A story that takes place in a city of fun and luxury, but a city with danger hidden beneath it all.
After the events of "The Big Mac Question", the Peace Family (with Stephen Fisher being the leader) invite most of the citizens of Equestria on a vacation to a city in an unexplored part of Equestria called "Kransitogo". It seems to be an awesome city at first, but when everypony finds out what's happening underneath everything, things change entirely. Want to know what happens? Read this fanfiction and find out!
Our story begins at Sweet Apple Acres, where in the apple orchard, the Cutie Marks Crusaders are preparing for an Easter photo, with their older sisters helping them prepare.
“This picture is sure going to be adorable!”, said Applejack as she put a blue bunny costume onto Apple Bloom.
“It sure will be!”, Apple Bloom agreed.
Rarity used her magic to put a purple bunny costume onto Sweetie Belle.
“My, my! This costume looks simply endearing on you, Sweetie!”, exclaimed Rarity, with Sweetie Belle blushing afterwards. It seems that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were excited to wear bunny costumes for the photo. But of course, with Scootaloo being herself, she wasn’t as enthralled.
“Come on, why do I have to wear this?”, Scootaloo asked as her idol, Rainbow Dash, held a green bunny costume in front of her. “I’m a tomboy! Tomboys don’t wear sickeningly sweet bunny costumes!”
Rainbow Dash replied with, “Look, I don’t wanna make you wear this either, but it’s for Applejack! Please, Scootaloo, do it for her!”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she said, “Fine, I’ll wear the dumb costume!”, before putting it on. After she put it on, she muttered, “This is so embarrassing”, while blushing and looking straight down at the ground.
“Come on, ya’ three look adorable!”, said Applejack with a big smile.
Apple Bloom then replied with, “Besides, you can’t deny that these costumes are super comfortable!”, to which Scootaloo admitted that they were pretty comfortable to wear.
The trio then hopped into an easter basket and each held a piece of candy. Apple Bloom held a chocolate bunny, Sweetie Belle held a giant creme egg, and Scootaloo held a giant marshmallow peep while waiting for the photo.
“Say, Happy Easter!”, exclaimed Applejack as she turned on the camera.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders smiled for the camera, with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle being extremely happy to be in the photo, and Scootaloo blushing and looking less enthusiastic, but still managing to smile for the camera.
Once the photo was finished, the trio decided to gorge themselves with the candy they were holding, giving themselves bellies the size of small volleyballs.
“Do ya’ three wanna go back inside?”, asked Applejack, to which Apple Bloom replied with, “Just a few more minutes, please!”
“Alrighty, Sugarcube. If ya’ need us, just holler!”, Applejack said as she, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity walked away.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders then fell asleep in the easter basket, with their cute bunny costumes, big bellies, and adorable smiles.
After Applejack went back inside her house, she found a letter on her kitchen counter. Assuming her older brother, Big Macintosh, brough it in, she thanked him from the kitchen and opened the letter. It was from the Peace Family. She, Rarity, and Rainbow read it together.
It read, “Dear Citizens of Ponyville, we have very exciting news! The members of our group have been planning a trip to the City of Kransitogo! And we decided to invite the citizens of Equestria to come with us! The invited citizens need to wear their peace suits, otherwise they may not come. Further details will be explained at the City of Kransitogo. The following citizens are invited-”
Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow read the list of citizens, and were happy to see that they, the rest of the Mane Six, Applejack’s family, and their younger sisters were invited, along with many other citizens. They went to tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were thrilled when they heard the news.
“Really?!”, asked Apple Bloom with overloading joy. “Are we really going on a vacation to the City of Kransitogo?!”
“We sure are!”, replied Applejack with glee. “Now how about ya’ three pack the things ya’ want for the trip and change into your peace suits?”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle replied with yeses, while Scootaloo sighed with relief, knowing that she wouldn’t have to wear a bunny costume anymore, and she would instead wear something she thought was less embarrassing.
----
The next morning, the citizens of Ponyville waited in a big green field wearing their peace suits and carrying bags, waiting for the Peace Family to arrive with their mode of transportation.
“Oh ma’ gosh, ah’ am so excited for this!”, exclaimed Applejack. “Ah’ don’t know what to expect yet, but ah’ bet it’s gonna be amazing!”
Apple Bloom agreed with Applejack, and so did the other two Crusaders and the rest of the Mane Six. They started imagining the fun things they’d be doing. The stuff includes the beach, an amusement park, an arcade, a Spa, racing, nature hiking, ect. They knew it would be a blast.
Just then, techno music started playing, and colorful smoke was fogging the fields. The citizens coughed, but soon realized that the Peace Family was arriving. Train tracks flew from the sky onto the ground, with an awesome looking train zooming towards the citizens at a fast pace. The train was bright, colorful, and detailed. It was really long, and really big. It soon stopped in front of the citizens, with Stephen Fisher and Flare Spark walking out of the engine with style.
“What’s up, Citizens of Ponyville?!”, shouted Stephen Fisher, with everypony cheering for them.
“I hope you all are excited to go to the City of Kransitogo!”, yelled Flare Spark, followed by, “Your train awaits!”
Stephen Fisher then announced, “But first, your admission! You must be wearing your peace suits or else you’re not allowed on!”
The citizens soon walked on board with each one wearing their peace suits. Once everybody was on board, the train left Ponyville and headed straight towards Kransitogo.
----
While on the train, the Mane Six noticed a lot of their friends from outside of Ponyville on board, such as the citizens from Canterlot. They were surprised to see so many familiar faces on board with them.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to talk with some of the other fillies on the train, hoping to make new friends. But the fillies they found were glued to their screens, refusing to interact with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. One of them was watching a show called Gravity Falls on his phone. Another was on their chromebook making a video on PonyAnimate. And one brought a mini NES console on board, playing Super Mario Ponies 3. The trio were upset that the fillies they ran into were addicted to their screens.
But eventually, they found a filly that wasn’t on a screen. The filly was male. He had bright red skin with blue hair and a blue tail, and a purple peace suit. The Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to ask him if he wanted to have a conversation, which he agreed to.
The four got together at a table and talked with each other while eating donuts and milkshakes.
“That’s so funny!”, exclaimed Apple Bloom, with the filly replying with, “I know! I mean, it wasn’t even that big! It was just a little bug, and yet, she went crazy!”
The trio laughed hard, clearly enjoying their new friend.
“Ya’ know, we haven’t caught your name yet!'' said Apple Bloom.
“Yeah!”, replied Sweetie Belle, with Scootaloo replying with, “What is it?”
“My name is Red Fiction!”, said the stallion, with a charming smile. “Ever since I was a foal, I have loved fiction! There were so many characters I could relate to in the stories my mother told me, and they could be quite funny! I grew up with so many great cartoons, such as SpongePony SquarePants, The Fairly Odd Ponies, The Powerpuff Ponies, Courage the Cowardly Pony, The Simponies, The Amazing World of Gumpony, Ponieas and Ferb, and one of my personal favorites, Family Pony!”
Apple Bloom’s smile turned into a small frown, with her replying with, “Oh, Ma’ older sister, Applejack, won’t let me watch Family Pony! She says it’s too inappropriate!”, making Red Fiction’s jaw drop.
“What?! But Family Pony is one of the greatest cartoons in Equestria! Or, it was until season eight, but still, it has so many amazing episodes!”
Sweetie Belle decided to reply to his statement with, “I’m not sure we should be watching that show. Rarity says the show has profanity, violence, sexual references, and other things I shouldn’t be seeing at my age”
“Besides, there are plenty of other great shows we can watch!”, claimed Scootaloo.
Red Fiction sighed, telling the trio, “Fine, you don’t have to watch Family Pony if you don’t want to. But you won’t know what you’re missing until you see it!”
After that, he walked away humming the Family Pony theme song to himself, leaving the Crusaders to look at each other, with curious facial expressions, wondering what to expect from Family Pony.
A couple hours later, the train finally stopped after exiting a tunnel. “We have arrived at our destination!”, shouted Stephen over the speakers.
All of the ponies walked out of the train with their bags, and were blown away by what they saw.
After the ponies walked out of the train, their jaws dropped. They stared at what was in front of them. Nopony said a word. Nopony made a sound. Everypony was just staring at the amazing place that was in front of them.
“Is, is that, what I think it is?”, asked Spike with a shocked expression.
“Yes, it is”, replied Twilight.
The speakers turned back on, with Stephen Fisher announcing, “Ladies and Gentleponies, welcome to the City of Kransitogo!”
The city looked amazing. There were so many awesome looking buildings, with tons of detail and color. There were so many attractions and fancy machines operating the city. There were these awesome water features, rainbows shining through the sky, and just so much more.
The ponies there looked really kind and friendly. The Peace Family soon walked/flew out of the train and in front of the rest of the Ponies.
“Alright”, said Stephen Fisher. “Just follow us to our hotel and we’ll explain everything in the hotel’s auditorium!”
All of the ponies followed the Peace Family, and admired the city they were in. One of the buildings had a titanium popcorn volcano on its roof, along with, a giant titanium root beer bottle pouring a titanium root beer river, and a titanium sugar mountain with giant candy and pastries on it, being made of, you guessed it, titanium!
Another building had iconic video game characters on it, of which the characters are in pony form. But one of the scarier buildings was this building on a black hill with dead grass. Thunderclouds surrounded the building, and the building was rundown and it was falling apart. Finally, It had a giant sign that read: “The Kransitogo Tower Hotel”. The building made everypony concerned.
----
The ponies soon arrived at the hotel. The hotel was also amazing. It had thirty floors, it was 1000 feet wide, and it had a lot of attractions attached to the building. Everypony marveled as they walked through the gates.
It was only a matter of time before they walked into the auditorium and waited for the Peace Family to announce the plans for the trip.
“Can we get this over with? I want to have fun right now!”, exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
Twilight got annoyed and said, “Rainbow, be patient! We just got here!”, to Rainbow Dash.
The lights started to dim, and the curtains started to open. Everypony shut their mouths as they watched the Peace Family members walk on stage, with Stephen Fisher being the one to talk on the microphone.
“Good day, our fellow ponies!”, shouted Stephen. “We are so glad you could join us for our vacation! We understand how excited you all are to explore the city and have as much fun as possible, but first, we need to establish some things. This trip will last for two weeks. Each family will get their own room to stay in each night, and certain rooms will be connected with others depending on your relationships!”
“But for a warning, please do not leave the city during our stay. This place is located in a dangerous section of Equestria, and what exists outside of the city’s wall isn’t safe. There are these cursed entities that wait for somepony to walk outside the walls completely exposed! These entities are antimatter, so if one of you touches one of them, you’ll be neutralized, and you’ll be wiped from existence! Both you and every trace of you will disappear! It would be like you were never born! So I advise you, please stay inside the wall! It’s for your own good!”, Stephen warned, making everypony worried.
“But anyways, your room keys are under your seats! They have your room numbers, so you’ll know where to go! So to wrap everything up, grab your bags, and head to your rooms! This is the Peace Family signing off!”, concluded Stephen, as the Peace Family closed the curtains.
The ponies grabbed their bags and walked out of the auditorium, chatting about the entities and their safety. They got into the elevators and went to their rooms.
----
Soon enough, Applejack and her family made it to their room, being impressed at what said room looked like. It had multiple bedrooms, a giant tv, a giant window, a fancy bathroom with a hot tub, a couch made of the fluffiest felt, an automatic kitchen, and much more.
Applejack then laughed when Apple Bloom and her dog, Winona, jumped onto the couch bunching herself in the fluff and giggling while doing so. A few minutes of exploring the room later, they unpacked their bags.
Afterwards, the four family members decided to just relax by laying on the circular carpet, with each member’s head pointing towards the center of the carpet, and their bodies pointing towards the edge of the carpet, with Winona resting on his belly in the middle of the four. Nothing much, just a little family relaxation time.
While the family relaxed on the carpet, something mysterious was happening underneath not just the hotel, but the entire city. There was this dark and dim laboratory, with a figure wearing a black cloak working on some kind of device.
His assistant then walked up behind him, holding a bucket filled with parts.
“I’m back!”, he said, with the cloaked figure replying with, “Finally! Do you have the parts I asked for?”
“Yes I do!”, he returned, giving him the bucket. The cloaked figure rummaging through the parts, chuckling with evil joy.
“Splendid work!”, he said, as he dumped the parts onto the table. “Soon enough, my plan will come into fruition! And thankfully, nobody knows about the secrets of this town!”, he chuckled, before giving out a small, yet menacing evil laugh.
----
Back in Applejack’s hotel room, her and her family were still relaxing on the carpet. It has been an hour since they started relaxing. Applejack soon got up remembering that Stephen told them that the rooms had doors connecting to other rooms, and they’d be sorted based on their relationships.
She found a door connecting to the room right next to hers, and it’s revealed that the room right next to her room is Rainbow Dash’s room, where she’s sharing a room with her tortoise, Tank, her parents, Scootaloo, Scootaloo’s parents, and Scootaloo’s aunts.
And she found another door, with that one leading to Rarity’s room, where she’s sharing her room with Sweetie Belle, her parents, and her cat, Opalescence.
That’s when Apple Bloom woke up, and got excited that her room was right in between Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo’s rooms. The trio met up with each other in Applejack’s room and hugged each other out of excitement.
Then it was dinner time. Since they just got there, Applejack and her family decided that they wanted something simple for dinner. They decided to order hayburgers from the local Hayburger King. And boy, were they delicious.
“Wow, if Twilight got a taste of these, she’d die of happiness!”, said Applejack. Cut to Twilight’s room, where she’s lying on the floor with her eyes wide open and her pupils the size of a marble, smiling with a full mouth, and holding a bitten hayburger in her hand. “Twilight, are you okay?”, asked Spike with a concerned look, while holding a gemburger in his hand.
After dinner, Applejack’s family decided to play a simple game of Poniopoly before brushing their teeth, showering, and preparing for bed. It was a peaceful night.
Everything was quiet, the lighting was perfect, the beds felt like clouds, and the air was as fresh as a fully original Pixar movie.
----
But little Apple Bloom was having a hard time falling asleep. She couldn’t stop thinking about Family Pony, with Red Fiction’s final words before leaving,
“You won’t know you’re missing until you watch it!”, sticking in her head.
And it appears that her friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo have the same problem, as Apple Bloom’s door knocked, and she answered it, only to find the two fillies standing there.
“Mind if we come in?”, Scootaloo asked, with Apple Bloom replying with, “Sure, come on in!”
The trio sat with each other on the couch, knowing what each other was thinking.
“Did Red Fiction’s last words stick with ya’ two as well?”, whispered Apple Bloom, with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodding in return.
“I just can’t stop thinking about Family Pony!”, Scootaloo said.
“It seems like a great show to watch!”, added Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom thought for a moment, and then she had an idea.
“What if we just watch ONE episode of the show tonight, and then we’ll decide if we like it or not!”, she said.
“Are you going to tell Applejack that you’re going to watch a cartoon she doesn’t want you watching?”, asked Sweetie Belle, with Apple Bloom replying with, “Um, well, uh… *sighs* well, no”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gasped at her response.
“You’re going to lie to your older sister?”, asked Sweetie Belle with a shocked expression.
----
Apple Bloom’s ears drooped. She knew not telling her sister about her plan was dishonest. But the temptation to watch Family Pony was REALLY strong. She was conflicted.
“I don’t wanna have ta’ lie to my sister, but Ah’ don’t know. The temptation is too strong for ma’ own good!”
Scootaloo decided to reply with, “Hey, don’t worry! It’s not like you’re being dishonest about something REALLY bad! You’re just watching a cartoon! You’re not secretly running an illegal operation!”
Apple Bloom thought for a while, and made a decision. “Fine, we’ll watch Family Pony! But we are only gonna watch ONE episode! One episode, and no more! Understand, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?”, she said, with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodding. They turned the television on, and quickly muted it before sound could come out of the speakers. Apple Bloom went onto Hulu and clicked on the highest rated episode on the site, Road to the Multiverse. She paused the episode before the intro started, and tried to turn the volume up to 5%.
Unfortunately, she accidentally turned it up to 73%, and turned it back down to 0%. She had a tough time turning the volume to the correct volume, and by mistake, she pressed the play button while the volume was 100%.
The theme song blasted at loud volume, causing the remote to fly out of Apple Bloom’s hand. The Crusaders plugged their ears.
That’s when Applejack ran down the stairs, grabbed the remote, and shut off the TV. The Cutie Mark Crusaders then looked behind them, to find an angry Applejack glaring right at them, with Rarity and Rainbow Dash joining her.
“Busted!”, Applejack said sternly, causing the Cutie Mark Crusaders to swallow with fear.
Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash glared at their younger sisters. They were NOT happy at all. They didn’t say a word. The tension between the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their older sisters was thick. It was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo kept their mouths shut. They knew how mad their older sisters were. Apple Bloom tried to speak, but nothing came out of her mouth. She tried again, but still failed. She tried a third time, and she managed to say, “Um, uh, -ulp! Uh, well, Apple-”
“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, what in tarnation are ya’ three doing?!!”, she yelled. “Why in all of Equestria were ya’ three watching Family Pony with the volume at one hundred percent at 12:00 at midnight?!! Apple Bloom, ya’ know I forbid you from watching that show ever!! It’s too inappropriate!!”
“Sweetie Belle, I forbid you from watching that show as well!!”, Rarity added. “And Scootaloo, even though I don’t care if you watch Family Pony or not, why the heck would you blast that loud music?!! I was having an amazing dream where I won 1,000,000 dollars in a Wonderbolts competition!!”, Rainbow Dash also added. “Ya’ three better have a logical explanation for all of this!!!”, demanded Applejack.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders explained the entire story to them. How they got the idea to watch the show, how they accidentally set the volume to one hundred, ect. But Applejack still wasn’t happy.
“We’ll finish this tomorrow!”, she said as she walked back up to her bedroom. Rarity walked Sweetie Belle back to their room, and Rainbow Dash walked Scootaloo back to their room.
Apple Bloom was left alone in the dark on the couch. She felt awful for what she did. She didn’t feel like heading back to her bed. She decided to sleep on the couch instead.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle also felt awful. But they had to wait until morning to actually talk with their older sisters.
----
When morning finally came, Applejack asked her older brother, Big Macintosh and her grandmother, Granny Smith, if they could stay in their rooms until she was done dealing with Apple Bloom, which they agreed to.
Applejack walked downstairs and woke Apple Bloom up. Rarity and Rainbow Dash walked into Applejack’s room with their respective sisters, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They placed the trio together on the couch and stood in front of them.
“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, we are highly disappointed!”, Applejack scolded. “Apple Bloom, I am disappointed in you the most for being dishonest with me! I mean, I thought you knew that lying doesn’t get you anywhere!”
“And Sweetie Belle”, Rarity added. “I thought I told you why I forbid you from watching Family Pony! The show is not good for your brain! I mean, one episode has a scene that instructs fillies on how to commit suicide!”
“And Scootaloo, do you think your parents and aunts want you to misbehave like that? No! They don’t want that at all!”, Rainbow Dash added.
The trio looked at their older sisters sadly. The trio’s eyes filled with tears.
“Applejack, Ah-Ah-Ah’m so s-s-s-s-sorry!!!”, Apple Bloom cried as she lunged towards her older sister, hugging her. “Ah’ wasn’t trying to hurt you!! Ah’ let temptation and my curiosity get the best of me!! Please forgive me!!”
Apple Bloom sobbed into her sister’s arms, with Applejack hugging her back.
“Calm down, Sugarcube! I can see that you’re sorry! Don’t worry, I forgive you!”
The same thing happened with Sweetie Belle and Rarity. Sweetie Belle hugged her sister as she apologized with tears. And Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash did the same thing as well.
“Don’t worry, you three. We forgive you. We know that you’re sorry, and we accept your apology!”, Applejack said with a cool soothing voice.
“But you three aren’t going without consequences!”, Applejack added.
The Crusaders’ older sisters stopped hugging their younger sisters.
“Okay, what is it?”, Apple Bloom asked, getting ready to accept her punishment. Just then, one of the hotel’s Interns walked through the door with a slushie machine and three long tubes connected to said machine.
“Okay, I’m here to give the trio their just desserts, Apple-Something”, the Intern said with a deadpan voice.
“What’s going on?”, the Crusaders asked at the same time.
But before Applejack could answer, the Intern shoved the three tubes down each of the Crusader’s throats, and asked them, “Hey, what are your favorite slushie flavors?”, with the Crusaders trying to reply, but failing with the tubes in their mouths. To which, the Intern said, “Aww, it probably won’t matter, because you won’t tasting anything anyway”
The intern turned the slushie machine on, with it slowly filling the Crusaders bellies. The Crusaders were struggling as they watched their bellies grow. Their older sisters were not enjoying the Crusader’s punishment, but the Intern was, as he flashed a sinister smile while watching the trio’s bellies inflate with slushie goodness.
By the time the slushie machine was empty, the Crusader’s bellies were the size of beach balls.
“I hope you three learned your lesson!”, the Intern said, as he pulled the tubes out of their mouths. “Don’t wake everybody up at 12:00 AM! Seriously, I need my sleep!”, he explained, as he left the room with his slushie machine.
The Crusaders’ giant bellies then growled with agony, causing the trio to cry. Their older sisters then come to comfort their respective sisters.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay, Sugarcube! It’s all over!”, Applejack said to Apple Bloom as she rubbed her big belly. “Ah’ still love you, Apple Bloom. This is just how we learn”
“Don’t cry, Sweetie. You’re not getting any more punishments. I already forgave you”, Rarity said to Sweetie Belle while patting her back.
“You’re going to be fine, squirt”, Rainbow Dash said to Scootaloo while scratching her scalp. “I promise, you’ll be fine”
Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow held their younger sisters, comforting them for who knows how long. Maybe an hour, maybe two. It felt like forever.
Eventually, the older sisters let go of their sisters, and rested them on the couch.
“Your bulging bellies won’t last forever”, Applejack assured them. “They’ll be gone by the end of the day! But until then, you’re gonna have to rest here”
The trio groaned with disappointment, because they wanted to explore the hotel.
“So this means we aren’t going to explore the city, or the hotel? We have to lay here for the whole day?”, groaned Apple Bloom.
“Ah’m afraid so”, Applejack replied.
“But don’t worry, darlings! You’ll get the TV to yourselves!”, Rarity added.
The Crusaders’ frowns turned into smiles as Rarity used her magic to lift the remote and hand it to the Crusaders, but not before turning the volume on the remote down.
The Crusaders turned the TV on and decided to watch Total Drama Equestrian Island.
“But please don’t eat anything until you’re thin again. Until then, just relax”, Applejack told the Crusaders. “Anyways, us and the rest of the Mane Six are going to explore the hotel. We’ll be back soon. Big Macintosh and Granny Smith will watch after ya’ three while we are gone. Goodbye!”, she said as she, Rarity, and Rainbow left the room, leaving the Crusaders to watch Chris McStalion torcher his campers with excruciating challenges.
----
Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash met up with the rest of the Mane Six, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer at the hotel’s spa. They rested down for massages from the hotel’s interns. The massages felt amazing. But even then, Applejack was hoping she did the right thing when she punished her own sister.
On one hand, she thought the punishment was justified, because she knew the Crusaders normally behaved better than that. But on the other hand, she thought it was disproportionate retribution, since the Crusaders weren’t doing anything out of malicious content. She prayed to Celestia, asking her if she did the right thing, because she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t sure at all.
Back in Applejack’s room, the Crusaders’ bellies have digested some of the slushie they drank, since it was now 12:00 PM. Their bellies were now the size of softballs, and they didn’t bulge out as much. They were happy that their older sisters forgave them, and they’re also glad they learned their lesson. But they were still upset that they couldn’t explore the hotel.
“It’s for our own good”, Apple Bloom thought to herself. But that train of thought quickly faded away after she, along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, saw the Total Drama scene where Rotting Heather’s breasts were accidentally revealed, albeit censored. They knew that was something they shouldn’t have watched.
Eventually, it was dinner time. By that time, the Crusaders’ bellies had fully digested the slushies they drank. After Applejack came back to the room to check up on the Cutie Mark Crusaders, to where they were resting on the couch with the television off.
“Hey, sugarcube! Ah’m back!”, Applejack said to her sister, who just woke up yawning.
“Oh, hey Applejack!”, she replied, with the other two Crusaders waking up afterwards.
“So, Ah’ was thinking, since your bellies are now back to the way they were before, why don’t we go out for some food? Ah’ was thinking of going to the local Mexican Restaurant! Even though Ah’ don’t know what Mexican means, or where this “Mexico” place is located, it sounds like a place to eat!”, Applejack claimed, with the Crusaders agreeing to go there, with cheerful faces.
----
The Mexican Restaurant was massive. Applejack and the Crusaders met the rest of the Mane Six, Spike, Starlight, and more of their friends there. They sat down at a table, and simply talked with each other while dipping their chips in beans, salsa, guacamole, and other dipping sauces, and eating them.
“This, city, is, amazing!!”, Twilight excitedly exclaimed. “There has been so many fun things to do here! Water skiing, roller coasters, just laying down to relax, I just love it all!”.
Rainbow Dash replied to Twilight’s comment with, “Yeah, this place is nothing short of awesome! Honestly, his place is so awesome, it makes Las Pegasus look like the Rainbow Factory!”
The last comment about the Rainbow Factory made everypony concerned, leading Rainbow Dash to say, “Umm, not that it exists or anything! Heh heh!”
Fluttershy looked up at the birds, and that’s when she noticed an odd hexagonal pattern in the sky.
“Hey, does anypony notice how strange the sky looks?”, she asked, with the rest of the Mane Six looking at the sky.
“Yeah, that does look strange! Stranger than me, anyways!”, Pinkie Pie replied.
“I wonder why the sky has that pattern”, Starlight questioned.
That’s when one of the restaurant's employees walked over to them with their food, telling the group of ponies,
“Oh, that’s just the dome!”. Applejack asked, “The dome?”, with the employee replying with, “Yeah, the dome! You haven’t heard about it?” The Mane Six were confused. “Why is there a dome covering the city?”, Rarity asked.
“Well, I don’t think Stephen told you yet, but the dome is here to keep the entities out. The wall isn’t enough to keep them out, since they can climb. And don’t worry about our environment, because the sunlight, fresh air, and other eco-friendly elements from the outside can pass through!”, he explained. The Mane Six quickly understood as they ate their food.
Little did anypony know, right beside the city and its dome, there was an old hydroelectric dam, holding a scary amount of water. It was cracking, crumbling, and falling apart. And when a bluebird decided to rest his feet on the dam’s pipe, that’s when it all came crashing down. The pipe disconnected from its position, crashing into the dam’s wall as it came tumbling down. The wall’s cracks became visible, and chunks of the dam came crashing to the ground. Water was spewing out of the dam’s leaks, and debris was peeling off at a quick rate.
Eventually, the entire thing collapsed on itself, and the water sprayed out of the reservoir, creating this massive titlewave! The ponies within the dome noticed, and freaked out.
Once the wave hit the dome, the force was strong enough to flip the entire city on its head! After the tidal wave weakened, the now upside-down city was floating on its dome, with a giant chunk of the earth keeping both the wall and the buildings in place. The ponies were trapped.
After the city was flipped by the flood, the ponies were stuck on the roof of the dome. Twilight stood up on her shaky legs, looking at all the dead bodies. She was heartbroken when she saw Princess Candace, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart’s dead bodies sliced in half right in front of her.
Plenty of other ponies and other creatures have unfortunately died, including the Background Six, Applejack’s family, Rainbow Dash’s parents, Pinkie Pie’s family, Fluttershy’s family, Rarity’s parents, most of Apple Bloom’s classmates, AND her teacher, Ms. Cheerilee, Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, Daring Do, the Mini Six, Starlight Glimmer and so many others.
Twilight started to whimper, but soon sighed with relief once she saw the rest of the Mane Six were still alive. She was also glad that Spike was still alive.
“Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, you’re not dead!”, Twilight cried, as she went to hug her friends.
Twilight grabbed on to her friends as tight as she could, with her friends hugging her tightly back.
“I am so happy you all are alive!”, Twilight exclaimed. They held onto each other for about thirty minutes before letting go.
“What in tarnation happened?”, Applejack asked, to which almost nopony knew.
Then Rarity froze in shock when she asked, “Wait, where are our little sisters?!”, with fear drawn on her face.
Thankfully, all three Crusaders crawled out of the ashes, to which their respective older sisters hugged them with love and care.
The Mane Six, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders all huddled together. They looked around at the massive pile of dead ponies. It seemed like they were the only ponies left alive in the dome. And even after they looked away from the dead bodies, they noticed that the dome was submerged in water.
The nine ponies and the one dragon were worried. They didn’t know what to do. Their friends and families were dead, and they were trapped in a dangerous situation.
----
Just then, the ten saw the Peace Family running and flying towards them at high speeds.
“Oh, the Peace Family! You’re all still alive! Thank Celestia!”, Twilight said.
“Stephen, can ya’ tell us what in tarnation has happened to the City of Kransitogo?!”, asked Applejack.
“Yeah, how did this city flip over like this?”, Fluttershy asked with her voice being calmer than Applejack’s.
“We want an explanation!”, demanded Rainbow Dash.
Soon enough, all nine ponies started questioning the Peace Family all at the same time, while Spike just backed away from the chaos.
“Woah, calm down!”, Stephen quickly said. “Listen, it turns out there was an old hydroelectric dam near the city. A dam nopony knew about since it was outside the dome. It ended up collapsing, and, well, you know the rest”
“Your friends and families may be dead, but we do think there is a way for you ten to successfully escape this deathtrap”, Flare Spark added.
“See the hotel above us?”, she asked as she pointed her hoof towards said hotel. “If you can get inside the hotel from here, you can try to make your way into the Hotel’s basement, which could potentially lead you outside the dome. Then we could use our train to get you all back to safety. The train can run on any surface”, she explained.
“We’re going to try to start up the train. You ten should try to escape the dome before it’s too late”, Stephen told the ponies and dragon.
“We understand”, Twilight said with confidence.
Afterwards, Stephen teleported himself and the rest of the Peace Family to the train.
----
“Alright, we need to get to the hotel!”, Twilight clarified. “Rainbow Dash, you carry your honorary sister, Scootaloo with your hooves, and let Pinkie ride on your back. Fluttershy, you should let Applejack ride on your back, and you should carry Apple Bloom. I’ll let Rarity ride on my back, and I’ll carry Sweetie Belle. And Spike, you don’t have to carry anypony”, to which Spike replied with, “Yesss!”
They put their plan into motion. The two pegasi and the one alicorn carried their assigned ponies, and flew up to the hotel. But as they were flying, the upside-down city started to sink a bit, and the dome started to crack.
After they made it to the upside-down hotel, they got inside through the window, and ran through the hallways. Once they made it to the lobby, Spike quickly noticed that water was leaking through the dome, and it was very slowly rising up towards the upside-down city.
“We can’t stop now!”, yelled Twilight. “We need to find the basement!”
And soon enough, they found the entrance to the basement. Unfortunately, there was a small elevator instead of stairs, so the ten had to squeeze themselves inside. It was uncomfortable.
When they actually made it to the basement floor, they walked dow-, er, I mean, up a creepy staircase. While on the staircase, they saw a painting that looked like it was moving. In fact, it was moving.
The painting was a painting of what looked like an abandoned pizzeria, with this unsettling rabbit waving at them, with glowing purple eyes, glowing purple skin, and a sinister smile, and it was animated roughly. It was pretty scary at first, but it got worse once the rabbit stopped waving and started walking towards the frame.
“ENTITY!!!”, Pinkie Pie screamed with utter terror in her face.
The Mane Six, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran up the staircase even faster with utter fear. None of them wanted to be wiped from existence, even with them having little to no purpose living anymore. You know, with their friends and families being dead.
The ponies and dragon ran out of the stairway as fast as they could, falling into the secret laboratory the cloaked pony owned.
----
“What?”, Twilight asked. “What is this place?”
“Wow, this is creepy! Even I am getting unnerved by this!”, Rainbow Dash claimed.
They wandered around the Laboratory, when Twilight noticed a mysterious machine on the ceiling. It was labeled: “Particle Accelerator”, and it was functioning. It had a big metal base with controls, and a giant circular ring with an electric charge inside.
Twilight wondered, “Could this be the reason for the existence of the entities?”, but before she could come to a conclusion, Rainbow Dash announced that she found an emergency exit on the upside-down laboratory’s floor.
“Aww, great work, Rainbow!”, Applejack proudly said.
“Ah’ can’t believe it!”, Apple Bloom said with enthusiasm. “We might actually get out of here!”.
“Go, Rainbow Dash!”, Scootaloo yelled with an excited tone.
Rainbow opened the door, only to get splashed with pouring water, much to the surprise of everypony else. She quickly closed the door before things got out of hand.
“What the what was that?!”, she asked with an angry tone.
“Oh no!”, Apple murmured when realization hit her on the noggin like a coconut. “We’re at the bottom of the sea!!”
“What?!!”, replied Twilight. “But how?! I thought we were near land!”
“The water here was salt water!”, Applejack stated. “The waves must have carried the dome out to sea before sinking!”
And that was actually true. They were trapped at the bottom of the ocean. Just then, water started flowing in from the doorway the ponies and dragon entered through, flooding the upside-down laboratory.
“Oh no!!”, Twilight yelled.
“Somepony, help us!! Please!!”, Spike yelled out.
Everypony panicked. They were trapped with absolutely no way out. The ponies and dragon backed up into the corner of the wall.
“Apple Bloom, if we die, Ah’ just wanna tell ya’, Ah’ love you so much!!”, Applejack told Apple Bloom, with her replying with, “Ah’ love you too, Applejack!!”, while whimpering.
The ponies and dragon told each other how much they loved one another, until the water level started rising faster. They huddled together, watching the water go up to their necks. They took one last breath before their inevitable death.
----
SURPRISE!!! It was all a dream! Apple Bloom’s dream to be exact!
Apple Bloom woke up from her nightmare gasping. It was revealed that she was still sleeping on the couch with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. It was dark outside, and the clock read 10:26 PM. Apple Bloom looked at her belly, and it was the size of a softball. She quickly concluded that she never left the couch, she never went to the Mexican Restaurant for dinner, nobody was dead, and the slushie didn’t digest as fast as Apple Bloom thought it did. She was utterly relieved when she realized that all that drama was just in her head, and didn’t actually happen.
But she did wonder why Princess Luna wasn’t there to help her with her nightmare. She leaped off the couch and to the balcony, getting some fresh air. But her eyes shrunk to a pinpoint when she saw the sky.
“No, this can’t be real!”, she whispered to herself, just standing there in shock. She saw the same hexagonal pattern from her dream in the sky.
“This city actually does have a dome”, she whispered to herself, with utter shock. She backed away from the balcony, where Applejack entered the door, with Rarity and Rainbow Dash following her.
“Hoo-wee! That was darn-tootin’ fun!”, Applejack shouted.
“I know! The time we had today was awesome!”, Rainbow Dash replied.
“I had so much time to relax!”, Rarity added.
“Hey, Rarity, why don’t ya’ take Sweetie back to your room? And Rainbow, why don’t ya’ do the same with Scoots?”, Applejack asked, to which Rarity and Rainbow agreed.
Rarity grabbed Sweetie Belle with her magic and brought her back to her room, and Rainbow Dash carried Scootaloo back to her room.
“Hey, Apple Bloom! You’re sure gonna have some fun tomorrow!”, Applejack exclaimed, with no response from Apple Bloom.
“Sugarcube, what’s wrong?”, Applejack asked with a calm and modest tone.
Apple Bloom started tearing up. She turned around and ran into Applejack’s arms, crying into her chest.
“Oh, Apple Bloom, what’s the matter?”, Applejack asked with a concerned voice.
“I had a horrible nightmare!!”, she exclaimed.
Apple Bloom explained the entire nightmare from beginning to end. She mentioned every detail, every plotline, everything. She also mentioned how Princess Luna wasn’t in it, and how the same hexagonal dome from her dream was actually there the whole time. After she was finished, she went back to sobbing into Applejack’s chest.
Applejack held on tight to Apple Bloom, telling her, “Everything’s gonna be okay, Apple Bloom. You’re safe now. We’ll talk to Stephen about your nightmare tomorrow. But for now, ya’ best get to sleep”.
Apple Bloom looked up at Applejack with tears still in her eyes.
“May Ah’ sleep with you tonight, Applejack?”, she asked.
“Yes, you may”, Applejack replied, while carrying her little sister up to Applejack’s bedroom.
Apple Bloom quickly brushed her teeth, took a five minute shower, and snuggled into bed with Applejack. Applejack held onto Apple Bloom while preparing to sleep.
“Ah’ love you, Sugarcube!”, Applejack told Apple Bloom. “Ah’ love you too, big sister!”, Apple Bloom replied while falling into a peaceful slumber. Apple Bloom slept wonderfully that night, satisfied acknowledging that Applejack was there for her.
The sun rose above the City of Kransitogo, shining its beautiful sunlight onto the buildings.
Applejack woke up, and looked over at Apple Bloom, who was still asleep. Being the great big sister that she is, she pulled the covers over Apple Bloom, and let the little filly sleep rest more.
“I’ll be right back, sugarcube!”, Applejack whispered to Apple Bloom, while rubbing her mane.
Afterwards, she left her room, and met the rest of the Mane Six in the hallway. The six ponies all looked at each other, and nodded before walking down the hallway.
In the hotel’s lobby, the Peace Family was waiting for the Mane Six to arrive. After they finally made it to the lobby, they sat down for tea and donuts, and prepared to talk about Apple Bloom’s nightmare.
“How did you not see the dome?”, Stephen asked. “It has been here the whole time!”
“I guess we were so taken away by the amazingness that was this city, we haven’t really noticed those details”, Twilight replied.
“But, why didn’t you mention the dome at the auditorium?”, Applejack asked.
“We thought you all already knew, and we didn’t want to point out the obvious”, Flare explained.
“Yeah, because it was very easy to acknowledge the hexagonal sky with our mindsets being focused on everything else!”, Rainbow Dash sarcastically said.
“Ah’ still have questions! How did the dome appear in Apple Bloom’s nightmare, despite the fact she hasn’t seen the dome up until she woke up from said nightmare? And why wasn’t Princess Luna in said nightmare, even though it’s her job to save ponies from their nightmares?”, Applejack asked.
“We don’t know”, Stephen replied.
“There are actually many mysteries surrounding this city”, Flare mentioned.
“Mysteries?”, Twilight replied. “What do you mean mysteries?”
“Follow us”, Stephen said as he, along with the rest of the Peace Family, got up from their seats and walked outside. The Mane Six followed them, and they walked through the city. The city was busy that morning. The ponies were refurbishing the buildings and the attractions were being tested. The sun was pretty bright, the air was fresh, and the sounds of the wind were relaxing. As they walked down the streets, Stephen cleared his throat, and prepared to explain the backstory of the City of Kransitogo.
“I think it’s time we explain everything. Time we explain the wall, the entities, and the overall backstory of this place”, Stephen told the Mane Six.
----
“About ten years ago, this city wasn’t actually a city, but rather a small town. A town similar to YOUR hometown, Ponyville. The citizens were very happy with their home. Heck, they were even happier back then than they are now. Do you want to know why? Because they had more freedom! Unfortunately, that freedom didn’t last”
“On one fateful day, in the Town of Kransitogo, a curious filly decided to take a walk in the woods. Unfortunately, she didn’t know the danger that she would find in the woods. As she was trotting along, she saw the silhouette of another filly. She greeted it in a friendly way, with no response. She trotted closer to it, and was stunned when she found, herself. Or, what I mean is, it was another one of her. Except that version had glowing green eyes, no mouth, no nostrils, was transparent, and was MAD. The creature just stood there, staring at the little filly. The filly quickly ran away from the creature, with the creature quickly chasing her. After she made it out of the woods, the townsponies saw the action, and saw the creature touch the filly with its hoof, causing them both to completely disappear”
“The creature she ran into was an antimatter entity. The entity wiped the little filly from existence. Every trace of her existence was also erased. Everypony saw what happened, and knew the filly was wiped from existence. They couldn’t remember who the filly was, but they did know that whoever she was, she was gone forever. After that incident, they quickly built a giant wall around the town, protecting themselves from the entities. Since then, the wall just kept growing larger, taller, and wider. And eventually, the dome was built, keeping the entities out for good. They also built a tunnel that connects this city to the rest of Equestria, with the tunnel ending on the other side of a border that keeps the entities inside that specific area of Equestria”
“The citizens believe that the reason for the existence of these entities is because of a machine that hides underneath the city. A machine being illegally run by a serious criminal. They say the machine is a particle accelerator, one that was poorly built because of budget constraints. And thanks to that fact, the entities continue to exist, and they aren’t going to disappear anytime soon unless somebody shuts the machine down. That’s part of the reason why the Peace Family came here. So we can find the machine, and shut it off for good. We want to free this city from the entities. Isolating everypony in. We don’t know how Apple Bloom saw the dome in her dream, or why Princess Luna didn’t appear, but still”
----
“Wow”, Twilight replied. “That’s dark”
“Hold on”, Rainbow Dash said. “I understand if you wanted us, the Mane Six, to help you guys with your mission. But why did you invite so many of our friends here as well?”, she asked, with Flare responding with, “Because this place is awesome, duh! We just wanted to be nice, and invite so many of your friends here!”
“Wait, Apple Bloom did mention a particle accelerator device in her nightmare!”, Applejack realized.
“Really?! Where was it?!”, Stephen quickly asked.
“Ah’ think she said it was in the hotel’s basement!”, Applejack answered, with Flare Spark replying to her answer with, “Then THAT’S where we’re headed!”
The Mane Six and the Peace Family ran back into the hotel. But Applejack stopped when she noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders walking out of the indoor water park. Apple Bloom was wearing a green one-piece bathing suit and a pair of sunglasses, Scootaloo was wearing a red one-piece bathing suit and a pair of goggles on her forehead, and Sweetie Belle was wearing a pink one-piece bathing suit and a sunhat. All three of them were carrying their swimming bags as well.
“Oh, hey Apple Bloom”, Applejack said, as Apple Bloom and her friends stopped and looked at Applejack.
Apple Bloom moved her sunglasses to her forehead as she replied, “Hi Applejack! Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and I had such an awesome time at the hotel’s water park with Babs Seed! We rode these giant four person waterslides, we relaxed in the hot tub and lazy river, and we had a delicious lunch!”
“Wow! Sounds like ya’ had a blast! Where ya’ headed now?”, asked Applejack.
“We’re now heading to the arcade!”, Sweetie Belle replied.
“Yeah! I’m going to win over ten thousand tickets!”, Scootaloo yelled with excitement.
“Okay, but aren’t ya’ going to change back into your peace suits?”, asked Applejack again.
“Not yet”, Apple Bloom replied. “We’ve worn our peace suits for two days straight, so we want to wear something that doesn’t cover up as much skin, and what else but our bathing suits? We’ll change back after our time at the arcade, but for now, we want our Cutie Marks to get fresh air!”
That last part made Applejack chuckle a bit. The Crusaders ran off after saying goodbye, with Applejack being happy they had a great time.
“Applejack, come on! We need to find the device!”, Twilight reminded Applejack.
“Oh, sorry!”, Applejack replied, as she attempted to catch up with her friends, which she did.
“Why’d you stop?”, Twilight asked.
“Ah’ saw my sister and her friends finally having fun! Ah’m really happy for her!”, Applejack replied with joy.
“That’s sweet, but please don’t get distracted! We need to shut off that device!”, Twilight replied.
Applejack’s face drooped a little, leading Twilight to apologize for being a tad forceful.
“Ladies and gentleponies”, Stephen announced. “The basement”
----
The ponies have finally made it to the door that leads to the basement. Stephen opened the door slowly, and peeked inside, finding the same elevator from Apple Bloom’s nightmare. But, of course, since it was really small the Mane Six and the Peace Family all had to squeeze in, again. The ponies were not pleased nor comfortable in the elevator at all.
Once the group of ponies made it to the staircase, they all knew that Apple Bloom was right about the staircase being creepy. They all walked down carefully, making sure not to disturb anypony who may be down there. And that’s when Applejack remembered.
“Wait, didn’t Apple Bloom say there was a painting of a pizzeria with an entity inside?”, she thought to herself.
She looked to her left, and believe it or not, she saw the painting. Only this time, the entity wasn’t there. Applejack shuttered with fear, as she continued walking down the stairs.
Stephen opened the door that was at the end of the staircase, and the group of ponies gasped after they saw what was on the other side. Can you guess what they saw? Of course you can. You’ve known about it since chapter two. It’s the laboratory.
I mean, they knew that they were going to see a laboratory, but they were shocked when they saw what was inside. The machinery inside looked like it came from the future. A lot of the gadgets had a circular artstyle, the metal was completely nonexistent of rust, and the chemicals were glowing bright greens and purples. Heck, for as awesome the city looked, it still looked like it came from the present, rather than far from the future.
The group of ponies all had one thought in mind when they saw the futuristic devices, “Who built this place?, as nopony actually knew, yet. That’s when they saw the particle accelerator, running as quick as Sonic the Hedgepony, and looking as unfinished as a movie made by the Asylum. But from the looks of it, the device seemed to be getting repaired, while it was still running.
Twilight saw blueprints on the table, and it seemed the owner of the laboratory was trying to rebuild it in a way where he could take control of the entities. Once Twilight realized what the owner’s plan was, she quickly warned the rest of the Mane Six and the Peace Family.
But after the group of ponies heard the truth, they heard a pony stomping his hooves, and they turned around to see the cloaked pony applauding them for finding the truth, evilly.
“Well done, Twilight Sparkle! You found the truth!”, the anonymous figure said.
“What the-? Who are you?!”, Stephen asked.
The cloaked pony removed his hood, with everypony gasping at his reveal.
“No, it can’t be!”, Twilight said with a shocked tone. The pony who was hidden behind the cloak was, Stephen Fisher, from the future.
The Mane Six and the Peace Family stared at Stephen Fisher’s future self in utter shock. Their jaws dropped down to the floor, their pupils were almost nonexistent, and they didn’t move a muscle.
“What, surprised to see that I, Stephen Fisher, am the one running this operation?”, Future Stephen sarcastically said.
“No, this isn’t possible!! How, what, why, who, I don’t, um, uh, what the heck is going on?!!”, Stephen asked and shouted with complete confusion.
“Oh, silly me!”, Future Stephen snickered. “I guess I need to explain my backstory!”
Future Stephen starting chuckling devilishly while the Mane Six and the Peace Family coward with pure terror and horror. The group of ponies backed away from Future Stephen, but not very far. They didn’t have anywhere safe to go. He eventually stopped chuckling, and cleared his throat.
“Alright, if you need context, that’s what you’ll be getting!”, Future Stephen said with an unsettling voice.
“So, as you all know, I’m from the future! And not a very pleasant future. Back in my original timeline, on the same day you all took a vacation to come here, the City of Kransitogo wasn’t the city you see today. It was still the Town of Kransitogo! And in our original timeline, me, the rest of the Peace Family, and the Mane Six decided to take a vacation there, since it was an area of Equestria we haven’t heard of before. The town seemed friendly enough, so we decided to introduce ourselves. Unfortunately, the townsponies were not too kind to the Mane Six”
“Wait, what?”, Twilight interrupted.
“Hey!!”, Future Stephen scowled. “Do NOT interrupt me while I am speaking!! But anyways”
“They were furious at the Mane Six, blaming them for all the events that have happened over the years. The attacks from your fellow foes, the destruction of the land, and other things that were not even your faults! They claim that if you six never met, the antagonists would’ve never formed and they wouldn't have attacked, clearly ignoring the fact that you guys actually STOPPED those incidents for good! Heck, when you finally defeated King Sombra, they didn’t care! They still blamed you for his attack, and the destruction of the Tree of Harmony! The Peace Family and I tried to defend the Mane Six, but that only made them mad at us as well! And to put the cherry on top of the crap sundae, instead of just kicking us out of the city, they locked all of us up to starve in an underground dungeon!”
----
“Yeah, you heard me right! They were attempting to kill us, for no reason! Sure, getting kicked out is equally bad, but we saved Equestria multiple times, and this was how they repaid us! We were trapped down there for who knows how long. We were growing old, hungry, and weak. It was only a matter of time before one of us died of starvation. And do you know who died first? Flare Spark!”, he growled.
Flare actually gasped at this information. She knew how hard it would be for Stephen if one of his closest friends died.
“It was tragic. Really tragic. She died at age 26, which was too young. But surprisingly, it was a good thing she died first, because that gave me the motivation to get revenge on this stupid and horrible city for what they’ve done to me! To us! The Mane Six and the remaining members of the Peace Family used their strength to get the lock off both my horn and my wings. Then I went undercover and stole various parts from the town, so I could build a time machine. I also stole food and water for obvious reasons. After the time machine was complete, we went back to the year when Twilight moved into Ponyville for the first time. But we didn’t mess up THAT timeline. Instead, we went back to the Town of Kransitogo, stole even more parts, and snuck back into the dungeon, where I built the particle accelerator that stands right behind you!”
“The parts weren’t very strong, but the machine still managed to function. And the antimatter entities were created. Then the little filly was wiped from existence, and nobody remembered who she was, except me. I put my blood into the machine, so whenever a pony gets wiped from existence, I’m still able to remember who that pony was! And that poor little filly, she was the mayor’s daughter! I went undercover again so I could break the news to her. Once I told her that the filly was her daughter, she quickly remembered her, and was heartbroken after hearing she was gone forever”
“That night, she tried to take her mind off of her daughter’s disappearance by watching Family Pony, but she watched the infamous episode, Brian’s a Bad Father! She saw the scene where Imperfect Peter asked his wife how slit his wrist, and that put the thought of suicide in her head! And believe it or not, she actually committed suicide! Serves her right!”, he laughed.
“You’re laughing, at a suicide?!! What the heck is wrong with you?!!”, Flare Spark furiously asked.
“Absolutely nothing!”, replied Future Stephen. “I can laugh at anything I want! I’m evil! Now if you’ll stop interrupting me”
----
“She killed herself during the wall-building process, making the work even harder. But they eventually finished the wall, and turned the town into the city you’re at right now. Unfortunately for us, that meant the entities couldn’t get in. And they couldn’t just go through the tunnel, because of the barrier”
“Hold on”, Applejack said. “What if the barrier was the reason why Princess Luna couldn’t appear in Apple Bloom’s nightmare?”
“That actually makes a lot of sense”, Fluttershy claimed.
“Aren’t you guys even listening to me?!!”, Future Stephen asked with an angry tone.
“Yeah, of course we’re listening!!”, Stephen Fisher yelled. “We’ve been listening for the past hour!!”
“Then stop interrupting me, Gosh darn it!”, Future Stephen demanded. “Anyways, since the machine was built so poorly, the entities only had so much power. They couldn’t harm anypony anymore. Not anypony within the City of Kransitogo, and not anypony outside the barrier. But once I finish building this machine, I’ll have complete control over the entities! I’ll make them phase through the wall, and I’ll wipe every single citizen in this town from existence!”
Everypony in the room gasped once again. They were shocked that he would wipe an entire civilization out of existence like that.
“You can’t do that!!”, Twilight shouted. “There are innocent ponies in this city right now!”
“Oh, relax!”, Future Stephen snarked. “I’m not going to let the entities hurt your friends! They’ll be fine! Also, once the actual citizens of Kransitogo are gone, I’ll shut off the machine for good! And all’s well, that ends well!”
“But they’ve been so nice to us!”, Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
“Yeah! They’ve treated us well!, Rainbow Dash added. “They’ve given us plenty of food, plenty of fun, and so much more!”
“I don’t care!! That doesn’t excuse what they’ve done to MY Flare Spark!! And do you know why they’re acting nice to you? Because they haven’t experienced any of the events that they accused you of causing, and you can thank the dome for that! Also, if I shut the machine down now, I’ll fade away, with the timeline being different!”
“Wait, shouldn’t you be gone now?”, Twilight asked. “I mean, the timeline is already different, so shouldn’t-”
“Well, I haven’t told you EVERYTHING about my plan yet”, he mentioned.
“Wait, what else haven’t you told us yet?”, Stephen angrily asked.
“Well, you see, once I get the entities to erase this city’s citizens from existence, I’ll make them touch all of you as well, except Flare Spark! Then me and my friends will take your places!”
“Wait, what do you mean friends?!!”, Rarity asked with a shuttery voice.
Just then, the lights in the lab turned on, startling the Mane Six and the Peace Family. Spotlights pointed toward the group of ponies, and shined bright. Older versions of the Mane Six and the Peace Family, ran across the bridge and pointed guns at the group.
“I’m talking about these friends! You know, at first I was worried about you coming here to shut off my machine too early, but I guess it was a blessing rather than a convenience! Once all of you, except Flare Spark, are gone, me and the rest of my friends will age down to your current ages! We’ll take your places, and after we send everybody on their way, I’ll destroy this city! Our revenge will be complete!”
“Are you crazy?!!”, Twilight screamed. “You can’t do this!! Those ponies might’ve mistreated you in your timeline, but you’ve already prevented them from becoming mean! You’ve already caused a pony to commit suicide! Why can’t you just leave the timeline as it is and just shut the machine off for good?!”
“Because we don’t want to!!”, Future Stephen said. “We’ve worked so hard to get to this point! We aren’t going to shut our project down and lose our progress just because YOU guys didn’t suffer the same fate WE did! Heck, all of us are forty years old! I’m sorry, but this is just how it has to be! My friends, get those ponies!”
The future versions of the Mane Six and the future versions of the Peace Family all lunged towards the Mane Six and the Peace family. Afterwards, the group of ponies were chained to the wall, with the unicorns having their horns chained up, the pegasi having their wings chained up, and the alicorns having both chained up.
“There! Now you’re all trapped! Now nobody can stop us! Oh, and don’t expect Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to come rescue you, because they can NOT pass through the barrier! Our machine will be finished by the end of the week! That’s when we’ll wipe you from existence! Until then, you’ll just have to hang around!”, Future Stephen taunted.
“You will NOT get away with this!”, Twilight scowled.
“And what makes you think we won’t?”, Future Stephen asked. “I’ve made it this far, and there is little to nothing in my way that can stop me! So, yeah! We’re so getting away with this!”
Little did they know, Spike, who was wearing a green bathing suit at the moment, had actually followed them down after seeing them sneak into the basement elevator, and after he walked out of the waterpark with Big Macintosh, who was wearing a blue bathing suit. He heard what was going to happen to the Mane Six and the Peace Family, and he wasn't happy about it.
He had to take the second ride down the elevator after the first one finished, but he managed to catch Future Stephen chaining the Mane Six and the Peace Family up.
After he heard what Future Stephen was going to do to his friends, he snuck out of there, flew up the staircase, took a ride up the elevator, and got out of there as fast as he could.
----
Meanwhile, the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked back into Applejack’s bedroom laughing while still wearing their bathing suits. They were carrying awesome arcade prizes, including a giant teddy bear, a basketball, a miniature Pac-Pony Machine, Miniature Battle for Dream Island collectables, two medium sized Lego sets, a small billiards table, a dartboard, and thirty seven full sized candy bars.
“Applejack, ya’ll never believe how many prizes we won at the arcade today!”, Apple Bloom announced, to no response. “Huh, Ah’ thought Applejack would be back here by now”
“Don’t worry about it, Apple Bloom”, Scootaloo said. “I’m just excited to put these awesome prizes in our treehouse! It will be even cooler!”
“20% cooler?”, Apple Bloom asked, to which Scootaloo chuckled after understanding the reference.
Sweetie Belle opened the door to Rarity’s room, and called out for her, to no response. Scootaloo did the same thing shortly afterwards with Rainbow Dash’s room, also to no response.
“Hold on, Ah’ll be right back”, Apple Bloom told her friends as she walked up the stairs.
She opened the door to her grandmother's room, where Granny Smith was just resting on her bed, much to Apple Bloom’s relief.
“Hey, grandma? Have you seen Applejack?”, Apple Bloom asked, as she nudged her arm.
Granny Smith looked down at her granddaughter, and replied with, “No, I haven’t, dear”, before resting her head back on her pillow.
Apple Bloom was confused. As she walked back down the stairs, Sweetie Belle walked out of Rarity’s room, claiming that her parents didn’t know where she was. Scootaloo walked out of Rainbow Dash’s room as well, claiming she asked Rainbow’s parents where she was, which they didn’t know. The trio sat on the couch, wondering where they were. Just then, Spike kicked the door open, with horror written on his face.
“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo!!!”, Spike shouted before tripping on Scootaloo’s miniature Pac-Pony machine and face-planting onto the floor, causing the Crusaders to help him up and ask if he was okay, to which he said yes.
“What’s wrong?”, Apple Bloom asked, to which Spike replied, “The Mane Six and the Peace Family are in serious trouble!! THAT’S what’s wrong!!”, causing the crusaders to become concerned.
“What do ya’ mean, Spike?!”, Apple Bloom asked Spike with a concerned look on her face.
“The Mane Six and the Peace Family are being held captive by versions of themselves from the future! I don’t know what happened, but what I do know is when the future version of Stephen Fisher finishes repairing his particle accelerator, he’s going to take control of the entities and he’s gonna use them to wipe the all the residence of the City of Kransitogo, AND the Mane Six, And the Peace Family!!”, Spike exclaimed while flailing his arms.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders gasped. They thought their older sisters were just out in the city, but they were in grave danger. But Apple Bloom’s facial expression quickly changed from worried to determined.
“Spike, get as many of our friends and allies over here as ya’ can!”, Apple Bloom told Spike.
Spike’s face also changed from worried to determined, quickly understanding what Apple Bloom was thinking. He nodded at what Apple Bloom told him, and he flew out of the room.
----
That night, a huge group of ponies and other creatures were in Applejack’s room. The Crusaders, Big Macintosh, and Spike were all back in their Peace Suits. Spike walked up to the table that was in the center of the room holding a pointer, and cleared his throat.
“Attention, our fellow friends and allies! We have a massive crisis on our hands! The Mane Six and the Peace Family are being held captive by future versions of themselves! If we don’t do something soon, they’re gonna get wiped from existence!”, Spike warned, making everypony worried.
“But don’t worry! I have a plan!”, Spike told everypony, as he pointed his pointer at the blueprints.
“So, we all know that the Mane Six and the Peace Family are being held captive in the basement’s secret laboratory, but I don’t think their future-selves will be there 24/7! At some point, they’re going to have to leave so they can get more parts for the accelerator! I know all of them will leave at the same time so they can cover more ground, and I also know that Future Stephen has an assistant that will guard the lab until they're back! But if we all work together, we can take down his assistant!”
“Everypony is going to have parts during this operation! Me, Starlight, Sunset, the Crusaders, and the Mini Six are going to be the ones who will rescue the Mane Six and the Peace Family! The rest of you will have to keep an eye on the Future versions of our friends as they find the parts! We can not have them catching us!”, Spike explained.
Then Spike pulled out these small black boxes with red buttons, and handed them to the ponies he didn’t say he was bringing to the laboratory with him.
“If you see any of them walk into the hotel, press these buttons, and it will alert me! Observe!”, Spike announced as he pressed one of the buttons, causing his peace necklace to light up for a few seconds.
“Are we clear on the plan?”, Spike asked, with everypony nodding. “Perfection!”
Then everypony in the room did a hooves-in and prepared to execute their plan. ----
The ponies woke up at 6:00 AM, with Spike, the Crusaders, Starlight, Sunset, and the Mini Six sneaking out of the room, and riding the elevator to the lobby. They hid behind a laundry cart as the Future Six and the Future Peace Family snuck out of the basement door, and snuck out of the hotel.
“Let’s do this!”, Spike said, as he and his group ran into the basement door.
After they went inside the basement door, the rest of the ponies ran outside the Hotel and followed the Future versions as they traveled to different portions of the city. It was really hard work, but the ponies managed to keep track of the group of ponies from the future.
Soon enough, Spike and his group finally made it to the staircase, and walked down it slowly. Spike saw the painting of the pizzeria once again, and this time, the entity was there. But the entity wasn’t glowing a radioactive green, its eyes weren’t glowing purple, and it was animated more smoothly. From the looks of it, it just looked like somebody in a bunny costume waving.
But Spike didn’t wanna wait to see what it did next, so he quickly ran down the stairs, and caught up with the rest of the group.
“Spike, why’d you stop?”, Apple Bloom asked.
“I saw that same entity from your nightmare! It wasn’t glowing, but it was there!”, Spike quietly replied.
----
When they finally made it to the bottom of the staircase, Future Stephen’s assistant caught them, and ran towards them, while shouting, “Hey! You’re not allowed in her-”
Fortunately, for Spike and his group, Starlight and Sunset picked him up using their magic, and threw him into the wall, knocking him out.
“Good work, Starlight and Sunset!”, Spike congratulated, with the two unicorns thanking him afterwards.
Spike then flew up and found the Mane Six and the Peace Family chained to the wall. And boy, were they happy to see him.
“Spike, you came to rescue us!”, Twilight cried with joy.
“Oh, it wasn’t just me!”, Spike replied as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Starlight, Sunset, and the Mini Six ran up to their cell.
The Mane Six and the Peace Family cheered for Spike and his group as they broke the chains off their hooves, and the locks off their horns and wings. They were free.
Twilight hugged Spike, thanking him and everyone else for freeing them. Spike hugged Twilight back. But the hug didn’t last long, as Spike’s necklace lit up, warning him that the Future Six and the Future Peace Family were coming back.
“Come on, we need to get out of here!”, Spike warned everypony.
“Wait, we can’t leave now! We need to shut off that particle accelerator!”, Twilight quickly mentioned, with Spike grabbing her hoof saying, “No time!”
The Mane Six, the Peace Family, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Mini Six, Starlight, Sunset, and Spike all ran to the Laboratory’s exit, but stopped after realizing the Future versions of the Mane Six and Peace Family would be on the elevator by then.
“Oh no, we’re trapped!!”, Spike yelled with fear.
Thankfully, Applejack and Apple Bloom remembered that in Apple Bloom’s nightmare, there was an emergency exit on the Laboratory’s floor, and they weren’t at the bottom of the sea this time.
“Come on!”, Applejack exclaimed as she grabbed Apple Bloom and ran behind the particle accelerator.
She found the emergency exit, and she, along with everypony else, quickly jumped in. The exit’s door quickly shut before the Future Six and the Future Peace Family walked into the lab.
Future Stephen was shocked after he saw the Mane Six and the Peace Family were not in their chain. He quickly realized that their friends must’ve found the entrance to the Lab and freed them. And that meant eventually, the entire civilization of the City of Kransitogo could find the accelerator and put an end to their plan.
“Guys, we’re going to have to postpone our Particle Accelerator project”, Future Stephen quietly announced. “Other ponies know about our plan. At some point, they're going to shut us down! We can’t have that happen! Right now, we need to add more security to our lab! Add in more cameras, add in laser doors, add in titanium steel, add anything that will protect our lab! If they shut down our plan, we’re toast!”
“We’re already starting to fade away, and if we don’t execute our plan soon, we’ll be gone for good! We need to finish the machine before the end of their vacation! If we don’t, they’ll leave this place for who knows how long? By then, our existence will be no more! Also, I want the Mane Six and the Peace Family back here! And I want all of this done by the end of the week, understand?!”, Future Stephen demanded.
The Future Six and the Future Peace Family nodded, and they got to work.
“This won’t be the end of us! This won’t be the end of me! I’ll make my plan work, no matter what it takes!”, Future Stephen ominously mumbled to himself.
----
It turns out the emergency exit that Mane Six, the Peace Family, Starlight, Sunset, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Mini Six, and Spike took was a slide. They screamed as they slid down for two reasons. Because of the speed, and because of the bizarre imagery they saw. There were these colorful gears and moving parts. It looked like the machinery you’d see in the preschool cartoon, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, except not on a television show budget.
The ride lasted for seven whole minutes before ending with the group sliding through a giant hexagon hole. Meanwhile, one of the hexagon-shaped tiles of the dome was slowly flipping over. After it finished flipping, the group fell out of the hexagon tile at high speeds and landed in the city’s waterpark, where each pony and creature landed on different waterslides, and slid down even more.
When they made it to the bottom of the slides, they reunited at the park’s food-area with their peace suits all soaking wet.
“Dang it!”, Spike pouted. “I wish I was still wearing my bathing suit instead of this!”
“Spike?”, Twilight disappointedly asked. “We could’ve just shut that particle accelerator down, and we would’ve been fine! Both the entities, and the Future Six, AND the Future Peace Family would be gone! Why didn’t you shut it off when we had the chance?! What is wrong with you?!!!”
Twilight’s yelling shocked Spike, along with the rest of the group. He stood there, with his face frozen, and his limbs not moving at all.
“Oh, Spike! I’m sorry! I didn’t-, uh, I didn’t mean to-”, Twilight tried to convey, to not much success.
“Spike, are you okay?”, Stephen Fisher asked.
“No, Stephen. I’m not okay…”, Spike whimpered as he curled up into a ball, feeling unappreciated for saving the Mane Six in the first place.
Twilight felt really bad for yelling at Spike. She remembered how hard Spike worked to free them, and her ungratefulness was uncalled for.
“Spike”, Twilight quietly said as he walked up to Spike. “Please, I didn’t mean to hurt you! I, I couldn’t”
Twilight had a hard time apologizing for her outburst. So instead of apologizing with her words, she apologized with her actions. She hugged Spike tightly, letting him know she cared for him.
“Spike, can you please forgive me?”, Twilight asked while attempting not to cry.
Spiked looked back up at her with teary eyes. He nodded his head twice before hugging her back. They embraced for what seemed like forever, even though it was actually only ten minutes. They eventually stopped hugging each other, and Twilight took a deep breath before actually explaining things to Spike in a calm way.
“Look, I was just upset because we could’ve ended all of this easily! But we passed up on that chance! I just want to put an end to the danger and drama that hides beneath this town! Being trapped in that laboratory for a full night was dreadful! But, I admit, I overreacted. You did rescue us after all, and I should’ve been more grateful”, Twilight explained to Spike.
“It’s okay, Twilight”, Spike replied with a semi-quiet voice. “It just felt like you didn’t appreciate me anymore!”
“Spike, I could NEVER stop appreciating you! You almost always help me when I’m in danger, AND you always help me with stuff I do daily!”, Twilight told him.
“I know that!”, Spike replied while blushing a bit.
Then Twilight decided to lift Spike onto her back, and told everypony, “We should probably head back to the hotel and actually talk about what happened”
Everypony agreed and they walked to the hotel. While on the way, Twilight looked at the residents of the City of Kransitogo. And that put a sad, yet scary thought into her head. “What if these citizens actually experienced what has happened over the years?”
“Future Stephen said these ponies were only treating us nicely because they didn’t get to experience any of the attacks our enemies put us through, or anything like that. Would they actually treat us differently if the dome was never built?”
That thought just sat there in Twilight’s mind. She didn’t know, and she didn’t want to find out either.
After the group of ponies and other creatures finally made it back to the hotel, everypony cheered for the return of the Mane Six and the Peace Family. They were severely worried that they wouldn’t make it back.
Everypony congratulated Spike and his group for having the plan in the first place. Twilight wanted to tell everypony what happened, but she decided to wait until the ponies were done cheering.
Eventually, the ponies did stop cheering, and that’s when Twilight walked up to speak. Twilight explained everything that happened while she was trapped in the laboratory. She explained Future Stephen’s backstory, his plan, and the versions of the Mane Six and the Peace Family from the future.
“Wait, they were planning to wipe ya’ guys from existence and then take your places?!”, Apple Bloom asked.
“I’m afraid so, Apple Bloom”, Twilight replied. “We escaped, but there is a chance they’ll capture us again, or worse”
Everypony looked at Twilight at her friends, concerned. Worried about what might happen if they aren’t careful.
“We can’t keep waiting!”, Twilight said as the tone of her voice went from worried to stern. “We can’t let that machine run any longer! We have to shut it down! It’s the only way to end this madness!”
Everypony around her agreed. Despite all the fun they’ve been having, the overall activity that was happening within the dome was paranormal.
“We need to defend ourselves at all costs! We can’t let them capture any of us! I don’t know what they are planning right now, but chances are, it involves us!”, Twilight explained.
The ponies around her understood quickly. They needed to protect not just the Mane Six, not just the Peace Family, but themselves as well.
“Now everypony, I suggest you get back to your rooms, and find objects to defend yourself with!”, Stephen announced, with everypony obeying him and walking upstairs.
----
That night, Applejack unpacked her lasso, preparing to use it in case of a break-in. But as she walked down the stairs, she saw Apple Bloom laying on the couch with her hooves all spread out, staring at the ceiling, thinking.
“Apple Bloom, what’s wrong?”, Applejack asked.
“What if Stephen’s backstory is somehow connected to me?”, Apple Bloom questioned.
“Huh?”, Applejack wondered. “What do ya’ mean?”
“Well, in Future Stephen’s backstory, he mentioned Family Pony, which was something I watched at the beginning of the vacation! He mentioned that the mayor watched it while the dome was being built! What if that somehow connects ta’ me? I saw the dome in my nightmare before I saw it in real life, and after I watched Family Pony!”, Apple Bloom explained with a somber tone.
“Hmm, what if the Particle Accelerator is giving off minor radiation poisoning, and it caused ya’ to foreshadow what has happened up to this point?”, Applejack asked. “Ah’ mean, if Future Stephen was able to remember the filly he wiped from existence just by inserting his blood into his accelerator, then radiation poisoning makes some sense”
“But why did this have ta’ happen to me? Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo also watched Family Pony, and they didn’t foreshadow anything!”, Apple Bloom pouted.
“Ah’m not sure!”, Applejack admitted, before Apple Bloom started whimpering.
“What if, Future Stephen is going to kidnap me next?! What if Ah’m his next target?! Applejack, Ah’m so scared!!”, Apple Bloom cried, as she broke down sobbing a puddle of tears.
Applejack’s heart shattered as she watched her little sister visibly bawl right in front of her. Of course, being the amazing big sister she is, Applejack ran up to Apple Bloom and hugged all her troubles away.
“Let it out, Sugarcube. Let it all out!”, Applejack told Apple Bloom with a comforting voice. “Let all your worries flow out of your body”
Apple Bloom’s uncontrollable sobbing seemed to never end. After two full hours, Apple Bloom still didn’t stop sobbing. Heck, Applejack started crying a little. She understood why her sister was upset, but she didn’t think the problem was this bad. At a level where Apple Bloom could cry for two hours straight with absolutely no pauses. And for Applejack, Apple Bloom’s crying didn’t get annoying. While Apple Bloom was sobbing hard, she wasn’t sobbing loudly.
Apple Bloom eventually stopped sobbing, but her eyes were still filled with tears. She looked up at Applejack, clearly worried about the future.
“Don’t worry, Apple Bloom! Ah’ will NOT allow Future Stephen OR his flip buddies dare to touch even the little bow on yer’ head! I promise!”, Applejack assured Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom’s frown turned into a smile, and she wiped the remaining tears out of her eyes and off her face. She was no longer worried, thanks to Applejack being there for her.
Afterwards, Applejack pushed her little sister onto the couch’s blanket, and rolled her up like a burrito. The blanket was wrapped into a cylinder, and Apple Bloom’s head was sticking out the top end. Applejack picked up Apple Bloom, and squeezed her with love and care.
“Ah’ love you, so much, Apple Bloom! You mean a whole lot to me! And Ah’ will never stop caring for you or your safety!”, Applejack assured Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom blushed. She admired the motherly love Applejack was giving her, and the blanket that she was wrapped in was so soft and cozy.
Applejack carried her little sister up to Applejack’s bedroom, and they slept together once again. They’ve already showered and brushed their teeth, so all they needed to do was to just fall asleep, which they did easily. Apple Bloom was glad she had her sister to protect her.
----
Little did Apple Bloom know, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo also had their own insecurities about the situation. Sweetie Belle was worried about not just her safety, but everypony’s safety as well. Scootaloo was worried about Rainbow Dash. She knew if Rainbow Dash disappeared, she wouldn’t have anypony to look up to anymore. She knew she would still have her parents and aunts, but to Scootaloo, losing Rainbow Dash forever would be equivalent to losing her sister forever.
Thankfully, like Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow comforted their respective sisters and reminded them that everything was going to be okay.
Heck, every filly in the hotel slept with their older siblings, parents, ect. With everypony’s safety at high risk, they couldn’t protect themselves enough.
Meanwhile, in the Peace Family’s room, which was at the top of the building, Stephen was sitting on his bed while Flare walked up behind him.
“Stephen?”, Flare asked. “I think we need to send everypony home, so just us, and the Mane Six can deal with Future Stephen’s plan. I mean, we can always come back”
“We, can’t leave yet”, Stephen sighed. “I think Future Stephen stole important parts from the train. Parts we can’t risk replacing right now. And the tunnels have multiple exits, so we can risk anybody getting lost! Our only option is to lay low until we have our opportunity to shut the accelerator down!”
Flare’s face drooped. She wanted to protect everypony so badly, but their best solution wasn’t open at the moment.
“Hey, we’ll talk about this more tomorrow”, Stephen explained. “For tonight, do you wanna sleep with me? You know, since everypony is sleeping with their allies as well?
Flare agreed, and snuggled into Stephen’s bed. They slept close together that night. Neither the Mane Six nor the Peace Family knew how to successfully shut the particle accelerator off for good. But they needed to figure something out soon, because if they didn’t, they would toast.
----
Meanwhile, back in the laboratory, Future Stephen himself was laying in his ragged and somewhat torn-up hammock. He had a look of contempt in his eyes. Contempt for those who fail to understand his motives. He took a good look at his hooves, watching them slowly fade for a second before fading back.
“I don’t have much time left”, he murmured to himself.
He quickly looked at the progress of the security system, which was about a quarter done. But even with the quick process, he didn’t like waiting. Heck, he didn’t like sleeping in the laboratory at all. He knew if he could execute his plan, he and his friends could finally go back to living the lives they lived in their original timeline. No more isolation, no more imprisonment, no more living underneath a city of ponies who treated them horribly in their original timeline, and no more waiting.
“It will be over soon”, he kept telling himself, to no success at making him feel better.
He was quite worried, actually. He knew if he didn’t succeed with his plan, not only would he and his friends fade from existence, but the citizens of the City of Kransitogo would get away with literally everything they’ve done in their original timeline.
Oddly, a small part of Future Stephen thought the citizens being isolated for about a decade should’ve been punishment enough. But he kept reminding himself that they’ve been isolated in paradise. And even if the citizens hated the dome, they’d still be free if he canceled his plan.
He thought about what he’s gone through the past ten years. The amount of hiding and isolating he’s been doing. All he wanted was for things to go back to normal. He wanted to get rid of the city and just pretend it never existed in the first place.
He saw the events of The Ending of the End, The Last Problem, and Generation Five from the future, thanks to his time machine, and he knew they weren’t going to happen unless he successfully executed his plan.
He got up from his hammock and walked down to the machine. He took a good long look at it, watching it struggling to function. The exhaust pipes were spewing out a dark black smog, the gauges were shuttering and wheezing, the bolts were rusting by the minute, and the electric charge that was in the center of the machine was dying down a little. Future Stephen sighed hard.
“I only need one more part for the accelerator. But with the high amount of caution the ponies above are taking, the task is going to be, well, difficult”, Stephen told himself.
It was only a matter of time before the ponies escaped the dome, and before the accelerator stopped functioning. The thing was old, and no matter how many parts were added, they wouldn’t fix the machine unless Future Stephen had the part he needed.
After he walked back up to the bridge, he saw his friends struggling to sleep. He felt really bad as he saw Future Twilight tossing and turning, with her blanket falling off her hammock. That’s when he lifted the blanket back onto Future Twilight and tucked her in, helping her sleep better. Hey, Future Stephen may be evil, but even evil can have a strong connection with its friends and allies.
----
Unlike her friends, the actual Twilight wasn’t sleeping with anypony for extra comfort or safety. Heck, she wasn’t even sleeping at all at the moment. Instead, she was looking at a map of the train tunnels. She had overheard Stephen and Flare when they mentioned the maze of tunnels the train track was connected to.
The map was quite detailed, much to Twilight’s delight, as the extra detail made it easier to navigate. But even then, the paths were too complex in terms of direction. They were all intertwined with each other, and there were also walking paths that connected specific tunnels with each other.
She tried to memorize the paths, and eventually did so.
Yeah, I’m gonna admit it, this story isn’t very good, so I’m just gonna rush through the rest of this.
The Mane Six travel through the tunnel but get cornered by the entities but they get saved by a teleportation spell.
The next day, the Mane Six and the Peace Family attack the basement and try to shut off the machine once and for all, but they press the wrong button and it sets the machine to self-destruct. The basement falls apart and the city malfunctions.
Thankfully, Twilight presses the emergency shutdown button at the last second, the city is saved, the entities are gone, everybody cheers, the future clones fade away peacefully, and the dome collapses letting the city free.
Before everybody goes home, all the characters from the show, this story, and all other MLP fanfictions, along with the MLP OC’s, take a photo in their peace suits, and everybody lives happily ever after the end, please make fanart out of this fanfiction because that’s the sole reason I created this also because I was in a state of depression, make sure you check out my YouTube Channel and DeviantArt Account goodbye.
