celestia sat there for a while longer, contemplating the statue, and the seemingly two different personalities within the stone imprisonment. Several times, she had researched ways to split one from the other; it was impossible, it required Time Magic, the one thing that she absolutely could not perform, she didn’t want to, nor was she able if she did.

Like mentions of ‘The Root,’ Celestia had erased all records of Time Magic, and either secluded it in the Starswirl Section, or The Vault.

The guards slowly returned to the garden, and paid no notice to the Princess sitting before the Draconequus.

The birds sang as usual, and the grass felt cool beneath her. Celestia finished up her dozen of pastries and rose to her hooves.

She dispelled her charm and mental link, and made for the throne room, the court would be starting soon anyway.

The party was in full swing. The Mi Amore’s and the Herring’s were all gathered at the Sparkle Manor; Night Light and Velvet welcoming one and all to their abode. Everypony wished the birthday filly a happy birthday, and gave her various wrapped gifts and boxes, eventually burying Twilight under a pile of good will. The unicorn had happily gone about with her brother, Shining Armor, going around and offering baby noises to allow his translations into ‘Thank you’ or ‘Enjoy the party’ and sometimes even ‘The toilet is over there.’

Twilight had been particularly excited when a certain multi-blue toned alicorn colt trotted through her door, zipping past and full on dragging him away. The families had cooed and chuckled at the young filly’s antics; but nobody thought to reprimand her for her excitable nature; it was her birthday party, after all! So the families, extended families, family friends all gathered and chewed the grass, while the younger ponies went and did whatever they wanted to be occupied. Quantum had been coaxed into playing the role of ‘Scary Monster’ (at least, that’s what he referred to it as; they kept talking about a Dis- something, but he didn’t hear it) in a strange game of rescue the princesses. Shining Armor played the role of valiant knight, but was gentle enough to not hurt the younger alicorn in an attempt to ‘rescue’ Twilight and Cadence.
While the lavender filly hung from his neck, Shining was clearly making lovey eyes at Cadence.

I swear, I will stab myself in the goddamn hoof with my own horn if those two don’t hook up down the line, was Bryan’s first proper coherent thought of the night; a splitting headache had been ruining his mood for the last day and a bit. It started off as just a little annoyance; but soon blew into a full on migraine, which wasn’t really fair, considering is position of ‘infant.’

That being said, he did find time and thought to inspect the Sparkle household. It was adorned everywhere by stars, of all colours. The main themes in the house seemed to be the purple and blue spectrums with white and similarly coloured stars. Bryan remembered hearing that the Sparkle’s had always been talented magic users, some of the most powerful came from their bloodline; with more than a few Archmages to their family name.

Twilight’s walls were adorned with literature; shelves of short stories and novels you’d expect younger ponies to read, but not so much infantile ponies. Many, Bryan recognised, as titles she’d read in his presence.

Before long, the adults had called the younger ponies down again, and they all sang happy birthday to Twilight. As Twilight Velvet trotted in, levitating the cake just in front of her, as she made her way to the centre of the room, where a table was set up with Twilight, Quantum, Night Light, Shining and Cadence all sat. Unfortunately, things never quite go to plan; even the simplest of them. As they collection of party goers continued to sing, Velvet never noticed the stray gift on the ground, having fallen off the pile.

Walking forwards, Velvet caught her front hooves on the rather long present, and tripped forward. Everything slowed down in front of Twilight. She saw the cake fly out of her mother’s aura, her concentration having completely gone. She looked at where the large treat was going to land – it was on a direct course for Quantum! The lavender unicorn, fearing this could hurt her best friend, sprung from in front of her father Night Light and into action. The cake grew ever closer to the alicorn, still somewhat in shock, and then she felt it.

Her will flew from her, and the cake stopped in mid-air, enveloped in a purple aura. The room was stunned silent, ponies looking towards the filly in shock, while a look of strain and complete focus donned her muzzle. With utmost concentration, Twilight flipped the cake the right way up, and placed it gently on the table, before flopping back into her father’s forearms.

Everypony broke into loud cheering and congratulations, while Twilight basked in the acknowledgement that was being hurled her way. She was especially pleased about the hug that Quantum had given her as thanks. As he started to pull away, she almost missed it with all the congratulations, but she could’ve sword she heard a soft:

“…Thank you…”

Twilight stared at Quantum, it was her turn to be wide eyed. The colt didn’t say anything else, if he even said anything at all. She brushed it off, but the unicorn would find herself being bugged by those two simple words for years to come.

After dividing cake and opening presents, Twilight tiredly bid goodbye in foalspeak to all the leaving ponies, donning a replica of Celestia’s crown on her head, and a dress-up robe on. She felt like a princess, and was absolutely beaming. The day had been great, and aside from the near disaster with the cake, the now one year-old unicorn was over the moon with how the day went. Especially with Quantum. His book, Magic for Beginners: Ages 3+, was perfect, and she planned on reading it immediately; or at least, whenever she could. Twilight really wanted to learn more magic! Specifically because, in a week’s time, the birthday would happen all over again, but this time for Quantum, and she was dead-set on showing him what she learnt from her present.

The week passed uneventfully. There were a few rumbles and odd bursts of light from the Sparkle household, but a certain ex-human really couldn’t care less.

11:55pm on the night before his eighteenth/first birthday, Bryan lay in his cot, his headache absolutely screaming. Ever since Twilight’s birthday party, his headache had got progressively worse. The alicorn foal ended up having to force himself to tire out in the day, just so he could sleep at night; and even then, he’d wake up early with an even worse migraine than before.

The progressively bad affliction brought him to where he was now; in his cot, physically unable to sleep but completely exhausted. His head felt like a WWE match had just been fought in his skull; and there were so many terrible celebrity cameos in that fight that it was honestly jus-
He let out a shaky breath, not wanting to go off on another long winded and arse backwards analogy.

Bryan’s resolve was starting to cave; he needed medication, and he needed it now. There was no way he’d survive the whole night without a pain killer of some description, which was a shame because he was really looking forward to seeing his Uncle P when he arrived in the morning. Deciding to be proactive, Bryan clambered out of his cot with practiced semi-ease, and began moving towards the door, left open ajar for easier access by Bow and Hegese. Stepping out the door, Bryan collapsed on his stomach, instantly regretting his idea and wishing to just get back to bed and work on surviving the night.

As he trotted towards the stairs to the landing, a clock’s chime knocked him straight off his hooves.

And into the air.

He floated for a while.

Tick.

Everything droned out. He could hear the clock in his room.

Tock.

He started to panic; he wasn’t coming down.

Tick.

The foal let out a blood-curdling scream, and Quantum’s world went white.

Tock.

5. Memory Lane

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Slowly, Bryan found himself drifting back into consciousness; rays of sunlight shining onto his closed eyelids, and a distinctly nasally feminine voice forcing his awareness.

“Mister Herring,” the voice called, and Bryan lifted his head off his arms, opening his eyes and fixing the woman in front of him with a half-asleep stare. “Would you mind not sleeping in my class? The snoring does disturb my teaching,” Bryan flushed; he’d been snoring? Damn! “Besides, I’m sure you can wait a bit longer before getting your beauty rest; school ends in ten minutes,” The teacher, Mrs Shackledon, peered at the embarrassed boy from over the lens of her glasses, “Unless you’re that keen on staying behind?” Bryan fumbled on his response.

“A-ah! No,” he began, “It’s um… Sorry, miss,” Bryan grinned sheepishly at the brunette woman, who simply rolled her eyes and carried on. Honestly, she’d pursue the matter further, but she didn’t want to stay behind either. Plus, Bryan was a good student; he’d make up for it.

The messy-haired boy leant forward on his desk, leaning his chin into his arms on the top of the surface. Today droned on, more so than the others. He snorted softly, I just finished with exams; and they didn’t go on as long as these did. Seriously, Year Eight has been such a drag; we don’t even do anything worthwhile; not quite GCSEs and not quite new students, either.

The lesson limped on, the thirteen year-old taking notes every now and then. They wouldn’t matter; not really. We’ll cover it again at the start of next year, especially since we finish on Friday. Eventually, and mercifully, the school bell rung. Bryan was out the door, to his locker, and out of school before anybody could even begin to say, ‘Here’s your summer work.’

The school, Flatoak Academy was situated on the highest hill in the middle of the town of Thresham. The town had history; dating back a few centuries to the times of some of the old kings and queens. Since then, it had become a town teeming with interesting people, from all over. It was sort of like a hub for the Midlands of England. On the furthest outskirts of the town, where farmland and cattle could be found, Bryan Herring lived with his parents. There wasn’t a train or bus that went out that far; but the run often did wonders for his stamina and leg strength. Especially with a textbook library on his back.

Today, the teenager decided to walk. He wanted to stop by a few places, grab something to eat, maybe buy a game. A plain green bag on his back, and trusty purple headphones on his head, Bryan listened to some ambiguous Japanese song as the world went by him.

Entering the high street, the brunette’s first stop was the good ol’ McDonalds. He particularly enjoyed whatever the special burger on the menu was at the time, as they gave a little bit of variety to the normal stuff they had. Bryan was pleasantly surprised to see they were doing the ‘Great Tastes of America’ selection, and had to resist buying several of them. With a satisfied smile, he sat down to eat his meal.

Depositing his rubbish and removing his school blazer, Bryan left the fast food chain and entered the high street once more. The British summertime, coupled with the bustling streets, meant that the temperature was pretty unbearable with the school jacket on, and even then, it was still pretty toasty. He unbuttoned the top-most button on his shirt, and loosened the dark green tie just a bit.

Coming towards GAME, Bryan browsed for any enticing new releases. Nintendo fanboy at heart, he made a beeline towards the aisle of the red plumber’s home. Disappointingly, he found that there was nothing that took his fancy, and promptly left.

Bryan made his way home from there; watching the bricked pavements and tarmac roads slowly turn to grass banks and dirt tracks as he went from the city to the sticks. As the afternoon drew on into the early twilight, Bryan re-equipped his blazer to fend off the chills in the open country air.

As he approached his now visible house on the horizon, Bryan briefly contemplated what he wanted to do. Not in the short-term like ‘I want to have X for dinner,’ or ‘I want to play Y later,’ no, usually when he was walking, he liked to consider his future. He was shaping up to be quite the successful athlete; playing rugby at a high standard for his school and club, and even breaking into the athletics team. Dad had always said I had a talent for running, he thought, as an onyx-ringed finger reached up towards his neck, and fiddled with a thin gold chain hanging loose behind his shirt.

Getting close to his house, Bryan noticed something off. There was a white van parked haphazardly in the yard; blocking off his mother’s Jeep and father’s Mercedes. Ordinarily, he would put the visitors down to being the council, but something definitely didn’t feel right. The teenager brushed off the tiny feeling of anxiety welling up in his gut. He slung his headphones around his neck, and muted the song playing.

He walked up towards the half-open white gate that led into the yard, and stared up at the three-floor house beyond. Bryan noted that there was nothing particularly wrong with the house’s external appearance, so there mustn’t be anything too wrong, he surmised. Relief washed over him, but he still stayed cautious about the van. He crept by it, making sure not to make too much sound on the rocks below him.

Approaching the wide open door—not really a surprise considering the recent temperatures, both inside and out –Bryan walked into the landing, and his nose was assaulted with a foul smell. Relief was gone, and anxiety started climbing again. He took off his shoes and called,

“Mum? Dad?” No answer; he crept round the corner and into the kitchen; the smell got worse. Metallic almost like-

His foot splashed on the floor. What was that? Bryan looked down at his feet, and felt the anxious feeling explode into panic.

Blood…?

Following the trail of the crimson liquid with nothing but dread in his heart, Bryan came across the table against the window overlooking the yard; and deduced the source was under it. Slowly, he moved his head under the rim of the table and fell back at the sight before him.

“Oh, fuck!!” His two beloved dogs; one cream coloured, one black, stained in their own blood. Stab wounds were visible through their coats, and their eyes lifeless. “Oh, sweet Jesus, no, please Solomon, Millie, shit, fuck fuck fuck shi-“ There was a clatter upstairs, Bryan froze and tore his eyes away from the pets. He ignored the feeling of a warm liquid seeping through his trousers; it helped to ignore it. The adolescent started to hyperventilate; Where the fuck is mum and dad?! They weren’t out, he knew, their cars were still in the yard.

He moved from the kitchen, away from his much loved companions, and into the hallway. The lights were on and there was a little shuffling on the floor above. That however, did little to attract him from the flecks of blood on the cream carpeted-floor beneath him. The door to his right, the living room, was open ajar. Bryan pushed the door open, creaking as it did, and the scene it revealed burned into his memory.

There were two figures lying prone on the ground, in a pool of blood staining the carpet and spattered against the off-white walls. There were shards of glass, ripped pieces of furniture and a cracked TV all littering the floor. A cold wind blew into the room. Bryan didn’t know when he got there, but he was on his knees between the two figures.

“Mum… Dad…?” His voice was a hoarse whisper, almost silenced under the deafening thumps of his own heart. The woman, short stature with shoulder length red hair was matted in a darker crimson than it should be. Her eyes were open, and her mouth hung agape. The man beside her was larger, with black hair, cracked glasses and a bloodied face. Bryan’s parents showed signs of repeated stab wounds. Their hands were joined, clasping the other in their final moments. “No,” he breathed, “No, no, no,” he shook both bodies, hands getting covered in their blood. “No, no, nonononononono-“ he shook, and the contents of his stomach emptied onto the floor, and over himself. Bryan’s tears mixed with mess below him. His body convulsed in shock, and the thirteen year-old let out a guttural scream of pure anguish.

Bryan knelt there crying for what felt like years, he briefly noticed some more figures enter the room.

“Oh, shit, there’s a kid,” one voice said, a man covered in black.

“So? We just split him, too,” another said. Bryan wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not at this point.

“Oh- fuck, no dude, I’m not stabbing a kid!” the first voice replied again. The boy’s eyes drifted to the fireplace, beyond the body of his father.

“Why? You seemed okay with brutalisin’ the fuckin’ mutts; hell, you didn’t have no complaints when we opened up those two either,” a third voice chimed in. Bryan gazed at the poker. “Heh, check it. The lil’ shit’s got some bling,” the man eyed the broken teenager, “I reckon that’ll fetch a good price, and payment for lettin’ him live.”

“Huh, guess that’s fine, s’long as I ain’t killing a kid,” the first voice came said.

“As long as we get out of here quick; it fuckin’ stinks in here,” second voice warned. Bryan hadn’t.

“Sorted. Alright kid, hand over the jewellery, nice an easy, and we’ll let ya go,” the third voice drew closer. Bryan resolved. They would not take his ring, his chain. Mum and Dad will be upset that I gave them away; they mean a lot to them. The teenager lifted his arms slowly, “Yeah, thas it. The ring, too.”

Bryan’s legs launched him towards the fireplace, he grabbed the poker of the rack, and sprung off the wall, makeshift weapon poised to exact punishment. He screamed in pure, unaltered rage.

Everything froze, inches away from the man’s neck. The room faded to greyscale, leaving Bryan mid-leap in the air. He stayed there, for what felt like eternity, the eerie ticking of a clock echoing all the while.

“’Self-defence,’ that’s what it was ruled as, huh,” a voice, nearly identical to Bryan’s, if a bit older, echoed in the room, “It is a strange thing, you know,” it said, as a white figure slowly stepped into the room; seemingly through the wall. “You sought a restart for this exact reason; the event that occurred on the seventeenth of June, two-thousand and twelve. Ann and James Herring; murdered in cold blood with their dogs in one of the most brutal robberies England had seen for the last decade,” The white figure slowly faded into a more recognizable form. “Yet, you cling to it like it’s your only hope of survival; spouting shit like ‘Oh, it’s what defined me.’”

A large alicorn, with a seemingly moving ocean of blues for a coat and a flowing mane of purples, oranges, reds and blues, much akin to a slowed down flame, stepped into the room, and grinned lopsidedly at the frozen-in-place human.

“Howdy.”

Hegese and Bow were out of bed quicker than ever thought possible at the sound of Quantum’s scream. The yellow pegasus burst out the door, with Hegese just behind, of his and her shared bedroom. At one end of the corridor, Rouge zipped overhead and into Quantum’s room. She came out a few seconds later.

“He’s not in there!” The panicked sound of her voice sent alarm bells ringing in Bow and his wife’s heads. As Hegese was about to respond in an almighty proclamation of, ’Well where the Tartarus is he then,’ a soft white glow illuminated the opposite end of the corridor, just above the stairs. Bow, Hegese and Rouge approached the light with caution.

As they got closer, the three ponies recognised the source, and galloped off at breakneck speeds towards the light, skidding to a stop just near it.

Before them was a glowing orb of white light, fully encompassing their apparently floating foal, Quantum. His eyes glowed with a multitude of colours; mainly frequenting the very same colours of his now flowing mane. It seemed like he was submerged underwater, with the floating in the air and the mane that seemingly didn’t follow the laws of physics. They were speechless.

“I-Is he okay?” Bow rasped, feeling quite a bit of nervousness at the development before them. Hegese whimpered, moving just a bit closer to her husband. Wisps of light moved out and in of the orb, flowing freely like streams and dissipating if they moved too far away from the orb. Quantum’s expression was neutral, showing absolutely no signs of pain or emotion. Rouge’s eyes drifted towards his flanks, and gasped in wonder.

“The hands,” she exclaimed, “On his cutie mark, they’re- they’re moving!” She pointed a hoof at the mark, and sure enough, the red hands were moving asynchronously around the roman numerals, each black marking lighting up a bright red as the minute hand moved by. The younger mare of the group was distracted briefly by a knocking at the door. She used it as an excuse to go down and order her thoughts up a bit better.

Opening up the door with a shaky hoof, Hegese was greeted by the worried faces of the Sparkle family, as well as the Mi Amore’s own alicorn. All of them looked too alert for such a late hour, and decidedly worried, too. Night Light stepped forward, Twilight on his back.

“Hegese! What’s going on? This wave of white light pulsed from your house and-“ He cut himself off as the unicorn’s eyes drifted towards the top of the stairs; the floating orb of foal making his words die in his throat. Hegese wordlessly led them in, and they followed her back up to where Quantum floated. The newcomers gaped at the phenomenon.

“We woke up to him screaming; and then found him like this. His cutie mark is moving, and well, it seems like time has just stopped in there,” Bow offered weakly, trying to explain something that really, he had no clue what to say about.

“Maybe we can just…” Cadence lifted a hoof to the halted in-air foal, but was blocked by a wall of yellow magic.

“I wouldn’t recommend that, my student,” a regal voice echoed from behind them, and the collection of ponies gaped at the presence of Princess Celestia, a pained smile on her face, “Be at ease, my little ponies, there is much to explain, and little to be worried about,” she motioned towards the living room downstairs, whilst surrounding Quantum’s orb in a larger orb of her own magic, pulling him easily behind her.

The Herrings, Sparkles and Cadence followed Celestia wordlessly, taking note of the worn book poking out of her saddle bag slung on her.

The gruesome living room scene melted away, replaced with a thick fog surrounding a circle of grass, and Bryan found himself in the form of his human, seventeen-year-old self, decked in simple blue clothes from head to toe. He stared warily at the alicorn before him, still grinning. The pony before him plonked himself onto his flanks, and drew in a breath.

“So,” he began as if there was nothing wrong, “What do you think is going on right now?”

There was no fanfare to Bryan suddenly remembering his last year on Equus, so of course he recognised the pony before him as a much older version of himself. The question did throw him for a loop, though. In truth, his first assumption was; This is a dream. However, he quickly remembered the agonizing headache that he’d had not moments before appearing in that memory, so he then believed; I am unconscious. Bryan spoke his deduction.

“No, you’re not unconscious; not in the sense you’re thinking of,” the alicorn replied, “What’s happened is you’ve entered a magical trance. Get used to them, you’ll be having them a lot more from here on out,” he said with a casual tone.

“Magical trance, right, and… Who exactly are you, my subconscious?” Bryan asked with scepticism. The alicorn jerked his head back with semi-disgust.

“Your subconscious?! What- no, dude, just – no. Fuck that guy, do I look like your subconscious?” Bryan gave the pony a deadpan stare, “I mean, obviously you wouldn’t know, but c’mon,” he smirked at the human, “I’m much better than your ‘subconscious.’”

“Huh?” The biped, sat cross-legged, tilted his head in clear confusion. The alicorn let out a long, weary sigh.

“The first incarnation to break out,” he rubbed a hoof against his forehead, “And you can’t even figure this out. Not giving me much to work with here, Bryan.” The blue coated quadruped lifted his head and smiled. “I’m you, obviously,” he paused, “Well, I was you. Will be. Whatever,” he waved a dismissive hoof, “Just call me Quantum,” his grin turned into a frown, and he fixed Bryan with a stern stare, “Not as if you’re using the name right now.” Bryan was taken aback, There's no way he's telling the truth. Like hell I believe him like that, he thought.

“What? I’m Quantum, you’re probably just some manifestation of my own insanity; God knows it’s overdue since my arrival in Equestria,” By this point, Bryan was pointing a thumb into his chest, to emphasise his point. ‘Quantum’s’ frown deepened.

“You sure as Tartarus don’t see yourself like that, that’s for sure,” Quantum laid down on his side, resting his muzzle against a hoof, “And see, that talking about insanity, regardless of its jokey nature, it exactly the problem with you right now,” he yawned, as Bryan narrowed his eyes, “Your reluctance to accept the current situation, and cling to the past like a life ring is seriously going to hinder us, you know? We don’t have the luxury of time right now,” he sniggered mirthlessly, “Ironic, no? Oh wait, you wouldn’t get it. Nevermind.”

“Is that why you showed me that memory? To prove a point?” A bit of anger seeped into Bryan’s tone. Quantum narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, in a sense. See, you need to realise that your time as Bryan Herring? Gone, poof. You wanted a retry, you got one, though, it’s more of a trip down a dilapidated memory lane,” Quantum rose to all fours and slowly moved towards Bryan, teal irises pinning down brown ones, “Similarly, you need to understand that your life on Equus is anything but normal in comparison with all the other ponies, you have to have seen the signs: born an alicorn with his cutie mark, your telepathic connection with Tia, I mean, Maker be damned,” he gestured a foreleg around the foggy area, “All this?!” At this point, Bryan was at a loss for words, and just decided to let the alicorn go off on a tangent. The equine being sighed, “You have this whole mess ahead of you; and you’re gonna wander in arse backwards with no preparation, and it’ll ruin you,” he jabbed a hoof into Bryan’s chest, “And your family again if you don’t let go of the past!” Bryan slapped the hood away in anger.

“You’re asking me to just forget everyth-“ Quantum cut him off.

“I never said forget anything! I just said, you need to let go and move on! Damn it, this whole thing is bigger than just you!” He shouted, equally as loud, snout pressed against the human’s nose. Quantum spoke in a whisper, “A lot of ponies are at risk. Tia, is at risk. If you don’t back down and just listen to me, there’ll be a lot more deaths than just your parents this time.”

Bryan swallowed, and averted his gaze from the older version of his foal-self. Quantum spoke with an urgency that rattled his bones, not just because it was basically his voice too, but because Bryan heard that underlying tone of fear. The grass beneath him felt dry, like the heat of the atmosphere between the two had dried it. His mind played back to the memory again, it had all felt so real; and he’d never even noticed it was a replay of a memory. Bryan swallowed his pride, and spoke in a quiet tone.

“L-look, I…” he sighed, and opened his downcast eyes, “I don’t think I’ll be able to move on from that so easily, those people did some horrible things and I…” Bryan looked at his hands, imagining the blood that stained them, “…I did some horrible things, too. I can’t promise you that this will be easy for me to get by, but… You’re right, I’m not exactly the most normal pony around, and I suppose if my not-subconscious and not-manifestation-of-insanity is telling me something big is gonna go down, well, who am I to not trust a pretty face?” He grinned weakly at the now softly smiling alicorn, “Er, muzzle.”

Quantum laughed, relieved that the human incarnation was now on the same page as him.

“Alright, I suppose you’ll need some backstory as to what exactly you are,” he grinned and looked up to the foggy sky.

“Tell me, what do you think of when I say, Time Mage?”

“Let me explain,” Celestia began, giving each of the sitting ponies a fixed gaze before continuing. They were sat in the Herring living room, a space that had been privy to many gatherings in the past year much like the current one; the difference was that this time, the atmosphere was anxious, all inhabitants barring the floating foal and the calm princess waiting with baited breath, “Long, long ago in the earliest days of Equestria, there roamed a specific type of magic user; the Time Mage.

“Back then, there were many Time Mages. Often, powerful unicorns would be able to train themselves to a degree of absolute mastery in all areas magic, in pursuit of the ultimate form of magic; Time. Depending on their ability in the craft, Time Mages were able to manipulate the flow of time within objects or around them, including the ability to full on stop the effects of Time,” Celestia drew the old, worn book in her saddlebag, and brought it before her, “For example, when something old and unusable like this book is exposed to a certain type of Time Magic, then miracles can occur.” The glow of Celestia’s horn turned pure white, and the book was enveloped in an orb similar to Quantum’s. The orb faded, and the book came out like it had just been printed. The room filled with gasps, before Velvet interrupted.

“Princess, why haven’t we heard of this Time Magic? If it’s so powerful, then surely the public could benefit greatly from it!” She called out, somewhat shocked at the revelation of magic existing that even she didn’t know about.

“There’s a simple answer to that, Mrs Sparkle,” Celestia said, with a solemn voice, “Time Magic is easily the most dangerous of all magic schools. I will explain on that a bit later,” She seemed satisfied, and went back to listening intently. “Now, this is where the situation relates back to young Quantum,

“There are two specific types of Time Mages: first, there are the self-disciplined ones. The most famous Time Mage you will have heard of is Starswirl the Bearded,” Widened eyes and looks of recognition filled the room, “The second type is the rarest; natural born Time Mages. Throughout history, there have only been a handful of Natural Time Mages. The reason for this is that their skill with Time Magic comes as naturally as walking for them, making them incredibly powerful,” she paused, taking in a sharp breath, the difficult part, she mused, “The most powerful Time Mage to date was an alicorn born around the same time as myself—a few thousand years ago. Their mastery and power over the craft was to the point of being able to affect the Flow of Time itself,” More gasps of shock and awe, “This is not the point I mean to make, though. There is one common factor shared amongst all natural Time Mages.

“They are all born with a Cutie Mark representing time in some way or form,” Already looks of recognition started appearing, “Finally, natural Time Mages will enter a magic trance at least once a year on their birthday; starting on their first. As you can see,” Celestia gestured seriously at the floating orb containing the foal, “Quantum has entered such a trance. Your son, Mrs Herring, Mr String, is a natural Time Mage.”

The room was floored; the young foal was one of the few in history to possess a natural power. Everypony stayed completely silent, soaking in the details of what their monarch had just revealed to them. Hegese was split between crying and an overwhelming sense of pride—before she remembered that key detail. She spoke up.

“Princess… You said that Time Magic was dangerous. Please, tell me, does this pose a threat to our son?” Her voice cracked as she pleaded for a simple ‘no.’ Bow knew there would be no such thing.

“Quantum is… Well, while I can assure you that his own magic will provide no such dangers, there are potentially others that may wish to take advantage of his talent. Time Magic can be used to make somepony immortal, or to boost their evolution and progress in other magic. Do you understand why I now must ask you to keep his nature a secret from outside of these walls?” Everypony in the room nodded with a serious disposition. There was absolutely no way anypony would be laying their hands on Quantum; he was safe with them. Cadence asked one final question.

“Princess, you mentioned that at least once a year, Quantum will go into a magic trance. Why exactly does he do this, and how often will he do so?” The recently evolved alicorn asked her teacher, and Celestia responded carefully.

“I believe, that he may be going into these more frequently than previous cases; his magical reserves are beyond his age, that is certain, and for your first question…” She paused, looking at the floating orb.

“I do not know, it is as mysterious as it is sacred. Do not disturb him when he goes into one of these; the effects on his mind, and your own, could be unprecedented,” she spoke from first-hand experience. Nobody had the nerve to question how she could move Quantum with her magic. They had heard enough, for one night.

“Fuck me, dude,” Bryan’s eloquence echoed in the fog, “I’m some crazy super mage?” Having just finished his explanation, Quantum agreed whole-heartedly with the human.

“Crazy, huh?” The biped nodded, “You ain’t even heard the strangest part,” Bryan’s eyebrows rose in a way of saying ’There is no way it gets crazier than this.’ The teenager encouraged the alicorn to continue. “Well, y’know how I told you about that crazy-strong alicorn in ancient times that could control the Flow?” Bryan nodded. “Well, I’m sure even you could deduce that that was me,” Bryan nodded, again. “Good, you do have some powers of deduction.”

“Well, it didn’t really prove a mystery when you kept talking about how handsome the stallion was, how much of a dreamboat he was, and most important of all, how great his mane was,” Bryan sighed, head in his hand, “Honestly, you sound exactly like…” Realisation hit him as the grin on Quantum’s face told all. “…Me.”

“Bingo. Looks like you were the right incarnation to break out, after all,” the stallion grinned.

“Wait, ‘the right incarnation?’” He queried, “You mean, there were others before me?” Quantum nodded, but made a noise to show he was unsure.

“Eh… It was more like, the previous incarnations of yourself didn’t possess that extra oomph to get out of our little unplanned excursion to Earth,” the alicorn paused, “I suppose that is because there was always a set time limit to our banishment, anyway.”
Bryan was lost.

“’Our?’ You’re talking as though we’ve always been the same person… pony… Whatever,” he rose to his feet and started pacing, stretching his legs. They were feeling a bit numb, by this point, “And the way you phrase it, you make it sound like I’ve been other people. Like, a LOT of different people.” Quantum nodded eagerly.

“Oh yeah, two hundred and fifteen different people, to be precise. Dating all the way back to good ol’ one thousand BC,” The alicorn smiled cheekily. Bryan’s mouth fell agape, “But, that’s a story for a different time. You’ll learn it soon, anyway. I’m gonna send you on your way; I’m sure Tia is tired of watching over you at this point.” Bryan nodded dumbly, still blown away by the revelation that he’d lived two hundred and fifteen lives.

“Listen, Bryan. You’re gonna be entering these trance states a lot from now on, and each time you do, you’ll be recalling a past life of yours. Specifically, you’ll be entering at least ten trances a year. On your twenty-second birthday, you will recall your first life,” Quantum pointed at himself, “Mine. Each time you enter a trance, it will be slightly longer than the last one. You better hope you don’t enter one at a critical time, though knowing how it Flows from here on? It’s unavoidable.”

“Wait, wait, wait. What’s going to happen?” Bryan asked, snapping out of his tranceception. Quantum smiled wryly, and the world started to fade away.

“Simple,” he said, “Shit’s gonna hit the fan.”

6. Homesick

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In the early morning, relief washed over a group of particularly anxious ponies. From midnight, all the way to around five o'clock, the Herrings, Sparkles and the teacher-pupil alicorns watched with baited breath as Quantum floated in the Herring Home's living room. The orb of light that encompassed the foal suddenly, grew brighter, blinding the colt's parents whom were sitting closest to their child. The brief flash subsided; and the young Quantum floated gently to the ground, emanating a small, soft glow from his coat. Hegese snatched him up from the floor and hugged him tight.

"Oh, thank goodness you're safe," she muttered, stroking his mane as Bow came and nuzzled her side. Celestia watched, with the other room's inhabitants, with tiny pangs of longing in her heart; she so wanted to be the one keeping him close at that moment, but quelled the desire, like she did with most of her personal wants. Her eyes flickered to the youngest Sparkle, Twilight, laid on the sofa. Small, tired eyes watched the alicorn colt.

Twilight didn't really understand what was going on. She remembered her father rushing in during the midnight hour, and rushing over to Quantum's home in the middle of the night. Truthfully, she was confused and still quite dazed at the rude awakening; she didn't cry, though. When she had seen the floating orb containing her friend, it only served to confuse her more. Was he experiencing his magic, too? Part of the young unicorn thought that she should be proud of him, after all, magic was a wonderful gift! Unfortunately, she only seemed anxious upon seeing him. Twilight hadn't been through that with her awakening, not at all. Then the princess had shown up, and everything just got complicated from there! She didn't understand even half the words the Sun Goddess was spouting!

Cadence had watched the events play with a look somewhere between anxiety and curiosity. On one hoof, the alicorn foal was powerful; she knew that, and it made her swell a bit with pride upon realizing this; Quantum was like a little brother to her, after all. On the other hoof, the pink alicorn could tell that her teacher was withholding something. Of course, Cadence did acknowledge that it was probably with good reason; it didn't mean she couldn't be curious, though. Besides, the magical trances were common for alicorns; it symbolized growth. Cadence remembered entering one when she ascended to become an alicorn.

Shining Armor watched with wary eyes; if Time Magic was so dangerous, did that mean Quantum himself was a danger? More importantly, did he pose a threat to his younger sister? He resolved to keep an eye on him moving forward.

The head of the Herring family puffed her chest in pride. Of course Quantum was an important, super powerful mage. He was a Herring, after all. Even if unicorns were rarely born in the main line of the family; it's only right that when an alicorn is, said foal becomes uber strong. She hid her grin with a warm smile, though.

Quantum felt surprisingly refreshed. Coming out of the trance, the ex-human had felt like he'd just had the most wonderful night's rest. He enjoyed the loving embrace of his mother, but of course noticed the various looks being given to him from across the room. The alicorn was especially concerned with the almost glare being directed at him by Twilight's white-coated brother. Yeesh, wonder what pissed in his cornflakes, he met the unicorn's stare with a happy grin, and Shining Armor's gaze faltered, and the unicorn looked away. Yeah, that's right. Lose a stare down to a foal, he mentally chuckled, Prick.

Bryan's thoughts wandered all the way back to Quantum-- the first one, living in his head --and the information that the older alicorn had unceremoniously dumped at his hooves; or feet as they were at the time. While the story was downright preposterous, leaving the colt with half a mind to call it out as bollocks, the human-turned-magical-equine recognized that Actually, everything that's happened in the last year has been pretty damn absurd.

'Talking to yourself?' A melodic voice echoed in his head; and Quantum nearly jumped from his mother's vice like grip. He noticed the princess in the corner. She wore a tired, yet definitely amused, grin. 'Don't worry; I'm not going to reveal your secrets. I just want to talk.' Truth be told, the youngest alicorn in the room actually wasn't worried about the Sun Goddess; the pulling on his chest wasn't as noticeable as it was back in the throne room, and it most certainly wasn't uncomfortable, either. It was warming. That being said, she did scare the shit out of me, Bryan thought, and grimaced at the sound of a distinct 'snrk' echoing in his head. This whole telepathic connection is going to take some getting used to, he sighed.

'It took some adjustments; yes. Your thoughts suddenly not being private was something of a bombshell to me, all those years ago,' Celestia's voice chuckled again in his head, 'Though, it's not my past I'm here to reminisce about, Quantum, the last time we met, you left without allowing me time to inquire,' Bryan sighed, he knew this was coming, 'I would like to know; how much do you know about yourself?' His eyes widened; that wasn't the question he was expecting. He chose his response carefully.

I know that I'm not who I thought I was, Quantum began, That I'm not what everyone else thinks I am, either, Celestia leaned infinitesimally closer; her hopes picking up just a tiny amount, [In my magic trance, I met someone- or somepony, as it were -he showed me a memory from my previous life; or at least, my most recent one. Celestia's mind was filled with a grotesque scene. A completely trashed room, glass and blood everywhere. Two prone bipedal figures at the back of the room, near a broken window. The forefront of the room was filled with the frozen image of four other bipedal figures. On the left, three creatures that set alarm bells ringing in her head; dangerous. On the right, a decidedly younger biped caught in mid-lunge, the sharp poker from a fireplace poised at the closest figure's neck.

'Oh, Tartarus,' Celestia gasped in shock, drawing a decidedly odd look from Cadence. It had been worse than she'd thought. For a second, the Celestial Goddess felt everything; unimaginable pain loss, and a burning hatred and killing intent. It didn't take a genius to figure out the context to the gruesome scene; the group of three burly figures in black, clear assailants and criminals. The two prone figures, clearly deceased, and of some importance to the leaping creature, front and center, or...

...I'm sorry you had to see that. The memory hasn't been that vivid before, Quantum's voice rung in Celestia's head, she made no reply, still stood stiff in place. He continued. Uh, The d-dead humans at the back, they were my um, parents, at the time, The younger alicorn mentally chuckled, devoid of humor, while Celestia found herself even more mortified than she thought possible, It'd just been another normal day at school, you know? He looked down, and said more to himself, Maybe if I hadn't spent so much time in town, that day, then maybe-

'Quantum. Do not blame yourself for this. While yes, it's true, I may not know the whole story behind this, but I can at least be sure that you didn't cause their deaths,' She paused, seemingly snapped out of her shock, 'You didn't kill them. You wouldn't.'

Another scene flashed before her eyes; this time, five prone bodies, and one kneeling human in the middle of them all. He too, was covered in the brutal crimson. His eyes were empty, unnoticed tears streaming down his tilted face as a dripping make-shift weapon hung in a loose grip.

Am I a bad person, Princess?

Before the sun goddess could even begin her long rant of disagreement, having still been blown away by the most recent memory, the other occupants of the room (that Celestia had, admittedly, forgotten about) interrupted her. Velvet stood from the sofa, along with her husband, and smiled at the still embracing mother and son.

"I suppose we'll be off, then, Hegese," she began, and the crimson pegasus turned, finally releasing the white alicorn colt with a barely suppressed 'oof' from the one year-old. Bow and Hegese left the living room to bid adieu to their friends, while Cadence too, prepared to leave. She threw the odd glance at her mentor; wondering what she was hiding and her frankly odd behavior through the night. The pink alicorn spoke.

"I suppose I'll be off, too," she smiled at Bryan, "I'lll see you a bit later, Quanty, when it's less of an unholy hour!" She smiled and winked at the colt, who seemed subdued. Eh, it's probably shock from the odd experience, Cadence surmised. She turned to the largest alicorn in the room, "Will you be walking home, Celestia? If so, I'll happily go with you," Cadence had been allowed to Celestia's name when talking to her; given that she too would be soon crowned as a princess; specifically, the Princess of Love.

The mentioned 'Princess-To-Be' didn't fail to notice the brief look of helpless aggravation pass her tutor's face. It was there and gone in a second.

"Ah, no, that will be fine, Cadence," Celestia smiled, "I think I'll just teleport back. The sooner I get back to bed, the better." She winked, though, her joviality was somewhat forced, none of the remaining ponies commented. As Hegese and Bow reentered the room, the Sun Goddess bowed to them, "Hegese, Bow; thank you for allowing me into your home. You've been quite welcoming, given the circumstances." The royal adviser and her husband were quite flustered at the unexpected gratitude, and just managed to splutter out a botched 'thank you.'

Princess Celestia disappeared from the Herring Household with a smile and a fwash.

Princess Celestia appeared in her chambers in Canterlot with a snarl and a string of rather un-princess-ly expletives. She bucked the wall.

I can't believe I just left him like that! She thought to herself angrily, Quantum had clearly been in some sort of painful experience and I abandoned him at a critical moment, The Celestial Goddess flopped onto the large four-post bed, and screamed into her pillow, before growing still.

'Am I a bad person, princess?'

Those words had struck her. Hard. The images she had seen were gruesome, yes, but what scared her was the young looking 'human' in the scene. It had been him- Quantum -before his rebirth into Equestria. Words spoken long ago resonated in her ageless mind, of curses and banishment.

'One doomed to exile...'

"Oh, Quantum," she muttered into her pillow, "What happened to you?"

Celestia fell into a dreamless sleep, until she would be needed for her daily duties.

The morning passed without (too much) event. Following his return to the conscious world, Bryan discovered a hollow feeling inside him; bittersweet.

It was about ten in the morning when the thought occurred to him, It's been a year since I left Earth, which honestly, affected him very little; his life was great on Equus, after all. Parents back, the original Phil with him, good (yet strange at first) new friends in the guise of Twilight Sparkle and Cadence Mi Amore, and honestly? Life was going pretty damn well for him.

But, there were things Bryan missed. Just because his situation on Earth was infinitely worse, the ex-human definitely had friends there. The young alicorn had never forgotten the kindness of his best friend, Marcus, following the death of his parents, and their assailants justified demise. Marcus had been there always; not so much as forcing him into the open, or pushing Bryan into uncomfortable situations too soon, but he was a friend and a support crutch when Uncle Phil wasn't around.

Then there was the girl Bryan was sweet on, Melissa. She too, had helped him during the rough times; coming to Bryan's defense whenever it was needed, and, like Marcus, a crutch for the emotionally paralyzed.

There were others, sure, but not so prominent as Marcus and Melissa.

As Quantum recalled more and more of the important friends in his previous life, he made a startling discovery. He could remember every detail of his old life; every conversation, purchase, lesson, face, moment and, death, that the teenager had been faced with. Bryan supposed that it was something to do with his new title; Time Mage, and what the other Quantum/himself had said to him during the trance. Even so, the memories only served to dredge up old memories, and the slight pangs of homesickness ran through his body.

The smell of cooking wafted from the kitchen, and with it, the clip-clops of hooves against a terracotta flooring. Bryan sat in the living room; staring maroon walls, and their decor. The morning sun, now high in the air (i wonder what the princess is doing) shone over Canterlot. The Sparkles, still supposedly tired from the events of the early morning, had told the Herrings they would be round some time in the afternoon- the Mi Amore's with them. But before them...

The doorbell rang, and the yellow pegasus form of Bow rushed to the manor's front door. The familiar faces of Philips Driver and Cinders Elem stood beaming behind the door. Hegese's husband grinned.

"Phil! Finally got here, eh?" The unicorn in question rolled his eyes and hoofed his brother in the shoulder, "And Cindy," Bow turned to his sibling's beau, "You're looking lovely today," The two ponies embraced, before Bow broke off and smiled at her sympathetically, "Finally got some off time from work, then?" She sighed.

"It's a real pain, ya know? I love being that helping hoof in emergencies, but sometimes I just wanna relax for a day!" She sighed, before grinning at her lover's brother. "Hopefully, the rest of the brigade can handle one day on their own." Bow nodded with understanding.

"Honey, are you just gonna let them stand there in the porch, or are you going to invite them in?" Hegese poked her head out of the living room, while Bow jumped and grinned sheepishly, muttering a quiet 'yes dear.' The couple walked into the Herring house, identical grins of mischief splayed on their muzzles. Quantum's father, as his Phil was walking into the hallway, spotted the odd shaped gift poking out his saddlebags.

"Say, Phil," he begun, pointing a hoof and the object in question, "What'd you get my son?" To this, Cindy placed her head in her hooves and sighed, while Philips beamed a smug grin and puffed out his chest.

"Oh boy, you've really gon' 'n done it now," The mare lamented, "He's going to be talking about it for hours now." Phil shot his marefriend a bemused look.

"Well, brother of mine, if you simply must know," The other-worldly inventor placed a hoof on his chest, "It's some jewelry that I myself spruced up to perfection!" Using his magic, Philips moved the gift from his saddle bag into the air between him and his brother. The gift was a strange shape. Like an upside down T, or one of those purple Tetris blocks. Bow quirked an eyebrow at the gift.

"Jewelry, eh?" The yellow pegasus inspected it from all angles, going so far as to crouch under it, too, "Don't you think the colt is maybe just a bit too young for stuff like that?" Philips made a distinct 'snrk' noise, before covering himself with a cough.

"It's his first birthday, this way it'll hold special significance for him!" Philips grinned, but thought, Besides the value they already have for him, he sighed inwardly, Hope Bryan likes 'em.

From there Bow nodded and conceded to his magical brother's point, it wasn't as if he'd set specific gift guidelines, after all.

The smell of breakfast permeated every nook and cranny of the Herring Manor. Delicious hash browns, hay and other such foods that by now, Bryan was used to, stocked a huge banquet table, and the closest members of the Herring family ate together in a comfortable atmosphere. There was lighthearted joking between brothers, juicy gossiping between mares, even Rouge had a thing or so to say, and in the middle of it all was Quantum, content and at peace, the events of the morning and past lives distant from his mind in that one, precious moment.

Of course, you know what they say about all good things.

"Oh!" Hegese began, "Phil, Elem, I don't think we told you about what happened earlier this morning, did we?" Hegese began, placing her cutlery down on her empty plate, with the rest of the table's occupants following suit. Bryan, sat in quite the embarrassing high chair besides his mother, froze. Truly, he didn't really want to think about the whole impossible weight of time and destiny on his shoulders again so soon, but he supposed Phil would find out one way or another.

"Uh," Phil swallowed the last remnants of a daisy toasty in his mouth, and shot a look to his multi-dimensional nephew, "No, why? Did something happen this morning?" The grey-maned unicorn noticed the quick flicker of worry on Quantum's face. He instantly had a bad feeling in the pit of his belly.

"Well, it was at during the very, very early morning. Barely past midnight," Bow began, taking the cue to explain from his wife, "We woke up to Quantum screaming." The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very, very still. The temperature seemed to drop, too. "Of course, Hegese, Rouge and I, we all dashed out to see what on Tartarus was happening, and, well, there he was," He placed his fore-hooves together, "Our boy was floating in mid-air, eyes some blinding light, and completely surrounded by an orb of light.

"Before we had the chance to panic properly, the Princess herself, as well as the Sparkles and Cadence all arrived, and the Princess told us some surprising things." From here, Bow explained everything Celestia had told them just hours ago. About Time Mages and magic, self-disciplined and natural mages. Of course, they didn't seem to remember the whole 'a secret from all those outside these walls' bit until after everything had been explained. Cinders and Philips both swore that the information would be safe with them, while the latter cast a very worried glance at the ex-human alicorn.

"That's a whole lot to take in," Cindy leaned back in her chair, staring absently at the ceiling, "Young Quantum there is some big ol' powerful mage, huh?" She grinned, "Well, if I were you, I'd be all kinds o' proud!" Phil grinned along with her, and the easy atmosphere returned for most. Unbeknownst to everypony else; Bryan and Phil were having a non-verbal conversation. Teal eyes pierced older grey ones carrying a simple message; 'Later.'

Before long, the dining room had been cleared up and replaced with small snacks and bites to eat in preparation for more guests. The Sparkles, as always, were the first to arrive, while Cadence arrived a few minutes later. After that, the fun and games were on the way. Twilight and Quantum engaged in their usual competitions, from races to reading. The respective families and of course, Cadence, watched with smiles and contributed the occasional 'aw,' to the young ponies' behaviors.

As the afternoon drew in, Celestia's sun high in the sky, it finally came to present time for Bryan.

"Here you go, hon'," Cindy approached the alicorn (positioned on his usual spot on the sofa) and gave him a long box, wrapped in bright orange wrapping paper. Bryan's curiosity was peaked, and wasted no time opening the gift. "We don't really need 'em up in Manehattan, but looks like you folks down here sure do!" She laughed as the long box revealed a pair of small, polarized aviators. The frame was a light red, with the multicolored lenses held firmly in place. Bryan grinned widely, Oh, hell fucking yes. Distinct memories of his past life, of cool kids in webcomics and big red record. He loved the gift, and immediately put them on.

So. Fucking. Cool. The occupants of the room laughed at the small alicorn, striking poses with the shades attached to his face. Cindy grinned at him.

"You like 'em, eh?" She asked, before the small multi-blue alicorn glomped her.

Twilight's gift came next, and with a surprisingly shy demeanor, approached the younger pony and handed him a gift with purple wrapping-- it was oddly wrapped, and Bryan deduced it was because the lavender filly had wrapped it herself. He opened the gift gingerly, and was not at all surprised to find a book; in fact, it was the same book he had got her, just a different copy. He beamed at her and gave her a hug as a thank you.

The room exploded in 'D'aw's' and squee's. Bryan heard the shutter of a camera go click. He sighed inwardly. Damn it, he thought, That one is gonna haunt me forever. Twilight looked at him with a beet-red face, trying to look annoyed, but only just managing to give him a look that said 'Don't fall behind me, fool!' Before fleeing behind her chuckling mother.

Next were Quantum's parent's gifts, and well, the haul was huge. There were toys, clothes, decorations and a particularly nice looking suit for young colts, supposedly from a family quite close to the Herrings. They dabbled in fashion, and even owned a designer store in Ponyville somewhere; even had a unicorn daughter the same age as Quantum! The suit itself was white, with a strange tie- seemingly multicolored yet only shimmered the colors of the alicorn colt's mane. He donned both it and the shades, and he felt fine as a goddamn fiddle.

Bryan's grandmother Rouge had done something spectacular; she had 'bought' him an actual Grandfather clock! And to Bryan, the ticking of the massive timepiece was unbelievably calming. The clock was a dark oak wood, and had a rich and high quality finish on the material. The face was made of marble, while the hands were made of a fine diamond; a testament to the Herring heritage. The gift itself actually had a backstory; the clock was broken decades ago, but had been in the family for countless generations, rooting back to the founding of Equestria. When the clock had broken only (relatively) recently, Rouge's husband had been devastated, especially when told the chances of it being fixed were slim. But when Rouge had gone up into the attic recently, she had found the damned thing ticking and tocking like normal! Bryan loved the clock, and his parents had promised to move the giant behemoth of a gift to his room.

And then came Uncle Phil, strange shaped box in magical grip. This, Bryan had been looking forward to. The only person in this room that knew the (most) truth about himself, his past. The brown stallion grinned lopsidedly, and placed the small box before him. Quantum discovered, after unwrapping, that the gift was actually two gifts-- a small square box and a thin but long rectangular box, both covered in a strange black velvety material.

Carefully, he opened the square box, making sure to not accidentally break its contents. Inside was a small, golden ring, not meant for pony hooves, with an onyx stone on the top.

Bryan didn't full notice the whimper that escaped him.

Placing the first box down, but with the ring in one hoof, the alicorn colt opened up the longer box, already half suspecting its contents. Inside this one, was a long golden chain of no distinct pattern; just normal oval-like links. In his free hoof, Bryan picked up the chain, and his mind overflowed.

Everything that was Bryan Herring rushed through his brain. Every memory, detail and aspect that made up that human-being passed before him in a flash; he could remember with crystal clarity the faces, voices and interactions of all his friends, family, and acquaintances. The words of the older Quantum rang in his head 'let go,' as the images of his human parents appeared in his mind, their conversations, their happy, happy memories, and their final, traumatic moment. Something happened in the alicorn's mind; like a relinquishing of control, or rather, the exchanging. It was at this point, the young colt understood.

Bryan Herring was never a separate identity to Quantum; merely, Bryan Herring was an extension of Quantum, simply an aspect of a greater whole.

He remembered the very last memory; lying in bed, a cold breeze, and a desire to just leave. And then, there was the first; the rebirth into a new world, a new beginning; and the ending of a torturous cycle.

And then, the images were gone, and the alicorn found himself staring into the eyes of Philips Driver. He had noticed the warm tears down the young one's face. Before he could inquire however, the colt simply gave the biggest smile he could, and through bleary eyes, Quantum Herring said in a quiet voice,

"Thank you."

END OF PROLOGUE

Author's Notes:

Hey hey! Exams are over and I'm free to update now! There's gonna be a long-ish chain of updates in a small period of time for a few days, before we go back to once a week.

I'm glad to see so many people asking questions about the plot, and their theories on what happens and what they want to see; so far, many "predictions" have either been close or bang-on. I'm trying to flesh out Celestia's character, too, so that I can show contrast following Luna's canon return later on.

Furthermore, I think I mentioned this in the comments a while back, I'm not sure, but someone asked about Bryan/Quantum's interaction with the actual events of the canon. So here's how it is:

Everything will mostly remain the same.

Mister Herring is going to play a passive role in the story; occasionally affecting events and sometimes even their outcomes, but for the most part, everything will start, proceed, and end, the same way. That being said, his own dilemmas and story will unfold beside it. Someone picked up on his relationship with Discord; that's coming on the distant horizon, as well as plenty of Celestia interaction, too.

Anyways, that does it for the A/N today; as always, thanks for reading and sticking through with me, please leave and gripes and spites in the comments, I'll reply tom them whenever and if I can.

Cheers. (¬‿¬)

7. The Nameless First

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Infancy was strange, the mental voice of Quantum Herring noted in the dead of night. Following his epiphany on his birthday before, the former Bryan Herring realized he could remember every detail of his last human life with crystal clarity. Sure is nice seeing them all so happy, the alicorn was flicking through his old, happier memories. Specifically, he was looking at events like Christmases and Birthdays, at least, any before the murder. Staring blankly at the ceiling, Quantum raised a singular blue hoof above his head.

Wrapped around the appendage was a simple gold chain of no real decadence. The necklace ran through the loop of a small, onyx-adorned signet ring. With waning novelty, the year-old alicorn colt recalled the sentimental value and significance of the two basic pieces of jewelry.

"Happy Birthday, Bryan!" His parents ambushed him before he could even fully open the door, and so the newly turned thirteen year-old vaulted face first into a solid oak door. His father James broke into fits of giggles before Bryan even had a chance feel embarrassment, while his red-haired mother Ann hid light sniggers behind a single hand, a mischievous light in her green eyes. The winter breeze flew in from outside, the darkening day of the season leaving the porch of the isolated bungalow illuminated in the twilight.

"Oi, get in," James gestured with his hand, "It's cold outside and I'm freezing to death here." Rolling his eyes, yet with a snarky response on his tongue, Bryan moved into the hallway.

"What, those old, fragile bones of yours can't take a little cold, old man?" Ann spluttered and her defensive hand fell down as she flew into a giggling fit at her husband's expense. The 49 year-old father smacked his son on the back of the head, but said nothing in reply. His grin would've betrayed him anyway. The door closed behind Bryan, and the teenager dropped his bag in the corner of the room.

"So Bryan," Ann asked, finally recovering from her laughing fit, "How was school? Get any presents from your friends?" The family of three slowly moved into the living room, and a grin appeared on the youngest's face.

"Ha, yeah," Bryan eyed the spacious room, gazing at a small pile of presents in the corner, next to a leather two-seat sofa. "Marcus got a pair of headphones," He gestured to the purple object around his neck, "And Melissa-"

"Gave you her burning heart, and endless love," James interrupted, "'Oh Bryan, take me from this dreadful world, where we may frolic in flowers, and dine under the full moon, together in harmony!'" He imitated an incredibly girly voice. Bryan shuddered with a blush; the northern accent made the mockery even worse. Ann grinned madly at her son, while James broke down once more.

"Actually, Melissa got me some Sonic merch," Bryan ground out, forcing the blush back down.

"So, she's the Amy to your Sonic, eh?" His father taunted before laughing more.

"God damn it," Bryan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose; mainly to hide his beet face, "Besides," he muttered, "Knuckles is my favorite character." Well, second. First is Blaze, but that'd be a dumb thing to say in front of these two.

As Bryan enjoyed the jovial atmosphere, his parents came to a slow stop in their chuckling. The living room was lit with a single ceiling light, with a lampshade made of reflective circles strung together. The carpet was purple, and was remarkably soft. Two sheep skin rugs were laid out in similar places on the two halves of the room. One longer wall had a wall-mounted TV, with a fireplace just below it, while opposite was a three-seat sofa of the same kind to the two-seat. The far end of the room had a patio leading to the back garden, and opposite that was the entrance to the room, with the two-seat sofa and pile of gifts. Bryan sat down next to the gifts.

"Well," his mother began, "I suppose you should get round to opening those; not many this year, considering your dad's is currently out of a job." Bryan winced oh-so-slightly. Sore topic; move on.

"Of course! You two were missing this morning, anyway," Bryan grinned, "I couldn't open them without you here. Just where were you, anyway?" His dad winked suspiciously.

"You'll see."

"Fine; let's get these open," Bryan reached for the first present, an incredibly small box stood on top of the rest. It fit nicely into the palm of his hand. "What's in you...?" He mused, and noted the smiles on his parent's faces. Carefully, so as to not break the darn thing, Bryan unwrapped the present to find a ring box. An eyebrow raised as he looked at Ann, who was smiling especially wide. Bryan lifted the lid of the box.

Inside was a ring. There was little fanfare to it, really, he knew what would be in the box once Bryan had realized what the box was. It was gold banded, with an onyx-stone the size of a fingertip on top. It was simple, and yet...

"I love it," the teen said, examining the ring from every angle. The craftsmanship was amazing, actually. There were no marks, no scratches or blemishes. It was smooth, shiny and cold to the touch-- in a good way.

"It's been in this family for years," Ann said, looking at her son and his ring, "It's been tradition to pass them along; I've got my ring," Bryan looked up, and his mother waved a finger adorned with a similar ring, but with a ruby stone. "And now you've got yours. It was once your Grandfather's, on your dad's side." Bryan raised his eyebrows, and looked to James for answers.

"See, both our families have little traditions like that," he started, pulling out a longer, unwrapped box from his pocket, "This belonged to your mum's dad, and now, it's yours. Take care of it." Bryan stretched over, and grabbed the box from his father; ring slipped onto his finger. Opening the lid of this box, Bryan gazed upon a singular gold chain. It was slim and long, and looked fragile. It hit him hard that this had belonged to the one grandparent he'd never met, for he had died just a singular year before Bryan's birth. He smiled serenely at his parents, whom beamed back at him.

From there, Bryan wore both the ring and chain for the rest of the day. He unwrapped the other presents, consisting of more practical things like a new phone, some nice clothes... the usual birthday gear. The rest of the day was spent in the company of his parents or trying out his new items. The day was filled with jokes, teasing and an all-round great atmosphere. Bryan had decided that his thirteenth birthday had been the best thus far, and was quite content to not let it end, even the dogs were having fun playing with all the used wrapping paper!

The smiles of his parents were blinding, always filling him with joy, and it comforted him (at the time) that they would always be there for him; no matter what.

Merely four months later; Ann and James Herring were murdered in cold blood; their deaths avenged by their son in the same incident.

The question is, how the hell did they get here? Quantum continued to stare at the jewelry, as if the pieces would come to life and start unveiling their secrets. They did not. That being said, Uncle Phil did give me sort of two gifts in one, the alicorn lowered the hoof, and continued to stare at the ceiling. Whatever these things really are, they gave me some sort of mental... tsunami, The moment he had touched the accessories, Quantum had felt like he'd experienced his entire life as Bryan Herring in just a few short seconds, and when it went, so did the lingering attachment to the name, identity and feelings he'd associated with being Bryan. It was liberating, really, like waking up from a half-sleep state.

Cool air drifted through an open window to his right, and the infantile time mage gazed into the Canterlot night. In his head, the things that the older Quantum had said during his magical trance started to fall into place. Bryan Herring was just one of hundreds of lived he'd lived, the many faces he'd had over three thousand years. There was no flooring moment of complete despair when he realized this; in fact, it was quite joyful. The chain and the ring had, in a sense, allowed Quantum to stop being Bryan, and let him finally live as the alicorn colt he was. There may have been a slight feeling of sheer relief in the back of his mind when the event occurred though.

The blue-coated colt's gaze fell on the castle just in front, ticking of the grandfather clock resonating in his soul. More questions rose from his heart when he looked at the castle, for he thought of the Princess, and his strange mental link with her. Quantum honestly felt as though he were missing something ridiculously obvious, but he couldn't quite put his hoof on it.

Regardless, the alicorn was quite looking forward to uncovering the pieces of his past, future and present, even if they did cause him a splitting headache.

Celestia, for the umpteenth night in a row, found herself bored, tired, and without any particular duties to attend. Half a millennia ago, she had made the castle and its staff pretty much autonomous. Rarely, she found, was there an occurrence that required her intervention. The guard ponies that worked the night shift kept to themselves most of the time; only when there were particular circumstances would she be bothered by them, for example: Quantum's rebirth.

The Celestial Goddess found that sleep eluded her, even when it felt her body screamed for it. She either put that particular bodily function to ancient habits from Discord's rule, or side effects of being linked to the sun. Either way, Celestia wanted to sleep, at least to get away from her thoughts, as they seemed fond of reminding her of the many failures she'd made over the years. It's not as if I've forgotten them, she sighed mentally, Just a few days of peace would be nice.

That being said, a small part of her was actually excited for the next few years. Soon, Quantum would be entering school, and she'd be damned if she didn't automatically enroll him into hers; the Princess would pull rank on the others if need be. Plus, within the next few years, Luna would finally be returning to her. Granted, it may take a bit more effort than I'd like to get her back, but I'm sure it'll be worth it, she smiled a small, happy smile, And then there's Discord, or Infinitus, as he once was, even in her thoughts, Discord's true name sounded strange after not hearing it for so long. And finally, he'll come back; proper. Celestia thought of the small blue alicorn colt she'd seen not two days ago, and her smile grew.

Soon, Celestia would no longer be alone; and that time couldn't come soon enough.

The endless white expanse remained unchanged after what had felt like an eternity to the draconequus. While he was completely capable of affecting the space within his "cell," the same underlying, infuriating blank would always be beneath his creation. Discord's world was hollow, and he hated it.

That wasn't to say it was empty though; oh no. Recently, Discord found himself in the delightful company of another version of himself. The "true" Discord.

"Tick, tock," The reflection floated about, colours slightly faded and irises glowing, "Tick, tock," The clone floated in circles around him, a constant reminder of what he was; what'd he'd become. "So," the dark-Discord ceased moving, and moved uncomfortably close to the normal coloured draconequus, "You'll be free soon, ol' buddy," His face grinned back at him, "Do you think lil' Quanty will remember you when see him in, oh, twenty years or so?"

"He won't have to," the imprisoned #1 replied, "Just being around him will be enough to force you back." The colour-drained beast raised a lion paw to his mouth.

"Oh, yes, that's right! The great and powerful aspect gave him the hook first for a reason, didn't he?" The copy leaned back, "My, you were so weak without his passive ticking and tocking, honestly, it made me wonder how you'd put up such a fight before he was booted!" The clone broke into fits of giggles, twisting and turning in the air. "Oh, so naive you both were. After ol' Mind disposed of you two, he moved right on to Celly and your precious 'Lu,'" he stopped moving again and smirked at the brightly coloured chaos god, "She's stuck in the moon you know. Some ponies don't even believe she exists anymore, or that she ever had!" The duplicate burst into dark, maniacal laughter. The original Discord snarled.

"Don't you say her name. You have no right," The clone smirked at his scowling copy.

"Oh, is poor wickle Infinitus getting angry? D'awww," He mocked the original, before disappearing and reappearing in front of the brighter's face. "I know what you're planning, 'buddy,' and let me tell you it is not going to be an easy ride once we break out of here. I'll dispose of our resident Time Mage before you can even get close to him." Bright pink clouds appeared overhead, and a lightning flashed behind the copy's figure for dramatic effect, while he laughed like a lunatic. The dark-Discord's body started to fade away, still wearing a maniacal grin.

"Don't worry, I'll treat our precious brother just fine!"

Discord was left alone in the blinding white; and he felt fear for the first time in millennia.

Quantum had decided that he very much didn't like Shining Armour. In the weeks since his second, first birthday on Equus, the small blue alicorn had often found himself going to the Sparkle household for a 'play date' (loathe as he was to use the phrase), and found excellent company in the still infantile Twilight. Together, they worked through their magic books, and slowly learned to control their magic and eventually, they could pull off some of the most basic spells (translation: incredibly complicated) like levitation of objects. Granted it took some time to actually get results, Quantum especially considering he'd just come from a world where magic was in the realms of fantasy, but at the end of the day, both foals were having fun.

Yet, Quantum would have had even more fun were it not for the constant stink-eye he was getting from the big white unicorn. The small suspicious glance would turn into a full blown glare whenever Quantum would perform magic, as if to Shining Armour thought he were a ticking time bomb!

The alicorn, of course, was less than happy with the situation. But, he trucked on, and at the cusp of the new month just the night before the first of April, the peaceful life he had was blown to smithereens again. This was because, the ex-human found himself with a headache. A screaming, indescribably painful headache that he'd only experienced once before. The words of the older/first Quantum rang in the colt's head.

"You’re gonna be entering these trance states a lot from now on, and each time you do, you’ll be recalling a past life of yours."

As he remembered the stallion's helpful comments, the world flashed white to the tick-tock of the grandfather clock, and the world went white once more.

A mother ran through her burning city. A bundle of cloth in her arms, within, a new life, not yet ready to see the end. Soldiers called after her, and she ran through her local temple; untouched by the fire. She ran to the altar at the back, just in front of an idol to the Goddess Athene. She prayed for the well-being of her son; her time was already limited. The woman cried, the loss of her husband wracked her body with grief, yet she still prayed, and apologized for her impudence; the mother had not brought sacrifice in the mad rush to holy ground.

Gruff voices called from outside the temple; they knew she was in there. The mother's prayer hurried in urgency and desperation, the clanking of boots on marble distracting her.

A sword is drawn, a life lost.

The soldiers failed to notice the bundle of cloth on the altar.

An ethereal presence watched as a woman died in a temple dedicated to it. The woman had fallen trying to protect her son; a child that radiated a feeling of loss, and misplacement. The being felt the lingering aura of a battle lost on the child's soul; a soul seemingly in two. The presence gave mercy, and gave punishment.

An army perished, a lost soul saved.

A child grows, briefly, in the care of his owner. The boy grew up a slave in Mycenae, Sparta. following the genocide and pillaging of his home village. An urchin, he is called, useless. The boy knows his parents fell in the destruction, he is told near everyday. The proclamation has no effect; he has cried his last tears for his mother, his father. The boy is empty, and serves his master as best as he can.

One day, the master abruptly died. Some say another slave poisoned him, others say enemies. The boy knew they were one and the same. Regardless, he was free. He didn't know why, but the boy wanted to go see the ruins of his once great home, so he does.

A child wanders, free at last.

He was thirteen when he stumbled into the still pristine temple. There were no blood spatters, no signs of struggle or death. A single altar stood at the bottom of the building, just before an idol to the Goddess Athene. Lying on the altar were two strange objects; things the boy had only seen his master wear. He had called it fashion, but the objects looked useless. The boy stared, confused at the slim links of gold, and the black-rock gold ring. Did they have a use, he wondered. He wanted to leave them; not wanting to tempt the gods, but a tugging on his soul forced him to reconsider. They were cool to the touch, and a part of him deep inside fell at rest.

Material wealth gained, a part of the soul at rest.

When the stomping got louder, the boy panicked. Fourteen years-old, an army marched down the still ruined village that was his first home. He hid in his makeshift home; useless. The soldiers found him, and dragged him out by the hair. One takes his ring, the other takes his necklace, and the boy feels naked. He struggled, cried, screamed, and silenced at the sword across his neck.

A nameless body falls limp, the cycle starts anew.

Quantum fell from his position in the air. The bright light of dawn blazed through the window, and the alicorn's senses went wild. The replay of his first human life hit him hard, and he felt like vomiting. The experience was nothing like it had been when he'd laid hooves on the chain and ring again, oh no, if the last time had been a tsunami, this was like that and a meteor shower all in one. It had been a rush of images, with highlighted key moments. He remembered the loving gazes of his parents, fire, the scorn of his master, serving him and suffering in silence, the joy that came with his death, the loneliness upon finding the charred remains of his village, the confusion and secret happiness when he found the ring and chain (i'm not going to even start trying to figure out why they were there), the peace he felt for his year in the village, in his makeshift home, and the utter terror and sheer pain when the soldier's blade slit his throat. He snaked a hoof to his neck, as he shivered in his cot, lying on his side.

If all of these two-hundred lives were like this, Quantum thought shakily, Then I'm dreading the next one. The strange and trivial part of the process, however, had been the intake of knowledge. He knew how to cook Ancient Greek meals, and more importantly, could speak the language. But...

I didn't even have a name. The thought rocked him. His first ever life had been a cycle of misery, and he didn't even have a name to call himself. The alicorn resolved to figure one out; he would not let that precious life remain broken. His thoughts cast to the older Quantum.

If he was in the backseat this whole time... The ex-human felt sick thinking about it. How much had the older stallion seen, how long had he suffered in silence?

The colt didn't want to know. With a severely shaken head, heart and soul, Quantum wrapped himself up in the blankets in his cot, and fell into a restless sleep.

He didn't want to be awake, at that moment.

Author's Notes:

Interesting chapter here! took a while longer than the blog post stated because I didn't realize until about halfway through how long this chapter was going to be; so apologies for that. And I read through the whole thing like three times; seen some spelling mistakes that I really couldn't be asked to fix at the time; while any continuity errors got patched up as soon as I saw them.

Anyways, some slight revealings of the Equestrian past, and some things uncovered. Plus, a very special part with Discord interacting with... Dark Discord? True Discord? Still trying to figure out a proper name.

And Infinitus? Oooooh, there's a story there.

Not all old life sections will be like this. I do like the format but I really wanted to give you guys a feel for what some of the ancient history lives will be like.

Also, 30k words. Wasn't really expecting to get even this far. Thank you so much for all the words of praise and encouragement you guys and gals have given me; I couldn't have done it without you all.

8. Broken Chains

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When he awoke proper, the multi-blue alicorn wasn't so shaken. He felt tired, really. The previous time he'd entered a magical trance, he'd come out feeling refreshed and alert. Now, Quantum just felt groggy and fairly pissed. He decided to lay still, staring at the ceiling above him. So, I was a slave, there was less shock and surprise since his epiphany immediately after the trance, I didn't have a name. My 'master' died, and I lived alone in my burned village for a year.

And then there were the final moments; My death, he thought, Doesn't sound as strange as I thought. He remembered, clearly, the feeling of steel at his neck, and the brief sensation of blood trickling down his clammy skin. A pleasant thought, the faux-foal mused. Even so, Quantum remembered there were certain moments of happiness in his first life. With surprising clarity, he remembered some other slaves owned by the despicable spartan, and worryingly, many were girls. Yeesh, I guess I didn't have the worst ride of all, he paused his thoughts, ...bad phrasing.

The alicorn's eyes drew towards his accessories, again. There was certainly more than meets the eye with the ring and chain. They'd been on the altar of his resident temple, just sitting there. How were they there? And, what exactly are they? Quantum scrutinized the jewelry, hoof held above his head. He narrowed his eyes briefly, before sighing and letting the hoof drop. Well, I supposed it's nothing to worry about, he mused, I'll just find out what they are later on. I'm sure the princess knows what they are. His mind, again, switched to another topic.

Speaking of the princess... Quantum was fully aware that at this stage, it seemed Celestia was the only one he could talk to. For one, she knew not only his secret, but the foal suspected that she knew more than the celestial goddess let on. That didn't really surprise him, though. Though he wasn't sure how long she'd lived exactly, Quantum was sure she'd been around for a long time, and you don't live that long without keeping secrets.

Still though, I suppose that flashback did have some use, The multi-blue admitted, I guess I have an innate knowledge of Ancient Greece; it's language, culture and norms, The information was as easily accessible as his basic motor functions, Neat. During his time as Bryan Herring, the ex-human studied Ancient Greece and Rome as a subject at school, so he'd always been interested in their cultures, and the chances were, he'd lived as both a Greek and a Roman more than once. Which, is still bloody strange to think about.

Setting aside his thoughts on his old lives for a brief moment, Quantum noted with mild relief that he had nothing planned for the day (i mean, i'm a foal, why would i have something planned) and so could relax in the relative peace and quiet of the Herring Manor. I might try using my wings a bit, actually, he thought, I haven't really been able to make much use of them yet. With that, Quantum clambered out of bed, onto the floor, and made his way downstairs, the smell of breakfast permeating the house, and setting the foal's stomach rumbling.

Being able to sense magic is like listening to sounds. There are some ponies who can hear lower frequencies than some, yet can't hear higher frequency noises. There are ponies who can hear higher and lower frequency noises than the norm, and there are some ponies who can only hear noises within the 'normal' range that everypony can hear. Magic works the same way, but, with key differences. There are categories of spells that all ponies can feel; for example, if an earth pony, a pegasus and a unicorn were to stand in a field while another unicorn cast a spell to, say, make the grass blue, then all three ponies in the field would feel a sensation not too dissimilar to a paint brush being run across their hooves.

The sensation, or, the side-effect of the magic differs from spell to spell. The bottom line is, that all three common types of pony can feel magic, at different degrees. To refer to the example again, the brushing sensation would feel weaker depending on the species of pony. An earth pony would feel as though the sensation barely touched them, while a pegasus would feel as though someone had run a dry brush across them, and finally, a unicorn would feel as though someone had moved a wet brush across them. There are exceptions to this rule, for example, if magic is used directly onto another pony, then the effect varies depending on the spell.

If one were to focus on unicorns, the most magical of the pony breeds, the unicorn's magic reserves, or their "strength", determines the effective range of magic that a unicorn can feel. The larger the pony's reserves, the more magic it can feel, and the further it can feel it from. The Sparkle family, having bred powerful mages for generations, have always been attuned to magic, its flow, and thus have been able to feel even the finest, and highest 'frequency' magic, and from large distances away, too. Some say, Equus' most powerful unicorn, Starswirl the Bearded, was able to feel magic around him from miles away. The concept of magic frequency can be hard to get around, but once it is understood, ponies often ask the same question.

What about alicorns?

The answer isn't as complicated as one would usually expect. If one were to compare and unicorn with average reserves to an alicorn, then it would be like comparing a turtle to a bat. One that cannot hear, and one that sees through sound. While this isn't to say an alicorn can't see, they are just particularly responsive to literally all kinds of magic. Certain magic, like the type used by Princess Celestia to move the sun, isn't felt by the majority of ponies. This can be put down to two reasons. One; the frequency of the magic is leagues higher than most unicorns can feel or respond to. Two; when the magic is used, Celestia intentionally makes the magic difficult to feel, and, unless all other unicorns were to do that to their spells (which is a complicated technique on it's own), then it wouldn't be too much of an understatement to say that alicorns have the capacity to feel all magic within a thousand mile radius.

Of course, feeling all that magic, all at once would turn anypony insane. Therefore, it isn't so much as a 'they always feel magic' to 'they could feel all that magic', as an alicorn instinctively learns how to sense vast quantities of magic, but will obviously prefer to shorten their 'listening range.' Unless the magic is particularly of high frequency or potency, then an alicorn should only feel magic within a certain range that they decide.

Which, brings us to the newest Princess, Cadence. Despite having set her listening range to just within the grounds of the Mi Amore property, she felt herself get blasted awake at midnight, by a magic she'd felt only once before. The wave of harmless (at least, to her) magic had simply brought a single name to the forefront of her thoughts; Quantum.

As she tumbled out of her bed, in rather unladylike fashion, the princess of love had to fight the overwhelming urge to fly straight from her room, to the tiny blue alicorn's there and then. Fortunately, rationality kicked in at just the right moment, and the pink alicorn quickly realized that even if she did go to see her adoptive little brother, she wouldn't be of any help to him. As her mentor, and senior alicorn, had told her, the Herrings and the Sparkle family, the blue alicorn would be in a magic trance on a regular basis.

It worried her.

Cadence wasn't slow; no, she knew Celestia was withholding information from her and the others regarding Quantum. She'd seen the looks, the reactions, and the interactions between Quantum and the Sun Princess on the day of the Time Mage's birthday. It was like the two were having a conversation; trying to be discreet about it though they were. Needless to say, Quantum was a foal, and so it should be impossible for him to have a conversation; let alone one to make Equestria's ruler gasp for pity's sake.

But that, the conversation, the interaction, Tartarus, even the trances, could've been ignored because honestly? That's not what worried me.

Cadence was the princess of love; so she had a sort of, sixth sense for romantic happenings. Really, it was a wonderful feeling to see two ponies that were perfect for each other, and guide them together. She hadn't been wrong once with her pairings, and she never would be. The reason for that was because there were ways of her knowing who went with who; little strands that bound ponies together; their relationships, who they'd be best suited for, and, in incredibly rare situations, soulmates. Now there was a downside to such an ability; it partly ruined the mystery of her future romantic life, but great power comes at a cost, after all. If Cadenza were to focus on seeing those strands, she would see a red ribbon seemingly protruding from her chest, and flowing like water into the chest of one Shining Armour. The red ribbon represented soulmates, and yes, while incredibly rare, it wasn't such a surprise to see one for an alicorn, Though, Shining is still young... which makes it kinda very weird, She thought with a visible grimace.

The ribbon between her and the Sparkle male was fresh, new and looked like it had just been woven, had the thing been a physical object. It made her slightly (only slightly, dammit!) giddy to see how the white unicorn would sweep her of her hooves.

Clambering back into bed while remembering the reason she fell out in the first place, Cadence thought deeply about Celestia, her mentor, Quantum, her self-proclaimed little brother...

And the glowing red ribbon that connected them.

The pieces of her internal jigsaw fell into place; things started to make sense.

God damn it, Thump. Flutter. Thump. Fuck. Flutter. Crash. Thump. This. Flutter. Crash. Thump. Snap. Shit.

Quantum fell out of the air, again, for what must've been the 12th time in a row. His parents, Hegese and Bow, watched with mild amusment (and some worry) as their son repeatedly climbed the sofa in the living room, and proceeded to jump off with a flutter of his wings, only to plant straight into the floor. Thump. The foal sighed, Honestly, why can't this be easy, like walking was? Grumbling some more, the multi-blue alicorn picked himself up off of the floor, and trotted towards the sofa. A crimson hoof halted him. Mum?

As if answering to the tilt of his head, Hegese chuckled. While she was surprised at her son trying to learn how to fly at such a young age, she wasn't one to stand in the way of his curiosity. With her goal in mind, the peagsus mother trotted over to her son, determined to teach him the joys of flight.

"Come now, Quantum," she cooed in his ear, picking him up with one leg, "You musn't flap your wings so hard; you'll just fall like a big stone if you do." Keeping him hooked under a foreleg, the crimson mare unfurled her wings and gave a mighty flap, and her hooves rose from the floor. "You see," she began, giving another strong wing beat to keep her suspended in the air, "my wings are tilting oh so slightly, aren't they?" The alicorn noted with awe at how easily his mother remained airborne, and the very, very slight movements of her wings. He'd been doing it all wrong. Hegese extended her forelegs, and gripped the barrel of her son's body in a pincer like grip, though facing her. "Look at my wings, see?" She continued her lesson, "Pegasi can feel the air currents, and adjust their wings accordingly. Focus, honey, really focus. I know you're a smart pony."

Deciding to not look too far into her final comment, Quantum analysed his mother's wing movements and concentrated on the tips of his wings. I can feel it, he thought, The air being moved by mum's wings, I can feel it! He didn't mean the feeling of a fan on his face, no, he could feel the streams of air, shifting, moving, and with them, his extended wings.

"Excellent! Now you've got the movements, focus on the gentle flapping, it's natural now!" Bow called from behind him, and Quantum obeyed. He gave one flap of his wings, as much power as he could muster, and felt weightless. The multi-blue alicorn grinned, I got it now. Quantum's wingbeats became rythmic, perfect timing and grace. If one were paying enough attention, they would notice his flapping and the ticking of a clock were completely in sync.

Nopony did, though.

Feeling confident, the colt shifted his weight left, and tilted slightly. He repeated the movement right, and then left, and then right again. Back and forth he would tilt, enjoying the feeling of flight. With each movement, his confidence increased more and more. Feeling maybe a bit too confident, Quantum forced all of his weight to the left, and attempted to roll in the air.

It was about halfway when he realised his mother wasn't holding him anymore.

Bollocks.

Thump.

To say that Celestia was bored would the understatement of a lifetime. And alicorns have long lives.

Day court was never really a pleasurable experience. Ponies would come with simple problems, ones that, really, wouldn't require much thought to solve. Problem with crops not growing? Buy some fertiliser. No, of course not, if crops aren't growing well enough then it must be something to do with my sun, she grumbled internally, But asking the weather team for their area to not cloud their land for a period of time is too much to ask; isn't it. Hooves reached for her temples, and the deity sighed silently. Celestia loved her ponies, she honestly truly did. But could the more headache-inducing issues not wait until later in the day? Honestly.

The goddess of the sun was surprisingly, not a morning pony. If the world didn't depend on her guiding of the celestial body every morning, then really she'd probably sleep in to the afternoon.

But no, there she sat, on a throne of gold and a cushion of purple velvet. A strained smile on her face as the third pony complained about rabbits in their garden. You live in Canterlot, why don't you have a fence?! Celestia wasn't stupid by any means; she knew that there were less than desirable ponies in her city, all of them undoubtedly willing to snoop and peep into another pony's home.

And no, none of the ponies complaining about rabbits had a fence.

Of course, the day hadn't started well for Celestia, either. How could it? The shockwave of magic from the Herring household would've magically crippled any normal pony's magic senses for the day had they felt it. At that point, Celestia had wanted nothing more than to bolt down to Quantum and make sure he was okay.

But of course, that would only hurt her.

Quantum didn't know her yet, though she supposed a part of him did. He'd mentioned it before, hadn't he? The other Quantum. Her Quantum. Probably. She didn't know really, and she wouldn't for a good twenty more years.

Waiting was hard; but she was used to it.

Always waiting.

She woke; a tremor of magic rousing her again. This was the second time such a strong, familiar magic riled her. How unfair; she won't get to sleep again for another few months or so. Honestly; her time was almost up, too. Can't ponies just be a bit more considerate of her plight?

Oh, right. They've probably forgotten about who she is. The wonderful sphere in-front of her eyes seemingly stared back at her, and for the umpteenth time, she considered the planet called home in her head.

Equus was a beautiful place; filled with many a species; pony, zebra, griffon, even changeling. All lives were special, important, and deserved the chance to soar and experience life to its fullest, or how they wanted to live. Clean water, rich soil, prospering cities and-

itshouldbeoursshehashadhertimetoolonggiveittousthesunmustfall

Ah. The voice. Grown from a seed implanted in her mind by a greater evil. A voice that had caused her nothing but trouble, pain, and nigh a thousand years of isolation.

Luna was lonely; her sister struggling under the pressure of a single rule (in her moments of clarity, she could feel the loneliness and guilt Tia felt), her corrupted lover encased in stone (his madness was, well, maddening, but beneath it she could still feel him), and his brother, oh, his brother, in the middle of a tempest that was still building.

theycannotsaveyoutheywillnotiwontallowityouaremineforever

Luna grimaced; the Nightmare was still present, still linked to the Mind, and, for all that she could do (nothingyouarepowerlessiwillbefree), it was getting stronger. The great evil, wiped from the books by stolen magic, magic belonging to the rightful overseer of The Flow, festered below Equus happy exterior; ready to reemerge.

Luna could feel the turning point.

Twenty more years.

i will be free.

9. Pushing It

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Throughout the ages, ponies have theorized upon the mechanics of time. From the Dawn of All, philosophers, scientists and a great many others have tried to pin down the workings of the Flow. Some ponies came close, like Starswirl the Bearded. Intelligent and self-taught Time Mage though he may have been, his grasp on that of which he claimed to understand was close, and only that. Natural Time Mages, though certainly more adept and understanding of time, they too struggle to completely comprehend what exactly the tick-tock of a clock means. Yes, from the start of life, ponies have tried to master time, and from there, two prevalent theories emerged.

The first, more well known theory, is that time isn't set. For example, with this rule in mind, if an apple falls from the tree and ends up bruised, then ponies have theorized that going back in time to before the apple fell, one could stop the fruit from receiving a bruise. Simple, right? But lets consider a different scenario. Perhaps a pony is murdered. Their family grieves, a funeral is held, and the perpetrator is arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. What if a pony went back in time to stop the other pony from ever getting murdered? The family remains whole, no funeral is held for a living being... But what of the would-be murderer? Would he go on to kill another, perhaps? Surely, one can't convict a pony for a crime they never even committed, so what then? Keep going back in time to prevent murders, leaving the murderer eternally free? Or let one life pass in favour of saving another? A difficult theory of time, for sure, when considered in such a way.

The second of the more popular theories is that the Flow possesses 'fixed points', meaning that some events absolutely have to occur. So, to put such an idea into practice, lets look at the apple again. An apple falls from a tree, gets bruised, yadda, yadda, yadda. So, when a pony travels back in time to stop the apple from falling, and thus bruising, that's that, right? Wrong. In this concept, say the apple getting bruised was a fixed point. Therefore, to compensate for the lack of bruise, any pony carrying the apple would eventually trip, and the apple would receive a bruise on impact anyway. A good way of thinking about this is that time wants to correct itself, which is partially true. Anyway; if an event is a fixed point, then it will occur, no exceptions.

Regardless of the popularity of these theories, they're still both decidedly wrong. In truth, time operates in a way similar to both theories, but, there is quite a simple a way of describing the Flow's operation;

"Time does whatever the fuck it wants," a voice echoes out into a blank space. Surrounded by white, a tall stallion rolls gently through the air, as if gravity doesn't apply to him, "Seriously. Fixed points, repeated reversals? Come on; what a crock of shit that is." The face of the blue alicorn split into a grin, "I'm supposed to be this alleged 'Keeper of the Flow', and yet, at this point my own charge is my worst enemy."

Quantum, the older, mental version, cursed his luck. There was a long story that had lead to his being there, drifting endlessly in his own mind, and that story was going to have to wait, just like everything and everpony else on Equus. Quantum sighed; he knew exactly how long he'd been in his own mind; the tantalisingly close arrival of his release did nothing to dampen the excruciating feelings of boredom, loneliness, and expertly concealed rage.

Mind would pay; oh yes, pay it would.

The alicorn, deciding that his burning feelings for revenge was not a course he wanted to go through again, decided to focus more upon the mechanics of Time, how it works, and how he works with it. After all, soon he would be teaching himself all these thing and more, whenever his current incarnation decided to experiment with his magic; another thing that Quantum Snr. could not do.

"Heh, there's gotta be some form of sick irony there," he mused aloud, "The once omnipresent being with Time in his veins, reduced to the mind of an alien race, essentially blind as a bat." His entrapment had meant that Quantum's usual ability to interact with The Flow was locked. Completely. Meaning, every time he was forced to watch himself-in-human-body die, it was nigh unavoidable and unexpected. What horse shit, he thought.

Ha, 'horse'.

Quantum's time as a human (but not really) had... Widened his vocabulary, mannerisms and personality. He was a much different pony to himself of Ancient Equus.

The blue stallion's thoughts wandered; to the real world. Interaction. Life. Quantum missed many things; among them his brother (a sore topic, move on), his family, his magic, and above all...?

Celestia.

"Oh, Tia," he sighed wistfully, spinning upside down in the (physical) lawless land. Quantum wasn't oblivious; the alicorn four (the old name for our group o' gods) had each received a harsh punishment. Infinitus having been affected earliest of all, descending into madness; twisting his form and sanity all at once. The once proud Conductor was reduced to a being of Chaos; the polar opposite of what he once was, and surely, will be again. Quantum, until his banishment, had been the calming force around the horrific blend of personalities; this Discord and his brother. The alicorn shuddered in the air; words of a battle long gone ringing in his head.

"He shall suffer, Prince," the being spat, with a sickly grin dipped in venom, "And know that it was your magic that made it so."

Then came Luna. Quantum remembered the look of horror and fear, when the Nightmare first showed itself. How long did she struggle with it? The stallion thought in sombre tones, How long until Tia's hand was forced...? The Eternal Night, Celestia begging for her sister's return, the Lunar Princess' beau in mental agony- the memory was as fresh as if it had only just happened.

"Tia," Quantum called out once more, vying for a response, yet receiving none. The sun goddess' punishment had been harsh; to harsh. Crueller than Discord; more painful than the Nightmare. It had ruined her, and she'd never once been the same. You see, alicorns are strong. Stronger than the most powerful unicorn; and each and every alicorn is entrusted with an aspect. Yet, for all their strength, power, and responsibility, in the face of the Falling Sun, all were powerless.

Quantum remembered exhaustion; a crying bundle of limbs- Luna and the exhausted Celestia -an unconscious Infinitus, and the grinning Mind.

How could he forget the day the sun fell? It was of course, the day of his exile, too.

Since Quantum's introduction to the world of flight, the Herring's affairs as a family hadn't been too great. Hegese, having returned to work, found herself busier and busier with the duties of the royal right hoof. Bow figured he too must return to work (an archer, how even with hooves?) leaving the Herring heir to the whims of one Rouge Herring. Unfortunately, in the months after the blue alicorn's first flashback, the elderly Herring mare fell ill. It wasn't too surprising, really; everypony gets ill, elder ones especially. No, what was disconcerting for the youngest of the Herring clan, was that she wasn't getting better.

It had been a few months since Quantum's first recollection, and having been through one more since then of much the same situation (slave, orphan, brief freedom, brutal death; that time by fire), though with much less fanfare, having been expecting the despair that he'd once lived. Instead of focusing on the past however, Quantum was more concerned with the well-being of his mother's mother. Rouge had been bed-ridden merely two weeks into her illness, when Hegese had come in and found Quantum shaking his collapsed grandmother. Luckily, she'd pulled through, but was not allowed to move from her bed.

Not that she's in any condition to do so, Quantum mused from the living room floor. He stared at the simply analogue clock hanging on the wall, eyes following the second hand as it ticked and tocked around the face. Time, huh, he squinted, as if expecting the clock to burst into flames, I suppose I know why I've always liked clocks, he thought to himself, before pausing; Wait that sounds to close to cocks. I mean, the tick-tocking of a time piece? Did that sound better, really? Aw, fuck it. Clocks are cool. He sighed, lying on his back and staring at the decoration. His father Bow was out working today, as was Hegese. She'd offered to take him to the castle, but was content with letting Cadence babysit for the day, along with Twilight, of course.

But they hadn't arrived yet, so Quantum occupied himself with the one thing that'd encapsulated his interest since his second recollection; the glowing blue clock in his living room.

It wasn't just that one, either. The big ol' Grandfather clock in his room, previously non-glowy and completely normal? Boom, glowing Grandfather clock. It wasn't anything of a big deal, really. Sure, it'd been surprising when it first happened, and perhaps disturbing when seemingly nopony else questioned it, but it wasn't causing any harm. I hope.

It did have the knock-on effect of making the small alicorn consider is ability. What am I capable of? He'd think, What can I do as a 'Time Mage?' He didn't know, not exactly. The ex-human (several times over) had a rough idea of what he might be able to do, but nothing concrete. He sighed to himself, this is getting me nowhere, I want answers.

Flipping over onto his stomach and pushing himself to his legs, Quantum eyed the living room for something, anything, that could act as a impromptu booster step; the clock was hanging too high above him to reach anyway. The sofa? No, too weak to move it, he stared at the bookcase, and grinned a sly grin, Yeah, that'll work. The multi-blue alicorn dashed out of the living room, up the stairs, and quietly opened the door to Rouge's room.

The crimson pegasus was sleeping, the gentle rise and fall of her chest confirmed it so. Quantum smiled, it was nice to see her sleeping so peacefully; at least she won't be ill in her dreams. Still smiling, the colt gently closed the door until he heard the soft click. The door shut, the alicorn foal bolted away, and without slowing down, entered the living room and rammed the side of the bookcase with his body.

It rained knowledge.

Books now littered the floor; fiction, non-fiction, dictionaries, thesauruses... While one would see a mess, Quantum saw the components for a stepladder, just like an IKEA kit. He grinned. The small alicorn began by moving books next to the wall, directly under the glowing clock. It didn't matter which type, they just had to meet two criteria; Was it big? Can it be moved by tiny hooves? If yes to both, then the book was hauled over.

With great satisfaction, the blue alicorn eventually found himself with quite the pile of hefty books. Quantum glanced back at the bookcase, noting the leftovers and rejects. Some books had been way too heavy to move, and others had been to smallk for him to use as a platform, so they were left behind. He was sure he'd pay for making the mess later, either when Cadence came, or his parents did. It didn't bother him too much; he was science-ing.

From there, the small pony lay leathery hardback atop leathery hardback, stacking the tomes one by one, until he needed to make a smaller tower to just reach the top of the first tower. As a result, Quantum ended up making some structurally questionable stairs, and beamed after finishing his third tower; the base of his steps. The top pillar o' books was just tall enough for the alicorn to reach up and touch the clock, while balancing on his hind legs. So ascend, he did.

Stepping onto the first stair, Quantum praised himself for making the topmost book on every tower slightly wider than those below it. Feeling confident, the Time Mage stepped from the base stair to the one above; having to clamber onto it by dragging himself up by his forelegs. Fearing for the stability of the tower of books, Quantum peered his head down over the side once he'd positioned himself on top of the middle step. He frowned.

One of the books in the second tower had been kicked as he climbed up it, and had dislodged slightly, pushing into one of the books in the middle tower. That explains the swaying, he muttered internally. Making haste now, Quantum all but jumped onto the ridge of the third tower, and definitely felt the swaying. Oh fuck. The small alicorn clambered as quickly (and as gently) as he possibly could so that he was standing fully on Book Tower Three.

It began to lean. Backwards.

With a grunt of effort, Quantum reared back onto his hind legs, and leapt from the now rapidly descending tower, to the clock. A thought struck him.

Couldn't I have just flown up here? His right hoof outstretched nearer to the clock, as he began to fall too. God damn it. How in the nine unholy hells did I forget about my wings?! The alicorn screamed internally, as his hoof came millimetres away from the clock. I'm such a moro-

His hoof connected; the world flashed blue.

When Quantum found himself outside of the blank mindscape, he thought he was dead. Welp, that'll teach me for getting my hopes up he thought. Maybe I'll get reincarnated in another one-thousand years. He noticed, with mild surprise, that the afterlife was much different to what he was expecting. Like a living room frozen in- Ah. I'm not dead; the other me just pulled some crazy stunt.

The room he was in had the telltale signs of Time Manipulation; books floating in the air, paused in mid-fall, and the obvious blue rippling filter that seemed to cast itself over the world. Quantum also noted his own situation; he floated, just like he did within the mind-scape. What was new to the stallion was the human laid face down on the floor, adorned in simple red shoes, blue trousers and a blue, long sleeve shirt, all completely blank besides their colour. The humans hair glowed eerily similar to Quantum's mane; orange, red, purple and blue.

The altered form of Bryan Herring groaned.

"Aha, are we awake, sleeping beauty?" Quantum chimed sardonically at his human counter-part. The human groaned again, and began to rise to his hooves.

"Ugh, I may be a narcissist, but waking up to an exact replica of my voice isn't enjoyable," Bryan pushed himself off the ground with his hands, and ascended from the floor. He eyed his hands with mild curiosity, and then stared at the translucent form of the stallion Time Mage before him. "I shouldn't have touched that clock, like, at all." The pony grinned at him.

"What? And miss another super quality Time Magic lesson from yours truly? Honestly, my talent and knowledge is wasted on you," The stallion drifted next to the human, a bored look on his face. "Wow, when a human stands in a pony's living room, you really see the proportions are different." The sofa was considerably lower than one found in a human's home, and the other furnishings in the Herring Household fell similar in size. Bryan sighed; he supposed he should get the ball moving.

"Alright, big question numero uno; what the fuck did I do?"

Trade meetings were boring. This was something that Equestria's ruler had surmised over years and years of dealing with international relations. It was undoubtedly one of the major political drawbacks of being immortal; every now and then, a bordering country to Equestria would find itself with a new ruler, and they would decide to impose radical new changes upon the already, fine, working and most importantly, autonomous trade deals that their country had with Equestria, just because it helped them boost their ego, and made them feel important. Celestia rubbed her temples as Hegese Herring, at the right, offered a weak, somewhat encouraging smile.

The meeting room was dark, usually was, and was lit by scarce few candles. It was something Luna had insisted on back when the Canterlot castle was being built; some rooms were to be bright like the day, and others were to be dark like the night, and the meeting room had been a room that both Luna and Celestia had both agreed upon being a Night Room.

Because then ponies inside the room would be able to see her scowl as easily.

Before her was a scene not unlike one she'd seen before; about seventy years ago. And then seventy before then. And another before. The new Steelclaw the Third of the Griffon Kingdom, the country's new 'Titanus', or King, argued with the regents of the Zebra and Bull kingdoms, Queen Ezrec and King Taurio. The quick-tempered griffon (aren't they all) bickered with the three other rulers in the room over trade agreements that had been in place for the last seventy years, and still worked. These meetings were always the worst for Celestia, as they new ruler would come in demanding change, and leave making very little, yet still satisfied as if they had just conquered all of Equestria.

"And I believe that the borders stray too far into my kingdom of Forsake!" The angered king shouted, vein pulsing in his brow. He pointed a talon at the Ezrec, "Why on Equus do the Zebra even need that much land, hm?! To cultivate more useless folklore and oh so precious nature magic?" Ezrec's eye twitched. This heathen was pushing her. The Titanus of Forsake whirled onto the oddly quiet Taurio. "Furthermore, you should be offering more of your herd to my kingdom! Maker know you've been holding out on my griffons for decades!" The Griffon regent then turned towards Celestia, and narrowed his eyes, a filthy scowl spread across his beak, "And you," he began, flaring his wings in challenge, Celestia quirking a mere eyebrow in response, "You think you're so powerful just because Equestria is the biggest kingdom," he snarled, "Yes, your size is great, but its populace is weak. Forsake could conquer you in a week, you would be powerless, you powerless bit-"

A foreleg silenced the mouthy Titanus, drawing the room's attention to Taurio. The Bull King stood, platinum nose ring shaking with the movement, and his similar ear piercings (two on each) moved with the incline of his head. A look of complete apathy adorned his face, but within, the King of the Herd stormed.

"Steelclaw," the Bull began, calm voice letting no emotion leak, "You are much like your predecessor. Inktooth was just as demanding as you were, perhaps more so," Slowly, Taurio moved unto the Titanus, and the griffon backed away imperceptibly, "Do you know why he backed down, little Titanus?" Taurio stepped over the long meeting table in the dark room, as Steelclaw backed into a wall, "Do you, really, truly know?" The Bull's white cape dragged slightly across the ground as he pushed his head against the now quivering griffon, all previous bravado vanished at the sight of the imposing King, "It's because he realised one very, very important fact," He raised a single hoof, and jerked his foreleg to the silent Sun Goddess, "He learned that when Celestia scowls, so too does the Sun," he muttered, anger slipping into his voice, "and when the Sun gets angry, so too, do the Bulls."

"As do we, the Zebra," Ezrec added, obvious threat in her tone, "You may think the Warriors of Forsake powerful, but compared to the might of Celestia, she who controls the sun?" The zebra queen melted away into the darkness, and appeared at Steelclaw's side, causing the Titanus to jump in fright, "You are nothing."

The tension in the meeting room was palpable. Clear lines had been drawn, and Celestia mused internally just how long it'd take before the Griffon ruler would back down.

It had been five minutes, last time.

Hegese looked like she was going to have a heart attack; being a witness to what could be the start of a huge war wasn't exactly the most enjoyable scenario. She sighed, I just want to go home... the crimson pegasus thought. The griffon king looked considerably less comfortable in the meeting room. The threat of not one, but three united kingdoms against Forsake clearly overwhelmed him. He grasped at straws.

"I-I can gather allies!" He shouted, attempting to cover his fear, "The Changelings will come to my aid; you'll see!" Celestia scoffed, and uttered her first words of the meeting since she began the awful congregation. She leant forward.

"Please. Chrysalis hasn't been seen in centuries; and there's no way you'd be able to find her, or convince her to help you, even if you could," She purposely channelled some of her solar magic into the room, and the temperature increased marginally; not much, but noticeable, "Inktooth had been just as confident in the Changelings as you are, and yet, he still conformed to our agreements." The griffon gritted his teeth, and snarled at the princess.

"Stop comparing me to that weak fool," he ground out, "Inktooth was a disgrace to Forsake, siding with Equestria, instead of challenging it for power, he was no Griffon; he was a mistake of a Titanus." Ezrec narrowed her eyes at the Griffon in front of her.

"You speak ill of your own kin? Your own father?" The Zebra Queen muttered, "It seems to me as though you are the disgraceful one, the mistake of a Titanus." Steelclaw flared his wings in fury, and screamed at Ezrec.

"Do not test me you pacifist equestrian defec-!"

"ENOUGH!" Celestia rose to her hindlegs, stamping her forehooves down upon the table with an audible crack, "Your insolence has gone for too long!" Her wings flared, eyes glowed and horn pulsing with Celestial magic, the room temperature raised significantly, "If you are so keen to have Forsake wiped from existence, then do carry on, but if you value anything besides your own selfish pride, then sit down, be silent, and listen!"

The room fell silent, four jaws agape, as Celestia reigned in her magic, allowing the room to cool down.

"I had hoped it wouldn't resort to threats but it seems that the only way the Griffon Titanus will ever understand is through the promise of battle," Celestia fixed Steelclaw, now terrified, with a stern, cold look; much different to that of her magic, "These trading terms and border locations that you have problems with, do you know how long they've been in place?" Steelclaw shook his head, "Since the founding of Forsake, that's how long," the Titanus' eyes widened, "And the reason Inktooth, Sharpwing, and all those before you had agreed, was because they had common sense."

"I... I..." Steelclaw tried to interject but words failed him, especially under three intense gazes and the fiery wrath of Equestria's ruler.

"Make no mistake, Titanus, I dislike bloodshed as much as any pony, but that doesn't mean I cannot cope with it," Celestia leant further forward, staring the griffon dead in the eye, "You actions may have caused more death than any before you, had I not interfered. Believe me, Taurio is merely holding his temper in order to keep face in front of the two other proper rulers in the room," she gestured at the bull, who nodded the affirmative, "And Ezrec's nature magic could raze Forsake to the ground, in its place sprouting a forest far more dangerous than the Everfree," the Zebra Queen nodded, and smiled sickly at the griffon, "And Equestria? Why, I suggest you visit my Gardens, Steelclaw. There are a few statues that would really set things into perspective for you." The Titanus' eyes widened; suddenly he was feeling a lot less confident, and a lot more compliant. Celestia sighed, and drew deep breaths. Slowly, the alicorn leant back into her chair, Hegese staring at her with muted disbelief. The Sun Goddess smiled.

"Now, what were your terms again?" Steelclaw the Third, Titanus of Forsake, Kingdom of the Griffons, cracked, and the world froze to blue.

10. Weak

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"I did what?!" The incredulous voice of Bryan Herring echoed through the frozen living room. The strange, anti-gravitational form of Quantum Senior grinned at the human before him. The stallion had been waiting for some excitement, and he was over the moon with his most recent incarnation's curiosity.

"Ya froze time buddy," he replied, still grinning, "Must've been because you touched that glowing blue clock, there. See, you aren't trained in Time Magic yet, so it's kinda wild and unpredictable in terms of what it'll do when you activate it," The blue stallion explained, rolling softly through the air. "See, if you imagine a normal unicorn has say, a pond size of magic reserves, then a mortal Time Mage has one comparable to a lake. A normal alicorn, while not gifted with Time, has reserves comparable to an entire ocean. An alicorn linked to say, the Sun, Moon, Time, or Space itself will have, say, an entire Universe-sized reserve," Bryan's jaw dropped, "Now, you may be thinking, 'I sure as hell don't feel that powerful,' but that's because there are certain conditions to an alicorn accessing so much power, to stop them from becoming some sorta Hyper Mary Sue." Now, Bryan was intrigued (i mean, i'm already super interested).

"What're the conditions?" The human asked, now sitting/squatting on the ridiculously sized sofa, hard to think I struggle to climb on this in my pony form. Quantum grinned.

"First and foremost, there's this sort of Order to how magic works in relation to Space," The stallion began, "While we may have an unholy amount of magical power in reserve, there's a limit to how much our body can take, which actually explains why you're in human form," Quantum drifted around to the side of Bryan, and poked him in the bicep, "Right now, your pony form is too small, and too fragile to actually take all the magical energy required to pause the Flow, and you subconsciously constructed a new body, one that was capable of withstanding so much magic," The alicorn drifted in front of the human's eyes, "Don't worry, though, this form will disappear once the Flow resumes, and you'll be back to falling in your normal body. Actually, the bipedal form you have now is constructed of Time Magic, hence the similarity to our mane and coat." Bryan rubbed under his nose with his index finger.

"So, what I've done is pause time, and made myself a body that can handle it. Is that it?" The temporal human asked, tilting his head.

"Right, because of the Order, your physical body can't take it, as it is now, that is," Quantum confirmed with a smile.

"So, there'll be a point when I can enter this state in my pony-body?" Bryan further questioned, now interested on how to get to that stage.

"Of course, your ability to handle vast amounts of Time Magic will come as you grow, and eventually, you'll be able to perform these stunts at will," The equine Time Mage surmised, and grinned again, floating away from his human counterpart. "Anymore questions? The Order, magic reserves, Time Magic in general? We've got some time before the Flow Stasis ends, so fire away."

"Well, yeah. Of course I have questions," Bryan said, cocking his head, and scanning the room, "The real question is, of course, can anypony else move around during a 'Stasis'? I'd hate for somepony to walk in and see some strange biped like myself."

"Ordinarily, there would be a few ponies capable of movement during a Stasis, unfortunately," Quantum grimaced imperceptibly, "Two of them are incapacitated, to my knowledge at least. The last of them, however..."

A white dot in the sky gradually increased in size, visible from the window of the Herring living room.

A blue wave pulsed over her surroundings. It was strong, comforting even. Familiar.

The first time she felt the wave of magic, she'd been surprised, even mildly relieved that her suspicions had been correct. It had been a relatively nice change, being awake, and somewhat lucid. The second time Luna was woken by the magic of the Flow, she felt alive. A calm blue washed over her, and with it, the Nightmare and all its decadent thoughts of demented grandeur, disappeared. Her mind fell silent, and the Princess of the Night felt a feeling of relief.

Now, the moon's prisoner knew the feeling would be temporary; of course it was. But even after nearly a thousand years of isolation, her mind, and its contents, had not rusted and fallen apart. No, she still remembered the key rule that Tia had drilled into her many, many years ago.

"Listen to us, Luna! This is of the highest importance," Celestia's royal dialect rang through the room of Gods, "Time Magic is the anti-thesis to the Root, that is why Infinitus is still lucid!"

Luna felt a feeling very much akin to hope in her blue-painted frozen world; soon, she would see her beloved sister again, and the one she regarded as a brother would help her beloved, and everything would be fine.

Well, not before someone got that blasted Nightmare out of her head. She knew she couldn't spend eternity at the side of Quantum upon her release, and she knew well enough already that the only permanent cure were the Elements. Maker, the surprisingly calm mind of Luna thought, I do hope she hath found the Sacred Tools. The Dark Mare grimaced at her dialect, We suppose thine Equestrian Language hath changed verily. Luna sighed, there would be much to catch up on once she returned to Equus.

The continued feeling of emptiness within her head surprised her. Truthfully, she had thought the Stasis would have finished by now. Not that she was complaining; no, it was rather nice being able to think freely without her thoughts being interrupted. Luna knew the Nightmare would make up for it, once the damned thing returned and realized what had happened. Oh well, she supposed she would just live with it. Luna had faced worse, truthfully. Like say, entrapping her beloved in stone, for example.

Her thoughts returned to the topic of Infinitus; Discord. The thought of a once blue alicorn with a gentle smile, plagued sickly green, sneering at his brother appeared in her mind, and the prisoner of millennia felt sick.

"Such power! My, you were keeping such things from me?" A voice, decidedly not Quantum's but coming from his own mouth rung out, "Ah, the ever flowing Stream, I can see into Eternity!" A double-layered voice rang from the alicorn's mouth, "Now, how about I test my newfound power."

Bitter rage flooded her; they had let that evil live too long; and they had paid the price for it. But she wouldn't despair; no. Her resolve was stronger than ever, the Alicorn Four would soon reunite. She had hope, something she really, truly hadn't felt in centuries. The thought of her sister, the bright Sun and all it's glory, Luna felt ridiculous for even thinking of fighting it, all those years ago. The Moon's prisoner thought of Quantum, her should be in-law, his return and the Great Flow beneath his hooves.

And she thought of Infinitus. Her love. The very complexities of Magic and Matter itself flowing through his veins. The image of early white armour gleaming in the twilight as he grinned at Luna confidently filled her mind. The Night Princess' heart fluttered, long still from centuries of isolation.

Yes, she had hope. Mind had once destroyed and separated them. They would not make the same mistakes this time, however. No, Luna was sure that she would reunite with them all soon, and then, they would strike.

Payback would be oh so sweet.

Hegese was sorting through Celestia's paperwork, early morning sunshine flittering through the office windows, catching on the small framed photo of her family on the desk. She smiled; it had been taken on the day of her son's birthday. The photo showed herself and Bow, a foreleg around each other as Rouge was on her side on the left, while Philips and Cindy was on the right, beside the red pegasus' husband. On the floor before them, it showed an off-balance Quantum, a purple mass of Twilight hanging from his neck. The picture made her heart feel warm every time she gazed upon it.

A much needed support when faced with her daily mountain of work.

The office Hegese was in had been inhabited by Herring mares for generations, as the role of Royal Adviser went from clan head to clan head. It was a lush red, with an oak desk in the centre of the room, and a large, decadent window behind her, overlooking all of Canterlot; she could see her home from where she worked. Her mother, Rouge, had been an Adviser, too, but much preferred her treasure hunting, despite it only being a hobby. Hegese too, had a knack for finding hidden rarities, but actually preferred the role of Adviser, and more importantly, mother, than Rouge did. Hegese frowned.

The thought of the elderly Herring clan head worried her again. As of late, Rouge had been ill; and it didn't seem to be letting up. If anything, the illness seemed to be getting worse for the old mare, and Hegese was getting more and more worried at the prospect of losing her. Celestia, to her credit, had cut no corners when she heard of her former adviser, and long time friend's situation. She had recruited the best doctor in Canterlot to look after her, and made specific effort to visit Rouge whenever she could. Hegese suspected that it was because Celestia didn't have very many friends left, being immortal and all. A breeze rustled through the opened window, and Hegese snapped back to reality, slamming a hoof down onto the piece of paper in front of her, to make sure it didn't blow away.

The Royal Adviser scowled at the sheet, as if her look may make the paper disappear, and with it, her work. The paper was detailing the trade agreement reached with the Griffons; the trade agreement that was literally the same as the one Forsake had had before the meeting. Hegese's brow further furrowed in remembrance of the meeting, the side of Celestia that even she rarely saw had appeared before the three rulers. The tips of the mane of the Sun Goddess glowed slightly in her ire, like embers off a flame. The adviser shuddered at the thought; she herself had thought she may become a fiery inferno in her ruler's presence. But, surprisingly, the room had not gone up in flames. If anything, the Griffon king ended up calming down significantly, and the meeting was actually boring from then on. Still, Hegese had the feeling of standing on the very edge of a cliff, upon her hind hooves, when around the Princess that day. A most uncomfortable feeling, she thought.

The pegasus rubbed the sides of her head with her hooves; she just couldn't focus today. With Rouge ill, and the memories of a particularly angry Princess of the Sun, Hegese couldn't do what she needed to and finish the paperwork. She was worried for her mum, of course, but she felt a little safety knowing that her Bow would look after the elderly pegasus when he returned home.

A a bright flash of light caught the Advisor's eye; what was that?

The pegasus' eyes scanned her office looking for the source of the distraction. Hegese was sure she didn't have anything that could cause such a bright flash. But then, she caught sight of the offending object at the end of the room. Hung on the wall was a very mundane, and what she thought, normal, clock.

It's blue glow was fading... Hm?

Hegese rubbed her eyes with her hooves, and when she reopened them, the glow was gone. Like it was never even there.

"Huh," The crimson pegasus shook her head, "Weird."

When Discord looked at the huddled form of the colour-drained Draconequus, he was confused. Not long ago, the physical form of his insanity had taunted him, and threatened those he held dear. But now? The sanity-sapping apparition looked terrifying, and decidedly still. Odd.

Discord moved towards the alter-ego of his, and reached a hoof out to poke him. He didn't move.

Wait. Hoof?

The white space that was his prison had been formed into a battleground of sorts. On one side, there was a blissful, normal nighttime landscape with twinkling stars and a great big moon. Canterlot castle in the distance. On the other side, anarchy. Chessboard floors, pink clouds, lime green sky... Absolutely no cohesion. So upon seeing his opponent in the battle for control, still and hunched in a feeble little ball, Discord quickly swept the rest of the space to look like the beautiful night, and willed a mirror to appear in front of him. A draconequus did not stare back at him.

Oh.

His thoughts weren't hazy or even remotely random, and he supposed that should've been the first indication of something being off. Or on, in this case. No, the combination being of multiple animals was not the reflection in the mirror. Instead, a strong, emerald green alicorn stallion looked back at him. Pale blue eyes glowed with energy untapped for millennia, with a white mane running into green highlights, and a tail of similar description, well brushed. The mane fell over the body unseen for a long time, brushing over pearly white armour, as pristine as the day it was forged. This pony, mouth agape, was decidedly not Discord.

The long forgotten face of Infinitus stared into his own reflection.

"Maker..." The alicorn breathed, his head turning to stare at his own self. On his flank was the cutie mark he'd forgotten he'd even had; a swirling mix of deep purples, blues and white resembling a rather artistic black hole, surrounded by bright stars. Perfectly symmetrical. Just how he liked it. His white chest plate gleamed with a bright green emerald in the centre. Water hit the floor. Hm? I don't remember creating rain, His front right hoof brushed the small drop on the blade of grass in his night time country haven. Another drop hit his outstretched foreleg. He stared back into the mirror. O-oh.

He was crying.

He, the tyrant that had once ruined the land he loved, was crying at the sight of his own reflection. Feared Discord, loathed King of Anarchy, and yet, forgotten Prince of Order, was crying. His chest ached. Infinitus was suddenly very aware of the atrocities he had committed as Discord. The magic of The Root had blocked him from feeling guilt, pain, regret, and even revelled in the suffering he had caused. But now, Infinitus, the Corrupted Prince, felt years of agony befall his poor heart.

The floodgates opened. A strangled sob escaped the muzzle of the Prince. The families he had ruined, the villages he had destroyed, allied with the dragons, there was chaos, there was screaming and there was fire. The Mind had made especially sure that Infinitus-turned-Discord of the time had thrived in the destruction, the anarchy. The Prince of Order had blood on his hooves, too much blood. The longing to atone and make amends for his many, many sins struck him hard, and Infinitus was powerless to sate it.

The emerald pony's eyes, still streaming with long-held tears, caught sight of the colour-faded draconequus still curled on the floor. Sorrow turned to rage, and the bitter Prince fixed his fury on the source of his madness, his suffering. The embodiment of The Root's magic were the strings that held his marionette of a life up, and Infinitus resolved himself to no longer be controlled. He turned, and bucked the colour-drained beast with all his strength. It may not have done anything, but it makes me feel at least a little better, he thought.

The night sky, the country landscape, bled back to infinite blue. The blue was familiar to Infinitus, comforting, like a warm blanket protecting him from the elements. The colour of The Flow, of his brother, Quantum. All at once, the tears gained new reason. His brother was home. They had a chance to finish Mind off, once and for all. A plan began to form in his head, I always was the strategist of the four, he mused with a weary grin. Infinitus wiped his eyes with a fetlock. The time for crying had passed, he had things to plan, things to do. He looked up.

The moon continued to look down on the endless prison. A constant reminder to Infinitus for who he was waiting for, even as the blue faded and the breathing of his crazed counterpart restarted, Infinitus did not lose his grin of confidence. He had waited to long, cowered away. He looked down, and stared directly at the slowly rising form of the colour-drained Discord. The stallion grinned.

He was going to cut those damn strings loose.

Celestia was off of the throne and into the air within seconds of the Stasis. The magic was painfully familiar, and she found herself having to viciously crush the hope of her Quantum being back. But no, she knew it was too soon; and it'd be too easy, of course. She was gliding through the halls of her castle, the attendants and Canterlot staff all frozen in their duties, overlapped with a layer of translucent blue. Briefly, she passed the door to Hegese's office, and stopped just to check on her, to be sure that she too had frozen, being the mother of Quantum may have excluded her from the Stasis effects, but no, she too was still, staring at the clock which Celestia was sure had been glowing blue previously.

Celestia passed by a large door in the same corridor as her chambers, as she was having to ascend the castle in order to leave through the top. The door was intense. It flared and pulsed a deep, deep blue, the artefacts behind the long-sealed door (by Celestia herself) finally able to come to life, to restore their energy. The Sun Goddess was sure she would be reopening that room soon (with any luck, at least, she thought).

It didn't stop her from soaring out of the Castle, however. One thing she had remembered from long ago, was that teleportation never worked in a Stasis. You'd be stuck within the teleport until the Flow restarted, where you'd appear at your destination immediately after. She smiled a nostalgic smile. Celestia remembered the quarrels that Quantum and Infinitus would get into about how the Order was affected by the Flow.

The blue-washed city of Canterlot was a sight to behold. Ponies frozen in the air, as they walked. The marketplace was full of temporary-statues, their colours overlapped by the faintest of cyans. Beyond her was a beacon of cerulean light; the epicentre of the Stasis; Herring Manor. Celestia made a beeline for the noble home.

As Celestia landed in the courtyard of the manors, she gazed briefly at the Mi Amore residence. Of course, the Solar Princess knew that Cadence had her suspicions. There were a few scrutinising looks she had noticed recently, whenever they were together. And why wouldn't she be curious? The red ribbon between her and Quantum was obviously still intact, and if anypony could see it, then it was Cadence. Celestia though was mildly disappointed in her niece; why hadn't she seen the obvious yet? There should be another red ribbon in Canterlot, one more obvious than all of them, after all, it did lead from the Gardens, right into the night sky.

Celestia took a quick moment to stare up into the blue-washed sky. It wasn't night yet, no, midday more like. Even so, there had been a time where Celestia herself could see the ribbons, thanks to a spell she had learnt many, many years ago.

The Sun Goddess hadn't the need to use it for a very long time. It hurt too much.

Celestia shook her head, she was wasting precious time. The Stasis wasn't going to last forever, after all, and the Equestrian Princess made for the Herring Home.

"The last of them... what?" Bryan asked, his counterpart having trailed off, "Is there someone coming towards us? Should I be worried?" The temporary-human worried slightly; he didn't want to be found out, after all. Quantum tutted.

"Worried? Maker, no. If there's anypony in this world that you can absolutely trust, it's her. She should be here any moment, anyways," Quantum waved a hoof dismissively. It betrayed his inner thoughts. Truth be told, the stallion was incredibly worried about seeing the Solar Goddess, again. How will she react? Will she still feel anything for me? Will she even remember me? Quantum knew that most- if not all -the questions he was asking himself were baseless, they were of course, bound by that ever-flowing string.

The front door creaked open; Quantum's heart leapt into his throat. She's here.

Light hoofsteps echoed through the house, like a feather touch, gliding over the wooden floors. Bryan felt his magically-created heart thudding. The floating blue stallion slowly turned towards the living room archway. His mind went blank.

A gold-adorned white hoof stepped into view, followed by another. A sharp horn, flowing mane of many colours. Bright pink eyes, like the breaking dawn in her irises themselves. The regal form of Celestia appeared before Quantum, and her mouth fell agape. The lost Time Mage could neither speak, or move. Bryan, at least, had the tact to remain silent.

The silence stretched on, and on, and on. Bryan swallowed, and broke the silence, and took the plunge.

"Hey, Princess," The biped said rather lamely. He struggled to think of something else to say. The Sun Goddess snapped out of her reverie, and directed her look at the human. She scrutinised him closely; his form was different to what it was in that memory. His hair was a different colour. There was no blood splattered on his clothes. No cuts along his form. No, the 'human' was pristine in every way; even his entirely blue clothes looked brand new, as if only just woven. His hair shimmered with a strange sort of glow, it's colour similar to his mane as a colt. The Sun Princess looked into the teal eyes of the human, once brown.

"Quantum, is that you?" She asked, and a sudden sinking feeling befell the blue stallion as the Princess moved forward, "Or... the you from, well, before you came here?"

"Ah," Bryan cleared his throat, "Yeah, it's how I was in my last life." He looked himself over, suddenly very self-conscious of his appearance, but his eyes inevitably drifted to the slowly despairing form of his stallion counterpart.

Celestia continued forward, eyes not even catching the floating form of Quantum.

She passed right through him, like he was just air. The blue stallion chuckled mirthlessly, a bitter smile on his face.

"I knew it wouldn't be that easy," he muttered. Celestia didn't turn towards him.

Bryan stared, as Quantum drifted away from Celestia, his back-turned and his eyes overcast by his mane. The human was floored; she couldn't see him, and so only he could. True enough, Bryan didn't fully understand the nature of Quantum's relationship with Celestia (and to a lesser extent, his own), but she must be important to him (them) judging by the look on his Equine counterpart's face.

"Quantum, are you okay?" Pink eyes stared directly into his own, and Bryan snapped out of his confusion, though still a bit shocked. He shook his head, and smiled weakly. He lifted a finger to the slowly drifting form of the ethereal stallion.

"You..." He began, voice cracking, "You really can't see him, huh?" The stallion looked up with a resigned look. Bryan thought he'd never looked this tired before.

Celestia's eyes drifted to where the biped's appendage was pointing. Somewhere in the air, towards the wall adorned with the Ancient Rubrum Herring's painting. She saw nothing, but, 'Him'...? There's nopony here but us, unless... Her breath hitched. It wasn't- shouldn't be- isn't possible.

More importantly; it wasn't fair.

The silence lingered. Celestia stared at open air for what felt like an eternity, willing herself to see the impossible, knowing that there was only one other pony who could possibly be seen by the human, and not her. The apparently invisible form of Quantum stared back at her, silently pleading to whatever higher power that she be able to see him. There was no such luck. Their eyes were glazed, as if they knew one another were just that close.

And yet so far.

"Do you know of the magic you just performed?" Celestia asked, eyes not moving from the seemingly empty air. Her voice was quiet, monotone. Bryan considered his answers. It'd be cruel to explain how I know, he affirmed, I'll bluff. The atmosphere is thick now, anyhow. The human was relieved that Celestia was seemingly distracted enough to not hear his thoughts.

"Froze time, I guess? It's been like this for a while so I'm assuming it's gonna fade soon," Bryan looked up at the ceiling, eyes trying to avoid either of the two ponies he could see.

Quantum started to fade from view, the usually happy quirky stallion completely downtrodden. Bryan was inclined to apologise to him, to comfort him.

He knew it would do no good.

"You're correct. The magic itself is called 'Time Stasis'. Most Time Mages have struggled to bring the Flow to a complete halt, usually isolating only small areas and holding the magic within them," Celestia mused, and turned to the human, her eyes damp, "Never you, though," she smiled, sadly, reminiscing of days gone by, "You always were stronger than them all."

I'm not strong, Bryan thought to himself, I'm weak; I'm barely a year-old in this world. The Stasis was accidental, and I have no idea why I'm so goddamn important, besides having a horn, wings and a mark on my arse, he chuckled humourlessly, Strong? Pfft. I was never strong.

'You are strong. You're so important to Equus, to me,' Celestia interrupted his thoughts 'The Stasis may have been accidental, Quantum, but everypony starts from somewhere. There are two very special ponies that have been waiting for you, you know,' she smiled at him.

How can I be strong, though? The biped argued, glaring at the floor, In both lives I've seen so far, I've been powerless to stop the ones I loved from getting hurt; killed, even. And when something bad befalls me? The first thing I hoped for was a new chance, or death itself. Two images flashed in the human's mind: the much expected room of shattered glass and blood, prone forms and a sobbing child. The second was an image of a boy wrapped in tattered clothes, surrounded by steel-plated soldiers, a blade to his neck as a two precious objects were ripped away from him. Celestia inhaled sharply.

"Was- Was that...?" She trailed off, not sure how to phrase her question.

"...My first human life," Bryan finished, previously clenched hands hanging loosely at his side, "I was executed like a lamb. A weak lamb."

"'Two sisters, two brothers, connected by string...'" Celestia recited, lines spoken for the first time some long years ago, but never forgotten. She smiled at the human, who's head tilted in confusion, a frown knitted into his brow. "They must have felt your magic- powerful magic -by now. I'm sure they're happy you're back, and soon, I'm sure you'll know why. No pun intended but, these things will take time, but, I'll be with you every hoofstep of the way, and so will your parents, and Rouge, and one day," she moved forward, and embraced him with her forelegs, the human frozen to the spot, 'You'll understand everything.'

The blue started to fade away, and with it, the human form of Bryan Herring. The Princess stepped away, and smiled a hopeful smile at him.

Bryan opened his mouth to speak; no words came out. He turned to where Quantum once floated; empty air, a lack of blue washing the surroundings. Bryan turned back to the princess, and she was gone, and with it, the rest of the Stasis.

And Quantum the alicorn colt, fell from his tower of books, hoof outstretched towards the clock.

I1. Intermission: Ashes

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Grey. That was the outlook on things; grey. Grey, the colour of all emotion. Grey, the light in the eyes of those who were left. Grey, the colour of the sky since the Root came, and grey the feeling in her heart since she'd lost everything.

A small campfire was set in the centre of a collapsing building, once rich with colour, now drowned in the omnipresent blandness of the world. Rubble and cloth and dust and bone tumbled with the occasional breeze, and with it, reminders of the failure that she had brought upon Equus.

Sometimes, it would shower. Not rain (there hadn't been any rain in nearly two years), but ash. It sprinkled and it floated through the air, carelessly, until it eventually hit the ground, piling up with the specs that came before it. Sometimes, she liked to stare at the offending particles as they fell to the ground. Dull, green eyes would track them as they fell, or as they crumbled under her cracked horseshoes, or as they covered yet another victim. It was often hard to breathe.

She remembered how it happened, too. How the world that she loved, the creatures, the friends, her life fell away under her. She remembered when the eclipse came, and when both celestial bodies fell, and how the sheer madness of the world seemed to cry out at their falling, how trees twisted into fire and houses collapsed into endless pits, how magic itself seemed to have disappeared.

And she remembered how life had frozen, in that awful flash of indigo. Just for a split second; she remembered how the air tasted like fury and anguish and sorrow and guilt.

More importantly; she remembered who's fault it was. She remembered how she had trusted one pony too many, shown one too many kindness, and invited that evil into her life and the lives of her friends.

Kindness? Pfft. What a joke. Some Element she'd turned out to be.

It was numbing, really. To have stories told of what Fluttershy used to be like. Of how she was so shy and caring to all the animals (ha! animals. none of those anymore!), and how her "kindness" had been a light to so many ponies. Tartarus, the pegasus herself couldn't remember anything beyond the Root's appearance, not because she'd received brain damage or a curse or any of that nonsense.

Fluttershy couldn't remember the past, because she didn't want to remember the past. It was like purposely pouring lemon juice into a cut. It burned and it stung and oh did it ache to think of the past. Because the past was where her friend were. Where she'd left them, where they'd been sent to by him.

The once kind, open-minded and timid pony (now turned cynical, resentful, agonised) acknowledged the fact that yes, while the Prince may not have been in control at the time, he still spent so much of his time in that damned hibernation of his, those strange Magical Trances that he'd fall into for months at a time, while 'Shy and her friends and the princesses and his damn brother would face Maker knew what in the meantime.

Over the years, yes, Fluttershy had come to resent the existence of Quantum Herring. The Prince that broke her friend's heart. The Alicorn that slept through crises, after crises, after crises. In fact, she remembered that the only time he'd been 'awake' for a major event was when Discord re-emerged, and even then, he'd only had to touch the cursed being and hey-presto, he's back to normal, Infinitus walks the world once more.

Yes. Fluttershy knew she was being rather silly. The Time Mage had been cursed and burdened with so much, but it didn't help watching the body of said Prince exile her best friends to the furthest reaches of the Flow itself, leaving her, abandoning her in the now. All of her emotion had just burst forth from then and she just associated her life, her existence with the sickly grin of Faux-Quantum.

But Quantum, all the same.

She sat in the ruins of her cottage. It was held together by a few pieces of tarpaulin, tape, and a lot of luck. It wasn't anything luxurious, certainly, nothing like what it once was. But it was home, her space. A place where she could unwind, could be herself and at least imagine things were alright, especially if she dreamed hard enough and she jammed her eyes shut and she just tried not to cry.

Because out in the world? In the wasteland of Equestria? Fluttershy was "Ma'am" or "Madame" or "Ms" or...

"Kindness". That's what the ponies called her, because she tried her best to save each and everypony, no matter the cost or effort required. Her status as an Element had made her a leader, despite her protestations and denials. So, Fluttershy had grown into the role. She had hardened into the role of Ma'am, and she was sure that it was now, the right decision. For what it was worth, Ms Kindness had saved many a life since the Collapse. And now, it was paying off.

"Ma'am," a voice said, accompanied by a knock at her improv door. Fluttershy donned her mask, her straight, no-nonsense face.

"Ah, yes?" She replied, voice surprisingly strong given her trip down memory lane. The door creaked open, and the form of Rex Blueblood appeared before her. She smiled inwardly, how far the unicorn had come from stuck-up rich stallion, to her second-in-command. Funny, what the complete collapse of society can do to somepony.

"We think it's ready. The spell is linked to the artefact," he smiled at her, weary and beaten, but full of that confidence she'd seen more and more as time went one, "We're just waiting on you now."

'The spell', referred to the project Fluttershy and her merry band of survivors had been working on. Since the collapse, she'd been searching for a way to fix their mess, to undo what was done to her, and so many other's lives. Luckily, Kindness had been given a few willing (and maybe even foolish) ponies on her travels that had offered to infiltrate the fortress of Canterlot (or what was once Canterlot), and retrieve as many spellbooks and magical artefacts as possible. Rex Blueblood had surprisingly spear-headed the operation, and hit the figurative jackpot. He had got his hooves on the Herring Grandfather clock, and all the weird, unknown energies that it had absorbed from it's most recent owner with it. With a few tomes scavenged from the four corners of Equestria, and a lot of guesswork, the survivors spent day and night working on Project Turnback. Shaking her head, she smiled at the dusty-white unicorn.

"Waiting for me? Well, I suppose we should try it, then," And so Fluttershy rose, and made for the exit to her cottage, knowing full-well that it could be the last time she saw the place, at least, in that condition. "Shall we, Rex?"

In silence, the two made their way to the ruins of Ponyville, and Fluttershy noted with no small amount of surprise, that there was a feeling welling in her stomach.

Hope.

Author's Notes:

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand, I'm back. Sorry for the long delay on this one, and also, sorry if the intermission wasn't what you were looking for.

Let me explain:

This is going to be very important at later stages. To the point that by the end of the next intermission, that this part of the story will hopefully link up with the main story. I doubt everyone's gonna be happy with Fluttershy's characterisation, but I really wanted to do something interesting with her character, as I feel she's shunned a lot in terms of playing with her character on here. So here's what will certainly prove to be a much different version of 'Shy, breaking away from the norm.

For those of you interested, I went on a long pause because of some business at home. Christmas rolled around, and that took a while to get over, then some rather shite things happened in terms of School and life in general, so I ended up with a backlog of chapter drafts that I need to touch up before publishing. I'll try and get another one out before the end of January, but exams are hot on my heels so it might be difficult.

As always, thank you very much for reading, and moreso for sticking with me for this long. I hope you all enjoy this brief stint into what is to come, and I'll see you next time where Quantum takes centre-stage again.

11. Playground Politics

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There comes a point in every undying, rebirthing God of Time's life where one must look back on themselves, and think; 'Am I really, seriously, absolutely going to be arguing with a pony, that isn't even a fraction of my total age thus far?'

Of course; the answer is yes.

Because that same pony may have just taken your seat. The seat that you had pointed out to yourself and thought, yeah, that's mine. Right at the back of the room, in the corner, because, to be honest, an undying, multi-life God of Time will likely have little use for what he or she may learn in the classroom.

And so, it is here we rejoin our long-suffering hero, Quantum, previously known as Bryan, and a multitude of other names and insults that he has carried through his lives, who is standing in front of a desk, an occupied desk, staring at the criminal responsible for stealing his self-claimed seat. The blue alicorn cleared his throat.

"You're in my seat," he says bluntly, not bothering with manners. A half-lidded, unimpressed gaze fixes the evil-doer's eyes, and the greatest rebuttal of Pony-kind spills from the antagonist's muzzle.

"Nu-uh, I saw it first, I sat in it first," the colt places a hoof on the desk, "It's my seat. Go find your own!"

Quantum dragged a hoof over his face. It was going to be a long education. Briefly, he considers simply levitating the beige colt out of the seat, but honestly, it's more trouble than it's worth.

With little more than a few muttered curses in Ancient Greek, the alicorn stomps away, and takes the seat on the opposite end of the room, still on the back row, just by the wall instead of the preferred window. Quantum grumbles internally, Why do I even need to go to school? Everypony who knows me knows that I've more or less covered the curriculum at this level.

Because where would be the fun in that, oh clueless ex-human-double of mine? Also, you need to interact with more ponies besides your parents, Cadence, Twilight and Tia, the voice of 'Ye-Olde-Quantum' echoes back in his mind. That was something new that had happened through the last six or so years. As the recollections of his previous lives got more and more frequent, Quantum found himself capable of a strong connection to the spirit of his original self in his head, and eventually, the two were able to converse mentally, rather than having to perform a Flow Stasis or a Trance.

I am interacting with others. I went to the market on my own the other day, you know, the 'Modern-Quantum' thought back. The voice in his head chuckled back.

Right, and you really didn't snap at everypony who whispered about your horn and wings, huh? Chances are, when you come of age and eventually remember your first life (AKA, me), Tia is gonna jump you with royalty, and you'll ascend to some sort of throne, meaning you're gonna need to up them social skills, Mr Grumpy! The all to cheery-voice of Quantum Snr taunts colt in his seat. The multi-blue alicorn's eye twitches.

And if I end up going into a Trance here? What then, Mister Has-Been? The classroom starts filling up a bit more, he noted in the pause between answers. He'd arrived early especially for that seat. A scowl affixes itself to his face.

You really weren't listening to Celestia when she talked your family through this school business, were you? An exasperated voice drifts through his mind.

No, Quantum smirks inwardly at his mental counter-part, But I will now.

Celestia sat on the armchair in the Herring Home's living room, facing the turned around sofa containing Bow, Hegese and the colt in question. It had been around seven-and-a-half years since the birth of Quantum, and the family had been putting off sending the stallion-in-a-colt's-body to school for as long as possible, out of fear that the young alicorn would be bullied simply for being an alicorn. Celestia had repressed a chuckle at that, because if the new Quantum was anything like the old one, then there was no way in Tartarus that he'd be the victim of bullying. But the family had put his education off long enough, and Celestia had decided to step in.

"So, how can you be certain that he won't be bullied at school, Princess? I'm not saying that the colts and fillies are going to have it out for my son, but we all know how the young can be around anything well... different," Hegese, trusted friend and advisor of the Throne, asked with slight worry. One of her forelegs was dangled around the shoulder of her son, while she tilted her head in curiosity of the princess.

"Yes, unfortunately, while I'd like to assume the best of all the colts and fillies at the Castle's school, I know that there will always be cases of unkindness towards one and other amongst the students. Kids will be kids, I suppose, but to avoid that," Celestia smiled serenely at the family, "It's simple. We make Quantum seem as normal as possible to his fellow pupils. We can use a bit of illusion magic to simply hide his wings and cutie mark, and he'll fit right in!"

'Or, we could just continue with the home-schooling thing. That worked fine. Why change it?' The mental-voice of Quantum drifted into Celestia's own mind, and she frowned inwardly.

No, Quantum, you need to integrate with our society. Like it or not, being an alicorn means that Fate has some sort of plan for you, and I can guarantee you that it won't be easy, but will more importantly require the trust of the Kingdom, she told him over their connection, In fact, I know that Fate has a plan for you, so you'll just have to suck it up, mister.

'As you've said. Several times, in fact, without elaboration of what I'm actually supposed to be doing later in life,' Celestia noted with a mild hint of satisfaction that the colt's eye twitched slightly at her reply, 'And how come I'm the only one who ever hears you talk like this? Everypony else sees and hears 'benevolent, always kind and calm Princess Celestia', while I get 'constantly egging you on, pleasure in your suffering, sadistic Celestia'. What did I do to deserve this?'

Instead of replying, Celestia flashed a quick grin to the younger alicorn, before turning her attention back to the Herring parents, who seemed to have been discussing the possibility of Quantum's schooling. Eventually, it appeared the two had reached a common consensus, and both Hegese and Bow turned back towards the princess. Bow raised their collective thoughts.

"And, Princess, you're sure our son won't be found out?" The stallion, rightfully concerned (after all, alicorns really weren't that common), queried. Celestia offered a placating smile.

"Quite sure, Bow," The Sun Goddess assured, "In fact, the only reason Quantum would appear abnormal to the other students would be if he utilised his wings in front of the class, as it would break the illusion magic, or if he simply made a reputation for himself. But I'm sure he'd be as good as gold, wouldn't he?"

Benefits of being a Time Mage, Quantum thought with a grin, Perfect recall. It's like I can replay the whole event back in my head, with the finest details included! Ha, I love being me. In fact, when the colt had first discovered his perfect memory, he'd spent the following years reading as many books as possible, just to enjoy the feeling of remembering something with crystal clarity. It's oddly satisfying.

Quantum had underestimated the feeling of having his wings disguised. They felt as if they were tightly bound to his barrel, and that he'd lost feeling in them. Supposedly, in order to stop him from moving his wings instinctively, they'd had to block the magic running to his wings, essentially numbing them. The downside to blocking his magic flow, however, was that his horn felt like it was going to explode everytime he did a simple levitation magic. That being said, Quantum thought, All I have to do to break the illusion is to force my magic through the blocked path again. It's just a matter of making sure I don't use them passively, not actively.

During some of his home-schooled lessons, the Princess would occasionally drop by to help control his magic. He'd found earlier on that he'd end up overloading basic magics, which certainly wasn't helpful. In order to stop this, Celestia had taught Quantum how to regulate his internal flow of magic, so that he could direct precise amount to his horn so that spells no longer exploded in his face.

It hadn't been fun the first time; and he was determined to not let it happen again.

But, while his private homeschooling may have been beneficial for him intellectually, socially he was regressing. Quantum had acknowledged it, sure. The effects of only seeing the same ponies everyday certainly took its toll on his conversational skills, evident when he tried joking around too many of his parent's friends. Pshh, they couldn't take a joke, anways.

And so, that was why Quantum found himself in the very first year for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns; given a scholarship, no less. The blue alicorn knew that Twilight had been offered the same deal, and wouldn't be surprised to see her go all the way through and end up as the Princess' Faithful Student. Seriously, he thought at his desk The rate at which Twilight picks up magic is absurd. I'm doing my best just to keep up with her, and she's always just that step ahead.

The School for Gifted Unicorns was about prestigious as they come; looked after by Celestia herself, only the most prodigious of prodigies made it into the school, and they took students from the age of eight, all the way to eighteen, and they were renown for producing stellar results year in, year out. While partly down to the pedigree of the students themselves, the fact that the school covered every detail, in every topic, in all syllabuses to an atomic level may also attribute to the intense learning environment of the school.

Of course, when you're a certain alicorn that has more or less memorised the first two years of education, then the intense environment is wasted, and you just end up feeling as though you're wasting your time; a feeling that Quantum was certain he'd be experiencing soon.

Taking a glance around the classroom, the multi-blue alicorn noted that more or less, every desk in the class had been taken up. He looked to the desk on his left, and grinned at the occupant. Madame Sparkle herself was seated, and looking rather nervous, as she watched the rest of the pupils meet and greet with one and other. Quantum, manoeuvring himself in his chair, turned to face the oblivious Twilight. He raised his forelegs above his head.

"Boo!"

With a incredibly high pitched 'eep!'. Twilight bolted upright and snapped her neck towards the source of her fright, and more annoyingly, the new source of greatly amused laughter. Grinding her teeth, Twilight prepared to give her disguised friend the greatest yelling in the history of the school, but was unfortunately interrupted by the entry of a more adult looking pony, and the hushing of the class. She gave a final glare, and Quantum grinned back in victory. They both turned towards the front.

"Good morning class! Welcome to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," The grey-coated, white mane unicorn mare addressed her new class, "My name is Ms Quill, and I am going to be your tutor for the next five years, before you go off to bigger and better things! So, how about we introduce ourselves, saying your name and something you like!" She smiled gently at the students before her, noting that the one the headmistress, or rather, the Princess herself had told the teaching staff only a week ago in a meeting, was sat in the back, biting back a grin. She inwardly noted that the filly beside him was trying equally as hard to keep a neutral face, but small ticks on her forehead throbbed. Ah, the unicorn teacher smiled, That'll be the source of the yelp I heard earlier.

"Greetings, everypony," a high-pitched nasally voice called out. The class truned towards a blonde-maned white-unicorn standing up near the front, turned towards the other pupils, "I am Prince Ingenio Blueblood, of the Noble Blueblood House," Quantum groaned. Of course, we're all in the same class, "And I am very much a fan of making friends. My father and I take very good care of our friends." The uppity-unicorn smiled sickly at the class, noting with satisfaction the number of awed whispers in the class. Sourly, however, he acknowledged the Sparkle filly was disinterested, and the Herring-Freak had his head in his forelegs on his desk. Blueblood scrunched his nose. "Now, if anyone wants to be my friend, then you would do well to meet me in the playground at break-time. Thank you," he smiled that sickly smile (how does a pony that young pull that damn grin off so well?!) once more, and sat himself down.

"That was, um," Ms Quill fumbled weakly for her words, "Very well spoken of you, Ingenio. Who would like to go next?" Quantum watched with mild interest as each unicorn stood to introduce themselves to the class. A few of them were already making eyes towards Blueblood, and others were starting to chat and make friends with one and other. Before he really knew it, Twilight was stood beside him and introducing herself.

"H-hello, My name is Twilight Sparkle," Quantum sighed as the class again was once again awed by another student from the four Royal Plaza houses, "I like learning and reading new things- wait, I mean reading and learning new things, and, libraries, and if you ever want to do some reading sometime, I'll be happy to join you!" The class murmured as she sat back down. Quantum noted with mild irritation that a few words like 'nerd' and 'geek' were being thrown around. You're at a school for the gifted, he mentally yelled, In some way, you're all nerds and geeks! The disguised alicorn waited for the class whispers to die down, before he stood and made his introduction.

"I'm Quantum Herring, yes, from the Royal Plaza houses," he cut off the whispers before they began, "And I really like that seat over there, but unfortunately, it was stolen from me. Also, I get headaches, a lot. Thanks," The blue pseudo-unicorn pointed at the window seat he was going to take at the start of the day, before looking back to the rest of the class. Finishing his introduction, he sat back down at his desk, and planted his head firmly back in his folded forelegs, ignoring the excited whispers in the class. Huh, the older voice in the alicorn's head spoke, Your social skills really do suck. You're going to need to work on them.

Fuck off.

The amused mental-chuckle drifted away from his immediate thought processes, and Quantum tilted his head so that he could see Ms Quill, whilst keeping his head placed on his forelegs.

"So, now that we've all introduced ourselves, I think it's time that I tell you what you'll be studying here," With a glow of her horn, Ms Quill opened a drawer at her desk, and pulled out a piece of chalk, coated in a light-grey aura. "Firstly, while I'm sure many of you heard about our curriculum while in the Nursery, we teach the basic core subjects of Literacy, Maths, History, Geography, Science, and of course, Magical Studies," She wrote all the names of the subjects on the board, whilst keeping her attention on the awe-inspired class. "Then, there's also Physical Education that you all have to take part in, to keep yourselves fit and healthy!" Ms Quill wrote 'Physical Education AKA PE' on the board, surrounded by tennis rackets, catching gloves, and a myriad of other sporting equipment. "Finally, as you get older, Magical Studies will split into different types. You can learn Transfiguration, Illusions, and all sorts of magic, here, at the Gifted School!"

Quantum looked next to him to see Twilight staring off dreamily into the distance. Her thirst for knowledge and new magic once again hitting him. He rolled his eyes, but smiled good naturedly.

"Now that we have that out the way, we have one hour left before break time," Ms Quill wiped the board clean, and smiled at her class, "First on the timetable is History, and what better place to begin than the start of the Kingdom of Equestria? So, would anypony know what event sparked the start of Equestria?" Quill looked around the room, some clueless faces, some in deep thought, one disinterested and a purple hoof beside it raised high into the air. "Yes, Twilight?"

"The Kingdom of Equestria started just after the Discord Cataclysm, Miss," Twilight explained, history books she'd read in the past coming to her mind, "Where two alicorns sealed the draconequus in a stone prison using the Elements of Harmony. Previously, Pony-kind had been divided into Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi. The Great Unification occurred on the day we now know as Heart's Warming, where the leaders of the three tribes came together and did away with the Windigo fiends and the snowstorm plaguing the land. The Kingdom nly became official, however, when the two alicorns that defeated Discord ascended to the throne," Twilight stopped, suddenly noting that everypony (barring the one next to her) was staring at her wide-eyed. Even Ms Quill looked impressed! Twilight blushed, and grinned sheepishly.

"Very good! That was a wonderful explanation, Twilight," Ms Quill congratulated, snapping out of her surprise, "Yes, the Kingdom of Equestria technically started upon the first Heart's Warming, as a result of an event we call The Great Unification. However, e only officially became a true nation after the Discord Cataclysm, where the two alicorns who defeated the fearsome beast ascended to the throne. Can anypony tell me the names of one of those alicorns?" To her satisfaction, a lot more hooves raised into the air this time. Ms Quill made her selection, "Yes, Beacon?" The yellow colt with orange and blue mane in the middle of the class smiled.

"Princess Celestia!" He called out, and Ms Quill smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

"That's right! Princess Celestia was one of the alicorns many, many years ago, that defeated the Dread Discord. Now, here's a trickier one, who can tell me the name of the other alicorn?" This time, there were a lot fewer hooves in the air, and a lot more faces of confusion. In fact, there was one hoof left in the air. A lavender one. Ms Quill sighed imperceptibly, she knew where this was going to go, and she just hoped that the young filly wouldn't be dissuaded by the other children. Plastering a smile, she answered the straining foreleg. "Yes, Twilight?"

"Princess Luna, the Princess of the Night!"

And so, Quantum listened to the lesson drone on for the next hour. Where Ms Quill would ask an easy question, and everypony would have an answer, but she'd follow it with a difficult question (for the majority, that is) where only Twilight would have an answer. Occasionally, he would hear some of his classmates groan when Twilight went to answer. It didn't often register with him, though. He was caught up in his thoughts, racking his brain (and his older counterpart) as to why the name 'Discord' rung such a sour tone with him. Do you know why?

...Yes.

Are you going to tell me?

...No.

Is it one of those things that I'll 'remember' when I'm older?

...Maybe.

God fucking damn it, he growled, Do you always have to be so cryptic? Why can't you just tell me everything now? Nopony else in the class took heed of his souring expression, but the disguised alicorn hid himself in his forelegs again, just to be safe.

We've been through this. There's no telling what might happen to you if you remember your lives in the wrong order. Trust me, we have to do it this way. I know, it's annoying. I want everything to be over and done with, just as much as you do. Quantum sighed, and dropped the subject with his internal-self. The multi-blue pseudo-unicorn sighed and slumped into a slouching position, the sounds of class droning in his head.

"And that," MS Quill paused, to hear the chime of the bell, "Is the end of the lesson. You now have break time! We'll finish our history lesson after you all come back from the playground. Dismissed." As she finished her sentence, the class emptied out faster than she could have thought, with a bleary-eyed Quantum Herring walking out of the class, yawning as he went. Ms Quill smiled amusedly, watching him go. Yes, she thought, I think this class is going to be very interesting indeed.

As Quantum trotted out of the classroom, and into the corridor leading to the playground, he wondered how all of his classmates managed to disappear as quickly as they did. He shrugged, Children and their energy. Surprised Twilight followed them out, though, maybe she's already got a group of friends. That'd be nice for her.

When he reached the playground, he found his conclusion was wrong. Very seriously wrong. The pseudo-unicorn was shocked, and rather appalled, to see Blueblood and a group of his 'friends' encroaching around Twilight. Still quite shocked, he listened into their words. One of the other unicorns spoke up first, surprisingly, not Blueblood.

"Hey, Twilight," the dusty brown unicorn colt said (Quantum couldn't remember his name) "Just who do you think you are, trying to show off like that?" He frowned at Twilight, who didn't quite understand what was going on.

"Excuse me? I was just answering the questions that Ms Quill was giving us. I wasn't showing off!" She defended, puffing out her chest in defiance. The unicorn colt replied, shoving her back.

"Uh, yes, yes you were! I bet you were just trying to show up Prince Blueblood," he gestured to the white unicorn in question, "Well it didn't work, Sparkle, the Prince is much smarter, and a lot cooler than you are!" He shouted, going to shove her again. Blueblood stopped him.

"Stop it, Duster," Ingenio said, looking at his hoof, "As long as she remembers her place, below me, then everything will be OK. You can do that, can't you Twilight?" The lavender unicorn, looking quite upset at this point, opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off the white unicorn, "Oh, and, don't bother telling Ms Quill about this. It'll just make things worse for yourself. Now be a good little pony, keep your trap shut, and don't bother me again. Understand?" Twilight made no reply, staring at the ground, trying to hold back her tears. "I said, understand, you freakish-nerd!" Blueblood went to shove the distraught unicorn, but a blue body stood in his way. He growled.

"What do you think you're doing, Ingenio?" Quantum looked at the unicorn, his stance showing disinterest, but his eyes flaring with righteous fury. "What, you upset that Twilight here is smarter than you? Or that she always will be?" The unicorn from before, Duster, fixed Quantum with a glare.

"Hey, watch what you're saying! This is Prince Blueblood, didn't you know? Or are you too dumb to remember that, you weird-maned freak!" Quantum narrowed his eyes at the offending unicorn. Really now? Just because my mane is a mix of a bunch of different colours, you've got to make fun of it? He growled, Tch. Kids. Before he could make his reply to Duster, however, Bleublood yanked the foreleg of his vocal lackey.

"Hey. We're going, Duster. Lets just leave Twilight and her pet alone," Ingenio, gathering up his small gang of followers, sauntered further into the playground, ignoring the two they left behind. Twilight fell to her haunches, eyes downcast.

Quantum noted, with no small amount of rage, the small drip-drop noises of tears falling from his best friend's face. He sat beside her, and slung a foreleg around her shoulders. She leant into him, ignoring the laughter, shouting and playful screaming coming from the rest of the yellow-paved playground.

"Why," she asked quietly, voice quivering, "Why did they say that about me?" She looked up at the disguised alicorn, aware of the circumstances behind his missing wings. Twilight's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Because, Twilight, colts and fillies can be some of the most cruel ponies on the planet. Give them something to latch onto, and they'll never let go," He rubbed her back soothingly, and Twilight fell into his one-legged embrace.

"D-do you think I'm a f-freakish-nerd?" She whispered quietly, stuttering on her words. Quantum clicked his tongue; Twilight Sparkle should not be crying on her first day at such a wonderful school. He shook his head, and cocked a grin at her.

"Nah, you're not a freakish-nerd. Just those chumps can't come to terms with the fact you're smarter than them, which, is fair. I've had years to get used to the feeling," She wiped her eyed and giggled, before smirking at him.

"Yeah, right. You have no idea how hard it is, holding myself back for you," To her reply, Quantum shot to his legs, and held a hoof to his chest in mock horror, his face mirroring such.

"Why, Ms Sparkle! I can't believe you'd trample on me like that! Oh, my heart, I think I'm fading, fading... fading..." He fell to the ground, too slowly to be considered physically real. She snorted at his antics, before gasping in realization.

"Hey, wait a minute, I never got you back for making me jump before class!" Narrowing her eyes at her now surprised friend, she stalked after him, eye twitching, and grin mischievous. Quantum rose to his hooves, and checked his foreleg, as if there were a watch there. He spoke with a monotonous tone.

"Oh, would you look at the time. I really must be going now," and with that, he bolted, galloping straight into the playground at highspee, Twilight hot on his hooves. They laughed together, as they both ran circles around the playground, smiles across their faces.

It felt good, to just let loose sometimes.

"They started school today, you know," A white alicorn sat in Canterlot Castle Gardens, facing the statue of a very old friend. Magic pulsed from the base of the statue, carrying with it a voice she'd been hearing more and more over the last few years.

"Oh, they did now, did they? I suppose it won't be long before we're all together again. How long will it take for him to remember everything?" Infinitus voice rung in her head, and Celestia smiled serenely. She'd been feeling calmer since Quantum's birth; perhaps regular interaction with him helped her relax, even if he wasn't the Quantum she remembered yet.

"Around fifteen years. It will likely seem much longer than that, though. By the time you're free, I expect Luna will already be with us again," She looked up into the sky, now covered by peaceful night, and the silhouette of a mare shadowing the moon. "I just hope we have time to prepare before Mind rears himself again. Maker knows I have a myriad of problems to deal with, already."

"You'll be fine, Tia," Infinitus reassured her, and Celestia calmed her mind further, "We'll be fine."

12. Time Magic and Memes

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Another scheme to Celestia's plan of disguising Quantum was incredibly beneficial to her. See, using the excuse to Hegese, Bow and the rest of the Herring family that 'because of his alicorn biology,' she had said, 'his flying capabilities are going to be much stronger. i don't mind tutoring him, of course,' and hey-presto, the resident Canterlot Sun Goddess had a get-out-of-jail-free card for cancelling court sessions, where she instead was able to loosen up a bit and teach one Quantum Herring how to fly.

Of course, he'd seen through her ploy immediately.

"I could be taught by normal flight teachers, couldn't I?" Her lips quirked at the usual brand of Quantum deadpan-scepticism. They walked through the Castle's hallways, towards the courtyard where the lesson would take place. The colt was still disguised as a unicorn, too, just in case somepony saw him, after all, there were a lot of students at the school with parents working in the castle. It was a bright, sunny day (the best kind of day, in her opinion) and the 'colt' didn't have school that day, so Celestia thought it the perfect time to commandeer the younger alicorn for a flight lesson.

And also the opportunity to pick his brain.

"Oh yes, without a doubt," she replied, satisfaction in her voice, "But lets be honest, you'd never take any old instructor seriously, now, would you?" The princess stared down at the blue ex-human, and watched as he grumbled and turned his head away from her. Her smile widened further. Looking down, she absently pondered why she felt strange walking next to him. Probably because he'll end up taller than me, hm? Quantum turned an unimpressed look towards her.

"I can hear your thoughts, remember?" Celestia had the decency to blush in her absent-mindedness, "And I will end up taller than you, huh? Nice. I'll make sure to rub that in some few years in the future." The sun princess felt her eye twitch, she knew he was good for it, too. Quantum smirked to himself in victory, but it fell once he pondered upon the future itself, more precisely, his future/past self.

The older voice of Quantum Senior never really spoke up when Celestia was around. He had done so once, at first, when the young Herring had performed his first Stasis spell, but upon realising that Celestia couldn't hear him, the ghostly-version of himself never spoke up when she was around. Quantum guessed that it was something to do with it hurting too much.

That was another thing he couldn't really explain though. On top of his strange aversion to music with no defined beat, Quantum often found himself rather relaxed, and (dare he say it), pleased when in the Princess' company. Even if he didn't really think of her as a Princess, much to some of the castle staff's (including his mother) horror. Hegese had almost popped a blood vessel when she first heard her son refer to the princess as 'Tia'.

Again, the younger alicorn couldn't really explain why he did it. He'd just heard his older self say it a couple of times, and he himself had ended up saying it out of instinct.

Or lack of thought, whatever floats your boat.

Not that it really bothered the Sun Goddess; she was quite content at not having the constant 'princess this' and 'princess that' all the time. It was refreshing getting a bit of slack from the constant title, and was why she decided to become a private tutor to the alicorn. She shrugged to herself, even Princesses needed breaks sometimes. Celestia came out of her thoughts to the sound of the colt's voice.

"This isn't going to be a flying lesson, is it?" It wasn't really a question; the ex-human had an idea that his parents weren't the only ones getting played by the princess. He could fly just fine, and if it was such a problem, then like Tia had said, he didn't need a specific instructor for it. In fact, there was likely only one thing that Celestia could tutor him about, and that was...

"Right," she replied, a smug grin on her face, unbecoming of the usual atmosphere she gave off, "We're going to try and explore the depths of your Time Magic, and what you're capable of right now." Satisfied with the groan of annoyance from the colt at her side, the two alicorns entered the courtyard, Celestia immediately throwing up a powerful barrier to stop any unwanted intrusions. Quantum watched with awe as a flock of birds previously flying towards the walled-off plateau made an obvious turn and flew around the barrier.

The courtyard itself was relatively simple; there were moderately high purple walls around each side, making sure that any non-flying ponies couldn't get in, and even then, Quantum suspected there was probably another barrier to stop unwanted personnel getting in. The floor was mainly paved, with small islands of green dotted around the area. There were a few benches by the wall, too, and a few other decorations littered around the place. Huh, he thought, Peaceful.

"Isn't it just?" Celestia spoke up, answering his thoughts with a playful smile, "I like to come here to think sometimes. On clear nights, this place is also my favourite spot to stargaze." Her smile turned sad at the end of her words, and Quantum felt an unusual pang in his heart. That happened often when he was around the Princess; he sometimes felt emotion that he could never really understand what had made him feel that way. The ex-human shrugged it off as one of those things he'd likely understand later on.

"So, what's the plan?" Quantum asked, turning his attention back to the larger alicorn, "I'm not exactly well-versed in Time Magic, the most thing I'd ever done with it being the Stasis years ago." And it was true; the multi-blue alicorn didn't particularly like using his natural abilities. Whenever he'd tried his hand at another Stasis (at the instruction of his older self), his natural reserves of magic just felt awkward and clunky, like he was having to force the magic out, rather than letting it flow as it usually did with normal magic. And as I keep telling you, it's because you're thinking as though Time Magic is normal magic. It's not.

Quantum sighed and ran a hoof over his muzzle, dragging it along his face. He bit back the reply to his original self, knowing that Celestia would likely want to know who he was mind-talking to. Quantum Senior, however, did not elaborate upon his comment, as usual, and simply let his most recent incarnation focus on the Princess before him.

"Well, yes, but I think I can help you with that," Celestia said, eyeing the colt suspiciously, "I do have some knowledge of Time Magic after all. We're not going to try Stasis, though, not today at least." Quantum quirked his brow.

"We're doing something else besides Stasis? Can I even do that yet?" With a strange, sort of knowing grin, Celestia made a non-committal noise.

"Ah, well, I think you'll be able to do it," She said cryptically. Now thoroughly interested, Quantum inquired further, and with no small amount of suspicion.

"How? How do you know that?" The colt pleaded, incredulity on his features.

"Because you're going to tell me," Grin now fully affixed to the Sun Goddess' face. Quantum's eye twitched.

"What do you mea-"

"She means me," He was cut off by... a sudden new and eerily familiar voice. The young blue alicorn's head snapped round to the source of the interruption, and upon seeing the cause, felt his brain cease up, accompanied by the loud guffawing of his older self.

There, from behind one of the pillars in the courtyard, walked a bipedal creature. A human. All blue clothes, oddly coloured hair, and a sadistic smirk plastered on his face. Bryan Herring stared back at his pony self.

"Hey guys," the human said, waving, "Scarce here."

Elsewhere in the moderately-priced region of Canterlot, a unicorn filly studiously looked over the materials she'd gathered from her first week at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, locked away in her pale red room. Magical Studies had been particularly generous in its dealings; issuing nearly twice the homework that her other subjects had on its own. The grey-coated filly frowned. Mama and Papa were right, she thought, The school really is heavy-hoofed from the get-go.

Not that she really cared. Bender enjoyed new reading material, though, it was universal law that young ponies had to dislike homework.

Flopping onto her back, laying on her bed, the young filly smoothly hovered the Magical Studies textbook in front of her muzzle. It was basic stuff, really, more recap from nursery than new material, but there were some new elements, like the theory behind magical sensing, reserves and some other new concepts (to her, at least). Bender was, however, much more interested in the 'Manipulation' part of the textbook. With a hungry glint in her eye, she swung the book into the air by a single page, throwing it out of her magic, and letting it fall again before catching the textbook at the start of the Manipulation chapter. See, the filly in question was capable of other magic, she showed immense skill for her age in her magical dexterity and manipulation. It is the reason I was offered placement in the school, after all, Bender thought with a satisfied smile, Only the prestigious!

In her own mind and with close friends, the filly could be quite self-confident and assured. While that's not to say she wasn't around new ponies, she was certainly quieter, and kept more to herself in public. More often than not, Bender found herself more than happy to be in the company of herself. Especially with some of my classmates, she grimaced, thinking of a certain Blueblood, Yikes.

Thinking of her less-than-savoury classmate, the messy red-maned filly let her mind wander to the other new faces in her life. She remembered seeing the two from the back of the class, Quantum and Twilight, talking to each other on the first day during break time. Bender also remembered not being the only one to notice the two's argument with Ingenio. Specifically, she remembered the two fillies (also in her class), Arcana and Mirage staring at the 'fight' worriedly.

Personally, Bender was more intrigued as to why Blueblood had decided to walk away once Quantum had stepped in. She definitely remembered seeing resentment and anger stewing in the white unicorn's features as he brushed by her. The image of a very mysterious Cloak of Mystery wrapping itself mysteriously in a mysterious way around Quantum sprung to her mind, and with her previous thoughts of playground politics through the window, the grey-filly grabbed a blank piece of paper, a quill and some ink, and began writing, all within the space of seven seconds.

And with this, Bender had officially accomplished her unknown goal of procrastination, and the homework was left at her side, abandoned for more interesting endeavours.

Celestia watched in bemusement as the face of Quantum Herring fell slack-jawed, his mouth repeatedly opening and closing while looking between herself and his human counterpart of Bryan Herring. He was barely able to get more than a few words out.

"But- But I- But you- But... But..." The colt's right eye twitched, repeatedly, before he curled into the fetal position, and began rocking back and forth on his rump. "This isn't real. This whole thing is a horrible nightmare. No way, no fucking way did a human version of myself just walk from behind a pillar, and interrupt me with a fucking meme." Quantum attempted (and horribly failed) to block out his other selves (both cognitive pony version and shit-eating-grin-wearing human version) and Celestia's wild, uncontrollable laughter.

The Sun Goddess, while not exactly sure what Quantum meant by 'meme', she could certainly see the humour in the situation. Which was why she was laughing in a distinctly un-princess like manner; leaned against the nearest wall, struggling for breath while holding back as many giggles as possible. Eventually, she watched as the colt flopped onto his side, a traumatised smile plastered on his face. By this point, the human had finished his laughing, though still maintained the smirk. Bryan rolled his eyes, marched over to the colt on the floor, and yanked him to his hooves by the scruff of his neck.

"Oi," he said, "Calm down. Lets get some things straight here; no, you're not going insane," He flicked his equine self's horn, "No. we haven't ripped a hole in the space-time continuum, and no, we are most certainly not going to die because of this." Bryan sat himself down on the floor, his left knee in the air, with the flat on the floor. He slung his arm around the propped up knee. "So, take a guess. What do you think I am?"

Quantum analysed his human-self, piecing together what Celestia had said before with the strange occurrence in front of him. It didn't take a genius to figure out the basic idea.

"You're me, from the future," he started, rubbing a hoof under his muzzle, eyes narrowed in thought, "But why are you here, as Bryan? And not, well, me? Or any other version of us for that matter?" The human smirked.

"Well, firstly," He turned towards Celestia, "Yeah, I am most certainly able to do it. It'll take a few hours before I kick my flank into gear, though, so it might be worth grabbing a tea or coffee or something while I practice." The Sun Goddess smiled at the human.

"No, I think I'll stay here. Somepony has to look out for you, who knows how badly you might hurt yourself?" Celestia smiled, but faltered upon a realisation, "Well, I suppose you know how badly you might hurt yourself, but that's sort of cheating given the usual context for that phrase." Bryan smirked, and turned his attention back to his colt-self.

"Anyway, yeah, I'm here as Bryan because, one," The human raised his index finger, "It's sort of our natural go-to form for anything Time related at this point, two," He raised another finger, "Because we can't have two of the exact same physical form at one time. We can have the same magical signature," His fingers glowed blue in demonstration, "We could have the same form, but we most certainly can't have the same of both things. That's where shit starts to fall out of our jurisdiction as a Time Mage, and into somepony else's as a Spatial Mage. Laws of Physics and Magi-Physics, something to do with those."

Quantum nodded his head, acknowledging and absorbing the information as his future-human-self reeled it off. Celestia too seemed to be taking mental notes of the explanation, and was almost certainly going to be analysing them later. Suddenly, however, Quantum's attention was drawn by a trickling line of red liquid, running down Bryan's arm from underneath his blue t-shirt's sleeve. He pointed a hoof at it.

"You're injured," he said, more statement than question. Celestia too perked up from her thoughts, and moved closer to the human crouched on the floor. Bryan's eyes shot to his right arm (the one keeping him propped up on the floor) and cursed, before wiping the blood away and standing up.

"Shit," he brushed himself down, before clutching the injured arm defensively. The Sun Goddess, however, wasn't satisfied, and moved closer to him.

"Bryan, you're not telling us something we ought to know," She said, pointing a hoof at the injured arm, "Why is your arm bleeding? What happened?" Bryan's eye twitched in annoyance.

"I'm not telling you what happened, because when I was him," He pointed at his present-pony-self, "I was never told what happened. This is the way Time Loops work; I have to abide by the rules set by the Stream, and I most certainly am not allowed to tell you why my arm is bleeding. Suffice to say, my first attempt at travelling back didn't go exactly to plan," He shook his head and set a scowl on his face, "Now I really can't tell you anymore."

Alarm bells were ringing in Quantum's head, and the voice within it was noticeably silent. The alicorn colt narrowed his eyes, and watched as Celestia did the same.

The princess herself acknowledged the human's point; Time Loops were delicate little things. The Stream (or Flow) set rules for the participants, rules that lingered in the back of the mind, and caused excruciating pain for the pony (or person in this case) if the rules were broken. They usually reminded the pony of things like 'do not tell Pony X about Event Y' or 'do not be seen by Pony Z', however, she had known times when the rules had been awfully specific, and others when they had been damn right harsh.

The perks of growing up with a Time Mage in her childhood; many trips through Time to play pranks on their siblings.

Nowadays, ponies would frown upon such frivolous use of such a potent ability. Bah, she thought, thankful that the colt before her was too oblivious to notice her musings, It was worth it.

Of course, she and Quantum (of old) had stopped their regular trips once they'd accidentally broken one of the rules, leaving the colt writhing in pain for an hour. Celestia shook her head; Not the fondest of memories. The silence in the courtyard was broken by the shuffling from the human.

"Gotta go," he said, scratching the side of his head, "My limit is nearly up." Quantum peered at his human self.

"Limit?" He asked simply.

"Right," Bryan replied, "When we start a Time Loop, we have a Time Limit allotted to us. While being an almighty alicorn can certainly help extend that, we're nowhere near the level at which we can make requests to the Flow regarding Loops. She's a harsh mistress, she is." He sighed, but smiled good naturedly, lifting a glowing blue hand in front of his face, poised to snap his fingers. "Well, it's certainly been fun being on the other end of these shenanigans," Bryan nodded at Celestia, "Don't worry about the mistake he's going to make," He jerked the thumb on his free hand at the colt, who scowled back at his human self, "I'll be a little bit shaken up, but nothing I can't handle." The Sun Goddess sighed.

"I'm sure I'll be worried about you anyway, so there's really no point in telling me to not worry," She smiled at the human, "So get going, we don't want the pressure to start building in your head because you overstayed your welcome."

"Heh, right," Bryan turned back to his colt self, "And while I know you won't listen to me when I tell you this, because I certainly didn't, but make sure you listen to that voice in your head when you start getting frustrated." Bryan tapped his temple, making a not so subtle hint towards the voice of Quantum Senior, before scowling and shaking his head. "Oh, who am I kidding? You're not going to do it because I didn't do it meaning that there's no way that you would even consider doing anything else an- Oh for fucks sake, I'm just gonna go before I confuse myself and mess up the leap back."

Bryan snapped his fingers, and Quantum and Celestia watched with surprise and interest respectively as the human glowed a soft white, before dissipating into a wisps of energy, faint tick-tocking resounding from his fading form.

"Huh," Quantum said, still staring at the spot Bryan had just stood in, "Neat."

Author's Notes:

This one's a slightly shorter one, as I originally intended on continuing, but figured the next event to happen would likely clash with the rest of the chapter a bit too hard, and would also make it longer than the average chapter size. Therefore, I've cut the rest of it and put it into the next chapter, and that should be out within a week or so.

God. Is this really another update so soon? Someone get the thermometer; I might be ill if I'm becoming this reliable.

Anyway, in case you haven't seen, I'm after your OCs to fill in Quantum's social life for the school arc and possibly beyond. If you want the full details, click here for the blog post detailing it.

As always, leave your comments about the chapter in the comments section, and I will likely get angry at you if you make me look like a fool.

Take the whole Earth Pony Rouge to Pegasus Rouge thing. That's more or less a meme for me at this point, and I just can't be fucked to change it.

Anyways, thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.

13. The Conductor

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"Fuck!" The resounding curse echoed across the empty, dawn-lit courtyard, as Quantum Herring - in the human form or Bryan - planted his behind down on the dewy grass with force. He'd quite stupidly underestimated the time-travel process, and was thus rewarded with a sharp pain in his ass.

Huh, damn. After the several hours it took you to actually initiate the process of leaping back, you took your sweet time maneuvering the stream too, Ye Olde Quantum drifted around the fallen form of his human counter-part, grinning at his grace, or lack thereof.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you told me to clear my mind and shit right from the start, blah blah, you told me so, blah blah," Bryan picked himself off the floor, and dusted himself off. Surprisingly, he found that his clothing remained free of any grass stains, despite the whole "crash landing" thing. "Man, it feels like I spent years in The Stream... Any cause for concern?" The apparition waved off his younger (or was it older?) self's concerns.

Nah, that'll come to you with time. Eventually, you'll be able to navigate it with ease. Besides, it wasn't that bad, I'd say you were probably only in there for, at most, three-hundred and sixty days. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all, While the concept of time seemed more of a trivial matter to the apparition, the human Quantum found himself shaking his head in dismay at the seemingly flippant nature with regards to his hiatus in life.

Halting the conversation like an author does his story for nearly a year, Bryan surveyed his surroundings. The Time Mage in training was pleasantly surprised to find that he was exactly where he was before the jump; one of the many grassy courtyards surrounding the purple castle of Canterlot. Shading his eyes with his hand, the teenager in body only noticed that the sun was only just rising, and that the feeling within himself indicated that he'd traveled back to just after the crack of dawn, on the same day.

See, you got destination pretty well! My first jump took me way off the mark; I was aiming for Ancient Past and ended up in Distant Future with my first leap, the multi-blue alicorn brushed his chin with a fetlock in a reminiscing way, What an adventure that was; Tia wasn't too happy when I explained what happened to her afterwards tho', he said with a chuckle.

Taking a step, Bryan found that, surprisingly, he didn't need to readjust too much back to two legs. Guess that's what centuries of living as a human will do to you, he mused. Hearing a peculiar crunch beneath his feet, the temporally-displaced biped looked down at his feet, and found a folded piece of paper. With a raised eyebrow, he picked it up.

Congratulations, Quantum!
Step one of your lesson is complete: go back in time!
Now here's what I'm going to need you to do. On the back of this note is a list of items.
Bring them back here, and hide them in the safe in the far hedge. It'll be an opportunity for you to learn magical discharge through your human body!

Good luck!

~Celestia

A breeze passed the two figures stood within the courtyard. They said no words, like statues in a museum, all that could be heard was the ambient sound around them. Slowly, very slowly, Bryan turned towards his stallion counterpart, and found grinning face of the blue Time God looking back into his eyes. One second, two seconds. Bryan took a breath.

"Princess Celestia sent me on a fetch quest."

The spirit broke, and peals of ethereal laughter echoed in the courtyard.

"She has structured this exactly like some dumb, f-tier tutorial," the biped paced, throwing his hands in the air and shaking fists at the sky, "Seriously! First, her tutorial on how to actual perform the Rewind, and now this fetch quest shite?"

"Oh yeah, wasn't she the one who said you had to 'interact' with the Flow? Honestly, she couldn't have hit the 'NPC' image any harder, unless she told you to 'Press the A button'!" Quantum said between laughs, still grinning at his younger self. A thought occurred to him, "Oi, check the back of the list, what does it say?" Realisation dawned in Bryan's eyes, and he picked the message up from where he'd let it drift to the floor.

"Right," he said bending down, "She may have sent me looking for something important... Hold on, let's see here... 'Flour, Eggs, Milk-'" He was interrupted by the spirit stallion guffawing once more. The list shook in his hands.

"A-a c-cake!", He barely managed to wheeze out before laughter took him once more, "You've been sent on a fetch quest in the past, for a cake!" Tears rolled down his eyes, and Quantum couldn't care less.

Bryan on the other hand, stood with his head in his hands, shaking his head and wishing the humiliation would stop. Granted, the only one there to humiliate him couldn't even be seen by others, but it was the principle that mattered. He sighed, and stuffed the list into the pockets of his all-blue clothes.

"Right, come on, if she's going to make me fetch cake ingredients, then this better be the best damn cake she ever eats."

The spirit lazily followed his human counterpart into the castle, still stifling giggles at Bryan's expense.

Meanwhile, Celestia of the Past idly wondered if Quantum had travelled back to her current point in time yet. She felt the shift of someone moving back in the Flow, and understood that, with it being a week in the past from the colt's perspective, he'd likely not even bothered to check his connection with her. Unfortunately, the sun goddess realised any communication she tried to initiate would be felt by both present (from her perspective) and future versions of Quantum, them being the same person and all.

As if on cue, the doors to the throne room flew open, and a human decked in blue clothes, and multicolour hair stormed in with a face like thunder. His eye twitched, brow furrowed, and mouth drawn into a tight scowl, he gently, ever so gently, laid the note she'd prepared on the table Celestia had so politely conjured.

Nothing was said. He glared at her, she smiled serenely back at him.

"Welcome!"

Thud.

The human version of the alicorn she knew so well collapsed against the table, and bashed his head against the table.

"Are you, at this stage, aware of what have you sent me back in time for?" He asked, head not moving from the table's surface. She lifted a hoof to her chin in faux-thought.

"I'm wanting to say something actually relevant, but knowing me I probably just sent you back in time for cake."

He sighed. Well, at least you acknowledge it, he thought to himself, and over their connection.

"Wait, hold on, you made it seem as though you weren't sure I was going to able to travel back in time. Were you being serious and I've just messed something up by talking to you now? Or, alternatively, were you just fucking with me?"

The smile on Celestia's face gained a slightly more sadistic tinge to it, watching the temporal-human fall over himself trying to gauge what her intentions were. Then, looking up from the table, resignation appeared his his face as he gazed at hers. She answered.

"I was most certainly fucking with you."

Quantum yelled in exasperation, throwing his hands up for the second time that day, he walked with his back to the Solar Diarch. She laughed outright at his reaction, lifting a hoof to maintain some modicum of etiquette. Celestia found herself letting loose a bit more, and allowed herself to enjoy the experience of teaching the newly-crowned Time Traveler. She glanced up towards the ceiling of the throne room, and followed the path of one of many objects she'd enchanted, in order to test Quantum/Bryan's control over Time Magic in human form. Turning around and noticing the Princess' distraction, said human followed her gaze and caught a glimpse of a fast white thing.

"What is that?" He pointed vaguely in the direction of the object, "That's not usually there, right?" The thing was following a set path, looping around the painted ceiling, performing spirals, corkscrews and sharp turns, it made it rather difficult for Bryan to follow.

"It's one of the objects from your list! You have to get that without damaging it, so now's a perfect opportunity for you to practice the art of Slow Time," the Sun Goddess rose from her throne and walked towards the human, with all the grace of an immortal goddess should have, "The idea is that you focus on that object, and basically, affect the Flow surrounding that object, like so."

On cue, the alicorn's horn glowed a pale blue, almost lavender, as she focused on the high speed object. Bryan watched with fascination as the object gradually, until it came to a stop. He noticed it was a bag of something white, probably flour,
unless the Princess has a cocaine vice she hasn't told me about, the derisive snort next to him rejecting his thoughts. As the glow around Celestia's horn faded, the object began to speed back up again, soon enough reaching it's previous velocity.

Without even breaking a sweat, or missing a breath, the Solar Goddess turned towards the human and smiled at his thoughtful expression. This human form of his seems to have aged slightly since I last saw it, perhaps it reflecting the age he would have been in the previous world, she thought to herself. Soon enough, he snapped her from her ruminations.

"So, all I have to do is alter the rate of the Flow surrounding the bag, yeah?" Bryan threw his arms out in front, cracking his knuckles in an exaggerated way, "Seems simple enough!" He grinned, closed his eyes, and remembered what Celestia had told him before he had leaped into the past.

A tick was forming on his forehead, he could feel it. A drop of sweat slid down slowly from his creased brow, and Quantum felt a growl growing in his chest. He'd been at this for hours and still there was no progress. Stood with his four legs out in a wide-stance, the alicorn colt once more searched within himself for a connection to the Flow.

Whatever that meant.

"Dude. You're not concentrating," the voice of his older self whispered into his head, "You can't be actively looking for the Flow, you have to feel it. Be at peace." Quantum's eye twitched.

Easy for you to say, when you keep distracting me with your senseless, endless interruptions, he muttered under his breath, Now, would you kindly fuck off? A snort echoed in his mind, and Quantum felt the presence of his older self fade into the back of his subconscious again.

"I would like to give you some advice," Celestia spoke this time, and oddly, Quantum found her voice more of a welcome break than an unneeded interruption, "Imagine you're standing in a river, stuck to the bed of it, even. Imagine the feeling of water rushing around you. When you feel that sensation, you must then focus on the idea of moving against that current, no matter how strong, you must move forward, step by step, inch by inch."

An odd way of putting it, sure, the colt thought to himself, but it's worth a shot. Alright, I'm in a river... River... And soon, the thought of streams and rivers filled his mind, and Quantum found himself in an experience like no other.

He knew his eyes were closed, and yet, it was like he could see it. The Flow. He was a statue in the ever moving current, and Time itself passed him by. It glowed, and it thrummed at his presence, yes, it knew him, reveled in his being. If one were to be looking at him at this moment, one would see Quantum Herring shine and shimmer a brilliant cerulean.

Celestia felt her breath catch- this was the sight she'd waited to see. This was Quantum in his element, never mind the fact that he wasn't yet her Quantum, no, it did not matter. It was honestly like watching the reunion of two lost friends, and the Sun Goddess had to fight back the feeling of hope and relief in her chest. No, there was still much to do.

But this, this moment with the multi-blue alicorn engulfed in the Flow, this was a step in the direction.

Quantum felt himself in that river. He felt it brush against his being. He now understood what his older self had meant by being at peace; how could he enjoy this if he were anything but? Opening his eyes, he was not greeted by the sight of Celestia and the courtyard, but an endless white expanse. Flickers of seconds, minutes, hours, days, years- they all flew by his eyes, like markers on a map.

Quantum Herring lifted his hoof, and stepped into time. One week, he thought to himself, and the Flow obeyed. There was no resistance. Like a conductor to an orchestra, the Flow followed him.

With a flash of blue light, Quantum Herring disappeared, a symphony of tick-tocks signalling his departure from the the present.

Bryan took a deep breath. Imagine a river, he thought, waiting for that wonderful feeling, eyes slowly opening to track the flying flour sack. The world ticked by, slower and slower, and eventually, despite the strain, Bryan felt amazement at the blue-washed world he found himself in. The Princess of the Sun stood rigid as a statue through his eyes, the rise and gradual fall of her chest being the only indication that he had performed Stasis, tinted in that similar ocean-colour. Bryan understood. This was Slow Time. He grinned, feeling a slight pressure in his head, light but steadily getting heavier. Step one, he thought to himself, complete. The flour bag was barely moving through the at a snail's pace.

"Gotcha," He grinned, a bead of sweat coming down his brow.

Without even hesitating, Bryan raised his hand towards the flour bag, palm out. The theory is the same, why would it matter where I discharge my magic from? His hand glowed, and the bag moved immediately into his hands. The pressure in his head, at this point, was starting to become uncomfortable, so he let go of the Flow's feeling, and the colour of the world returned to normal.

Celestia blinked. What? She thought, not quite comprehending the sight before her. The Sun Goddess continued to stare at the sight of Bryan grinning at her, the bag of flour spinning around his finger by the ribbon, wisps of blue magic around his forearm. He threw the bag up into the air, and caught it with the other hand.

"Next!"

By the end of the day, Celestia was quite put out. Every task she had laid out for him, he'd passed with flying colours and minimal guidance. The pout on her face an indication to her feelings, Quantum took one look at her and laughed.

He'd just completed her last task - reverse the Flow around a broken egg on the floor, and catch it before it hit the ground. A simple process, he had just envisioned the image of a clock ticking backwards, and poof the egg had reformed in mid-air, just before he'd swiped it.

The two stood in the empty throne room, late afternoon sun drifting in through the stained-glass windows, painting odd hues of light all over the room.

"Really now," she said to the human before her, tone still disappointed, "I think you must be a faster study than the first time you learnt all this." Merely grinning in return, Bryan picked his ingredients up off of the floor using levitation through his hands. Flashing the peace sign at her, the temporal being turned on his heel, and moved towards the door to the throne room. His time in the past was nearly up; he could feel it.

"Gotta go, Princess," he said over his shoulder, "Is this one of the Rules of Time Travel?" Catching up to him, and walking beside him, Celestia dropped the self-pity act and looked at the colt-turned-human approvingly.

"Indeed it is. Rules are usually placed at the very back of your mind when you Travel, and only come to the front when you're close to breaking them. They work in a similar way to the feeling of an open Time Loop that needs to be closed," Locking the information away in his mind, Bryan nodded and continued to make his way to the courtyard.

But then, he felt something.

A connection, faint, and much different to the pull he felt towards Celestia. Bryan stopped, turned, and walked in the direction of the new pull on his soul. Celestia, surprised, followed him. Step by step, meter by meter, corridor by corridor, the two walked in tandem through the winding, empty halls of the castle. A new feeling welled up in his gut, tied to the pull on his being.

Something was wrong.

"Tia," he said, using her nickname in an unusually cautious tone. Her guard came up, "Where are all the castle staff? I'm assuming you sent them away from the area we were in, but, we should've run into somepony by now. What's happening?"

Her eyes narrowed. Bryan had a point. She had cordoned off the throne room and surrounding corridors of the castle so that nopony would be alarmed by the presence and sight of a human, including the guards, but she hadn't specified the area they were currently in, nor the several halls and rooms they had passed on their way. She gazed at Bryan, his pacing, his direction, where he was leading-

Realization struck her.

"Quantu-!"

Celestia hit the ground, out cold.

Bryan whipped his head around, and stared at where the Princess had stood.

"Oh, panic not, old friend," something croaked into his ear, "She's merely unconscious. She won't even remember this when she wakes up." A pale, sickly purple smoke circled him, slowly, assessing Bryan and taking in his form. "So this is the form currently? Interesting, most interesting."

"Who are you?!" Bryan demanded, stepping through the ring of smoke, and towards the fallen body of Celestia. The pressure in his head, caused by the Rule, was getting heavier. Slowly, on the other side of the ornate corridor, the smoke being gathered. Candles on the walls flickered out, and the now dimly lit hallway seemed to stretch on forever. Pale grey eyes stared through the darkness, pierced his being. Bryan felt fear, wild, instinctive fear, at the being that could surprise and get the drop on a Goddess such as Celestia. For a second, the human felt as though he could see a lopsided, toothy grin in the darkness.

"Ah, I suppose you might have forgotten who I am. I'm not completely sure you're even the same pony I met all those years ago," the voice said, "Worry not, I hate you all the same. You seen, Quantum- Bryan -whatever your name is, I have waited quite some time for you to Time Travel, just to get you in this moment. I have many names, you may have heard of one or two- The Root, Supreme Evil, Mind's Aspect," Bryan could identify more distinct features of the smoke, swirls of a darker purple covered the paler, smoky, equine form before him. A unicorn horn on his head, twisted and hooked at the very end. This was a form, he didn't know, but, his soul did.

Shit- Shit! It's too soon! The older Quantum cried out in his mind.

"However, you may call me, Cognis, and I am the conductor of your suffering. It is a pleasure to meet you once again, Quantum Herring."

The purple smoke pony barked and wheezed a hoarse laugh- and in that moment, the beings within Bryan's mind, the lives he'd lived, they found their torturer, and they cried in righteous fury.

Clean the Slate

by Earth Galvanising

0. Soft Reset

1. Homecoming

2. Follow the Leader

3. Before You Gallop

4. A Sparkling Birthday

5. Memory Lane

6. Homesick

7. The Nameless First

8. Broken Chains

9. Pushing It

10. Weak

I1. Intermission: Ashes

11. Playground Politics

12. Time Magic and Memes

13. The Conductor