After years of nerdy fun, Twilight Sparkle's favorite Role Playing Game comes to an unexpected and inglorious end, leaving her with a particularly nerdy kind of melancholy. But it's stupid to get so sad over a game, right?
Sunset and Company take it upon themselves to cheer her up anyway.
“I'm fine.” Twilight Sparkle said, because she wasn't.
The other six girls hanging around in front of Canterlot High stared at their friend with varying expressions of concern and bewilderment. Twilight's dejected sniffling had thrown a wrench into their typical pre-class morning routine, and thus they clustered a little closer to their friend, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Twilight took off her glasses and wiped tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “Totally, perfectly fine. Really. I'm fine.”
“Of course you are, darling.” Rarity said, and held out a monogrammed silk handkerchief. “Thank you.” Twilight accepted it with a wan smile, and proceeded to blow her nose with a sound akin to a foghorn. She moved to hand it back to Rarity, who could only smile politely in response.
“Why don't you hang onto that?” Rarity said. “It matches your outfit.”
“Oh, um, okay.” Twilight looked down at her typically plain blouse and sweater vest. “If you say so?”
“You know I'm always happy to help.” Rarity set a hand on Twilight's shoulder. “We all are.”
“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash piped up. “Nobody's been picking on you or anything, have they? 'cause if they are just tell me and I'll go mess 'em up!” The young athlete clenched her hands into fists and mimed out a few quick jabs.
“There's no need to get violent.” Fluttershy cringed away from Rainbow's shadow-boxing. “I'm sure we can just talk things out with whoever is being mean to Twilight.”
“Okay sure you try that first, but if it doesn't work I'm gonna throw down. WHACHAAH.” Rainbow Dash mimed a karate chop with more enthusiasm behind it than technique.
“You don't have to do that.” Twilight said with another sniffle. “Nobody's picking on me. In fact, everybody's been really, really nice to me since I transferred here. Which is why I'm okay and I'm totally fine and we can stop talking about it.”
“If you say so!” Pinkie Pie chimed in. “It's just that you're crying and slouching and sniffling like you just lost your best friend--” The pink haired girl froze for a moment, blue eyes going wide. She quickly, silently made a count on her fingers, and then gasped in horror. “OH NO SOMEBODY'S MISSING!”
“Did you count yourself, Pinkie?” Applejack said.
“Oh yeeeeeaah.” Pinkie did another count, and then wiped her forehead. “Whew! Okay, everyone's here, including me.” Pinkie's relief melted into horror once again as another idea struck her. “Ohymygosh is everyone at Crystal Prep okay?”
“They're fine!” Twilight shot back, with enough vehemence to make Pinkie Pie flinch. “Everyone I know is fine! And so am I! It's not me, it's not any of you, it's not even anyone who's real. It's ... Tara.”
“Who?” Rainbow Dash canted her head to the side, confused.
“Tara Sterling.” Twilight shrank, pulling her arms close around herself.
“Oh. Thaaaaat.” Rainbow Dash said. She scrunched her face up in deep thought (or at least what passed for deep thought for Rainbow Dash). “So ... let me guess, you're all bummed out 'cause somebody killed off your weirdo nerd-game character?”
“Oh, I wish someone had killed Tara off.” Twilight said, sniffling again. “That would have been, y'know. Interesting. She could have died heroically, or tragically, or ... heroically tragically, or ... something.”
“Hold up.” Applejack said. “You're sad 'cause you-- er, 'cause that weirdo-game-you ... didn't die?”
“Yes? I mean, no? I mean ... it's complicated.”
“Twilight.” Sunset laid a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. “One of your best friends is a magical pony from another dimension who once talked you down from trying to destroy the world with runaway magic.”
“She's talking about herself.” Pinkie Pie stage-whispered to Twilight.
“Thanks, Pinkie.” Sunset rolled her eyes, then turned her attention back to her bespectacled friend. “What I'm saying is, we can handle complicated.”
“Okay. So.” Twilight drew in a deep, ragged breath. “You guys know how I play-- used to play –Chronoquest, right? Well, the rules were published by a company called Blanco Lobo. Only the thing is, Blanco Lobo kind of went out of business about fifteen years ago-- they got caught up in the Open-d20 license bubble and eventually went under. There was still enough interest in the game to keep the nationwide LARP network up and running, putting on conventions and stuff like that, though. Which is better than nothing, right? The organization of it was a bit ramshackle, especially with the online elements, but it was there, right? That's the game we played when I-- when Tara had to kill Captain Marsh--”
“That was Lyra's character, right?” Sunset said.
Twilight nodded. “Right. So, uh, that whole game was pretty fun, what with the plot reveals and betrayal and stuff. But then, not that long after Chrono-con, the rights to Blanco Lobo's back catalog were bought out by a Norwegian video game company. When I heard about it, I was afraid they were going to sent a Cease and Desist letter to the Chronoquest LARP network because it was always kind of unofficial, but what they wound up doing was even worse.”
“What's that?” Sunset said.
“They announced a new edition.” Twilight sniffled again, and buried her face in her hands.
“That's ... bad?” Applejack ventured.
“It's terrible! The new edition completely reboots everything-- which, well, I guess is thematically appropriate for a time travel game. But everyone's so excited about the new edition, and the new chronicle that comes with it, they've kind of ... forgot about the old game. The next Chrono-con is gearing up to debut the new ruleset, and so everything else just ... tapered off. Nobody posts in the online games anymore, and all of the local troupes have either had their own mini-finales, or they've disbanded entirely.”
“Couldn't you play the same character in the reboot, though?” Fluttershy said.
“I mean, I could. But it wouldn't be the same. All of her memories, all of her experiences-- heck, all of her experiencepoints would be gone. The character might have the same name and the same costume, but it wouldn't be her. Chronoquest-- my Chronoquest, where I played Tara Sterling for years –just ... doesn't exist anymore. Which means that Tara's story doesn't get an ending. It's like a series of books that never had the last one published, y'know? It's dumb. It's frustrating. But it's ... dumber and even more frustrating that I'm crying about it. I mean, Chronoquest never had a huge playerbase to begin with-- enough to sustain it, but just barely. But now everyone's moved on and nobody cares and I am literally the only person in the world who's sad about it.”
Twilight put the handkerchief to her nose again and blew her nose, loud enough that it almost drowned out the sound of Canterlot High's opening bell. With near-Pavlovian reflex, Twilight Sparkle stood up. “But that doesn't matter, because I'm fine!” Forced cheer made her voice brittle. “And now it's time to learn! See you guys after school!” She slung her backpack over one shoulder and fairly well sprinted across the lawn, disappearing into the refuge of the school.
“Uh. Guys?” Pinkie Pie said, staring after Twilight. “I don't think Twilight's telling the truth about being okay.”
“Just seems like a lotta fuss over nothin', iffin' ya ask me.” Applejack shrugged.
“Applejack!” Rarity batted at Applejack's arm. “Don't be so insensitive!”
“I'm plenty sensitive! I let y'all talk to Twilight, n' she talked it out, and I bet she's gonna be right as rain by lunchtime.”
“I hope so.” Fluttershy murmured.
“Me too.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I mean, I know how she feels. Not like, in the nerd game stuff, but remember when they killed Gargantulon and then stopped making movies about him?” She choked up a little.
“Aw hell, not you too.” Applejack rubbed at the bridge of her nose.
“Hush, you.” Rarity prodded Applejack in the side. “Or should I tell everyone about how you start crying every time a certain song plays on the radio?”
“But country music's supposed to be sad! Ya listen to it and then ya feel sad to and it's like ... shoot, what's the word?” Applejack snapped her fingers. “Cat-arthritis?”
“Catharsis is the proper term.” Rarity huffed.
“Yeah, that.” Applejack nodded.
“That's it!” Sunset Shimmer snapped her fingers. “I know how we can help Twilight.”
“We have her listen to sad country songs 'til she feels better?” Applejack said.
“Let's call that plan B?” Sunset said as diplomatically as she could. “But remember when Rainbow Dash started crying because of that old monster movie, and it inspired her to go out and make her own? This is kind of like that-- Twilight wants one last adventure for her game character, so we're going to make sure she gets one.”
“But how?" Rainbow Dash scratched her her head. "Like, sure, we all went to that one nerd convention thing but I'm still not sure on how the game, uh, works.”
“Neither do I.” Sunset Shimmer looked past Rainbow Dash's shoulder, focusing on the sight of a girl with minty-green hair walking into Canterlot High, arm in arm with her curly-haired 'best friend.'
Depending on who you asked, Friday's classes went by at a baffling speed, or at a hellacious crawl. Enthusiasm-based-relativity aside, the final bell rang when it always did, and the students of Canterlot High burst through the doors, setting out to get a head start on their respective weekends.
And again, per the unwritten rules that governed teenage friendships, a certain ragtag group of friends gathered around the base of a particular statue in front of the school. Twilight Sparkle showed up last, backpack strapped securely to her shoulders, and a resolute expression on her face.
“So what's the plan for this weekend, guys? We've got something to do, right? Like, is there some new bit of rogue Equestrian magic out there that we need to deal with? Or just some other problem that needs fixing, magical or otherwise?” Twilight Sparkle's gaze flitted from one friend to another, searching. “Somebody who needs a surprise birthday party put together at the last minute? Some charity fundraiser that we can put on a concert for?
“Uh. No?” Sunset Shimmer said.
Twilight turned to Rarity, desperate. “Not even a ... fashion emergency? Somebody out there's wearing like, stripes and plaid at the same time, right?”
“I certainly hope not.” Rarity huffed. “But to be honest, the students here generally carry themselves with an ... acceptable degree of couture-awareness. With some exceptions.” Rarity directed the last part at Applejack.
“Just for that, I'm wearin' socks that don't match tomorrow.”
“You monster.”
“Applejack's socks aside--” Sunset Shimmer said. “I don't think anything's really going on this weekend. No parties. No contests. Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Just about.”
“So we just make something happen!” Rainbow Dash chimed in. “We've got two whole days before we have to worry about school again! So let's go do a thing!”
“Ooo, like what?”
“I dunno! Drag racing? Bungee jumping? Hang gliding?”
“Um.” Fluttershy drew her knees up to her chest and curled into a ball, shaken by mere proximity to Rainbow's daredevil enthusiasm. “Maybe something a little less ... extreme?”
“Oh, fine.” Rainbow Dash huffed. “But if there's like a surprise demolition derby or something, we're going.”
“Tell y'all what.” Applejack pushed up the brim of her hat. “Why don't we just go out to my place? 's big enough that we can run 'round without anybody botherin' us, and we can just do ... whatever. Maybe have a bonfire or somethin' once it gets dark.”
“I'll bring marshmellows! We'll make s'mores!” Pinkie Pie started pulling ingredients out of her hair.
“Of course! I'll always hang out with you guys! Because you're my friends! And it's not like I need a distraction from anything because everything is totally completely fine because now we're all going to hang out and do an activity! Because we're friends!”
“Right.” Applejack stood up and dusted off the back of her jeans. “I'll ahead n' start gettin' things ready. Y'all just swing by in a coupla hours. Maybe even bring a toothbrush if ya wanna stay the night.”
“Sleepover, woo!” Pinkie Pie bounced in place.
“Right! I'll just head home and get a toothbrush. And a change of clothes. And a cellphone charger. And some snacks? And-- oh, I'm going to have to make a list.”
“You go ahead and do that, then.” Sunset Shimmer patted Twilight on the shoulder. “Just don't be late, alright?”
“Late? Of course I won't be late!” Twilight pulled her phone out, checked the time, and started mapping out a schedule in her head. “At least, I won't be late if I leave ... now. See you guys there!” She turned on a heel and started walking home at a brisk pace, ponytail bobbing behind her.
Sunset watched her leave-- once Twilight was out of earshot, she turned back to the rest of her friends. “You guys know what to do, right?”
The other five nodded in agreement.
“Good.” Sunset Shimmer said. “Hopefully, this will put Twilight in a better mood. But the only thing we can do now is ... kill some time.”
“Was that a time travel nerd joke?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Well, yeah.” Sunset Shimmer shrugged. “But I'll admit it wasn't a very good one.”
“No, it's a good thing. Or, uh, a good thing you're making bad jokes. Keep that up and Twilight's gonna love it.” Rainbow Dash nodded.
“Thanks. I think.”
“You need anything, just call, sis.” Shining Armor grinned as he leaned out the window of his car. “But something tells me you'll be fine.”
“I ... appreciate your confidence?” Twilight pushed her glasses further up her nose. “I'll text you when I need somebody to pick me up tomorrow.”
“Howdy!” Applejack called out from her porch. She effortlessly vaulted over the railing and started walking down the gravel driveway to the side of the road where Shining Armor had parked his hatchback.
“And there's Applejack,” said Twilight.
“My cue to leave before I embarrass you in front of your friend, huh?”
“You're not embarassing!” Twilight squeaked.
“Then I guess I'm not trying hard enough.” Shining Armor winked, then reached out the window to wave. “See you around!” And with that, he pulled away from the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres.
“Thanks for comin' out, Twilight! Here, can I get that for ya?” Applejack effortlessly hoisted Twilight's gym bag.
“You don't have to--”
“Ain't nothin'. Heck, you should see how much stuff Rarity brings when she comes over. You'd think that girl's tryin' to move in.”
“Sounds like it'd get pretty crowded.” Twilight paused. “It won't be too crowded tonight, will it? I mean, all seven of us, plus your family--”
“Nah, it's fine.” Applejack waved her free hand dismissively. “Big Mac's out with Sugar Belle, and Apple Bloom is spendin' the night over at Rarity's folks' house so she can hang out with her friends.”
“What about your grandmother?”
“It's bingo night.” Applejack stared off into the distance for a long moment. “Granny Smith don't come home 'til the sun comes up on bingo night. Granny Smith likes to get rowdy on bingo night.”
“So it's just going to be us ... completely unsupervised? Wow. Not that, uh, we haven't done stuff like that before. And not like we're going to do anything irresponsible like underage drinking or skinny dipping or ordering any of the products you see on late night infomercials.” Twilight laced her hands together in an anxious fidget. “We're ... not going to do any of that stuff, are we?”
“Relax! We ain't gonna do none of that. Granny Smith got the good stuff hidden away so nobody's gettin liquored up. And it's s'posed to get downright chilly tonight, so I'm pretty sure everybody's gonna keep their britches on. Hope ya brought a jacket.”
“I ... might have?”
“Well iffin' ya didn't, I'm sure we'll find somethin' for ya. And as for that last bit, hopefully we'll find somethin' better to do than watch infomercials.”
“Hopefully?” Twilight said. “So you're not sure?”
“All I'm sayin' is if you wind up bored, it's your own fault.” Applejack led Twilight past a homey, two-story farmhouse, and to the more rustic barn out back. She tossed Twilight's gym bag onto a hay bale.
“Oh. Okay. Got it.” Twilight nodded, resolute.
“I gotta go slop the hogs 'fore it gets dark, n' then I'm gonna squeeze in a quick shower. Why don't ya just wait here n' keep an eye on the road? That way you can say hi to everybody once they show up n' let 'em know where I'm at.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Twilight nodded, and sat down on a hay bale.
With that, Applejack set off for her chores, leaving Twilight alone in the barn.
The old barn.
The old and drafty and creaky and well suited for a horror movie barn.
While Twilight had visited Sweet Apple Acres plenty of times before, she realized she'd only been there during the day. With the sun out, the orchard had an idyllic, rustic charm. With the sun setting in the distance, shadows grew longer and more ominous. A chill breeze blew through the barn's open doors, making the old-but-still-intimidatingly-sharp tools hanging along the far wall rattle slightly.
Twilight shivered.
“Hope I've got something warmer in here.” Twilight murmured to herself as she opened up her bag. Sure enough, as she pulled the zipper back, she saw the comfortably-battered grey hoodie laying on top of the rest of her stuff. “Don't remember packing this--- mom must have stuffed it in at tle last minute. Lucky me.” Twilight put the sweatshirt on and flipped up the hood.
Twilight spent the next few minutes fiddling with her phone-- she didn't have much in the way of signal strength, but she at least had a few e-books already downloaded. Enough stuff there to keep her occupied for quite some time.
She hoped it wouldn't be that long.
“Where is everybody?” Twilight pushed herself off the hay bale and started pacing back and forth. Even Applejack had vanished-- slopping pigs (whatever that was) couldn't take that long, could it? Twilight looked over at the two-story house not too far from the barn-- the lights were all off, but Twilight didn't know if Applejack's bedroom faced the front or the back. Twilight briefly thought about going inside to look for her friend, but decided against it. It'd just be too awkward poking around somebody's house, even before the possibility of blundering across Applejack in only a towel.
“Hope everyone's okay.” Twilight pulled up traffic and weather reports on her phone, just in case. As the data slowly loaded over the tenuous, one-bar data signal, the door at the back of the barn creaked open with a whine of rusty hinges.
Twilight looked up.
“Hello?”
No answer.
“Is that you, Fluttershy? It's alright to interrupt-- this wasn't all that important anyway.” Twilight stuffed her phone in her pocket.
Still no reply.
Twilight frowned, and headed towards the back door to the barn. Even as it grew darker outside, Twilight was able to make out a retreating figure vanishing into the a darkness. Something flickered behind them-- a coat? A cape? It was too dark to tell.
“Okay guys, this isn't funny.” Twilight huffed. “I mean, you're better than this. You wouldn't resort to the whole 'lure the nerdy girl out into a rural area and then rattle chains at her so she gets scared and then you laugh at her' thing ... would you?”
Outside, silence.
“Guys?”
Twilight bit her lower lip, then backed into the center of the barn again. If it wasn't a prank ... could it be some new and horrible Equestrian creature that had snuck through the portal to wreak havoc? She did seem to have that kind of luck.
Just in case, Twilight scanned the tools hanging from the barn wall, looking for a chainsaw.
But before she could find a gas-powered implement of mayhem, Twilight heard the soft sound of someone treading on dried hay. Before she could see who it was, a gloved hand clapped over Twilight's mouth, and another arm grabbed her around the waist.
“Shhh.” A girl's voice. Vaguely familiar. “Keep quiet. We're not alone.”
The hand at Twilight's mouth eased away, as did the arm around her midsection. Once free, Twilight immediately spun around to find herself face to face with--
“Lyra?” Twilight blurted upon seeing the shock of minty-green hair. A moment later, she took in Lyra's outfit: black fatigues, orange-lensed goggles, and a bandolier of various pouches and other odds and ends. “Wait, no-- Captain March?”
“Lieutenant March. For now, at least.” Lyra winked roguishly at Twilight. “And you must be Tara Sterling, right? I'm your backup.”
“Backup?” Twilight blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“Here, this should explain everything.” Lyra opened up one of the pouches slung across her chest and pulled out a piece of paper, crisply folded.
Twilight took it from Lyra's gloved fingers-- and even before she unfolded it, she realized just what she was holding.
“So now what?” Rainbow Dash peered at the barn from her hiding spot behind a pile of empty apple crates, some distance away. In the darkness, she could just barely make out the figures of Twilight and Lyra within. “Looks like they're just ... talking.”
“That's the point.” Sunset Shimmer gently pulled Rainbow back into the deeper shadows, where the rest of the impromptu LARP group was hiding. They'd showed up at Sweet Apple Acres early, so as to get everything set up before Twilight even arrived. “Lyra knows the game a lot better than any of us, not to mention she knows Twilight's character, so she's taking care of the exposition.”
“So what do we do?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Us? Well, we're just here to be spooky.” Sunset grinned, and opened up her backpack, pulling out a bundle of black cloth. “Great job on the creepy ghost costumes, Rarity. Especially on such short notice.”
“What, these?” Rarity gave a runway-worthy twirl to show off her own ragged cloak. “They were nothing, dear. The day I can't bang out a couple of creepy robes in an afternoon is the day I hang up my sewing needles. I just wish I'd had the time to finish the embroidery, but I am but only one woman.”
“Hold up.” Applejack said. “Why would creepy ghost monsters need embroidering?”
“For the authenticity!” Rarity said. “Anyone could just cut off a yard or two of fabric and call it a cape-- but wouldn't it be so much more impressive to sew actual burial shrouds? Why, if I'd known sooner, I could have even buried them in the backyard for just a bit of genuine rot. Decomposed-chic, I'd call it. But, even without that, I guarantee that we'll look properly villainous.”
“Villainous?” Fluttershy squeaked. “Oh, are we the bad guys?”
“I mean, yeah?” Rainbow Dash said. “Why else do you think Rarity made the spooky monster outfits?"
“Do we ... do we have to be the bad guys?” Fluttershy said. “What if we're ghosts that just like to hug people?”
“We could be ghosts that like to hug people so we can eat their souls!” Rainbow Dash said.
“Or we could hug people just 'cause it feels nice?”
“No hugging!” Sunset Shimmer snapped, then sighed. She rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “At least ... no in-character hugging, okay? Tonight, we have to be weird time ghost monsters. For Twilight.”
“But we can hug her after, right? To say sorry for being scary?”
“Sure.” Sunset Shimmer smiled. “But for now, we're just the bad guys.”
“So do we charge in there and get 'em, or what?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Not yet.” Sunset Shimmer shook her head. “Lyra said we won't be able to go in.”
“Why not?” Rainbow Dash said.
“I'm ... not actually sure. Something about the game rules, I guess?”
“There's at least half a dozen Clock-Wraiths in the immediate vicinity. Maybe more.” Lieutenant March pulled a metal sphere a little smaller than a baseball out of one of the pouches on her bandolier. She twisted the top half of the metal ball, and LED lights around its equator began to blink. A faint buzz washed over Tara Sterling's skin as the invisible force field took effect. “That should hold them off-- for now, at least.”
“I don't understand-- what are Clock-Wraiths doing here?” Tara said. “I'm in my own timeline, without any anachronistic technology or information-- my Flux level should be low enough that they shouldn't be able to even see me, much less manifest.”
“Normally, you'd be right. But the predictors have detected a Paradox Point--”
Tara gasped and held a hand up to her mouth. “But ... protocol says you send a whole Temporal Response Team to handle one of those.”
“Unfortunately, the council didn't have a whole team handy. So it comes down to us.”
“How bad is it?”
“Very.”
“Can we go in and kill them yet?” Rainbow Dash said.
“W-what?” Fluttershy said, aghast.
“Oh, sorry. Can we go in and kill their characters yet?”
“We're not going to kill anybody, in or out of character.” Sunset Shimmer sighed. “We're ... like, we're more of a challenge than an opponent. Like the NPC's in a video game. Like, Lyra and Twilight are playing co-op, and we're everything else.”
“Weird.” Rainbow Dash shrugged.
“Besides, Rainbow--” Rarity chimed in, “The whole point of the game, as I understand it, isn't the outright confrontation, but rather, the drama of it all. Right now, Lyra and Twilight are acting their hearts out in no doubt a grand and emotional scene. Pity there's no audience for it.” Rarity heaved a sigh. “If I wasn't such a good friend, I'd be almost jealous. I can only imagine how grand it would be for the Contessa de St. Germain to finally confess her feelings to a certain Miss Oakley.”
“Hold up.” Applejack looked up from where she'd been dozing at the foot of an apple tree. “Ain't Carrie Oakley my character? And now all of a sudden you're confessin' at her?”
“Well, yes.” Rarity said. “And the Contessa de St. Germain had something of an unrequited longing for her, despite such a scandal that would arise from a lady of her standing dallying with someone so ... common.”
“But you only played her the one time at that big game-schindig, and y'all never mentioned it.”
“It didn't come up.” Rarity shrugged. “But it's all in her backstory. I got a bit bored one evening and I wrote a couple pages on a lark.”
“... you sure you haven't done this before?” Applejack said.
“That's nothing.” Sunset Shimmer said. “One time Twilight showed me her in-character journals for the game, and ... well, there's a lot of them. Which just shows how important this ChronoQuest thing is to her. We're just lucky Lyra was able to help. She did most of the work.”
“But ... didn't Twilight kill Lyra--” Rainbow Dash looked over at Fluttershy. “I mean, didn't she kill her character last time? Or, uh, Twilight's character killed Lyra's character-- you get the idea.”
“She did, yeah.” Sunset shrugged. “But Lyra said she'd handle that part, too.”
Lieutenant March put the forcefield projector on a hay bale. “Hell of a first mission, but desperate times, am I right?”
“I'm your first?” Tara sputtered. “Your first, uh, mission, that is.”
“My first solo one.” Lieutenant March scratched the back of her neck, suddenly self-conscious. “But, they tell me you've been around the block before, so that helps, right?”
“That's what I said to you the first time we--” Tara cut herself off.
“I'm new, but I still know that look. I've been getting it a lot.” Lieutenant March pushed her goggles up on her forehead so she could look Tara in the eye. “We've met before, haven't we?”
“Before for me, yes-- but not for you, Jen-- Lieutenant.”
“Time travel, am I right?” The lieutenant laughed. “That's probably why the Council sent me-- they know I'll make it out intact.”
“But if you do die, the ensuing temporal paradox would be catastrophic.”
“Guess I'll just have to stay alive then, huh?” Lieutenant March grinned.
“You would say that.”
“Okay.” Sunset Shimmer's phone glowed in the darkness as she checked the time. “I think that should be enough time for Lyra to explain everything. Now we're onto phase two.” She pulled up the hood of her Clock-Wraith robe. “We can't enter the barn yet, but we can kinda lurk around and be scary.”
“But not that scary, right?” Fluttershy said at a little tremble.
“Don't worry, Fluttershy. I'll be scary enough for the both of us.” Rainbow Dash wrapped her ragged cloak around herself.
“The goal is to keep them holed up in there for some kind of heroic last stand thing. Everybody should know where to go, and--” Sunset Shimmer trailed off, looking around at the little gathering of cloaked creatures. “Wait a minute, where's Pinkie Pie?"
From the barn, screams.
“Clock Wraith!” Tara Sterling scrambled to put herself between the sapient time-anomaly and Lieutenant March.
“Now?” The young officer blurted. “The time wall should have held a little longer--”
The Clock-Wraith paused in its tracks, suddenly hesitant.
“Stop staring, and run!” Tara grabbed Lieutenant March by the arm and pulled her out of the barn and into the darkness beyond.
“There they go!” Rainbow Dash pointed to the fleeing pair. “Let's get 'em!”
“What?” Sunset Shimmer said. “They were supposed to stay in the barn!”
“Aw hell.” Applejack said. “Damn fool thing, runnin' round in the dark like that. They don't know where they're goin'!”
Sunset Shimmer snapped her fingers. “But you do, Applejack! You've got homefield advantage! Take Fluttershy and Rarity and circle around in front of them, while me, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie will tail them and make sure that nobody gets hurt-- and maybe even keep Twilight's game going. I mean ... what's a little improvisation, right? It's only just Twilight's favorite thing, like, ever.”
“More of them!” Tara Sterling looked over her shoulder and picked out two-- then three Clock-Wraiths melting out of the darkness. “We've got to move!”
“Where are we going?” Lieutenant March's battle gear jostled as she got tugged along, deeper into the dark forest.
“Away from them.” Tara hissed, then ducked behind a large apple tree. She pulled Lieutenant March along with her to take refuge in the shadow of the thick tree trunk. The two huddled intimately close-- or what would have been intimate, if it wasn't for the abundance of tactical gear strapped across the Lieutenant's body. The ensuing embrace could best be described as 'lumpy.'
“Oh. Uh. Sorry.” Tara murmured, her bright blush visible even in the dim light. “I got a little carried away there.”
“It's alright.” Lieutenant March leaned back a bit to peer around the tree trunk. “I think we've lost them.”
“For now.” Tara stepped back from the Lieutenant. “But maybe this will give us a chance.”
“A chance to what?”
“To do what you came here for-- to find the Paradox Point, and stop it.”
“How? There's only two of us.”
“Right.” Tara Sterling grinned. “Which means we've got double the number of time-agents we need. Now c'mon, we've got work to do.”
And again, Tara Sterling prowled off into the darkness, Lieutenant March following close behind. They made it about ten yards before they hit the creek. Tara slipped first, her sneakers slipping on a pile of dead leaves rendered invisible by the darkness. She made a wordless cry of dismay, and Lieutenant March lunged for her-- only to slip herself. The two clung to each other as they careened down the hill in a tangle of limbs and tactical equipment. They hit the bottom of the creek in a splash of cold, muddy water.
“Shit-- are you alright?” Lyra said. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--”
“I've had worse.” Tara Sterling pushed the Lieutenant off of her chest, then shakily got to her feet. She sucked in a quick breath as she put her weight on her left foot. “We need to move. Now. The Clock-Wraiths must have heard us and--” She trailed off as she saw a hooded figure materialize at the top of the incline they'd just fallen down. Two more appeared beside it.
Tara turned to limp towards the other side of the creek, only for another trio of Clock-Wraiths to appear on the opposite side, surrounding her.
“So this is it, then.” Tara Sterling said.
Lieutenant March reached for a weapon. “We can still make a break for it--”
“You can.” Tara said through gritted teeth. “I think I sprained my ankle. I'll just slow you down.”
“But I--”
“It's the only way. I'll hold them off. That should give you enough time to get to a safe distance and activate your Recall Mechanism--”
“They'll tear you apart!”
“I know.” Tara pulled in a deep breath. “But it means you'll live.”
“You don't have to do this--”
“Captain.” Tara took off her glasses and slid them into the front pocket of her hoodie. “Er-- I mean, Lieutenant-- Jennifer. Listen to me, because this is very, very important. In the future-- your future –you're going to make some very bad decisions for some very good reasons. And because of those decisions ... I'm going to kill you. Unless you do something different.”
“You can't--”
Tara held a single finger to her companion's lips. “I know exactly what I'm doing-- the very thing that I once said I'd never do. I'm altering the timestream, to make it better. To make YOU better, Jennifer. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Don't you see?” Tears welled up in the corner of Tara's eyes. “It's because I love you. Or, well, I will love you. When you meet me again. Time travel, am I right? I just hope that things are better the second time around.”
“The second time--” Lieutenant March wiped creek-mud off of her cheek. “You don't mean.”
“That's right, Jennifer. I'm going to alter the timestream. A complete reboot of this particular timeline, and damn the consequences. And the best part is? I already know it'll work.”
“You mean--”
“That's right. I'm the reason all this is happening. I am the Paradox Point.”
Above, Rainbow Dash tugged on the billowing sleeve of Sunset Shimmer's cloak and leaned in for a quick murmur. “What's even happening right now?”
Sunset Shimmer just stared. “I have no idea.”
In the creek below, Twilight and Lyra shared a quick, teary (and somewhat lumpy) hug. They lingered together, close, before Twilight pushed Lyra away. Lyra nodded, then took off at a run down the creek, boots splashing through the ankle-deep water.
Twilight smiled wanly as she watched her go. Finally, she shook her head, took a deep breath, and turned to face her hooded (and bewildered) friends.
“Alright, let's do this!” Twilight whipped a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and brandished it like a weapon. “What's your initiative score?”
Fluttershy whimpered, just barely holding back the inevitable. Firelight reflected off the tears already running down her cheeks. With the game wrapped up, Applejack had started a cozy bonfire in the middle of a clearing, while Pinkie Pie had produced the requisite ingredients for making s'mores. All and all, a perfect night-- except for the matter of Fluttershy's crying.
“It's okay!” Twilight smiled in a manner she hoped was reassuring. “The way you killed Tara was perfect.”
“But ... but I thought this game was important to you?” Fluttershy murmured.
“It is! Which is why I'm so glad I got a fitting ending to Tara's story.”
“But you-- she died. It was so sad!” Fluttershy sniffled again.
“Tara died saving someone she lo--” Twilight trailed off, glancing in Lyra's direction for a moment. Lyra still wore her fatigues, but had traded out her goggles and bandolier for a marshmallow roasting stick. “--Tara died saving a friend. And, y'know, she may have also created a time paradox that might change the timeline for the better.”
“Damn right you did!” Lyra's smiled a goofy smile and threw a buddy-buddy arm across Twilight's shoulders. “I'm just surprised it took six Clock Wraiths to take you down!”
“I've been playing Tara for awhile.” Twilight shrugged, humbly. “She has ... a fair amount of XP. Not to mention the fact that since she was from the modern-day juncture and had a really low Flux rating, it's not like I had to spend any XP on Anachronism points. So I could just keep building up my skills and advantages. It was honestly just a stroke of luck that Fluttershy got the killing blow in.”
“See, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash threw an arm around her friend's shoulders. “Twilight's talking all nerdy again, which means she's okay!”
“That--” Twilight held up a finger as she considered Rainbow's words. “--is a surprisingly accurate statement and I am not sure how to feel about it.”
“It just shows that I know you really well 'cause I'm an awesome friend like that! Just like I know Fluttershy's gonna feel better now that she got that whole 'nerd murder' thing off her chest.”
“It's true.” Fluttershy wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her Clock-Wraith robe and breathed in a deep, steadying breath.
“Wanna go make s'mores?” Rainbow Dash started steering Fluttershy around to the other side of the fire, where Pinkie Pie had set up a surprisingly robust s'more buffet, featuring no less than three kinds of chocolate, and four varieties of graham cracker. “Sugar makes everything better.”
Fluttershy nodded. “That sounds nice.”
“I'm just glad Sunset Shimmer put all this together.” Lyra beamed. “I haven't really had the chance to play since last ChronoCon. This was super fun!”
“We should be thanking you, Lyra. You're the one who actually knows the game.” Sunset Shimmer looked up from her seat on a large log set down by the fire.
“Maybe we should do it again sometime?” Lyra said. “I mean, that thing Twilight did with the paradox point gave us kind of a perfect opportunity to reboot everyone's characters for the new edition.”
“I did, didn't I?” Twilight mused aloud. “But honestly ... I think I'm gonna take a break from ChronoQuest for awhile. Ever since I transferred to Canterlot High, things have been ... busy. And crazy. More than crazy, honestly, if you think about the number of times we've actually saved the world. Like ... I may have done more world-saving in real life than I did in the LARP? Which ... is saying something.”
“I can see how that makes things ... different.” Lyra said.
“But we can still be friends, right?” Twilight said, sudden desperation in her voice.
“Uh, yeah?” Lyra said. “Why wouldn't we be?”
“Just ... you know, the whole loss of a common connection? And, um. It's not like we've really hung out much? “ Twilight bit at her lower lip.
“So? I mean, I don't know if we're good enough friends to do that weird glowy rainbow laser thing you guys do at, like, every other major school function. But we can still hang out sometimes, right? Heck, if you really wanted, I bet I could wrangle you a chair at Ditzy Do's Ogres & Oubliette's game.”
“Really? That'd be swell.” Twilight pushed her glasses further up her nose and smiled. “But ... this time it'll be Twilight Sparkle and Lyra Heartstrings hanging out, not Tara Sterling and Jennifer March.”
The purple haired girl stood up and pulled Tara Sterling's character sheet from her hoodie pocket. She rubbed her thumb over the crinkled paper, lingereing, as if she were soaking up memories y touch. then gently tossed it into the flames. Within seconds, the paper curled and blackened in the blazing fire, dissolving into char and ash.
Sunset and Lyra stared at the burning paper, then at the young woman who burned it.
Twilight, meanwhile, just smiled. “Sorry to get dramatic-- just ... seemed like an appropriate gesture. And, uh, I've got the character sheet backed up on my computer back home, it's the thought that counts, right?”
“So I guess it's really over then, huh?” Sunset Shimmer said. “No more ChronoQuest?”
“I'm ... taking a break. Not leaving it forever. And heck, just because I'm not playing doesn't mean other people can't have fun. No matter what the edition. So long as people keep enjoying themselves, they can play their own games and tell their own stories. Just ... on a smaller scale. As, uh, technically, this was an unofficial troupe game, not connected to the main plotline or anything.”
“It's connected enough for me.” Lyra patted Twilight on the shoulder, then circled around to the other side of the fire to raid the s'mores bar.
“Y'know Twilight, I'm a little jealous.”
“Jealous?” Twilight's eyes went wide, and she immediately leaned in close to murmur to Sunset. “Of me and Lyra? Because that was strictly an in-character--”
“Not that.” Sunset shook her head and poked Twilight in the chest. “I'm jealous of you and the game. You just get so excited over it, and ... well, sometimes I wonder if I'm too cynical to get that enthusiastic about ... well, anything.”
“What are you talking about, Sunset? You're a huge dork.”
“No I'm not.” Sunset said, quick and defensive. “I'm cool! Really! I play guitar and wear a neat jacket.”
“Uh-huh.” Twilight's lip curled up in a playful smile. “You also stood in line for hours just to get the latest Tirek game on release day.And you make squealy noises every time you hear a PostCrush song on the radio. And--”
“Okay, okay, I get it.” Sunset Shimmer held up her hands in defeat. “I may be ... kind of a dork.”
“Everyone is, deep down. There's just something that they can go on about for hours on end, y'know? Rarity has fashion, Rainbow Dash has those old monster movies, Applejack has ... uh ... trees.”
“So what are you gonna go on about now that Tara Sterling is ... now that Tara's story is over?”
“Oh, lots of things! Science. Or magic. Or friendship, maybe? Because I've been told that's also magic. Or, really, the study of extradimensional energies which are popping up at an increasingly faster rate which could be a sign of impending universal collapse as the barriers between dimensions grow thinner and thinner until all possibilities are happening concurrently in some kind of chaos-singularity--” Twilight built up speed as the words tumbled from her lips-- only to rein herself in at the last moment. She looked back over at Sunset and forced a smile. “Also I like to read a lot.” A pause. “Maybe we could start a book club?”
“That's not a bad idea.” Sunset Shimmer glanced out at the other girls gathered around the blazing bonfire. “Good luck getting everybody to sit still, though.”
“I guess I can start with you.” Twilight sat back down on a sawn-off tree stump, and pulled Sunset down beside her. The stump was big enough for the both of them-- but barely. Twilight leaned contentedly against Sunset's side, and sighed, content. The two settled in, and silently watched Tara Sterling's proverbial funeral pyre.
