They say there's never enough time, but when it comes to saving the world. You make the time.
The Changelings have taken over Equestria, and Queen Chrysalis had set up a totalitarian rule. Anypony that tries to rally against her, gets brainwashed into doing her bidding. Unbeknownst to her, there is a growing resistance of ponies that work in the cover of night. There's only one way to dethrone the Queen, in the past.
Drip, drip, drip the sound of water falling from the stalactites above hitting the growing puddle outside roused me from my dreamless sleep. I slowly open my purple eyes adjusting to the dancing flame of the torches lining the sandstone colored cave wall. As my mind kicks into gear, I am immediately aware of one thing. Dang it, I’m going to be late to school again. Ms. Doo is going to kill me, I thought as I bolted towards the training hall.
If she’s in the playful mood then she’ll just use you as a training dummy. If not, I’ll have to go see the headmaster. I galloped even harder upon that thought. No one wanted to see the headmaster. Due the war, he had been put under so much stress, that his fur had begun graying even at his young age.
I finally got to the hall and took tentative steps towards the entry. peeking in I see Ms. Doo in the middle of explaining how to disarm a stronger opponent in battle. As she turned to draw a diagram of what she just explained, her metal wing clanged together. I took my chance to sneak in. Hopefully the silent hoof approach she taught, will be enough to get me to my seat.
You’d better have a good reason for why you’re over ten minutes late Doolots!” Ms. Doo said. How the, she didn’t even turn around.
Sighing in resignation, “There is no good reason mam’.” I cast my gaze towards my hooves, as I heard Ms. Doo approach.
“You know what your problem is? You’re a slacker. If you had any of the drives your brother has, you would be able to make it to my class instead of being late, yet again.” She berated. “I know you’re smart. So instead of lazing around like a useless log, maybe you’ll know that making my class is, the most important thing to your safety on the field!” She said. Her rose colored eyes portraying enough anger to kill a pony. “Do you think that this is some game!”
No mam,” I said my voice wavering slightly. Avoiding looking directly in her direction, I see my fellow classmates turned and are watching. I may have been yelled at almost daily, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
"Since you think sleeping is more important than learning to defend yourself, maybe you can explain to the headmaster why you’re late again.” She said pointing a dirt covered, yellow hoof to the door.
I rushed out the door headed down the nearly dark corridor towards the headmaster's room. Why can’t I seem to wake up on time?I go to sleep on time with everyone else. As I approached the room a luminescent white light flashed and I was teleported into the crystal chair across from the gray-maned unicorn sitting in an orange overstuffed chair. Looking around, I noticed several chalkboards full of complicated magical spells. Several giant books were set on the shelves beneath them depicting Starlight-Knows-what. A map depicting the land once known as Equestria was on the wall behind him. Several spots were circled in red and several others were crossed off in black.
"Ahh Ms. Doolots, late again?” Sunburst said in a tired tone. At least he doesn’t seem to be in a terrible mood.
"Yes, Sir.”
“Ms. Doo’s class again?"
“Yes, Sir,”
“Is it just because you’re tired, or is there another reason?” Sunburst questioned setting his glasses down on the oak desk to his right.
“To be honest, Sir, I don’t know. I just feel, sometimes, like, I just want to give up. I don’t even know why you guys chose me to be here. I just wish I could go back to being a normal pony.”
“We chose you because you have a knack for being sneaky and being able to think on your hooves. If I remember correctly, you were the one who stole from one of our elder members and found us with your brother. You've learned why the princesses had forsaken us. After that, there is no way back to being just a “normal pony” as you put it.”
He opens a drawer in his desk and ruffled a few things around. He places down a small wooden case. In the center of the top was emblazoned with a purple and pink shield, a sword crossing diagonally across the shields’ center. Opening the case he withdraws a light red crystal. In the center of the crystal was what looked like the elemental symbol for fire. The edges of the crystal were covered with gold, reaching up towards the top where they seemed to be interwoven.
“I want you to have this. It was given to me many years ago by a close friend of mine when I was feeling like you do now. It gave me the fire to keep fighting, to keep moving on. Like what I was doing mattered. Hopefully, it does the same for you.” He said as he levitated the necklace over to me.
“Are you sure Sir?” I asked moving my hoof over the necklace now around my neck.
"Yes. There are a few things you should be reminded of. One, we take care of our family. Every member former or newer is part of our family. You can turn towards any of us, even Daring Doo. I know she doesn’t seem like it most days, but she truly just wants what is best for all of us. Two,” he trailed off as a white teleportation spell activated. As the spell ended there stood a seafoam unicorn with violet mane, my older brother, Seafoam stood next to the chair I currently sit in.
“Sir, we have good and bad news,” Sea said wheezily, trying to catch his breath.
“Well out with it Mr. Seafoam,” Sunburst said getting out of his chair.
“First, We have found the black crystal, well, where it was before Queen Chrysalis got it.”
“What, that’s excellent news. Show me.” Sunburst said ecstatically stepping over to the map.
“We have found that it’s in the mountainous Unicorn Ridge. There seems to be a cave in the southwest base of the mountain.” My brother said highlighting the portion of the map.
“Excellent news indeed. Now we have a place, and we know that she didn’t have the crystal when they invaded Canterlot the first time. Now onto the bad news.”
“The outpost have informed me that,” He was cut off by a siren being sounded. Everyone who had lived in the caves, dreaded the day it would finally sound. It had only one purpose, to inform us when the changelings were upon us. Starburst looked out the door only to slam it shut a second later. The sound of metal clashing against metal was heard.
“Okay, Liza there isn’t enough time to tell you everything. You and your brother need to go back in time to get the stone before Chrysalis can get her hooves on it. You must stop her.” Sunburst said as he was making runes on the cave floor in chalk. Grabbing several ingredients from the cabinets from behind his desk and mixing them together before pouring them around the rune circle. In just a couple moment a giant portal opened. Orange magic flowed towards the center of the portal.
“Why can’t you go as well?”
“Because I need to remove all magical resonances that are left over from this spell so they don’t expect what we’re doing. NOW GO!”
I felt a pain in my stomach, my legs were made of rubber, and light-headed exiting the portal. It felt like I had fought a rampaging minotaur. Looking around I notice that we were in a darkening cave. The only source of light seemed to be the diminishing portal we had just come through. As the portal closed my brother and I were left in complete darkness.
“Sea,” I said, an echo rebounding my voice. “Now what do we do since we can’t see anything?”
“isn’t it obvious,” said a voice that sounded twenty feet in front of me. ‘that jerk never waits for me.’ “We need to leave, and we don’t need to see. We’ve walked through these caves enough times to know where the entrance is.”
I ran to catch up, but only managed to run into a stalagmite.
“Ow,” a pained yelp came from me as I fell on my haunches, rubbing my now sore head. “Why can’t we use that illumination spell?”
I heard the clip-clop of hooves near me, pulling me back onto my hooves. “Because we don’t know if anything inhabits these caves and light would draw them to us. I don’t feel like fighting them off alone.”
I harrumphed in indignation. “So, I guess my contribution in any upcoming fight doesn’t count.”
He started laughing lightly, “My heavens no. You’re still a foal and haven’t even passed through Ms. Doo’s first-year class.” He said putting a hoof on my shoulder. Although I couldn’t see in the dark I knew he was leaning downward to look me in the eyes. “You barely have the skills needed to fight. Now come along.”
“Hey, I got into the same group as you, you know,” I stated in strong annoyance following the sound of his hoof steps. “Starburst even told me that everyone was chosen to be a part of the group. He even gave me a pendant of frozen fire.”
“You do know that the Headmaster tells that to everyone right. That any foal, mare, and stallion that hasn’t pledged allegiance to that bug, is more than welcome to fight among us, given enough training.”
Is that how we're going to start the first day here, fine. “Then teach me.”
He stopped for a second seemingly out of shock. “excuse me?”
“You want to think that I’m not trained enough to fight. then- “was all I was able to get out because of a hoof now covering my mouth. It wasn’t until then that I noticed an eerie blue glow coming from the next section of the cave. Ever since the day that the backstabbing Princesses gave up their thrones to the Queen, we ponies have become very cautious of anything with the colors blue or gold.
Upon sneaking closer to the light, we notice that there were no ponies in the next room. What was there, was beyond my understanding? There was a giant wall full of Cutie Marks. Why would they ever put Cutie Marks up like this? How would they? Don’t they belong on pony backsides? There were probably well over a hundred Cutie Marks on display behind the glass.
“Hey Liz, get over here.” A voiced called from behind me. Looking behind me I saw that my brother was already at the cave mouth looking out into the starry night.
“What is it?” I came up right beside him and looked out. Although it had been many a year since I last saw anything outside, it was the most glorious night ever. The stars looked radiant shining like diamonds upon a dark cloak. A stray tear ran down my face. I had almost forgotten how beautiful the night could be.
Looking around I saw that at the foot of this mountain was a group of lights. Stationary lights, slight reflection on the ground beneath. windows perhaps. Windows belong on houses. Many houses together. It must be a village.
“The village? What do you want me to do?” I questioned incredulously.
“You asked me to train you. What better way than by experience? Since I don’t know what level you’re at. We will start with Lesson one, Infiltration. What I want you to do is sneak into the village and count every head you see.”
“And what will you be doing while I’m gone?” You better not do what I think you’re gonna do.
“You’re not going alone. I’m keeping to the shadows and watching over you. I will tell you what you did wrong in an after action report. ”
“Fine,” I grumbled as we started heading down the road towards the unnamed town.
I crept upon the last building and so far I had learned that there was one house per pony. There were ponies from all three tribes here. They all wore this very horrifyingly wide smile. A smile that means, you’d better watch out I’m completely insane. Why were they even smiling like that they were alone by themselves? Is everypony in this town crazy? What was even more creepy was that they all seemed to have the same Cutie Mark.
I looked the barely transparent window, there appeared to be steam on the glass. Inside the room looked like two ponies were wrestling. A white stallion with slightly darker mane was thrown onto the bed by a mare with a fuchsia colored coat. Her purple and teal mane hung loosely over her right shoulder as she approached the downed stallion.
Before I knew it a dirty seafoam colored hoof blocked my sight. I knew almost immediately that it was Sea, by that distinguishing scar on the fetlock of his hoof.
“Why are you sneaking up on me,” I ask as I turn to look him in the eyes. On his back was a pair of old worn saddlebags, a slight tear along the bottom front of the right-side bag.
“Because you were taking too long and we have to get back to the cave before the sun hits the horizon.” He replied leading us back towards the cave.
“So how’d I do?” I questioned to see how my very first solo mission went.
“You need a lot of work. You-“
“What did I do wrong?”
“If you will let me finish you’d find out. For starters, you need to work on your footing, a few times ponies came to their windows, after you were gone. Secondly how many ponies are in the town, and anything noteworthy you noticed.”
“Well there are around twenty ponies living in the village. Each of them having these very awkward smiles. They all have the same Cutie Mark. The feel of the town just feels off. Which leads to a few questions, like where are the foals, why do they have the same Cutie Marks, and if we can assume the Cutie Marks we saw earlier are the ones that belong to those in town, what happened to the other one hundred and ten ponies?”
“Respectable job on getting all of that information on your first time out. Just work on your silent hoof step technique and you should be able to do better.” He stated as we started the upwards ascent.
“Why do you think those two were fighting?” As those words left my mouth, Sea seemed frozen in place. It seemed as if he were broken and would never move again. He blinked once, twice. His mouth started moving again.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older kid. The night is over, now let’s get to bed,” Was his only response as we neared the caves. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, bathing the sky in its beautiful glow. I let the conversation end there as I knew my brother would never say anything more about it.
Inside the caves, it seemed lighter, as there appeared to be small holes in the roof causing small bits of light to trickle in. It wasn’t a lot mind you, but just enough to brighten up the cave. As I entered the cavern the portal sent us to. As I went to lie down, I felt something hit me in the face. Feeling it, it felt like a decent sized quilted blanket. where did he get this, I thought as I quickly got the blanket spread out.
“I found this when we were down in the village.” He said opening the other side of the saddlebags, and pulling out an identical blanket.
“You got this for me? What do you want in return?” I asked in astonishment that my brother was being nice to me for once.
“I don't want anything in return. You’re my little sister, and the only family I have left.” He sat on his haunches holding out his hooves in an invitation for a hug, which I all but leapt into and freely gave, before crawling underneath my blanket once more. I closed my eyes.
