When Rainbow Dash wakes up to a burning Ponyville, nothing is as it seems anymore. She is left with only pegasi that are equally confused, and must attempt to discover what brought Equestria to ashes.
But as time goes on, back, and around, similar tragedies start happening to her friends, affecting the elements of harmony they bear. Can they work out what is causing these tragedies with their different pasts and futures before there’s no turning back?
(Formerly begun as Nightmare and Pinkie's Phantasm, Runining Harmony revamps Nightmare into Dash's Dilusion and combines the two stories before continuing on with other events.)
A thank you to Ekevoo of Equestria Daily's study chat. It is because of him checking each chapter before release that grammer errors or other mistakes are caught before each chapter is live.
Heat. Unbearable heat. The blue mare felt the hot wind as it blew and bit through her mane and on her coat. She attempted to curl into a ball, but pain shot through her body as she moved. Letting out a small cry, she held still. As the pain died away, the mare listened to the fast beats of her heart, a sensation that felt unusual to her, and it was slightly painful itself, as though it had stopped working for a little time.
She opened her eyes, but all she saw for a few seconds was an overly bright blur. Her head was resting on a painfully white pillow. Glad of the pain in her chest going away, the mare begun to think.
‘Who am I? Where am I? Why am I here? And what brought me here?’ she thought.
The vision in her eyes cleared up, and the pillow hurt less now to look at. Beyond it was a metal frame in a white that was equal to that of the pillow, save for the top edges which seemed to be darker. This confused the mare. Reaching a hoof out to investigate, she wiped at the top of a small bar, removing built up dust and dirt, and revealing the white colour of the bar underneath. And this led to a new question to come to mind.
‘How long have I been here?’
Closing her eyes tight, she raised herself on her hooves, then lowered her body into a sitting position on the bed. She kept her eyes closed as the pain subsided faster this time around. She blinked, and looked around, her mouth agape in shock at the sight before her.
The room she was in was a wreck, a wall far away had collapsed, taking most of the roof with it. What remained of both now lay on the floor of the room, covering several beds and a desk. Beyond the collapsed wall, buildings of the town burned, and a couple of them even collapsed, billowing fire into the sky. Some of the wreckage showed signs of being moved, but whatever had moved it was nowhere to be found in the room.
Back in the room, what remained wasn’t in much better shape. Items varying from needles to plastic pouches were scattered around haphazardly. One item in particular caught the mare’s eyes, it lay on the floor to the left of her. A simple get-well card. Reaching down, the mare picked it up.
The card wasn’t anything extraordinary, its front had balloons and the words ‘Get Well Soon!’ in a royal blue. The inside however made the mare read over it carefully multiple times. It begun with a name ‘To Rainbow Dash’.
‘Is... is that my name?’ the mare wondered. She closed her eyes, and thought hard, and a memory came to mind.
“Is she going to be okay Nurse Redheart?” a purple unicorn asked. It sounded familiar, yet strange.
“I won’t hide the truth from you Twilight Sparkle, her symptoms don’t fit any known illness. We can only do our best and hope.” a white earth pony replied within her memory.
“You know I am here,” she said to the two ponies before her, “you could at least say something more encouraging to lift my spirits!”
“Just, just go back to sleep Rainbow Dash. You’ll feel better before you know it.” the unicorn identified as Twilight Sparkle replied.
Her memory at least gave her something. She knew a name of somepony who clearly was important to her, and her own name. To her left, Rainbow Dash found a wooden table had been set up, and upon it were various items, everything covered in a layer of dust. The nearest was a small square mirror, and this she picked up, blowing on it to remove the dust. Holding it up, she looked into the mirror and the sight that reached her eyes.
Her blue coat was messy and dusty, as was her mane, which still had a visible rainbow colour. ‘How long have I been left alone in the wreck of this hospital?’ she wondered.
Tied to that table’s leg corner were strings leading to deflated balloons. ‘Pinkie Pie.’ The name came to her mind before she realised what it meant. There were other items on the table from her other friends, a bouquet of flowers, cards, a picture of Rainbow Dash and a tortoise, and a long rotten apple which was slowly turning to much. She elated as the memories of her friends flooded back in, remembering all the happy times with them between picnics and fighting evil.
With her memories and identity back in place, Rainbow Dash stared at what had befallen Ponyville. Buildings were either standing but gutted by fire, or had the misfortune of falling and remain on fire. Smoke billowed into the air, and the intense heat of the flames made her uncomfortable.
‘Now, what happened to the town?’ she asked herself. She closed her eyes again, and tried to recall the memory.
She sat there, staring at the fire. After she had spoken up to the nurse and Twilight, they had left to the corridor, to continue the conversation away from her. Twilight’s face explained everything though, there was something unusual about the illness. Rainbow Dash was a very athletic pegasus pony, as such, it was very rare for her to get ill. But right now, there was one thing that very clear to her.
‘Sitting here won’t help me fit in the remaining missing memories, I need to find out what’s going on with the town, and find somepony who can help me.’ she decided. Rainbow Dash climbed off the bed, pausing once more when pain filled her body. When it passed, she carefully walked through the wreckage of the hospital, and cautiously begun the trek through the burning remains of Ponyville.
She turned and walked into the streets, feeling the heat from the numerous fires. As she walked to the centre of Ponyville, she watched as the town’s gathering place for meetings, and where the mayor stayed. It creaked and groaned, and then finally collapsed as the pillars that held it up had been burnt too thin.
‘This isn’t right, this has to be a bad dream. I’m still asleep... yeah, that has to be it, this has to be a nightmare, and I’ll wake up any minute now.’ She tried to reason with herself.
-- Rainbow paused. She had travelled a small number of streets since she had left the hospital, and now, a new sound reached her ears. Hoofsteps, somepony else was around! Closing her eyes, Rainbow listened among the crackles of fires and the popping and breaking as buildings fell down in the distance. The hoofsteps were coming from the street over, and with a hopeful smile, Rainbow trotted towards them.
As she turned the corner, Rainbow’s eyes fell upon the grey mare with the blonde mane and wall eyes. Ditzy Doo wasn’t aware of Rainbow Dash’s presence at first, as her line of sight ran across the hopeless scenes of destruction around her, but soon, Ditzy’s eyes saw Rainbow, and the mail mare galloped over to Rainbow Dash. To Rainbow, Ditzy may have been someone she rarely saw, but in the apparent chaos of the burning town, Ditzy was welcome company.
“Ditzy, what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked, standing up and looking at Ditzy. Ditzy’s eyes remained same as always, she was looking at Rainbow Dash, but both her eyes did not align correctly. Why this was, Rainbow had never cared to ask, and in the current situation, it didn’t seem like the best place to ask.
“I don’t know. I woke up, Ponyville is on fire,” Ditzy looked down sadly, tears forming in her eyes, “I can’t find Dinky.”
Rainbow had no idea what to do as Ditzy begun to cry. She took a nervous step forward and placed a hoof reassuringly on Ditzy. Ditzy responded only by glancing up for a second, then looking back down. The hoof had seemed to calm her down somewhat, but she still kept crying.
“Ditzy,” Rainbow paused, waiting for the other pony to look up, “where have you been all this time?” she questioned.
“At Carrot Top’s home, nowhere else to go.” Ditzy voice crackled with sorrow.
“Is it safe there? I mean, the rest of Ponyville is on fire.” Rainbow stated, looking concerned.
“No fire there. It’s safe.” Ditzy replied, looking away as she began sobbing again.
Rainbow looked on the horizon and watched as the sun begun to set. Rainbow begun to think of the Princesses. Where had they been while this disaster befell Ponyville? Were her friends with either of them? Questions that, Rainbow guessed, only time would answer.
“We’ll look for Dinky in the morning and get out of here. Standing around and hoping for something to happen isn’t going to work, we need to sleep now, so show me to where you’ve been staying.” Rainbow Dash said softly.
Ditzy only nodded, and slowly, she stood up, leading Rainbow Dash to where she had been staying.
Ditzy led Rainbow Dash to the home she and Carrot Top shared. The home looked pretty much like every other in Ponyville, a red roof, wooden structure beams and yellow walls with windows, however, it appeared that it too had been on fire at some stage, but unlike other buildings in Ponyville, the fire hadn’t lasted long. Ditzy showed Rainbow that she had made a makeshift living area out of the ground floor rooms that still had a ceiling on them. In one she had set up a mat which was wrinkled, in the other, whatever food Ditzy had been able to find had been gathered in it, on the table was a plate which had a muffin placed on it.
It had been set up clearly for two ponies, though one of the chairs had been replaced by a raised chair, which stood before the spot where the muffin and plate were set up. On the other side of the table, another empty plate sat, perfectly clean. The rest of the table was dusty, but opposite this, Rainbow noticed a circular plate shape in the dust that hadn’t, strangely, been left to gather dust.
“Carrot Top isn’t here.” Ditzy said, watching as Rainbow looked around.
Ditzy walked over to the mat and lay upon it. Rainbow’s stomach quickly growled at the sight of the food Ditzy Doo had gathered, and carefully, walked over to the muffin.
She found, to her surprise, Ditzy had flown from the mat to the other room and smacked her hoof away from the muffin, and was now glaring at Rainbow Dash angrily.
“For Dinky. Don’t touch.” Ditzy said, flying away. Rainbow watched her, feeling sad. Looking back at the table.
Rainbow grabbed a carrot from the pile of food on the floor, and washed it in whatever water she could find. She flew back over to the other room and noticed, in the time it had taken for her to find the carrot and wash it, Ditzy had set up another mat.
“You can sleep on that.” Ditzy stated, smiling. Rainbow smiled back, thankful for a place to sleep.
“Do you mind if I ask where Carrot Top is?” Rainbow asked, sitting on the mat. She became confused when Ditzy bit her lip.
“Gone.” Was the answer Ditzy gave. Rainbow suddenly felt sick.
“She’s… dead?” she asked again, suddenly regretting having asked about her in the first place.
“No, just gone. Not here.” Ditzy answered again, holding her left leg over her right and looking to her left, as if uneasy at being asked questions on Carrot Top at all.
“Is she coming back?” Rainbow asked a third time, wishing she would just shut up at Ditzy looked more and more pained each time.
“I don’t know. Can we go to sleep now? I want to be up early to find Dinky.” Ditzy asked and stated, laying flat on her mat, tears rolled down Ditzy’s face leaving behind wet streaks.
Rainbow Dash nodded and lay on her side. What had happened while she had been out? It was clearly bad. She had seen no unicorn or earth pony since she had woken up, only Ditzy. She closed her eyes and begun to let sleep take over her fatigued body and mind. Hopefully tomorrow would be better.
Rainbow Dash’s face was touched by what little sunlight could get through the smoke that came from the still burning buildings the next morning. She groaned a little and turned over. A few seconds later, she looked in the direction of the hooves that had begun to shake her awake.
Annoyed, Rainbow laid on her back and half opened her right eye. Above her stood Ditzy Doo, worry on her face.
“You promised we go find Dinky,” she said, almost in a child like whine.
“Of course I did,” Rainbow stated between yawns. “Besides, there’s something else we should do as well.” Rainbow Dash groaned, rolled to her front and stood up.
“What else?”
“We need to look for anypony else who survived,” Rainbow answered, heading to the street. “Who knows, maybe one of them knows what the hay is going on around here. And they can look for Dinky too.”
The fires had gone down considerably in some places, and a few, like the flower shop, were no longer on fire at all. Here and there, Rainbow started to notice, there were burn marks from spells, or the paint and wood had scrape marks along it, and, disturbingly, there was a fair bit of blood.
Ditzy shifted beside Rainbow, clearly worrying about her daughter. Rainbow kept her head high, trying to keep up the spirits and hopes for their search. ‘This is… horrible,’ she thought. ‘I just hope everypony is ok… I don’t know how I’d take it if--’
Her line of thought was interrupted when they turned a corner and saw Sugarcube Corner, or what used to be it. It took a moment for Rainbow to recognize it, and she only knew that was it because of the location in town. Sugarcube Corner was blackened from the fire that had raged through it, but it had long gone out and the roof, structurally weakened, had collapsed. The top of the front door had splintered in half and the bottom half lay flat on the floor, the windows had all shattered, apparently in the fire.
Rainbow's eyes bulged and her mouth was agape as her mind rushed. What could have happened to Pinkie? She shook her head. No time for shock, ponies could need her. She rushed inside, followed by Ditzy.
The fire ravaged scene continued to the inside. Shelves holding the burnt remains of trays and plates had collapsed or burnt away, shattering the plates and scattering the ash of the burnt food, which smelt of a mix of burnt pastry and burnt wood. Many trays had melted from the high temperatures. Very little remained of the jolly, pastel colored room that Rainbow remembered watching the Cakes and Pinkie Pie working from.
The cyan pegasus felt a pang of guilt as she stared at the destruction. She hadn’t really thought much of her friends, having assumed they were safe. But the lack of burnt pony bodies on the ground floor led her to wonder if Pinkie Pie was laying upstairs, her body burnt to a crisp… She didn't think she could bring herself to look something like that.
A nudge against her shoulder made Rainbow Dash snap out of her thoughts. Glancing around first, she noticed the hoof prints in the ash, leading to, and up, the stairs. Beside the set on the stairs, another pair had come down, and she followed them, ending up looking directly at Ditzy.
“Nopony upstairs. All gone.” Ditzy landed beside the other mare, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Rainbow Dash felt a wave of relief wash over her. A new thought entered her mind on hearing the news. Whatever caused all this, Pinkie must have seen it coming and got herself and the Cakes out in time. Rainbow wondered how sad must they all have felt, having to run away, witnessing their home and livelihood burn.
Rainbow walked back outside to the street and sat, tilting her head to look at the sky. Clouds had quickly rolled in. Now there were no Pegasi controlling them, and it proceeded to rain on her. It was good news, the rain would probably help against all the fires, but this wasn’t on Rainbow’s mind as she sat there.
Where was Pinkie Pie? Where were all her friends? She wanted somewhere, anywhere to fly to and see if they were ok. Maybe even learn what happened. Rainbow swallowed the knot in her throat. Without her friends to help, everything seemed hopeless. Was everything and everypony… gone?
Rainbow Dash hadn’t noticed Ditzy had joined her and sat in the rain beside her. Ditzy begun crying, quietly. Rainbow Dash looked at her, not entirely sure what she should do.
“I don’t know what to do if Dinky is gone.” Ditzy wailed, her tears mixed with the rain that ran down her face.
Rainbow realized how Ditzy had it worse than her. ‘Ponies need you, Rainbow,’ she mentally coached herself. ‘Keep it strong for them!’
The rain died down just then. The storm couldn’t have passed so quickly, could it? She looked up. Flying near the low hanging rain clouds flew a yellow Pegasus with a green mane and tail. She was kicking the clouds that were heading for Ditzy and Rainbow away. Feeling it had done enough, it flew towards them and landed.
“It’s so good to see others survived.” She said as she walked over to Ditzy and Rainbow.
“Raindrops! It’s so good to see you!” Rainbow shouted, getting up and running closer to the newcomer.
“What are you and Rainbow Dash doing here?” Raindrops asked.
“Ditzy found me last night, we’re here now looking for Dinky,” Rainbow answered her, “you don’t know why Ponyville is on fire do you?”
It was a long shot to ask, but Rainbow Dash hoped Raindrops had the answer.
“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but I have no idea what’s going on either. But let’s go find out. Sitting around won’t find Dinky any faster.” Raindrops said with a hopeful smile.
During the day, the three ponies had searched only half of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash noted the magic burn marks, scraping of wood and signs of blood were present everywhere in the town, and wondered to herself how she had overlooked them the previous day. As the sun begun to get low on the horizon, they only managed to find two other survivors in the town, a purple Pegasus with blonde mane named Cloudkicker, and another Pegasus who was white with a blue mane named Lightning Bolt. The pair had been found near the burning remains of Carousel Boutique. The five Pegasi were still nearby, Ditzy and Raindrops checking on the rescued Cloudkicker and Lightning Bolt, while Rainbow Dash stared at what was left of Rarity’s shop.
The shop had been badly burned out; to the point the walls had visible holes in them, showing the still raging fire inside. As of yet, the roof had yet to collapse, though smoke from the fire rose up between the holes that had been made in it by the flames. It hurt Rainbow’s eyes to watch due to the heat and smoke.
With a loud crackle and snap, the roof caved in, and set off a chain of reactions as each floor gave away with its own loud snap. In less than a minute, filled with the crackling and snaps that echoed all around, and the roar of flames getting more oxygen to fuel itself, Carousel Boutique had collapsed right to the ground, still burning where the fire had survived the collapse.
“I couldn’t even check if Rarity or maybe Sweetie Belle were still inside…” Rainbow whimpered, hoping that the sisters had left long ago.
Rainbow noticed that she begun to cry. The stress and emotions of all she had seen so far finally brought her to the edge, where holding them in to appear strong simply was no longer possible. She no longer cared if the other Pegasi behind her noticed, and they probably felt the same anyway. She couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, and sat down, crying openly for several minutes.
Blinking her eyes a few times to clear the tears as best as she could, Rainbow Dash stood up and faced the other Pegasi, who starred on at the burning remains of Rarity’s shop. She coughed to get their attention.
“We can’t stay any longer. Ditzy, lead the way back to where we were last night. We’ll continue our search for Dinky in the morning.” Rainbow said, a blank expression on her face.
At the remains of Carrot Top’s house, the other Pegasi begun to talk, taking whatever they wanted to eat off the floor, but staying away from the muffin that still sat on the table after having their hoof slapped away from it by Ditzy. They soon settled down and fell asleep, except for Rainbow Dash, who remained awake.
Being quiet, she walked back to the street and looked around. Most of the fires had gone out and more houses and buildings had since collapsed. Far away, Rainbow Dash saw the home of Applejack, most of it still in one piece. Unfortunately, it was the roof and two walls, as the rest had burned away.
She looked along the farm and noticed most of the trees had also been burning, but strangely, some had been completely uprooted and were laying on their side. The barn, Rainbow noted, had become a large pile of burnt wood.
As she continued to stare around the remains of town, she could’ve sworn she saw a dark blue pony with something black along his flank… a cloak, maybe? She shook it off after looking that direction and only seeing empty air. She sighed, held back a yawn, then decided it was just her tired and dismayed head playing tricks on her.
Rainbow sighed and looked up at the moon. Just what had she missed that caused so much damage and left only her and four other Pegasi alive? Why the burn marks, the scraping marks and the blood across every building and path in Ponyville? Was there anypony still alive who even knew any of that? …Or at least her friends? --- Ending notes; A picture will be coming soon for this. I dont know when it'll be up, but soon with some luck.
Rainbow Dash woke up to the sight of the other Pegasus eating. Once again, the muffin on the plate had been left alone as Ditzy wished. Rainbow yawned and stood up.
“Good morning, Rainbow Dash. How are you doing?” Raindrops asked pausing during the carrot she was eating.
She was forlorn and wishing it was all a dream. But she wouldn’t say something like that. “I’m doing fine. You know, considering the situation.”
Raindrops nodded, judging by Rainbow’s voice that she wanted to be alone rather than talk to the other survivors. With no other conversation being offered, Rainbow Dash walked out to the streets again and looked around.
The Everfree Forest, just outside Ponyville, was burnt just like the town. But something was different. A small patch inside the forest was clearly fine, and had no signs that it had ever been on fire. Was this where Zecora was? It could be, she wouldn’t know for sure. But it was a spark of hope that woke her spirits up.
“Guys, there’s a part of the Everfree Forest that didn’t burn,” she cried to the ponies inside, “all of you stay here. I’m going to go and take a look. Maybe Zecora is fine and knows what’s going on.”
-- The Everfree Forest loomed before Rainbow Dash now, or rather, what little was still standing. The trees had burnt faster and cleaner than the houses and buildings of Ponyville. The air was still unplesant, with ash from the trees that drifted on the air like flurries, and the smoke made a boding low hanging cloud.
Even though the fires were distant, Rainbow could hear the sounds of the trees, crackling and popping, and they provided the only sound as she walked through what was left. Oddly enough, these distant sounds provided some comfort in the now unfamiliar landscape, even though they did give her a few shivers. As welcome as the sounds were, they unnerved her slightly.
Carefully, Rainbow climbed over the charred remains of a tree log that had fallen. Here, off to her right was a horrible sight. A black, completely charred corpse about thrice as big as herself, with a characteristic scorpion tail. It was no doubt the manticore that Fluttershy had calmed down about a year before. The mare stood and stared at it for a moment, before sighing and pressing on to Zecora’s hut.
Her guess that the zebra’s home would be in the unaffected part of the Everfree Forest had been right. She soon came upon the tree home with its creepy masks and decorations. She quietly walked up to the door and knocked.
“Anypony home?” she yelled, waiting for a reply… or lack thereof.
But rather than a voice, Rainbow was met with suddenly being pulled off her hooves. It took a few seconds to finally realize she was now on her back, uninjured, inside Zecora’s house, with the zebra looking down at her.
“How glad I am to hear, a perfectly fine pony appear!” Zecora said, happily, in her strange way of talking.
“It’s nice to see you as well Zecora. But you could have just invited me in rather than… you know… trap me.” Rainbow Dash stated sharply.
“These times I have to be agile, for Equestria has turned hostile.” Zecora answered.
“That’s just it, Zecora. Do you know what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash inquired.
Zecora sat down and sighed, thinking of a few seconds.
There was a lot of rhyming to do until she told all about what she had seen over the last few days. She went on about how some loud noise came from Canterlot, and with it, earth ponies and unicorns gained black markings and their eyes turned white. From there, they begun destroying the town and the forest, and Zecora was lucky to have used recipes to repel the corrupted ponies.
“…Finally, I heard you call for my name,” Zecora concluded after half an hour, “and here you are, here I am.”
“So,” Rainbow Dash tried to work out Zecora’s usual rhyming into sentences she could understand, “after my blackout, something happened up at Canterlot, and all earth ponies and unicorns suddenly went insane?” Rainbow asked.
Zecora nodded. “Many nights I have looked for answers in this book,” she walked over to it, “but among its pages there is no solution, as I look.”
“And what of my friends? Did you see them?” Rainbow asked in hope.
“Your friends I did not see, except for Fluttershy, who came to confide in me.”
“So where is she?” The pegasus was happy to hear this, at this point she didn’t have high expectations anymore.
Zecora’s head lowered. Apparently there would be no good news here. Soon, Zecora looked directly at Rainbow Dash.
“Last I saw of Fluttershy, I gave her two vials of the potion from my cooking pot. One for a friend hurt here in Ponyville, the other for a plan to take place in Canterlot.”
The conversation then became interrupted when the door to the next room burst open. Through this, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Dinky Doo walked out. They all stared at Rainbow Dash, large smiles appearing on their faces. Rainbow Dash stared, a smile on her face to see the young fillies were unharmed.
“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted, running ahead of the others.
“How did you all get here? We searched the town and didn’t find anyone.” Rainbow quizzed, looking at each filly in turn.
“When the fires begun,” Sweetie Belle answered, “Apple Bloom suggested we flee to Zecora’s. We’ve been here all along.” Apple Bloom looked proud that her suggestion had been helpful.
For the first time in the last few days, Rainbow Dash truly smiled. All the destruction of the town, seeing so many familiar places burnt to empty shells, or burnt to the ground, four fillies had lifted the sadness of the situation simply by being alive. She looked at Dinky.
“Your mom has been worried about you, Dinky, but she’s fine. When everything is ok, she has a muffin waiting for you at home,” Rainbow said, smiling at Dinky. Dinky only responded by smiling back, “If it’s safe later, maybe I can bring her here to see you before then.”
Rainbow Dash stood up and walked to the door, stopping to look back at Zecora.
“Keep an eye on them. The rest of us will try to sort everything out. We’ll come back when it’s safe.” She said plainly.
“Rainbow Dash, why can’t we come?” Scootaloo asked, running to Rainbow’s side.
“Not just yet. I can’t get you fillies through town yet. So just stay here a bit more. I’ll come back soon.” Rainbow smiled, and walked out of Zecora’s house.
‘I hope it’ll be ok soon. Please, let everything be ok…’
-- Rainbow Dash was a bit more cautious walking back after what Zecora had said. The earth ponies and unicorns had become corrupted, though Zecora hadn’t seen too well what this looked like. All she knew, they were still around, setting fires and destroying things at random.
As she walked back into Ponyville, a bush rustled nearby, causing Rainbow to freeze. She turned her head slowly to look at it, then it rustled again. Somepony was in there. Recalling Zecora’s words, Rainbow Dash edged closer to the bush and pulled it aside. In it, looking up with only one eye, the other out of sight, was a green unicorn with a lighter green mane stared back.
“Lyra? What the hay? Zecora said all unicorns got corrupted.” Rainbow Dash said.
“We all did, Rainbow Dash…” Lyra answered back.
Rainbow Dash recoiled in horror at what she saw when Lyra stepped out from the bush. It was as if half of her body was as it was normal, but the other half looked as if it had been resting on a bush above paint. Lyra’s normal eye colour stared at her from the left side, but the blank white eye on the right sent shivers up Rainbow’s spine.
But there were more details that Rainbow now saw as Lyra swayed gently before her. The half of her mane that fell on the right had dimmed several darker shades of green, and along her body, black markings seemed to wriggle and squirm as though alive. They seemed to form words for fleeting moments, before becoming blobs once more. Rainbow fought the urge to run, the sight of Lyra’s empty eye, and the wriggling black markings on Lyra’s body struck at some primal feeling deep down, but that same primal feeling also kept her rooted to the spot, staring at what had become of the unicorn before her.
“Lyra, what happened to you?” Rainbow asked after several uneasy seconds.
“The same that happened to everypony else, even… Bon-bon. We all got these… markings on us, and our eyes are becoming pure white. I’m fighting it, but… it’s a fight I’m going to lose.” Lyra answered, her voice sounding dull, as if all hope was lost.
An awkward silence fell between the two ponies. “Where is everypony anyway?” Rainbow Dash finally asked, “and what happened to all the Pegasi?”
“I don’t know. Since Fluttershy… flew out of town, then some grey Pegasus got… too close to Canterlot, the unicorns set up a barrier around Ponyville. If you touch it, you’ll… die in a second. Not even your… home is safe. But you must listen to me, I have… something important to say.” Lyra stated, as Rainbow Dash sat down.
Rainbow looked hopelessly up at her home high above. This felt cruel. Her home, about the only thing that seemed to be fine, and she’d die if she tried to go to it. She snapped back to conscious thought as Lyra cleared her throat.
“Right now, the town is… surrounded by other corrupted ponies. But there’ll be a time tomorrow morning when they aren’t here. Fluttershy is in… trouble up in Canterlot. Use the time to save her and get yourself far away from here.” Lyra informed, pain etched across her face. Seemingly having said all she wanted to say, Lyra turned around and begun to walk away.
“Hey, where are you going?” Rainbow asked frantically, having been caught off guard by Lyra starting to leave. She got up and followed after the green unicorn.
“I’m becoming corrupted, it’s too… dangerous to stay near you when I finally lose my fight. Just take care of yourself, don’t worry about what… happens to me or any other corrupted pony.” Lyra replied in a defeated tone. At least she could help somepony else before losing her fight.
When Lyra was out of sight, Rainbow Dash turned around and looked up to where Canterlot could always be seen from Ponyville, and her jaw dropped.
The pure white castle had become blackened from all the smoke and fires that seemingly had occurred there too. As she watched, a tower lost a few large parts, and then it too fell to gravity and into the valley below. It moved slowly down, reminding Rainbow on how massive it used to be. Like Ponyville, Canterlot had become ruined while she slept.
‘This can’t get much worse, can it?’ she thought.
------ Author notes; A picture was added, but this may be a temporary picture. Right now, it has no relation to the chapters up right now. So sorry for the picture not relating to the story just yet.
As soon as Ditzy got the news, she took the reserved muffin to Zecora’s hut, and she even took a few extras for the other fillies and the zebra as a thank you token. The muffins were a little old, sure, but they were still good, and were much appreciated.
The next morning, the five pegasi were awake before the sun had even risen in the sky, preparing supplies that they felt would be needed on arrival to Canterlot. They prepared food to give to anypony that they found, and scavenged as many medical supplies they could find.
Rainbow Dash closed her saddlebags, and watched as the other pegasi filled any remaining space in theirs with extra supplies. She cleared her throat.
“Now remember, boring as it may be, we have to wait until we can be sure there’s no corrupted ponies around. The second they’re gone, we’re out of here.” She repeated the plan to them.
“Rainbow,” Cloudkicker looked up, “do you think we’ll be fine?” she asked.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to be there to save you if any of these ‘corrupted’ ponies turn up.” Rainbow replied, holding a hoof to her chest.
The only pony who was truly encouraged for this was Ditzy Doo. To the gray pegasus, the pony who mattered the most was alive and well protected, and she was going to help saving the world for her. Rainbow couldn’t help but envy this position.
-- The route closest to Canterlot took them past the library that had once been Twilight’s home. Rainbow hadn’t seen it yet during the days she had been awake, but she was paralyzed by the sight.
She had always heard Twilight had placed some sort of spell on the library, to prevent it burning down should Spike accidentally breathe fire. But somehow, during the events that set the town on fire, the library too had been set on fire. And it still was as they drew near.
The blaze of this fire was unlike any that she had seen before. It was contained within the walls of the library, by the very spell Twilight had set up to prevent fires, and it was as strong as if it had just begun. Deep within, books crackled and tiny bits of burning paper floated out of the fire and fell like ash to the ground.
‘But how? I thought her spells were supposed to stop this… did some unicorn turn her magic into the way it is?’ Rainbow said to herself, not noticing her backside had fallen to the ground from the despair she felt.
A crash could be heard clearly through the flames, indicating something had fallen down inside. While the fire seemed to gain more strength from this, it stayed within the spell boundaries had cast long ago on the library.
Rainbow continued to stare, wondering whether Spike could survive such heat. A few more tears freshly formed in the corners of her eyes. A hoof nudged her on her side.
“It’s ok. We have to go.” Ditzy encouraged softly. In a way, she felt even more compelled to help Dash now that her biggest worry was no more.
Slowly, Rainbow Dash stood up on her hooves again, and the group walked around the burning library, as the crackling continued and burned bits of paper continued to float out of the windows and to the ground outside.
The edge of Ponyville wasn’t much further away, and Rainbow was slightly thankful that she could stare out across the vast plains, than stare any longer at burning or ruined buildings of the town. From where she sat waiting, she could see corrupted ponies that were within thirty seconds trotting distance from the edge of Ponyville, their coats marked with the same black markings that she had seen on Lyra the day before.
These corrupted ponies walked around in a circular pattern, each one covering a small distance, they were guarding the town. Rainbow remembered back to what Lyra had told her the day before, the corrupted unicorns had set up a barrier over Ponyville. It was clear that the barrier in the air was to prevent attacks from above on those keeping guard on the ground. She kept close watch and waited for the time Lyra had said they would be gone, and they could leave freely.
Dash wondered how much longer until they’d leave as Lyra had said. If there wasn’t so many of them, she’d just fly out and kick them in the face before flying away. It felt like hours were going by.
Oddly, as if on cue, the corrupted ponies all looked up to the sky, remained like that for a minute, then for a few minutes, they sat and simply stared with their blank white eyes at Ponyville, and then simply walked away. Rainbow could only stare.
“Come on, Rainbow Dash, we can’t waste this chance!” Raindrops nudged Rainbow’s side.
“I know, but… it’s almost too easy. I was just wondering how long we’d have to wait, and they suddenly all go. Don’t tell me that isn’t odd.” Rainbow replied, still looking out across the valley.
“It doesn’t matter. Now come on, this could be our only chance!” Raindrops insisted, walking ahead.
Rainbow Dash sighed and begun to follow. It felt way too easy, but what choice did she have?
-- It had been an hour since the five pegasi had left Ponyville, and they had come to rest on the hill that led up to Canterlot. Raindrops, Ditzy, Cloudkicker and Lightning Bolt all sat in silence, eating some food supplies from their saddlebags, while Rainbow looked back across the valley to Ponyville.
Even though it was now a faint sight from the hill near Canterlot, the destruction that had occurred in Ponyville was still clear. Smoke still rose from some places where fires lingered, and the sight on the way of the pets and animals that ponies had cared for, all clearly killed by corrupted ponies, would haunt Rainbow’s mind forever.
‘If Applejack saw what they did to Winona, she’d kill the pony that did it. But then, I haven’t seen Spike. That is, if he wasn’t still in the library…’ she thought to herself, shaking her head clear of the thought of Spike burning in the Ponyville library.
Her attention now drew to her immediate surroundings. She had already seen the day before that Canterlot was in a bad state, but the severity of it hadn’t really become clear until she and the others had gotten closer. Around the hill, parts of the castle that had fallen away were scattered around, blackened by the smoke of fires that had been near before they fell.
High above, the foundations of Canterlot itself seemed to be crumbling away, almost as if it could all fall to the ground at any second. They had chosen to walk instead of fly to avoid flying into any magical death trap, so she couldn’t tell from below how bad Canterlot looked exactly.
“Ok, everypony ready? I… I don’t know what we’ll find when we get up there. It… it may be just fires, but it may be worse. If something seems wrong, tell the others, and we’ll get out of there fast.” Rainbow stated, looking at each pegasi in turn.
“What are we looking for, exactly?” Raindrops asked.
“The princesses,” Rainbow replied, “if they’re fine, we can sneak back in and see if they can undo all this. We’ll get this sorted out in no time and everything will be fixed.” Rainbow reassured her team.
Ditzy smiled and closed her eyes, thinking of her filly.
Rainbow, however, started woring about what she just said. ‘It’s wrong to promise such a thing. What if the problem Zecora mentioned was something bad happening to the princesses? What if we can’t undo all of this? I… I can’t even promise if any of us will be alive by the end of the day…’
She looked up and saw the other pegasi all seemed happy, talking to each other.
‘But I have to keep them hopeful. Who knows? Maybe everything could be ok.’
-- As Rainbow had expected, Canterlot from the path leading to it was just the same, if not worse, than its foundations looked. Smoke from fires had blackened the white walls, and the golden roofs of the castle had been exposed to temperatures so high, the gold had simply melted. While most of the buildings looked in good condition despite now being mostly black, every window had broken, roofs had fallen in, and the insides generally were filled with whatever hadn’t burned before the fires went out.
Along the way, trees had been burnt, uprooted or simply chopped down. The fountains sometimes even contained the remains of Celestia’s royal guard in their golden armour, which were now dented and stained with dirt and blood. This proved further to Rainbow that pegasi had largely been unaffected, but provided an excuse for the other pegasi travelling with her to part with what they had eaten before arriving. The five ponies were all unnerved by the sight of the bodies. Cloudkicker almost parted with the contents of her stomach. Rainbow faultered for a moment and reconsidered the plan of being at the castle.
All the way to the main doors of the castle, the sight of killed guards, ruined buildings and trees in various states of damage repeated. As the five pegasi walked near, Rainbow froze, as the doors in to the castle opened. Beyond, hundreds of corrupted earth ponies and unicorns stared back, their eyes blank.
Rainbow stood ahead of the other four, as they all stood and waited to see what would happen next. Several tense minutes passed, and no word was uttered. The fear of the moment was building, as each of them prepared to run for safety, but no hostile action seemed to be coming from the corrupted ponies beyond the door. Looking closer, Rainbow noted they seemed to be lining a path inside the castle itself.
“I… I think they’re inviting us in.” She said to the others, drawing closer.
“Do you think we can trust them?” Cloudkicker asked.
“Obviously not. But what other choice do we have right now? Besides, the windows are broken; we can escape if something goes wrong.” Rainbow answered, walking through the doors.
She didn’t see the others again. As soon as she was clear of the doors, they were slammed shut behind her, causing Rainbow Dash to once again freeze, as frantic banging of hooves against doors could be heard echoing around the entrance hall of the castle.
‘This is bad. Doors locked and corrupted ponies all around. And they have a serious issue with pegasi right now. I’ve never wished to not have wings before…’ she though frantically, looking around at the uncaring faces of the corrupted ponies.
When again, no hostile action seemed to be coming her way, Rainbow Dash dared to look around. The castle itself seemed to have seen very little fire, any that had occurred had clearly been put out as soon as it begun.
Looking ahead, she saw the corrupted ponies seemed to line the path that led directly to the throne room. When she attempted to walk past them, one of the corrupted ponies pushed her back.
There was only one way to progress. Into the throne room. She approached the doors and nervously, fearing what was inside, pushed them open and walked in. Right away, once she was clear of the doors, they slammed shut, only this time, she heard a click. They had locked her in.
The throne room, Rainbow noted, had seen no fires at all. But at the same time, the welcoming sight of Princess Celestia on her throne wasn’t present. Around the room were seven open doors, which seemed to lead to nowhere. Looking more carefully, Rainbow saw something odd in a cage beside one of the doors.
The cage held a small purple and green dragon, who was waking up after the door slam had disturbed him.
“Spike! You’re alive!” Rainbow shouted happily, running towards the cage.
“Rainbow Dash no! You have to get out of here! It’s not safe!” Spike shouted back.
“Well, well. Girls! The princesses have a guest! Let’s keep her entertained while they get ready!” Twilight spoke softly, but menacingly and coldly.
Twilight’s voice had come from one place in the room, but every part of the room at the same time, and Rainbow cowered, as if trying to hide in the big, open throne room.
It was pretty obvious to Rainbow. Twilight wasn’t coming to greet her in a happy, friendly way. -- Author's notes; sorry for the long delay for this chapter. After efforts to get this story up on Equestria Daily (an effort which has so far failed twice but with positive responce) and my editors seemingly not looking at this chapter at all, I felt delaying part four even further for existing readers was unfair. So hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will notify in comments if changes were made.
Author notes, PLEASE READ!! Due to further feedback from Equestria Daily, there have been more changes that work in favour of the air of mystery that the story is attempting to portray. As such, a large part of chapter one has been rewritten with a new opening. This is the FINAL changes for now that will be made to the story. Also, a point in this chapter will not make sense if you fail to re-read chapter one at the very least.
And now, on with the story.
--- Rainbow Dash stared on in shock as her friends appeared in the throne room, the friends who left little gifts by her hospital bed. She had no idea where they had come from, one moment they weren’t there, and the next they were, as though they had teleported in. They bore the same black markings as Lyra and the other ponies she had seen did, and their eyes were now pure white, even Fluttershy, unlike any other pegasi.
“Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy… what happened to you?” Rainbow spoke in almost a whisper.
“How cute,” Twilight giggled, “you still call us by those names. But from here, call us by these names. I am Corrupted Element of Magic.” Twilight’s voice was soft, but held to its hostile undertone.
“I am Corrupted Element of Generosity.” Rarity said at her turn, not speaking in her usual upper class tone.
“I’m Corrupted Element of Laughter.” Pinkie Pie said next, her voice flat and devoid of any joy it normal had.
“I’m Corrupted Element of Honesty.” Applejack took her turn, her accent gone, words slurring slower.
“And I’m Corrupted Element of Kindness.” Fluttershy added last, sounding far more bold than the normal meek and quiet Pegasus she was.
“Come on, gals, you’re all still the wonderful friends that left all these get well soon stuff for me, I know it!” Rainbow begged, her voice jittery.
She flew to one side when Twilight sent a row of lightning bolts in her direction. Clearly, they had had enough of talking, and were now getting to the part where they killed her.
“Hold still, Element of Loyalty. This won’t hurt.” Applejack shouted, charging towards where Rainbow Dash had landed. As soon as Applejack was near, Rainbow took to the air again, causing Applejack to run through an open door. Acting rather than thinking, Rainbow Dash kicked the door closed.
And noticed Applejack couldn’t open it again, no matter how much she bucked at it. Rainbow had a moment of genius, as she looked around the room.
‘I don’t have to hurt them if I can just trick them!’ she said with hope to herself. Her sight landed on Fluttershy, who was flying close, and humming loudly as she got nearer, her corrupted white eyes closed. Through an open window, a flock of birds flew in, begun to circle around her, then went on a suicide dive towards Rainbow Dash. Rainbow only just got out of the way, and turned back. What remained of the flock of birds wasn’t a pretty sight, all of their fragile little bodies had exploded on impact.
She flew as fast as she could to the next doorway, and looked at Fluttershy, flying at her fast. Fluttershy responded by flying faster than normal towards Rainbow Dash, and a second later, they were inches from each other. It was the closest Fluttershy would get. Rainbow Dash barrel rolled to the right, and Fluttershy kept going. The yellow mare couldn’t keep up with the maneuver and smashed against the wall inside a room, her legs were a little crooked and her barely visible iris was almost as cross eyed as Ditzy’s were every day. The door was closed by the impact, and some of the birds’ remains were crushed by the door.
This left Rainbow with Pinkie, Twilight and Rarity. The pink earth pony was currently hopping towards Rainbow Dash. She flew past Pinkie Pie, who again turned to hop towards Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie was not going to be easy, after all, she had managed to keep up with Rainbow in the past, and had proven to be capable of doing the impossible. She’d have to not only trick Pinkie into a door, but keep her in there.
Rainbow flew in front of the door she had chose to trap Pinkie Pie behind. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could use to block the door further. The room however did have chains attached to a wall, which made Rainbow bite her lower lip from the nerves. She would have to get dangerously close to the corrupted Pinkie Pie to trap her.
Looking at the doorway, the pink pony hopped in. Her hopping slowed as she got near Rainbow.
“Hey Pinkie!” Rainbow said.
“You’re supposed to call me Corrupted Element of Laughter.” Pinkie Pie responded dryly.
“Oh right, well, um” Rainbow shuffled slightly, with an encouraging yet unsure smile, “well, to apologise, and congratulate you on capturing me, I want you to have these!”
She held the cuff chains towards the pink pony, who looked at them with scepticism. Rainbow bit her lower lip again. Finally, the pink pony hopped forward and placed her hooves willingly into the chains.
“How nice, you still had time to get me a gift… hey, wait a second!” Pinkie had realised what had taken place. But it was already too late. Rainbow Dash closed the door, grinning.
Rainbow Dash already had a plan for dealing with Rarity, as she avoided magic sent at her by the two unicorns that were still in the throne room. She flew up to Spike.
“Please tell me you have gems!” she shouted at him. To her amazement, Spike produced a few gems that he had hidden in the cage. One of them was shaped almost like a pacifier.
“What are you planning?” he asked.
Rainbow didn’t reply. She flew to another open door carrying the gems, which she then threw into the room beyond the door. She then looked at Rarity and gulped.
“Hey Rarity!” she shouted.
“It’s Corrupted Element of Generosity now!” Rarity declared back.
“Yeah sure,” Rainbow rolled her eyes, “look what I found in this room!”
Rainbow Dash only felt the breeze, as a white streak went past her faster than she could blink. Had Rainbow actually stood in the way, most of her would have been obliterated in Rarity’s frantic rush to the gems.
“Gems, gems, gems, gems, gems, gems, gems… wait a second!” Rarity too worked out a moment too late what was going on as the door was closed behind her. The moment Rainbow closed the door she remember Twilight’s ability to teleport, and hoped Rarity didn’t know that.
This left her the hardest task of all, trapping Twilight, who could teleport out of the room. Rainbow Dash stared down Twilight, as the pair circled around each other. Different plans ran through Rainbow’s head, but each were rejected as Rainbow thought of them, recalling what Twilight was able to do. Ultimately, she decided that she just had to hope for the best, Twilight’s magic was far too varied unlike that of Rarity, and nothing clearly stood out to aid in trapping Twilight. She flew in front of the door and lowered her head, stomping a hoof.
Rainbow only responded by stomping her hoof again. Twilight lowered her head, pointing her horn at Rainbow Dash, and the two charged at each other. Rainbow kept watch as she approached Twilight, and when they were close, she repeated the trick that had trapped Fluttershy earlier. She jumped out of the way, and got back up to see Twilight attempting to stop before she skidded into the room.
Rainbow flew over fast and kicked the door closed. She smiled before being forced to cover her eyes as each room was filled with a white light. When this had died down, Rainbow Dash walked back to the door Twilight was behind, and looked in.
As Twilight approached the door, the black markings covering her body sizzled away like water boiling on hot metal, and her purple eye colour once more appeared in the white that they had become. She looked at Rainbow, pure confusion on her face.
“Rainbow Dash? Where are we? Did you do something to get locked in a dungeon?” Twilight asked frantically.
The pegasus laughed with relief, then stood proud. “Rainbow Dash saved the day!” she boasted. “It’s a long story.” Rainbow sat down and wiped her brow with her hoof to take a breath before explaining it. She would not question how her friends had suddenly become uncorrupted; all that mattered for the moment was that they were back to normal, giving her hope of resolving the situation the world was in.
“My, my, sister. What an ungrateful guest! Locking the welcome party up. Let us teach her some manners.” Princess Celestia spoke. It was the usual, kind voice, of the princess, but much like with Twilight, it was dripping with sinister intentions.
Rainbow Dash turned around slowly to face the middle of the throne room. As she did so, two bright spheres of light appeared, one pure white, the other a navy blue. They grew in size and brightness, and from them rose Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
Both of them had become corrupted, but the black markings seemed less chaotic and more focused on specific parts of their bodies. Their eyes still had the iris, but lacked a pupil. Both princesses stood still, looking right at her.
‘This is not good. Two more doors, but the princesses raise and lower the sun and moon. How can I trick them, when they have a thousand years of experience at least?’ Rainbow thought aloud frantically.
Rainbow watched as the markings on Princess Celestia ran down her legs, formed a circle, which then made bars around the princess. Princess Celestia closed her eyes and remained perfectly still inside the bars, while Princess Luna took to the air. Magical circles appeared around her, and from these small fireballs flew towards Rainbow Dash, who only just avoided getting hit.
“Twilight, help! How can I lock them up?” Rainbow yelled, as Princess Luna darkened the room. Shadow claws begun reaching out for Rainbow Dash as she flew around.
“I don’t know!” Twilight replied, completely at a loss, a confused look on her face.
Rainbow kept flying around, avoiding each new attack Princess Luna used. She knew that eventually, she would be unable to avoid any attacks, and that would be it for her. Looking to the middle of the room, Rainbow saw Princess Luna start change her shape, making herself taller, darker and her hair more flowing and like the night. The sight of Princess Luna now appearing as Nightmare Moon unnerved Rainbow a little.
From where she stood, Nightmare Moon flared her wings, and red symbols appeared on the ceiling. As they begun to pulse and glow brighter, rocks fell from them, striking the floor where they disappeared on impact. Rainbow had to pay careful attention during the attack to avoid being struck by any of the rocks.
As the barrage of rocks stopped, Princess Luna changed out of her Nightmare Moon form. She flew straight into the air, her right front hoof held high. Behind her, white shapes that looked like small stars formed, and shot straight ahead of her, following Rainbow for ten seconds, before exploding. Rainbow cursed slightly, thankful she was faster than the white stars. Princess Luna stared at Rainbow Dash, her white eyes emotionless, and remaining in the air, she begun to fly after Rainbow.
‘I can’t try to trick her, or pretend to charge her. I don’t know what will work.’ Rainbow thought hopelessly, flying over to one of the remaining open rooms. She looked inside, and found nothing that could help her. Rainbow Dash turned around and ran out of the room, and saw Princess Luna flying at her at high speed. Without thinking, Rainbow ducked out of the way.
She looked behind her a second later, and her jaw dropped. Crashed, and slightly dazed against the far wall, was Princess Luna. Quickly, Rainbow Dash bucked the door closed. That had been easier than even tricking Pinkie Pie and Rarity. But still left her with the problem of Princess Celestia.
She looked back where Princess Celestia had surrounded herself with bars made from the markings that had been on her. Rapidly, the bars returned to the ground, and in turn, the markings returned to where they had been before on Princess Celestia.
“Now you will see why I am to be feared.” Princess Celestia said softly and coldly.
Rainbow Dash begun to sweat, as Princess Celestia raised the temperature of the room. Around the throne room, random objects caught on fire. Slowly, Rainbow Dash backed up against the door Princess Luna had been locked behind.
“You’re one of my sister’s student’s friends right?” Princess Luna asked, making Rainbow Dash jump. She hadn’t been expecting the Princess to speak.
“Um, yeah. I’m afraid the chat will have to wait, your sister is kind of out of her mind and trying to kill me.” Rainbow Dash replied frantically. She shivered a little suddenly, and looked around. Objects that had burst into flame nearby, such as potted plants and banners, now were suddenly going out, and the room felt a little cooler.
“It’s not much, since whatever has happened has weakened me, but this part of the room is safe. Even if my sister walks nearby, she won’t be able to heat the air here again.” Princess Luna said, smiling. Rainbow Dash smiled in reply for a second, but then looked on as Princess Celestia summoned fire made versions of Rainbow Dash and her friends.
“Well, that won’t save me in the long term. She’s still trying to kill me. What do I do now?” Rainbow Dash sounded hopeless as she said this.
“You’re a pegasus. Do something she won’t be expecting.” Princess Luna offered.
Rainbow Dash looked around. The fire versions of her and the others stood near Princess Celestia, who seemed to be focusing and preparing another attack. The random fires across the room were beginning to get bigger, and threatened to spread and fill the whole throne room.
The idea hit her. While Princess Celestia was relying on Rainbow Dash to stay on the ground and not risk getting burned, she wouldn’t expect her to use the fire against her. It was highly risky pulling fire up into a tornado, and dangerous for her to stay in it to guide the wind direction. As dangerous as it was, Rainbow had very little choice, she gulped and took flight.
It worked as expected at first. Princess Celestia hadn’t expected Rainbow Dash to take flight. Nor actually whip up winds and pull any fire she could get into a vortex. The Princess changed plans and begun magically throwing fireballs at Rainbow, but these only served to help Rainbow Dash’s plan.
Rainbow kept spinning around faster and faster, the small vortex quickly becoming a small tornado that she could keep control over. She adjusted her flight path and led the fire tornado over to Princess Celestia, who instinctively begun to try and run out of the way. The Princess however, couldn’t outrun it, and soon, she became trapped in the middle of it, screaming as the fires lashed against her body.
A final flight adjustment by Rainbow Dash sent the fire tornado barrelling over to the final open door, the winds being strong enough to close the door behind the Princess. Rainbow Dash smiled, as she sat down, tired out from the work she had put in. From the direction of the door Princess Luna was behind, the cooling air she had made to protect Rainbow Dash earlier spread out and filled the room, clearing away the heat.
Rainbow Dash sighed with relief and stood up. Across the room, behind the doors they were locked in, her friends cheered for her, making Rainbow smile.
She walked slowly up to the door Princess Celestia was now behind and looked in, expecting the princess to still be heavily affected by whatever had changed her personality so much. The sight that met her gave Rainbow some hope.
Princess Celestia now looked like her normal self, the black markings that had been on her now gone, and she was now looking at Rainbow Dash, very confused.
“What is going on?” Princess Celestia asked, her voice was normal once more, warm and kind, but held a tone of worry.
“It’s a long story Princess. Somehow, you, Princess Luna and all earth ponies and unicorns got corrupted by something. Canterlot and Ponyville are in ruins, and I’ve just done my best to get you all locked up behind these doors, which somehow made you go back to normal.” Rainbow Dash replied.
Rainbow looked confused as Princess Celestia seemed shocked by something. Then yelped, as something kicked her hard against the door. Rainbow Dash crumpled to the floor, tears forming in her eyes from the sudden pain. Slowly, Rainbow Dash shifted. And gasped in shock.
Standing above her was a shadow copy of herself, the blue coat was darkened to a navy blue, the rainbow mane also held darker colours of the ones in Rainbow’s own mane, the Element of Loyalty on its golden choker, smirking down at her. A second later, it bucked her in the stomach, forcing her to cough up a small bit of blood. As the world spun, all Rainbow Dash could hear was the sobbing of her friend Fluttershy. She guessed Fluttershy had seen the remains of the dead birds, and was crying over them. Rainbow could also hear other sounds too, but they sounded so far away.
Slowly, Rainbow Dash got to her hooves as the shadow looked at her with disgust. Rainbow almost collapsed when she was finally up, but looked angry at it.
“I’m supposed to take you over? You are pathetic.” It said at her, disdainfully. The shadow sounded less scratchy than Rainbow’s own, but at the same time, it sounded distant, as if it wasn’t coming from the shadow itself.
“Are you why everything’s going bad?” Rainbow asked it. The shadow grinned with pleasure.
“Yes, yes I did, I even made that green unicorn believe she wasn’t fully corrupted, to lead you here when you took your time doing so otherwise. And when I take over your body, I’ll recorrupt the princesses and your friends. Everything you just did was for nothing!” it gloated and turned away from Rainbow.
“A clever plan. I know your dying to learn how I pulled off world wide destruction just to take it over, because I'm dying to tell you. Simple really, I begun with the princesses here. I made them doubt and distrust each other, and when they realised what was going on,” it paused, almost dramatically, but it had begun to laugh, “it was too late. I could control what they did. And with the princesses, I corrupted their inner circle of unicorns, who in turn corrupted earth ponies that didn’t get away at first. Oh sure, they and pegasi tried to run from the corruption that spread among unicorns like wild fire, but the earth ponies eventually failed. And then, the plan didn’t exactly finish. Magic nor earth pony strength was able to corrupt any pegasi, that is, until one walked right in here. Unable to fight those she knew, the chance to finish my plan looked better. And now you are here, and soon, I shall rule the world.”
Rainbow Dash had no time to react. The shadow turned and kicked her in her face. While it didn’t knock her out, she collapsed to the floor again, stunned by the kick. The shadow stood over her, laughing.
“Hey there, meanie shadow Dashie!” Pinkie Pie said, hopping beside the shadow.
“What? How did you get out?” it snapped at the pink pony.
“Oh, I went over and got Fluttershy out, she seemed really upset,” Pinkie Pie held Fluttershy, looking sad herself, “but when I told her you seemed to be the reason for her being upset, she wanted to talk to you.”
Rainbow Dash and the shadow both stared at Pinkie Pie, both not believing what they had just heard. The shadow shook its head.
“NO! I asked how did you get out?” it snapped again, getting closer to Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie seemed to take a few seconds to think of the answer while the shadow tapped impatiently. Rainbow meanwhile noticed Fluttershy was using her stare on the shadow, which it had yet to seem to notice.
“I don’t know.” Pinkie Pie finally declared happily, “I just did.” The shadow’s jaw dropped, and facehooved. It looked at Fluttershy, finally noticing she was using her stare on it.
“Is there a problem yellow?” it asked mockingly.
“You corrupt all those ponies, destroy Ponyville, bring Canterlot to ruins, kill so many creatures, then harm my friend, and you think there wouldn’t be a problem?” she growled at the shadow and gave it her trademark stare, but the shadow didn’t seem impressed.
“You forget, I am Corrupted Element of Loyalty. When loyalty is corrupted, it becomes betrayal. Everything I did was to take over this pathetic excuse of a pegasus,” it kicked Rainbow Dash again, “and rule the world while the rest of you were mindless slaves. Except all Pegasus ponies don’t seem to have fallen to corruption. So, yellow, I don’t see anything you just said as a problem.” It smiled.
“My name.” Fluttershy had clearly reached breaking point.
“Come again?” the shadow asked.
“Use my name!” Fluttershy was now visibly struggling to hold back her rage, as her left eye twitched.
“Fine, Element of Kindness. Now, just go back to where you were locked up and let me do what I’ve planned.” The shadow begun to turn around.
Fluttershy snapped.
“My name, IS FLUTTERSHY!” she shouted. The words echoed around the room.
Rainbow Dash watched in slow motion as Fluttershy spun on the spot with her front hooves, her back hooves making contact with the choker around the shadow’s neck. The force of the kick had been enough to break it, and it fell in parts to the floor.
The shadow itself seemed to soundlessly yell in pain, as it deformed into a blob. This blob then shot underneath Rainbow, who, despite having been kicked several times and hurting badly, still took to the air fast. She flew in place for a minute before breathing a sigh of relief, and landing, laying flat on the ground.
Around her, Rainbow Dash could hear Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy approaching the other doors, unlocking them. She hadn’t asked how Pinkie had freed Fluttershy, and really, it didn’t matter. All she cared about was that her friends were fine and safe.
Rainbow only opened her eyes slightly when a pair of white legs wearing gold decorative horseshoes appeared in front of her.
“I’m sorry Princess Celestia, I’m a bit too weak to get up and bow…” Rainbow Dash mumbled, just loud enough to be heard.
“Rainbow Dash, after all you seem to have done today, you deserve some rest. Also, to your earlier confusion, the doors were to rooms of protection, each of them set up by Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia replied, still standing near, but looking over at Twilight, “thank you, Twilight Sparkle. If your quick thinking hadn’t lead to the safety within the rooms, we would not be ourselves right now.”
“What happens now Princess? The whole of Equestria is in ruins…” Rainbow Dash tilted her head up to look at the Princess.
“Except, it doesn’t have to be.” Princess Celestia stated, leaving a silence between the two.
“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked confused, trying to get to her hooves.
“I wasn’t sure before, but when the shadow kept attacking you, something didn’t seem right with you, Rainbow Dash,” the princess paused to help Rainbow up before continuing, “simply put, you are both here and not.”
“Here and… what? How does that work?” Rainbow asked, her head spinning as she tried to understand.
“Physically, you are here, after the disaster that ruined Equestria. But mentally, you are both here and in the past before the disaster. Something or some pony has forced your spirit to be in the past and future at the same time.” The princess replied. This didn’t help Rainbow Dash to be any less confused.
“So, uh,” Rainbow was at a slight loss for words, as she still had no real idea what the princess was saying, “how do we fix it? Or don’t we?”
“Simply put, Rainbow Dash, I can undo it, but these events will come to pass if you let them. When you wake up back in the past, make sure that they don’t, if you can.” Princess Celestia stated, her wings extending to their full reach.
Rainbow Dash thought for a second, before remembering the notes she read in the hospital ruins days before.
“I know what it is, I blacked out and woke up in the hospital ruins, that must have been it. If I don’t get taken there, none of this will happen!” She stated excitedly. She blinked a few times, as everything faded to black, the last thing she saw, was her friends standing beside the Princesses, and all of them smiling at her.
-- The wind blew through her mane, and she slowly opened her eyes. Her head was facing towards the ground and it was moving. Slowly, she blinked and groaned, alerting those around her that she had woken up.
“Dashie! You’re ok!” Pinkie pie said happily
“What…” Rainbow begun.
“Ya fell out the sky, Rainbow. So we’re taking you to the hospital.” Applejack replied before Rainbow could even ask her question.
“No, take me to Twilight’s library, can’t go to the hospital.” Rainbow protested.
“No Rainbow, we’re taking you to the hospital and that’s final.” Twilight added.
“Please, it’s vital to everypony that I don’t go there!” Rainbow cried, and for her efforts, she begun coughing.
“Vital to your silly pride more like.” Rarity chimed.
“I’ll explain it if you take me to the library and get Nurse Redheart to come there instead.” Rainbow pleaded.
The sensation of moving stopped. Looking around weakly, she saw her friends had all come to a stop, and were now looking at her.
“Please?” she asked.
“Ugh, fine. For you, we’ll take you to the library. Rarity, go get Nurse Redheart, and we’ll meet you there.” Twilight said, as they begun to move again.
“Thanks Twilight, the world will be safe now.” Rainbow said, before passing out again.
-- Standing outside ponyville, a blue pony stood, its eyes fixed on the group of ponies currently walking towards the Ponyville library. It showed no emotion as it watched, and as the ponies went inside, it gained the look that suggested it was looking down on a rather vile and horrible group of insects.
“It has begun…” it muttered to itself, before walking away.
------------------------------------- Author's notes; To begin, I am still looking for a new editor to help with this fic. I often fail to catch big mistakes and plot holes, so I don't completely trust myself to find them. If you are interested in helping me, and have google docs, send me a message.
This chapter ends the first arc of Ruining Harmony. Before people complain and say "it was all a dream! how cheap!", re-read what Celestia says and what Dash works out. Incase that doesnt help, I'll take time to explain. Due to her mysterious blackout (explained right at the end), the events did occur, but by waking up before any of the events occured, they no longer occur in the timeline Dash is now in. That isn't to say they never took place, they did. It makes sense if you understand time travel. Some events can't be prevented, while others can, in this case, the disaster that befalls Equestria just prior and during the previous six chapters.
The story isn't over yet, Dash's Delusion is Arc 1 in an Eight Arc story. Hopefully, I'll have an editor to help work on Arc 2; Pinkie's Phantasm.
It had been a week since Rainbow Dash had strangely fallen from the sky, running a fever. What confused Twilight the most was when Rainbow woke up a few minutes later. She had begged to stay away from the hospital, and while not pleased with the idea, Twilight had given in and taken Dash to the library.
There, she was told by Rainbow what she had seen while out cold. According to Rainbow, she had woken up to Ponyville on fire, and the world in ruins around her. Her friends had tried to reassure Rainbow that it was simply a case of her mind being too active while out cold, but Rainbow insisted it was real, and that she had been in a now alternate future of Equestria.
This had eventually led one hour ago, to Twilight sending a letter to Princess Celestia, questioning if such a thing was even possible. Minutes later, the reply arrived, which made Twilight and her friends very nervous. It was indeed possible with very dark forbidden magic, to throw a soul into the future while their physical selves remained in the present.
Outside, the low rumble of storm clouds could be heard, and Rainbow Dash was becoming impatient at being kept in the library while Twilight figured out what to do. What Rainbow had seen one week earlier was obviously bad news, the elements of harmony were corrupting, the outcome of which had to be determined.
“Thought of anything yet?” Rainbow asked, flying in place just behind Twilight.
“No, I don’t know how to possibly sort this out.” Twilight groaned, staring at the floor.
“Well, I don’t see the need to stay any longer, and I have an unscheduled storm to clear away now that I’m well enough. Sorry to rush away.”
Twilight said nothing as her friends left the library.
Pinkie Pie hopped on her way back to Sugarcube Corner, humming one of her songs, one which would make use of the word ‘smile’, to herself. Around her other ponies walked around, expecting the storm to soon be cleared as Rainbow Dash darted about overhead. Pinkie stopped at one point and looked up. Above, Rainbow Dash moved a storm cloud, backing away a second later as it let out a bolt of lightning. She waited for a while, before being sure that it was safe to move it again. Pinkie Pie smiled to herself and kept hopping along. As she turned the next corner, she stopped.
For some reason, she noted, she turned the corner and was now about to head down the same street she had just hopped down. Even the same ponies she had passed were walking around it like they had seconds ago.
“That’s odd.” She said to herself. She hopped forward a small distance and looked up. Above Rainbow Dash was still clearing the storm clouds. Pinkie watched as she approached the same cloud she had moved before. This time however, Rainbow dashed underneath it.
Pinkie screamed as the bolt of lightning struck Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus fell fast to the ground, her wings a smoking black and blue mess, feathers trailing behind her.
Rainbow Dash hit the ground with a sickening thud.
Pinkie Pie ran as fast as she could. While other ponies were trying to work out what had just happened, Pinkie Pie arrived to Rainbow Dash’s side, her eyes were open wide, unable to believe the sight she had just witnessed. Rainbow’s wings were sprawled out, feathers charred. Her eyes were slightly open, but they didn’t seem to move.
Behind her, more ponies rushed in, Applejack and Rarity pushing through the gathering crowd. Pinkie Pie lay in front of Rainbow Dash.
“Dashie,” she begun to cry, “wake up Dashie… you can’t get hurt, not you…” she gently placed a hoof on Rainbow, nudging her softly.
Pinkie Pie resisted as Applejack forced her away and Rarity lifted Rainbow Dash up. It took all of Applejack’s strength to hold Pinkie back as Rarity ran, levitating Rainbow Dash above her.
“This isn’t happening. It... it can’t be happening. Somepony tell me this isn’t happening, that I’m having a bad dream,” she paused, “it’s real, this is all real, Dashie is hurt badly. It’s not fair Applejack, why couldn’t the lightning hit something else? Why her? Tell me this is a dream Applejack, please…” Pinkie pleaded.
“Sorry sugarcube… this ain’t a dream…”
Pinkie laid on the floor again crying.
Outside the emergency tent the nurses had set up, Pinkie Pie continued to lay on the floor. Twilight had arrived some time after the tent had been set up to check on Rainbow Dash, and was currently inside, out of Pinkie’s sight. Nearby, Fluttershy had sat down with Angel nearby. She looked sad while waiting to hear how Rainbow Dash was. Near the tent, Applejack and Rarity were looking after Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, as they attempted to calm Scootaloo, who had been shaken quite badly by the news of what had occurred to her hero.
Pinkie Pie tried to replay the events in her head. She was sure she had turned the corner at the end of one street, only to find herself walking into the same street she had just left. But even she couldn’t do something like that, right?
And was it even possible for a Pegasus pony to even get hurt by lightning? Didn’t it need something in contact with the ground to strike in the first place? Nothing made sense, but it had taken place all the same.
Hours passed, and the sun was setting as finally the towns other Pegasus ponies had finished up what Rainbow Dash had begun before the accident. Rarity had left for a while and brought back something to put Scootaloo on, who had cried herself to sleep. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sat either side of her.
Pinkie Pie looked up at the tent. As she did, Twilight came out, looking like she had seen a ghost. Behind her, one of the nurses followed. Pinkie stood up and walked over.
“I’m sorry, we couldn’t save her. She’s gone.”
Pinkie felt numb. The news came as such a blow, she didn’t know how to react, and froze in place. Beside her, Fluttershy burst into tears and ran away, Angel hopping after her. Applejack whispered something to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and they left with Rarity who levitated the sleeping Scootaloo with them as she fought back tears. Applejack now walked over to Twilight. Pinkie couldn’t properly hear what she was saying, but Twilight seemed to get angry, as she stood up and yelled at Applejack, then left.
The next thing Pinkie Pie recalled was a hoof pushing her gently.
“Huh?” she said, still numb to the world.
“You alright sugarcube? The news hit ya harder than a falling bale o’ hay.”
“I’m… I’m fine, Applejack.” She said. Applejack narrowed her eyes, but nodded anyway.
“Nopony’s gone to see her, recon you up for it?”
Pinkie Pie had no response for this. Should she go and see her friend’s lifeless body? Or would it be too much for her to bear?
“Ya don’t have to if it’s too much fer ya.” Applejack added, standing in front of the opening to the tent.
Applejack’s words made it clear though. Since hearing the news, none of them had gone to see her. Last one to see Rainbow Dash before the news was Twilight, before she came out of the tent. With this on her mind, Pinkie Pie stood up and walked to the tent’s flap doors. Maybe she’d walk through and find it was all a prank set up by Rainbow Dash. It’d have been very cruel, but she still hoped that somehow it was a prank.
Inside was a single quickly set up bed, on this lay Rainbow Dash, her eyes now properly closed. The Nurses had tidied up her wings, and no more charred edges to the feather were left. Walking around, the burnt wound on her back had been bandaged over. Applejack watched as Pinkie Pie sat down and stared at Rainbow Dash’s body.
“Wake up Dashie… if this is a prank, it’s making me feel bad. I don’t like that Dashie.”
No reply came. Pinkie Pie carefully placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s body and shook. “Please Dashie, this prank is scaring me. Stop it…”
As she let go, the body simply moved back into place. Rainbow Dash was not waking up. Pinkie burst out crying, tears running down her face like waterfalls.
Behind Applejack, Rarity had returned, and following Applejack’s pointing hoof, saw the pink pony crying near Rainbow Dash’s body. Rarity looked at Applejack, who seemed at a loss on what to do.
“Maybe one of us should take her to Sugarcube Corner. It’s too much for her to be sitting there staring at the body.” Rarity stated.
Applejack didn’t say anything. She walked over to Pinkie Pie and put a hoof on her back.
“Come on, ya ain’t strong enough ta see her like this.”
Pinkie Pie nodded and stood up. She walked ahead of Applejack as they both left the tent. Some distance away, Pinkie stopped.
“Thank you Applejack. I can take care of myself from here.”
Applejack looked confused, and walked back to Pinkie’s side.
“You sure?”
“Yes, Rainbow Dash would appreciate you staying with her. Even if she is...” Pinkie trailed off, too sad to finish her sentence.
Applejack stayed beside Pinkie for a minute, giving the pink pony a chance to change her mind. At the second minute, Pinkie hadn’t changed her mind, and Applejack turned to leave. Pinkie Pie stayed where she was as Applejack walked back to the tent, and sat down when Applejack was out of sight, and stared at Sugarcube Corner. It was usually a fun place for her, but now, she had the urge to just walk in any direction away from the tent and keep going, and never come back to Ponyville.
A cough startled her into looking to her left. She got up and backed away slightly at the pony she saw. He was a unicorn, dark blue in colour and eyes the colour of emeralds, his cutie mark was hidden by the cape he wore, and he smiled at her. He walked over to her and stared in her eyes.
“Who are you?” Pinkie Pie asked nervously.
“I am sorry miss, but I saw you from over there, and you looked sad, I just came to try and see if there was anything I could do to help you.” he grinned, narrowing his eyes and lowering his head to bring his eyes level to Pinkie’s own. Despite how intimidating this should have been, she felt a little easier, but something wasn’t right.
Pinkie kept staring at the unicorn, who observed her with a bemused look on his face. It soon dawned on him that he had failed to answer her question, and he gasped slightly.
“Oh! I do apologise,” he back up a little, letting Pinkie see more than just his eyes, “my name is Ulysses. And may I ask yours?”
Pinkie glanced to the side.
“I’m Pinkie Pie.”
“Well Pinkie Pie, it seems what troubles you is that you saw your friend fly through the sky perfectly fine, only to witness her fly through the same way and die. And you know deep down that never happened, yet it did.”
Ulysses had got it spot on, and Pinkie immediately felt a little fear overcoming her. She had not even attempted to say why she was sad. Rising a few feet in the air, with a fearful look on her face, she turned and ran away from him fast. She ran down several streets before stopping, feeling safe from him.
A cough proved otherwise. Scared, she turned slowly to see Ulysses floating on his back behind her.
“Now, now, I am sorry if I scared you, but it’s hardly a secret. Most of this town has been talking about the sudden death of Rainbow Dash.”
Pinkie Pie slowly backed away from him, as Ulysses stared at her through one eye.
“W-what do you want?” she questioned.
Ulysses turned around and landed on the ground. His smile seemed warm and comforting, yet it made Pinkie feel nervous.
“What I want is to help you. None of this should have taken place. I am here to tell you why and set it right.”
Pinkie gave a quick glance around, but saw no one who could help her get away from him.
“Ok, what do you want to say?”
Ulysses cleared his throat. It was pretty clear he had a lot to say.
“I am aware from Princess Celestia that the Elements of Harmony are becoming corrupted thanks to the encounter with Nightmare Moon. What happened to you today is the result of the Element of Laughter trying to protect itself from being corrupted. It figured the Element of Loyalty could not pass on its corruption if its holder was dead. So when you came along, witnessing its holder moving clouds, it figured it could use your fast speed to kill her. So you hopped away, witnessing your friend safe, only to find yourself somehow just moments in the past, and then watched your friend get hit by the bolt that killed her.”
It took several minutes for all the details to sink in. When they had, Pinkie felt horrible. The Element of Harmony she carried had killed her friend, and she was to blame. She fell to the ground, sobbing and heartbroken. Ulysses slowly walked over and sat in front of her, placing a hoof on her right front leg.
“Now, it was not your fault. You are not to blame, you didn’t know what the Element of Laughter would do,” he stopped talking to help her up, “listen careful to me Pinkie Pie. I will take you to the door of your home, then leave. I will return as soon as I figure out a way to reverse the course of action that took place today. I promise I will.”
Pinkie Pie only nodded as he walked beside her to Sugarcube Corner, hoping that the day had been a cruel joke.
---- Author's notes; changes to Pinkie's Phantasm from the original are slight. better explanations are given, and the character previously named 'Jester' is now named 'Ulysses'. This is due to the fact 'Jester' was a holding name, and wasnt supposed to originally be used.
Also, I'm still looking for a new editor to help me. Really, I'd appreciate the help.
Pinkie Pie walked slowly over to Rarity’s shop, the next day, not hopping along the way, her normal method of getting around. When she arrived, she knocked gently at the door, which was opened two minutes later by Rarity herself. Pinkie looked at her, and saw Rarity’s mouth move, but the words failed to reach her ears. Rarity ushered her in, and Pinkie looked around.
Fluttershy was sitting in a corner, her eyes red from all the crying she had done. In an opposite corner, Scootaloo lay flat on her stomach, staring at the floor in front of her, only looking up to glare when Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle tried to get near.
In the middle of the room, Twilight and Applejack were talking again, only glancing as Pinkie Pie entered.
“How are you doing, Pinkie Pie?” Spike asked, walking up to her.
“I feel horrible. I wish I could do something.” She responded in a dull tone of voice.
Spike nodded. He followed Pinkie Pie as she walked over to Twilight and Applejack.
“Hey Pinkie, are you feeling better? Applejack told me you went to see her after everyone else left.” Twilight said, smiling in an effort to cheer Pinkie Pie up.
Pinkie’s eyes welled up with tears, and she didn’t answer. The image of Rainbow Dash’s body laying there, looking like she was only asleep came back into her mind, crystal clear.
“Everypony’s hurting right now sugarcube, if it helps, go talk ta Fluttershy. We’re discussing things that’ll probably make ya feel even worse.”
Pinkie simply nodded, and walked away.
She didn’t talk to Fluttershy while there. Pinkie instead just lay on the floor. Every so often, she heard discussions coming from Applejack, Twilight and Rarity, about how they would bury Rainbow Dash. It was decided early on she would be buried in the clothes she had worn to the Gala. Another detail Pinkie heard was about some memorial to her. Pinkie closed her eyes tight. ‘This has to be a dream, like what she had when out cold last week. That must be it, I must have hit my head against something I didn’t see. I’ll wake up and it’ll be fine.’
What she saw instead when opening her eyes was the gazes Applejack, Twilight and Rarity gave her. It wasn’t a dream.
“Are you sure you’re ok, Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked walking up to her.
“No… I was hoping this was another nightmare, like what Rainbow Dash had last week about the Corrupting Element of Loyalty. But I’m not waking up.”
“I’m sorry Pinkie. Maybe I should walk you home, it’s probably too much for you since you saw the accident then saw her in the tent.” Twilight stated as she walked over.
Pinkie looked hopeful at Twilight.
“Maybe that kind unicorn, Ulysses, will turn up with the solution on the way!”
“Yes maybe he,” Twilight’s eyes opened wide, “wait, what unicorn?”
“His name was Ulysses. He said Dashie shouldn’t have died, and that he’d come back with the way to ensure she doesn’t.”
All eyes were now on her. In the corner she had taken, Scootaloo stood up, looking hopeful. Twilight meanwhile checked Pinkie’s forehead.
“You’re not running a fever. Ulysses isn’t an imaginary friend is he?”
“Nope! Mrs Cake saw him too. Come on, maybe he has an answer by now!”
Pinkie Pie hopped along again, full of hope the mysterious Ulysses would appear with the way to make things right. Twilight, being cautious, kept some distance from Pinkie, in case Ulysses would only appear to her, and wouldn’t turn up if Twilight was by her side.
Then, a street or two from Sugarcube Corner, he did.
“Ah,” he smiled weakly at her, “Pinkie Pie, you seem in a better mood today.”
“I sure am, I was hoping you’d come back with the way to stop Rainbow Dash from being dead.”
Ulysses maintained his weak smile, and glanced behind Pinkie Pie. Twilight felt scared. Even though she was hiding, it felt like Ulysses could see her as if she were in an open field instead of behind a barrel.
“I do have a bit of bad news Pinkie,” Ulysses spoke, now looking back at the pink pony, “while with your sadness I was able to find the exact moment of Rainbow Dash’s death, so far I am unable to find how to prevent it. I have tried a few interferences on my part in the incident, like causing another cloud somewhere else to strike something harmlessly so she would go to it, but that very cloud that killed her always seems to get in the way.” Ulysses stomped his right front hoof across the ground in frustration.
Pinkie sat down, feeling sad again.
“But don’t worry. I will continue trying. I feel I may find the solution sometime around the Winter Wrap Up. Until then, keep strong,” Ulysses once again looked directly at Twilight, “and if you wondered, I would have shown for her regardless of if you did or didn’t hide Twilight Sparkle.”
As Twilight walked from behind the barrel, Ulysses had gone.
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you Pinkie Pie. But now I’ve a few questions for this Ulysses. Next time, be sure to come find me rather than let him go right away.”
-- It was now much later in the day. Twilight had invited Pinkie Pie to the library, Twilight watched Spike gathering paper, ink and a quill with a serious look on her face, and Pinkie watched as Twilight dictated a letter to Princess Celestia, Pinkie sighed still upset over Ulysses’ bad news. Twilight cleared her throat.
Dear Princess Celestia,
a lot of strange things have occurred here in Ponyville since yesterday. First, I must start by saying Rainbow Dash has died. While clearing the clouds, a freak lightning bolt struck her in the back, and she died from the wounds and impact with the ground several hours later. I haven't told anypony what her last words were, out of worry as to how the others will react, but I feel you should know what they were princess,
Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, who didn’t smile, and lent to Spike, whispering the next part of the letter.
the main purpose for this letter, shortly after her passing a dark blue unicorn has begun turning up to talk only to Pinkie Pie. He calls himself ‘Ulysses’. Should we trust this colt? He seems odd, especially with telling Pinkie Pie that Rainbow Dash should be alive right now.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight sat and looked at Pinkie Pie as Spike sent off the letter, then walked over to Pinkie Pie and hugged her legs in his own way of trying to cheer the pink pony up. Outside, several ponies walked past, the only indication of this was the sound of their hooves, as none of them spoke. Eventually, Twilight sighed.
“You have to stay away from this Ulysses.”
“But why? He seems nice and he just wants to help.” Pinkie protested.
“From what I’ve heard Twilight, he only wants to help out.” Spike added, earning himself a glare of disapproval from the purple unicorn.
Twilight shook her head.
“Maybe so, but he knew where I was when I went into hiding before he had turned around. He couldn’t have known I was there, yet he did.”
“But he’s a unicorn, Twilight! Can’t you do that?”
Twilight took a moment to think. Memories ran through her head, until she reached the present moment.
“I don’t recall that being something that I have ever been capable of. But I think Rainbow’s last words were related to this Ulysses.”
Pinkie narrowed her eyes.
“And what were her last words?”
Twilight shifted uneasy.
“I don’t think you’re ready to know them Pinkie.”
“Please Twilight… I want to know, I’m not a little filly, and I can handle what they were.”
Twilight mentally thanked Princess Celestia the moment Spike belched up her reply, which broke Pinkie’s determination to learn Rainbow Dash’s last words. He opened the scroll and read aloud.
To my faithful student,
indeed, it is sad to hear of the passing of one of your friends. It does explain why the Element of Loyalty appeared all of a sudden in the throne room. But of higher concern is this unicorn you mentioned. His sudden appearance can not be a coincidence. These two incidents may be related, so until the truth is revealed, it may be wise not to anger and lose the help of this ‘Ulysses’, though do be careful of him as none of us knows his true intentions. I will come to Ponyville as soon as I am able to try and see him personally. Extend my condolences to your friends, it is sad to lose a friend to death.
From your teacher and mentor,
Princess Celestia.
Pinkie Pie wasted no time as Twilight took in the details of the letter. She was suddenly up close to Twilight’s face.
“What were Rainbow Dash’s last words?”
“But Pinkie, I really don’t think you’d be able to handle the thought of what she said.”
Pinkie sighed and backed off a little. She turned around and looked at Twilight, pleading with her.
“I’ll keep it secret too if you tell me.”
Twilight bit her lip as she tried to decide if it was right to tell the message to Pinkie Pie. Finally she gave in.
“Rainbow Dash’s last words were ‘Tell Pinkie Pie I don’t blame her, this isn’t her fault.’ And that was it. She closed her eyes and was gone. I watched as the Element of Loyalty appeared above her, then it vanished. We at least know the princess has it safe.”
Pinkie begun to cry, small streams of tears rolled down her face as she sobbed. Had it really been her fault that Dash was dead? She had, after all, managed to walk into the same street twice. But then, Dash had said she didn’t blame her. What if this was like how Rainbow had said she saw a future of Equestria, that the Element of Laughter had done this. If that were true, then Pinkie really wasn’t to blame, and that was good. It was still bad that Rainbow was dead, but it wasn’t her fault.
But she didn’t stop crying. She wanted nothing more than to hug Rainbow and say sorry to her, something she would never get to do if Ulysses failed to find a way to bring Rainbow back. Pinkie stared at the floor and continued crying, as Twilight simply sat opposite her, and after a moment, moved to beside Pinkie. Twilight lent against Pinkie, trying to comfort the pink pony.
Both ponies looked to the door as yelling erupted on the street outside. Hurrying, both ponies saw what was going on. On a nearby roof, Scootaloo stood at the edge, wings open. Down below, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pleaded with their friend to come down. Together, Pinkie Pie and Twilight rushed over.
“Apple Bloom, what’s going on?” Twilight asked.
“Scootaloo is still feeling pretty upset over Rainbow Dash’s death, she said she had something planned to never forget her hero, but when we looked for her, and we found her up there!”
Pinkie Pie looked up at Scootaloo, who glanced at her for a moment before looking ahead again.
“Come down Scootaloo! You’ll get hurt!” she shouted.
“No way!” Scootaloo walked closer to the edge of the building.
“But Scootaloo! You don’t know how to fly!” Sweetie Belle yelled, jumping on the spot.
“There’s always a first time for everything!” Scootaloo shouted, and jumped.
-- Time had stood still the second Scootaloo had jumped from the roof. Looking around in confusion, Pinkie Pie saw something. Down an alley, staring at her, was a dark brown unicorn colt. Strange markings lined his eyes and the sapphire blue eyes stared intently at her. She felt herself growing weak as she stared directly at him, but couldn’t break free to look away.
She was only slightly aware of the arrival of Ulysses, who finally broke the hold this new unicorn held on her, and chased him off. She shook her head clear, and looked up at Ulysses.
“Ulysses, who was that?” she asked, fear in her voice.
“I rushed back as soon as I realised. The corruption in the Elements of Harmony, it’s taken a physical form. That’s why I can’t find the way to help save Rainbow Dash. She saw him too, just before the bolt struck her. I don’t know if she was aware of what he really was, but she saw him.” Ulysses shifted, apparently still uneasy of the appearance of the brown unicorn.
“She knew. She said with her last words before she died.” Pinkie stated, she said the words aloud, despite not meaning to.
Ulysses nodded.
“I see… the only way to stop her death could be to prevent the corruption in the Elements of Harmony from taking a physical form before the moment. It won’t be easy,” he seemed to finally take in the surroundings Pinkie Pie was in, and saw the little orange Pegasus frozen in time in the air above them, “ah, trying to fly for the first time. It is always an important moment in a young pegasus’ life.”
Pinkie too snapped back to what had begun before the mysterious new unicorn turned up.
“Are you crazy? She’s going to hurt herself! All Pegasus ponies take flight school before they can fly!”
Ulysses grinned knowingly.
“Maybe, and then again maybe not.”
-- Colour returned to the scene, as gasps echoed around the street. Looking up, Pinkie watched as Scootaloo fell, and then suddenly begun moving up in the air. Pinkie Pie smiled weakly as Scootaloo begun flying over the heads of the gathered ponies, cheering to herself as she flew around in circles.
Beside her, Twilight seemed to notice that Pinkie’s thoughts were on something other than the now flying Scootaloo.
A month had passed since Pinkie Pie had last seen Ulysses, or the strange brown unicorn. Things had mostly been quiet in Ponyville, save for the statue and plaque made for Rainbow Dash. Twilight had insisted it be made after Rainbow Dash had been buried. The plaque simply read;
‘In memory of Rainbow Dash, a great friend, ambitious dreamer and the only Pegasus to ever perform a Sonic Rainboom twice in her life.’
Pinkie stood near it and watched as snow fell off it and to the ground below. Around her, the rest of Ponyville was wrapping up winter under Twilight’s organization, but there was one problem, which Twilight was currently yelling at.
“Oh, come on! Pegasus ponies are supposed to clear the roofs of snow and the sky of clouds! What do you mean you all refuse to do it?”
A Pegasus walked up to her, looking none too happy.
“We always followed Rainbow Dash’s lead, even last year when you organized it so we’d be on time. But with her gone, we all feel it would be disrespectful to her to just fill her place as if she was never alive!”
Twilight gritted her teeth.
“You are all being UNREASONABLE! Rainbow Dash wouldn’t see it as disrespectful! She’d want this to be done as it was last year!”
Twilight could do nothing as all the Pegasus ponies responded by leaving. She groaned in anger and looked at Spike.
“Send the letter?”
“Yes, Spike. Using magic to do their job would be disrespectful. Thankfully I had the foresight of ensuring out of town Pegasus ponies to come help.”
Spike held up the letter and sent it off to the Princess. Smiling, Twilight walked over to Pinkie.
“I know you weren’t up for helping on the lake this year, did you at least organize the rest?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah Twilight, they should be getting to the last lake now. Are you sure the princess will send the help you prepared just in case?”
Twilight nodded. She smiled as Applejack and Fluttershy arrived.
“The ground’s all ready, just need the clouds to be cleared up.” Applejack stated.
“Yes, and all the animals are awake.” Fluttershy added.
“Good,” Twilight looked up, “ah, and here comes the backup plan.”
High in the sky, a line of Pegasus ponies had flown from Cloudsdale and were now moving the clouds away with their combined wind pressure.
Pinkie smiled a little as the sun’s warmth filled the air. Looking around, she saw Rarity and other ponies taking the bird nests they had made around and climbing ladders to place them in the trees. Once again, she looked up, and felt sadness once again. Rainbow Dash was still gone, and while Twilight had refused to use magic, it still didn’t feel the same.
--
“Y’know, things won’t be the same when I need rain out on the fields.” Applejack stated. The friends had since gathered near the statue Twilight had commissioned of Rainbow Dash, which they sat in front of.
“Yeah,” Twilight agreed, “and she won’t suddenly crash into the library anymore after a stunt goes wrong. Spike at first didn’t miss it, but he does now.”
They all looked at Rarity, who strangely was crying hard.
“I… I found one of her feathers in my shop just yesterday… it must have fallen off her wings some time ago and blown under the desk… it really hit me hard as I walked over to sew something and it blew out into view…”
Applejack put a hoof on Rarity’s back, but said nothing as she tried to comfort her. Twilight turned to face Fluttershy who had said nothing.
“What’s being done about her house?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy looked at the ground.
“Fluttershy,” Twilight moved closer to the yellow Pegasus, “what is being done about Rainbow Dash’s house?”
“I was thinking of just leaving it where it was. It… it might be more painful if it wasn’t still in the sky… maybe…” Fluttershy finally answered.
Twilight turned away as Fluttershy curled into herself. She looked at Pinkie Pie.
“I’m hoping Ulysses will turn up, and he can correct all this.” She answered before Twilight even had to ask. Twilight sighed and looked at the sun. It was getting lower in the sky now, and she too remembered that Ulysses had promised to turn up by Winter Wrap Up with the way to save Rainbow Dash from dying.
A sudden gentle voice startled everyone.
“Why the crying, fair white filly?”
Rarity looked directly into the eyes of Ulysses, who was floating upside down in front of her.
“I found a feather from Rainbow Dash, and her not being around hit me hard…”
Ulysses grinned much wider than Pinkie had ever seen. Without a word or prior warning, he grabbed the feather off Rarity.
“Fantastic! I was just about to come and see if anyone had one of her feathers,” he turned back to his hooves and trotted over to Pinkie Pie, “now, as I promised Pinkie Pie, I found the way to save her, but it won’t be easy.”
Ulysses narrowed his eyes a little as Twilight stood in between him and Pinkie Pie.
“Why don’t you tell us this entire plan to all of us rather than just Pinkie Pie?” Twilight quizzed.
“Very well, Twilight Sparkle.” Ulysses replied. Using his horn, a bottle filled with liquid appeared. With this, he magically scrapped bits off the feather of Rainbow Dash into the bottle and swirled it.
“I released, as long as I focused on any of your sadness, the physical form of the corruption would always ensure Rainbow Dash’s death. It proved to be impossible, even getting you, Twilight Sparkle, to trick her into going to Cloudsdale a few days before couldn’t stop her death,” he floated the bottle to Pinkie Pie, “but then it came to me. I was trying so hard to prevent her death using each of your sadness, that I’d overlooked one pony I could try to find the solution to the problem through.”
All but Twilight seemed confused by what Ulysses was saying. Twilight herself passed the thought process through her mind a few times to ensure she had understood correctly, finally realising, Ulysses intended to focus his efforts on Rainbow Dash rather than anypony else.
“So you attempted to find out if you could save Rainbow Dash by using Rainbow herself as the return point?” she asked.
“Precisely! Using magic to test how returning to her a few minutes before would work, I finally found it. The physical corruption assumed nopony would think of using the victim as a return point to prevent the death in the first place. In theory, it will work, but it required pieces of Rainbow Dash herself to make the potion, and this is where it gets hard.” Ulysses added, almost hopping around.
“What do you mean?” Twilight glared at Ulysses.
“The physical corruption was present at her death. Returning Pinkie Pie a few minutes before will be a one shot attempt. If she fails to convince Rainbow Dash to be more careful of the storm, it will know Rainbow herself was used, and then ensure she can’t be for any further attempts,” Ulysses looked at Pinkie Pie, “do you understand Pinkie Pie? You can drink this potion whenever you are ready, but do not waste the attempt! If you fail to save your friend, then that is it for the time being, it could take many more months to find another way back and try again.”
Pinkie Pie stared at the bottle, and bit her lower lip, every emotion possible raced through her mind. Utter joy that there was a way to save Rainbow Dash dying, worry soon took over, as she begun to think of what would happen if she failed to save her friend. This led to doubt in her ability to be able to do as Ulysses hoped and had seemingly worked hard to help her with.
Several minutes of silence passed by, as Pinkie Pie stared nervously at the bottle. It would be the only chance at the best for many more months. At the worst, it was the only chance, and if she failed, Rainbow Dash would be gone forever.
Normally, she would have lightened the mood, but it was very serious and there was no time for joking around. She looked past Ulysses and to her friends. Twilight wasn’t smiling; she seemed to be studying Ulysses. Fluttershy looked hopefully at Pinkie Pie, while Applejack and Rarity simply stared.
“Hang on a minute,” Twilight spoke up, “why does Pinkie have to drink the potion and save Rainbow Dash?”
“Because,” Ulysses didn’t break his gaze at Pinkie Pie, “I did check if giving it to another would ensure her survival. It did not. For reasons even I don’t understand, it only worked when it was Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie Pie took a step forward.
“Do I have to drink it now?” she questioned.
“Not if you don’t want to. You can leave it and take it at a later point if you don’t feel confident enough to return to the past just yet.” Ulysses smiled. Pinkie again felt uneasy about his smile. Its appearance on Ulysses’ face suggested his genuine pleasure at being able to help the pink pony, but she couldn’t explain why it felt there were more… sinister, intentions behind it. She looked at Twilight who had since walked around to face Ulysses from the front, and from what Pinkie could tell, the same thoughts were going through Twilight’s mind about Ulysses’ smile.
Pinkie Pie looked down at the floor.
“It’s so great! I can save Dashie now!” Pinkie bounced on the spot. Slowly, this came to a stop, as her thoughts continued.
“But... what if I fail?” She gasped.
“I’m... I’m not ready!” she cried out, looking desperately at the others.
“I think if she isn’t ready yet, then it would be best to wait until she is.” Twilight stated.
Ulysses nodded, the sinister intentions behind his smile, regardless of if they had been real or not, vanished, replaced by a genuine, and friendly smile.
“Twilight Sparkle, do you mind taking the potion for safe keeping? It must be kept cool and dry, otherwise the liquid will evaporate, if even a drop is gone, it will not work. Remember, Pinkie Pie must be the one to drink it when she is ready to save Rainbow Dash, and I will come back to help her when she is ready to save your friend.”
Twilight took the potion from Ulysses, who simply bowed and vanished into the air. Twilight looked at the bottle and liquid. The bottle itself was pretty ordinary and seemed like Ulysses had grabbed it in a hurry during a moment of success in making the liquid contained within. The liquid, since Ulysses had first shown the bottle, had changed from a sparkling green, to a pleasant sky blue, as if the parts of the feather of Rainbow Dash had changed its colour.
“I’m sorry everypony…” Pinkie said, looking up sadly at the others.
“Ah don’t worry about it sugarcube. We have the potion now, that Ulysses did what was required. We just gotta hope all goes well when yer ready.” Applejack replied with a smile.
“Yes, and now we need to plan exactly how to save her. Rushing into it won’t do much good, she’s stubborn.” Twilight added.
Rarity coughed to get attention. As all eyes fell on her, she smiled to try and hide the fact she had still been crying.
“It’s obvious really. If she can go back carrying anything, then we need to send her with three things that will prove to Rainbow Dash she will die unless she listens.”
They all stared at her, Twilight was clearly trying to work out if this was possible, while the rest just seemed to fail to understand what Rarity had just said.
“That is to say, she should take the feather back, and maybe a photo or two of the memorial to her. There is no way Rainbow Dash can deny it then, there is even a date on the memorial of when she died.”
Twilight grinned, remembering a theory of time travel. The potion, from Ulysses’ description, was going to take the pony that drank it back in time.
“Of course, now I understand what you mean. In theory, it’s possible. Here’s what we’ll do, we’ll burn the feather a little; make it look more like she was in an accident that killed her. I’ll get Spike to get the photos of the memorial. That way then,” she looked at Pinkie, “all you have to do is show her the feather and photos; she can’t deny it then, as the memorial didn’t exist before she died.”
Pinkie Pie smiled and begun hopping around.
“Let’s go have a party to celebrate finding the way to save Rainbow Dash!”
-- On a hill just outside Ponyville, the brown unicorn was watching. It stomped a hoof against a rock.
“So, they really think this will work and no one will know? I’ll see to that. Celebrate while you can ponies… for you are all doomed to fail.”
Several days had passed since Ulysses had brought the potion to go back in time and save Rainbow Dash. Twilight had burnt the feather slightly and the photographic proof of a memorial to her was ready in a saddlebag. Carefully, Pinkie Pie made sure it was on tight, and then looked at her friends.
“You know what would be so super awesome? Once we save Dashie, we can throw a party that she didn’t die and that we saved her!” Pinkie Pie hopped on the spot, highly excited and back to feeling her normal self.
Twilight walked to Pinkie’s side and put a leg gently over her back.
“I’m afraid not, Pinkie. But this is important, since it involves the corruption in the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash will be the only one to remember. The timeline will correct itself and the version of you that went back to save her, which is you, will be gone. You must tell her to tell me about the events that have taken place before you went back.”
Across the room, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Spike all looked confused as if they didn’t understand a word Twilight had just said.
Pinkie however simply nodded and added, “I’m also going to tell her to tell you to tell me to throw the Rainbow Dash Didn’t Die Or Well Really She Died But We Undid It So She Is Now Undead… oh, wait, that’s not a good name for this party, is it?”
Before anypony could reply, there was a light knock at the front door. Twilight opened it and Ulysses walked in. He didn’t smile as he approached the ponies, and he seemed uncomfortable with even being present.
“It is good to see you all again. Now, since I made this potion, I can follow Pinkie Pie back to ensure she remains undisturbed in this attempt.”
They all now watched Pinkie who looked at the cup the potion had been poured in. It seemed to glow in a bright purple. As Pinkie looked at the surface, the events of the past month reflected at her, Rainbow Dash falling to the ground with feathers flowing behind her, the funeral, the unveiling of the memorial, meeting Ulysses, Rarity showing the feather she had found. The events played themselves on the surface of the liquid in a chaotic order.
Pinkie looked to her right as Ulysses stood beside her.
“I am ready to help when you are ready to go.” He said encouraging her. Pinkie shook off the uneasy feeling, it was as if Ulysses had suddenly become the colt she had first met on the way back to Sugarcube corner so long ago, and she had no idea why it felt like a trap. But then, despite being strange and scary, Ulysses was kind hearted, and she just assumed the feelings running through her mind were simply anxiety over what she was about to do.
She picked up the cup, and looked at the liquid one last time. The smiling face of Rainbow Dash looked back at her.
She drank it in one gulp.
--
Pinkie shook her head clear and looked around her. She was in a quiet back alley somewhere in Ponyville. In the sky, the storm that had killed Rainbow Dash rumbled. She walked forward carefully and looked around more. Nopony had seen her, which was good. Remembering the saddlebags, she checked them quickly for the items she had to show Rainbow Dash. She was amazed to see they too had made the trip, and smiled. So far, the plan was working as expected.
She sat for a moment, trying to think of which direction Rainbow Dash had taken, and the best way to meet with her without running into her past self. With a hastily planned route, she turned around, and walked into somepony.
“Oh gosh, I’m sorry.” She said and looked up. Fear grabbed her.
The brown unicorn with the strange markings under its eyes glared at her, and for the first time, she got a good look at them. They appeared to be of magical writing in a language that didn’t seem real to her eyes. They glowed, but impossibly, they glowed in pure black. She had never known until then that black could actually glow.
“I have been expecting you, Element of Laughter.” It rumbled. Pinkie Pie backed away.
“How did--”
“I know? Hah. Do you honestly think I would not watch you remaining Elements? You were all over the loss of that thing, you all want to restore that balance between you elements. I want to bring about the end of the balance they bring. My past self knows nothing of this, but I will make sure you alert him before you too die this day!”
Pinkie Pie ran, the brown unicorn only letting her stay ahead for the thrill of chasing her down before taking her life. As they ran, ponies all watched, too shocked to help.
Pinkie Pie dared a quick glance up at the sky, and watched as Rainbow Dash took to the air. She was almost about to fail, and there would be no more chances when the brown unicorn behind her had had enough fun of chasing her.
She winced a little as the brown unicorn jabbed its horn into the back of her left hind leg. Suddenly, running became that little bit harder. But she couldn’t give up. Twilight had been clear. Succeed and this version of her wouldn’t exist anymore. She wouldn’t exist anymore having witnessed a friend meet an early death, living through the pain of knowing her friend had died, or being chased down by this strange brown unicorn.
A bright white flash made her change direction. Stopping a short distance away, she watched as Ulysses charged the brown unicorn. He kicked the brown unicorn to the floor and turned to her.
“Run! Do what you are here for! And don’t let me down, Pinkie Pie!” Ulysses shouted, as the brown unicorn got back up and rammed Ulysses side on.
Not looking back, Pinkie Pie ran away. Several streets later, she stopped, out of breath. A slight blood trail ran down her leg. She looked up, and saw the rainbow trail as Rainbow Dash drew near.
“It’s now or never,” she said to herself, “hey Rainbow Dash! Dashie! Down here!”
The rainbow streak drew near, and in a second, Rainbow Dash landed in front of Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie Pie? Are you ok? Your leg is bleeding!”
“I’m fine Dashie. It’s so good to see you again.” Pinkie grinned, she hugged Rainbow Dash, tears running down her face simply from the joy she felt seeing her friend alive again.
“Uh,” Rainbow Dash narrowed her right eye and made efforts to break free of Pinkie’s hug, “Pinkie, we just left Twilight’s house, it hasn’t been long since you saw me last.”
“Oh, that Pinkie Pie is somewhere else right now. I’ve been sent back in time to save you.”
Rainbow Dash looked highly confused, and raised her right front leg up.
“Is this a joke? I’m sorry Pinkie Pie, I don’t have time for a joke.”
“Wait!” Pinkie shouted as Rainbow Dash prepared to take off.
“Ok, fine. What is it?”
Pinkie Pie removed the burnt feather and photos from her saddlebag.
“I really did come from the future to save you Rainbow Dash. The other me, will see you die today. It’s been horrible without you around.”
Rainbow Dash felt Pinkie’s forehead, then looked at what she had removed from the saddlebag. “Hey, that’s one of my feathers isn’t it? Why did you burn it? And what are those photos of?”
Pinkie bit her lower lip. She looked over her shoulder, and saw the brown unicorn running at her with Ulysses falling behind.
“It’s like I’ve been trying to tell you. The feather is what didn’t get buried with you and was burnt in the lightning strike that killed you. The photos are proof of a memorial Twilight paid for to remember you.”
Rainbow Dash grinned, thinking it was a very good joke.
“It’s amazing how careful you must have been to burn this feather and keep it in one piece. You almost had me with this one Pinkie Pie.”
“Look at the photos, Dashie.”
Rainbow Dash dropped the feather and looked at the top photo. Immediately her jaw dropped. The statue looked just like her, minus any colour.
“Wow, this is in the town square. I know you aren’t an artist, and none of the artists in town would help you in a prank like this,” Rainbow Dash looked up, “I guess you really are from the future. But I’m not buying the whole death thing. I must have got into the Wonderbolts! This is the only reason a statue would be made in my honour!”
“Look at the next one.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and Pinkie begun to panic as the sound of hooves running in her direction could be heard faintly. In front of her, Rainbow Dash went pale.
“Wait... isn’t.... that’s TODAY!” Rainbow Dash sat down in disbelief and shock, forgetting her argument that Pinkie had somehow got an artist to help with a very elaborate prank.
“I... I die today? H...how?”
“I saw you get hit by a bolt of lightning. It’s going to happen when you’re next in the air. I came back to warn you so it won’t happen Dashie,” Pinkie Pie hugged her as best as she could, “you’ll be over the street that leads to the one Sugarcube Corner is on. You’ll see me below, that’s how you’ll know when to be careful. Now go, you still have to do your job.”
Rainbow Dash only nodded. She took to the air leaving behind no rainbow trail.
The sound of thundering hooves was now really close. Pinkie Pie closed her eyes. And held back the urge to scream as the horn broke through her ribcage.
Rainbow Dash looked down every so often. No one below noticed her odd behaviour, but Rainbow Dash sighed. Down on the ground, hopping along, just like the other Pinkie Pie had said, was Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash watched as she turned the corner to the street Sugarcube Corner was on, and disappeared.
“That’s what she meant. So this is it, do or die,” she gulped as she looked back down the street as Pinkie Pie looked around confused, “I can’t let everypony down. I will not die today, not before I live my dream with the Wonderbolts!”
In front of her was a cloud on its own, storing a built up thunderbolt. Standing on it was the brown unicorn, staring angrily at her.
“Are you the one who kills me?” she spoke quietly to herself. To her surprise, the brown unicorn nodded a yes at her.
Rainbow Dash squinted.
“Think again, you won’t kill me today, chump.”
She darted at the cloud. As she did so, the brown unicorn jumped once on the cloud, letting the built up thunder loose. It missed its target by meters, as Rainbow Dash avoided it. She turned back around and begun to spin in circles around the cloud. Following her wind pressure, it begun to spin, and eventually spun and broke up against a tree. Rainbow Dash glared at the brown unicorn who remained standing where the cloud had been.
“It matters not. Corruption has set in the Element of Laughter. You are too late.”
The brown unicorn faded. Rainbow Dash sighed, with him gone, it was pretty clear she would be safe and live to see the next day. She smiled and hurried back to where future Pinkie Pie was when she left.
--
Ulysses looked down sadly at Pinkie Pie. She lay there gasping for breath.
“I’m sorry Pinkie Pie. I couldn’t stop him.”
She laughed, but remained staring at the ground in front of her.
“It doesn’t matter Ulysses. If Rainbow Dash survived, me being stabbed by that brown unicorn’s horn wouldn’t have happened just then.”
Ulysses smiled. Pinkie shivered as he disappeared from sight.
“Pinkie Pie! Hey where are you? Pinkie… oh my Celestia!”
A breeze behind her signalled the arrival of Rainbow Dash.
“Dashie, you survived.” Pinkie said, she sounded weak, and was getting weaker with each hard fought breath, but despite this, her voice rang with pure joy at seeing Rainbow Dash.
“To hay with me, I have to go get Twilight, you’re dying!”
“No,” Rainbow Dash stopped as Pinkie spoke, “it won’t matter, just stay with me.”
“But Pinkie Pie, you saved me, I can’t let you die today instead…”
Pinkie Pie tried to laugh, but coughed instead.
“I said I’d come from the future to stop you dying. Since you’re still alive, I succeeded. Very soon, from what Twilight told me, the future that existed from your death will cease to be. I won’t have really come back to save you, and won’t be here dying.”
It took Rainbow Dash a moment to work this out in her head.
“Wait, if that future won’t exist, what’s to stop me simply dying again?”
“My other saddlebag, quickly.”
Rainbow Dash walked to the saddlebag which had gone some distance away from Pinkie Pie. From it, she took another feather.
“Another of my feathers?”
Pinkie Pie attempted to nod, but was now far too weak.
“Twilight of the future put some sort of magic on it. She found it in her library, though she doesn’t recall you losing a feather in there. Even though the future caused by your death will be gone, as long as you keep hold of that now, the me that saw you die will only exist long enough to prevent your death this day.”
Rainbow Dash looked at the feather and tucked it behind her wing. She sat next to Pinkie Pie, who was now finding it hard to breath. Rainbow watched as this Pinkie Pie begun to fade away. “The timeline is correcting itself,” she smiled weakly, “I’ll see you later Dashie…”
Rainbow Dash sat there crying, as the future Pinkie Pie faded away.
-- Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash. It was the day after the events of the future Pinkie Pie had saved Rainbow Dash from being killed by the brown unicorn in the storm clouds. Around the library, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie watched as Twilight seemed to struggle in understanding what had taken place the day before.
“One last time Rainbow Dash, what happened?”
Rainbow Dash groaned.
“A Pinkie Pie from the future turned up and showed me proof that I was supposed to die yesterday. When I went back to the clouds, a unicorn was there waiting to try and kill me, but I stopped it, then I found the future Pinkie Pie dying where I’d left her, and she gave me another feather to ensure the events took place.”
Twilight shook her head.
“Is that even possible?”
“I don’t know, you’re the one who knows about magic.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“It would be so good if it was,” Pinkie Pie chimed in, “because I could gather a dozen Pinkie Pies from different futures and throw a timey whiney partay! And all future Rainbow Dashes and Twilight Sparkles and every-everypony would be invited!” At this point, Pinkie was wiggling her hooves while floating in the air in excitement.
“SPIKE!”
“Yes Twilight?”
“Find me a book on time travel theories.”
“Ooh! Does it have a chapter on inviting future selves to parties?” Pinkie questioned Twilight while Spike ran about, eventually coming to a point on the shelves where the book could be.
“I don’t think it’s here right now Twilight.”
“Of course not, silly,” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “It’s right here.” They all looked at her as she looked down at a book.
“Time Travel Paradoxes and theories, no author.”
Twilight used magic to lift the book in front of her. She skimmed the pages looking for the facts she’d need. Having seemingly found them, she read aloud.
“It is possible to prevent a paradox or a loop with an item carrying a spell to prevent them. Even if the timeline returns to normal, if it is preventing a loop or paradox, the object can still exist simply by the potential break in time and space that could result in its destruction,” Twilight looked up at Rainbow Dash, closing the book, “it’ll be very important to keep that feather in one piece. If you like, I can keep it safe here.”
Rainbow Dash smiled and opened her left wing. She hadn’t understood a thing Twilight had just said, but it sounded like it was a good thing. The feather fell softly to the floor, and from here, Twilight used magic and took it with her into the basement. She returned a few seconds later.
“Right, now I need to write to the princess again about this. It’s got to be something to do with the corrupting element of loyalty.”
Spike gathered the materials he required to write the letter to Princess Celestia, while the ponies watched in an uneasy silence.
Then, the silence was interrupted.
‘The corruption has spread past loyalty. You will all die.’
The ponies and Spike looked around the library. Fluttershy, being so easy to scare, had moved as fast as physically possible behind Applejack, while the rest all looked around trying to locate where the voice had come from, fear filling their minds. The voice had been inside, yet it sounded so distant and faint. They both looked at each other, both of their faces filled with fear of the words the voice had said.
“We better hurry this letter up, Spike. It seems we are all in life or death situations now, and Rainbow Dash was the first attempt.”
Twilight Sparkle once more looked over the letter with Spike. Around them, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie looked on, each of them concerned at what the voice had just under an hour before.
Princess Celestia had been fast to reply, and showed concern, the first line a letter from her had told Twilight to take themselves somewhere safe. Twilight had taken them to the basement of the library, where various scientific instruments were scattered around. And it was here they waited at present. The last line of the letter instructed them to wait for another letter with further instructions.
“Um… Twilight? Do you know how long do we have to wait for?” Fluttershy questioned.
Twilight shook her head. “No mention… Sorry girls.”
Rainbow Dash normally couldn’t stay still for longer than an hour besides when she was napping or asleep for the night. This time, she was frightfully still, and looking quite pale. Having witnessed a potential future, and seemingly the end result of a different future for Pinkie Pie, the voice booming an hour before had brought real fear to her, something she didn’t like to show. So, she had forced a smile.
“It’ll be ok. I’m sure the Princess will tell us what to do soon.” Twilight reassured her friends, but at the same time, reassured herself.
-- On a cloud some distance from Ponyville, an orange Pegasus sat and surveyed the land and skies around him with apprehension. He lowered the goggles that had been holding back his turquoise mane. The goggles were thicker than normal, and even had a toggle switch sticking off of one side, which he proceeded to flip a few times.
His gaze turned towards Canterlot, and he followed something invisible to the naked eye, as it made its way rapidly to Ponyville library. He sighed and lifted the goggles back up. He flapped his wings as he stood up, flew towards Ponyville.
-- Twilight was now reading the new letter from Princess Celestia. It contained simple instructions, and details for what they had to do. She smiled, reassured that the Princess knew what to do to help. She passed the letter to Spike, and moved a few object out of the way. When she had some space, she went to a cupboard and found some chalk, which she used to copy the complex magic circle the Princess had sent to her.
“What the hay are you doin’ Twilight?” Applejack asked.
“It’s a spell the princess told me to do, it will give us access to what the elements of harmony have or will do, meaning we have full control from now on if we are in the past, present or future.” Twilight answered, still focusing on copying the circle just right.
“What does that mean?” Fluttershy meekly admitted ignorance. Twilight quickly glanced up, utterly unimpressed.
“Simply put, so far, the elements of loyalty and laughter have forced Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie into alternate timelines, which they eventually got out of. These are like futures that won't happen anymore. The elements of harmony are in full control of where in time we end up, so this spell will allow us to travel freely through time, beating the elements to activating the alternate futures they set up.” Twilight repeated, as simply as she could.
“I don’t get it though,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, “why are they turning against us?” she questioned.
“Honestly, I don’t really understand it myself. Maybe something has changed, and they’re trying to fix it. We won’t know, but if we don’t act, it could be bad, not just for us, but for all of Equestria.” Twilight responded after a moments thought.
“I think I understand. So this will then let us stop them meanies, and we won’t have to wait for each to set it up first.” Pinkie Pie added, bouncing.
Twilight shook her head in surprise. How did Pinkie Pie understand that? Twilight had expected Rainbow Dash to get it first, and Rainbow had only ever read magazines before, nothing as complex as what Twilight was getting at.
“Yes, Pinkie, that’s what I mean.” Twilight replied, double checking the markings.
“But how will it work for what the element of laughter did? Dashie said the other me had said that future would only exist in her while she was used to stop Dashie dying again.” Pinkie stated.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes became tiny at the mention of her death the other Pinkie that died had mentioned. It wasn’t something she wanted to even think about at that moment. The other ponies however, were trying to really understand what Pinkie Pie had said.
“Um,” Twilight paused, as she ran over her interpretation of Pinkie’s words again, “well, I guess we’d have to have one of us go and see if there’s a sign that indicates the timeline there had Rainbow die.”
“Now hang on a sec Twilight,” Applejack spoke up, “go where? What exactly does this spell do?”
“It should be simple, I hope. We know exactly what happened with the element of loyalty, so, Rainbow Dash, come stand in the middle of the circle.” Twilight ordered.
Slowly, Rainbow Dash walked over to the middle and stood. She resisted a little as Twilight forced her to lay down, then watched nervously as Twilight’s horn glowed. The chalk glowed in turn, and a soft, warming light flowed through Rainbow Dash. Suddenly, all the worries of the last hour and fifteen minutes washed away, as the light seemed to warm every part of her body.
As quickly as it had filled her, the light and its warmth left Rainbow’s body, and she shivered, feeling much colder. She glanced to her right, and saw Twilight was grinning at her own accomplishment, Spike stood beside her, his face full of wonder, and the rest had their jaws dropped. Rainbow stood up and looked in the same direction, her jaw dropping as she saw what they were all looking at.
Against a wall was what looked like clear rippling water. It only showed an image of Rainbow Dash, and nothing beyond it.
“Right, Rainbow, what was it that happened when you said you had blacked out?” Twilight asked, getting nearer.
“Ponyville was on fire. But wait, you can’t go through! What about the corruption that set in?” Rainbow asked, standing in Twilight’s way.
“Part of the spell is that, for each element already sorted out, when we walk in, we can only be observers.” Twilight replied, side stepping Rainbow Dash.
“You’re not going through alone. I’m coming with you.” Rainbow Dash protested, even though she didn’t really want to go.
Twilight offered no protest, then both ponies stood side by side, and entered the liquid.
-- They were looking at the ruins of the hospital, on the bed was Rainbow Dash, where she had woken up during her mysterious black out. Twilight glanced around, a little too fascinated by the destructed surroundings.
“It’s so weird seeing myself over there…” Rainbow muttered.
“Well, is this what you saw?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, Twilight. Can we get out of here? The memory isn’t that pleasant.” Rainbow muttered again, backing up a little.
-- Both fillies walked out of the portal at the basement of the library, Rainbow Dash sat in a corner, laying flat, her eyes staring at the floor. Twilight however, was happy.
“Success. We have full access to the alternate future the element of loyalty created. Now, Pinkie Pie, your turn.” Twilight stated.
The next two hours saw Twilight using the spell on the other ponies, only entering Pinkie Pie’s. The rest she left alone as she would not be an observer in them. At the end, she instructed Rarity on how to cast the spell on Twilight.
The end result was six liquid portals, each with a picture of the ponies the spell had been cast on.
“Right. Now that’s done, we just need to figure out who goes first.” Twilight said, looking between Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack.
They all shivered a little, and Rainbow Dash thought she heard Spike walking on the main floor of the library, near the door to the basement. She questioned to herself for a moment as to why his steps sounded more like hooves, but mentioned nothing.
Fluttershy shifted. She definitely didn’t want to do this, but whatever was wrong with the elements was doing bad things to her friends… even so far as killing Rainbow! That had to be stopped! …if her friends were ok with that.
“Um, Twilight. Maybe I should go first.” Fluttershy offered.
“Are you sure darling?” Rarity asked, looking concerned for her friend.
“Yes, I mean, I hold the element of kindness, how bad could it be?” Fluttershy reasoned, smiling.
“Well, if you’re sure, Fluttershy. Remember, when you’re on the other side, you alone will be able to see the portal back. Use it if things start to go bad.” Twilight offered helpfully.
Slowly and cautiously, Fluttershy walked up to the liquid that held her picture. She bit her lower lip, and carefully walked through. Twilight meanwhile rubbed her eyes, tilted her head and looked at the other ponies.
“Did any of you just see an orange streak head in after Fluttershy?” she asked.
-- Fluttershy gasped at the sight she was met with after stepping through the portal. She was standing in a forest, the tree canopies growing far above. Occasionally, the sound of birds singing could be heard, and from the sky above the trees, a light rainfall reached the ground. It smelled different than any forest she ever knew.
She smiled at the sight. It at least contrasted all the horrible things Rainbow Dash had said she had been through.
“I wonder where I am.” she asked herself, hopeful for a moment that she would meet some new interesting animal friends. She decided to step back through the portal and bring Twilight, to get a better idea of where the forest stood, and she turned around. Her eyes widened with sudden shock.
Where the portal should have been behind her, was empty air, and a pathway leading in one direction through the forest.
Fluttershy suddenly felt scared and all alone. She stared hopelessly where the portal should have been, but now wasn’t. She was stuck at some point in time, with only herself to count on.
Fluttershy backed away from where the portal to the present should have been. Around her, the birds continued singing, oblivious to the panicking yellow pegasus below. A single thought ran through Fluttershy’s head, how Twilight had told her and the others that the way back would be there. Did she know it was gone? She hoped that back in the library basement, Twilight had seen the portal close, and was now working on a way to open it once more and get her back.
She froze when the sound of hoofsteps could be heard walking beside her, and from the corner of her eye, she saw an orange pegasus with blue hair and brown goggles on his head. His emerald green eyes observed her, and a warm smile crossed his face.
“If you wish to know,” he said, “my name is Sunshine Blaze. I followed you here through that portal. Wasn’t easy, and hopefully I wasn’t seen, but I am only here to help you.”
Fluttershy didn’t reply, instead she shifted away from him slightly, averting her gaze.
“Could I at least know your name?” Sunshine Blaze asked.
“Fluttershy...” she replied.
“Okay, Fluttershy, like I just said, you and I came through that portal, and now we’re trapped here. I’m trying to find out why these events are happening to you and your friends, so you won’t see me until we meet back here to go through the portal once it reappears,” Sunshine Blaze looked up at Fluttershy, “but from what I can tell, we’re over a thousand years in the past, so whatever you do, do not mention anything that could cause the present to change, or all of time to collapse.”
Sunshine Blaze waited a minute for Fluttershy to reply, but it became clear she had no intention of speaking to the unfamiliar colt.
“Basically, don’t mention Princess Luna being imprisoned, Discord escaping his prison or any everyday device that hasn’t been invented yet. Should be easy, ok? And if you need me for anything, just call for me, I’ll be there as soon as I can, if I’m in earshot. I’ll leave you be, so until we next meet!” Sunshine Blaze said, taking flight rather than waiting for her reply.
“But,” she replied quietly to the empty space that Sunshine Blaze was, “what am I supposed to do? How can I ask my friends for help?” she wimpered.
Once more, Fluttershy was all alone in the forest. The strange pegasus, Sunshine Blaze, had given her some information to work with. She was in the past. Added to the fact the portal was gone and she was trapped, and she felt lonely.
Quietly, she lay at the edge of the path, and begun to cry.
-- Fluttershy was startled awake an hour later to the sounds of hooves and a flap of wings. She remained perfectly still out of fear, and listened.
“So, we at least know where he is located now. All we have to do is get the agreement of our hometown, and we can end his reign of terror.” one voice said.
“You know it won’t be easy,” another, sadder sounding, voice spoke up, “they fear him. He rules the land with his wicked ways. Just because we’ve saved many a land from dangerous creatures and rulers doesn’t mean we’ll get anypony to agree to this.”
“I know, but with those sisters away searching for something they believe will defeat him, we can’t just stand around.” the first voice replied.
“Gentlecolts, I don’t mean to disturb your banter, but I see something up ahead.” this voice informed the others, a hint of curiosity within it, originating in the air, threw in the information.
“What is it? Nothing dangerous?” the second voice asked.
“No, it... I think its a mare, laying by the side of the road.” the third voice answered, sounding slightly confused.
“Poor mare, probably ran into him. Come, it wouldn’t do to not check on her and see if she is well.” the first voice said softly.
Fluttershy cringed in fear as the hoofsteps got closer. When they stopped, she dared a glance to try and see at least what they looked like. She saw a unicorn with a pure white coat and light blue mane and tail, with sapphire eyes. Standing beside him was an earth pony, muddy brown in colour of his coat, with a blonde main and tail and green eyes. Staying in the air just above her was a pegasi, with a green coat, minty green mane and tail, and amber eyes.
“She’s alive at least.” the pegasus stated.
“Yes, but look at her, she’s trembling in fear. Either we’re scaring her, or whatever left her here has had a huge effect on her emotions.” the earth pony replied.
The unicorn examined Fluttershy, noting she was uninjured. He sighed and looked at the other two.
“We won’t know for sure, but the least we can do is talk like she isn’t here,” he smiled warmly at Fluttershy, “miss, may I ask what your name is?”
The trio waited for around two minutes, nervously glancing at each other. The unicorn had a look of suspicion on his face, and he took a few steps away from Fluttershy.
“Miss, you really have nothing to fear from us. We are famous heroes in this area, possibly the world. Please, trust me.” the unicorn said firmly, but in a kind way.
Slowly, Fluttershy moved and stood up. She maintained eye contact with the ground, and kicked at it.
“I’m Fluttershy.” she wimpered.
“I am sorry, but I did not quite catch that.” the unicorn stated.
“I’m Fluttershy.” Fluttershy repeated herself.
“Did either of you hear that?” the unicorn asked.
“I did, she said her name is Fluttershy.” the earth pony replied.
“Ah, good. That at least explains your behaviour. Naturally shy. Now, we can not permit you to stay in this forest. I can see that you are scared of us, but please, accompany us to our home of Canterlot, and we can send out the word to your relatives that you are safe.” the unicorn smiled.
“Well, if we want her to trust us, she should know our names at least,” the brown earth pony said, holding a hoof to his chest, “name’s Forest Breeze. Yeah, yeah, I can tell, your impressed.”
Forest Breeze opened his right eye and stared at Fluttershy, amazed that her face looked blank at what he was going on about.
“Y’know, Forest Breeze? The only earth pony to buck a hydra in the kisser and live to tell the tale?” he leaned towards Fluttershy, hoping this would jog her memory.
“Give it a rest Forest Breeze,” the green pegasus rolled his eyes, “I am Cloudswirl. I don’t brag about what I’ve achieved, but among them is stealing back the vial of water from the fountain of youth off a corrupt ruler in the island that is seven days sailing from Equestria.”
“And I,” the white unicorn stood tall and proud, “go by the name Fireshot. Former adviser to the one called Celestia, and with my friends here, we have vanquished many foes to make this sorry world just that little bit better.”
Fluttershy smiled a little. Forest Breeze reminded her of how Rainbow Dash bragged about what her achievements, and yet, his pride was even easier to shoot down than that of Rainbow’s. When she hadn’t recognised him, he seemed visibly upset, whereas, Rainbow would just keep going until the other pony knew what was being talked about. Cloudswirl meanwhile acted aloof and modest, sort of like Rarity, but clearly, he seemed to have some reason for his heroic actions other than being helpful, as if he was fighting for something. Fireshot however was unlike any of her friends, but he appeared to know Celestia on a personal level.
Something about them comforted her. Fluttershy felt less stranded.
-- It took an hour for Fluttershy to be led to Canterlot, or, rather, ancient Canterlot. It sat at the base of the mountain where the Canterlot she knew stood. Only, less grand. The town was much like Ponyville, a collection of houses and shops. A guard stood at a building on the path into the town, and as she walked with the three colts, she noticed all sorts of things.
For one, there was a bakery, run by a white pegasus with blonde mane. It stood opposite a store selling vegetables. The street was mostly the same, homes and shops.
Soon, the three colts led Fluttershy to a run down looking building, which they led her inside.
“Well, welcome to our humble home miss Fluttershy. It is not much, but it is where we stay when in Equestria.” Fireshot explained.
“Yes, Fireshot was offered by Celestia a home closer to the capital. Just before he turned up at least. So we settled on Fireshot’s home here in Canterlot.” Cloudswirl added, just before picking up a hammer and nails, and flying to a rafter to try and nail it together before it completely broke.
Fluttershy studied the house a bit more. The floor had no carpeting, and looked like it had seen a lot of rain. The floorboards were mouldy, or even breaking apart. The walls weren’t fairing much better, with visible holes in them where the wood had rotted away. And the rafters holding the roof up had a lot of nails around visible cracks.
“Now, we can get to why we brought you here,” Fireshot said, using his magic to bring a quill and scroll before him, “we must tell your family that we found you. Where do they live?”
Fluttershy didn’t answer. Her mind begun to race, recalling the words of Sunshine Blaze. If she told them that her home was Ponyville, how would they react? And more importantly, did Ponyville even exist right now? But to tell them the truth, while a good thing normally, could hurt the timeline. And suddenly, it made sense why she was in the past.
The element of kindness must have sent her back, to say one wrong thing and alter something in the past, probably Twilight even being sent to Ponyville at that Summer Sun Celebration. It would probably be best to try and avoid changing the future.
“Um, I... I don’t have a family.” She lied.
Together, Fireshot, Forest Breeze and Cloudswirl looked at Fluttershy, having noticed her reply had taken half a minute.
“I see,” Fireshot settled the quill and scroll down on a table. Despite how light the objects were, they managed to cause it to collapse to the floor, “you can be honest, miss Fluttershy, you only just survived an encounter with him, am I correct?” he asked.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, just who is ‘he’ anyway?” Fluttershy questioned.
Fireshot looked surprised, then looked to Forest Breeze and Cloudswirl, as if hoping they could confirm what she had just asked him. He returned his focus to Fluttershy.
“I do not believe there is a pony who does not know who he is. You are not pretending are you?” he asked.
“No, I- I really have no idea who ‘he’ is.” Fluttershy answered.
“Dear Fluttershy, the ‘he’ we speak of is the tyrant ruler of Equestria. ‘He’ is Discord.”
Fluttershy stared in shock at Fireshot’s revelation, taking a couple of steps back. She attempted to speak, but the words stopped in her throat, unwilling to let themselves be uttered. Her eyes shrunk to dots, and she looked at the three colts in the room.
“You have heard of him then?” Fireshot asked.
“Y-yes.” Fluttershy managed to say.
Cloudswirl, who had still been in the air landed, and sat on a stool, releasing a sigh. He looked at Fireshot, slight concern in his eyes.
“Discord’s reputation is known everywhere. I was worried then that miss Fluttershy here had taken a rather nasty knock to the head.” Cloudswirl said, smiling.
Fluttershy zoned out, as Fireshot, Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze begun to talk. She begun to wonder if she had done something wrong to deserve being sent far enough into the past that Discord was the current ruler of Equestria. Maybe she shouldn’t have told Rarity what she thought of the dress that she had been working on just last week.
But regardless of what she had done, the truth remained. She was stuck in the distant past, with three heroes nopony had ever heard of, and Discord was the current ruler. It couldn’t get any worse.
“I say, miss Fluttershy? Are you alright?” Forest Breeze snapped her back to reality.
Fluttershy looked up, rather embarrassed, to the sight of the three colts looking at her.
“Oh... um, yes. I’m... okay.” she answered.
“Cloudswirl, take miss Fluttershy outside, she looks like she needs a bit of fresh air.” Fireshot said, turning away and walking to a table.
Outside, she sat down and took a deep breath. While she hadn’t paid much attention on the way to Canterlot, Fluttershy used this moment to look around.
The ponies walking around looked depressed, one unicorn in particular, that she saw, had half of his horn broken, while a pegasi tried to fly with one wing on her left hind leg. None of them talked to each other, and any that walked into each other, diverted their gaze and continued walking.
In the distance, pink clouds drifted erratically, and parts of the landscape floated any way they seemed to wish. The ground at that distance also changed colours, as though painted into a checkerboard style. The signs of Discord’s rule were obvious.
“Everypony is worried, miss Fluttershy,” Cloudswirl struck up conversation, “Discord was summoned by Starswirl by accident, as he tried to summon something better to lead us. Discord did begin to lead Equestria, but only for the fact Starswirl was too exhausted to try again. We all thought he would make Equestria a better place, and the occasional cotton candy cloud storm for a foal’s birthday led us to believe he would be.”
“Then what went wrong?” Fluttershy asked, looking Cloudswirl in the eyes.
“While we were kept hidden of the fact at the time, Discord loved the chaos he caused just for birthdays. He wanted to do those sort of things all the time. Starswirl explained to him why he could not. And before we knew it, Discord had gone power-mad, killed Starswirl, and begun causing chaos across Equestria.” Cloudswirl answered.
“Come, let me show you around a little, maybe you can understand then what we must do.” Cloudswirl stated flatly.
Fluttershy walked beside Cloudswirl as he led her around Canterlot. Around her, ponies of every kind and age, and of both genders, walked around, selling food, clothing and flowers, or generally holding conversations only as necessary. While earlier they had all seemed to avoid each other, there were some cases where ponies were holding conversations. Cloudswirl paused and pointed to two ponies, an earth pony and a unicorn.
“Any news?” the light yellow earth pony asked the green unicorn.
“No,” he sighed, “my brother said he would return quickly from Manesville with mother and father, I can only assume the worst, as he should have returned last week.” the green unicorn stared at the ground.
Silently, Cloudswirl begun to walk on again. He led her to a small wooden building beside a fountain and walked inside. As Fluttershy’s eyes adjusted to the dark, it became clear she was in a hospital, though all the patients and the nurse shared the only room. As Fluttershy looked at the still forms of ponies in worn down beds, Cloudswirl had walked up to the nurse, a smile on his face.
“May I visit her?” he asked the nurse. The nurse simply nodded.
Fluttershy stayed close as Cloudswirl walked to the furthest corner of the room. He came to a stop by a bed, upon which lay a white mare, with a yellow mane. Gently, Cloudswirl nuzzled her, and she stirred, smiling weakly at him as her sky blue eyes opened.
“How are you today, Rainflower?” he asked quietly, sitting down in her line of sight.
“The nurse told me I am going to be fine,” Rainflower’s eyes fell on Fluttershy, but expressed no emotion, “who is this, Cloudswirl?” she asked, studying Fluttershy.
“Sweetheart, this is Fluttershy. Forest Breeze spotted her laying at the side of the road as we returned from the Everfree, and we brought her to Canterlot to be safe from Discord. She has already had an encounter with that tyrant, so we will need to find her friends, to see if they know how that could have taken place.” Cloudswirl replied, his eyes never once leaving the direction of Rainflower.
Fluttershy felt a little uneasy at the thought that she had originally arrived in the past version of the Everfree Forest. It had been so beautiful, yet, the Everfree she knew was highly dangerous. The question of what changed it would have to be answered later, as it wasn’t a priority right now.
“It is a pleasure to meet you Fluttershy. How fortunate it was that you were found by my husband and his friends, and not a pony loyal to that foul beast. Has he told you how I came to be here?” Rainflower asked, smiling at Fluttershy.
“Now dear, I’m sure that can wait.” Cloudswirl objected.
“Cloudswirl, you are far too modest. Now, Miss Fluttershy, a few weeks ago, I was trapped within Discord’s Citadel, I shall spare you the horrible details of what I saw, but just the other week, I wake to see this one,” she paused to playfully nuzzle Cloudswirl, “kicking the flank of some horrible demon. More than that, he then used the demon’s own claws to pull the bars that held me in the prison, and then he carried me from that dreadful room, right through the citadel, kicking flank all the time, and right back here.” she smiled. Beside her, Cloudswirl seemed almost embarrassed about the story.
“That’s really sweet. But um,” Fluttershy quickly glanced at Cloudswirl, then back to Rainflower, “why are you in here? You look fine.” she queried.
Rainflower sighed, and threw back the woolen blanket covering her. Her belly showed that she was in the late stages of pregnancy, on her back were two stumps where her wings had once been, and stitched up skin on her flank showed where her legs had once attached to her body. Fluttershy felt sick at the sight, and held back as much as possible her desire to be physically sick, as she ran out of the hospital. She only just managed to get to the edge of a nearby alley when her restraint against her stomach finally ended, and what she had eaten and drank previously came out the wrong way.
Cloudswirl followed her soon after, and stood beside Fluttershy as she sat, shaking violently.
“I am sorry Fluttershy. I was hoping at least she would not show her injuries to you. She feels bad about it now, but she never thinks before she acts. That is how Akyrun captured her and tortured her.” Cloudswirl said calmly.
Fluttershy said nothing, as she slowly raised her head up to look at the sky. Around her, wing beats of pegasi, and the clopping of hooves on the ground made the only sounds that reached her ears. Turning her head slightly, she saw Cloudswirl’s face had become filled with rage.
“That monster, Akyrun, the last monster that is closest to Discord. He knew who she was, and waited. Rainflower loved to fly to the clouds before a rain shower, and swim up there. That was when he grabbed her, and took her to the citadel. And I...” he paused, and stepped forward slightly, his wings had unfolded and were now raised high.
“I was powerless to stop it. I always followed her since my return to Equestria, to ensure she was safe. He blind sided me, and when I woke up, both he and Rainflower were gone. I never felt so useless and helpless. My own wife, pregnant with our unborn foal, snatched from me by the most twisted of Discord’s loyalists.” Cloudswirl continued his rant, now visibly shaking from all the rage stored within him.
Fluttershy felt scared. Cloudswirl, in the time she had met him seemed very calm, collected, almost the perfect idea of a hero. And yet, that same ‘perfect hero’ now stood before her, shaking with uncontrollable rage. She felt like telling him that it wasn’t his fault he hadn’t been able to defend Rainflower, but decided against it.
“I swear, when the time is right, I will find that monster, that demon, Akyrun, and I will make him suffer far worse than he made my wife suffer. He will beg for his end to be swift, and I will instead grant him a slow, agonising death.” Cloudswirl spat.
-- After Cloudswirl had calmed down, he had taken Fluttershy to see where the sisters that governed Canterlot were usually based when not away somewhere else, along with buildings closer to the edge of the town that were damaged by fighting between the citizens of Canterlot and the forces loyal to Discord. Once she had seen everything Cloudswirl deemed important, the pair had returned to the building Cloudswirl and his friends were staying in, and sat outside, neither saying a word, as Fluttershy looked around, watching the ponies walk around.
Fluttershy’s eyes soon landed on a dark blue unicorn wearing a black cloak. This unicorn’s eyes seem fixed on her, and made her feel uncomfortable. She moved a little, turning her head but keeping her eyes in the unicorn’s direction. Beside her, Cloudswirl noticed the change in attitude.
“Is something wrong miss Fluttershy?” he questioned.
“Over there, across the street. That unicorn is staring at me.” she muttered.
Cloudswirl stared and saw the unicorn she mentioned. Fluttershy didn’t see his face, but Cloudswirl’s eyes grew larger, and a look of anger covered his face.
“Discord has ponies loyal to him, they all wear cloaks of varying colours, depicting their rank, black is the colour of the commanders,” he took a deep breath, “Fireshot! Forest Breeze! Discord loyalist in Canterlot!” he yelled, and set off flying.
Across the street, the unicorn looked surprised, and begun to run away, as Cloudswirl gave chase. Behind Fluttershy, the door into the building the three colts called home burst open, and Fireshot raced off after Cloudswirl. Forest Breeze gently forced Fluttershy up and hurried her back into the building.
Back inside, Fluttershy sat on a stool, as Forest Breeze walked into the kitchen. A minute later, the sound of a kettle boiling could be heard, along with the rattling of a spoon in a cup. After another minute, Forest Breeze walked back into the front room, and set down a cup in front of Fluttershy.
“Fireshot loves this stuff. It is called ‘chamomile tea’. You can not get this in Equestria, but Fireshot will only tell me that the land it comes from has promised him as much of this as he wishes for the rest of his life. Drink up, he said it will help you get over any shock you might be in.” Forest Breeze said, rolling up a scroll.
“I’m fine.” Fluttershy stated. Across the table, Forest Breeze’s face looked serious, then changed to reflect his internal laughter.
“You do not seem fine, miss Fluttershy. Quite the opposite. That Discord loyalist did seem to scare you.” Forest Breeze replied.
“Are there many of these loyalists?” she asked.
“Oh yes. That is why we are being careful when it comes to planning our attempt to end Discord and his reign. Discord may like chaos, but he is not stupid. That is why it was so hard for Celestia and Luna to depart from the border in search of what they need for their own attempt at beating Discord.” Forest Breeze smiled.
Fluttershy felt curious. Sure, she had known Celestia was alive at the time Discord ruled Equestria, Celestia had said it herself when Discord had broken free. But what she had done before she and Luna defeated him hadn’t been mentioned, simply that they had found the Elements of Harmony.
It made sense, as she thought. Forest Breeze had just said Celestia and Luna had left Equestria to find something. That meant they would soon find the Elements of Harmony. What didn’t make sense was where the three colts, Fireshot, Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze, came into things.
“Could I ask what you three are doing while waiting for them? I mean... if you can...” Fluttershy grew nervous.
Across from her, Forest Breeze looked confused, then suspicious. He moved his head closer to Fluttershy.
“You aren’t a loyalist to Discord are you?” he asked.
“N-no! Never. I remember what he did to me, to my friends. I’d rather die than side with him.” Fluttershy answered, looking shocked at Forest Breeze.
“I suppose you can tell me what he did to you and your friends then?”
Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide. She had just slipped up. What Discord had done to her and her friends hadn’t taken place yet. But to lie about it would get her into a lot of trouble.
“He... he,” she thought for a minute, shifting slightly, uncomfortable with the stare from Forest Breeze, “Discord pushed the bonds of our friendship, made us the opposite of what we were normally like. We almost lost our friendship, but we overcame that.”
Forest Breeze’s suspicious look changed into one of sadness for Fluttershy. He sighed and hung his head.
“Did you turn grey? Discord usually does that when focusing on specific ponies.” he questioned.
“Yes, we all did. It made me dislike my friends. I mocked them, hurt their feelings, all to make myself feel better.” Fluttershy answered, sounding sad.
“I am sorry that I thought you were loyal to him. It is a shame we found you alone in that forest. When we have made sure you are safe, I shall try to find where your friends are,” Forest Breeze now looked up, smiling, “now to answer your question. The three of us are great heroes, the fact we have returned to Equestria has Discord worried. But we protect ponies that are not under his control. Outside, you must have seen how no one talks to each other, unless they really have to.”
Forest Breeze looked at Fluttershy, waiting for some sort of confirmation that she had seen exactly that. With a nod, Fluttershy answered him.
“They are scared, scared that the next pony they talk to is under Discord’s direct influence. He can pass it on through others, not just directly. Soon though, soon we shall go and confront him, regardless of if Celestia and Luna have returned or not. The city of Ponypeii has disbanded completely, everypony has gone mad or dead there. Equestria can not survive much longer if we do not act in the next week or two.”
-- Author's notes; Sorry this took a while to get out, it was originally way too short, so me and my editor worked on making the character development fit. Anyway, work will begin soon on the next chapter, but I cant promise that will be out in a week. I'm sure you all would agree, better to take the time and do each chapter well, than rush dozens out that are absolutely awful.
As for where Ruining Harmony diverts from the show, its some time after the Discord two parter, but before the episode "Putting your hoof down". Not that it really matters however.
Fluttershy stared at the now empty cup before her, as Fireshot and Cloudswirl walked back into the house. Both were breathing heavily, and sat on the nearest stools to them. From where he sat, Forest Breeze observed them, and sighed.
“Another one got away?” he asked.
“It’s not like we didn’t try. He had a head start anyway. Is miss Fluttershy alright?” Fireshot questioned.
“She’s fine, still shy like her name implies, and a little shaken. She’d have been worse, no doubt, if Cloudswirl hadn’t been there beside her.” Forest Breeze replied, standing up and taking with his mouth the empty cup away into the kitchen.
The room went silent. Outside, the clopping of local ponies could be heard as it was starting to get into lunchtime. Fluttershy looked at Cloudswirl and Fireshot in turn. Both seemed to be in deep thought over something.
Fluttershy’s thoughts begun to dwell on the three colts. Why had she never heard of them before? If they were famous heroes, wouldn’t they be in history books somewhere? She didn’t remember their names or recall whatever they did against Discord. A single question came into her mind, and she decided to ask them.
“Could… could I ask, have you ever heard of Windigos?” she asked, her voice growing quieter towards the end of her question.
“Heard of them? Barely twenty years have passed since they chased all pony races from our old home and to Equestria. It’s also a result of this that Discord was able to gain power so fast, all the town are so small and isolated.” Cloudswirl answered.
Fireshot was staring at Fluttershy, one eyebrow raised higher than the other. She felt uncomfortable under his stare.
“Something isn’t right. You can recall Discord attacking you and your friends, but don’t know of the Windigos? You look old enough to have been among the ponies leaving the old land.” he pondered.
Fluttershy’s eyes went wide, realising what she had just done. With one question, she had completely undone her story to the three colts. Her mind begun to race, to think of any explanation that wouldn’t cause any more problems. As she physically attempted to hide behind her mane, there was a knock at the door, which Cloudswirl went to answer.
A moment of awkward silence fell on the room, as Fireshot kept his eyes on Fluttershy. She attempted to hide behind her mane, even if it wouldn’t be enough to avoid the colt for long. When Cloudswirl returned, he was followed by a young orange pegasus, with a blue mane and goggles on his head.
“Fireshot,” Cloudswirl stopped beside Fluttershy, “this pegasus said he wishes to talk to us.”
Fireshot took a quick look at Sunshine Blaze, before fixing his eyes back on Fluttershy, and simply grunted. Standing near the doorway, Sunshine Blaze cleared his throat, and took a few steps forward.
“I am sorry to bother you three, but unfortunately, things have taken place that means I can’t stand by and not involve you. So, I must ask, have you seen anypony that seemed… strange, or out of place recently?” he asked, the tone of his voice betrayed by the simple fact of how young he looked.
“Well,” Forest Breeze spoke up, “there was a strange unicorn that these two chased after a short time ago.”
Sunshine Blaze’s eyes went wide, and he flew up to Forest Breeze as fast as he physically could.
“What did he look like? Did he say anything?” Sunshine Blaze asked quickly.
“He wore a black cloak, it hid his mark on his flank. As for saying anything, he said nothing, to us anyway.” Fireshot replied, his eyes still attempting to bore holes in Fluttershy.
Sunshine Blaze flew to the opposite side of Fluttershy to where Cloudswirl stood, and he looked up into her eyes. He seemed concerned, but sighed, realising that a risk had to be taken.
“Fluttershy, you need to tell them the truth.” Sunshine Blaze stated flatly.
Fluttershy shuffled a hoof against the ground, and stared down. She sighed and looked upward while keeping her head pointed down.
“I- I’m from the future.” She mumbled.
-- They had moved to sitting around the table. Fireshot, Forest Breeze and Cloudswirl on one side, Fluttershy and Sunshine Blaze on the other. Fluttershy was relieved that, at last, Fireshot had stopped glaring at her.
Sunshine Blaze coughed, glanced at Fluttershy, then looked at the three colts opposite him.
“Now, normally I wouldn’t have involved any pony from the past in events transpiring in the future. But as you may have guessed, that is unavoidable right now. We can’t answer anything other than what is necessary, so you can’t ask what you’ll achieve in your lives, as that may result in you not doing anything we say. Understood?” Sunshine Blaze questioned.
Fireshot, for the most part, seemed impressed by Sunshine Blaze. He lent forward and took a breath.
“How old are you young man?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Good, questions like that won’t affect anything. I’m fourteen. Next question.” Sunshine Blaze grinned. Fireshot paused for a moment, and studied Sunshine Blaze. Either side of Fireshot, Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze looked at each other, surprised by how impassive and unemotional the answer was. After five seconds, Fireshot shook his head slightly and chose to ignore the tone with which Sunshine Blaze answered, and continued.
“When you say you and Fluttershy are from the future, how far exactly into the future are we talking about?” Forest Breeze asked, tilting his head.
“More or less, around a thousand years.” Sunshine Blaze replied.
The three colts glanced at each other. Cloudswirl spoke up next.
“And could you tell us what we do to Discord?” his eyes shone with hope.
“Sorry, I said no questions about your future. You’ll just have to find that out by yourselves.”
Fireshot slowly stood up, his focus on Fluttershy.
“I want to know why you lied to us miss Fluttershy. Being from the future is only part of the reason, but to lie about being attacked by Discord? I don’t buy it.” he said slowly and cooly.
Fluttershy averted her gaze. Beside her, Sunshine Blaze sighed, and looked at Fireshot, who slowly sat back down.
“Clearly, she’s too afraid of you now to speak.” Sunshine Blaze said.
“I didn’t lie.” Fluttershy said in a tone almost inaudible.
All eyes were now on Fluttershy, which made her feel uncomfortable. She raised her head, and looked Fireshot in the eye. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage as best as she could.
“I didn’t lie about Discord attacking me and my friends. He did, just, in the future.” she said.
The three colts seemed shocked and dismayed by what she said, while beside her, Sunshine Blaze held a hoof to his face. Fluttershy however knew of what she was doing, and that she was now entering very dangerous territory. One wrong word, one slip up, and the whole future could change, and probably for the worse. She ultimately decided that the best thing to do would be to say Discord had become imprisoned, while keeping who was responsible unknown.
Working this course of the conversation in her mind, Fluttershy decided it was the best. If the heroes knew that Discord did get imprisoned somewhere, they would assume it was by their actions, and history would continue as it would. She took a deep, calming breath, and continued to speak.
“You see, Discord escaped from where he was kept, and tried to keep being put back by attacking those who could do it. He did fail however.” she finished.
The three colts took in the information, looking at each other for confirmation that they had just heard the same thing.
“So, we will not ask anything about how we defeat Discord, but there is one thing that does not make sense.” Cloudswirl said.
“What’s that?” Sunshine Blaze questioned, lowering the hoof from his face.
“How did you two get to be here in your past?” Cloudswirl questioned.
“That is simple. For a reason not yet clear, that unicorn you saw earlier used Fluttershy here to open a door to the past. This is why I need your help. We must head to where she first arrived here in the past, and close the link. Obviously, to do so, it would be best that she goes back through it.” Sunshine Blaze smiled.
“And of you?” Fireshot asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t worry about me, until I catch this unicorn, I will remain here. Now, shall we go?” Sunshine Blaze questioned.
Fireshot, Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze didn’t look happy, and Sunshine Blaze picked up on this quickly.
“Listen, I am of no threat to you. I only want to get this unicorn, and to do that I need to remain here. Once I have him, I’ll return to the future, and there won’t be any arguments over it, and you can’t get me to change my mind. So I repeat, shall we go?” Sunshine Blaze narrowed his eyes.
With a sigh, Fireshot only nodded his head.
-- An hour later, Fluttershy, along with the three colts and Sunshine Blaze, stood back in the forest. The song of birds echoed all around them, calming Fluttershy. The forest was tranquil despite the fact that beyond it stood an Equestria which was twisted and chaotic under the rule of Discord.
The spot where Fluttershy had entered now had a portal, and the sight of it caused Fluttershy to sigh in relief. Ahead of her, the three colts examined the portal carefully.
“So this… thing, will send you back to the time you came from, a thousand years in the future?” Fireshot asked.
“Yes. I’m- I’m sorry I lied to you…” Fluttershy replied, trying to hide her face.
Cloudswirl stood before Fluttershy, and gently turned her head to face him. This made Fluttershy blush from embarrassment, and she attempted to turn away again, only to have her head turned back once more.
“It is okay, miss Fluttershy. If I had come to the past from the future, then I too would try to keep it secret. But as Sunshine Blaze explained, that is not possible now.” Cloudswirl stated, before turning back to the portal.
“What will you do to the portal?” Fluttershy questioned, stepping closer to it.
“If the one from your future created it with ill intent, then I will place a condition upon it, should he have returned to the future. Once you are back in your own time, I shall place a spell around it, where only those who are kind and hold no evil in their hearts may take more than a few steps away from it.” Fireshot replied. Fluttershy understood, and smiled at the idea.
Fluttershy now walked up to the portal, and stared at it. It didn’t show a picture of her, instead, within the glow, she could see the library basement, and her friends standing around looking at where she would return once she stepped through.
“Th-thank you, for being so kind to me.” She said softly, looking over her back to the three colts.
In reply, they simply bowed their heads. Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy turned her head to face the portal once more, and walked into it.
-- Twilight tapped her right hoof in annoyance. Fluttershy had been gone a long time, and the other ponies had fallen asleep while waiting for her. The only clock in the basement showed that the time was now 2 am. But Twilight couldn’t sleep.
“Where are you Fluttershy?” she muttered yet again.
She blinked her eyes, and then rubbed them, as the portal with the picture of Fluttershy over it begun to ripple. A second later, the yellow Pegasus walked through it, smiling at Twilight.
“Girls! Wake up! Fluttershy is back!” Twilight yelled, frightening Fluttershy.
Pinkie Pie was the first to wake up, and had crossed the room to hug Fluttershy faster than it was possible to even blink.
“Oh my gosh, are you ok? We were all so worried about you, and I didn’t like that, so I tried cheering everypony up by suggesting a party, but Twilight wouldn’t let me go get cakes and sweets and balloons. So we tried some games, but Rarity didn't want to play tic-tac-toe with me again. Are you ok?” Pinkie Pie managed to say without pausing for breath. Fluttershy returned the hug for many seconds, then gently broke it and smiled.
“I’m fine, thank you all for being concerned.” Fluttershy replied.
“Fluttershy,” Twilight stood forward, preventing Pinkie Pie from saying anything else, “what exactly happened?”
Fluttershy recounted the events that had taken place when she had gone through the portal, noting to Twilight that the portal was not present at the other side for her to return right away (which seemed to annoy Twilight). She told them how she met another pegasus from the future who was looking for a unicorn who had got to the past somehow, and how she met the three colts, who then returned with her and planned to stop the portal being used for bad purposes.
When she had finished, her friends looked at her with great interest. Twilight had long since concluded that the reason the portal hadn’t appeared on the other side was simply because the events beyond it hadn’t been seen yet by Fluttershy. Soon after, Twilight had Spike fetch every history book she could find, and checked for any mention of Fireshot, Cloudswirl or Forest Breeze.
To even Fluttershy’s disappointment, there was no mention of them anywhere.
“So, um... do- do you think they were real?” Fluttershy asked, looking hopeful.
“It’s possible. Not a lot was recorded before the princesses came to rule, the only reason we know of the Windigos is because they caused the events that led to Equestria even being founded,” Twilight used her magic to place the last book on a pile, “so if these three did exist, they probably lived and died before historical events were written down. Maybe Princess Celestia remembers them, but I’ll have to ask when we’re done with all this.”
It was now morning in Ponyville, and all six friends were back into the basement of the library, where the portals that had each of their pictures were still on the wall. Twilight Sparkle smiled and looked at Applejack and Rarity. The three of them were the only ones left to enter the portals, and find how the elements of harmony were trying to change events, either those that had happened, or were yet to happen if not prevented.
There was an uneasy silence. Nopony was particularly eager to see what would await them on the other side of the portals holding their own pictures, even if Fluttershy’s seemed mostly harmless. Rainbow Dash herself, as they recalled, had been sent to the future, then a week later had encountered a Pinkie Pie who had travelled back from a different future. But as they had learnt the day before, not all the portals would always lead into events that had yet to take place.
“Ah’ll do it.” Applejack said, a tone of determination in her voice. She walked up to her portal, and stared at the picture of her own face. Applejack bit her lower lip, and gave a quick glance back at her friends, tapping her hat with one hoof. “See y’all soon, gals.” Then, she stepped forward before anypony could say anything.
-- The sun was low on the horizon, bathing the land in a warm orange glow. As Applejack looked around, a cool breeze blew across her body and made her shiver. Before her stood a scene of beauty, vast plains, leading to mountains with a small town near the bottom of them. She smiled, thinking that she had got a good situation to deal with.
With no one nearby to talk to, Applejack decided to head to the town, in hopes of getting something to work with. As she set off, she didn’t notice a dark blue unicorn, watching her carefully from a distance.
What she did notice was that something was very wrong with the sun. It had been bathing the ground in an orange glow earlier, and had clearly been setting, but it suddenly halted its movement for thirty seconds, and begun to climb the sky once again, backwards.
There was more as well. Beside the sun moving in strange ways, she had clearly seen the moon rise in the sky, do a few circles, before speeding, as though embarrassed at being seen doing the circles, out of sight once more below the horizon. And at first, the tremors in the ground had scared her to the point where she quickly fell to the ground and covered her head, but these had become common as her walk to the town continued, and she now hardly reacted to them. The fact the sun was not following its usual path was similar to when Discord had broken free, and it simply told her now that she was back in the same time Fluttershy had been in the day before.
Applejack stared at the town that now stood before her. It was supposed to be Canterlot, but it looked more like the Ponyville she had left behind. This Canterlot stood in the valley below the mountains that the Canterlot she remembers did.
Much to her confusion, the guard refused to let her in.
“Now why can’t ah come in?” she asked at the guard.
“Because my orders are to protect Canterlot from his followers.” the guard explained.
“But ah’m not one of his followers,” she replied. She wasn’t sure if he meant Discord, but she did know that she was follower of nopony. Except, perhaps, for Princess Celestia. “Ah know the princess. Is that good enough?” she questioned.
“Dear lady, the princess leader of the unicorns is dead. Equestria is controlled by an evil tyrant. Are you even from this land?” the guard replied.
Applejack mentally hit herself. Fluttershy had discussed this with her and the others in the library just the night before, how Canterlot once sat at the foot of the mountain it was on, how over protective three colts were of the town. Her situation made sense, she had ended up in the past just like Fluttershy had.
“Okay then, send a message to Fireshot, tell ‘im a friend of Fluttershy is here to see ‘im.” Applejack stated.
“And what exactly are you here for, besides to see Fireshot?” the guard asked.
“Ah’ll know it when Ah talk to ‘im, so just get ‘im here.” Applejack said calmly.
-- Three minutes later, Applejack was looking at the colt called Fireshot. He glared at her angrily, while beside him two guards waited ready for any sign of trouble and defend the town from it. Applejack stood still, following Fireshot with her eyes alone, as the white unicorn circled her. In one minute, he stood in front of her once again.
“What is your purpose for being here?” he questioned, his voice clearly reflecting how irritated he was.
“As ah said, ah’m a friend of Fluttershy, and ah’m here to see you.” Applejack said, starting to get irritated with having her honesty constantly challenged.
“Yes, yes, that was clear in the message. But how can I trust that you are telling me the truth, and this is not some trick by ‘him’ to get rid of myself and my friends?” Fireshot snapped, stomping a hoof on the ground.
“You want the truth? Fine. You met Fluttershy by the side of the road, brought her here for safety, and she was being watched by a blue unicorn who ran when you and Cloudswirl chased after him. From there, somepony named Sunshine Blaze arrived and told you she was from the future, and you helped her find the way back.” Applejack replied, keeping her own anger in check.
“You know,” Fireshot lowered his voice, and made it sound more menacing, “that just proves you have a good lie. Discord clearly told you all the details you would need to know.”
At this point Applejack felt like bucking Fireshot in the head. He was clearly paranoid, not trusting even the truth when told it, she shook her head, hoping that he would see reason. She cleared her throat, counted to ten, and stared at Fireshot.
“You want proof Ah know Fluttershy? She was shown Cloudswirl’s wife, named Rainflower, who was tortured. Fluttershy also told you that she and her friends had come across Discord before, and all you know is that it is in the future. That proof enough for ya?” Applejack asked, looking unimpressed.
Fireshot studied Applejack for ten seconds, and then looked away, his face clearly showing the inner turmoil. Applejack understood why he was hesitant to believe her, having met Discord, she knew that he was cunning, and able to trick anypony into believing what he wanted them to believe. She could only wait and hope that Fireshot would believe the truth.
“Alright, Applejack, what exactly do you want?” Fireshot asked, seemingly believing her.
“All ah want is to go back home, to the future.” Applejack answered.
“Fine. As much as I do not want to help you, I will lead you to the others. But be aware, if you have lied to us, you will not get away.” Fireshot stated flatly, as the way into the town was opened.
-- The house the three colts were using as a base was exactly as Fluttershy had described it, with one new addition. In the room with the table and chairs, there was now a long bench with a solid wood backboard. Upon this lay Rainflower, her husband, Cloudswirl stood protectively beside her as Fireshot brought Applejack inside. Sitting at the table was Forest Breeze, who looked over Applejack, examining her.
“This one says she knows Fluttershy. I have put wards around her to protect us in case this is not true. What do you two think?” he asked, standing some distance away from Applejack.
“Miss Fluttershy was not here long enough for us to be informed of her friend’s names. Or indeed, what kind of ponies they are.” Forest Breeze stated, his gaze never leaving Applejack.
“I do believe there is one way to know the truth. Miss Fluttershy was not even here long enough for anyone, us or someone on the side of Discord, to know what her talent was,” Cloudswirl grinned, clearly having thought of a good idea at finding out the truth,” So, miss, if you are indeed a friend of Fluttershy, what was her talent?” he asked, a smug look on his face.
“Well, her cutie mark is three butterflies, which show she’s good with animals and takin’ care of them. Her rabbit, Angel, can be a bit bothersome for her, but Ah don’t know any other pony who would even go outta their way to help a Manticore.” Applejack replied, smiling at the memory of when Fluttershy had done just that.
Rainflower stirred slightly, attempting to lift herself up. She looked into Applejack’s eyes, and studied her. After what felt like hours of uncomfortable silence to Applejack, but was in fact no more than ten seconds, Rainflower spoke.
“At the end, she recalled a memory. She saw Miss Fluttershy do exactly what she just said. This pony is not lying to us, she is no harm to anypony.”
-- Half hour had passed since Rainflower had helped Applejack, and Applejack now found herself beside Rainflower, talking to her about their respective families. Around them, Fireshot, Forest Breeze and Cloudswirl were moving items to a central location in the room. Now and then, Fireshot would stop, and look over all the items, before all three resumed their gathering.
“So, Ah don’t mean to sound rude, but, why are they sorting out belongings when Discord is about? Shouldn’t somepony be doing something about him?” Applejack asked.
“This is the stallion’s role, Applejack. Worried as we may be, we must remain not questioning the actions of stallions. Our place is to hope and wait.” Rainflower replied.
Rainflower’s reply made Applejack’s blood boil. She closed her eyes and then rolled them, reminding herself that she was back in a time when all mares were considered good for was cleaning and cooking.
“Ah think Ah should still be told, after all, Ah’ve had the misfortune of meeting Discord before.” Applejack replied.
“Indeed,” Fireshot spoke up, “it was miss Fluttershy who mentioned it before. So, I feel I can tell you, now I know you can be trusted, that we are packing supplies to take the fight to him.”
Beside her, Rainflower tensed up. She raised herself up slightly on her only remaining legs and looked at the three colts, a look of fear for them on her face.
“You are going to fight Discord? You... you can not! Did Celestia and Luna not tell you to just hold him off from Canterlot? They could return any day now, and I am sure they do not want to know you threw your own lives away pointlessly!” Rainflower said loud enough for only those in the room to hear.
Fireshot, Forest Breeze and Cloudswirl all shared a look at each other, each hoping the other would say something first. Cloudswirl was the one who walked closer to his wife, and looked into her eyes.
“If we stay and defend Canterlot, the city, and possibly, the world will end. While we understand the risk, it is one we must take. Nothing you say can make us change our minds.” he said, nuzzling her as she begun to cry.
Applejack did and said nothing as Rainflower continued to cry, as Cloudswirl walked back over to the supplies the three were gathering. Applejack sighed and stood up on all four hooves.
“When do you leave?” she asked.
“Tonight, or rather, when the moon is up once our supplies are ready.” Fireshot answered, as the sun set in under a second, the moon rapidly rising in the same space of time.
“Ah’m coming with you.” Applejack stated.
“No, you are not.” Fireshot said, not looking up as he checked on one particular rope.
“AH am coming with you.” Applejack stated again, slight anger in her voice.
Fireshot sighed. Looking at Applejack, he walked up to her, never breaking his gaze. He glared at her for a moment, before speaking again.
“Miss Applejack, you are a MARE. Understand? What we are doing, only stallions are fit and strong enough for this sort of thing. Mares, such as yourself, are only good for removing dust and cobwebs, cooking food and tending to the fillies and colts. So, to repeat myself, you are NOT coming with us.” Fireshot snapped.
“Ah AM a mare alright!” Applejack snapped back, and then she bucked him through a wall.
--- Author's notes: sorry this took so long to get out. I wasn't happy with how AJ's arc originally went, and decided to write it over. Hopefully, the next chapter wont take as long. So enjoy this chapter, and I'll be back within a week to put the next chapter up.
Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze had been caught unaware that Fireshot had been bucked through a wall by Applejack. They had braced themselves to fight, and currently were staring between an angry looking Applejack and the hole shaped after Fireshot’s silhouette.
On the other side of the wall, Fireshot was catching his breath. The force of the buck and the impact with the wall had knocked the wind out of his lungs, he was currently staring up at the ceiling of the next room. It still hadn’t quite registered with him that he had just been bucked through a double wood wall by a mare.
As for Applejack herself, she was just staring at the hole in the wall, a lot calmer and feeling a lot better after all the remarks about mares that Fireshot had rattled off at her.
Finally, a cough on the other side of the hole was followed by the head and face of Fireshot as he got back on to his legs. He glared at Applejack, and calmly stepped through. Rainflower noticed the look on Fireshot’s face, and spoke up.
“Do try to remember that miss Applejack is from the future. Maybe mares are treated differently in her own time.” she said calmly.
Fireshot glared at Rainflower, then returned his gaze to Applejack, before snorting and walking away.
“Mares treated differently in the future? Like, they would work outside of a house?” Forest Breeze questioned.
“Ya better believe we do! Why, Ah do more work on the farm than mah brother does!” Applejack answered, sitting down.
Standing across from her, Forest Breeze seemed to have a brain malfunction. His jaw went slack and his eyes glazed over. Beside him, Cloudswirl snickered discreetly. He sat at the table and looked to Applejack.
“Times are different for all of us. Understand, miss Applejack, Fireshot did not mean to make you sound helpless, and certainly, after putting him through a wall, I doubt any remarks about mares being weak will be said while you are around. It is just the times we live in. For you, clearly, such remarks are very much the thing of the past, but to you, this IS the past. You can not forget this.” Cloudswirl stated.
As the conversation had gone on between Cloudswirl, Forest Breeze and Applejack, Fireshot, who was still not pleased with being kicked through a wall, had quietly spent the time doing a final check on the supplies. He counted a dozen grappling hooks, one hundred small jars that contained chemicals designed to flash brightly when the jar was broken, enough food for the trip to the citadel and back, along with several bundles of bandages and three pots of a lotion designed to heal wounds.
He took a deep breath and let out a sigh, which caught the attention of Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze. Both walked to his side and examined the supplies, before looking at him confused.
“Is something wrong?” Cloudswirl questioned.
“No, nothing. All we could need is here, rope, grapple hooks, distraction jars, food and even medical supplies. And yet,” he paused, sitting down, “I feel we are missing something. Discord is unlike anything we have faced before, there must be something we have not got yet that could take him down.” Fireshot stated.
Applejack walked to the other side of Fireshot and looked over the supplies that the three had gathered together. The attention to any possible detail of what they would require reminded her of how Twilight would have a checklist for a checklist.
“Ah say ya just need to believe in yourselves now. You seem to have the right things, ya just have ta act now.” she said calmly, with a smile on her face.
The three colts looked at Applejack, smiles slowly forming on their faces as the mulled over her words. Without a word, the supplies were separated into three sets of saddlebags and placed on each colt’s back. Fireshot and Forest Breeze were first out of the building, Applejack lingered in the doorway and looked back at Cloudswirl and Rainflower.
The pair were talking and saying farewell, embracing each other one more time. As she looked on, Applejack felt like she had been kicked in the stomach.
‘Ah hope the princesses arrive during the battle with Discord, for their sake.’ she thought, as she finally turned away and walked outside.
-- One hour later, as the chaos of Discord continued to shake the world, Applejack and the three colts seemed to be getting no closer to where Discord currently resided. Applejack was thankful however, that the reason for this was not some sort of trick, but to the fact it was actually a long distance to travel.
They had long since passed a small forest, which she was told was the Everfree Forest, and where Fluttershy had returned to the future. A quick check of the much smaller Everfree made it clear the only way back to the future however was still the only one Fluttershy could use, and not Applejack.
Conversation since then had been sparse. When asked what Celestia and Luna looked like, Fireshot had become slightly eager to learn what would become of Celestia, and understandably became disappointed when he couldn’t be told, after a reminder from Cloudswirl. After this, and Fireshot’s clear lack of interest in participating any longer, Applejack learnt that the future princesses were just simple unicorns, gifted with immense magic, allowing them to move the sun and moon. As this line of conversation continued, Applejack was informed that before Celestia and Luna, it took teams of unicorns to preform the tasks of raising the celestial bodies, with one group dedicated to raising the sun, and the other the moon.
Naturally, trying to learn more so she could tell Twilight later, Applejack then inquired about other towns. Like Fluttershy had mentioned, Forest Breeze named a town that had been destroyed by Discord, and also added the fact that the new pegasi city, Cloudsdale, had to be abandoned due to Discord changing it into some sort of food he could eat. As for other towns, most had been abandoned soon after Discord begun to take control, with ponies from those towns leaving Equestria far behind.
During another long silence, Applejack recalled a name Fluttershy had mentioned, and so, she decided to ask about it.
“Who is this Sunshine Blaze that Fluttershy mentioned?”
Fireshot stopped, causing Applejack, who had been walking behind him, to walk into him. He glanced over his back to look at Applejack, and sighed.
“From what he said after Fluttershy returned to your time, he too came from the future, seeking someone who came to change the past. He is young, despite how he acts, evidenced by the fact he soon wandered off after we met him.” Fireshot answered, resuming walking once again.
“Alright,” Applejack replied, “but that still didn’t tell me who he is. Ah mean, how do you know he can be trusted?”
“In times like this, Discord causing chaos and bringing the end of the world closer, and ponies from the future trying to either change or maintain our present, it is not exactly clear who we can trust. We just have to and hope it does not go wrong.” Fireshot said calmly, keeping his eyes forward as he walked.
“Also, the fact he helped Miss Fluttershy return to the future suggests he isn’t somepony to fear.” Forest Breeze added.
As soon as Forest Breeze stopped talking, Fireshot stood still again, his ears swiviling. A look of panic appeared on his face, as he begun to also look around the sky.
“What is it?” Applejack asked.
“Wing beats, Cloudswirl, you are on the ground right?” Fireshot questioned.
“Of course, being in the air with what we are heading to do is a bad idea.” Cloudswirl answered.
Fireshot pointed to a ditch that lay behind a brush.
“Everypony, into the ditch, it could be a Roc or worse, Akyrun. Hurry!” he said in a loud whisper.
Wasting no time, the four ponies ran to the ditch and lay on their bellies, looking under the brush to see what was approaching. The wing beats grew louder and soon stopped as four orange hooves landed on the ground.
Applejack looked up and saw the pegasi that had just landed. He was orange, with a blue mane and tail, and flight goggles on his head, which had a toggle switch on one side. Beside her, the three colts relaxed and came out of hiding, soon followed by Applejack herself.
“That was a fine ‘hey, nice to see you again’ you just gave me.” Sunshine Blaze quipped.
“Now you know our situation, young colt. We had no idea if the sound of your wings was that of the wing beats of our enemies. We had to hide just to be safe.” Fireshot responded.
“That’s fine. Anyway, another mare? Also from the future?” Sunshine Blaze asked.
“Indeed, she is a friend of miss Fluttershy. Applejack, this is Sunshine Blaze. Sunshine Blaze, this is Applejack.” Fireshot introduced them.
Sunshine Blaze studdied Applejack for a moment, before holding a hoof out to her.
“A pleasure to meet you. Sorry, I should have arrived earlier, the element you are linked to is corrupted, but no matter, we can still get you back to the future and force him out of hiding.” Sunshine Blaze smiled.
“What did you jus’ say?” Applejack asked, narrowing her eyes.
Sunshine Blaze looked around for a second, before returning his attention to Applejack.
“Um... I said pleasure to mee...”
“Not that.” she snapped.
“We can get you back t...” Sunshine Blaze took a step backwards, as Applejack took one forward.
“Back the cart up a bit.”
“Uh... I should have arrive...” Sunshine Blaze begun to sweat, as every step he took backwards, Applejack took two or three forwards.
“Speed it up.”
“...The element you are linked to is corrupted?” Sunshine Blaze questioned.
“That’s it. Now what the hay does that mean?” Applejack shouted, not noticing that the three colts reacted to this by running for the ditch again.
Sunshine Blaze’s calm and aloof façade disappeared at the face of a very angry adult, a sight every young child feared. He was now sweating and tears forming in his eyes. He tried to articulate an explanation.
“I-it’s something the one I’m t-trying t-to stop is doing, he did the s-same to Fluttershy, now he’s done it to you.” Sunshine Blaze stated in a tone that would make even Fluttershy’s quiet speech seem like shouting.
“Yeah, and Ah bet your helpin’ him do it!” Applejack shouted, now angry at what Sunshine Blaze had said, she forced her nose against his, glaring with all her anger into his eyes, while unnoticed, the goggles slipped off Sunshine Blaze’s head, bounced on his back and landed on the ground beside him.
As Applejack pulled back from him, Sunshine Blaze lay flat on the ground, sobbing.
“I’m sorry, I could have stopped this and didn’t. I’m so sorry.” he cried.
As Applejack continued to glare at Sunshine Blaze, her anger started turning guilt for yelling at him. Despite her first thoughts, that he was someone who was trying to cause problems for her and her friends, before her now was nothing but a young colt, clearly scared of her, like Applebloom was whenever she got into serious trouble.
And yet, she couldn’t just drop her suspicions. She knew nothing about him, or indeed if his apparent fear of her was all just an act to lull her into a false sense of security. Knowing the fact he had helped Fluttershy did nothing to help the argument in her head. On the one hoof, he could have helped Fluttershy because she couldn’t always help herself, but on the other, with what was going on to the elements, and how he somehow knew if they had been corrupted or not, suggested he had only helped Fluttershy to hasten the process.
Meanwhile, crouched before her, Sunshine Blaze had begun to tremble from the emotions he had been put through. Unnoticed at first, the goggles on the top of his head begun to slip, until eventually they fell to the ground with a thud.
Applejack looked down at the goggles, slowly reaching out a hoof and picked them up. She held them to her eyes, and became confused. The sight of the environment around them was present, but on the side was a green triangle against a line, which moved up or down depending on what she looked at. When she turned to look at a tree that was less than five feet away, the triangle slid up to the top of the line, only returning to the bottom when she turned to face the empty plains.
“What the hay is this all about?” Applejack asked, now completely forgetting her previous anger.
Before her, Sunshine Blaze looked up, his eyes large, as he took a moment to work out what was going on. Seeing Applejack with his goggles held over her eyes, he laughed slightly, seemingly over his previous fright.
“Pass them here,” he said, holding a hoof out towards Applejack, who returned the goggles to him. Sunshine Blaze then placed them back on his head and looked in to them, “oh, setting ten. My goggles have ten functions, function one being normal view, and ten being able to record what I see.”
“Ah see,” Applejack replied, “who are you exactly? What are you doing here?” she asked.
Sunshine Blaze removed the goggles from his eyes, and looked at Applejack, not speaking for a moment.
“You can tell when somepony lies right?” he asked back.
“You wanna try?”
“I’m a big pink monkey that walks on its hind legs.”
Applejack snorted and begun to laugh.
“That was such a terrible lie, only a foal would come up with such a thing.” she stated while laughing at the very image in her mind of a pink monkey walking on hind legs.
“Then how about this, I’m after a unicorn who despises all pegasi. He has destroyed many lives, he’s set to do it again. You and your friends, with the elements of harmony, are all caught at the center of his plot.” Sunshine Blaze said calmly.
Applejack continued to laugh, slowing down and stopping only as she realised that this time, Sunshine Blaze wasn’t telling a lie. Neither said anything, even as the three colts came out of hiding from the ditch.
“As for why I’m here,” Sunshine Blaze continued, “it should be simple by now to know that. I’m here to stop him.”
“But why are you doin’ it on your own? Don’t you have somepony ta help you?” Applejack questioned.
Sunshine Blaze didn’t blink or divert his gaze. He stayed perfectly still, looking at Applejack. He sighed and shifted slightly as he replied.
“I can’t ask for help, not while here in Equestria. If you knew where he and I came from, you’d stop talking to me immediately.”
Before Applejack could say anything else, she and Sunshine Blaze were tackled by Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze respectively, as Fireshot sidestepped a bolt of fire magic that had been fired their way. Shaking her head, Applejack looked up and saw a blue unicorn, his face shrouded by a hood, and a cape ran over his back, hiding his cutie mark.
It was clear, things were about to go bad.
--
Applejack slowly got to her feet, watching as Fireshot, Forest Breeze and Cloudswirl all attacked the blue unicorn. The blue unicorn, despite being attacked by three full grown colts, was managing to hold them off with ease, calling up a barrier when Forest Breeze or Cloudswirl got near, or reflecting magic fired at him by Fireshot.
She stood her ground as the blue unicorn came near. He paused only for a moment to grab the three colts with his magic, and throw them against nearby trees, knocking the wind out of all of them. Despite his face being covered in the darkness of the hood, Applejack swore she saw the white teeth of a grin as the blue unicorn stopped a short distance before her.
“Element of Honesty,” he spoke, his voice sounding much like the one heard in the library basement, “surrender to me now, and I shall make your suffering quick.”
“Go buck yerself.” Applejack replied.
Before the blue unicorn had any time to take in her reply, and what it meant for his plans, Applejack had run up to him, turned around, and kicked with her hind legs at his horn. A horrible snapping sound, much like when a bone is broken from a fall, echoed across the area. The blue unicorn yelled in pain, his front legs collapsing under him.
“Ok, Applejack, we have just one important thing to do now.” Sunshine Blaze said, walking to her side.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” she questioned, with one eye half closed in a confused look.
“You just bucked his horn in half, and when he repairs it, he’s going to be really mad. So,” Sunshine Blaze paused for a second, “run!”
Applejack watched as Sunshine Blaze ran off, and returned her focus to the blue unicorn. True to what Sunshine Blaze had said, the blue unicorn was now up to his front knees, the broken piece of horn raised from the ground and back to what had been left on his head. Clearly he was still able to use magic.
Wasting no time, Applejack begun to chase after Sunshine Blaze.
“Okay, it’s fine and all, running away, what are we going to do about him?” she asked, as she caught up to Sunshine Blaze.
“We need to find somewhere with as many obstacles as possible, it will give us better chance of getting near him and knocking him out while allowing us to not get hit by his attacks.” Sunshine Blaze replied.
“You forgot one thing.” Applejack stated, an unimpressed look now on her face.
“Oh really? What’s that?”
“We’re in the middle of a field, with no forests for miles around.” Applejack replied, glaring at Sunshine Blaze as they continued to run.
Sunshine Blaze looked around him as they kept running. As a look of desperation set in, he took flight, maintaining his forward momentum, while scanning the landscape in every direction from the air. He soon landed and groaned in frustration.
“Ok, new plan, keep running until I come up with a better plan.” he said.
They both slid to a halt as a flash of light appeared before them. When it ended, standing before them was the blue unicorn.
“Enough. Time to die, Element of Honesty.” the blue unicorn said calmly.
His horn glowed, forming a fireball at the tip. A second later, it grew to the side of Applejack’s head, and was sent towards her at great speed. Before anything registered in her head, Sunshine Blaze jumped into the path of the fireball, and took the hit.
Time slowed down for Applejack, as she watched Sunshine Blaze fall to the ground, the blue unicorn laughing. Where the fireball had impacted, Sunshine Blaze’s fur and skin had burnt and blackened, and he lay still, fortunately, still breathing.
She glared at the blue unicorn and ran towards him, which clearly caught the blue unicorn off guard. He moved backwards as fast as possible whenever Applejack spun on her front legs and tried to buck him in the face with her hind legs. When it became clear Applejack would not relent for long enough, and he had no time to properly cast a spell to bring her harm, the blue unicorn simply teleported out of sight.
A tense minute passed, as Applejack stood her ground and circled on the spot, waiting for the blue unicorn to return. After the minute had passed, it became clear he had no intention of returning, and Applejack sighed.
She sat on her flank and looked over to Sunshine Blaze, who was still breathing, but each breath was becoming shallower. He was in a bad way, and there was nothing she could do to help.
Another flash made her get up and lower her whole body, assuming the blue unicorn had returned. Instead, next to Sunshine Blaze was a portal, beyond which she could see her friends in the library basement, awaiting her return. Wasting no time, Applejack ran over to Sunshine Blaze and got his forelegs over her back. Holding on tight, Applejack walked as fast as she could back through.
-- Twilight’s jaw dropped as Applejack returned from her portal with Sunshine Blaze on her back. She lowered him to the floor, kicking aside his goggles as they once more fell off his head. As Applejack looked up, the other mares in the room walked over.
“Applejack, you can’t just bring somepony from another time to our time zone!” Twilight stated.
“He ain’t from the past, Twi. He’s the pony that followed ‘shy from our time into the past, and he’s hurt.” Applejack stated.
Twilight however, hadn’t listened. As soon as she had stopped talking, and Applejack had begun, she had become transfixed on the goggles that had fallen from Sunshine Blaze’s head. Around her, the other mares had begun talking, clearly deciding how best to help the fallen colt.
Slowly, Twilight’s eyes widened, as she recalled an important fact.
“Girls, step away from him now.” she said.
“Come again, Twi?” Applejack asked.
“I said, step away from him. Those goggles, they’re Irvest technology. Irvestians cannot be trusted. They replace their limbs with false versions of them… willingly. Many are more machine than pony, and further, they let the weather run itself like in the Everfree.” Twilight answered.
“And you think an enemy would willingly take a fireball for me, Twi?” Applejack shouted.
“It was probably a set up. I’ll inform Princess Celestia, but for now we have to stay away from him.” Twilight said calmly.
Applejack remained by Sunshine Blaze’s side. After a moments thought, she picked him back up and put him on her back.
“What are you doing? Get away from him!” Twilight said, her eyes wide in panic.
“No.” Applejack stated.
“Excuse me?” Twilight questioned.
“No, I ain’t getting away from him. Ah don’t care where he’s from. Ah saw it with my own eyes. He jumped in front of a fireball to save me, Twilight, and I will get him some help, regardless of where he was born.” Applejack stated, clearly intending to do as she said regardless of what Twilight did or said next.
“How can you be so sure, Applejack?” Twilight stood in the way of the stairs.
After thinking for a few instants, Applejack picked up the goggles and looked into them, cringing after a moment. She held them away from her and towards Twilight, who took them with her magic. Like Applejack, she held them to her eyes, her jaw soon dropping. Without a word, she dropped the goggles to the floor, and stared at Applejack, who still had Sunshine Blaze on her back.
“What was, I mean, who was,” she paused to form a coherent thought, “Applejack what exactly went on in there?”
“It’s a long story, Twi. Short version, that unicorn may be the cause of our problems, and this young colt saved me. Now, will you stand aside, or do I have to force my way past to get him to the hospital?” Applejack asked.
Twilight nodded and walked ahead of Applejack, opening the door to the library’s main floor. With Applejack walking ahead quickly, the pair left to take Sunshine Blaze, whose condition was beginning to get worse, to the local hospital.
The other mares simply sat and waited, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who flew up to the goggles and put them on her head. After a second, she scrambled to get them off and dropped them to the floor.
“What the hay are these things? That colt has some weird tastes, watching the same fireball approach him over and over again.” she said aloud, staring in horror at the goggles before her.
-- Standing in an alley, some distance from the Ponyville hospital, the blue unicorn watched as Twilight Sparkle and Applejack left. He looked towards the hospital, and laughed only loud enough for himself to hear.
“Enjoy, Blaze, for tomorrow, you’ll be gone. And those mares will soon join you.”
It had been half an hour since Twilight and Applejack had left, taking the barely alive Sunshine Blaze to hospital. Rainbow Dash remained staring at the goggles on the floor before her, while Rarity and Pinkie Pie watched as Twilight opened the door and both she and Applejack walked in.
“Ah’m telling you, Twilight, he’ll come find us when he’s out. He ain’t about to run off.” Applejack said aloud to Twilight.
“I hope so Applejack. He seems to know whats going on, and we need answers from him.” Twilight replied.
“So you got him to the hospital just fine?” Rarity questioned, keeping a neutral look.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. They’ll be making sure his burns aren’t serious. He woke for a moment and said he’d come talk to us when he’s out.” Twilight answered.
“That’s good,” Rainbow Dash smiled. She held up the goggles, turning to look at Applejack, “I saw these after you two left, what are they exactly?” she asked the orange earth pony.
“Oh, they’re Sunshine Blaze’s goggles, ah better go take them to him.” Applejack stated, walking over to Rainbow Dash. Before Applejack could take them, a purple aura surrounded the goggles and floated them away, placing them inside a drawer.
“There, less chance of them breaking. It will also ensure he does come talk to us, at least, if he wants them back.” Twilight stated.
“Alright, Twi, why are you acting like this? What is it about this Irvest place you don’t like?” Applejack asked.
“It got mentioned rarely by the princess. Irvest is a strange place, run by succession, but between ponies not related to each other. They also replace body parts, and in all, just don’t live in harmony like we do.” Twilight replied.
The other mares stared at each other in confusion, before looking at Twilight again.
“Uh, maybe you should make that last point clearer?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Fine,” Twilight groaned, “when Zecora came to Ponyville before the Poison Joke incident, you all made the way the Everfree runs sound unnatural.”
“Because it is! Clouds move on their own, animals fend for themselves, and plants grow how they like.” Rainbow Dash declared loudly.
“Uh huh, well, Equestria is the opposite, the weather, plants and animals are all dependant on us. But in Irvest, they let things run like the Everfree Forest.”
“Okay, that’s weird.” Rainbow Dash said, and she fell quiet.
“Ah have another question though Twi.” Applejack said.
“What’s that Applejack?” Twilight asked.
“In both mine and ‘Shy’s portals, we met three heroes. Yet there were no mention of them in history classes growing up. I saw them heading to fight Discord, what do you think happened to them?” Applejack questioned.
“Well,” Twilight paused to think, with her eyes brightening as she thought of an answer, “remember what Princess Celestia said about the time Discord first got sealed in stone?”
Around the room, the other mares nodded their heads.
“It’s simple! You saw them heading to fight Discord, when they arrived, they must have held Discord at bay until the Princesses arrived, and the rest is history.” Twilight finished, grinning.
“Ah’m not so sure Twi, if they played such an important role, why weren’t they mentioned by the Princess?” Applejack pressed.
“I don’t know. Look, we don’t have time for this now, we need to continue on and find out what’s going on with the elements. If what you said is true Applejack, then we need to find out fast who is causing these events,” Twilight looked at Rarity, who seemed to shrink a little, “you have to go first Rarity. It would be better if I went last, because if the one behind all this is waiting in mine, I can close these portals before they can get through.”
Rarity groaned loudly in frustration, looking at the portal with her picture. She really didn’t want to go through. It’d either send her to the past, where a Discord ruled Equestria waited, or send her to a horrible future. And after what Rainbow Dash had been through, and the forgotten memory of the alternate future for Pinkie Pie, it was undesirable to Rarity to learn which she would get.
With a gulp of nervousness, Rarity stepped through the portal.
-- The sight beyond the portal quickly overwhelmed Rarity. She stood in her shop, Carousel Boutique, which now looked long abandoned. Cracks formed along the walls, and the windows had been broken and mostly opaque from dust. Vines climbed around the walls and the floor was dirty as it possibly could.
She looked back where the portal should have been, but as expected, it wasn’t there, like it hadn’t been there for Fluttershy and Applejack. Rarity sighed, she was stuck with a mess of a store, clearly in the future.
She stood alone for a moment, thinking to herself about the possiblities of this future. If her shop and home was a mess, then where were her friends? Where was her family? Somepony would have come to look after it after she had failed to return, right? But by the state of the building, she immediately begun to worry about them all. What had happened to them? Were they alright? She was trying to the decide who she’d be searching for first, then—
“Ah, hello there fair, white filly.” Came a soft voice behind her. Rarity looked up at the voice, and before her stood Ulysses. While he smiled, it seemed more mocking than friendly.
“And you are?” Rarity asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Really? Your friend Applejack never mentioned me? Oh well,” he bowed, “my name is Ulysses, do try to remember it, in case your friends see me and ask it. Now, what is going on?” he asked.
Rarity stared for a moment, bewildered how fast Ulysses had just gone from a soft, gentlecolt like manner of speaking, to an almost rushed and crude normal way of speaking. She shook her head, and narrowed her eyes once more towards Ulysses.
“I don’t know. You expect me to have an idea of what I’ve stepped into?” she snipped.
Ulysses glanced down, and begun grinning. He looked Rarity in the eyes.
“Well, at least when it comes to that I do.” He remarked, pointing his right front hoof at her hooves.
Rarity glanced down, and screamed. She stamped her hooves in an attempt to remove the offending dropping, ignoring Ulysses as he burst out laughing with deep, booming chuckles.
“Could this get any worse?” Rarity whined, checking her hoof for any remaining dirt.
“Oh why does everypony say that?” Ulysses asked aloud, looking out of a window.
“What do you mean?” Rarity questioned.
“Every time somepony says ‘could this get any worse?’, then yes, it will get worse. A lot worse. And I know the situation you’re facing. Here’s a hint, it was already pretty bad before you said that.” Ulysses replied.
“Already?” Rarity asked, her eyes wide.
Ulysses said nothing, but rather pointed to the window. Rarity approached it and looked outside, her jaw instantly dropped. The sky was a deep crimson colour, as the sun and moon hung near each other in the sky, bathing the parched and burnt land in the colour of flames and blood. Houses and buildings in Ponyville, while they hadn’t been set on fire, had clearly fallen to disrepair. The ground was covered with dried grass, and the soil underneath had become hard and crackled with the lack of water.
Rarity slowly turned to face Ulysses.
“I told you it was already pretty bad.” He stated, his face blank and indifferent.
“What about my friends? And my family?” she questioned quietly.
“In this time, I just bet they’re dying to meet you,” he paused to grin, which remained on his face even when Rarity didn’t laugh, “as for where they are, you’ll have to find out by yourself.” he concluded, waving a hoof in the direction of Canterlot.
“What even caused all of this? My boutique looks like a mess, and you know what is going on, so maybe you can tell me?” she asked him, batting her eyelids at him.
“It doesn’t work like that, even if I told you what happened, you still have to find the source yourself to trigger the way back. Nice thinking however.” Ulysses replied, smirking.
Rarity sighed, turning her head to the walls and thinking. Eventually she spoke up.
“Well, the sooner I get this done, the sooner I go back home, right?”
“Oh yes, that’s true,” Ulysses said, turning away from Rarity, he added under his breath so she couldn’t hear, “for now anyway.”
Ulysses led Rarity downstairs to the main floor of her shop, with a deliberately slow pace. She found the same state of abandonment; windows were shattered, mannequins were mostly absent or smashed to small pieces, and there was no fabric big enough for a single sock. When Rarity’s eyes fell on the door, she was surprised to even see it there, if laying on the floor a foot away from the door frame.
With a glimpse of hope she checked the desk where she kept her bits. It was a foolish hope, she admitted to herself, but it was still revolting. Whoever or whatever happened in the boutique she built her life in, raided, pillaged and scavenged it completely and carelessly.
Rarity glared at Ulysses, who sported a serene smile that made it clear that he wasn’t sorry about her situation at all.
“What exactly happened here?” she asked a bit quieter than her normal.
“Do you want the long version or the short?” Ulysses asked back nonchalantly, his smile always there, much to the mare’s annoyance.
“Which one will give me everything I need to know?” she shot back firmly.
Ulysses ceased smiling.
-- The cleanest upholstery Rarity could find in her boutique was a mere pillow, one that had been ripped and some of the stuffing inside had been pulled out, though this too wasn’t all that clean, and she had to physically and mentally force herself to sit on it. It was an important ritual for her when talking in her boutique or something like that, which Ulysses waited for a little impatiently through the best part of an hour.
“Alright, now for what happened.” Ulysses begun with a relieved sigh, “Your portal has sent you forward in time by six years, something I personally kept track of with my limited control over time. Six years you have been gone, with your friends worrying about you every day, and always checking in to see if you were back in the library basement yet.” He looked directly at her who had mouth open from the shock. “You never came back, obviously. But they never gave up hope. Well, until more pressing matters came up. Three years ago, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna disappeared, the sun and moon, which had been ready to trade places, both rose to join each other in the sky, side by side.”
It was a lot for Rarity to take in. The princesses had gone missing, and that’s what caused all this? Not only that, but if she never came back, then, ultimately, her mission was doomed to fail. She returned her focus to what Ulysses was saying.
“For a while, everything went on as best as possible, considering the princesses were gone, and the sun and moon were now side by side in the sky. But it wasn’t fine. Ponies got worried, crops wouldn’t grow, the pegasi could no longer control the weather, even magic became wild.” Ulysses described, with his usual detachment, as if he was talking not about ponies like him, but of something different, not to be cared about, but watched in amusement like fishes in an aquarium. “This,” he continued, “led to bickering among neighbours and friends, soon, ponies were fighting each other, killing for property, money and reserves their victims had stored. Civilisation crumbled. Those who survived left for Canterlot, on the promise of rebuilding the world under the harsh, eternally present sun and moon. They call this the ‘age of the day-night’.”
“Age of twilight?” Rarity thought aloud, during a short silence during Ulysses explanation. She also thought of asking of Twilight Sparkle specifically, but chose to let him finish instead.
Ulysses smirked briefly as he walked towards an northeastward window. “I suppose that would be an accurate term.” He looked out that window to Canterlot and continued, “even now, word still exists among those who survived; the promise of a better future exists if they make it to Canterlot. I believe what you are looking for to return back to the present, and prevent this terrible future, is there.” He glanced over his back towards her.
Rarity took a while thinking about all that explanation. He was very clear that he thought she should be in Canterlot. She didn’t look forward to going there, though.
“Is there anything left in Ponyville?” she asked.
He answered with a single shake of his head.
“Manehattan?”
Ulysses shrugged dismissively. “I doubt it.”
“Cloudsdale?”
He snorted, failing to hide his smile. “All gone.”
“What happened to my friends? My sister?”
“You will find that out at Canterlot.” He looked away, then disappeared into the air without any sort of farewell gesture.
Rarity looked out of the front door, still not quite eager to go to Canterlot, and, despite the pressing matters at hoof, quite annoyed at her interlocutor’s lack of chivalry. She took a deep breath, and walked out of her shop.
The sky was crimson and barely filled with clouds, drifting slowly on the winds. She’d think the air would be filled with heat with such a sky, but it was strangely cool. She thought of what Rainbow Dash would think of drifting clouds.
Looking back ahead, she saw an empty cart toppled over. There was a sight of blood running over one of its sides. She squealed but instinctively followed the trail to find a pony with blue coat and gasped in shock when she realized it was Rainbow Dash.
While Rainbow wasn’t bleeding badly, she had enough cuts over her to cause the blood trail that Rarity had followed. As fast as she could, Rarity ran over to Rainbow Dash, and helped her up.
“Don’t bother helping me, I don’t have any bits to pay—” Rainbow Dash paused mid sentence when her eyes saw Rarity. Rainbow took a step back as if she had seen a ghost, “Rarity? Is... is it really you?” she asked.
“Of course it is, Rainbow Dash. I just walked in from that portal from six years ago.” Rarity replied, smiling.
It dawned on Rarity that the years hadn’t been kind to Rainbow Dash. Her ribs were visible under her coat, and the dark under her eyes together suggested that Rainbow had gone a very long time without food and sleep. However, Rainbow’s rose coloured eyes showed her joy at seeing Rarity. While it had been no secret the two were utter opposites in personality, Rainbow Dash had quite often helped Rarity, begrudgingly, to design outfits and dresses for pegasi when Fluttershy was otherwise preoccupied.
“Rarity, it’s so good to see you again!” Rainbow Dash held back a loud cry, embracing the white unicorn. As she did, the unicorn noticed her friend almost had no heart beat, and her breathing was irregular and seemed strained.
“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity pulled out of the hug, and looked at Rainbow in the eye, “what happened to you?”
Rainbow Dash sat down, and while still smiling, looked herself over.
“Oh, all this? Well, since the princesses went missing, I decided to find anypony that hadn’t yet got to Canterlot and lead them there. It doesn’t leave me much time to eat or sleep I’m afraid. The last few runs, I’ve gone about,” she paused to think, “roughly six weeks without eating or sleeping.” she finished, her smile now seeming strained, as if mentioning how long she had gone without eating or sleeping made it finally catch up to her physically.
Rarity looked around, her eyes focusing on anything that might have some food she could make Rainbow Dash eat. She came to see an old cart which had just one apple on it, and this she levitated towards Rainbow Dash with magic.
“You simply must eat Rainbow Dash, it isn’t good to not eat for so long.” Rarity stated, as the apple reached Rainbow.
Rainbow Dash stared at the apple, as more of the lack of eating and sleeping washed over her. It became a fight to stay up, and she slumped to the ground. Rarity dropped the apple and helped Rainbow up.
“Rarity, you go to Canterlot, the others will want to see you again. Just leave the apple nearby, I’ll try to take a bite and get some sleep.” Rainbow Dash said, a new effort at smiling failed.
“I won’t leave you Rainbow Dash, here,” Rarity picked the apple up again, holding it near Rainbow Dash’s mouth. Rainbow took a tiny bite of the apple, eventually finishing it after several minutes. “Feeling better?” Rarity asked.
“I forgot what it was like to have any food in my stomach. But now, you can go ahead to Canterlot, I’ll catch up, I promise.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t smile with how weak eating had made her.
Rarity glanced momentarily towards Canterlot, then back to Rainbow Dash. She formed a plan in her mind, and smiled. Unable to protest, Rainbow Dash only stared as her view on the world from the ground changed to looking down at the ground.
“If you must rest, do so. I’ll help you get to Canterlot, so we can both arrive at the same time.” Rarity smiled.
“You’re way too generous, Rarity. Generosity isn’t something that exists anymore...” Rainbow Dash mumbled, falling asleep as Rarity begun to walk. If Rarity had been looking back, she would have seen a single tear drop fall from Rainbow’s closed eyes, and on to the ground below.
-- Rarity soon arrived to the other side of Ponyville, or what was left. Most of the buildings that had been in the town had been pulled down, the materials that made them were no longer anywhere near. Rarity stopped at the path, and looked across the valley to Canterlot.
She hadn’t really looked at Canterlot during the time she had been outside of her shop, but she paused now to take a better look. While for the most part it looked the same, the walls were no longer white, having gathered dirt and dust off the winds. The elaborate gold edging to buildings had clearly been taken off, but it didn’t look abandoned, Canterlot was well lit. In way, Rarity thought, it looked like a shining gem against the grey dull light and crimson sky.
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, and looked back to Rainbow Dash, who was still on her back.
“Rainbow Dash, we’re at the path to Canterlot, do you want to walk now?” she asked.
Her question was met by silence from Rainbow Dash, who still looked like she was asleep. Rarity narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Rainbow Dash, wake up, I asked you a question.” Rarity said, shifting her body slightly.
Again, this was met by silence. Rarity’s eyes widened, and she lowered Rainbow Dash to the ground. Gently, she pressed a hoof to Rainbow’s neck and waited, almost bursting into tears a few seconds later.
“Oh no, Rainbow Dash...” she muttered sadly.
Rarity sat down, looking at the body of Rainbow Dash, tears welling in her eyes. She held back for only a few seconds, before she began sobbing.
-- Rarity hated dirt. She couldn’t stand the stuff. It wasn’t beautiful like the gems she adored so much, which was why she was so glad when Spike offered to help her on her trips to collect more, he could dig them up, while she stayed clean. And all Spike had ever asked was for a few to eat.
But she didn’t have Spike to help dig then. She sighed at the thought of how horrible and messy she looked, but still pulled herself out of the hole. A few feet away were several smaller holes, which Rarity too had dug. She stood back and looked at her work.
The hole she had just climbed out of was large, large enough that she could fit in it laying down if she wished. Beside this was a simple rock and several gems, and next to them lay the body of Rainbow Dash.
Rarity tried not to cry at the sight of Rainbow Dash. She knew Rainbow was dead, but to look at the frail, and malnourished pegasis, it simply looked like she was sleeping. Using her magic, she took a gem, and forced it into the rock. This was soon joined by a few others, and writing, which simply read; ‘Here lies Rainbow Dash, may the skies be blue and warm where you are now.’
Rarity closed her eyes for the next bit, as she levitated Rainbow Dash’s body off the ground and into the grave she had made. The body of Rainbow Dash was soon joined by the remaining gems. Rarity stood at the edge of the grave, smiling down at the body of Rainbow Dash, as she begun to cry. Rarity had placed six coloured gems to join her friend’s body, a topaz and ruby on her wings, an amethyst on her head, an orange sapphire and a diamond on her legs, and a sapphire over her heart.
Rarity spent a moment casting a spell to ensure all the gems would stay with Rainbow Dash, including those on the tombstone, than fall victim to anypony digging up the grave. Then finally, she reached the moment she had been dreading, placing the dirt back and over Rainbow’s body. She took a few minutes to begin, realising that it was an ending. Once covered up, Rainbow Dash would never be seen again. Each small pile of dirt that landed in the grave stung at Rarity.
After half an hour that dragged for too long for Rarity, the grave was filled up, the quickly made, gem encrusted tombstone was the only marker that her friend was even in the ground. Rarity sat down, and begun to cry uncontrollably, which she had fought so hard to not do for so long. She only stopped when the sky over the grave became darker, and what she saw in the sky only served to help her cry harder.
The wind had blown Rainbow Dash’s home, though mostly destroyed by rough winds, over her own grave, and then seemed to keep it there.
-- One hour later, Rarity stood up, once more on the path to Canterlot. She took a deep breath, and looked back at the grave. She wasn’t willing to walk away, Rainbow Dash had always been very loyal, and to walk away felt like it was betraying her. Rarity jumped when somepony coughed beside her.
“Maybe I could help?” Ulysses asked, his smile tried to be reassuring, but Rarity felt otherwise when looking at his eyes. She simply shook this feeling, blaming her distrust in Ulysses as needing to pin the death of Rainbow Dash on.
“Tell me that leaving her and her grave isn’t abandoning her.” Rarity begged.
Ulysses looked at the grave, and seemed to admire what Rarity had done for her friend.
“Before I do, I must say, I admire how you overcame your hatred of dirt to bury her,” Ulysses said, “now, if you stay any longer, her efforts to get you to Canterlot will have been in vain. So will you stay? Or go?” He asked.
Rarity sighed. She had asked Ulysses to be supporting in making her go, but he didn’t sugar coat things. His question had simply been full on slaps to the face. He was right, of course, Rainbow Dash had died to get Rarity heading towards Canterlot, and staying there forever, watching over her grave, would have made her efforts been worthless.
Rarity glanced at Ulysses, who simply looked down like an angry parent or teacher. With another deep breath, Rarity raised her head, and begun the long walk to Canterlot.
Ulysses once again turned to face the grave of Rainbow Dash. His horn glowed as he looked at the slightly disturbed soil that was the only indication of the grave beside the rock which stated it was. He laughed once, turning just his head to look at Rarity.
“Should have guessed you’d pay attention to a detail no one would see. But how much longer will you last in a future where generosity is a thing of the past?” he questioned, before disappearing once more into the air.
-- In the unnatural dim light of the ‘day-night’, it was very easy to lose track of time. Since the sun and moon never moved, hours could pass and be missed. This is what happened to Rarity, as she travelled along the path to Canterlot. She could no longer remember how long it had been since she had left the grave she had made for Rainbow Dash, which was a thought that occupied her mind.
The path led her now to a quiet grove, the trees devoid of leaves and looking very dead. It stood out to Rarity, as it appeared somepony was maintaining it, despite how hopeless the effort seemed. From somewhere within, a weak, but cheerful humming could be heard, and drew Rarity in.
The grove from within it looked just as dead as it had from the path, but whoever was here seemed to keep a sense of how it should look. In the trees were freshly made birds nests, despite the fact Rarity had seen no birds since she left her shop. Near a tree which overlooked the way to Canterlot stood a simple stone, which was otherwise the only thing that seemed out of place to Rarity.
Rarity stood and listened, as the humming drew closer. On the opposite side of the grove, a yellow pegasus appeared, looking slightly dirty, she carried wilted flowers in her mouth. Behind her appeared an orange earth pony, blonde mane tied back, and a hat on her head. Both froze when they saw her.
“Rarity? Is it really you?” Fluttershy asked, dropping the flowers to the ground.
“I’m sorry Fluttershy, I didn’t know six years would pass.” Rarity apologised, hoping that doing so would make things better.
“Now Rarity, ya don’t need t’ be apologising fer nothin’. Weren’t your fault that portal sent you forward in time.” Applejack stated, smiling.
Rarity observed her friends closer, as they drew near. Fluttershy looked better than Applejack, as Applejack looked as thin as Rainbow Dash had. But they both appeared well rested, and somewhat happy.
“So, what are you two doing here? And where is Twilight and Pinkie Pie?” Rarity questioned, happy to see her other friends were doing better.
Fluttershy and Applejack glanced at each other, looking uneasy.
“Sit down, sugarcube, it’s a long story. And it ain’t a happy one.” Applejack stated.
The three friends sat in a triangle shape in the middle of the grove. Applejack tried to stifle a yawn and looked at Fluttershy, as the two silently tried to decide who would talk first.
Eventually, Fluttershy nodded and started. “Well, um, you see, we were expecting Rainbow Dash to return from another trip to look for other ponies. So we went out looking for her, to make her eat and rest.”
“I saw her,” said Rarity, “I don’t know how long ago. This… this ‘day-night’ thing has made me lose track of time.”
Both Applejack and Fluttershy looked happy at the news, oblivious to Rarity’s lack of enthusiasm on giving the news.
“Great!” Applejack beamed excitedly. “Which way is she? We can all go get her and head to Canterlot!”
“Um,” Rarity looked at the ground, “how to put this. I… I carried her on my back for a while, after helping her eat an apple. She was so weak, and, I guess I turned up too late. I’m sorry… she passed away…” Rarity’s voice grew quieter as she explained.
Both mares’ smiles faded into a heartbroken frown. In a second, Fluttershy was crying against Applejack’s coat.
“Ah guess the answer to your second question is in order,” Applejack muttered dejectedly, after about a minute. “Twilight is at Canterlot, but Pinkie Pie joined us to look for Rainbow. We were running low on food, so we tried to reduce what we ate. Before we knew it, Pinkie was very weak.” Applejack sighed and paused for a couple seconds. “She begun laughing. Ya know, her prank laughter?”
Rarity nodded.
“That. Well. Then she and told us she had stopped eating so me and ‘Shy could last longer. She died. Here, in this grove.” Applejack pointed at the simple rock Rarity had seen before when entering the grove, “that’s her grave.”
Fluttershy only stopped crying long enough to look at Applejack, her face concerned.
“Applejack, you’ve not eaten for a few days now. You better eat something.” Fluttershy said.
“It don’t matter now ‘shy. There ain’t no more food. Besides, ah,” Applejack stopped a moment, dropping slightly, “ah think, its too late… everything is getting dark.”
Rarity tried to close her eyes, as Fluttershy begun wailing. Right in front of them, Applejack passed away, faster than she had assumed it would have taken. Rarity sat there, her eyes closed, as she begun to cry along with Fluttershy.
-- Rarity was muddy again. She still hated it, and would have had Fluttershy help dig the grave. But even being able to look at Applejack’s body made Fluttershy cry and collapse to the ground. Rarity instead had her go and look for some more flowers instead, while she did the task.
Fluttershy returned when Rarity had just finished with the stone that marked Applejack’s grave. Without speaking, Rarity walked to Pinkie Pie’s grave, giving Fluttershy a chance to read what was on the stone by Applejack’s grave.
“Here lies Applejack. Strong to the end, and always in our memories,” Fluttershy muttered to herself, “I think she would have liked it, even if she wouldn’t admit to it.”
Rarity didn’t say anything, as she begun using her magic to carve words on the stone at the head of Pinkie Pie’s grave. The words read; ‘Here lies Pinkie Pie, our laughter is gone from this world, but may you be there to bring us smiles when we follow you.’
“Fluttershy, do you want to spend a little while here before we go to Canterlot?” Rarity asked, looking at her friend.
Fluttershy didn’t move from where she stood, looking at the grave of Applejack, though she shook, signifying that she was crying. Slowly, Fluttershy turned her head to look at Rarity.
“You can go. I’ll.. stay here... with them.” Fluttershy said softly, tears running down her face.
“You can’t Fluttershy! We must get to Canterlot, where its safe.” Rarity protested.
“I’ll be fine Rarity. I can live off the land and watch over them.” Fluttershy looked away. “Just, come check on me every so often. If I’ve... joined them, be sure to give me a nice spot to lay.”
“But Fluttershy...”
“Please, Rarity,” she pledged, sitting down, “do this for me. Go to Canterlot, I’ll be ok.”
Fluttershy had clearly made her mind up, and there was no way Rarity could change her mind once she had decided to stick to what she had determined to do. With a sigh and a sorrowful look, Rarity walked to Fluttershy’s side.
“I’ll make sure that you get food sent to you, as long as you wish to stay here.” she said to Fluttershy. Fluttershy didn’t look at Rarity as she left the grove, tears still flowing down her face.
Fluttershy stood for a while in the grove, her crying eventually stopping. On the wind, she listened to a voice.
‘You couldn’t bear to tell her the truth. It’s what Applejack would have done.’
“I couldn’t tell her. If I did, she’d know the real reason none of us were at Canterlot, and why Rainbow Dash was looking for anypony to send there.” Fluttershy replied to it.
‘You still hope that things will change? They won’t, Fluttershy. The world will never be what it once was. What I am doing, it is for our own survival. You, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, you all chose to go into the wild, risking death. At least I offered safety.’ the voice taunted.
“That’s no survival…” she said, trying to reason with the voice, but without the energy to do so. “That’s only a slow death to everypony. I… didn’t have the heart to tell her that soon I’ll be dead as well.” Fluttershy stated.
The voice mused for a moment, laughing as it repeated the words.
‘If you return with her, I can bring them back. Don’t you want us all to be together? To use the elements of harmony and fix all of this?.’
Fluttershy bit her lip, her eyes darted between Applejack’s grave and Pinkie Pie’s grave. She sighed.
“Maybe…” she mused, “but… Look at her. So full of life and energy, just like we all were six years ago,” she smiled at the memory. “I’d just… hinder her. And then she’d have to stop and bury me.” Fluttershy lied down. “I’d just rather be alone when my time comes.”
‘As you wish. Farewell Fluttershy.’ the voice whispered, and ceased to speak, taking the wind with it.
-- Away from Fluttershy and Rarity, the Canterlot Palace throne room had a much darker tone to it now. Whereas Princess Celestia kept it bright and open, the current inhabitant liked the darker colours, and the feeling of a closed space. Banners lined the walls which held six dark colours, purple, navy, grey, dirty yellow, dirty orange and a dirty pink.
Similarly, the walls had been covered over in a deep rich purple, and the carpet that lined towards the throne was a crimson with gold thread pattern.
The new inhabitant of the throne room was clearly a mare, her crown a mix of the ones once worn by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, as was the neck piece and ornate shoes.
She sat in silence, the conversation with Fluttershy in her mind still. Could things be changed? Was travelling back and preventing the Princesses from disappearing even possible?
“We shall soon find out, won’t we Rarity?” she said, her eyes fixed on the doors to the throne room.
-- Rarity now stood at the gates to Canterlot, and a shiver went down her spine. After witnessing all these deaths of her friends, Rarity dreaded finding Twilight. What state was she in? And what about other survivors?
She knocked at the gates, and waited. From behind them, she could clearly hear the guards debating and arguing, but for the most part, it was muffled. When everything went quiet behind the gates, it didn’t take much longer for them to open. The ponies beyond the gate only stared at her, as from the castle itself, a very familiar purple and green dragon, much larger than she remembered, walked over.
“Hi Rarity,” said the deep voice Spike now had. “It’s been a while,” he stated, after lingering for a few seconds.
His head now looked more like a regular dragons, and his body had begun to change to fit the typical vision of a dragon. He didn’t look all that healthy, but definitely much better than her pony friends.
“You, Spike. You look so different… I’d love to catch up with you,” she looked at the other ponies, who still stared at her, their looks a mix of fear and wonder, “but, right now, may I be taken to Twilight? I’d be glad to see her too.” Rarity smiled.
Spike seemed to formulate a reply, but said nothing. He nodded, turning to face the castle again. He waited until Rarity was beside him, and looked at the ponies, who begun to close the gates. Smiling at Rarity, Spike led her into the castle.
Rarity had to trot to keep up with Spike. The castle for the most part had the same décor as the previous room, each room they passed flashed by in the same deep purple colour, with gold and silver streaks. Rarity only noticed Spike had stopped when she almost walked into the throne room door.
“Rarity, things have really changed since you’ve been gone,” Spike stated, his green eyes looking into Rarity’s own, “are you sure you want to still see her?” he questioned.
“Why, of course Spike. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t come to see her?” Rarity answered.
Spike only nodded, pushing open the doors. He held back, and extended one of his arms, letting Rarity go first. She smiled at Spike, and entered the room first.
The throne room was the same as all the other rooms, except for the throne at the far end of the room. Rarity rubbed her eyes when she looked at the throne and its occupant. The throne was a dark violet, with gold patterns and crimson pillows, on which sat Twilight, her crown made of the merged crowns of the princesses, and the rest of her decorative wear were similarly merged from what once was worn on either princess.
Twilight looked at Rarity, a smile on her face.
“I’m sorry Rarity, I didn’t think your portal would make you miss six years. Especially the incident three years ago where we needed you.” Twilight opened the conversation, her words containing a hint of much practice, as though they had been said many thousands of times before.
“Nonsense, Twilight. It wasn’t your fault. Besides, you remember what was said, once I know what will corrupt the element of generosity, I can go back and stop this from ever taking place.” Rarity smiled, happy to see Twilight.
Quickly, Twilight stood up and walked over to Rarity, her smile remained, but seemed less warm than it had a moment before.
“It has been hard these last three years Rarity. I’m sure by now you know how all this came to be, so let me tell you what we all did, while waiting for you to appear,” Twilight examined Rarity, making sure she was ready for the explanation, “once both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were gone, I called on the others to come to Canterlot. Quickly, we were able to keep ponies sane here, at the cost of the rest of the Equestria.” Twilight spoke, reciting the facts for Rarity, each word carrying that rehearsed tone.
Twilight led Rarity up to the throne, where she sat and once more looked at Rarity.
“Canterlot prospered while Equestria fell all around it, thanks to us. We only regretted one thing, that you weren’t there to help with us. As ponies flocked here, seeking to survive, we lost something that made Equestria what it is. We still had magic, loyalty, laughter, kindness and honesty, but we lost generosity. We never turned anypony away, but we gave more to those that had been here longer, rather than sharing rations equally to all. But even now,” Twilight faltered for a moment, “we only resist the end of Canterlot itself. Rainbow Dash, being loyal to the princesses, begun to hope that they needed to see, that even in a dark time, we could pull together without them in the world, and they would come back. That is why she left Canterlot the most. The other left recently to find her.” Twilight’s voice became soft and gentle, as she went into deep thought.
“I met them all, on the way here.” Rarity spoke up. She had listened to what Twilight had to say, but felt she had not been given the chance to speak.
“How are they?” Twilight asked.
“They,” Rarity paused for a moment, wondering if it was best to tell the truth, “Rainbow Dash I found in Ponyville, she was hurt and weak. I tried to help her, but she passed away just as we got to the edge of the town. I buried her there. Then I found Applejack and Fluttershy in a grove. I learnt from them that Pinkie Pie is gone as well, before I arrived. She purposely starved herself so the other two would have more to eat. And as we spoke, Applejack passed. I buried her by myself, poor Fluttershy was too upset. I left Fluttershy there at her insistence to come here, Twilight, we have to go and bring her back.”
Rarity looked hopefully at Twilight, but quickly realised Twilight was no longer looking at her in any way that was kind or glad or even remotely emphatic. The right word for how Twilight now looked at Rarity was disgust.
“You let Rainbow Dash and Applejack die, and then left Fluttershy alone out there to die alone?” Every word Twilight now spoke drove into Rarity like a dagger.
“I... I couldn’t make her leave Twilight! When she’s made up her mind, there’s no changing it. I promised I’d have her checked on until she is ready to return!” Rarity defended herself. But it was hopeless against Twilight’s anger.
“You! You are the bearer of Generosity! You should have brought her back, brought them all back alive! And look at you, you let them die. You are pathetic.” Twilight spat at Rarity, who was now quivering, her mouth open from the terror she felt.
“Twilight, please, you must be taking the news badly, please calm down and think rationally!” Rarity pleaded.
Twilight turned away from Rarity, and looked at Spike.
“Take her to the dungeon. Return and I’ll decide what you may do with her.” Twilight spoke firm, but it was clear. The power of leading Canterlot had turned Twilight into a tyrant.
-- The dungeon, for some reason, had a clock. The hands showed it was now 3pm, which would have been good for finding how long it had been since she arrived, except Rarity had seen no other clock before being put in the dungeon cell.
Spike had apologised no end while putting Rarity in the dungeon, and while he had stepped around having to admit his crush on her, a fact she knew and never mentioned, she was thankful he hadn’t given up this youthful feeling. He had since returned back to Twilight, promising Rarity that he would make sure Twilight wouldn’t do her harm.
Rarity raised her head as the sound of hoof steps approaching grew louder. Looking out of her cell, her jaw dropped. Walking towards her was Sweetie Belle, with Scootaloo and Applebloom close behind. The trio wore plate armour over their bodies, legs and helmets on their heads. Scootaloo’s wings had extra parts over the wings, which folded with them. The trio stopped outside her cell, and Sweetie Belle stared at Rarity like she had seen a ghost.
“Rarity? I-is it really you?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“It is Sweetie Belle. What’s going on? Why are you wearing armour?” Rarity asked in return, leaning against the cell bars.
Sweetie Belle leaned her own hooves on her sister’s, and began explaining, “after the princesses were gone, Twilight encouraged our families and friends to move to Canterlot. You can’t imagine how bad things really were.”
“I think I can, I saw most of Ponyville in ruins, my boutique ransacked.” Rarity stated.
“That’s just the outcome. You weren’t there when ponies became crazy, killing each other for food and items. You weren’t there when mom and dad gave their lives to ensure I made it here safe. Even now, you don’t know what we know,” Sweetie Belle took a breath, “every few hours, more bandits, of what little remains, arrive to the castle and attempt to ransack and kill for items.”
Rarity said nothing, as she watched Sweetie Belle begin to cry.
“It’s got so bad, Twilight has us, US! As guards ponies. We’re still fillies, and we have to fight to protect the city.” Scootaloo added.
“I wish I could do something, anything, to change all this.” Rarity said, tears in her eyes.
“Ya can’t. Not unless ya can go back in time to three years ago. Sorry Rarity, but we have to attend to duties. C’mon girls.” Applebloom said flatly.
Ahead of Applebloom, Scootaloo walked beside Sweetie Belle, a comforting wing over her back. Applebloom however, paused and looked back, checking around her before she spoke again.
“Ah won’t tell anypony that there’s someone in the city trying to find you. Ah hope he isn’t trouble.” she informed Rarity, before departing. Rarity sighed, and stared at the clock on the wall opposite her cell.
The clock moved. One thing Rarity knew, clocks tended to stay still once placed. She shook her head slightly, and looked back at the clock, making sure she wasn’t going insane. The clocked moved again, this time she saw it, and the clock, having noticed she was looking, didn’t seem to care now, as it simply kept moving. It rose higher and higher into the air, before moving aside and showing the face of Ulysses.
“How ungrateful she was! Throwing her only surviving friend into the dungeons.” He said, putting the clock down.
“Only surviving friend?” Rarity questioned.
“Oh, yes. Um, I’m sorry, but it seems Fluttershy, scared of something, decided to hurry up the unavoidable end. Just past the grove was a waterfall with rocks at the bottom, she dived off it and kept her wings folded up. I’m sorry,” his voice ended on a hushed whisper. Rarity closed her eyes and begun to cry for her friend, “that said, I suspect Twilight Sparkle may have something to do with Fluttershy’s choice. So, here you go, make the most of this, I can only help this once.”
Ulysses’ horn glowed, and the iron bars of the cell shifted, and moved out of the way. Watching in wonder, Rarity looked at Ulysses.
“Who exactly are you? You say you can control time, but you also seem to be able to do things with objects they can’t otherwise do.” Rarity asked.
“Who I am is who I am, and I am,” he took the time to bow, “Ulysses.” His head tilted up to look at Rarity, a big grin on his face.
“Thank you Ulysses, I won’t let you down.” Rarity smiled, the tears over Fluttershy still wet on her face as she ran the route she recalled from when Spike brought her down to the dungeon. Ulysses meanwhile returned the bars to normal, laughed, and disappeared into the air.
-- Returning to the throne room was a lot faster than when Spike had led Rarity to the dungeons, and with how each room looked the same as the last, Rarity found it amazing she knew the way back. Twilight had clearly been paying attention when each room was made and decorated the same way, every little detail was in the same place room to room.
But despite this care, Rarity’s fashion sense and eye for detail had helped. Here and there were simple, overlooked details, which marked the rooms she had already been in, and thanks to this, she now stood next to the door which led into the throne room. Beyond this, she could hear Spike and Twilight speaking.
“Twilight, you have to admit, it was a little harsh to blame her for everything.” Spike stated.
“It wasn’t harsh enough, for not being there three years ago when we needed her, I should have killed her on the spot!” Twilight retorted, the room beyond the door echoed with a hoof stomp.
“I really think that this power has gone to your head Twilight,” Spike paused, Rarity heard his talons click against the floor as he walked, “you begun this three years ago, with good intentions. Help everypony to survive the day-night. What happened? When did you let the authority get the better of you? They talk you know, around Canterlot, how you are mad with power, how soon there will be no hope.”
Rarity knew that Spike had said this, most likely in the hope of shocking Twilight to her senses. The silence in the throne room hung for longer than she had expected. It ended with a sudden impact against the door, and a groan of pain from Spike.
“Never. Never say such cruel things again. If the ingrates don’t like it under my rule, they are free to take the risk in the wild. Let’s see how long they last!” Twilight remarked, a fickle tone to her voice.
“I can see why the others left. You didn’t tell Rarity the truth did you?” Spike questioned, his voice louder now he was near the door and not the throne.
“Tell her the truth? No, I told her what she only needed to know. She disappeared for six years, then expects everything to be fine?” Twilight’s voice had lost its fickle tone, and shook with some self doubt.
“Now come on Twilight, you know its not true. Six years ago, she entered the portal, and no one, not even you, knew what she’d face! And the truth is, to understand what she faces, you only need to look in a mirror!” Spike snapped.
The door shook violently once again, as Spike was thrown against it. Rarity took a step away from the door, as it kept shaking, Twilight wasn’t stopping this latest attack against him. She froze when she heard Spike roar, the sound of which made her back away from the door as it stopped shaking.
Silence fell in the throne room again, and Rarity could hear the deep breaths from Twilight. Her latest attack had clearly tired her out, which Rarity saw as a good thing, she would be unable to harm Spike again. Rarity looked on, as the door opened slightly.
“Spike,” Twilight sounded calmer now, “you... you still have feelings...”
“Yes, Twilight. And if you harm any more of your friends, then I will forget you are the one who hatched my egg.” Spike threatened, opening the door.
His eyes landed on Rarity, and for a moment, it seemed like he was going to say something. He glanced back at Twilight, before fully leaving the room, stopping at Rarity’s side.
“I will be back. Go talk some sense into her.” he said into her ear, and continued on his way.
Slowly, and very nervously, Rarity entered the throne room through the open door. On the throne, still wearing the merged decoratives and crowns of the princesses, sat Twilight. She wasn’t looking towards the door, her head hung, almost as if she felt ashamed of herself. Rarity wasn’t sure what to do, she had been so ready to enter the room and stare down, even shout at Twilight, for becoming a tyrant. But the friend she had come in the room to get angry at wasn’t the one that she had seen before being taken to the dungeon. She was still the same unicorn she recalled from Ponyville, spending as much of her free time reading books in the library as possible.
“Twilight,” Rarity spoke aloud, Twilight’s head shot up to face Rarity, her eyes wide, “what is going on? What did Spike mean you hadn’t told me the truth?” she questioned.
Rarity watched carefully as Twilight lifted off the mixed crown, and she stared at the mixed gold and blue which had been on the two original crowns she had made it from. Twilight sighed, looking at Rarity again.
“The reason things are getting bad is because of me, I guess. What I said at first was true, when the princesses disappeared, leaving us this blasted day-night, we managed to remake some sort of civilisation here in Canterlot. It was good, everypony worked hard to make the most of the dim light and crimson skies, we had plenty of food.” Twilight answered, placing the crown on her head again.
“So what did you lie about?” Rarity pressed.
“As time got on, crops begun to wither and die, we barely had any food, and had to ration what we could. But, as I said, without you, the bearer of generosity, we gave more to those that had been here the longest.” Twilight shifted.
“The longest being?” Rarity took a single step forward.
“Us. Me, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Only, I didn’t tell them we were getting more than every other pony. They found out however, about two years ago, and they didn’t take the revelation well. They left. Doubtless, had Rainbow Dash lasted longer when you met her, you’d have found why she was looking for ponies to send here,” Twilight stood up and walked behind the throne, “she was sending ponies here, in the hopes that an overflow of ponies would allow the food to be shared equally. The others, I managed to separate them from Rainbow, because they realised I was just killing the overflow they sent here, and they were going to return and put a stop to my tyranny.”
Rarity couldn’t believe what she was hearing, was it really the truth, or was Twilight lying again? Her voice however, had sounded different from her first ‘truthful explanation’, it was more sincere. What’s more, the facts seemed to fit more. While Twilight hadn’t explained why the others were gone from Canterlot, all the facts of what had just been said fit Twilight’s new personality, why Rainbow Dash was so far away from Applejack and Fluttershy, and why none of them had been in Canterlot when she had come across them.
Rarity walked to the side of the throne, and stared in confusion. Twilight stood beside a door she hadn’t seen before, and it had a ghostly appearance.
“What is that door?” Rarity asked.
“This door appeared when the princesses left. Or rather, got pulled in. I was there when it appeared,” Twilight hung her head, “the memory still haunts me, watching this door as it pulled Princess Luna and then Princess Celestia into it. I grabbed Celestia, held her hooves as both of us were dragged to the door. And she said one thing that made me let go. She told me ‘We will meet again in three years.’ and then she was gone.”
The door shimmered as Twilight spoke Princess Celestia’s last words, as if it were shivering from the promise the words had held. Rarity looked at the door, a rainbow of colours were mixing like liquid.
“So what now, Twilight?” Rarity asked.
“I had hoped that on your return, we would all stand here, and use the elements and retrieve the princesses from whatever this thing is. But, Rainbow Dash is dead, Pinkie Pie is dead, Applejack, Fluttershy. We’re the only two left. We can’t use the elements of harmony when only two of us still live.” Twilight stated, turning her back to the ghostly door.
Rarity thought for a moment, that she saw the faces of her friends and the princesses on the ghostly door, and together, all of them seemed to have shouted her name.
“Twilight, we could still try, we must. If we fail, then no one can blame us.” Rarity said hopefully.
“No Rarity. Since your return, I have been thinking.” Twilight was walking in circles around Rarity. “Earlier, I said to Spike you were to blame. He was right though, it was beyond your control. The only thing to do however, is to get you back. Return you to six years ago and stop this from ever taking place.”
Rarity still focused on the ghostly door, blinking whenever she thought she had seen the face of one of her friends on it. Just what was this door?
“Please Twilight, the right thing I can do is help you use all the elements of harmony to fix this. Won’t you at least try?” Rarity pleaded, watching as the face of Fluttershy now appeared firmly in the door, mouthing words to Rarity that she couldn’t hear.
Twilight stopped walking, standing in front of the door, but looking at Rarity.
“No. You have a choice. Be generous and make me split the use of the elements to try and undo this, or attack me and end my reign of tyranny.” Twilight shouted.
Twilight begun charging magic, as Rarity stared in shock. Looking past Twilight, the faces of Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were now visible on door, all yelling the same thing soundlessly. As she watched, what they were saying was clear, ‘run!’, and Rarity wasted no time.
She ran behind the throne as Twilight released the spell, the white ball shattered the throne, forcing Rarity to run away from it too. As she ran, Twilight begun charging a new spell, not noticing as Rarity had when glancing back, that the decorations and crown were growing cracks.
Twilight released the second spell, the crown loudly cracked as she did so. It missed Rarity, but set the banner on fire. Turning to focus on Rarity again, Twilight charged a third spell, the neck piece finally broke and fell to the floor where it shattered into hundreds of gold and blue pieces. The third spell shattered a stained glass window, which had been covered with dust to the point what it pictured was no longer visible. The coloured glass pieces fell to the floor, and the decorative shoe pieces shattered as the glass did.
Rarity came to a stop when a snap echoed around the room. Twilight dropped the new spell she was charging, and both unicorns watched as the banner fell from where it had hung, setting the carpet near it on fire.
“So what will it be Rarity? Shall we keep fighting until we burn dead?” Twilight asked, the fire spreading rapidly.
“Who puts highly flammable carpet in a throne room?” Rarity questioned, shaking her head.
As Twilight begun charging another spell, Rarity saw two things occur. The first was the crown on Twilight’s head finally shattered, the gold and blue pieces flew through the air. The second was the ghostly door. It slowly opened, revealing that there was nothing behind it other than the purest black possible.
Rarity charged at Twilight, the spell flew over Rarity as she drew near. Rarity’s head met Twilight’s chest, and she kept running. Twilight tried to resist as much as she could, but in vain. The pair were soon near the door, and Rarity came to a stop. Twilight continued on and hung for a moment in the black beyond it. Her eyes begun to glaze over, as she looked down at Rarity.
“I’m sorry.” Twilight cried, tears appearing in her eyes. A second later, Twilight vanished into the darkness, and the ghostly door closed.
Rarity laid on the floor, and begun crying, as around her, the fire begun to crackle louder and louder, continuing its rapid spread through the throne room. She was only slightly aware of Ulysses, as he walked through the flames to her left. She didn’t stand up as he arrived, and didn’t resist as he lifted her up to his back with magic. He then used another spell, and teleported them both out of the throne room.
They were just outside Ponyville now. The cold air of the day-night cooled Rarity down after the heat of the flames. Her eyes fell straight ahead to Canterlot Castle, its throne room flames just starting to venture outside. She could only feel sad, as she watched the fire growing out of the throne room. It was bad news for the ponies, they had no one to lead them anymore, even if tyrannical, and they would soon be dead. She sat on the short bridge over a dried creek she found herself on and watched as the flames spread.
“Don’t feel bad for them, Rarity. When you return back, you can prevent this.” Ulysses encouraged.
“But how?” Rarity wondered, almost not loud enough for him to hear, “I don’t even know what caused that door to appear, or what it even was.”
“Twilight became corrupted, magic itself corrupted,” Ulysses explained, “if all the elements of harmony corrupt, the events may not go like this, but it will not be good.”
They turned around towards Ponyville, just a short trot from Carousel Boutique. He quickly led her to her shop, and led her back upstairs.
“Now here, your way back to the present awaits. You just need step through it to leave these horrors behind.” Ulysses smiled, using his magic again to disappear before Rarity had a chance to say anything.
The portal was now where Rarity had first arrived to the future, and it hung silently. She almost hated what it had done, leading her to a future where she had seen her friends die, even pushing Twilight through the ghostly door.
She had worked it out on the way back to the shop, the ghostly door was some sort of way to where souls went when they no longer had bodies. Why it had taken the princesses alive, or even accepted Twilight, she would never know.
As the portal hung in the air, Rarity begun to laugh, while crying at the same time. It had brought her to a future where she saw her friends die, and the world at its end, but the same portal she now faced offered something better. A chance to go back and make sure the events she had been a part of never took place. This side of it, she was alone, her friends were gone, and she didn’t dare to think nor find out what had become of Sweetie Belle now Canterlot was on fire. But to get them all back, all she had to do was walk through the portal. Past it, they were all alive, most likely waiting for her to return.
With no one to watch her, she ran through the portal as fast as she could.
-- ‘The Element of Generosity is now corrupted. Your end shall be soon.’ the voice boomed through the library. It had scared Fluttershy, which wasn’t hard to do anyway, and Twilight bit her lower lip in worry.
The portal with the picture of Rarity shimmered, a second later, Rarity appeared from it, looking rather messy, but fine. Rarity smiled as she saw her friends, all perfectly fine.
“Rarity,” Twilight narrowed one eye, “what happened?” she asked.
Rarity laid on the ground, smiling and closing her eyes.
“It was simply horrible. I was sent forward in time six years, and the world was at its end, because I wasn’t there when you needed me the most. It... it was horrible,” Rarity blurted out, looking at Twilight with partially open eyes, “I tried to help you Rainbow Dash, but you still died of exhaustion and malnutrition, Pinkie was already gone, having starved herself dead to give Applejack and Fluttershy more time to live. Applejack died as we talked, with Fluttershy tricking me to leave before her end came.” Rarity stopped, now out of breath.
“I really don’t like these portal things, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, she had almost curled up, “so far, when you went to see if it was Pinkie’s portal, I died, and now I died in Rarity’s? Somepony really has it out for me.” Rainbow’s voice had begun loudly, but over the sentence had dropped to be almost as quiet as Fluttershy.
“There was more.” Rarity added.
“Oh great.” Rainbow Dash groaned.
“I arrived to Canterlot, where anypony still alive was, and you,” her eyes landed on Twilight, having previously been looking at Rainbow Dash, “had become a tyrant. Drunk with power, you made them all leave, which resulted in their deaths. Then, when you saw a way out with me to help, you attacked me, even though you clearly wanted to make things right. I had to force you through this ghostly door, sending you to... I think it was the afterlife. That’s when I was able to come back.” Rarity didn’t break eye contact, or move, as she spoke to Twilight.
Twilight looked distraught, and begun to cry. Gently, Rarity placed a hoof on Twilight.
“Is there any way we can stop this future taking place?” Twilight asked through her sobbing.
“Simply don’t make me go back through the portal.” Rarity stated.
Twilight slowly got to her hooves, looking at her friends in turn. She smiled weakly, looking at her portal.
“I’ll need some time to get over what Rarity saw, before I go through.” Twilight said, sitting down.
“Wait a darn second! Ain’t it odd that to stop her future, Rarity only need not go back through the portal?” Applejack questioned, looking at Twilight.
“Now you mention it,” Twilight begun to think, taking what Rarity had said, and applying the logic just stated by Applejack to it, “it seems like whoever is controlling these events is using them to taunt us.” Twilight stomped a hoof.
“Taunt us? But why?” Rarity questioned.
“It’s simple. They thought you were useless, so they gave you the easy one. That future may not be what will happen, but some elements of it are what they have planned, so it showed you certain things, to tell to us. The reason being, we now know, but it feels we will be powerless to prevent it.” Twilight replied.
“Yeah right,” Rainbow Dash stood up, “whoever this voice belongs to, the only way we’ll be powerless to stop it is if we die!” her wings raised, and she smiled.
“Exactly. Now come on, let’s go back upstairs, Twilight said she isn’t ready yet to enter her portal.” Rarity said, leading the way back to the main floor of the library.
-- Nurse Redheart looked at the orange pegasus, laying peacefully on the bed. He had been rushed in, and she had been amazed at how little Applejack and Twilight Sparkle knew of him, how he had even been alive when he came in confused her and the doctor on duty. The doctor who had examined him had seen some internal bleeding during an operation to a very nasty wound that had been hidden by one of his wings, that would have otherwise cost the young pegasus his life.
The bell rung from the desk, and she turned away, giving once last glance and smile at the sleeping pegasus. Waiting at the desk was a dark blue unicorn, a black cloak over him, he seemed to be straining his neck to look in the room she had left.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Ah, you must be the nurse,” the unicorn looked her up and down, “of course you are, white hat, in a hospital, I’d have to have a very bad head injury to decide you held a job other than nurse. Anyway, I am looking for a pegasus by the name ‘Sunshine Blaze’. Is he here?”
Nurse Redheart felt uneasy before the unicorn, he seemed jittery, and kept turning his head around, watching his surroundings rather than looking directly at her.
“And what is your relation to him?” she asked.
“Oh, I’m a relative of his. Distant. Is he here?” the unicorn pressed.
“I’m afraid so. How he is even alive, we don’t know. I don’t think he’ll survive the night.” Nurse Redheart answered.
If the unicorn had made her feel uneasy before, his reaction and body language at her last statement made any feelings against the unicorn clear and well founded. He looked upset at the news, but his body language showed relief and joy.
“If that is the case, I won’t see him, instead, I’ll go tell his parents, they’d want to know,” the unicorn turned to leave, but stopped, “by the way, he’s only fourteen years old. You wrote fifteen. I’d correct that if I were you.” the unicorn said, walking away.
In the room, Sunshine Blaze slowly opened his eyes. He grunted at the sight of a clean wall in front of him, and fell back to sleep, unaware of how close the unicorn had been.
The hospital made Rainbow Dash nervous as she walked along the clean white corridors. Her only relief was that she wasn’t a patient there. She walked up to the desk, behind which stood Nurse Redheart and the doctor on duty. Rainbow looked down to her neck, checking that she still had the goggles around it.
Twilight hadn’t been willing to part with the goggles, after having learnt where Sunshine Blaze had come from. It confused her why he had come to Equestria, but the recording in the goggles had hinted at it. Sunshine Blaze hadn’t come to cause problems, but was chasing somepony who could be causing problems. Why still wasn’t clear, but the unicorn had shown up at least once in the last few days.
Rainbow Dash stood patiently at the desk, while Nurse Redheart finished the quiet conversation with the doctor. He simply nodded his head in her direction, said a few more words, then walked into a room. Nurse Redheart approached, and smiled.
“How can I help you today Rainbow Dash?” she asked.
“I, um, I came to see how that pegasus Twilight and Applejack brought in is doing. And to give him these.” Rainbow replied, pointing a hoof to the goggles around her neck.
“We’ll make sure those aren’t carrying anything that could hurt his recovery before giving them to him,” Nurse Redheart said, taking the goggles as Rainbow passed them over, “as for how he’s doing, he’ll make a recovery. His progress is amazing, barely a day and all the burn marks are gone. We don’t understand how that is even possible. But, he doesn’t seem like he wants to wake up. It could be a sign of a serious head trauma.”
Nurse Redheart stood aside as Rainbow Dash tried to look in the room Twilight had said she’d find Sunshine Blaze in. The doctor was there, checking on him. As she watched, the doctor lifted a wing and seemed to be checking under it.
“Your friends didn’t notice he had a serious wound. It was covered by a wing, and we even found why it wasn’t bleeding so badly. The wound it seems was inflicted only to cause internal bleeding. If the doctor hadn’t opened the wound more, it would have been missed.” Nurse Redheart informed Rainbow Dash.
“It’s good that he’s alive. Twilight has a lot of questions for him when he’s out.” Rainbow Dash smiled, looking at Nurse Redheart.
“Yes, well, there is something you need to tell Twilight Sparkle,” Nurse Redheart paused, looking around, “last night, somepony came to ‘see’ him. A fishy dark blue unicorn, he didn’t give his name. I lied to him to make him leave, he believes Sunshine Blaze was about to die during the night, he seemed happy to hear that. We’ll let you know when he can leave, but it may be best to protect him if you don’t want that unicorn turning my white lie into the truth.”
Rainbow Dash was pale. She repeated Nurse Redheart’s words in her head, and made the connection. The dark blue unicorn that had turned up the night before must have been the same one the goggles had recorded as attacking Sunshine Blaze, and he had not so subtly come to the hospital, either to finish the job or make sure it had been done right.
Her eyes fell on the sleeping orange pegasus in the room. Who exactly was he?
-- Twilight jumped in surprise at the loud bang against the door. Why did Rainbow Dash do that? It was usually the windows she crashed into or through, but why did she never slow down enough to open them first?
The door swung open, with a very annoyed looking Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway. She shook her head, entered the room and kicked the door closed behind her.
“So how was he?” Applejack asked.
“He’s fine. They’re amazed at how fast the burn marks are gone, he’s going to make a full recovery, provided he wants to wake up.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Good, when I come back from my portal, we can ask him everything we need to know.” Twilight stated, trotting to the basement.
“There is one other thing,” Rainbow Dash said, which made Twilight stop in her tracks, “someone came to see him last night.”
“Oh? Who was it?” Twilight questioned, getting ready to hear that Sunshine Blaze wasn’t as kind or innocent as Applejack had made him out to be.
“You remember the recording in his goggles? He was attacked by a dark blue unicorn. And Nurse Redheart said it was a dark blue unicorn that came to see him. She said he seemed happy when she lied and told him that Sunshine Blaze wouldn’t live to today.” Rainbow answered.
They all fell silent.
-- Sunshine Blaze opened his eyes slightly, as yelling from somewhere nearby reached his ears. His eyes fell on his goggles, and he smiled. He sat up, and watched the commotion outside of the room, as he picked the goggles up and placed them upon his head.
The nurse and a doctor were both holding back a sea blue earth pony. He was a sight in himself, one of his legs looked metallic, and little puffs of steam rose from a small pipe in the side, it had been made of various objects and looked as if it had been quickly thrown together by someone who put up cheesy little objects on display at every holiday. There was a metal plate which covered the left side of his head, and burn marks to the face along it suggested that it had been made to stay there in a very painful manner. The eye that should have been there, to match the dark brown on his right had also been changed for a metallic one. While the right eye glared at the nurse, the left eye’s blue glow fell on Sunshine Blaze.
The nurse and doctor lost their struggle to hold this earth pony back any longer. He pushed them both aside, and kicked the door, the glass pane shattering as he did so, and his rough voice finally could be heard.
“...and ya see? He’s awake now, I call visitin’ hours! Now sod off the both o’ ya!” he shouted back at the nurse and doctor.
“Really captain? Must you be such a hooligan? We aren’t in Irvest you know, they don’t accept this behaviour in Equestria.” Sunshine Blaze said, looking unimpressed.
“Eh, the gits wouldn’t let me come see ya. Enough about me anyway, how’s yer mission goin’?” the captain asked.
“I’m in a hospital, no idea how I got here, I still haven’t found him yet, and he’s after the Elements of Harmony still, how do you think it’s going?” Sunshine Blaze quipped.
“Fair ‘nough,” the captain looked back at Nurse Redheart and the doctor, as they got up out at the corridor, “so me ‘n’ the crew wait fer ye?” he asked.
“Yes. Now, I think you’d better leave. You haven’t made a good impression, and if they all knew where we come from, they’d chase you away and probably do something very bad to me.” Sunshine Blaze warned, looking away from the captain and to the nurse.
“Whatever ye say lad.” The captain said, grinning as he left, but stopped long enough to wrap a leg around the nurse, whispering something to her that resulted in a hoof to his face, and a lot of laughter as the captain left the hospital. Sunshine Blaze shook his head, and begun to think of how best to explain who he was.
-- “Anyway,” Rainbow Dash broke the silence, “I asked Nurse Redheart to tell us if anypony else that seems unusual comes by to see him. After all, the unicorn turned up, who’s to say the unicorn can’t disguise himself, or is working alone?” she stated.
“Good idea Rainbow Dash. Now, if you all want, you can stay up here. I’m sure my portal won’t take long.” Twilight said, smiling as she walked through the door to the basement.
As Twilight descended the stairs, the sound of hooves behind her indicated that her friends were joining her, rather than remain upstairs in the library. She walked up to the last portal which held a picture of her in it, and took a deep breath.
There seemed to be a pattern with the portals as each of her friends had gone through, except for Rainbow and Pinkie Pie, who’s portals had been made from them having already been sent to an alternate future. Three of them had alternate futures behind their portals, while Fluttershy and Applejack had been sent to the past. If the pattern was right, she thought, her portal would also lead to a past event the voice was trying to change.
Looking back to her friends and smiling, Twilight stepped through the portal.
The five friends stood and looked at Twilight’s portal, eagerly hoping she returned quickly. They acknowledged Spike as he entered. Spike meanwhile, glanced around the room looking for Twilight.
“She’s already gone through?” he questioned.
“Yes, Spike.” Rainbow Dash answered.
“Nurse Redheart stopped by, a sailor stopped by to see Sunshine Blaze. They seemed to know each other. Thought she’d want to know.” he said, looking at Rainbow Dash.
“Well, it’ll have to wait until she returns. Hopefully that won’t be long.” Rarity stated.
They all fell silent again.
-- Twilight stared in shock at the scene she was met with. Around her, trees burned, even with heavy rain that should have extinguished them, they raged as though freshly started on a sunny day. The ground felt hot and stung at her hooves.
There was no indication of where she had ended up, all there was, for as far as she could see, a scenery of destruction.
Just before her, laying on the ground was a unicorn, his previously white coat now had patches of crimson and black all over, sometimes mixed. He was barely breathing and clearly in a bad way, and beside for him, there was no life around.
Twilight slowly walked over to him, the crackling of burning trees replacing where the sound of birds singing should have been. When she got within ten feet of him, the colt weakly opened his eyes.
“Someone came to finish me off for him?” he said.
“What? I just got here, I... I don’t know what’s going on,” Twilight said, “is there any way I can help you? What wounded you?”
“You’re a kind mare, I’ll give you that,” the colt stopped to cough, and took a few raspy breaths, “if you could, help me get back to Canterlot, that’s all you can do for me.”
“But if you tell me what injured you, I can help! I know a lot of magic.” Twilight explained, hoping to be of more help than supporting the colt while he walked.
“Nothing on this planet can help me anymore. It was folly to think we could defeat him, he is too strong, and my friends paid for my arrogance with their lives,” he coughed again, attempting to stand up while Twilight wasn’t helping him, “I have no doubt a mare like yourself would have learnt healing spells, but even then, there is nothing can be done about curses.”
As the colt spoke, Twilight begun to think, piecing what little information she had together to work out where she was. She looked at him, very few white patches of his coat remained. He had mentioned that someone strong had done this to him, and his friends. Suddenly, it clicked.
“Are you by any chance, Fireshot?” she asked.
“Indeed I am, not that my fame will do me any further good.” he tried to laugh, but coughed more violently this time, and any progress he had made in getting up was lost as he collapsed to the ground once again.
“But, when my friend Applejack last saw you, you were going to fight Discord, didn’t Celestia and Luna turn up and help?” she asked.
Fireshot looked up at her, with a mix of pain and surprise on his face.
“Another one of you from the future?” He coughed a short defeated laughter. “No, they’re off to some failed retrieval. If they’re lucky, they won’t make it back to see Equestria become all but ruins.” He relaxed as best as he could with the pain he was in, head on his forehooves, looking down, and murmuring “and it’s all on my hooves.”
Fireshot silently got lost in own self-pity, somewhat ignoring the fact that Twilight Sparkle was still standing right in front of him.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight finally spoke up, trying to make sense of what he said. “I don’t quite get what you mean by…” She hesitated. “By this being your fault.”
Fireshot sighed, and remained silent for several seconds. He finally sighed and looked at her eyes.
“Under other circumstances, I would loathe to ask a mare to help me walk, but my pride is gone. So please, help me return to Canterlot,” he pleaded.
Twilight frowned at having her comment being basically ignored, but reminded herself that these were other times. He seemed to be the kind of pony who normally doesn’t asks for help, like what Applejack used to be. She could tell that things really had gone badly.
“Alright, but first, please tell me why you are blaming yourself for whatever happened,” Twilight responded. “And while you're doing so, please tell me what happened. I only want to help.”
Once more, another moment of silence passed, before he spoke up.
“We fought Discord, but he easily won. He placed a curse on me, and then threw me far from his citadel. Now please, help me return home,” Fireshot replied.
Twilight raised an eyebrow at the fact only part of her request had been responded to, but it fast became clear that Fireshot had no intention of responding to the first part. She sighed in defeat, hoping that he would open up to her later on.
She walked to his side, and used her magic to lift and hold Fireshot up, so that he could walk with her magic keeping him upright.
-- They eventually left the burning forest, that as far as Twilight could tell, was where the battle against Discord had ended at. Dejectedly, Fireshot explained the battle had begun at Discord’s throne of chaos deep in his citadel, but when Discord had grown bored of the three colts using his own chaotic artifacts as shields, he had teleported them all to the forest and finally used his full strength.
It made Twilight feel glad that Discord had been too confident on his escape in the future, and that he had given himself no chance of unleashing his true power.
“I have a question for you,” Fireshot paused, only then realising he hadn’t asked for her name.
“Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight filled in her name for him.
“Does it matter anymore if you tell me what will come to pass? What will happen to me is clear, I won’t have time to tell anypony else and change the path of the future.” he questioned.
Twilight paused for a moment, thinking of all the possible consequences of telling Fireshot the full truth. She looked him in the eyes, noting that it looked like his life was leaving him, and she sighed.
“Fine. The truth is, until Fluttershy returned from this time, nopony in the future had ever heard of you. I don’t know why this is, but the history we learnt was pretty clear, your hope of defeating Discord was not how history went in the future,” she paused to look at Fireshot.
He hardly seemed surprised now, looking even more depressed than he had been just a moment before.
“It was with Applejack that the events you are living through that made things hard. Applejack hates telling lies, so for her to not tell you who does defeat Discord was a strain on her. In truth, I had hoped that you three had simply wished not to be mentioned in history, and the ones who will defeat Discord would have arrived to help. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.”
“And what of Fluttershy? What did she think about our fates?” Fireshot asked.
“She hoped the same as well, she’ll probably be upset that you met this fate instead,” Twilight admitted.
“Why are you even worried about the fate of a colt that lived a thousand years previously?” Fireshot pondered, smiling very weakly, and collapsing to the floor as Twilight dropped her magic.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to drop you,” she begun to apologize, but Fireshot held up a hoof.
“Do not worry, it is Discord’s power, magic has begun to falter, and unless someone finds a way to stop him, Equestria will be gone in the next day.” Fireshot informed her.
-- Slowly, Twilight aided Fireshot and led him towards his intended goal. It hadn’t surprised her when he said that he wanted to return to Canterlot, as Fluttershy and Applejack learnt, this was where he had lived.
It took a few hours before it came into sight. Both night and day passed multiple times as the two unicorns walked. Fireshot motioned towards a nearby hill, where he sat down, his gaze falling on Canterlot. Twilight saw his eyes focus one moment, only to become distant the next, suggesting he was in much worse shape now.
“I failed them,” Fireshot spoke softly, “I promised we would return, Discord slain, and a new era of peace would follow in our wake. Instead, I return the defeated, companions destroyed, and Discord not just still in charge, but now very much angry.”
“Fireshot,” Twilight spoke up, but Fireshot did not turn his head to look at her, “you know everything will be fine. If they didn’t go ok in the end, I couldn’t be here right now.” she stated.
Fireshot didn’t smile. His eyes glazed over, looking towards Canterlot while Fireshot himself was focused on his thoughts. He let out a sigh, then turned his head slightly.
“I know they will be fine, but tonight, friends will learn of their friends deaths, mothers shall learn their little colts have died, nothing will be the same. How can I go back and tell them that Discord intends to march towards Canterlot and lay waste to the city to show what happens to those who rebel against him?”
Twilight was at a loss for words. She didn’t know much of the time Discord ruled Equestria, aside from that he had done so, and made life miserable for his own pleasure.
“I don’t know how you’ll tell them, but right now, I just have to know what you plan to do.” Twilight replied, walking over to Fireshot.
“I still need to think about it. Come, no point in putting this off.” Fireshot said, lifting himself up with painful groans.
-- Twilight felt uneasy as she saw the guards at the Canterlot gates. At first, their expressions betrayed no emotions, but as they soon realised who was approaching, they could no longer retain an emotionless view of what stood before them.
Almost as one, the guards at the gate ran towards Fireshot. Their weapons were pointed at Twilight, as they separated her from Fireshot.
“What happened to you?” one of them asked Fireshot, as three guards backed Twilight to a wall, their spears pointed at her throat.
“Discord, we lost. I probably don’t have much longer.” Fireshot replied, barely able to stand.
“And who is the purple mare?” the same guard asked.
“A kind soul who found me among the burning ruins of the battle sight. She helped me back here willingly.” Fireshot rasped, attempting to catch his breath now he was not used to speaking so much and as fast.
At his words, the spears left the close proximity of Twilight’s neck, allowing her to breath a sigh of relief. She watched as the guard who had been speaking to Fireshot now approached her.
“Sorry for the misunderstanding, troublesome times. I thank you for aiding Fireshot. Prehaps you can tell me all you know of the situation?” the guard asked.
“I found him close to burning trees. He told me Discord had teleported him there before defeating him. All he told me on the way back is that Discord plans to attack Canterlot soon, possibly tomorrow.” Twilight answered.
The guards all looked at each other uneasy, taking in the information. The one that had just spoken to Twilight now faced all the others and made a few gestures with his hooves. This, it transpired, was a silent command, as most of the guards left in an orderly fashion.
“And what of Fireshot? What ails him?” the guard asked again.
“He said Discord cursed him, but he hasn't told me what the curse was, I’m quite good with spells, if I knew, I could try to find a counteracting spell.” Twilight replied.
“Fireshot wouldn’t say if he knew there was nothing that could save him,” the guard sighed, “maybe it’d be best you aid him to his house until his hour comes. If what you said is true, I have an impending battle to prepare for.” he bowed, turning away from Twilight and walking away with the rest of the guard.
Behind the guard, the townsponies had slowly approached. One at the front caught her attention, a pegasi that had lost both of her hind legs and was clearly in the last stages of pregnancy, she was being assisted in a chair by what looked like a nurse.
The eyes of the guards all fell on her as the chair with nailed on wheels was rolled up towards Fireshot. She was stopped nearby, tears forming in her eyes.
“What happened Fireshot? Where is my husband?” she asked in a voice so soft, it would make Fluttershy’s own voice sound like shouting.
“Madam, if I may,” a guard tried to interject and answer on Fireshot’s behalf, but Rainflower glared at the guard, who backed away.
Fireshot took a deep breath, and let out a heavy sigh, before looking Rainflower in the eyes.
“As far as I know, he and Forest Breeze were slain, Discord did not leave bodies behind,” he paused as Rainflower let out a horrified gasp at the news confirming her worst fears, “I am sorry, I tried to save him.”
A silence filled the area as the crowd of townsponies took in the news of the defeat. It only took ten seconds before the silence was shattered by Rainflower, who begun to cry loudly with emotional pain. All ponies gathered simply stood silent, looking at Rainflower as she cried.
Twilight walked over to Fireshot, who stood up, and looked at her.
“Lead me to the caves at the back of the town, I’ve done enough harm to them all, it is time I went to rest.” he said calmly.
-- The caves that Fireshot led himself and Twilight to were the remains of a mining operation carried out by unicorns for the gems in the mountains. As such, as Twilight marveled at the large cave system, she could see barely anything remained.
In the middle of the first cave chamber, Fireshot sat, his breathing had become raspy. He watched Twilight, keeping an eye on her to make sure she left as she had agreed on entering the cave with him.
“It’s time you left, Twilight Sparkle. I fear I shan’t be around much longer, and it is not something for your eyes to witness.” Fireshot spoke softly.
Twilight spun around and looked at Fireshot sadly, but she reluctantly did as he said. Any attempt by her to change his fate would change the future, or possibly create a paradox. Slowly, she trotted out of the cave and sat beside the entrance, and did what she always did. She thought.
‘Something isn’t quite right about all this,’ she glanced up, and saw a white unicorn with a pink mane approaching, ‘Starswirl created a time travel spell, and it allowed for a one off casting. Whoever is trying to corrupt the Elements has been able to cast the spell at least three times into the distant past, at various weekly or daily intervals.’
She paused her thinking, noticing the white unicorn mare had stopped beside her. Twilight looked at her, but neither spoke. After ten seconds, the mare entered the cave, glancing back at Twilight.
‘The question is how powerful this pony is, if they even are a pony in the first place. To break a rule of magic concerning time travel would need immense power, no ordinary unicorn could cast it. And if they’re a normal unicorn, what toll is it taking on them? I need to find the answer and quick, what if they plan to use the Elements to take over Equestria?’
Twilight glanced to her side towards the cave entrance as the mare turned up again. The mare cast a spell, looked again at Twilight, and disappeared back inside the cave. Twilight turned her head to look in the direction the mare had faced, and now watched as a smaller dark blue unicorn ran towards the cave. This mare paid Twilight no attention at all, but was carrying a simple dark wood box in her magic as she ran into the cave and out of sight.
Twilight stared at the cave entrance. A split second later she had to cover her eyes from a sudden blinding light. Instinctively, she ran and hid behind a tree, her jaw hanging loose as she recognized what had just taken place.
The white and blue unicorn mares, the wooden box that seemed important, and the blinding light. Twilight quickly deduced that the box had contained the Elements of Harmony, the past versions anyway, and they had just been used.
Sneaking a look from around the tree, Twilight watched as the white and blue mare stepped out of the cave and used their magic to close the very rock of the mountain. She looked to their flanks and mentally gasped. The white mare’s cutie mark was of a sun, while the blue mare’s was the moon. But it didn’t seem possible, they couldn’t be the past versions of Celestia and Luna, they had wings in the future. A smile was slowly forming on Twilight’s face as she was contemplating that possibility.
Before she could think any further, a blue unicorn colt flashed into existence near the pair. That blue unicorn had dropped an invisibility spell, bucked them in the face and grabbed the wood box with his magic. With a quick self-satisfied grin, the unicorn begun to run away.
‘I can’t let him get away with the elements! If those don’t get to Celestia and Luna, they won’t have any way of defeating Discord!’ Twilight thought to herself. She ran to the apparent past versions of the princesses, checking quickly if they were fine, and gave chase.
The unicorn had a head start on Twilight, and every time she tried to gain ground, he glanced over his back, glared, and teleported further ahead himself. Twilight’s legs were burning from the overuse, but her face was filled with determination.
‘I just have to get the elements back, or there won’t be a future!’
Twilight continued her pursuit of the of unicorn, despite how hopeless it seemed. She was gasping for breath, the chase having exhausted her. Thankfully, the unicorn had ceased to teleport to maintain his lead now.
As Twilight pushed herself to keep running, the unicorn glanced over his back to her, and strangely stopped. Twilight attempted to skid to a halt, only to fail and skid close to the unicorn as he kicked at her with his hind legs.
She was sent backwards by a foot, and lay on the ground, stunned by the kick as the unicorn laughed and drew near her. He placed a hoof on her neck, and slowly applied pressure to her throat and neutralized her magic as he leaned in.
“Tell me, were you the last of the six?,” the unicorn paused, staring at Twilight his right eyelid twitching, “I don’t know myself yet, but it’ll be SUCH fun to see the rest of the events.” he chuckled nervously.
“W-what... do you... mean?” Twilight struggled for every breath, even the attempt to speak back was beginning to get hard.
“Oh it’s simple. Some ancient pony named Starswirl made a spell to travel in time just once, I merely found the loophole not only for infinite travel to the past, but to see all possible futures. Tell me I come up with some good ones for your other three friends, that brainless blue pegasi, just as brainless pink earth pony and the unicorn who frankly it amazes me that she can even live, strung up on physical objects like she is.” he grinned, his right bottom eyelid still twitching.
“But...” Twilight begun to say, stopping as the unicorn above her actually growled like a beast.
“Time is a complex thing. I’m sure my future self knows what is about to happen next, but fact is, I’ve seen three of you element bearers in the past now, that means I either succeed here, or have to mess around with the other three next. To make it simple, if you are the last to step through, then you already know what I am about to learn,” he held his head up and glanced down at her, regarding Twilight as some trash that had gotten stuck underhoof, “and frankly, I don’t care much for failing in my plans.” the snarl in his voice made Twilight shudder.
Twilight tried to struggle free, feeling as though life was about to be removed from her body.
“Tell me, what happens next?” the unicorn questioned, pushing down on Twilight’s throat just enough to fully cut off her air supply but not snap her neck.
“You won’t... win here... history... has to... take place...” Twilight struggled to get out.
The unicorn regarded her for a moment, and as the world begun to turn black in Twilight’s vision, something clearly clicked in his head.
“Of course... a rule of time is that established points in time can’t change. Minor events around them can. If I steal the elements here, before they stop this Discord, then Nightmare Moon, how will I have heard of them to know when to come back and steal them?”
As the unicorn pondered this, he hadn’t noticed he had completely removed his hoof from Twilight’s neck. She took this moment to roll on her belly and catch back her breath, listening to him carefully.
“That said... I could try to find a loophole here, so I can still steal them, then ensure I hear of them to come back and steal them in the first place... but how to do this? If I go ahead and use them as they’re supposed to be, I’d be a hero and I certainly don’t want that, it’d more than likely deny me my birthright...”
He was insane, that much was certain. Birthright? What birthright could exist that would drive this pony to steal the elements before they were used in two historical events? Twilight shook this from her head and slowly got up.
She had feared as she stood up that the unicorn would attack her. However, to Twilight’s surprise, he simply regarded her with disdain.
“You’re not a threat anymore, I’m sure I’ve weakened you too much. Now if you will, I have to plan how to ensure my theft of these items will remain mine without losing them to a paradox.” he sneered, using his right hoof to write in the dirt.
As the unicorn before her muttered to himself and wrote in the dirt, rubbing the ground every so often, Twilight thought back to everything her friends had mentioned. Rainbow had said all unicorns in her portal had become twisted and corrupted, something not affecting the one before her. Fluttershy and Applejack and indeed mentioned a unicorn matching his description, meaning he had been planning this for some time as suspected.
Pinkie Pie, she had mentioned meeting a unicorn, dark blue, who had worn a black cape. He had the same description as this one before her. Rarity too had met a unicorn also identical in description. Both times he had given them a name, Ulysses.
Was this because he believed they were too stupid to remember the name? Was that even the name of the unicorn before her? It was something she had to believe, and Twilight decided to distract him to buy herself more time to stop his plans and ensure the past went unchanged.
“Ulysses,” she said softly. The unicorn opposite her froze, slowly looking up at her as though she were now Death himself, “that’s your name, isn’t it? Ulysses.”
“How did you know that? Not once have I mentioned it.” he said in a tone just above a whisper.
“You mentioned it...” Twilight begun, stopping as he swiped at the air.
“Don’t say it! If you say it, it means it HAS to happen! I will NOT allow you to ruin what I’ve worked so hard for!” Ulysses hissed.
Twilight grinned.
“You’re going to tell my friends Pinkie Pie and Rarity your name, because for me, those events have already happened. And you tell them because you’ll assume they are too stupid to remember the name!”
As Ulysses yelled in anger, Twilight felt pride wash over her. Her telling him a future event meant that he now had to fail right here. But one thing didn’t make sense to her.
“I just have to know though, how do you not know these events take place?” she questioned.
“It is easier to travel in the past than to create a future and travel to it. So when I heard of the elements, I decided I would try to steal them from the ancient past. If I failed, which you’ve now doomed me to do, I would need a lot of energy not only to cause a loophole three times into the future, but to make it an alternate future. That’s why I didn’t know I’d told your friends my name, because I’m still at the part where I’m attempting to steal these from the past.” Ulysses explained, pointing at the wood box beside him.
“That makes sense. But now I’ve told you, you can just give those to me, I’ll take them back and all of this will be over.” Twilight smiled.
“Think again. You can take these back as a ghost! You’ll never touch them while alive!” Ulysses shouted.
Twilight was blown back by a magicial explosion that had been cast before her. As she hurried to her hooves, Ulysses was preparing another attack. One that would, however, never land. Before he finished preparing it, two beams of magic, one golden and the other navy blue, struck him in the side, throwing him far from the wood box holding the elements.
As Twilight sat down, letting out a sigh of relief, the two unicorns from Canterlot arrived. As dark blue one examined the box and its contents, the white one walked over to Twilight.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“I’m fine. I tried to stop him taking the box, I really did.” Twilight muttered.
“I can only assume he was sent by Discord to keep an eye on my sister and myself. If not for you, Discord would have the box and what rests inside,” the white unicorn held out a hoof, “my name is Celestia, what is yours?”
Twilight cautiously reached out a hoof, thinking carefully, and doing her best to conceal the shock of learning her mentor could have been an ordinary unicorn. If she told Celestia her name, would that then allow the future Celestia to warn her of these events? But if she lied, Celestia would one day see her grow up, and realise who had spoken to her at this moment, and realise she had been lied to.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I’m just glad I could help you recover that box. Can I ask what’s inside?” Twilight asked, having decided it would be better to be truthful to the pony that could possibly be her future teacher.
“Well, do not let this get around, but the items in the box are called the Elements of Harmony. It is my sister’s and mine’s hope that they shall bring peace to Equestria and free all ponies here from the tyrannical rule of Discord. I am sorry to leave on such short notice, but we must go and attempt to use them upon him now. Thank you for retrieving them, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia bowed, making Twilight feel awkward that the possible future ruler of Equestria had just bowed to her.
As she watched the two sisters leave, walking resolutely into the distance, Twilight begun to think once more. She wondered how it came to be that Celestia and Luna gained their wings, if they hadn’t been born with them. Were the Celestia and Luna she had just met even the future rulers of Equestria? Or were they just two normal unicorns that just so happened to have the same names?
Beside her, a portal appeared, similar in oval shape to the one back in the library basement. Twilight turned to face it, and felt uneasy as she looked into it. She had expected to see the library basement, the faces of her friends and Spike waiting for her return, but instead, a black void lay beyond it.
With nothing else to do, Twilight let out a worried sigh and stepped through.
Still, all there was to see was darkness. There was no silence, though. There was laughter. Not a happy, joyous laughter, but a laughter of an evil plan succeeding by the one who had it planned. Twilight shook her head and strained her eyes in the darkness, as the laughter increased in volume and drew nearer. From the darkness, Ulysses appeared, his eyes wild, and staring directly at her.
“Why, thank you, Twilight Sparkle. All of them. All six elements. All of your bonds to them, broken. All of them corrupted, and ready!” He proclaimed in a soft voice. She watched as he stomped his left front hoof down, and she collapsed to the floor.
As she stared helplessly, struggling against a magical pressure, Ulysses’ face turned into a look of anger. He yelled loudly with annoyance, and released his hold on her. Reacting on instinct, Twilight turned and begun to run, with the scene of her friends in the library basement approaching as she ran away from Ulysses.
Behind her, Ulysses didn’t look angry, or happy. He displayed no emotions as his horn glowed gold.
“You will corrupt it for me, Twilight Sparkle. And you shall do so right now.” he said, releasing the magic.
“Twilight,” Rarity’s worried voice asked, “what’s wrong, darling? You look like a monster is chasing you!”
Twilight had just run in from the portal and looked around at her friends and the library, before looking at the portals. Her concerned friends walked towards her, asking similar questions, but her racing mind only let her hear their voices, not their words. Ulysses, who had seemed so helpful, if creepy, was behind all this. But for how long? Had he even acted alone? Ignoring her friend’s shouts, Twilight ran at the portal with Rainbow Dash’s picture on it.
-- She saw the same hospital as she had when checking with Rainbow Dash that the spell had originally worked. Outside, Ponyville was on fire, but Rainbow Dash lay on the hospital bed, where she had woken up when this had become her temporary reality.
Cautiously, Twilight walked over to the bed, and looked at this Rainbow Dash. Rainbow wasn’t moving, and on closer inspection, which involved placing a hoof to her neck and before her nose, Twilight realised a horrible fact. The Rainbow Dash before her was dead.
Twilight ran out through that portal, and, once again racing through her friend’s and their confused questions, she went into Pinkie Pie’s portal.
In here, it was a nice, sunny morning. The same as it had been just a few days before, even down to Ditzy Doo accidentally delivering a muffin and attempting to consume a box. But none of this mattered to Twilight right now, as she spotted Ulysses. She followed him quickly as he walked through Ponyville, leading her to the ground that was directly beneath Rainbow Dash’s home.
She however lost him here, and Twilight walked around, looking for any clue as to where he had gone. She noticed a glint in the middle of the shaded ground, and approached the spot. The glint had come from a small glass orb, which held a three coloured lighting bolt, identical to the one on Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark.
‘What will you do, Twilight Sparkle? You can take that and return to her portal, bring her back to life there, or leave it there and ensure Pinkie Pie never encounters a world where Rainbow Dash died a horrible death.’ the voice was now clearly that of Ulysses.
Twilight looked at the glass orb, now unsure of what to do. Taking it would play into Ulysses’ plan, but leaving it behind could mean her return out of Pinkie’s portal could mean that Rainbow Dash was gone. It was a gamble. After a quick thought, she decided that if she had to gamble, it had to be on which her friends lived. Twilight took the orb, and headed back for the portal, as storm clouds rolled in over Ponyville.
-- “Twilight! What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash shouted, getting in Twilight’s way as she returned from Pinkie Pie’s portal, and had attempted to get back into Rainbow’s.
“There’s no time to explain. I’ve got to try and find something out. Go to the hospital, I don’t care if he isn’t ready to leave, go get Sunshine Blaze, he may be able to help.” Twilight responded, getting past Rainbow Dash, and back through the portal with Rainbow’s picture on it.
-- It wasn’t easier the second time to see her friend laying dead. Slowly, as if she were at a funeral, Twilight walked over to the body of this Rainbow Dash, and gently placed the glass orb on her. In a blink of an eye, the orb vanished, and Rainbow Dash was breathing. Twilight smiled sadly, knowing she had just set in motion the events that had triggered everything else she and her friends had been through.
‘I was here too… I watched you, as I am right now, as you brought her back to life. Take a look, out of the window nearest to you.’ Ulysses stated.
Twilight approached the nearest window. Some distance away, just as he had said, stood Ulysses, grinning. She turned away, and ran back through the portal.
-- Twilight only paused in the basement to see if Rainbow Dash had returned yet with Sunshine Blaze. When neither pony was to be seen among her other friends, Twilight turned and ran through the portal with Fluttershy’s picture on it.
Twilight now stood in the early Everfree Forest, just as Fluttershy had described it. Before her on the ground was a magic symbol. She stared at it, there was a whole quadrant missing, plus two strokes here and one there. It was a symbol of water, and it was unfinished. Without thinking, she started filling in the missing strokes with her hoof while she thought of how to stop Ulysses.
‘It seems the missing parts are deliberate,’ she mused. After staring at it for a few seconds, she realised that Ulysses somehow knew she would be unable to resist completing the symbol simply so it wasn’t a half-finished job.
A dark blue pony walked slowly into her peripheral view. She was still staring at the symbol. She was aware it was Ulysses who was watching her, and didn’t look up. Twilight was fighting her natural urge to finish the symbol, knowing that, by doing so, she could give Ulysses the first link to the past he required.
“Oh, come on, you already stopped me in the past, you have to at least do this one willingly!” Ulysses yelled in frustration.
Twilight slowly looked up and stared at him. Somewhere nearby, the sound of hoofsteps could be heard echoing among the trees. Ulysses’ shouting had alerted somepony, or worse, some non-pony.
“I wish I didn’t have to,” she mumbled as she started looking at the spell, “but you're right. If I don’t, I’ll create a paradox.” Twilight looked back to Ulysses and snapped, “but I will find some way to stop you, mark my words!”
Ulysses only chuckled as he watched Twilight complete the spell for him, giving his past self the first link to the past he had used. Twilight turned and ran back into the library basement, almost certain that she had seen a centaur among the trees as she returned.
-- She had run into Applejack’s portal before looking in the basement, noting that if she checked every time, then she may check too often for Rainbow Dash’s return with Sunshine Blaze. She was once again in the past, this time in a random field.
Before her stood Ulysses, standing perfectly still, with only the wind blowing his mane and tail. Twilight lowered herself and stomped a hoof, which caught Ulysses’ attention.
“No big plan for Applejack? How did you get into the past here?” Twilight questioned.
Ulysses slowly turned around, smiling as though he had won.
“No plan for a link for myself or your friend at this point in the past? You’re mocking me, do not do that you stupid mare!” he spat, his horn shimmering briefly.
For some reason, these words enraged Twilight instantly. She yelled and charged at Ulysses, who sidestepped just enough for himself to get wounded.
After she had passed him, the rage faded as quickly as it rose, and Twilight sat on her haunches and held her head, confused. “What— what did you do to me?” She asked.
“Oh, it was simple, I used a rage spell so you’d assault me,” he held up his cut leg, and Twilight watched as a drop of his own blood fell onto a stone, “and now my past self will discover my blood exists here at this point in time, and use it as the second link. And all thanks to you.” Ulysses laughed and disappeared.
Annoyed that she was still failing to stop Ulysses, Twilight ran back through the portal and into the library.
-- Rainbow Dash had returned, but Sunshine Blaze wasn’t with her. Twilight wasted no time as she entered Rarity’s portal. In Rarity’s portal, she found a normal sunny day, different to what Rarity had said was behind it.
Once more, Ulysses was easily found, heading towards Canterlot. Giving chase, they both ran for half an hour, Twilight after Ulysses. Every so often, he looked back, his face displaying annoyance as Twilight kept up. He led Twilight to a quiet grove, which had only a log and flowers, in the middle of which stood a stone pillar.
“Oh well done. And they say us unicorns have terrible endurance, yet you’ve managed to keep up with me a good half hour away from Ponyville.” Ulysses said sarcastically, not visible to Twilight as he spoke.
“Stop whatever you’re doing right now!” Twilight shouted.
“I wonder,” Ulysses began to muse, stepping out from the shadows, “aren’t you curious too, as to what this pillar does?” he walked towards it briefly, and ran a hoof down it.
As Ulysses was distracted, Twilight cast a beam of magic at him. Ulysses only noticed it too late to react, so he was sent flying back into the shade of the grove. Twilight then tried to hold Ulysses in her magic and carry him away before he’d recover consciousness. Her stomach fell when she heard him groan and then make a slightly pained laugh.
“Clever, you can have that one, catching me off guard,” he chuckled, this time making sure he stayed behind the pillar opposite to Twilight on its other side, “now, maybe this was built to contain a terrible evil. Maybe it keeps something working. What do you think?” he asked Twilight.
Twilight didn’t answer him, she looked at the pillar, but gave it and the markings upon it, which were in an old language she couldn’t recognize from any of her history studies. However she wasn’t giving much thought on that, compared to the unicorn on the other side, and how she could get to him and stop him.
“No? Not got a thought in your head? Pity,” he glanced at the pillar, his face breaking into a smile, “ah, it keeps something here, it says so on about the third line. And, hm… yes, I know exactly what now.”
Twilight glanced at the markings again, noticing that not all were words, one seemed to show six orbs and two earth pony figures. It was pointless for her to try and understand what the words said. She didn’t know the language used, so she also had no idea if what Ulysses had just said was true.
She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts as Ulysses hit the pillar with his forehooves hard. He was glaring at her.
“This pillar binds your precious Elements of Harmony to this world. And whoever has control of the pillar, decides who owns them. Your princesses currently ‘own’ it, but not for long, I shall take it for my own and then I’m free to take the Elements from you and your friends,” he raised an eyebrow, “so what’ll you do about this? Stall for too long, and you’ve lost. Think fast, let me take ownership of the pillar, or destroy it and eternally keep the Elements fates in the hands of your princesses.” Ulysses said, his horn glowing, a similar aura enveloping the stone pillar.
Twilight knew it was a trap. But was it a risk she, and her friends, could afford to be wrong over? If he was bluffing, the pillar begun the events Rarity had been through, but if wrong, the elements of harmony would be gone, and nothing would stand in his way beside the princesses.
It was a risk she had to take. Picturing the pillar in pieces, Twilight’s horn glowed bright, quickly shattering the pillar and filling the once clear grove with large stones. High above, the sun and moon, which had been about to switch places, begun to rise towards the center of the sky. Twilight gulped.
“Ha! Tricked you, it had nothing to do with the Elements. That was the Mortal Plane Seal, which linked the Princesses to this mortal world. It’s gone now, and so are they!” Ulysses laughed, disappearing. A different portal appeared before her now, and reluctantly, she stepped through it.
-- The whole event was now beginning to weigh heavily on Twilight. She no longer ran, and took a moment to stop and check if Sunshine Blaze had arrived in the basement. It was obvious that he hadn’t, by the lack of his orange coat
“Where is he?” Twilight asked.
“He said he’d be right here.” Rainbow replied.
Twilight groaned, and stepped through her portal, for her last attempt.
-- Once again in the past, Twilight spotted Ulysses nearby and walked up to him. He had his back facing her, and seemed to be watching something else.
“So what’s the plan here? Going to make me cut you again?” She shouted.
Ulysses strangely raised a hoof and waved it, silently telling Twilight to keep quiet. She stood beside him and he looked at her from the corner of his eyes. When he looked away, Twilight took her chance. Once again, she fired a beam of magic at Ulysses, intending for it to stun him long enough for her to drag him back to the library basement and be still long enough to be on the receiving end of a blast of harmony.
Instead however, her beam hit a shield that hadn’t been visible around him, and she only just managed to jump out of the way, landing painfully on her back. Ulysses laughed as she lay there winded.
“Fool me once, I’m sure you’re aware of that saying, now.” he finished laughing, and pointed ahead of him.
“Right now, three ponies who think they are respected heroes are fighting Discord, to try and save the world, and yet, it’ll be for nothing. They fail, Celestia and Luna succeed instead, and these ‘heroes’ will never be mentioned in history books for anything they ever did.” Ulysses said softly, seemingly having forgotten his ambitions to make Twilight trigger the events all six Element bearers had been through.
“What’s your point?” Twilight questioned, narrowing her eyes as she tried to get back on her hooves.
“Don’t you feel bad for them? They were three stallions, united eventually by fate. They saved ponies from monsters, freed citizens from tyrants, even one of them did an act so selfless that he ended a war just based on what he thought was fair. And yet, right here and now, they’ll doom themselves to never be remembered.” Ulysses answered, genuine sadness clear in his voice.
Twilight turned to face where Ulysses was looking, and saw a citadel. She could only assume it belonged to Discord, after all, he would have to rule from somewhere right? Her mind ran over Ulysses’ words, about Fireshot and his two friends. In a way, Ulysses’ words were right. If they were real, something they did should have been remembered.
She had also not long learnt that the Princesses knew of them. So why had Fireshot and his friends been forgotten, lost to the sands of time?
Twilight shook her head and faced Ulysses again, her eyes narrowed.
“Enough, what are you planning here as the last link to the past?” she snapped.
Ulysses grinned and begun to disappear.
“Why, Twilight Sparkle, it is you! A life in a time zone it wasn’t born in. Really, how could you not see my words were to make you think and keep you here long enough for my past self to notice?” Ulysses replied.
The realisation of the situation hit Twilight like a pile of heavy books. Over a quarter of an hour, the current Ulysses had forced her to set up all the situations she and her friends had gone through over the last few weeks.
Slowly, she stood up, and walked to the portal back to the library, just as flames begun to engulf the grass and nearby trees.
-- Back in the library basement, the faces of her five friends looked at Twilight with hope. Twilight sat down, and slowly, she begun to cry.
“Twilight, what’s the matter?” Applejack asked.
“It was all my fault. All the events we’ve been through, he more or less made me just set them up. I made sure Rainbow Dash would wake up in her’s, took something that would kill her in Pinkie’s, activate the spell that allowed him a first way to the past in Fluttershy’s. He cast a rage spell on me, cutting his skin and leaving a second link to the past in Applejack’s, and I destroyed a stone pillar that caused the end of the world in your portal Rarity. And worst of all, he talked to me as though nothing was going on, stalling me long enough to make me the third link to the past he used!” Twilight blurted all the events through her tears.
“Oh now, Twi, ain’t your fault. I reckon whoever this ‘he’ is, has had this planned for a long time. He just tricked you, is all.” Applejack tried to reassure her.
Above, the sounds of screams and explosions filled the air. The six friends looked at each other, before running out of the basement and into Ponyville. The sight that confronted them made them all recoil in horror.
Ulysses now stood down the street from the library, a dark magic energy swirled around him. This magic changed into claws and was either destroying buildings with magical explosions, or grabbing ponies. As they watched, one claw grabbed Ditzy Doo, and threw her against a building, while another picked up a yellow earth pony, and threw him through a window of somepony’s home.
“I thank you, Twilight Sparkle. You aided me in setting my plans, putting them into motion, you gave me the chance to confront you six now, and take my prize,” he advanced towards them slowly, the dark magic continuing to harm ponies and destroy buildings, “the Elements of Harmony. Give them to me and accept your fate!”
They all stood on the spot, pure fear keeping them from acting, as Ulysses advanced towards them. A glow around the necks of Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity, along with a glow on the head of Twilight Sparkle, turned into the elements of harmony. Twilight smiled.
“Quick girls! We still have the elements. Get in formation!” Twilight said aloud.
But it was not to be. As she channeled her magic into the element of magic, six dark claws appeared from the ground before them, five of the claws grabbing the elements of magic, generosity, laughter, honesty and kindness. The sixth claw had trouble, as Rainbow Dash kept flying out of its reach.
“Sorry I’m late, but I had to get my crew ready.” Sunshine Blaze said as he landed beside Twilight.
“Late? He has five of the elements of harmony! You’re more than late!” Twilight shouted at him.
“Ok, yes, sorry again. We’ll handle that later. Now, we gotta run. You, blue,” he pointed at Rainbow Dash, “carry Applejack. And Fluttershy, you take the white one. I’ll grab pink.” He paused, then blurted, “Actually, no. Fluttershy, you take Applejack, so the two who I know the names of are together. Blue, take white. And purple,” Sunshine Blaze looked at Twilight, who was staring at him with a frustrated scowl, “I need you to teleport to a beach, you’ll know its the right one when you see a ship with a rough looking crew, got it?” he asked.
“How’d you know my name?” Pinkie chirped.
“What will that…” Twilight begun to ask.
“Do you want to stay here and die?” Sunshine Blaze interrupted.
Twilight groaned in anger, and cast her teleport spell, disappearing. Sunshine Blaze turned to face Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, noting that somehow, a purple and green baby dragon had got onto Rainbow’s back. He didn’t ask as he flew to Pinkie Pie and with his legs, lifted her off the ground.
“Follow me and fly as fast as you can. Your life does depend on it!” he said, flying away, with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy following quickly behind him, and all three avoiding attacks sent their way by Ulysses.
Ulysses came to a stop, watching as Sunshine Blaze lead Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy away. He frowned, and turned his attention to Cloudsdale.
“She may have been quick enough to keep the element of loyalty away from me, but I will not let you take her away that easily, Blaze.” he muttered, and his horn begun to glow a pure black.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who were carrying Spike, Applejack and Rarity, had begun to fly side by side since leaving Ponyville, which was now a large distance behind them. Just ahead of them, still leading a quick pace was Sunshine Blaze, carrying Pinkie Pie. Around them, the sky begun to change into a crimson red, as the sun, which had still been rising in the morning sky, and the moon, which had long since set, begun to draw to the middle of the sky.
Below, as they flew over various little towns, the worried and panicked screams of Ponies echoed through the air. Rainbow Dash looked down at one point, and saw the ponies of one town staring in horror as the sun and moon both rose to the same point of the sky.
“What’s going on?” Rainbow shouted over the wind to Sunshine Blaze.
Rarity gasped softly. “That’s what it was like that in my portal! Something dreadful about the princesses…” she trailed off.
“I don’t have an answer for this, he hasn’t done this sort of thing before, not even close.” Sunshine Blaze shouted back.
Looking ahead, Rainbow Dash saw that they were now fast approaching the ocean. On a beach, a small group of ponies stood around a ship. While from this distance, she could only notice the ponies were looking up at the sky, she could see the ship. Rather than the standard wood boats usually found in Equestria, this boat was purely metal, plates showed signs of being bolted to more metal underneath. It was painted white, which had chipped more towards the bottom, and the metal had a green tint where there was no paint.
In the middle and back of the ship stood two, very tall metal pipes, which gently released black smoggy clouds that floated away into the darkening sky. From this distance, the faint chugging sound the ship made could be heard.
And it was here that Sunshine Blaze begun his descent, eventually placing Pinkie Pie on the ground. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed suit, and they stood behind Sunshine Blaze, as the ponies now looked at them.
The group of ponies mostly looked the same, dark colour coats of blue and orange, each had cutie marks with a seafaring theme, but most had distinct differences. One blue earth pony seemed to have his front left foreleg encased in metal, with pulsing green lights running along certain edges. Another, an orange pegasus, had one normal wing, but his right also was similarly encased in metal.
One of the blue earth ponies stood forward. He stood much taller than the rest and wore a black hat with a white feather in it, the front half of him had a black coat on, with black straps fastened up with silver buttons. A metal plate covered the left side of his head, and an unnatural eye sat where his real eye should have been. His right front foreleg was also encased in metal, and the two small pipes vented out steam even as he stood still. The blue glow of his eye flashed over Rainbow Dash, then Applejack, Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie in turn, as they all stood still, being held in place by both fear and wonder.
“Ye said ye’d be bringing six lasses. I count five an’ a wyrmling.” Captain said, his blue metal eye turning alone to look at Sunshine Blaze.
“Why does it matter if one hasn’t got here yet? You and the crew won’t be doing anything unsavoury with them like you normally do on port calls.” Sunshine Blaze snipped.
“If things weren’t lookin’ bad, I’d slap ya for that. But still, where’s the last lass eh?” Captain questioned.
A sudden white flash and sickly moan with the smell of charred hair indicated the arrival of Twilight Sparkle. Sunshine Blaze looked at her for a moment, before returning his focus to the Captain.
“Six. Get on the ship, we don’t have time to waste.” Sunshine Blaze shouted.
The crew sprung into life, the unicorns lifting up a gang plank, hooking one end onto the ship. The crew begun to walk up as fast as possible, with the unicorns setting up a different gang plank, which the captain walked up. As Sunshine Blaze begun to walk to a gang plank, Twilight ran in front of him and blocked his path.
“What is going on?” she asked, her voice low and angry.
“Do you REALLY want to waste time right now learning the answer, or would you rather be some distance away and safe first?” Sunshine Blaze asked back, taking flight, where he was stopped by Rainbow Dash.
“Will you answer the question?” she shouted.
“I will once you are all on the boat. Unless you six really do want to die today.” Sunshine Blaze replied.
Rainbow Dash looked down at Twilight and waited for a reply from her as to what they should do. Twilight only sighed, and begun walking up a gang plank, the others following behind. From here, Rainbow Dash saw that, rather than walk on the metal, wood planks had been attached over the deck. She followed with her friends and sat in the middle of the deck, while around them, the crew followed the Captain’s yelled orders.
The ship shuddered, and begun to move.
The shore slowly crept away.
“Um, Twilight, how long do you think we’ll be gone for?” Fluttershy asked, breaking the silence among the friends.
“I don’t know Fluttershy. I guess however long it takes to form a plan to defeat Ulysses.” Twilight replied, looking at the sky as the sun and moon finally came to a stop, side by side in the middle of the sky.
“That’s exactly where they stopped in my portal,” Rarity said.
“You don’t think Ulysses had some degree of control over what we encountered in the ‘futures’ he showed, do you?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking around the group.
“It’s possible. We left Ponyville burning as a result of his attacks, similar to what was in yours Rainbow, and the sun and moon are side by side, like Rarity just said, they were like that with her. So, Ulysses very well may have had more influence than what I noticed.” Twilight replied.
The six fell silent again, as around them the crew shouted at each other, maintaining the ship, and a slight hum was all that could be heard of whatever powered the ship. As Twilight watched, Equestria was getting further and further away.
“Captain! I think you should look at this.” one of the crew shouted.
Twilight looked at this crew member, and noticed he was looking at a different part of Equestria. Following where his line of sight went, her eyes came across Cloudsdale. A dark blue half sphere floated above it, the rest seemingly being covered by the sky. Twilight spared a moment to look at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who had both been born at Cloudsdale, and they too watched.
‘Return with my Element of Loyalty, or Equestria shall suffer other tragedies like this.’ Ulysses’ voice filled the air. He sounded cruel, and his voice was almost a whisper.
Twilight returned her attention to Cloudsdale, and her jaw dropped. From the half of the sphere that was visible, dark wind funnels reached down, and slowly begun to pull the city up, while others appeared to form a wall to prevent evacuation. Thinking fast, Applejack bit down on Rainbow’s tail, from there Twilight, along with Rarity and Pinkie Pie instinctively jumped at Rainbow Dash, managing to catch her before she could fly off and help Cloudsdale.
They kept watching as they held Rainbow against the deck, her voice frantic as she protested being held against her will. Cloudsdale was now rapidly approaching the visible half of the sphere.
“I don’t understand, why are none of the pegasi flying away?” Twilight asked, her eyes landing on Fluttershy, who was laying against the deck, her forehooves over her eyes as she cried uncontrollably.
‘How lucky the pegasus are… wings to fly in the sky… and oh! Oh! How I LIVE to pull their feathers, one… by… one. See them try to fly! Their wings useless as they meet their fate… come now, Rainbow Dash… you can stop this. Give me the Element of Loyalty and accept your demise!’ Ulysses’ voice filled the air. This time he seemed mocking and needlessly cruel. And as he spoke the final word, Cloudsdale reached the sphere, and begun to disappear into it. In less than five seconds, Cloudsdale was pulled within the sphere, lost to the world.
Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie let Rainbow Dash go, and Twilight saw that her friend had been reduced to a sobbing wreck. Unlike Fluttershy, who Twilight knew had covered her eyes so as not to watch, Rainbow Dash had watched the event, right up to Cloudsdale disappearing into the sphere.
As they let go of Rainbow Dash, Twilight could hear her speaking quietly to herself.
“The weather factory… the clouduseum… the wonderbolts… he just…” Rainbow muttered, clearly still trying to understand fully what she had just witnessed.
Twilight slowly begun to think of the gravity of the situation. Ulysses had harmed many in Ponyville to get to them, and now had removed Cloudsdale out of the sky, to where only he knew, possibly killing untold thousands with the act, all to just try and get at Rainbow Dash and take the Element of Loyalty, which still hung around her neck. Thoughts flooded her head as she sat there. How many more would Ulysses kill or harm, to taunt them into coming back? Why had the Elements, supposedly locked safely in Canterlot, turned up out of nowhere to them? Where were the Princesses? Had Ulysses done something to them to gain control of the sun and moon?
The sound of hooves on wood made Twilight look to her right, seeing Sunshine Blaze slowly approaching her and her friends.
“I feel it is time we talked.” he said.
“Oh, now? NOW YOU WANT TO TALK?” Rainbow Dash’s mood suddenly flipped. She shot to her hooves and was now pressing her nose against Sunshine Blaze.
“Calm down blue, you may be angry and upset, but still, Sunshine Blaze seems to have some idea as to what is going on. So let’s listen to him.” Twilight said at Rainbow Dash, glaring.
The six friends and Spike formed a half circle before Sunshine Blaze, and waited for him to speak. Around the deck, the crew and captain had also stopped. Sunshine Blaze coughed, clearing his throat, and prepared to speak.
“If you were hoping for answers as to why Ulysses sought the Elements of Harmony, or how he even learned of them, then this won’t answer your questions. But for whatever reason, he came for them. A direct result would suggest in his efforts, the princesses of Equestria are gone, most likely not dead, Ulysses isn’t that powerful,” Sunshine Blaze looked up at the sun and moon, “but to leave you six in Equestria, unprepared for the true horrors of Ulysses’ powers, that isn’t going to happen. Far away, about a week by ship, is the land where he was born. He can never return there, sages having long put up a spell to prevent his return. You may have heard of this place, it’s called Irvest.” Sunshine Blaze spoke with confidence, despite the lack of answers to unspoken questions.
“I know of Irvest. They and Equestria don’t get along.” Twilight stated.
“Exactly. Equestria prides itself on advancements while still living with nature, while we from Irvest hold pride in machines. As such, the land I am taking you to will be safe, but alien to you six. Where once light in the night was provided by candles, lights in Irvest is a metal wire heated to high temperatures. But I will be there to help you get used to it, we will be there some time.” Sunshine Blaze replied, smiling.
“But why can’t we just form a plan here and sail back? I want to pound that guy for what he did to Cloudsdale!” Rainbow Dash raised on her back hooves and kicked at the air with her forehooves.
“That’s probably his plan. He’s good at changing plans fast, as you may have noticed. He’ll expect an immediate return to face him. No. You six will come to Irvest, become stronger for the day we come back. He won’t expect it if we return at random.” Sunshine Blaze narrowed his eyes, looking very unimpressed at Rainbow Dash.
“Ah can’t be away too long, what about the farm? And Big Macintosh? Granny Smith? Even little Applebloom.” Applejack said sadly.
“And I can’t leave Sweetie Belle alone.” Rarity threw in.
“I’m sorry, but going back for your relatives is also out of the question. If Ulysses has moved fast, he’ll have realised who they are in relation to you, and will probably use them against you two. Below deck is a room ready for you six to stay in. Go make yourselves comfortable, we’ll be at sea for a week.” Sunshine Blaze was not being swayed, and walked away from them, no longer willing to let them gripe about things they could not leave behind for long.
Twilight watched as Sunshine Blaze walked to the Captain’s side, and the pair begun to talk. At one point, Sunshine Blaze lowered his goggles and flipped the toggle switch once, relaying whatever he saw to the Captain.
“Can you believe him? Cloudsdale disappears by some spell, possibly killing thousands, and we can’t turn back for that. Applejack and Rarity are leaving family behind, and he doesn’t care. It’s like he doesn’t know how hard this is for all of us.” Rainbow Dash grumbled.
“Ah young lass, if only ye knew the truth. None of ye can understand what youn’ Blaze has been through.” one of the nearby crew said, as he walked past.
“I think,” Twilight stood up, “we should give him the benefit of a doubt for now girls. Unlike Ulysses, Sunshine Blaze has only tried to help, not harm. I’m sure with time, he’ll reveal his reasons. Come on, we’d better find this room.” she finished, waiting a few seconds for Spike to climb on her back and sit.
At the wheel, Captain and Sunshine Blaze watched the six friends walk below deck.
“When are ya planning to tell them more about you and Ulysses?” Captain asked.
Sunshine Blaze put his goggles back on his forehead, watching as the rainbow coloured tail of Rainbow Dash disappeared from sight. He sighed and looked around at the crew, who had resumed work across the deck.
“I’ll tell them all they need to know before they are to come and face him. If they knew before, they may be less willing to listen to me.” he replied.
-- The land of Equestria had been changed dramatically in the short few hours since Ulysses had unlocked the sealed dark magic. In between where Canterlot and Ponyville were, and some distance from the spot where Cloudsdale had been, Ulysses now stood, obsidian and other black rocks rose from the ground around him, even elevating him into the air.
The ground twisted, cracked and rumbled as it formed a black castle, with fountains and waterfalls made to hold and pour lava instead of water. The outer walls stood between six towers, which reached lower than the main castle itself. The center of the castle was a tower, which cast a shadow far across the landscape. In the new throne room he had just made at the top of the central tower, Ulysses laughed.
‘Two days,’ Twilight thought, staring out of a port hole, ‘two days and this all feels like a very bad dream.’
Around her, the gentle snores of Fluttershy were the only sound aside from the occasional creak the ship made. Rainbow Dash had mostly taken to trying to be asleep most of the time, though it was clear when she was awake, as the snoring from her stopped. Pinkie Pie for the moment had gone to find some food for them all to eat, leaving the room in its current silence.
Before Twilight was a small wooden desk, with a candle, paper, ink and a quill. She had been given them on request the previous day, and so far, she had only jotted simple notes to keep track of events. Beside the desk, Spike had curled up and was currently asleep.
Twilight lifted the quill, dipped the tip in the ink, and begun to write.
Day Two,
I can’t not think about this anymore. Something doesn’t sit right with me about the events back in Equestria with those portals, the pathways to the past or to some horrible future. How did going through them cause our bonds to the elements weaken? Even when the Element of Magic appeared on my head, I didn’t feel what I normally feel when it is there.
So I’m going to do what I do best, and pour a scientific eye over the events in order to work out what happened.
Rainbow’s portal was to a future, earth ponies and unicorns had become “corrupted”, whatever that means, leaving pegasi all alone in a ruined civilization. She said that she woke up, because I hadn’t been given the spell to make the portals yet, after beating an alternate version of myself, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and the Princesses. Could it be her feelings of being disloyal in that alternate future broke the bond she held with the Element of Loyalty? The only reason Ulysses didn’t take it was because Rainbow managed to avoid whatever dark magic he was using to try and take it.
Pinkie’s portal isn’t clear, besides what Rainbow recalls an alternate timeline Pinkie Pie saying as she faded out of time. But I have some idea. When I had to take the marble from where it was there, and return to Rainbow’s portal, I set the events for the possibility of Rainbow dying there. To then prevent it, this now non-existent Pinkie Pie had to stop being random and fun loving, and be serious, completely different to what made her the Element of Laughter and breaking the bond she had to it. As this alternate Pinkie Pie died, Ulysses must have transferred the corruption from hers to the one belonging to the Pinkie Pie who was fine.
Twilight paused with her writing to look up. Applejack stood up and walked to the door of the room, stopping to smile wearily at Twilight, before she exited the room to walk around the ship. Across from Twilight, Rarity sat also with paper and charcoal, doodling designs to take her mind off events. Twilight sighed, and resumed writing.
The portals for Fluttershy, Applejack and myself are all linked to a similar past event, the weeks before the Elements were used by the Princesses to defeat Discord. In the portals for Fluttershy and Applejack, they met three colts, Fireshot, Cloudswirl and Forest Breeze, who had set out to defeat Discord. Its clear why Ulysses chose this part of the past to allow Fluttershy and Applejack to go to, Fluttershy couldn’t be kind and tell them they had no chance of winning against Discord, and Applejack had to lie to keep the past as it was, she couldn’t ever tell them that they would lose. Right there, going against their Elements.
The pattern is becoming slightly clear. So far, my friends had to betray their Elements to leave the events. In Rarity’s, the generous thing she could have done was to stay and try and help rebuild a ravaged world, but she had to fight and doom the last survivors, and only then could she return.
But what about mine? After my portal, Ulysses seemed angry. Maybe it hadn’t worked right? If so, why did I feel as though the Element of Magic was distant when it appeared on my head?
Again Twilight stopped to think. Beside the desk, Spike stirred, and turned over on his other side, mumbling something in his sleep. Rainbow Dash was now snoring as well, so she wasn’t now pretending to be asleep. Twilight examined the events that involved only her to try and see why her bond to the Elements had been broken. And then it clicked.
My Element! It may be magic, but its the Magic of Friendship! In the past, I was nothing but friendly to everypony except the Ulysses still going through the events, so my bond to it never got broken!
But the present day Ulysses, he forced me to set up the events my friends and I would live through, making me betray my friends! That’s how he broke the bond, he couldn’t do it with magic, and so had to make me stab my friends in the back.
I feel terrible now, if I had just stopped running through the portals and falling for his plan, we’d still be in Equestria, with his name and description, and could have stopped him. Instead, I... I handed him five of the Elements, the Princesses and the whole of Equestria.
I, I’m a... traitor.
The magic holding the quill vanished, and it dropped to the desk with a clunk from the heavy tip. Rarity stopped doodling dresses and looked up at Twilight, noticing she was crying. Leaving her designs where they were, Rarity walked over to Twilight and held her.
“What’s wrong Twilight?” Rarity asked.
“I worked it out, how he did this,” Twilight sniffed, still sobbing at what she had figured out. “It was us he wanted to corrupt, not the elements.”
“And we fell for it, we acted differently to what we represent,” she lay flat on the floor, “we corrupted ourselves... one by... one” she choked out through the tears.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you never had to cast magic in your portal right? So you never went against magic, how could you if you didn’t use any?” Rarity questioned, looking at Twilight curiously.
“My Element isn’t magic in the sense of magic. It represents the magic of friendship. Even Discord mocked me once, and he called it the magic of friendship. When I went through the portals at the end, he made me set up the situations we’d all been through, in effect, betraying all of you. I’m a traitor, I gave him pretty much everything to take over Equestria.” Twilight ceased crying and whined, hanging her head.
“Twilight Sparkle, you are not a traitor! We all fell for Ulysses’ plan, we had no way of knowing what he would do next. Had we known, we might have been able to do something,” Rarity held Twilight tighter, “now come on, you can’t be a traitor if you were just an unwitting tool he used to achieve his goals. Even Princess Celestia would tell you that if she were here this second.”
Twilight looked up at Rarity and smiled weakly. She hugged Rarity back, neither noticing that Fluttershy had woken up, rather confused at the two hugging the other, and where she slept, Rainbow had stopped snoring, woken up by all the talking.
When Applejack returned five minutes later, helping Pinkie Pie bring in the food she had found and been allowed to take, Applejack convinced Rainbow to at least sit up and eat, which Rainbow did in silent protest.
From there, Twilight explained to all of them what she had worked out, how Ulysses had weakened the bonds they had with the Elements of Harmony, and that Ulysses had tricked them into behaving the opposite of their elements.
“Shoot,” snorted Applejack, “he’s just like Discord in a way, except far weaker and his head shoved far up his behind.”
There was a slight chuckle at her comment. They sat in silence to eat their food, mostly various kinds of fruits which Pinkie said she had found in a fridge. The revelation that Irvest had fridges as well made the six feel as though Irvest might not be too different to Equestria after all.
As she ate, a thought entered Twilight’s mind, and she decided to share it.
“Girls,” the others looked at her, “while we joked how Ulysses is like Discord, in another way, he isn’t. Discord changed us all so the Elements couldn’t be used against him. Ulysses must have known there was a chance we’d find out he was causing the events, and could have just got the elements, corrupted or not, and use them against him.” Twilight stated.
“Now ya mention it, somethin’ ain’t right. Even in Ponyville with his dark magic, if he hadn’t reacted so fast, we could have used the Elements then and just stopped him. Why did he run the risk of being attacked by them?” Applejack questioned, the thought now disturbing her.
Ulysses indeed had ran a huge risk. At any moment he could have been found out, and all it would have taken was a blast of harmony to stop his plans. So why had he done it?
“What if the risk was worth whatever he really wanted? I mean,” Rarity paused to think for a second, “he was after possession of the Elements, not Equestria. Whatever he really wants, currently ruling Equestria is the least of his concerns, otherwise he’d have gone straight after the princesses.”
“He did mention something about a ‘birthright’ when I met him,” Twilight added, “but I don’t recall in the legends of the elements of there being any mention that they belonged to anyone before Princesses Celestia and Luna found them. I guess the only way we’ll know for sure is when we go back to get the other elements and stop him for good.”
And so, the six friends and Spike continued to eat, all attempting to try and consider what the ‘birthright’ Ulysses had mentioned had to do with the Elements of Harmony.
Later, Twilight would write one last thing to the notes she had written prior to talking to Rarity, writing the following;
After talking with my friends, they reassured me that I am not a traitor, despite my original feelings.
Now I feel better, I have to think of how to stop Ulysses. The only clue for his actions being that he is seeking his ‘birthright’, but I have nothing else to go on besides that. Maybe in Irvest, I can find out more of his past.
And then, we can all return to Equestria, defeat Ulysses, rebuild Ponyville and return to our normal lives.
Almost a week had passed since Twilight and her friends had been rushed to a waiting ship by Sunshine Blaze in the wake of Ulysses sudden attack on Equestria. She sat on deck, a box before her on top of which sat paper, ink and a quill. Around her, the crew went about their duties, while the Captain stood at the helm.
Twilight glanced over the note she had written the previous day, having decided that, for the Princess, it would be best to keep track of current events. She read over the note she had made.
Day five,
I’ve begun to wonder, what Irvest is like. I’ve read not so nice things about it before, like how ponies there remove limbs and replace them with metal, steam powered ones. Some of the crew have these, and I took it on myself to find out why. What I learned goes against what I read. Rather than do this because they are “ashamed” of their natural bodies, they only replace parts that have become too broken to be repaired by a simple splint.
It doesn’t work for everything, but if an accident destroyed one of their legs beyond natural repair, they can choose to continue without said limb, or replace it with one of these “prosthetic” limbs. It makes sense when I think of it, but how the pegasus with a prosthetic wing is still able to fly is beyond me.
I apologise now Princess, if you're reading this, the writing may be less neater than it usually is from me. Rainbow Dash has gone stir crazy, since she can’t fly far from the ship. She threw me out of the room we were given below deck. However, the crew was kind enough to give me a box to use, and said I could use this from now on rather than write in that room.
We are all on edge about what is taking place as I write. Equestria is apparently a few hundred miles behind us, with Ulysses seemingly in control. Meanwhile, there is nothing around except for the sea. I’ve taken to writing these notes so you can read later to pass the time and not go crazy. Pinkie Pie at first tried to throw a party to cheer us all up, but it didn’t manage to cheer any of us up. She currently talks to Fluttershy, they both seem to be helping each other stay sane. Rainbow Dash remains in her bed, while Rarity and Applejack now and then walk about the ship to pass time. I hope we arrive to Irvest soon, I don’t think we can handle being on this ship for too long.
Putting the paper down, Twilight laid flat with her magic a fresh piece of paper, and begun to write a new note for the day.
Day six,
What I assume was last night, I studied the sun and moon. I assume you can’t see them Princess, but ever since I begun writing, they’ve been near each other in the sky, and the sky isn’t blue or black, but red.
How they appear and changed the sky wasn’t why I studied them, or attempted to at least… rather, I have tried to understand how Ulysses had enough strength magically to pull this off. He isn’t like you or Princess Luna, who have a connection to them. I can't help but think this is the side effect of whatever he did with you both when he took over Equestria.
Fluttershy was sick last night. She’s still in shock over seeing Cloudsdale being pulled into a sphere. I’m glad she didn’t see it actually disappear. Who knows what she’d be like if she had. I asked if she had eaten anything she was allergic to, but it was pretty clear quickly, when the boat begun to rock violently, and she emptied her stomach further, that she gets seasick. Rarity and Pinkie Pie helped her back to sleep.
Rainbow Dash meanwhile hasn’t woken up yet. She’s still alive, but simply refuses to do anything other than doze and eat when Applejack doesn’t give her a choice. Maybe she gets seasick too? She’s too proud of her image like Applejack, so if she is, she wouldn’t hurry to show it.
Spike was in trouble as well last night. The captain keeps treasure he and his crew have found to take back to Irvest in the hold, and Spike discovered there were gems in this treasure. A lot of gems. Its amazing how fast he can run, especially when the captain was giving chase, promising to skin him alive. I calmed the captain down, and Applejack said there’s two of the crew in front of the hold now to prevent further incidents.
I’ll finish this by writing what Sunshine Blaze told me. He said with a bit of luck, we may even arrive at Irvest a day early, which would be this… today. I can’t really tell what the time is, how the crew are keeping track of when the nights are when the sun and moon are both in the sky is something I’ll have to ask about.
Smiling, Twilight placed the new note on top of the pile of papers, lifting them, the ink and quill above the box, which she opened and stored them in. Nearby, the waves gently lapped the boat as it sailed on. With a sigh, Twilight walked towards the helm.
“Ah, miss Sparkle, how’rya doin’?” Captain shouted as she drew near.
“I’m fine Captain. But could you tell me what the time is?” she asked back.
“Blaze! What time is on yer goggles?” Captain shouted over his back.
Twilight listened as Sunshine Blaze coughed, which was followed by the sounds of the toggle switch on his goggles being used.
“Its five in the afternoon, if I’m right, Irvest should just be coming into sight on the horizon, and be another hour away,” Sunshine Blaze replied, still out of sight.
Twilight turned on the spot, and narrowed her eyes as she looked on the horizon. Sure enough, what appeared to be a very large island was coming into view. It lifted her spirits slightly, after seven days of being stuck on the ship, surrounded by the vast sea, it would be good to step on dry land once more.
“Ye best go get yerself and yer friends ready, miss Sparkle. Arrangements are that ye seven are the first to disembark,” Captain smiled.
“But what happens then? We’re going to be left alone in this strange country?” Twilight asked.
“No, miss Sparkle, Sunshine Blaze will accompany ye to the governor's office. What happens then is down to Blaze. Still, best not be leavin’ anythin’ of value on me ship,” Captain chuckled.
Twilight ran below deck and barged through the door to the room she and her friends had spent the week in. All five had been suddenly startled by her throwing the door open, and now looked at her, waiting for any potential bad news.
“Irvest is on the horizon, we better get ready, girls,” she said.
-- As predicted, Irvest took another hour to arrive at. Twilight with Spike on her back, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity now stood at the bow of the ship, staring at the sight of the city the ship was heading to, the buildings in the harbour had been designed simply to serve a purpose rather than be looked at and admired for the architecture. Some of the buildings were made from stone and these stood further away from the water, while closer to the water and ships were rickshaw wooden buildings, slowly rotting from the corrosive sea air and mould
Past the harbour were simple buildings, serving the function of homes to those with little money to their family name. They looked rougher, the paint being almost non-existent on them. Beyond these again stood the buildings that made up the business and rich families area.
In the middle of the city stood a tall white tower. It clearly was made in layers as the city grew up around it, each new level of the tower taking slightly less space of the former roof of the previous. Every brick was made from a pure white marble, this fact only being clear further up the tower, away from the dirt that had accumulated closer to the ground level. Gold gilding formed patterns and decorations on the tower, though only at the top.
Immediately around this sat other functional buildings, which established the streets leading away from the tower. The first they saw was made from a dark marble, with its roof looking like green marble. On the front of this, high above the street, was a gold figure of a pony, surrounded by various different sized coins. This, with no doubt, meant the building was a bank.
Fluttershy noticed, direct opposite on the street, a building that was not made from marble, but rather polished stone and onyx, which rather impressed her. Brass lined the front of the slate roof, which had the figure of three pegasi in flight, saddlebags on their backs, and letters held in outstretched hooves. While they were hard to see, dozens of ponies walked in and out of this building, those going in taking letters or packages, and those leaving were pegasi, in blue uniform, with fit to burst saddlebags on their backs.
As they continued to look around, Rarity noticed another building, commenting at how it wouldn’t look out of place back in Canterlot. Like most of the other buildings around it, it too had pipes for steam outletting. The construction was of various types of marble, white in non-patterned areas, with black marble to make any decorations stand out. Gold made up the boundaries between the various marble colours, and the steampipes had either been painted gold, or were plated with gold. On a balcony, overlooking the city stood two unicorns, an older dark blue stallion, dressed in red silk and gold stitching stood beside a red unicorn filly.
The other buildings lining the streets were far simpler, indicating they were shops simply by the larger windows at street level. Though every building had pipes standing somewhere, often bigger pipes much higher up than smaller ones, even the bank and post office, which steadily released steam clouds into the sky.
It only took another two minutes for the ship to finally be moored in the docks, the gangplanks were lifted over the side, and clunked as they landed on the cobblestone of the dock itself. The six friends looked at each other, and the crew standing around them, waiting for one of the others to take the first step off the boat.
Realising that none of the others were about to move, Rainbow Dash flew off the ship and landed on the harbour beside the ship. She stood on the cobblestones, and watched as Applejack begun the walk down them as well, closely followed by Twilight and Spike, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and finally, Rarity.
Next off the ship was Sunshine Blaze. He too flew off rather than walked, and landed near to them. A loud whistle from the deck stirred the crew into action.
“We’d best go to the Council building, Captain will want us out of the way. Follow me closely.” Sunshine Blaze said with a smile.
-- If the sight of Port Equis from the harbour had been impressive, the walk through the streets gave a feeling of claustrophobia to the seven friends, as Sunshine Blaze led them swiftly through the streets that were familiar to him, but unfamiliar to them. All around, ponies were dressed up as if they were all going to dinner parties or a royal event. One in five had prosthetic limbs, here and there. To the ponies of Port Equis, they seemed as normal as the pipes and machines that vented steam as they worked, but Twilight couldn’t help but shiver in disgust at what had led to the accidents, that had forced the ponies to get them. She had spent the whole trip to Irvest trying not to recall the story of how the Captain had lost his eye. It had involved a seagull, a barrel of rum and the rather silly idea of juggling swords with olives on the tips of the blades.
Sunshine Blaze was leading them up a street which was filled with restaurants, clothing stores, and even a small family run food store or two. Every so often, he led them out of the direct path of ponies that were sitting on machines that had four wheels and propelled themselves along. These machines fascinated Twilight, in Equestria, they only had carriages, and those had to be pulled along, but the ponies of Irvest had actually decided they would work better having an open top and moving by steam power. In a way, it made sense, it got you where you needed to be, and all who rode it wouldn’t be tired out.
Before them, the white tower loomed, and from the street, Twilight could see the entrance that Sunshine Blaze was heading to. Much like the rest of the building, the entrance was kept simple, tall, black painted doors, with silver dots lining where the wood had been nailed together. Two, large silver door handles looked purely decorative, at either side of the door sat two unicorns. These unicorns wore red coats and sat behind wooden podiums. As Sunshine Blaze and the seven friends drew near, a fat earth pony was talking to both unicorns.
“Would it be possible to enter and make an appointment with the governor today?” he asked.
“Would you rather us send a message for an appointment to be made?” one unicorn asked back.
“It would be more efficient for all involved if I went and made the appointment directly. I shan’t be long, five minutes at the most.” the fat earth pony answered.
Both unicorns gave a sideways glance at the other, before nodding their heads in silent agreement. Their horns glowed white, and the doors swung open, giving a hint at the marble interior to all ponies but Pinkie Pie, who had one hoof on her mouth and was thoughtfully looking down. The fat earth pony slowly hobbled inside, and the doors closed.
“Now, listen to me you six, don’t say a word, ok? I know how to handle these two, and if you say anything wrong, you won’t get in with me.” Sunshine Blaze turned around.
His face was immediately full of worry, as he ran over the ponies present before him a second time. Twilight, check. Applejack, check. Fluttershy, check. Pinkie Pie, not checked. Rainbow Dash, checked. It dawned on him suddenly, the spot Pinkie Pie had been standing was now empty.
“You two look too gloomy. You know what will cheer you up? A PARTY!” Pinkie Pie yelled behind him. Sunshine Blaze’s left eye twitched, and he almost didn’t dare to turn around.
“How did she…” he begun.
“Move over there? Don’t ask, we never worked it out ourselves.” Twilight finished and answered for him.
“But…”
“She broke all laws of physics by moving from standing beside Fluttershy, to being up there, annoying those unicorns, in the space of a second. Yes, we know, it’s just something she does. Quite regularly.” Twilight finished Sunshine Blaze’s sentence for him.
Sunshine Blaze wasn’t quite sure if he was supposed to just accept this, or be annoyed. The seven friends hadn’t even been in Irvest for half an hour, and already one of them was causing problems. Turning around, his jaw dropped in horror at the sight of Pinkie Pie draping streamers across the two unicorns, a clown nose on her own.
“WHERE DID SHE GET THOSE FROM?” he yelled, catching the attention of some of the crowd.
“That’s another Pinkie Pie thing, don’t ask,” Rarity responded, “she once managed to bake all the foods for a party in five minutes, sent out the invites in person, and yet still somehow found time to not just fill in the annual income tax forms for Sugarcube Corner, but filled those same forms in for me and our friends, all in an hour.”
“The ovens weren’t preheated, so baking took longer,” Pinkie chirped as she put party hats on her friends.
“But where did she get them from? She didn’t have them back at the ship!” Sunshine Blaze shouted, his face right up to Twilight’s.
“Just don’t ask. It hurts the brain to even attempt, who knows what will happen if you find the logic behind what she does.” Twilight groaned.
With an annoyed groan, Sunshine Blaze flew to the unicorns either side of the entrance, and removed the streamers and the fully inflated balloons Pinkie Pie had somehow obtained and inflated while he was looking at Twilight. With them cleared up, he grabbed Pinkie, who was bouncing between the guards, blowing into a kazoo, Sunshine Blaze daring not to question the logic of how she had obtained this item as well.
He angrily set her down on the ground where she had originally stood, breathing rapidly in anger.
“I’ll say again, let ME do the talking. At this rate, you’ll be lucky to get inside,” He hissed at Pinkie Pie, and proceeded up to the unicorns again, “sorry about that sirs. Very urgent matter I need to discuss with the governor. Is he free?”
To his surprise, the unicorns were smiling at him, not minding their own party hats.
“Well its not often we see you drop by Blaze, but it seems you're having a mare problem.” one said, as the other burst into roaring laughter.
“Six of ‘em to be exact Colt! Haha, teenager, always adventurous, even in…”
“SHUT IT,” Blaze coughed, realising he had let his anger get the best of them, “ah, I mean, its not a mare problem.” he finished, blushing.
“Oh? Then Blaze, do tell, what kind of problem involves you coming here, with six young mares in tow?” Colt asked.
“A Ulysses sized problem.” he replied flatly.
Colt and the other guard stared at each other, eyes wide upon hearing the name.
-- The main lobby of the Council building did indeed have a lot of marble. The floors were white marble, with black inlaid in the pattern of a star. The bases of the white marble pillars had been coloured green, same for their tops, and swirls of gold ran around each one.
In the middle of the main lobby, contrary to all the functional brass pipes, Twilight noticed two things. The first was the fountain. It had fish in it, and lily pads floated on the top, while a single jet of water reached high into the air, the water dropping back down, making a rather calming splashing sound. Just behind this was a circular desk, behind which a silvery coloured earth pony with striking crimson eyes sat.
All around, ponies in various official uniforms busied themselves with their tasks, some even leaving papers in the various trays set around the desk. There was only one spot which didn’t have these trays, which faced towards the fountain. Beside her was a single brass pipe with a funnel on the top.
This pony watched as Sunshine Blaze led the seven friends towards her, and she smiled.
“Welcome back to Irvest, Sunshine Blaze. How may I help you today?” she asked.
“It’s just a quick visit to let the governor know of what’s going on. Is he busy? This is really urgent,” he asked back, leaning as far over the desk as possible,
“Yes,” she said, “he’s seeing the prime minister right now.”
“Well, that’s convenient,” he mused. “Who else?”
“Only him,” she replied, chuckling a bit nervously at his apparently sarcastic reaction. “But this will take a while. It’s scheduled for the next three hours.”
“Well, there’s been a change of plans,” Sunshine Blaze said as he walked to the corridor leading to the meeting room.
The receptionist pony was at a loss of words, finally sinking in that he truly found it convenient that the prime minister was there. Before she could react, Rainbow Dash spoke up.
“Doesn’t that make you want to go to the bathroom?” she pointed at the fountain.
“All the time miss, all the time.” the receptionist replied, a cracked smile on her lips.
“Hey!” Sunshine Blaze’s head popped at the edge to the corridor. “Aren’t you coming?”
The receptionist sighed as the Equestrian group followed him. She knew she was going to hear about the intrusion that was about to happen.
-- “Blaze?” the governor half-yelled half-muttered as Blaze walked into the large meeting room. The governor was a brown earth pony with a black mane and tail, his eyes were a deep blue, and there were visible lines and black under them, which suggested he hadn’t been sleeping, either at all, or very little.
“Good day, governor Fountain Pen.” Sunshine Blaze replied with a smile as he and his group entered in a line, without taking a seat. “Good day, prime minister Na—”
“W-what’s going on?” Fountain Pen asked, a bit flustered. “What is so urgent that made you barge into my meeting with the prime minister?”
The prime minister was a white pegasus with a brass-coloured collar with tie, same colour as his mane and tail. He was at least twenty percent more surprised than the governor.
The mares and the dragon looked lost and out of place, but that didn’t seem to bother Sunshine Blaze even a little.
“Ulysses attacked Equestria,” Sunshine Blaze cut to the chase. “The whole place by now, I suspect, and these are Equestrian refugees,” he motioned his head at the group.
Governor Fountain Pen held his breath from shock at this news. The seven friends shuffled a little uncomfortably at the label, Fluttershy, in particular, shrunk as small as Spike, who was beside her.
“Equestria? And he succeeded?” Fountain Pen said quietly, the worry from the news clear in his eyes.
“We may not have communications with them,” the prime minister said, “but they have two alicorns leading the country. He can’t be faring well.”
“He succeeded alright, the sun and moon in the sky at the same time are probably a result of whatever he did to their princesses. Trapped them somewhere I suspect. Equestria has fallen, things aren’t looking good. They have powerful unicorns and very ancient magic,” Sunshine Blaze merely turned his head to look at the governor, “it’s simply a case of when, not if, he breaks through the sage’s barrier, the only thing keeping him from getting his revenge on Irvest.”
“What was he there for?” Fountain Pen asked.
“The Elements of Harmony, six powerful stones that uphold balance in Equestria, once held by the Princesses as they brought an end to the reign of Discord and banished Nightmare Moon. Very powerful artifacts.”
“So his takeover is to find them? Whatever for?”
“We used the elements to stand up to Nightmare Moon on her return,” Twilight Sparkle explained, “and returned Discord to his stone prison. But they’re supposed to be tied to us, or, at least, to our friendship.”
“What if there’s another way to harness their power? He did manage to do this,” Sunshine Blaze pointed at the window where the sun and moon were visible on the red sky.
The ponies exchanged worried glances.
“With such a powerful artifact,” Sunshine Blaze thought aloud, “Ulysses could get through the barrier and be attacking Irvest in as little as a week.”
Twilight nodded silently. She had no idea of how good a barrier Irvest had, but she knew it had to be very powerful to stand a week of attacks from the elements.
Governor Fountain Pen looked down at his meeting notes. Up to ten minutes ago, his biggest worries were how the government buildings located in the northern part of Port Equis were having some infrastructural trouble, and whether his treasurers were going to be able to adapt to the new rules set forth by the prime minister accounting team. He let out a short sigh.
The prime minister only stared at the governor and then back at Sunshine Blaze. He seemed to be letting the governor handle the situation.
Fountain Pen set these notes aside, pulled a blank piece of paper under his pile, and his mouth wrote the words Ulysses, Irvest, Equestria on them. He looked back at Sunshine Blaze and begged, “Please tell me you have a backup plan.”
“I do,” Sunshine Blaze smiled. He pointed at Rainbow Dash. “See the gold choker around her neck?”
“What of it?”
Rainbow Dash was about as shocked as her friends, but not enough to miss an opportunity to be awesome. She flared her wings, smiled confidently, and declared, “I’m Rainbow Dash, and I bear,” she put a hoof on her choker, “the element of loyalty.”
“Well, prime minister,” governor Fountain Pen said with finality, “I think you need to tell the armed forces to prepare. I’ll tell my teams to hold on to their hooves for now, their problems clearly just became a lesser priority.”
“I will,” he said, and stood up. “Welcome to Irvest, ladies.” He looked at Spike and fumbled for a second. “And dragon,” he amended, then took his leave. “Excuse me.”
“Is it true that this ‘prime minister’ is like your princess?” Twilight Sparkle asked as she and her friends slowly took their seats after he left.
Fountain Pen smirked at the way Twilight worded her question and looked at Sunshine Blaze.
“Don’t worry about him, he’s only a politician,” Sunshine Blaze said waving a hoof. “This time next year, it’s probably going to be somepony else instead.”
“If any of us makes it there,” Applejack added somberly.
Rarity was noticing in one of the walls the coat of arms. It was a white painted shield with a golden wing, and laurel leaves crowned the top and base. “We’re refugees, then,” she thought out loud. “And we don’t even know when or if we’re getting back to Equestria.”
“We’re staying? We’re really staying?” Applejack asked, clearly not liking the idea. She looked around to everypony present, friends and locals. Everypony was shuffling in one way or the other.
“I think so, girls,” Twilight said, then turned to the governor. “Maybe you can clarify what’s going to happen next with us?”
The governor sighed and started, “Let me give you a bit more context first. I am, as you might have guessed, governor of Port Equis. If you wonder what a governor is, think of it like the mayors you have back in Equestria. That is to say, we look after a single town, but there is an authority higher than us. Prime Ministers are the same as governors too, and we all answer to the four Sages of Irvest.”
The governor at this point chose to stop and examine the friends once again. For the most part, they didn’t seem interested in what he had to say, except for the purple unicorn.
“What do these sages do exactly?” she asked, as soon as his eyes fell on her.
“Ah, well, in Equestria, you had Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Two sisters that raise and lower the sun and moon,” he glanced outside towards the crimson sky caused by the sun and the moon being in the sky at the same time, “a fact that is vital not just to Equestria, but to the whole planet. In Irvest, the sages are to us what the princesses were for Equestria. They maintain the balance of nature, weather, birth and death. Since they are not immortal, they train successors to take their place, but each one can overturn choices made by governors and prime ministers in their quadrant of Irvest. The white coat of arms, and white with gold Council buildings mean Port Equis falls under the rule of the White Mare, Goldwing.”
Twilight nodded after a few seconds, and then asked, “where does Sunshine Blaze fall in all of this?”
“Nowhere,” Sunshine Blaze blurted out before the governor could say anything.
After a couple seconds of silence, the governor concluded there were no further questions. He was glad about this. He didn’t like question and answer sessions before the press, let alone six confused and upset mares from a faraway land.
“Now, let’s get down to business,” the governor pointed at Rainbow Dash, “please step forward, Ms. Dash.”
With uncharacteristic caution, Rainbow Dash slowly stood up and walked to stand beside Sunshine Blaze. She looked at him, expecting some help as to what was going on from him, but to her annoyance, Sunshine Blaze simply stared straight ahead, and didn’t seem to regard her presence.
“Now, you said what you were wearing was the Element of Loyalty, correct?” Fountain Pen questioned
“Uh, yeah.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“And without all six Elements together, they won’t work?” he asked in general.
“That’s right. While the Element of Magic is needed to activate them, if even one bearer and element is missing, the rest are useless.” Twilight answered.
“I see, so we are in no immediate threat of Ulysses using the others to get into Irvest. But at the same time, keeping the Element of Loyalty and Ms. Dash in the same place would be unwise. For the security risk it poses to both Ms. Dash at the hooves of,” he paused for a moment in what Rarity later pointed out was for dramatic effect, “unsavoury ponies, and for Irvest as a whole, this shall remain here with me.” he finished, walking to a wall and pressing a button, causing a part of the wall to slide aside and reveal a safe.
“Wait,” Twilight spoke up, “why do we have to leave it with you? We can take it anywhere. It isn’t yours! It shouldn’t even be in Irvest!” she protested.
“Ah yes. But if it remained at its land of origin, it would be in Ulysses’ possession, so it was Ms. Dash here that brought it to Irvest in your flight for survival. Further, keeping it about you would attract... unsavoury attention. Equestria may be where ponies work together to see another day, but here in Irvest, ponies will gladly stab you in the back to ensure they see the next dawn.” the governor quickly shot a glance at the IN tray on his desk.
Rainbow Dash turned to look at Sunshine Blaze again, desperate for him to provide a reason as to why she couldn’t keep the Element of Loyalty with her. Slowly, as if waking from a dream, Sunshine Blaze turned to look at Rainbow, his eyes going from her face, to the Element of Loyalty itself.
“No pony dares attack the Council buildings, those who do usually come out worse for the effort, if not half dead. The Council buildings are a physical representation of the Sage’s power. Please, leave it here, you have my word it will be returned when we leave to return to Equestria.” Sunshine Blaze stated.
Rainbow Dash groaned and carefully, she removed the Element of Loyalty from around her neck. She walked over to the governor and passed it to him, and watched as he placed it on a cushion in the safe, and then locked the safe again. Smiling, he returned to his seat and sat down.
“Now, we’ll begin the task of setting you six a place to stay for now.” he said, opening a drawer and removing some forms.
-- One year later --
Twilight walked through the streets of Port Equis, with Spike on her back carrying her newest book purchase, ‘A brief history of Irvest, revised edition number 300’. She had already loaned and returned the previous edition from a local library, making notes, but she had finally enough saved up for her own brand new copy, happy that she had yet another book to take back on her eventual return to Equestria.
She turned the corner of another street and walked to the third house on the right. The home the governor had given them was one of the newer homes in a new part of Port Equis. It belonged to Twilight and her friends, as the governor put it, so that ‘they always have a home for any trips to Irvest in the future’. It was very big, roughly five floors tall, minus the attic and the room at the base with the metal door that opened horizontally.
Twilight climbed the stairs, and paused. She looked up the white walls and towards the black slate roof. On one of the upper floors, Fluttershy currently leaned out, watering can held firmly in her mouth as she watered the flower pots she had hung outside the windows of her bedroom. This had cheered her up, as on warm and dry spring and summer days, despite the crimson sky and the sun and moon being ever present in the sky, these flower beds allowed Fluttershy to see and speak to birds and insects of all sorts.
But Twilight wasn’t looking up at Fluttershy, her eyes landed on something floating about in the sky, buzzing as it passed overhead.
“Spike, isn’t that...” she begun to ask.
“Oh wow, that’s what they call a ‘plane’. You remember reading about them Twi?” Spike asked.
“Yes, engine powered devices used by the Irvestian earth ponies and unicorns. I remarked on reading that they made sense, a machine to fly non-pegasi around without needing to tire out a pegasus pony, or build a wooden ship or basket and tie it to a helium balloon. Did I buy or loan that book?” she asked once more, looking at the baby dragon on her back.
“Hm,” Spike went into deep thought for a moment, “oh! You bought that one, it’s called ‘Basic Principles in Machinery’.” he smiled, proud for remembering the fact.
“Well, let’s go put my new purchase away and get something to eat.” she replied, opening the door.
The main hall of the house wasn’t very impressive, it was simply a corridor with two flights of stairs, one leading down to a large empty room that they as of yet had no idea on its intended use, and a flight up a floor. The walls were painted white and hung on them were simple paintings of flowers or fruit. Near the door stood a wooden table, shining from the finish making it seem a brighter brown that it probably was, and upon this stood a mirror. Rarity often used this before daring to step outside the front door. Twilight’s hooves clopped loudly as she walked across the wood, Spike closing the door behind her.
The first floor landing was far more generous than the main hall, and had enough room for three ponies to stand side by side within it. The floor was polished and shone in the light, and once again, the walls were a simple white in colour, however the paintings hung on them were more interesting than the ones found on the main floor. These paintings were of a sunset and a boat sailing in the distance, a mare dressed up with an umbrella in a field of red flowers, or of the night sky and the stars reflecting in a mountain lake.
Twilight opened a door which led to the main sitting area. It was large and had a balcony, the black iron bars of the balcony were bent towards the street, presumably to prevent any sort of intruder. Rarity was currently standing out of the balcony, her front hooves resting against the railing. The rest of the room mostly consisted of pillows in purple, pink, yellow, white and orange, and a single cloud that floated in place.
Opposite the pillows was a very large, and very nearly empty bookcase. There were only about ten books, including the new one Spike was placing. It wasn’t an impressive bookcase, Twilight would be the first to admit, it was simple, boards of wood nailed together to perform a function, no elaborate decoration or intricate carvings. Down the room was the kitchen, with breakfast bar, where currently Pinkie Pie was baking, washing the mixing bowls for whatever she currently had cooking in the oven.
Down the room from there was a table with seven stools arranged around it, one of the stools being taller than the rest. It too was simple and only built to perform the intended function, rather than also being something to admire. Just down from this sat the kitchen, the cupboards had black paint and silver handles, and these hung on the wall above the polished quartz worktop, with more cupboards below them. An oven and sink stood beneath a window, and Twilight saw, this was where Pinkie Pie currently was, water running into messed up bowls in the sink, while the pink mare washed the mix of whatever she had been making that hadn’t gone into the oven off of her hooves.
“Heya Twilight! What’d you get while out?” Pinkie asked, looking back down the room at Twilight.
“Just a book about Irvest’s history. Since we’re here, we may as well know a little of this place, and like the rest, I can take it back to the library in Ponyville when we go back.” Twilight replied.
“Oh darling,” Rarity sighed as she walked in from the balcony, “do you honestly still believe we’ll ever see Equestria again? We’ve been in Irvest for a year now.”
Twilight thought for a moment, before she replied.
“I don’t see why not. I mean, not even Sunshine Blaze can prevent it. Sooner or later, we’ll know what we have to do to stand a chance against Ulysses, and stop him destroying the world or whatever it is he has planned exactly.” Twilight answered, smiling hopefully.
“I hope you are right Twilight. It pains both me and Applejack that we can’t be with our siblings and relatives right now. I can only imagine how upset Sweetie Belle must be.” Rarity said, sitting down on the white pillow.
“Speaking of Applejack, where is she? And for that matter, where is Rainbow Dash? I saw Fluttershy tending to her flowers when I was coming in the front door.” Twilight asked.
“We needed some fruit, so Applejack offered to go to the market and get some. As for Rainbow Dash, she said something about finding out what pegasi do in Irvest, she was going stir crazy not being able to fly so often.” Pinkie Pie replied.
Silence fell on the three ponies. Pinkie Pie turned her attention to the oven, and watched as whatever she had made baked through the glass door. Twilight looked at Spike as he settled down beside the purple pillow and attempted to go to sleep. Rarity meanwhile was clearly not trying to cry at the thoughts she was having over how Sweetie Belle was.
“I have to say, I do wonder how Equestria is right now. I mean, what must it be like for ponies there, living under Ulysses’ rule.” Twilight idly stated.
-- Ulysses ruled Equestria from an obsidian castle that sat far from Canterlot and Ponyville. In the highest tower, he sat in a marble and obsidian room, on a black marble throne. Far away, he could hear the preparation of his army in their daily routines to defend his castle, safe in the knowledge that he was safe.
Sighing, Ulysses stood up and walked to the window which gave him a view of both Canterlot and Ponyville. Above Ponyville, Dragons flew in a calculated pattern, while Canterlot was shielded by a magic barrier that was purple in colour.
Ulysses glanced over his back as the door was knocked, and a general in his army entered.
“Any specific order for today my lord?”
He pondered this for a moment, turning to face the window again.
“What would you recommend I do about those two cities?”
“Sir?” the general questioned, not quite sure what was being asked of him.
“You heard me. What should be done about them?”
“Well, my lord, if Canterlot is taken, then Ponyville won’t be far behind.”
“Very well, do what must be done.” Ulysses replied, not moving from the window. Behind him, the door clicked softly.
As he stared into the window, Ulysses became aware of another presence walking up behind him. Unflinching, he could see the ghostly blue transparent figure of a pegasus mare.
Are you really doing what is right? the mare asked.
“Of course I am.” he answered her, his determination and commitment to his plan had got him to control Equestria, his true goal couldn’t be much further behind.
But for what you desire, you have turned a country into a war zone, hidden its former rulers, and unbalanced the balance of nature itself. the mare pressed.
“And what does that matter to you?.”
And that is before you take into account the many who have died by your actions, not to mention those that still will die before your goal is reached.
“All necessary, their lives are no more important than my own.”
Each flame of life, extinguished in your wind of insanity, the mare said coldly, as Ulysses turned around, he could only watch as hundreds, maybe a thousand, of other ghosts appearing, their cold ghostly eyes staring at him, mare, stallion and foal, it mattered not to you, each one as insignificant as an insect. And for what?
“For my goal, the world will be better once I have what I desire!” he yelled, all too happy now that his army had left.
Will it? Will it really? she said, striking terror into Ulysses. He said nothing, unsure anymore what to say in response. As he waited for her to continue, a little pegasus foal ghost walked in front of him. His wings looked as though they had been pulled apart by two timberwolves fighting over which would eat him.
I was Sunny Rays. On my eighth birthday, you tore my wings to pieces by magic and left me to bleed to death.
“...I... I...” Ulysses tried to form a sentence, but he couldn’t.
As Sunny Rays became lost among the crowd of ghosts, his scar covered spectral form seemed to come apart and meld with the other ghosts nearby, an earth pony stepped forward, she looked much older.
I was Petunia Drops. As I tried to protect my foals from you, you threw me against the corner of a building, snapping my neck.
The ghosts no longer waited, slowly, they begun to all call out their names and how he had killed them and what they were doing just before.
I was Cloud Chaser. I tried to take a rain cloud over the fires you started in my town, but you petrified my hooves while I was over a lake.
I was Primrose. I tried to take newborn foals to safety from the hospital ruins, but you impaled me on a wooden beam sticking out of a nearby wall.
I was Lexicon, the arch chancellor of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. As you stormed the castle, you turned my own defensive spell back into my horn, overloading and shutting down my brain.
“Please... no more...” Ulysses begged, having got to the floor. He had closed his eyes and tried to cover his ears with his hooves, to no avail.
Around him, the ghosts didn’t relent. He could no longer hear individuals, each voice lost in a sea as they continued to call out their names and deaths to him. After two minutes, it died down, and slowly, Ulysses sat up. All the ghosts were still there, with the mare that started it all in front of them.
You could have accepted your fate all those years ago, instead you chose that fate was wrong. You destroyed your home, your family, your friends, and got eternally banished from Irvest. You could have stopped there, but you continued on, certain that you were right and the world was wrong. And now look where it has gotten you. Where will this end? Can you even be sure that you are doing the right thing anymore? Your hooves are stained forever with the blood of countless innocent victims, all whom had settled for what fate gave them, their lives ended because you just couldn’t accept your lot in life. The mare stated with an apparent joyful glee.
Ulysses looked down, to try and prepare his thoughts to give an appropriate response. However, he recoiled in shock at the sight of thick and dark red blood, which surrounded his hooves and ran freely. Desperately, he tried to wipe the blood away so he could check if he was bleeding, but it continued to flow from an unknown source.
“What do you expect me to do? I have committed to this course of action, regardless of if I think it is right or wrong anymore, I must see it through. Failure is not an option this time.” he shouted, as all the ghosts began to chant ‘murderer’ at him.
When he’d finished speaking, Ulysses found himself alone with the mare again. She looked sadly at him, as she begun to fade away.
You had everything you could have ever wanted once, a teacher who loved you, parents who adored you, a brother who idolised you, and friends who cared for you. You fell so far, Ulysses, so far that you can no longer tell right from wrong, and you no longer have anyone willing to show you the way to save yourself. Deep down, you know this will only end badly for yourself.
And with that, the mare was gone, leaving Ulysses all alone with his thoughts. He turned to the window, facing what he had done so far to achieve the goal he sought so much.
“Are the ghosts right,” he questioned aloud to himself, “would this be worth it? Is this really what I should be doing? No... no I can’t second guess myself. They are wrong, all of them. They and the world will eventually know that they were wrong, that I was right! Nothing shall stop me from achieving my goal.”
Twilight smiled as the rest of her colleagues left the theatre, the door closing behind the last one echoed in the room. The theatre was large, and fifteen rows of tables and chairs lined up from the floor, six of each to a row. Before them was a simple dark wood desk and chair, and behind this, bolted to the wall were two very large blackboards, currently filled with diagrams and equations. She sighed and sat down, as a now slightly taller Spike walked around, picking up unused pieces of paper off the tables.
It had been five years since Sunshine Blaze had brought Twilight and her friends to the safety of Irvest, and Twilight had accomplished a lot during five years. She had studied everything about Irvest and how the ponies here used magic, and had quickly become a notable scholar. Now, five years later, she was one of the most respected and well known young scholars in Irvest, something she was proud of.
Her lecture that day had been about the potential uses and harm combining steam powered machinery and magic, and how they could be used together, something the Irvestians hadn’t considered. As she had proven during the four hour lecture, it was possible that in the near future, machines in Irvest could be powered using magic storing stones instead of coal and water. While this hadn’t gone down well at first, Twilight had shown that the machines functioned the same, did not blow up, and even gave the potential for making them smaller or more streamlined.
“That was great Twilight! They really liked your ideas today.” Spike said, serving only to inflate Twilight’s ego.
“Yes, it was, wasn’t it? I can only hope some leave today and in a few months, we’ll hear of it becoming reality.” she replied.
“That’d be good for you,” Spike smiled, holding the papers upright, and tapping them against her desk to sort them into a consistent pile, “do you know how famous you’d be for thinking of it in the first place?”
“Now Spike, you know I don’t do this for fame. I enjoy studying things and finding ways to improve on them.” Twilight stated, watching as Spike finished tapping the papers, and put them into the top drawer.
Outside, the sky remained as it had ever since she and her friends had fled from Equestria, a deep crimson red. At first it hadn’t caused much problems, but in Irvest at least, as the years dragged on, weather patterns had become uncontrollable and unpredictable, and Applejack often complained of crops being harder to grow.
Twilight had already begun to plan out a solution to this that she would present next, but all she had so far was that there needed to be a way to get or make water as required.
She turned slowly as the door to the theatre was knocked, and slowly opened. When it was fully opened, Twilight saw Sunshine Blaze, he was taller now, no longer the fourteen year old that had saved them from Ulysses and brought her and her friends to Irvest. He was now nineteen years old, and looked it. His mane was still wild and unkempt, still turquoise in colour, and his signature goggles had clearly been adjusted to still fit, but had seen better days.
“Twilight, come with me. It’s time I talked to you six.” he said.
-- Rarity had found adjusting to life in Irvest hard at first. She often wondered if Sweetie Belle was fine and well back in Ponyville. But like her friends, she had eventually adjusted, and easily settled into a new life. Ponies in Irvest wore clothes far more often than those back in Equestria, and her business, which had also been named Carousel Boutique, had taken off. In two years, she even had the need to hire assistants to help make all her orders.
The shop looked identical to the one back in Equestria, it was a round building, with white walls, purple spiral pillars and curtains inside. The ground floor held some of the designs on offer in the windows, three changing rooms, and a platform with mirrors where she took measurements. The first floor housed the sewing machines, fabrics and gems, and it was here, beside the six desks that five of her assistants worked to her exact pattern designs. The six desk was currently not in use, it was where Rarity worked, and she was currently walking around, making sure her assistants were still doing the best job she had trained them too.
“Now don’t forget the gems. Goldwing was very clear on what she wanted, a silvery dress with the subtle shine of gems. Only the best for one of the Sages.” Rarity stated the order specifications to her assistants.
“Yes miss Rarity.” They all chimed, continuing work on their designated part of the dress.
The door downstairs rattled the bell. Rarity took a deep breath as she walked to the stairs, putting on a smile. As she entered the ground floor room, she was surprised to see Sunshine Blaze stating near the door, looking at her.
“If you can, head back to your house. I’m calling all of you there to talk.” he said.
“Oh, sure that shouldn’t be a problem. You go on ahead, I’ll tell my assistants to close up when they’re done for the day.” Rarity replied, turning around and heading back up the stairs.
-- Fluttershy still lived at the home provided by the governor of Port Equis, but spent most of her day at a building at the edge of the town. Unlike the others, she hadn’t had a strong start to her life in Irvest, but when the idea of running a pet home, to house pets for ponies that were heading off on vacation, had come to Twilight one night, her friends had all chipped in what little they could to get her started.
The building at first had been a simple stone shed, with barely enough room for the pets she would take care of, let alone Fluttershy herself. But as word spread of how good she was, the money had come in fast, and had been enough to hire builders to make a three story building. She had also gained a helper one year, a little pegasus by the name of Shining Rays. He was enthusiastic, and Fluttershy had never met another pony so good with animals like her.
“Fluttershy,” Shining Rays poked his sky blue head with a yellow mane through the door, “I’m going to go clean out the litter trays on the third floor. Call if there’s something else I need to do,” he said.
“Thank you, Shining Rays,” Fluttershy nodded happily, still reading the sheet of paper on the oak desk before her. A lot of the pets had very specific needs she noted. One particular dog, Sir Darlington, had an allergy to nuts. Turning around to look at the floor behind her, Fluttershy watched as Sir Darlington chewed the bag of nuts he had found somewhere. The first time he had found a bag, she and Shining Rays had reacted quickly to get them out of his stomach, but after the fifth time, Sir Darlington had worked out that, while she paid attention, he wouldn’t get to eat them.
And so Sir Darlington had taken up to finding the bags of nuts when Fluttershy and Shining Rays weren’t looking, often right in front of them as they read papers on a new arrival. When they had noticed he had found a sixth bag, and wasn’t any worse off, Fluttershy had simply decided the owners had no clue what really made Sir Darlington sick, but due to his habit of always somehow finding a random bag of nuts, had blamed them. He had been there two weeks, and despite clearing the ground floor of any trace of nuts, Sir Darlington had always managed to find a bag.
Fluttershy shook her head and looked back at the paper. Where Sir Darlington found the nuts was a mystery, and questioning it would probably have a disastrous result, similar to questioning Pinkie Pie’s ability to traverse a whole town in a matter of seconds.
Fluttershy only looked up at whoever had walked into the building when he coughed. She went slightly pale when she looked directly into the eyes of Sunshine Blaze.
“You’re... you’ve... come to take us back to Equestria?” she asked, deflating a bit.
“What? No. Not yet at least. I just need to talk to you and your friends back at the home the governor provided you. Can you leave this place now?” he asked.
“Oh um, I... I guess Shining Rays will be ok. I’ll let him know.” Fluttershy answered.
Sunshine Blaze didn’t say anything else. He turned around and left the building, leaving Fluttershy still. Sir Darlington ceased chewing the bag of nuts, and walked over to Fluttershy, resting his head in front of her, and begun to whimper. Fluttershy looked down at Sir Darlington, and begun to cry as she petted him, knowing what Sunshine Blaze would soon ask of her and her friends.
-- Applejack, like Fluttershy, still lived at the home she and her friends shared, but spent most of her day at a farm she had bought just on the outskirts of Port Equis. While it wasn’t the Sweet Apple Acres she longed to see again, Applejack’s farm had done well. Several ponies, both mares and colts, helped tend to the large farm, and Applejack oversaw it all.
Applejack currently sat on a hill overlooking the east field, watching as the helpers worked, bucking the trees. Her thoughts wandered to Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and Applebloom, and if they were even still alive back in Equestria after Ulysses’ sudden attack. She shook thoughts and images out of her head when they begun to wander on to the thoughts of her family laying dead among the blazing ruins of the farm.
She turned her head to her right when a flapping of wings drew near. Beside her, landing gracefully was Sunshine Blaze. He smiled as he sat, looking over the fields.
“You did a good thing starting up a farm. Before, Port Equis relied on produce shipped here from elsewhere in Irvest.” Sunshine Blaze opened the conversation.
“Yeah, it reduced what was needed. The governor sure seemed happy. Though crops are becoming harder to grow...” Applejack said.
The wind blew past the pair as the conversation died as quickly as it had begun. Applejack sighed and looked at the crimson sky.
“Ah know why you're here. You want to talk, and take us back.” Applejack flatly stated.
“Talk, yes. I’m gathering all your friends back to the house. Come back there when you can.” Sunshine Blaze replied. He smiled, stood up and took flight again, leaving the farm behind him.
Applejack looked down at the helpers, and sighed again.
-- Sunshine Blaze had trouble getting near his next location, due to a large crowd that had gathered. Normally, ponies knowing who he was and what life he had so far led had usually made it easy to get where he needed. But it clearly wasn’t the case for his current destination.
His current destination was a very bright pink building, with balloons of varying colours tied to pretty much anything that they could be tied to. One door in here was simply not enough to deal with the crowd going in or coming out, and as such the front had four sets of double doors, two for entering and two for exiting. From the roof, a fair amount of pipes protruded and pumped a lot of steam into the air. Above the four doors was a large painted sign which bore the picture of a familiar looking pink pony with puffy pink mane and blue eyes, and the words ‘Pinkie Pie’s Confectionery Emporium’.
With an annoyed groan, Sunshine Blaze stood at the back of the large queue, and slowly drew closer to the building, Pinkie Pie’s painted face looming above him. Some ponies did indeed recognise him, but such was the draw of Pinkie Pie’s business, that he couldn’t talk them into letting him go ahead in the queue.
It took him roughly fifty minutes to get inside the building, where the queue seemed to get faster. The inside of the shop had yellow floorboards, and pink painted walls, along which shelves held various sweets that could be picked up and taken to the counter. In between the inner lines leading in and out was a pale blue coloured stand, which held the same mix of chocolates and sweets. It was another two minutes before he got to the front, and saw Pinkie Pie face to face.
“Heya Sunshine Blaze!” Pinkie Pie said quite loudly, drawing some chatter from around the room.
“Hello Pinkie Pie, could I have a word?” he asked. He was already very annoyed at the length of time it had taken to even get near Pinkie Pie.
“Okie Doki Loki! I’m sure somepony will step in for a moment and serve sweets and cakes and muffins and...”
“Right now please Pinkie, I’m tired from standing as it is.” Sunshine Blaze snapped a little.
Pinkie Pie picked up on his annoyance and stopped rambling. She looked at another store worker and nodded her head, before leading Sunshine Blaze to one side. Pinkie Pie remained smiling in the quieter part of the store, while Sunshine Blaze breathed a sigh of relief at finally sitting down.
“So what’s up?” Pinkie Pie questioned.
“I’m getting you and your friends together at your house. Do you think you can leave now?” he asked back.
“Um, I’m sure I could, but I like to do my closing time shows. Will I have time to come back for that?”
Sunshine Blaze smiled. In the years the seven friends had been in Irvest, only three had become famous across the country, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie had become famous simply because of her extraordinary closing time shows. It had baffled, even scared traditional shop owners at first, as closing time was an uneventful task, and they had petitioned against her shows. But they had quickly drawn tourism to Port Equis, for which the whole city had benefited, even the harbour had changed its run down, worn out sheds for more sturdy brick buildings, and this fact alone had made the other city shop owners withdraw their protest in favour of bringing in far more money.
Pinkie Pie herself had been oblivious to the entire incident, even when one rather unsavoury shop owner of the store across the street, a certain colt by the name Glittering, had decided that a petition would not stop the pink pony across the street, and the cold steel of a dagger would. Sunshine Blaze wasn’t too sure of the details himself, but as he had heard, that night had ended with Pinkie Pie, the would be assassin, Glittering and even the local police ponies having a party before they returned to the police station. And even though she had been in the same room as the pony who wanted her dead, and the pony hired to do the deed, Pinkie had just assumed they and the police had come for a very late welcoming party they hadn’t prepared for.
“I’m sure you will Pinkie. I’ve been meaning to see one of these shows for a while. Now if you excuse me, I have somewhere to be.” Sunshine Blaze stood up and made for the door.
“Aren’t you going to walk with me to the house?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“No, I haven’t talked to Rainbow Dash yet. Tell me, where’s the airshow taking place?” Sunshine Blaze smiled.
“Up at the park behind the Council building.”
-- The crowd roared with anticipation, making Rainbow Dash smile. It hadn’t been easy at first at these ‘airshows’, they had been dominated by the strange ‘airplanes’ and ‘zeppelins’. But with determination, and a lot of quick talk, Rainbow Dash now headlined at the shows.
Well, more she headlined with her team, the Irvestbolts, named after the team in Equestria. She chose that name as a dedication, since she had no way of knowing if her heroes, the Wonderbolts, were even alive anymore back in Equestria.
In the middle of the grassy field, the unicorn announcer used his magic to amplify his voice. “And now fillies and gentlecolts, the moment you have waited for! Watch in awe and go wild for the Irvestbolts!”
Rainbow Dash glanced at the five other pegasi behind her. Each one wore a darker blue and yellow stunt suit, with goggles over their eyes. It wasn’t a secret that Rainbow didn’t have a creative mind when it came to such things as stunt suits or names, but she didn’t mind. The darker colours of the original Wonderbolt stunt suits, to her, served to further her original idea behind the team, to be a slight tribute to her heroes.
“Let’s go guys, time to make them leave with their jaws hanging!” Rainbow Dash spoke loudly over the roars and chats of the crowd. She flapped her wings once, and led the way into the sky.
-- Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop smiling as the crowd roared after the show. It had been another success, it always was, and made all the better by the appearance of the sages Goldwing and Dusk.
She had made it a point to at least try and see what Goldwing looked like at any possible moment during the routine. Goldwing was a white pegasus, about half as tall as Princess Celestia, though obviously lacking a horn. Her mane and tail were yellow and shone like gold, which was something Goldwing had run with, wearing hoof shoes and objects on her wings where they folded in the middle that was golden in colour, if not actually made from gold.
Around the room, the rest of the team were getting out of uniform, talking among themselves about how the show had gone. As Rainbow looked around, her eyes landed on the sight of Sunshine Blaze.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. It had come across as harsh, due to the adrenaline still running through her body.
“I need to talk to you and your friends, can you return to your home?” Sunshine Blaze asked.
Rainbow Dash smiled.
-- The seven friends sat on their coloured pillows, as Sunshine Blaze stood before them. He had said nothing for the half hour since he had arrived with Rainbow Dash, which made the friends feel nervous. They braced themselves for what he would say when he coughed.
“The world is dying. Slowly, but it is dying. Across the world, crops grow less plentiful, and while water isn’t a problem, at this rate, we will all die from malnutrition, despite having plenty of water. I don’t know why Ulysses’ actions put the sun and moon together in the sky, but we have to do something, and soon.” Sunshine Blaze said flatly.
“I was actually about to plan such a way to boost crop growth.” Twilight added, with a smile.
“That’s all well and good, but even that would be temporary. You all know what has to be done.” Sunshine Blaze let his eyes look at each friend’s face in turn.
“We have to go back and defeat Ulysses.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Correct,” Sunshine Blaze nodded, “but there is something important that we must do first. Be awake and ready to leave with me at 8am tomorrow. I must show you the power you are facing, the power I’ve seen him wield before.”
Sunshine Blaze begun to walk to the stairwell to leave, but paused when he saw Rarity looking at him, as if she had a question. Rarity herself saw that Sunshine Blaze had stopped, and now seemed to wait on her.
“Just what relation do you have to Ulysses?” she asked.
Sunshine Blaze seemed visibly uncomfortable with this question, and a slight hint of an internal debate with himself, but he sighed and looked Rarity in the eyes.
Twilight and her friends found Sunshine Blaze waiting on the steps to their house at eight in the morning the next day. He greeted them and informed the six that they had a long walk ahead of them all to see what he had to show. They decided to bring some food for the trip. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy hastily gathered what mostly consisted of daisy sandwiches and cupcakes. With the food gathered into two saddlebags, the seven ponies begun their walk to the north, further inland.
Sunshine Blaze hadn’t been wrong when he said it would be a long walk. At midday, the seven ponies stopped and sat on the grass lining the dirt path out of Port Equis, itself a white beacon just visible on the horizon.
Rainbow Dash currently looked towards the city, chewing slowly on a cupcake. She swallowed the bite and looked at Twilight.
“So, besides finding that machines can be worked with magic, what else have you been doing?” Sunshine Blaze asked Twilight.
“Well, I figured that there must be a way to travel in time, like how Ulysses begun all this.” Twilight replied.
The wind blew gently past the ponies, as Sunshine Blaze stared at Twilight with mild anger at what she had just said.
“And how did that go?” he questioned.
“Very well, look on the hill behind me.” she tilted her head to behind her, and Sunshine Blaze looked in the direction, seeing another Twilight smiling on the hill behind the one sitting down. That distant Twilight only stayed there for a few seconds and then disappeared.
“Provided you keep things simple, and link the points, time travel is easy. A lot of magic is drained, but easy.” Twilight stated.
“Ok, I get the feeling you’re about to say something else here that’ll probably annoy me.” Sunshine Blaze stated, waiting for Twilight to say something else.
“Well, right now, the other me just went back to when I finally tested the spell, about four weeks ago. After a bit of rest, I attempted to go back and prevent Ulysses taking control of Equestria. I was met with a problem.” Twilight grinned nervously.
The other ponies were now turning their heads as if watching a game of tennis. Rainbow Dash swore that for just a second, she saw Sunshine Blaze’s left eye twitch a little.
“And that problem was?” he snapped a little when Twilight offered nothing else.
“A time lock. I should have figured Ulysses would do such a thing, being able to use time travel. Basically, he’s locked the events that made us come here with you. We can’t ever go to that point and attempt to change it.” she replied.
“Well, I was expecting something a bit worse if I’m utterly honest. Ulysses is smart, he wouldn’t leave such a gaping hole in his plans.” Sunshine Blaze said, now seeming a lot calmer than he had just a few second before.
Silence once more fell on the seven, as they continued to eat.
-- Rainbow Dash could swear it had been another hour of walking. Out in the wide open of the countryside, she had decided it would be better to fly than walk, after all, she had wings, why not use them?
It also seemed that Sunshine Blaze had similar thoughts, as he took to the sky. He flew beside Rainbow Dash, and quitely motioned for her to fly higher. A little confused, she followed him up.
“Have you noticed anything different about your friends lately?” he asked.
“What do you mean? They’re all the same, Twilight’s still an egghead, AJ works her own farm, Rarity still makes clothes, Fluttershy looks after animals and Pinkie is, well, still Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash answered.
“Aren’t any of you homesick? Irvest isn’t your home.” Sunshine Blaze said.
Rainbow Dash had a moment to consider this as she flew out of the way of a lone tree. In it, birds chirrped and sung, reminding her of the days back in Equestria, when she would fly onto one of Applejack’s trees for a nap.
“Honestly,” she said as she flew beside Sunshine Blaze again, “it does seem these days that they’re less bothered by the fact we’re in another country, even believe that their families are dead and nothing is left for them back there. I don’t get why I’m the only one who still seems to want to go back and save Equestria,” she replied.
“It’s natural, since you still have that Element of Harmony. Ulysses has corrupted the bond between your friends and their elements, but since you got away with yours, the bond between you and it has had time to repair.” Sunshine Blaze smiled.
Rainbow Dash waited for a moment, to see if Sunshine Blaze was going to say anything else. But after a few moments, it became clear he wasn’t, and she cleared her throat.
“Where are you taking us anyway?” she asked.
“It’s right over there.” Sunshine Blaze answered, flying back down to the path.
Rainbow Dash looked ahead, and saw that the rubble and ruins of a long abandoned town stood before them. Nature had clearly plenty of time to begin taking the town back over, as vines climbed up broken walls and buildings, and trees grew haphazardly, wherever the seeds had fallen and taken root.
She landed beside Fluttershy, as Sunshine Blaze led them through the abandoned town. The cobble paths had been either disturbed by tree roots, or the ground beneath had shifted slightly, as not a single bit of the path was perfect anymore, and even the cobblestones themselves had been broken apart.
Holding back their questions, the six friends were led to an unusual sight. Perfectly in the middle of the town stood a metal device, with two iron handles. Compared to the town around it, this device was perfect, clean. They stood back and watched as Sunshine Blaze walked up to it.
He said nothing as he stood under the metal device, and it creaked into life, lowering down and grabbing his front legs with the two iron handles, and strapped him down with iron locks. The device whirred noisily now, raising him up. Another arm appeared from a new part of the device that had raised from the ground, and connected to the goggles on Sunshine Blaze’s head.
This arm then lowered with the goggles, and went over Sunshine Blaze’s eyes. It stopped, and a buzzing could be heard, making the six friends very nervous. A second later, the town became enveloped in a blue light, making them huddle close together in fear.
As they watched, the blue light changed how the town appeared. It no longer looked abandoned, but perfect and fine. The buildings stood tall, the vines and trees gone, except where the trees had been purposely planted. The windows of the buildings were there as well, and buildings that had once been shops now had their signs over them again. The friends all stared in wonder at the sight before them.
Around them, in the same blue glow, ponies now walked the town, one even walking through Pinkie Pie. The town was alive! Pegasus ponies flew through the air, some even moving clouds. Earth ponies moves wooden carts filled with crops, and unicorns walked around, carrying objects of various sizes, one in particular moved a wooden box marked with the words ‘One Ton’. Their jaws dropped, amazed at what they were seeing, the town having changed before their eyes in seconds.
As the friends stared in awe at the sight of the abandoned town, reoccupied by the glowing blue ponies, Rainbow Dash saw two that were very familiar, and quietly pointed at them. As they watched, the six friends saw a very young Sunshine Blaze, minus his goggles. He looked barely about five years old, and beside him walked a tall, proud, and strangely kinder looking Ulysses. his cutie mark was a broken hourglass.
“That explains why he was so good with time travel and using it to cause all these problems. It’s his special talent,” Twilight said.
As they continued to observe, the younger Sunshine Blaze suddenly stopped, being noticed by Ulysses. Sunshine Blaze spoke words they couldn’t hear, and begun to cry. Ulysses grinned, a genuine, warm and friendly grin, and his horn glowed. He disappeared, then reappeared, a small saddlebag in his teeth, which he then placed on Sunshine Blaze’s back. Sunshine Blaze smiled.
“I love you big brother!” came the haunting words of the younger Sunshine Blaze.
Suddenly, the scene changed. The town was no longer perfect, and fires ravaged the buildings. Ponies ran about, their mouths open in screams. As they looked on, the six friends recoiled in horror as a pegasus with a dark blue mane and white coat, and a pair of familiar looking goggles, attempted to fly away, only to be met by a fireball, and fall to the ground, burning from head to tail, her mane smoking, and skin turning red raw from the burns from the fire that was consuming them.
The sight, so close to the six friends, was too much for Rarity and Fluttershy. Rarity closed her eyes, while Fluttershy could not hold down the food she had eaten earlier. Rainbow Dash stood back a little from the ghostly blue image of the burning pegasus, and watched as she threw the goggles aside.
“Brother!” came the younger Sunshine Blaze’s shout over the cries of the dying and roar of flames. Standing in the middle of the town was Ulysses, with his familiar, hate filled glare. Running through them, the younger Sunshine Blaze confronted Ulysses.
“Why? Why are you doing this?” Sunshine Blaze cried.
“You will never understand.” Ulysses replied, lifting the five year old Sunshine Blaze in front of him.
Rainbow Dash noticed that Sunshine Blaze’s cutie mark was different than what she remembered. In the image, it looked like a little yellow sun, with thin straight rays radiating to the bottom half only. As she watched on, a red glow wrapped around the whole colt, and the red flames she recognized appeared above and slightly over his cutie mark. The ghostly blue Ulysses dropped the young Sunshine Blaze to the floor, and stared down at his unconscious brother.
“Be glad of this gift brat. If you are foolish enough to try and stop me in the future, I will burn you. And it will be a slow, painful death over many meetings if that is the path you choose.”
With that, the ghostly figure of Ulysses disappeared, and the scene changed once more. It was now much later, as the buildings around still smoldered from the fires.
Slowly, the younger Sunshine Blaze got up. He begun to burst into tears of sorrow and confusion at the sight of the town in ruins, before his eyes landed on the pegasus that was still alive, if only just. He ran over and after quickly getting over a recoil of horror, nuzzled the pegasus.
“Son,” the mare rasped, fighting for every breath, “I am glad you are alive. I am sorry you must see me like this.”
“Mother... why did he do this?” Sunshine Blaze wailed, his eyes shut tight.
“I don’t know. Now, please, don’t cry. Be strong for me Blaze. Don’t ever forget.” she said, losing her fight to stay alive at last.
As they watched, the younger Sunshine Blaze slowly stood up and walked over to the goggles. He watched them for a moment, slowly turning his head to face the sky.
Slowly, the younger form of Sunshine Blaze stood up, and looked around him. The mares watching could only imagine how horrible it would have been on the day it had been reality, and what toll it took on his mind.
“Anypony? Mom? Dad?” the young Sunshine Blaze called out, only to be answered by the wind, and the distant sound of something breaking.
The young Sunshine Blaze begun to cry, slowly walking with a clear limp. He came to a stop a few steps along, having seen something. Despite his limp, he ran to a form that lay before the mares.
“Mom! Mom, wake up,” he nudged what they could now see was the body of a pegasus, the one that Ulysses had set alight, “please mom, we... we have to find big brother. He can fix this, I know he can.” Sunshine Blaze said, still crying from the pain of his injured leg.
After ten seconds, he sat down, still looking at the unmoving form of his mother. By now, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie had begun crying, while Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight knew there was nothing they could do to help this Sunshine Blaze, as it was just a recording.
“I... I understand mom,” he said, “you said today was going to be tiring and you needed to sleep in for a big job interview. I... I’m going to borrow the goggles okay? I’ll find big brother, we can fix this, and you can just sleep, so you’re ready for the job interview later.”
The six mares watched as the young Sunshine Blaze kissed his mother’s cheek, then limped to the nearby goggles, which were clearly the ones that he still wore to this day.
“Good luck today mom, me and big brother will be home in time for dinner!”
With that, the ghostly blue light vanished, and Sunshine Blaze was lowered by the device to the ground. The six friends looked at him, as he remained with his back facing them, and one simple sound filled the air. Sunshine Blaze was crying, not hard, but enough that he made a noise.
The six mares stood around, unsure of what to do. Sunshine Blaze had shown them his own tragic past, a past which clearly still hurt him, and all so they could witness how powerful Ulysses was up close.
“So what do we do now?” Rarity asked.
“Can we even do anything? This happened long ago, Rares, Ah don’t think there is anything ta be done.” Applejack answered, joining Rainbow Dash in comforting Fluttershy, who seemed the most traumatized by the events they had just witnessed.
“Poor Sunshine Blaze,” Twilight muttered, looking at him, “he must have known how painful it would be for him to watch all this again, and he still did it anyway. Once was more than enough for him to witness such a traumatic event.”
“Traumatic? Nah,” Captain suddenly turned from around a corner, “but here ain’t the place to talk. You six best come with me.”
-- Captain had been smart enough to hire a road machine to take the six friends faster back to Port Equis than if they had walked. They had stopped outside a small hut at the harbour. Inside, the floor, and all the furniture was made from very old wood, and a simple lantern lit the room from the table. Through the wooden shutters, the sound of the water lapping the harbour was very relaxing.
Captain’s blue glowing eye had dimmed, but it moved with his other eye, as he observed the six friends.
“Now then,” he said, his voice soft and less grating than normal, “don’t be getting the wrong idea about Blaze. The events that day, on his fifth birthday, they still hurt him. But truth is, he no longer cries because it is traumatic. When I first came across him, he watched these events over and over, only stopping to look for food.”
“Really? Then, how is he still sane?” Twilight asked.
“Because he kept watching. Me and the crew were spooked by the ghostly images as well when we found him. At first, I wondered the same, how he was still sane. But as he watched, as I learnt, the final words of his mother helped him. He kept watching fer one reason. To be strong. Any old foal can cry and wallow in self pity reliving a traumatic event, but it takes a pony, strong of heart to watch and be strong.”
Captain stood up and walked over to a counter, picking up a bottle with his mouth, and tilted it and his head into the air. When it came back down, he growled slightly.
“Bugger, rum’s all gone. Anyway,” he returned to the table and sat down once more, “the more he watched it, the more Blaze changed. He didn’t cry and wallow in self pity, he cries because he’s frustrated he can’t find his ma, and no one is able to convince him that she’s dead. She told him ta be strong, and the way he sees it, stopping his brother will be the achievement, when he has finally become stronger than his brother, and make him pay.”
“But,” Twilight paused a moment, “what does this have to do with us?” she asked.
“What does it hafta do with you?” Captain laughed.
“Yes. I don’t get what purpose we have in all of this.” Twilight stated.
“You fillies are his best chance in years. Oh sure, Blaze knows alone he can't stand a chance. But there’s strength in numbers, see. He’s often had others help him, but you six,” Captain’s blue metal eye brightened, and shone on each pony in turn, “have the chance to achieve what the rest couldn’t. He needs you six, to help him.”
“Others?” Rainbow Dash questioned.
“Yes, others. Ulysses dealt with them, unfortunately. I usually found him and what was left, and took him away. How he still is alive, with the amount of times he’s confronted Ulysses, I don’t know.” Captain answered, the blue glow of his eye remaining on Rainbow Dash, illuminating her worried face.
“So all the help he’s had before, they were murdered?” Applejack asked.
“Now, don’t get bogged down on it. Go on, go back home. Blaze’ll come find you when he’s ready.”
-- Twilight couldn’t sleep, her worried pacing in her room unlike the peaceful snores and neighs of her friends in the other rooms. Even Spike, who sat in his bed across the room, couldn’t sleep.
Twilight stopped her pacing, passing some paper, a quill and bottle of ink over to Spike.
“I need you to take a letter Spike, but keep hold of it.” she said.
“But, what’s it for?” Spike questioned.
“I’ll tell you later, just take down what I say for now,” Twilight replied and cleared her throat, “Dear Princess Celestia.”
Twilight and friends didn’t see Sunshine Blaze the next day. It had been Rarity who had gone to the front door to see if he was waiting outside, as she woke up before the others. This had led them to debate if he had remained at the ruins of his old home town during the night. The conversation quickly led to an agreement, that Rainbow Dash would fly to his ruined hometown and see if Sunshine Blaze was still there.
She had returned with the news that he had gone, and no sign showing where.
“Guys,” Rainbow Dash held her head up high, “I know we have it good here in Irvest, we’ve gone from fleeing for our lives to being highly successful here. But you know we can’t stay here. We have to go back with him and save Equestria from Ulysses.”
“It’s not that easy, Rainbow,” Applejack spoke up. “If we were asked four years ago, we’d have agreed right away. But we’ve rebuilt our lives now, and Sunshine Blaze is asking us to just ditch our jobs and responsibilities here.”
“There’s more too, guys,” Twilight stood up off her purple pillow, “I suspect that the incident he showed us may have, in some way, messed with Sunshine Blaze’s mind. Not to the degree of his brother, but the way Sunshine Blaze wants to get stronger. It suggests he thinks by stopping his brother, everything Ulysses has done will be undone.”
The other ponies looked at each other for a moment, before looking at Twilight.
“So, you think he’s not aware that his mother is dead, and thinks Ulysses has just trapped her somewhere?” Rarity questioned.
“Exactly. I put together what we saw, combined with what Captain said. Sunshine Blaze said he’d never forget, he didn’t show any sign he understood that when his mother stopped breathing, it was because she’d died. And Captain said he found Sunshine Blaze there, watching those events. He’s looking for a way to free his mother from a spell that doesn’t exist. That, along with the fact that he’s had help before, and Captain has always taken him away from the end result before seeing it. Sunshine Blaze has no concept of the finality of death, if he even knows what death is.”
They each let the thought sink in. The only feeling that they felt for Sunshine Blaze was pity. It would hurt him a lot when he finally understood the truth of his mother. -- Sunshine Blaze appeared the day after at around midday. It had been Rainbow Dash this time who had answered the door, as she had been about to go out and buy some food. She let him in, and followed him up to the first floor.
The six friends sat on their pillows, and only Rainbow Dash was not visibly uncomfortable. Spike walked from the kitchen and held a glass filled with water out for Sunshine Blaze, who took it with his mouth, and tilted his head up and back, emptying the glass in one go.
“Thank you,” he said to Spike, looking back at the six friends, “yesterday, you saw what Ulysses was capable of, and how he begun. I know you all have new lives here, but I still come here to ask. Will you all return with me to Equestria, your home, and defeat Ulysses, once and for all?”
“Of course I will! For what he did to Cloudsdale five years ago, I’ll be more than happy to go beat the snot outta him!” Rainbow Dash stood up, her wings raised off her back.
“Well, since I’m a respected scholar, I guess I could just say I’m going there for some sort of new research, but I’d need time to convince others to pick up the research I have underway.” Twilight spoke up.
“And ah just can’t up and leave my farm. Ah mean, we may never return. Ah want it to be run by the right ponies.” Applejack added, rubbing one front hoof with the other.
“Yeah, same for my shop.” Rarity and Pinkie Pie said together.
“I’ll need some time to make sure Shining Rays can handle all the animals by himself when I go.” Fluttershy said softly.
Sunshine Blaze groaned with annoyance and sat down.
“Ok, so you all need time. At most, you can have three months. But let me put it to you this way. Equestria is your home, and it needs you. If you don’t want to, and would rather stay safe here, well, I’ve an elder brother to bring to justice. I want to see him pay for his crimes, and I’ll do that with or without you.” he said.
Twilight now stood up, and walked up to Sunshine Blaze. She smiled and looked out of the balcony doors, at the crimson sky.
“We know how important this is Sunshine Blaze. Had you asked four years ago, we’d have left right away. But you went off on your journeys, and we made lives for ourselves. It won’t be so bad, in three months, we’ll be ready, and we’ll all defeat Ulysses, you have my word on that.”
They said no more after that, and Sunshine Blaze excused himself from their home. The seven friends spent the rest of the day talking, knowing that the following day would see them prepare to leave their lives in Irvest far behind.
-- Three months later -- The water lapped the harbour walls gently, as Rainbow Dash stared out to sea. It had been three months since her friends had agreed to return to Equestria and save it from Ulysses. As she stood there however, she remained the only one to be at the harbour of Port Equis, watching Captain boss his crew around on the deck of his ship, with Sunshine Blaze flying around doing something.
Every so often, Sunshine Blaze would stop, look at something, then continue on. It was pretty odd, and Rainbow Dash hoped he would explain what he was up to later on. That was, of course, assuming her friends hadn’t backed out of their choice to return to Equestria...
“Hey Dashie!” Pinkie Pie almost shouted happily, as she bounced beside Rainbow.
“About time somepony showed up. Where are the others?” Rainbow asked.
“Oh, Twilight said she’d be right behind me, same for the others. Rarity said she’d lock up the house. Something about everything still being there if we get a chance to return.” Pinkie smiled, still bouncing on the spot.
As Rainbow Dash looked behind Pinkie Pie, she saw that her pink friend was right. Walking at her usual pace, with Spike on her back and saddlebags carrying some of the books she had bought in Irvest, with the rest on a wooden cart being held behind her by Spike, was Twilight.
A little further behind her was Applejack, also with saddlebags but nothing else, and Fluttershy, who didn’t have saddlebags. Rarity however, was nowhere to be seen at that moment. It took another half an hour, according to the nearest clock, for Rarity to show up. Silently, the seven friends finally boarded the ship.
“Ah good,” came the Governor’s voice. On the harbour, he walked towards the ship surrounded by six guards, “when Sunshine Blaze said you would be leaving today, he failed to specify the time. And now, Ms. Rainbow Dash, before you depart, here is what you left in my safe keeping six years ago. The element of Loyalty.”
With a clap of his hooves, a unicorn in a black suit walked up the gangplank, a box floating by magical influence before him. It opened up, and the unicorn levitated the golden choker from the box and around Rainbow Dash’s neck.
“I can’t believe we were about to head back without this. Thank you Governor.” Rainbow Dash smiled.
“You are welcome,” he turned as if to leave, but held still, “and you can of course call me Governor Fountain Pen. Until we meet again.”
And with that, Governor Fountain Pen departed the harbour, the six guards and unicorn surrounding him as he left. As Rainbow Dash walked to the hull side of the deck with her friends, the ship shuddered slightly into life as the unicorn crew members levitated the gangplanks out of the way.
None of the friends said anything, as they watched the main harbour walls, which lead out to sea, passed by the ship. The silence remained even as Port Equis, and Irvest itself became a dot on the horizon.
“Do... do you think we’ll ever come back here?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“I don’t know Pinkie. I mean, the house is always there, we could come for visits now and then. But let’s focus on what we have to do first.” Twilight replied.
“Yeah, finding Ulysses and kicking his flank!” Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof against the deck.
“And seeing what he’s done to Equestria while we’ve been gone.” Rarity added.
-- The week passed rather uneventfully. For the most part, Twilight arranged with the crew and Sunshine Blaze to see what would become of all the vital items they had brought back from Irvest, learning that the crew would split up, Captain taking half and hiding to await further orders, the rest going with Sunshine Blaze and the friends to take the items where required.
Golden Wings, hearing of what the seven friends were heading for, had called on the help of the other sages, and made spells which would hide them from Ulysses’ sight while aboard the ship. Unfortunately, it meant Rainbow Dash couldn’t fly above the sails. But she saw this restriction as more of a challenge, attempting to fly on a crowded and busy ship, without hitting anything. She had impacted one wall on the second day, but true to what she was capable of, the wall came out worse for wear than she had. And she had only left with a slightly bruised ego, and in the end she was much less irritable on the return journey then she had been when sailing to Irvest.
The others had remained the same as they had on the first trip back. Captain no longer had to hide gems from Spike, simply because there were none currently on his ship.
Each one of the seven friends made themselves busy, in an effort to forget one fact. They were returning to Equestria.
They had no idea how bad things had become, or if indeed, anyone they had seen alive before leaving were even alive now. It played heavily on their minds, and was not aided by the fact they were not sure how to even defeat Ulysses as long as he still had five of the Elements of Harmony.
“Land HO!” shouted one of the crew above deck.
Rainbow Dash toppled out of the hammock she had been napping in, impacting the floor below chin first. She stood up and shook the ringing out of her ears, and followed after Rarity, as all seven made their way above deck.
They were all hopeful, that maybe in his six years in Equestria, Ulysses had realised his errors, and had been kind, and that what they would see would be an Equestria no different from the one they had remembered prior to fleeing for their lives, except for the position of the sun and the moon on the sky.
Rarity and Fluttershy turned away, unable to look at the sight. Twilight was muttering to herself, and Spike sat on her back, his jaw hanging open from shock. Pinkie Pie, who had been excited at the idea of seeing something good simply sat still, disbelief set in on her face. Applejack uncharacteristically had tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and she was fighting hard to refrain from actually crying.
Rainbow Dash looked on ahead, her anger increasing even more than it had during the week of sailing. She couldn’t bear to look at the sight, but at the same time, she couldn’t look away.
The whole landscape before them was black, covered in scorched earth, burnt forests and somehow, even the mountains were now black. Equestria lay in ruins, with no signs of life.
From a distance, the whole land of Equestria looked black, but as the ship landed on the beach, the six friends found this wasn’t really the case. The reality was that the ground lay under a layer of ash, but was still devoid of trees, and the grass under the ash did not look healthy at all.
Rainbow Dash kicked some ash aside on a nearby rock, and looked silently at Twilight. Twilight herself looked around at the scene before them.
“I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what would cause this.” she stated.
The unicorn crew had been selected by Captain to help carry the important items the six friends had brought with them from Irvest, and on deck, Twilight could see Captain talking to Sunshine Blaze.
Soon, Sunshine Blaze jumped off the ship and walked up to the six friends, smiling as he did. The smile annoyed Rainbow Dash slightly, as with the state Equestria was in, there was nothing to smile about. But still, Sunshine Blaze smiled.
“Well, Captain is ready to wait for us. With the spells given by the sages, we can’t return here to meet with him should we need to run for our lives again. For now though, let’s go.” He said, walking ahead.
Checking that the crew joining them were ready, the six friends slowly followed after Sunshine Blaze, dreading to learn what state the rest of Equestria was in.
-- After half an hour, a foreboding sight loomed on the horizon. A black stone castle stood in a place that was previously flat and featureless, with six towers holding up the outer walls. The group stared at it, feeling fear as they looked on. Without a word, they begun to walk right, to find a way past it.
The black castle that hadn’t been there before was a sure sign of where Ulysses was currently located, and they weren’t ready to face him yet. If they had headed west, they could have gone past Canterlot.
But heading east also threw up a problem. East... That was where Cloudsdale had vanished. It had been hard on both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to watch it disappear. But with no indication as to what may have become of all the pegasi that had disappeared that day, it would probably be even harder on them to walk where Cloudsdale had been above six years later.
As the group begun to head east, Twilight stared at the landscape. Far off to the east, the landscape seemed to be covered in dots, possibly thousand and thousands of stones. Her curiosity of what they were would soon be answered she knew. Within an hour, she wished she hadn't been so excited.
“Graves...” she muttered.
There were hundreds, covering every last bit of the ground, and all covered in ash. Solemnly, the group walked among the graves, reading all the names in turn. It was surreal in a way, having watched Cloudsdale vanish, to walk among the graves of those who had presumably died brought a chilling finality to the event.
“I won’t find my parents here,” Rainbow Dash said aloud, as she continued walking, “they live in Fillydelphia. What about you Fluttershy?”
“They’re in a countryside cottage somewhere to the north last I knew. When this is done, we’ll need to let them know we’re fine.” Fluttershy replied.
Rainbow Dash froze. She stared in shock at one of the graves, and her actions caught the attention of her friends, as they hurried over to her and find why she had stopped, “It... it can’t be...” she said slowly, the shock of her discovery preventing her from crying, or even beginning to.
The gravestone read; ‘Here lies Spitfire, proud member of the Wonderbolts.’
-- Twilight was glad to finally be walking away from the graveyard that now stood where Cloudsdale had vanished. It hadn’t gone like she had hoped, but at least she learnt the parents of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were elsewhere.
However it still had taken some time to get Rainbow Dash away from the sight, simply because three of the graves belonged to some of the Wonderbolts, pegasi she had admired. It had actually been Pinkie Pie, who for the most part had kept quiet and was not her usual bubbly self in the ash covered lands of their home, that had convinced Rainbow to leave. Rainbow now walked with a determined look on her face. If only three Wonderbolts had died, the remaining team had to be somewhere.
Ulysses castle now stood far behind them, and the group slowly made their way to the familiar old road that connected Ponyville and Canterlot. This gave the group their first real look at Canterlot since returning.
“It’s just like in the future he showed me.” Stated Rainbow Dash.
The white walls and colourful tower tops of Canterlot were stained and discoloured by the ash. The walls were now grey, and any gold didn’t shine. But even so, there were lights in the buildings and castle itself. Ponies were still living there, but clearly they had to defend themselves with the giant purple shield around the mountain.
“I think we’d better hurry, and see what’s left of Ponyville.” Twilight said, turning up the path in the direction of Ponyville.
-- It took under half an hour for what was left of Ponyville to become visible as the group travelled to the valley. The first sight showed mixed promise, some buildings lay in wooden rubble, but for the most part, it appeared that Ponyville had survived Ulysses’ rule.
“Look Twi! I think the library survived!” Spike exclaimed happily.
“Yes Spike, for the most part, Ponyville looks fine,” she replied smiling.
A deafening roar echoed around, causing her to pause as she spoke, and the whole group to freeze. Circling around them, and looping back over Ponyville, was a large red dragon, and now visible in the air around the town were several more of varying colours.
“Of course, it MIGHT have become a nest for dragons while we were gone, and everypony we knew died...” Twilight finished, biting her lower lip.
“And Sweetie Belle!” Rarity added, dropping her lady-like manner, and running off as well, as Twilight tried to protest Applejack’s departure.
“Oh good... run off into a nest of uncountable dragons and almost certain death... just how I wanted things to go.” Twilight said, highly irritated.
-- As Ponyville drew closer, with the group giving chase to Applejack and Rarity, Twilight noted that Ponyville really did have few to none fallen buildings. It was as if Ulysses’ destruction as he attempted to gain the Elements of Harmony had never taken place.
There were even ponies! Mayor Mare was talking to some ponies beside the town hall, Lyra sat in her strange way on a bench, with Bon-Bon next to her sitting normally, in all, the scene looked like the Ponyville Twilight and her friends had run for their lives from six years previous.
But there remained one thing wrong with the picture, besides the crimson sky and the placement of the sun and moon together in the sky, the dragons.
On the way there, she had assumed the Dragons had taken over the abandoned Ponyville, but it clearly wasn’t the case. There were currently ten fully grown dragons in the sky, and as she ran at full gallop after Applejack and Rarity, Twilight noted that there were at least twenty more on the ground around Ponyville.
The group’s fast pace into the town hadn’t gone unnoticed either, one of the ten dragons in the sky was currently flying above them, keeping pace. She didn’t question why, mostly because no one else in the group would know, but it had singled them out.
What Twilight was immediately aware of next was a flash of orange and violet racing past. It landed ahead of her, in the way of the path where Rarity and Applejack were still running on ahead beyond it. Focusing on what it was, Twilight saw the orange and violet flash had become a teenage filly, scars covered her body and her wings had a few missing feathers randomly distributed, her violet eyes glaring her down. Twilight skidded to a stop.
“And just who are you? Running into the town with crates like you own the place.” the teenage filly shouted.
The ground shook behind the group, and the hot breath of the dragon breathed on them. Looking behind her, Twilight saw as it picked each crate up and looked at the items within.
“Books. Various personal belonging. Maybe refugees of a new attack.” it said in a rumble.
“Well that’s a load off,” the orange filly replied, sitting down, “when we heard there were ponies running into town with crates, I was worried they were Ulysses loyalists with makeshift magic bombs.” she said.
“Wait, I remember you.” Rainbow Dash said aloud, stepping forward.
She looked into the violet eyes of the orange filly, seeing a life filled with pain that had led her to this moment. It was something to talk about later, but Rainbow was very sure of who this was.
“I should hope you remember me!” the orange filly shouted, standing up and looking very angry, “I idolized you before you ran and left us all to die here!”
“Scootaloo... what the hay happened to you?”
-- Rarity had lost sight of Applejack long ago as their path diverged. Ahead of her now stood the slightly charred building that was Carousel Boutique, her home before she had left for Irvest. It still seemed quiet as it had always been, but as Rarity noted, it did not look run down. Somepony was still living in there, and she didn’t need to guess who.
She came to a halt at the door and quickly checked her mane before she knocked, and opened the door. The inside of the shop looked as it had when she left, the mannequins that she used to make dresses when lacking another pony to help her were in one piece, and were not covered in dust, as if they were still in use. The floor too looked like it had been mopped not too long ago, as it shone under the dim light in the room. Rarity laughed to herself slightly. Things had gone far better than she had expected. She had expected to arrive to find Sweetie Belle had done something irreparable, like causing the shop itself to collapse.
“Rarity?” came the voice of the teenage Sweetie Belle, who had just arrived from the upper floor.
Both sisters ran to the other and hugged, crying tears of joy and relief. They were both alive, they had survived the worst Ulysses had thrown on the world, and for that moment, nothing else mattered.
“You’ve grown!” Rarity exclaimed with a chuckle, extending her hooves still holding Sweetie to see her.
“Well yes, I didn’t stop sis. I’m just glad you’re home! Where did you go?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Far away, I’ll get to it in a minute. But first, you kept the shop neat and tidy all these years?” Rarity asked.
“Yes,” Sweetie Belle beamed a smile, “I wasn’t good at making clothes, but when Ulysses turned up and turned Equestria on its head, I figured you’d want the shop clean when you ever came back. Scootaloo often yelled at me, saying you and your other friends would never return, but I kept cleaning anyway.”
Rarity sobbed slightly with joy. Sweetie Belle’s belief that her sister would one day come home made her happy. But that all disappeared when she saw Sweetie Belle’s flank.
“You still don’t have a cutie mark?” Rarity shouted, utterly shocked.
“Oh... yeah... it’s hard to find your special talent when somepony is trying to destroy civilisation.” Sweetie Belle answered, staring pathetically at her blank flank.
“I think we both have long stories to tell each other. Let’s go make some tea and we can talk then.” Rarity replied, leading the way to the kitchen.
-- Applejack was relieved to see that Sweet Apple Acres still stood. The only noticeable change she could see was a few missing trees further from the barn and house. But there were more important things on her mind as she ran towards the house.
She could see the big red form of Big Macintosh as he carried buckets of apples from the farm and to the barn, the only noticeable change being how tired he looked. She had never once known her brother to look like he had gone without sleep, but the darker patches under his eyes didn’t lie. On the porch of the house, the frail green shape of Granny Smith sat in her rocking chair, a blanket wrapped around her to keep her warm against the chill of the air.
But beside the relief of seeing Big Macintosh and Granny Smith still alive and well, there was one pony she hoped to see as she kept running closer. Applebloom. Applejack darted her head around as she ran, hoping to see her little sister at any second.
Thud!
Applejack came to a sudden stop, and looked around. It sounded like somepony had bucked a tree, but she couldn’t see the shaking tree to know where they were.
Thud!
She looked sharply to her left, and froze. Over in the tree, looking more tired than Big Macintosh, was Applebloom. She stumbled a bit as she walked to the next tree, turned and bucked her hind legs against the tree, shaking it of any apples that were ready to fall.
Applejack laughed slightly to herself, the sight very much reminded her of the time she had promised Big Macintosh that she could buck every apple on the farm for apple buck season. With a smile, and very few tears of joy, she walked over to Applebloom.
“How ‘bout ah do the next one?” she asked.
Applebloom’s head shot up as if she had just been spoken to by a ghost. It was very much the same way she was currently looking at Applejack. Slowly, Applebloom drew closer, before prodding Applejack gently with one hoof.
“It really is you... Applejack,” Applebloom threw herself at her older sister and hugged her tight, “where’ve ya been these last six years?” she wailed, crying with relief of seeing her older sister after the years that had passed.
“Ah just had to go somewhere fer a little while. Sorry ah couldn’t tell ya’ll before ah left.” Applejack replied, placing one hoof on Applebloom’s back.
The embrace lasted a while, as Applebloom sobbed into Applejack. When she slowed down, she took a step back and looked at her sister.
“We were all worried Ulysses had killed you. When you didn’t come back home after his attack on Ponyville, me and Big Macintosh took care of the farm.” she stated.
“Ah owe you both then fer doing my job,” Applejack smiled, “but there’s something ah noticed. Didn’t you get yer cutie mark? Ah can’t see it.”
Applebloom looked hurt as she looked to her blank flank, sighing as she did.
“We’d better go let Big Macintosh and Granny Smith know your ok, then we can catch up.” Applebloom replied.
-- Scootaloo, as a young filly, had always looked cute when angry. It was one memory of her Rainbow Dash remembered. But the six years in the Equestria led by Ulysses had changed her. Scootaloo not only achieved looking angry, it was a look that probably would kill ponies out of fear. It was probably the many scars to her face that helped, but the lack of vibrant, energy filled eyes added to it.
Scootaloo had led the group to the library, and leaving most of the ship crew and Spike in the library, had led the rest into the basement. It was darker now, and the portals Twilight had set up six years previous still stood there, a bit dimmer in their glow than memory recalled.
But there was something strange. Scootaloo had walked into the only part of the basement room that was kept in permanent shadow, and Rainbow heard whispering. Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all looked nervous, but Sunshine Blaze remained calm, apparently used to whatever was going on.
Scootaloo soon reappeared from the shadow, and trotted over to the portals on the far wall, looking at each in turn.
“When I first came in here after Ulysses attacked Ponyville, I found these. They confused me at first, scared me even. But then, I dared to step through one,” she looked over her back to Rainbow and friends, “imagine my shock when I found there was a Ponyville where you, Rainbow, got struck by lighting and died. I ran back through, and assumed the worst. They couldn’t find you or the others, either alive or dead.”
Scootaloo returned her attention to the portals and didn’t speak for a while. Slowly, her right front hoof lifted up towards them.
“I was confused, how could I watch you die, yet no body could be found? I kept returning through it, trying to find anything I’d missed, any hint as to where your body had been found. But then, after so many heartbreaking trips, I realised something,” her right front hoof was now reaching out to the portals, “it hadn’t happened. Your body, in there, had been found right away, you died, you were buried. End of it. It gave me new hope, hope that you were alive. So I checked the others, and found they led to either grim futures, or the past of Equestria. I hoped, and constantly entered each, hoping that somewhere, there’d be a hint of what became of you six.”
Her last two words were as warm as glacial ice, and thrown like sharp daggers at a heart of whoever heard them. But still, Scootaloo did not move.
“And no hints ever came. No bodies were ever found. All the while, ponies here hid from constant raids on supplies by Ulysses’ loyal subjects. Soon, pegasi arrived, wounded badly, from Ulysses’ efforts to purge Equestria of our kind,” she shot a nasty look at the friends and Sunshine Blaze, “can you imagine how I got these scars? Ulysses doesn’t mind earth ponies, or unicorns, he can at least fight them on equal footing, but us pegasi... he wants us extinct. These scars are all the times I came close to death. Each one of them.”
“Scootaloo, I’m sorry...” Rainbow Dash said, looking sad.
“SHUT UP! Just shut up Rainbow Dash! I don’t look up to you anymore! Why should I idolise a coward who ran and left the other pegasi of Equestria to be slaughtered like common animals?” Scootaloo yelled.
As the room fell quiet, all that could be heard was the deep breaths of Scootaloo, Fluttershy’s frightened sobs, and some shuffling in the shadows. Sunshine Blaze added to this by sighing, as he stood up.
“I didn’t give her, or any of them a choice,” he said, staring the angry Scootaloo down.
“And who are you?” she snapped.
“I am Sunshine Blaze, survivor of Ulysses’ first ever attack. I’ve followed him for years, seeking to stop his violence, because he is my brother. If I don’t stop him, then no one will!” Sunshine Blaze exclaimed, raising his front legs in the air.
“And what gave you the right to hide them for all these years?” her voice was bitter, and her eyes narrowed.
“That day Ulysses attacked this town, he sought to end their lives to take the elements of harmony as his own. The only course of action I could think to do was to get them to Irvest and prepare them for their return and whatever horrors they would face.” Sunshine Blaze replied.
Rainbow Dash had expected Scootaloo to burst into another angry rant. So it came as a surprise when she looked to the shadows, her anger subsiding, and nodded. Within seconds, the shadows vanished, and made Rainbow’s jaw drop.
Three pegasi had been sitting in the shadows, wearing the Wonderbolts suit. A muddy brown earth pony and a white unicorn sitting to the side of them. The one in the middle had a blue mane and blue eyes, and he looked very tired and badly bruised, cuts were also on any visible part of his body.
“I think it’s time we both say what has taken place to the other for the last six years, it could prove vital for defeating Ulysses.” Soarin’ spoke slowly.
-- Soarin’ now looked at each of the friends present before him, and watched them discuss among themselves who would explain what had taken place for them. All the while, Scootaloo sat and observed, holding back her anger at the ex-idol that had seemingly left her and every other pony to die.
After a brief moment, Twilight stood up and cleared her throat.
“Six years ago, we used those portals Scootaloo found, convinced the Elements of Harmony were somehow corrupting themselves. It was only after mine did I learn the truth, Ulysses had tricked us to corrupt the elements for him. We heard noises in the streets and when we went to look, Ulysses was coming here, all to kill us and take the elements of harmony.”
She looked at Scootaloo, who’s angered gaze had faltered slightly at hearing what Ulysses had attempted to do six years previous.
“He used his magic and grabbed five of the elements from us, but only Rainbow Dash was able to avoid his attempts. When Sunshine Blaze arrived, he quickly told us a plan to get out of there, and we followed it. He took us to Irvest where we’ve been these last six years, even down to seeing the place Ulysses first begun his violent ways.”
Soarin’ seemed to think over all of this, as he held his front hooves before him. Scootaloo looked between Twilight and Rainbow Dash, searching for any sign that what she had heard wasn’t the full truth.
“You’ve got to be lying somewhere. I don’t believe Ulysses would try to kill all of you!” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“Believe it or not squirt,” Rainbow Dash snapped, “he tried it, but he didn’t expect his brother to come and ruin his fun. When Sunshine Blaze here got us out, he tried to trick at least me back to get the last element and kill me, by destroying Cloudsdale!”
Soarin’ coughed, and shot an annoyed glance at Scootaloo.
“So, this is where our stories temporarily meet,” the cold and emotionless tone in his voice contradicted what Rainbow Dash recalled him sounding like six years previous, “that day, I was at practise, when we watched the sun and moon start to raise in the sky. Then Cloudsdale be pulled to a giant black orb. Being Wonderbolts, we would never let innocent ponies get hurt, we begun as best as we could to get pegasi away, through any gaps in the barrier that kept us on Cloudsdale.”
Soarin’ stood up and walked up to Scootaloo, he paused only to give her a look that suggested that he wanted her to think carefully about her anger that she had misplaced for so long.
“I can’t tell you how many I saved, but even as Cloudsdale drew near the orb, we kept risking our lives to save as many as we could. Just before impact, I urged the other three, including Spitfire, that we couldn’t risk any more. But she had none of it, and they flew back. That’s when it vanished. Later, I found Spitfire, on the ground and barely alive. She had somehow fallen there. I won’t disclose what caused her to die, but before she did, I made a promise, that her death would not have been in vain.”
Soarin’ now turned to face the other two Wonderbolts, and raised his voice slightly.
“The next day, we heard of attacks on pegasi, by ponies who had decided the safest thing to do was to ally with Ulysses. That made my mind up. Even if only pegasi would help, we would resist and fight Ulysses and his minions to our last breath. We soon found Ponyvile, which had fallen under the harsh rule of one of Ulysses’ loyalists. Nopony knew how he had quickly taken control of the town, but all bits and food went to him, all pegasi were captured and strung by their hind legs on ropes, including Scootaloo here.” Soarin’ stated.
“This new pony called Baron tortured us,” Scootaloo added, “he whipped us, strangled us, set up fires under us. You imagine it, he did it to us. I don’t know how often I was terrified when he got out a knife and said that one of us would be randomly killed. I always feared it’d be me next, but it never was. It was horrifying for the poor pony being killed, but it wasn’t any easier trying to not hear their pleas or cries as they went through it.” As she spoke, she visibly broke down, and was now trembling.
“That’s why she has scars and no cutie mark. Hard to earn one when you're strung up to be tortured and possibly murdered,” Soarin’ took a deep breath, “we arrived in secret and formed a quick plan. The citizens here were starving to death and taxed for bits they simply didn’t have. But when we learnt what Baron was doing to the pegasi, just to keep Ulysses happy, we told the town, and they were furious. As one, the whole of Ponyville assaulted the town hall, freed the pegasi, broke Baron’s horn clean from his head, and locked him in a cell where he couldn’t use magic. We eventually checked up on him, to find he had hung himself.”
Twilight begun to think things over, as Rainbow Dash looked away from Soarin’ to Scootaloo. The young filly she had known as full of energy and had a positive outlook on life had gone through so many horrors very early on. But something didn’t make sense, the incident with this Baron had been years ago, yet the scars on her were fresh.
“So, if that occurred about six years ago, where do the dragons come into things?” Twilight asked.
“As his influence spread, Ulysses learnt of other creatures he could not fight on equal terms. He really doesn’t seem to like the idea he may be weaker than anything. So he attempted to wipe out anything that was stronger than him. The dragons didn’t like it too much, and while they aren’t friendly with us ponies, they know we have a common enemy. It’s not just dragons too, there’s manticores, a hydra or two and Zecora.” Soarin’ answered.
“Zecora?” Twilight asked dumbstruck.
“Yes, she lives in the Everfree Forest, thought you knew her. Anyway, with her, Ulysses learnt she had ways of stopping his epidemics that targeted the Resistance. What he didn’t know, she’s pretty handy with anti-magic potions. We almost had him that time, but he knew the forest better than even Zecora.”
Soarin’ now resumed his place between the other two remaining Wonderbolts.
“Now, there is simply the remaining problem. We have attempted many times to attack Ulysses’ castle directly, and nopony ever returns from the attempt alive. We must make a plan, and I’m hoping you lot have some ideas.” Soarin’ said.
“Actually, I do,” Sunshine Blaze spoke up. He had been quiet the whole time, but now stood, all eyes fell on him, “what we need to do is get these six, and yes I know two aren’t here, they ran off, we’ll find them, into his castle.”
“And you think it’s going to be that easy?” Soarin’ questioned, looking at Sunshine Blaze as if he were a lunatic.
“It’s simply a case of distraction. Tell me, when somepony tried entering the castle before, what happened?” Sunshine Blaze asked.
“Usually, the group were met at the gates by a small army of Ulysses’ loyalists.” Soarin’ replied.
“Perfect! Now, you have Resistance members willing to help, dragons, manticores, two hydras and this Zecora. What you need to do is challenge him.” Sunshine Blaze grinned.
“Challenge him? I’ve seen far too many go to their deaths by his actions. Give me a good reason why I should risk it!” Soarin’ snapped.
“Just listen. Ulysses likes to think there is no one willing to challenge him, and now he has an army. Simply put, you, the Resistance, arrive to his castle in battle formation. He’ll be insulted you think you can fight his army. With them drawn out, if I know him enough, he’ll remain behind. Then, with the dragons distracting any attacks to the air closer to the ground, one can carry the six bearers of the elements of harmony into the castle, where they can find the elements, take them back, and hopefully, finish Ulysses once and for all.” Sunshine Blaze finished his speech in the air, grinning.
“A distraction? Do you honestly think it’ll work?”
“If what I know about him is right, his loyalists are under some sort of powerful spell. When these six friends confront him, he’ll need all the energy he can get. If they are under a spell, your problems will be over, all you need to do then is get back to Ponyville with the dragons and hope the rest of the plan works.” Sunshine Blaze still grinned, but was now slowly approaching the floor.
Soarin’ looked to the other Wonderbolts, the earth pony and unicorn, and a silent exchange took place between them for a moment. After a while, Soarin’ looked to Sunshine Blaze and sighed.
“We will go tomorrow. Give us until the town clock rings in 12pm.” Soarin’ said, his face showing worry.
“Of couse. Wouldn’t be much of a plan if I rushed you out right now.” Sunshine Blaze landed, his grin turning into a smile.
-- Ulysses sat on his black throne, the five elements of harmony he had taken six years previous floated with his magic in the air before him. Each one sparkled, despite the fact there was only the light of his horn in the room, and his horn was glowing black, not a colour that would have made the elements sparkle.
He sighed, and with some more magic, the elements disappeared from sight.
“Soon. Soon I shall have them... the birth right denied to me by fate. Will you understand me, brother? Will you understand me, element bearers? Will anypony understand... as I crush the life from them?”
Sweetie Belle watched as Rarity levitated the teapot to each cup in turn and poured the tea into them. Smiling, Sweetie Belle used her own magic to lift her cup to her lips and sipped at the tea. Opposite her, Rarity did the same, and sighed as the cup returned to the saucer it had come from.
“So, I told you how my friends and I left in a hurry because Ulysses was trying to kill us, and set up another shop in Irvest. Would you please tell me what happened to you these last six years?” Rarity asked.
Sweetie Belle looked down at the table as she placed her cup back on its saucer. She raised her head and begun to look around the kitchen, its white walls and floor were complemented by stylish black worktops and a silver sink, even the table the sisters sat at was black.
“When Ulysses was rampaging through Ponyville, me, Applebloom and Scootaloo ran and hid at the farm. Fortunately, Ulysses wasn’t interested in Ponyville after that day. But everything was a mess. Things sort of returned to normal, I kept going to school, learned how to use magic. But I always worried that Scootaloo was right, that you wouldn’t come back.”
Sweetie Belle now looked into the teacup, her eyes fixed to the brown liquid within.
“Then a month after, the pegasus ponies all started disappearing. I was worried it had something to do with the unicorn that came to town and threw the mayor and the ponies working at town hall out. A few days after, Scootaloo went missing. Me and Applebloom went looking for her, but we couldn’t find her anywhere.”
Sweetie Belle begun to sob.
“Then one day, we were walking past the hospital, and we saw it. Baron, the guy who kicked Mayor Mare out of Ponyville, he was destroying the hospital, until Nurse Redheart wheeled out Ditzy Doo. Using magic, he carried her upside down to the town hall, and we followed. A-and then...”
Sweetie Belle burst out crying, her head hung low.
“I looked i-in a w-w-window... there was Scootaloo, h-hung by her b-back legs to a rope! S-she was beaten and b-bloody, and her eyes!”
Rarity by this point had left her chair and was now beside Sweetie Belle, holding her tight. The younger sibling spoke no more, as her crying now made it impossible. As she soothed her sister, Rarity looked out of a window, and stared at the crimson red sky.
As she had just learned, the sky changing colour, and the permanent placement of the sun and moon side by side in the middle of sky had been the least horrible thing to happen in the world. She didn’t want Sweetie Belle to speak any further, as with the horrors of Ulysses’ origins made it perfectly clear what kind of horrors had befallen Equestria in the six years.
“I’m here for you Sweetie Belle... it’ll be ok, I promise. I’ll work with Twilight and the others, and we’ll make Ulysses pay for all that he did to you and your friends.” Rarity said, unaware that Sweetie Belle had since seen Scootaloo alive and well.
-- At the Sweet Apple Acres, a similar conversation between the Apple Family had taken place, ending on Applebloom’s accounts of the same events she had seen with Sweetie Belle. However, due to Applebloom’s upbringing on a farm, while the sight that had made Sweetie Belle break down and cry in front of her sister had also made her upset, death had not been something of a shock to see. Applebloom had seen animals die now and then, but what had really disgusted her, and made the events affect her hard, had been somewhat different.
“When Sweetie Belle said she saw Scootaloo, ah worried. She turned away and begun crying. So ah looked in, and sure ‘nough, there was Scootaloo, strun’ up like clothing on a washing line, her eyes were dull, but Sweetie Belle seemed to think they were grey an’ lifeless.”
Applejack reached out a hoof towards her younger sister, who was lost in her thoughts of the event.
“But that weren’t the worst part. Ah looked further, an’ to this day, ah wish ah hadn’t. Scootaloo wasn’t alone in there, other pegasi were also upside down, many with broken wings and legs, and all had clearly been beaten badly, some were even dead and just left there. Ah couldn’t stomach to look at it anymore, so ah took Sweetie Belle away.”
Applebloom looked to the ground in an effort to hide her tears from recalling the event. This was where her strong resolve to not cry in front of her sister and the rest of the family failed, as tears dropped to the ground.
“You don’t havta say more sugarcube. Ah just wish ah was here fer you then.” Applejack said, walking to Applebloom’s side.
“Ah understand you had to run from him Applejack, ah don’t blame you. But what ah saw... while ah’ll live with it forever in my memory, it begun the end for Baron. Six months it was before ah looked in the town hall window. That night, I met Soarin’, said he was leading a newly made Resistance against Ulysses and his loyalists, and asked if ah had anything to help. So ah told him. Ah told him everything ah saw through that window. Couple days later, the whole town raided the town hall, and saved all the pegasi still alive. The first one out was Scootaloo. Just before the raid, Baron had decided to kill her. Ah checked on her at hospital every day,” Applebloom paused for a moment, and looked into her older sister’s face, “every day. For two months. Ah watched her go from weak and having lost the will to live, to getting stronger. That gave me new hope. Even when things had gotten that bad for her, surrounded by others and treated, even killed like they meant nothing, she realised the worst was behind her, that there was a point to stayin’ alive. And it gave me the hope, that one day, you’d return, that everything could be normal again.”
Applejack wasn’t the pony who normally let herself cry, but after hearing Applebloom’s speech, a small tear of pride and joy ran from her eyes. She rubbed her eyes, and stood up.
“Ah’ve got to talk to Twi. We can’t just sit around while Ulysses could cause more harm. You stay here ok sugarcube? Ah’ll be back soon.” Applejack said, and headed back to Ponyville.
-- It had been an hour since the little meeting in the library basement. While it had been interesting, Rainbow Dash hadn’t stopped worrying about Scootaloo. The horrors she had seen and heard around her, while still very young herself, they clearly had done something to her. But Scootaloo had left before she could stop her and talk.
In the skies over the town, the dragons had begun to change places. Some now flew down to the ground for a rest, while ones that had been resting previously stood up, stretched, and took flight.
It hadn’t been hard to find Scootaloo, even as a teenager, she wasn’t exactly the one to keep subtle where she was. Scootaloo was currently in the air above the park, leading in one dragon at a time to a safe and appropriately sized place to land. The last one that had been coming in for a rest had landed, a large red dragon, with a yellow under belly, and yellow spines, and was now looking down at Scootaloo, with what could only be described as a very toothy smile on its face.
“Tomorrow you say? A brash pony from Irvest has arranged it?” the dragon said, its voice clearer as Rainbow Dash trotted over.
“Yeah, calls himself Sunshine Blaze, he arrived earlier with those crates. It might be worth following his plans, he knows Ulysses very well, said he was his brother.” Scootaloo replied, looking up at the dragon.
“Most unfortunate for him. You and I fly to battle once more?” the dragon asked.
“Yes Gringhold, maybe for the last time against Ulysses. But, what becomes of our pact once he is beaten?” Scootaloo asked.
Gringhold mused for a moment, paying slight attention to the arrival of Rainbow Dash. He snorted a small amount of black smog into the air, which floated away.
“Our pact. It saved us both that day, and cannot be broken. You and I keep the other alive. For it to be broken by ourselves will kill us both. Just remember,” Gringhold lowered his head down to Scootaloo, “only use my strength of magic to save yourself should we get separated. For now, I must rest.”
Gringhold stomped away, the ground shaking under his weight. For the first time since she had led the dragon in to land, Scootaloo noticed Rainbow Dash, and looked away.
“Scootaloo, can we at least talk?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Why? So you can try to justify abandoning us? Abandoning me? To die? No thanks Rainbow Dash, you did enough when you ran off to Irvest to live.” Scootaloo stood up and took flight.
Rainbow Dash looked annoyed and took flight after Scootaloo. Being faster than the teenage filly, she soon drew alongside Scootaloo.
“I know you’re angry at me, and truth is, I’ve always wanted to come back and help Equestria, but Sunshine Blaze and the others always stopped me. I’m sorry Scootaloo, if I had known what was going on, I’d have ignored them anyway and been back here.” Rainbow Dash said aloud over the rushing wind.
Scootaloo stopped flying and hovered in one spot. She glared at Rainbow Dash, gritting her teeth.
“Fine, you want to talk, we’ll talk, if that’s what it takes to make you leave me alone.” Scootaloo said coldly.
“Listen squirt, I can’t apologise for what you went through. If I’d known, I’d have done something, but you can’t blame me for it, since it wasn’t me doing it to you.” Rainbow Dash said softly, looking to one side.
“I didn’t know at the time what was worse. Being hung by my back legs, and whipped for crying or trying to lift myself up and stop the blood rushing and staying in my head, or the fact you never came to kick in those doors and save me, or save the others. I believed in you, I hoped you would suddenly buck open the doors, kick Baron’s flank, and get us all out of there. And each day, each damned day, I had to listen as he whipped us, cut and tore wings, even kill others.”
Scootaloo was now very angry again, like she had been in the library basement.
“I hung there, my hope you would save us slipped away, and my will to live went with it! I got to the point where I wanted to die, because it would have at least gotten me out of that forsaken place! And then,” Scootaloo paused, tears begun to well up in her eyes and roll down her cheeks, “one day, after a time where days could have easily been months, I saw him. He took a knife, and walked up to me. Baron had chosen me to die. Either side of me, two old mares begged him to choose them. And I smiled. I was happy that he wanted to kill me, because then I wouldn’t have to endure the pain, the torture, and the cries of everypony else as he did the same to them.”
Rainbow Dash could only stare in stunned silence as Scootaloo spoke, as Scootaloo kept crying, but not openly, as the tears streamed down her face.
“He drew closer, the glint of the metal was a welcome sight. And then, as the blade made contact with my belly, the doors burst open. He was shocked, and the blade remained sticking out of me. But I didn’t care, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo now looked sad and tired, “I didn’t care. I knew I was bleeding heavily, and as everything went black, I watched as Baron was overpowered. I saw the ponies of town rushing about, freeing the others, but I thought it was too late for me, Baron had already done enough for me to die. Last thing I saw was Soarin’, as he told me to hang on. And I didn’t. I’d given up the will to live, and closed my eyes.”
Scootaloo landed and stomped a hoof, with Rainbow Dash following after her. Once on the ground, Scootaloo sat down, tears still ran down her face, but she still refused to openly cry.
“I felt at peace then, when the darkness took over. I thought I had died. Its hard to know when you have, because you can only go through it once, and you don’t get to keep the memory. I don’t know how long it was, but the next thing I remember, there was a beeping noise, and I heard Applebloom, telling me how her day had gone. She noticed I was waking up, because I saw the outline of her standing up and disappearing, only to return with Nurse Redheart. Turns out, it had been close. Another few minutes, and Baron could have done a lot worse and I wouldn’t be here now. The rest of the time in hospital, it was Applebloom and Sweetie Belle coming to cheer me up, or Cherilee coming to teach me things that had been taught at school.”
Recalling the events seemed to weaken Scootaloo, as she changed her body position from sitting up, to laying flat on her stomach. But even as she did so, she maintained eye contact with Rainbow Dash.
“I ended up finishing school with the others, and then I sought out Soarin’, to thank him. I learnt more about the Resistance, and I wanted desperately to join, so I could do what you had failed to appear and do yourself, defeat Ulysses. But he wouldn’t let me. Instead, I snuck off after them, Applebloom didn’t like that, but she couldn’t stop me. One day, I followed the Resistance to where Ulysses’ loyalists were fighting the dragons, and that’s when it happened. I was near Gringhold at the time, when a magic bomb went off. It wounded me and Gringhold, we should have died. But he made an offer. Neither of us had to die if we entered a pack. Its sort of like what Twilight and Spike have, Spike helps Twilight and in return, Twilight takes care of Spike while he’s vulnerable. Gringhold said if we made the pack, we would both be able to use the energy of the other to heal the wounds that would otherwise kill us. How could I refuse? My recklessness and youth had got me to the point where I was going to die, and I refused to die without defeating Ulysses and his loyalists for all they did to me. I agreed.”
The wind blew past the two as Scootaloo stopped speaking, putting her head over her legs. Rainbow Dash looked down at her and felt sorry for the teenage filly. Rainbow had, until that point, felt bad for herself that she had left her home, hadn’t been there to help others. Yet the little filly that had sometimes annoyed her prior to her departure to Irvest now lay before her, having been mentally broken while still the same age she had been when Rainbow had last seen her. It made Rainbow realise that feeling sorry for herself was selfish, that her pity should be for Scootaloo.
“When me and Gringhold had helped the other, I asked him what else this pack meant. Since he’s a free dragon, it doesn’t mean I have to find somewhere for him to live, even when Ulysses is defeated, we may never see each other again, but the pact still exists. If one of us needs to borrow the strength of the other to heal a wound, or to use magic in our defence, we can. It’s something I think will be very helpful, since sooner or later, Gringhold will fly somewhere and sleep for a hundred years. That means he’ll store up a lot of energy, but won’t need to take any from me, and I won’t even be alive when he wakes up. It may be unbalanced, but he says what potential energy I would have had will go to him when I die. So it all works out I guess.”
Rainbow Dash smiled, and joined Scootaloo in laying on her belly, only she faced Scootaloo.
“You know, when I returned, I expected you would have stayed the same. But I was wrong kiddo. You’ve grown so much. You’re better than me, because even when you lost all hope, and were given it back, you didn’t run. You ran with the new hope. It may mean you now have a pack with a dragon, but that doesn’t matter. You’re doing what I should, being brave to try and defeat Ulysses.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I know. It’s not easy, and Soarin’ wasn’t happy I’d been sneaking on missions, but what Ulysses did, and my pact with Gringhold secured much needed help in the dragons. Soarin’ soon let me go on missions, and at least all of northern Equestria is under Resistance control. Just the other day we helped overthrow the loyalist who had control of Appleoosa, and had hung Celestia’s guards there as an example for all Pegasi to go and die.” Scootaloo smiled, picking up on the admiration Rainbow had for her bravery.
“What did you do with him?” Rainbow Dash questioned.
“Well, Gringhold didn’t have to go hunt something in the Everfree forest when we returned...” Scootaloo answered.
“Hahaha, nice one kiddo. Nearly had me there.” Rainbow Dash chuckled.
“Nice one? I wish I was joking, Gringhold ate that loyalist in one bite!”
Rainbow Dash went pale and her eyes turned to dots. She couldn’t hide that even she had a fear of dragons, it was only normal for ponies, even when she pretended that she didn’t fear them at all.
“W-well,” Rainbow Dash quickly thought of a topic to change the conversation, “could I ask how you still have scars on your body?”
“Hm, some are from close calls with loyalists, but most are what’s left from when Baron strung me up,” Scootaloo quickly stood up and threw her front hooves into the air, showing a scar that ran across her belly, “this one won’t ever go away, that’s when Baron tried to cut me open to kill me. But I don’t care if I don’t look good anymore with these horrible scars. To finally bring Ulysses’ downfall, I’d gladly shave my mane and tail, even let my coat go unwashed, I’d do anything to beat him, even if I was left with just one leg and no wings. For what his loyalists did to me and others in his name? It’s something I’m willing to do.”
“Oh, Rainbow Dash! I’m glad I found you,” came Rarity’s voice, as she walked over, “perhaps you could take me to find Twilight? Sweetie Belle told me an awful story of what happened, and its news you need to hear too, since it involves Scootaloo.”
“Ok, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash said, getting up, “let me just finish speaking here and we can get going.”
Rarity’s eyes fell on Scootaloo, and immediately, she reared back from what was an utter horror show.
“Oh my! If this is one of the things Ulysses has done, then we really need to hurry up,” she looked at Scootaloo, clearly failing to recognise who it was, “don’t worry dear, when I come back, I’ll treat you to a trip to the spa, that is, if it’s still around. If not, I’ll personally help you with those nasty cuts.”
“You don’t even know who I am, do you?” Scootaloo asked, sitting up and tilting her head to one side.
“After six years away, you’d have to forgive me if I’ve forgotten. Your face does seem familiar however. Oh, hello, Applejack.” Rarity said, her gaze turning to one side and seeing the orange earth pony approach.
“Well this is good, now we can all go find Twilight. I’m sure you know where she is, RD,” Applejack said, standing next to Scootaloo.
“Yes, well, sorry I don’t remember who you are dear, but do remind me of my offer when you next see me after Ulysses is gone.” Rarity smiled.
“Oh please tell me yer kidding Rarity.” Applejack groaned.
“Whatever do you mean Applejack?” Rarity questioned.
“How can you not know who this is?” Applejack questioned back.
“It’s simple, Applejack, I don’t recall ever seeing her before.” Rarity replied.
“All you have to do is keep in mind the same eyes, mane and coat colour, then imagine her at about six or seven years old, looking up at you.” Applejack stated, her eyes half closed.
Rarity looked at Scootaloo for twenty seconds, trying to do what Applejack had said. It soon dawned on her, and her face turned into a look of shock and embarrassment.
“Oh my Celestia, Scootaloo?” Rarity asked.
“The very same.” Scootaloo replied, smirking, seemingly enjoying the shock Rarity had just gone through.
“I’m... I’m so sorry. When,” She swallowed, “when Sweetie Belle said she saw your eyes through the town hall window, I just assumed she had seen you dead.”
“Wait... Sweetie Belle saw me? Did she say whether Applebloom saw me that day as well?” Scootaloo asked, now concerned for her friends.
“Yeah sugarcube, if it weren’t for Applebloom seeing ya, she wouldn’t have told Soarin’ and you wouldn’t have been saved.” Applejack answered, holding a leg around Scootaloo, who looked shocked.
“Well, sorry we can’t stay and talk, we must go see Twilight. Dangerous business, not for fillies even your age, and do remind me of my offer once Ulysses is gone.” Rarity said, pushing Applejack and Rainbow Dash away to try and avoid further embarrassment on her part.
They were stopped by a semi circle of fire in their path. Looking behind them, the three saw Scootaloo’s eyes were glowing with a hint of red and orange. She swept her front right hoof back in the opposite direction she had clearly moved it in just a moment before and smiled.
“It’s not dangerous for me. Sorry if I scared you, but times change. I’m comfortable with danger, you’ll be seeing me tomorrow, fighting to get to Ulysses and making him pay for what he did to me,” she stood up and grinned, “with interest. For now, I better go talk to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. See you Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash!”
Scootaloo took to the air, but stopped a few feet from the ground. While she didn’t turn around, she spoke.
“Oh and Rainbow Dash? I forgive you. You did what you had to. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry I hated you for so long, when it wasn’t you who did all this to me.”
-- Pinkie stood outside the entrance to her old home, Sugarcube Corner. She had been standing outside for ten minutes, nervous of the reception that would await her when she knocked the door. The Cakes had, for all intents and purposes, been her family before she had to leave Equestria, but would they be willing to welcome her back after six years?
Hoping for the best, she approached the door and knocked. As she waited for the door to be answered, she shuffled about nervously. The sound of someone approaching the door on the other side made her back away a little.
Seemingly reluctantly, Mr. Cake opened the door a jar, and peeked through the gap.
“Yes? Can I-” he stopped. The one eye that Pinkie could see seemed to buldge, and the door was thrown open.
“Pinkie Pie? Is- is that really you?” Mr. Cake asked.
“Yeppers-jeppers, sorry I disappeared for so long.”
Suddenly, she was pulled into Sugarcube Corner, and the door slammed behind her. In the main room, Pinkie was able to see that it didn’t look like the building had been used as a business for a long time. The counters and displays had a disused feel to them, paint chipping away and a thick layer of dirt obvious signs that there hadn’t been a sugary treat made or sold, possibly since her departure.
The only other occupants in the room, aside from herself and Mr. Cake, was his wife and a yellowish unicorn, who were staring at the pair as though one or both of them had just grown an extra head.
Before Pinkie could speak, Mrs. Cake got up out of the chair she had been sitting on and had cross the room to where Pinkie stood, wrapping her forelegs around the pink mare.
“We thought Ulysses or his followers had killed you!” Mrs. Cake cried, tears of happyness flowing down her face.
“Well, he tried, but his brother, Sunshine Blaze, oh! You’ve got to meet him later! Anyway, he took us to his homeland, Irvest, to give us time to prepare to defeat Ulysses.” Pinkie explained.
As the tearful reunion drew on, Pinkie became curious. Mr and Mrs. Cake were present, and the unicorn had turned out to be Pumpkin Cake, their daughter, but there was still something missing from the scene.
“Hey, uh,” Pinkie nervously rubbed her right foreleg against the left, “I just wanted to ask, where’s Pound?”
Both Mr and Mrs. Cake glanced at each other before looking at Pinkie.
“He’s fine, he has a room in the basement now. We usually make him stay there, so anyone loyal to Ulysses can’t find him, since only we know where the entrance to the basement is. Maybe once Ulysses is gone, he can start to learn to fly.” Mrs. Cake replied, the smile never once leaving her face, at her own instilled hope of a better future for her son.
“That’s great. Look, I’m sorry I have to leave now, but I need to check in with the others. I’ll see you all soon okay?” Pinkie stated, hopping out of Sugarcube Corner.
She couldn’t wait to find Twilight and tell her the good news.
--- Twilight and Fluttershy meanwhile, were highly confused. Before they had left Equestria, they had seen the distant past, with Twilight witnessing what seemed to be the end of the lives of the three colts she, Fluttershy and Applejack had met in the past.
By all logic, what Twilight saw standing before her shouldn’t be. It seemed more impossible than Nightmare Moon, which she knew was true.
And yet, Fireshot and Forest Breeze stood before her, not looking a day older than they had been a thousand or so years before.
“Well thanks for that hello, after all this time.” Fireshot stated, rolling his eyes.
“B-but... how?” Twilight stumbled to form words.
“My! I had no idea my good looks would charm a mare into being unable to form words!” Forest Breeze remarked, wiggling his eyelids up and down. This earnt him a hoof across the back of his head from Fireshot.
“Ignore him, even being cursed, he still hasn’t learnt when it is not appropriate to flirt with a mare.” Fireshot said flatly, ignoring the groan of pain from Forest Breeze.
“You were cursed?” Fluttershy almost shouted, immediately causing her to get embarrassed and try to hide into herself.
“Yes, by Discord, Twilight should remember that. My curse was to die in three days, which I got around by getting turned to stone. Forest Breeze however is still cursed.” Fireshot said calmly.
“Yeah, he cursed me to never be able to tell right from wrong anymore, a curse I get past thanks to Vax. Vax eats the curse energy, allowing me to remain neutral, and not chaotic, which reminds me, Vax? Where are you?” Forest Breeze called out.
After a few seconds of silence, a sprite with seemingly disembodied wings flew into the room from a nearby window and begun to spin around Forest Breeze, a thin white line leaving Forest Breeze’s body and arriving into the sprite. Twilight considered for a moment that this was how the sprite fed off the curse energy.
“This is him, fascinating isn’t he?” Forest Breeze remarked.
“Oh he’s just so cute.” Fluttershy said loudly, her eyes fixed on the sprite, which paid her no attention. Her smile faded into concerna while she still looked at it, and she asked “I just have a question, where’s Cloudswirl?”
Fireshot and Forest Breeze looked at the other, before looking back at Fluttershy.
“We have no idea. Since I had assumed Discord had killed him and Forest Breeze, and yet, here he stands, that maybe Cloudswirl wasn’t really killed either, we just need to find where he is.” Fireshot stated.
“It’s been our main focus, considering what Ulysses is having done to pegasi. Cloudswirl is one. It’d be horrible for him to survive a curse after a thousand years, only to be killed by an usuper with a hatred for anything intelligent that has wings.”
Twilight and Fluttershy both looked at each other, both suddenly very worried for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Fireshot caught their attention once more with a cough.
“Anyway, we spoke to Sunshine Blaze, and agreed to a plan. We shall escort you six tomorrow to the castle gates, so you can reach Ulysses without any injuries before your fight. We’ll see you again at dawn, we both need to make preparations for then. Take care!” Fireshot said, smiling and bowing, before both he and Forest Breeze left.
“Twilight,” Fluttershy said quietly, “we’d better find the others, we need to take extra care if Ulysses is singling out pegasi like Dash and I.”
No sooner had Fluttershy said that, did the door to the room open once more, and Rainbow Dash walked in, followed by Rarity and Applejack. --
After Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had informed Twilight of what had taken place in Ponyville during their six years away in Irvest, Twilight led her friends outside of the library, and to the edge of Ponyville itself. There, the six friends looked out and could only just make out Ulysses’ castle in the distance.
“Girls, tomorrow could be the hardest day we’ll have gone through for a long time. Sure, going against Nightmare Moon wasn’t easy, and Discord almost got the better of us, but we at least had the Elements of Harmony. With Ulysses, we only have one, and we’re risking the fact he could just as easily take the last one when we’re at his castle. I don’t know if we can do this. The whole world is counting on us to get the ones he stole back and defeat him,” Twilight paused, taking deep, worried breaths, and looked at each of her friends in turn, who each wore an expression of worry, “we’ve seen and heard what he has done, even had done in his name. The horrors Equestria has faced the last six years, they weren’t even done by him and are way worse than what we saw he can do. He’s attempted the utter extinction of all pegasi, and his loyalists did the deeds for him. But tomorrow, we’ve got to face him, with no idea how much stronger he has become. I don’t think we can do it.”
“Oh come on, Twilight! After all he did? He’s got this coming.” Rainbow Dash said, smiling, and feeling sure that events would go just fine.
The conversation died, as the friends looked on at the castle in the distance.
-- Twilight had to admit, she had expected the force the Resistance could gather would be a lot smaller than what it was. She had woken up with her friends in the library to the sounds of marching ponies. As her friends left, she had spoken quickly to Spike and held him up in a hug before leaving the library herself.
The whole of Ponyville she could see had been covered by the force of the Resistance. She couldn’t see Zecora, but more dragons had appeared during the night, and she could easily see the manticores and hydras. Quite clearly, Ulysses had made more enemies than friends if even the beasts of the Everfree were willing to stand near ponies and not eat them. It made her feel good about Equestria in the six years she was gone, to see all its residents, regardless of species united against a common enemy.
She and her friends were currently at the western edge of the army, as they all marched towards Ulysses’ castle, Sunshine Blaze, Fireshot and Forest Breeze kept near them. In the air, Scootaloo, despite the protests of all six friends, was currently flying alongside Gringhold, and she was the only pony in the air. As the castle drew nearer, Twilight thought she could see activity somewhere on the outer walls.
“Enemy force approaching!” a voice called out from the castle, barely audible over the sound of so many ponies marching as one.
It wasn’t surprising that the Resistance didn’t have the element of surprise as they reached the castle. It was impossible to hide such a large force. The Resistance stopped a five hundred yards from the castle, and Twilight listened as Soarin’ who had been near the front, stepped forward with a unicorn, who casted a voice amplification spell on him.
“Ulysses!” Soarin’s voice boomed thanks to the magic. There was no immediate response.
“Ulysses! For too long you have terrorised and killed ponies of Equestria! We have resisted you, and fought back, reclaiming our home in the name of peace. Stand before me Ulysses! No pony else needs to die today! Only your castle remains under your control, you have lost!” Soarin’ spoke again.
For a brief moment, all Twilight and friends could hear was the wind. This became joined by a laugh, and a visual projection image spell of Ulysses. He was laughing.
‘You really think I am beaten? Look at yourself, you filthy disgusting pegasus. “in the name of peace”, yet to get this far, you have ordered countless deaths, even killed yourself. Do you think you are better than me?’ Ulysses sneered, showing no sign of leaving his castle.
“I am better than you Ulysses, we are all better than you. Your loyalists died, not because we are heartless murderers, bent on just wanting to watch the world crumble beneath their hooves, but because we brought them to justice, they died for their crimes, as shall you this day.” Soarin’ replied, to cheers and hoof stomps from the Resistance.
‘And still you try to make yourself better than I.’ Ulysses taunted.
“What do you mean?” Soarin’ questioned, taking the bait.
‘I need to remind you? Very well, and I quote, “Spitfire! Speak to me! Don’t die on me Spitfire, not now! What? Avenge you? But, but how? If the pony or thing behind Cloudsdale vanishing did so much and killed so many this fast, what would give me the chance? Spitfire, please, don’t go! Spitfire... I promise. I promise I will make whoever killed you pay with their life!”,’ Ulysses paused, as if waiting for the words to take the desired effect, ‘you set up the Resistance as a way to get revenge, to kill in cold blood. So answer me this, what makes you and I different? Because from what I can understand, we are the same.’
Soarin’ took to the air, looking over the Resistance before facing the castle again.
“What makes us different, Ulysses, is that I changed. When I saw what was being done in your name, it ceased to be about avenging Spitfire. It became a fight to free everypony. We were born free and equal, and then you came along, took away our freedoms, and treated pegasi as if we were monsters, to be purged from the world. Then you set on the manticores, dragons, anything that could have more intelligence than you, anything that was different to you. What makes me different? I don’t fight for selfish reasons, or the joy of being the one to crush your skull under my hoof. I fight for the home you robbed from us, for all of these ponies below me, for all the ponies in the towns and cities across Equestria. And if we beat you this day, we will return home, knowing we have our freedom back.”
Soarin’s speech was met by the same cheers and hoof stomping as before, but quickly was drowned out by a deep laugh.
‘If.’ Ulysses said.
Soarin’ watched as the gate to the castle opened, and the loyalist army marched out. He smiled slightly when they stopped flowing out of the castle, and saw that the remaining forces Ulysses could muster was the same size as the ground unit of the Resistance.
“Now is the time Resistance! Give them hell, for Equestria!”
He flew down to the ground as around him the forces of the Resistance ran at the charging forces of Ulysses. He held still as two unicorns attached armour to his body, the hoofshoes designed with the purpose of digging into whatever he kicked at. With his silver armour on, Soarin’ joined the charge and entered the fighting.
-- High above, the dragons swooped in, breathing fire at the loyalists, burning many into ash. Scootaloo stood on Gringhold, grinning as she watched him sweep over an anti-dragon machine, and burn it and the ponies preparing to use it into ash. Looking back as he raised into the air, Scootaloo cheered.
“From what I can see,” she yelled over the winds as she glanced around quickly, “there’s only five more of those at the moment. The only issue then would be to stop the loyalists returning into the castle and getting another.”
Gringhold didn’t reply, as he swooped around, breathing fire at the loyalists as he did so. Changing into another swoop, Gringhold looked back at Scootaloo.
“Soon we need to join the others in getting low, so Brazen can break the gate open.” he said.
“I know. He’s up high now, see?” she said, looking up.
As she spotted Brazen, a blue dragon with a lighter blue underbelly, her jaw dropped in horror. One of the anti-dragon machines had succeeded in firing, and the long and thick metal pole flew clean through Brazen, who now fell lifelessly to the ground.
“Gringhold!” Scootaloo called out.
“I saw. The other dragons are burning the remaining machines, but what do we do now?”
Scootaloo begun to think.
-- On the battlefield, Sunshine Blaze, Fireshot and Forest Breeze led the six friends past the fighting, trying to not be seen. When they were spotted, Fireshot and Forest Breeze made quick work of disposing the enemy with combined magic and physical strikes. As they did, the call went out among the Resistance that one of the dragons had been shot down, and they all looked up.
“Isn’t that...” Twilight begun to ask.
“That was the one that was supposed to break a way into the castle! It’s like they knew.” Sunshine Blaze answered her question before she said it.
“What do we do now?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“We have to keep moving. When we get to the gate, we’ll work out another way to get you six inside. The whole operation depends on it.” Fireshot replied, running on.
-- Soarin’ bucked his back legs into a loyalist that had attempted to stab him from behind. He didn’t look back, and kept watching as Brazen fell to the ground, impacting with a sickening thud. Soarin’ was only relieved that the dragon had probably already died before ever getting near the ground. His eyes darted about, and eventually found what he was looking for. Still high up were the figures of Scootaloo and Gringhold. He watched for a moment, then realised that Scootaloo was riding on Gringhold’s back, as he shot towards the castle gate.
“Scootaloo! Don’t do it! You’ll be killed!” he tried to yell at her, knowing she was too far away to hear him.
-- “That’s it! Faster Gringhold!” Scootaloo yelled, watching as the castle gate drew nearer.
“Fly young one, I can survive this, but you won’t!” Gringhold shouted back to her.
“No way,” Scootaloo now spoke only for herself to hear, “this will be a fantastic story to tell Applebloom and Sweetie Belle if I get back to Ponyville.” she smiled, forcing her eyes to stay open as it became too late to fly away to safety.
-- Sunshine Blaze, Fireshot, Forest Breeze and the six friends slowed down a few feet away from the castle gate, looking around them for the source of a very excited, if nervous cheer. Rainbow Dash looked up, and her eyes grew small and jaw lowered at the sight.
Gringhold flew through the gate, the wood wasn’t a match for his mass and speed. They splintered as if they were simply twigs, underfoot on a forest trail. As her eyes followed the dragon as he circled back up into the air, Rainbow watched as an orange pegasus with a violet mane and tail flew off his back.
Scootaloo landed beside Sunshine Blaze, with the biggest possible grin on her face, and a lot of new scars to her face and the parts of her body that had faced the gate as she and Gringhold had gone through them.
“Good luck guys. I’ll hopefully see you all back in Ponyville later!” she said, running at full gallop into the fighting.
The six friends, Sunshine Blaze, Fireshot and Forest Breeze all looked to each other for some sort of explanation, and had nothing. They faced the wide open arch where the gate had stood as an impassable wall just moments before.
“We’ve done our job, we’ll get to helping others survive through the battle, good luck you six!” Fireshot shouted, running off into battle.
Forest Breeze made to follow him, only to stop a few steps later and turn around.
“Maybe after this, one of you will take me up on an offer of going for a dinner?” He asked with a smile. The reply he got was the confused looks from the six mares.
“Guess not. Think about it at least. Until later!” he shouted and ran off to catch up to Fireshot.
Twilight turned her focus to the broken gate into the castle, a grin appeared on her face.
“This is it guys. Scootaloo helped us get the chance we thought was gone. Everypony is counting on us. We can’t fail them now. Let’s go stop Ulysses.” Twilight said, breaking into a run into the castle.
The six friends stared at the courtyard beyond the castle walls. The black castle itself sat in the middle, surrounded by lava fountains which served as decoration. Around them, the black outer walls stood tall, reaching for the sky with pointed roofs.
Ahead of them, the doorway to the main castle shimmered, displaying six colours, white, yellow, pink, orange, cyan and purple. For a brief moment, Twilight thought she saw the face of Princess Celestia in with the colours, but shook her head.
“Twi,” Applejack spoke up, “what is this?” she asked.
“By the looks of things, its some sort of spell to keep us out.” Twilight replied.
‘How right you are,’ Ulysses spoke through magic from somewhere within the castle, ‘did you honestly think this would work? Bringing a fight to me, to distract me so you could get in and defeat me? I care not for my loyalists, they are power grabbing simpletons, unable to see the truth. Live or die, what becomes of them means nothing in the grand scheme of things.’ he said.
Twilight looked over her back and out past where the gate to the castle had once stood.
-- Soarin’ carefully looked at the loyalists around him. The resistance had long since defeated the enemy generals that had given orders, leaving Ulysses’ forces with no one in command. The remaining forces had surrendered, and were now being led back to various Resistance bases for questioning, trial and punishment.
He looked at the castle one last time, and left with his troops to the main headquarters, all the while, unable to shake the feeling that it had been far too easy a victory.
-- “So now what Ulysses?” Twilight asked, returning her attention to the main castle in front of her.
‘In the six years since I became Lord of Equestria, I have been fair to all who challenged me to a fight. We shall fight on equal terms. Around you, in all but one of the towers, are the elements of harmony I took from you six years ago. Each door to the tower bears the name of the element at the top. Sadly, you had to bring the Element of Loyalty today, so, for the one marked ‘loyalty’, simply do what the others must, and the way in shall open.’ Ulysses replied.
“Do what the other must?” Rainbow Dash questioned, her eyes narrowing in anger.
‘Oh, yes. Almost forgot. To gain the element, you must face a horror. A mind breaking, heart wrenching horror. Overcome it, and the element is yours once more. Fail and well... I’ve lived in here six years waiting to put this plan into action, it matters nothing to me if I must stay in here, isolated, while the world outside dies from the day-night. Good luck.’ Ulysses taunted.
The six friends looked at each other, and simply nodded their heads as they each took a tower, often running to a different one if it didn’t have the name of the element they usually bore. As they found their tower, they entered and begun to climb to the top.
-- Twilight climbed the tower slowly, checking ahead of her as she walked. The only light in the tower was purple, which hardly helped to brighten up the black stone of the walls and floor. Ulysses’ words played on her mind, and she begun to think of all the horrible things he could have prepared for her, in an effort to make whatever she faced less horrible than it otherwise would have been.
Finally, she came to a door where the stairs stopped. It was a very basic wooden door as she drew near, but soon, as it got nearer, it changed into a door that was usually found in the castle at Canterlot. She had expected he would use her home as the basis for the horror, and fully expecting what she assumed she would find, she opened the door.
The sight that met her made her instantly turn around and gag. It hadn’t been what she had expected. She had expected on opening the door to find a very angry Princess Celestia, and while Princess Celestia was there, she wasn’t angry. The best way to describe what she saw, was that the princess currently lay on the ground bleeding quite heavily from many stab wounds on her body.
“T-twilight S-sparkle,” Princess Celestia called out. Reluctantly, Twilight turned and walked slowly into the room, the smell of death thick in the air. She walked to where she recalled where the princess’s head would be, and looked down, “I’m glad, you... came. I-I never wished for... you to see me like this, but...”
Princess Celestia was clearly struggling to remain awake to talk to Twilight.
“Princess, please, save your strength, help will come soon.” Twilight pleaded.
“I-it is too late for me... just k-keep in mind, I-I will always be... proud of you.” Princess Celestia struggled for breath.
“No, please, Princess! Don’t die, not like this...” Twilight now begged, tears forming in her eyes.
“Y-you must find... Princess Luna. S-she must take my place...”
Twilight begun to cry and looked around, hoping there would be somepony who could help. The windows, as she noted, looked odd. There was no light coming through them, and actually looked like there were walls behind them. Twilight suddenly shook her head, and stopped crying, though her eyes remained red from what she had already done.
“This isn’t real.” She said flatly.
“W-what are... you talking about... my faithful student? I-it is sadly very... real.” Princess Celestia said, looking up weakly at Twilight.
“No, it isn’t. I was walking up a tower in Ulysses’ castle to get the Element of Magic back, there’s no way I would suddenly be at Canterlot! And further, there’s no way Ulysses has the power to even fight you for long, so he banished the real you. This is just an illusion!” she shouted.
The room swirled around the fake Princess Celestia, as the fake changed into the crown which held the Element of Magic in it.
‘Oh well done Twilight Sparkle,’ Ulysses said, ‘quite fast for you to work out the truth. And more than just with the illusion, you worked out that I couldn’t fight your precious Princess, let alone her sister at the same time. So I did exactly what you just said. Now hurry, your friends are waiting.’
Twilight used her magic and placed the element of magic crown on her head, and ran out of the small room it and she had been in, back down the stairs.
-- Rarity had stopped before the door of the tower she had taken. She looked down the steps, and looked at the door before her. At some point in between, it had changed from a simple, rather boring wooden door, to the door in her shop, which led to her sewing machine. Carefully, she pushed it open.
The room beyond was a mess, with fabric, ribbons and various other fashion items scattered at random across the room. She smiled a little, relieved that all Ulysses could come up with to try and horrify her was a simple untidy work room.
Then she saw it. Or rather, her. By her sewing machine, crying, was Sweetie Belle. Rarity trotted over, and recoiled when she stood beside her sister. Sweetie Belle had become attached to the fabric she had been attempting to sew together, and the machine had now, somehow, sewn part of Sweetie Belle’s leg to the fabric, and she was bleeding heavily.
“I’m sorry big sis,” Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity, “I had an accident. Don’t be mad that I ruined your fabric.”
Rarity didn’t reply right away. She held Sweetie Belle’s hoof still and used her magic to reverse the progress that had been made by the machine.
“Sweetie Belle, if you think I’m going to get angry over the fabric, when you are hurt this badly, then I clearly don’t have my priorities straight! With this much blood, the fabric means nothing, but getting you help to stop the bleeding, that’s far more important right now.” Rarity replied, hoping the fabric would soon be free of the machine.
But the fabric seemed endless, and Rarity gritted her teeth together, while beside her Sweetie Belle became weaker and weaker. Rarity groaned in frustration.
“Sis, I don’t feel too good.” Sweetie Belle stated, her head dropping down.
“Stay awake Sweetie Belle, I’ll soon get you free.” Rarity replied.
Sweetie Belle collapsed, and stopped breathing as Rarity dropped her pointless effort to remove the fabric from the sewing machine. Rarity attempted to wake Sweetie Belle up and get her breathing again, but failed, and she burst into tears.
After three minutes, Rarity stopped, as a sudden realisation came to mind. How did Sweetie Belle get to Ulysses’ Castle, then stuck to the sewing machine, when she had left her back in Ponyville for her own safety?
“This was a very nasty trick Ulysses. But only that. I should have remembered sooner where Sweetie Belle was.” Rarity muttered to herself.
‘You should have yes,’ Ulysses had clearly been laughing, ‘but I can see why you bear the Element of Generosity. You selflessly worked to try and save your dear, little sister, despite her blood ruining a very nice piece of fabric. True, not the best example, but then, I don’t expect to find deep waters with you.’
“What? Are you saying I’m shallow?” Rarity shouted to the air, as the room swirled around the fake Sweetie Belle and became the choker with the Element of Generosity in it.
‘As shallow as a paddling pool.’ Ulysses replied.
Rarity huffed, and left carrying the Element of Generosity with her magic.
--
Applejack hadn’t been as bothered by the sudden change in the door as she got to it. She had actually expected something like it as she had walked up the tower. It had gone from a simple wood door, to the red painted door of the barn.
But what happened next surprised Ulysses more than Applejack. She had walked in, and was met right away with the sight of Big Macintosh, crushed in the apple press machine. She had at first stared in shock, before simply snorting, as if it were some sort of big joke.
‘Why are you laughing Applejack? Your brother is dead, right there, in front of you. Don’t you feel sad?’ Ulysses asked.
“Hehe, yes, Ah probably should be, its just,” she took her hat off and fanned herself, “did ya really expect me ta believe Big Macintosh SOMEHOW got from Ponyville, to yer castle, then up this tower and crushed himself dead? Pull the other one, Ah ain’t buying it.”
Ulysses growled. The room swirled around the fake dead Big Macintosh and turned into the Element of Honesty, which floated over to Applejack’s neck and attached itself around it.
‘At least your other friends are playing along.’ Ulysses snapped.
“Yeah well, ah don’t embody honesty fer nothin’.” Applejack replied, looking smug as she headed back down the tower.
-- It hadn’t taken Fluttershy long to get to the top of the tower she had entered. Having wings helped, and despite the fact she often liked to walk, she did use them when it saved time. Around her, the landscape she had become familiar with around her cottage burned. She wished she hadn’t flown so fast to get things over with, so she could just go home and tend to the animals and forget the horrible ordeal.
Slowly, tears ran down her face, as she sat among the fires, and watched the part of the Everfree forest that was near her home burn.
‘Ah, just wanted to check on you. Normally, I wouldn’t pay any attention to pegasi, but well,’ Ulysses let loose a single laugh, and quickly caught himself, ‘if my memory is right, you are easily scared or saddened. So? Have I broke you yet? Don’t you just want to curl up into a ball and die?’
“No.” Fluttershy said firmly.
‘Ah ha... wait, what?’
“I said no. You haven’t broken me.” Fluttershy replied.
‘Huh? But... your home, the homes of all those sickeningly and disgustingly cute animals are burning all around you. You should be a gibbering wreck!’ Ulysses shouted.
“This horror you picked for me, it looks like the land around my home anyway. You're showing me what you already did.” Fluttershy stated, wiping the tears off her cheeks.
‘So what? That still should make you sad, want to give up and just die for being a pegasus.’ Ulysses replied.
“If you wanted that, you should have picked something else. I already cried over this sight yesterday, and I know the animals are fine. This means nothing to me since I saw what you did back at Ponyville. There’s a time to cry, and for me, that time has been and gone.” Fluttershy said.
Ulysses groaned. The sight of the burning land around Fluttershy disappeared, and the Element of Kindness appeared, and floated to her neck. With a weak smile, Fluttershy begun the walk back down the tower.
-- Pinkie Pie was currently crying at the sight before her. The door had been normal, even as she opened it. But then she saw her friends, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity. They were all laying dead before her, not a single mark on them. Standing among the bodies was a brown alicorn, staring down at her.
“This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real...” Pinkie Pie repeated softly to herself, closing her eyes tight.
“Oh but it is it Pinkamena. And you know what? You did this! You killed your friends! Endless parties, their energy drained, and they died.” the alicorn taunted, stepping on Rainbow Dash’s chest, which crunched underneath from the alicorn’s weight.
“It’s not real, my friends are in other parts of the castle, I didn’t kill them. You're some kind of horror sent by Ulysses.” Pinkie Pie said, her eyes still closed.
“Hardly. I am here to make you face the truth. You killed your friends.” the alicorn taunted.
“W-when I was a l-little filly a-and the sun was going d-down...” she begun to sing through her tears.
“Now do you like parties? Your parties kill ponies!” the alicorn continued, unaware of Pinkie singing.
“T-the darkness a-and the shadows, they w-would always make me frown...”
“Stand and face the truth!” it shouted.
“I-I’d hide under m-my pillow, f-from what I t-thought I saw...”
The alicorn stopped its advance on Pinkie, and looked at her sadly. A second later, it placed a hoof on her, and comforted her.
“That song.” it said.
“Huh?” Pinkie asked, looked up.
“I remember hearing it... so long ago... I was just a spirit, wandering the Everfree forest. I hated the living for being alive, but then... that song... all my anger washed away. It was you, wasn’t it? You were there and sung it.” the brown alicorn said.
“Yes, my friends were scared, but I sung the song because I wasn’t scared, and I knew they shouldn’t be either.” Pinkie said, smiling despite the tears rolling down her face.
“This unicorn appeared some time later and captured me, it focused my anger towards the living, and not even remembering the song could free me. Could,” the alicorn looked stupid for a moment, before shaking its head, “could you sing it for me? Give me the peace that I seek, that there is no reason to hate the living.” it said, smiling down at Pinkie.
Pinkie cleared her throat, and continued to sing.
“But Granny Pie said that wasn’t the way, to deal with fears at all. She said: Pinkie, you got to stand up tall, Learn to face your fears, You’ll see, that they can’t hurt you, Just laugh and make them disappear. Ha, ha, ha!”
As she sung, the horn disappeared off the alicorn, and he shrunk down to normal pony size. Right away, one of his wings turned into a torn and broken wreck, covered with bite marks. But he stood there, smiling, as his once solid appearance became transparent. As Pinkie finished her song, the pegasus had almost completely vanished, and around where he had been, the fake bodies of her friends swirled and became the Element of Laughter, which placed itself around Pinkie’s neck. She remained there for a moment, smiling as the last traces of the spirit vanished.
‘Thank you... for freeing me...’
--
Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie breathed a sigh of relief when they saw each other in the courtyard once more. Each took it in turns to tell the others what they had faced, and had laughed at how cool and calm Applejack had been, despite Ulysses’ best efforts to shake her with the image of her older brother being crushed dead. They looked around, and noted that, despite her usual speed, Rainbow Dash had still yet to turn up.
“Do you think she’s ok? I mean, Ulysses did give her a hard time six years ago.” Fluttershy said.
“I have a bad feeling girls, we’d better go check on her.” Twilight replied, galloping at full speed towards the tower Rainbow Dash had gone in.
-- The door at the top was open slightly, and from it came a sound that made the five friends feel very nervous. It was Rainbow Dash crying, combined with the sound of a hoof stomping against something. With caution, Twilight pushed open the door, and looked inside.
The room was small and dimly lit. In the middle of the black stone floor stood Rainbow Dash, dully stamping on some bundle beneath her that was a muted pink. The five friends walked into the room, unsure of what to do next. They hadn’t ever heard Rainbow crying before, it wasn’t something she was prone to.
“Dashie?” Pinkie called out.
Rainbow Dash stopped her repetitive stamping on the pink bundle before her and looked around. Her eyes were red, and the tears flowed freely down her face. She moved fast, literally flying across the room and grabbed Pinkie tightly.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Rainbow Dash cried, resting her head against Pinkie.
“Sorry for what?” Rarity asked.
Twilight looked at the bundle still laying on the floor. She narrowed her eyes slightly and walked towards it. She paused half way there, spotting blood.
“Someone check Rainbow’s hooves for any cuts.” Twilight called out.
Behind her, Applejack checked Rainbow’s front hooves, and saw a small cut by her cutie mark.
“Nothin’ on her front hooves, but she has a cut by her cutie mark.” Applejack replied.
Twilight examined the pink bundle, and screamed at the sight. Looking back up at her was Pinkie Pie, who had clearly been alive and well some time prior to their arrival to check on Rainbow. But her mane was flat and her colours muted. A short distance away was a butchers knife, which shone dully in the dim light of the room.
“Rainbow, what happened here?” Twilight asked, looking back at Rainbow Dash.
“W-when I arrived, Ulysses was here. H-he laughed, cast magic, a-and suddenly, there was Pinkie. She t-tried to murder me.” Rainbow replied, crying. As she finished, she collapsed to the floor.
Twilight looked at each of her friends in turn, lingering at Pinkie Pie, who had gone pale at the sight of an identical copy of her body just across from her. It didn’t take any imagination to work out what had happened next. Faced with a Pinkie Pie, hellbent on killing her, Rainbow had fought for her life, and won. Her resulting sorrow was clearly because she felt she had been disloyal to a friend.
What didn’t make sense to Twilight was one simple fact. Ulysses had been there in the room. He had the chance to take the Element of Loyalty from Rainbow Dash and leave her alone. Why had he left it behind, and make her choose between living and dying in the face of a twisted version of Pinkie Pie?
With no purpose to remaining in the tower, the six begun to head back to the courtyard. Applejack waited with Rainbow Dash before walking away, while Fluttershy hurried up and left with Pinkie Pie, who had been all too eager to leave the sight of her doppelganger's dead body. Twilight let Rarity go ahead, while she took up the rear of the group, ready to protect them all should Ulysses spring one last trap.
-- As the six friends crossed the courtyard once more to the now open door to the main castle, Twilight listened. Rainbow Dash had insisted she walked by herself the rest of the way down the tower, and Applejack was still telling her that it had been a trick by Ulysses, to break her and make her give up so they would be unable to do anything to him.
Similarly, Fluttershy was attempting to cheer Pinkie Pie up, who had become depressed after seeing the body of herself in the same tower Rainbow had been in. Fluttershy was telling Pinkie what she could do for a party after everything was over, and while she didn’t respond as she normally did, Pinkie Pie was at least replying with questions, or comments about what Fluttershy had just said.
And in her own way, Pinkie Pie was helping Fluttershy, who had become very scared of the situation they were all in.
In the main castle, Twilight noted that the black stone of the floor and walls had decoration. A carpet ran in the middle of the floor, and split to follow each different route the hallway led to. On the walls, coat of arms were present every so often, a grey shield with a unicorn horn, and the words of a long dead language underneath which read ‘For the glory of the unicorns’.
The six friends climbed the staircase that had been at the far end of the hall, and the black familiarity of the towers returned. It spiraled high, and not much changed as they all climbed, save for a torch every so often.
At the top, the stairs opened up to a large landing, which itself was black like everything else. Before them stood two huge black doors.
“Alright girls, I have no idea if this is the right place, but we’re about to find out. Everypony ready?” Twilight asked.
This was met with nervous responses of yes by the other ponies.
“Ok, let’s go.” Twilight replied, pushing the doors open.
The six friends walked side by side into the room, the door was wide enough for this to be possible. And, either by chance, or the simple fact that Twilight had guessed the throne room would be at the highest point of the castle, they walked in to see Ulysses.
His dark blue coat stood out against the black, and his black cape with golden edges and the gold star with six circles of six colours looked perfect and undamaged. Ulysses sat with his back towards them on a lighter marble in the middle of the room.
Behind them, the doors closed quietly. As they clicked, Ulysses raised his head, but still didn’t turn to face them.
“And so, at long last, you have come to face me. How did it feel? Running for your lives from your home, leaving it to me for six years.” He spoke softly and with purpose.
“No more games Ulysses. You’ve caused problems for us all, for the world. Give up now, this doesn’t have to end badly.” Twilight stated.
“You speak as if you have won, Twilight Sparkle. No, no you haven’t won. I am still here, still drawing breath. You may claim victory if you defeat me. But I digress, please, answer my question.”
None of the friends said anything, as they stared at Ulysses’ back.
“You need not answer. I can tell you. You felt fear, sorrow, anger, you felt as if you had betrayed all those you knew and cared for the most. And then,” Ulysses paused, “then I threw salt into the wound of you running for your pathetic lives. I used my magic, and sent Cloudsdale to the void, almost certainly killing half the population in that moment. How could you all live so peacefully in the safety provided to you in Irvest, after all that?”
“We lived with ourselves because we knew one day, we’d come back and make you pay for all you did.” Rainbow Dash spat at the ground.
“Tell me, how did you find Irvest, my old home? Didn’t you like it? How we have advanced to do what you can here in Equestria, but with more style? Tell me, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, how did it feel, when you found we leave the weather control itself? Did you feel that your wings were useless, superfluous?”
Ulysses took this moment to laugh to himself, but the six friends did not move or change their angered expressions.
“But of course, you found ways to not feel useless. You, Rainbow Dash, would have used your wings for something, anything, just as long as you could fly. And timid, meek, Fluttershy. You happily spent your time with animals. Tell me I’m wrong,” he paused once again, expecting an answer, but found none coming, “and then, Blaze returned. Oh sure, he checked in once in a while, but this time, he had a purpose. Tell me then, how did it feel when you first saw what I was capable of? I killed and burnt my home town to the ground. I bet Blaze even told you that I am his adopted brother, the usual sob story. And of course, you agreed to come and deal with me, because you couldn’t bear to see the broken wreck of a young colt, who lost his home, his friends, his parents, everything, in one single day.”
The six friends lowered their heads slightly as Ulysses stood up. But still, Ulysses didn’t turn around.
“I have seen many stand where you six stand today, anger controlling them, all for him. Did Blaze ever tell you how many left alive? No... he wouldn’t have. Blaze has no concept of death, even as he watched mother die. If there is one thing Blaze is good at, it is sending ponies to their deaths by my hooves. Only, this time, it is different, isn’t it.”
What happened next went in slow motion. Ulysses reared up on his hind legs and spun on the spot. When his front hooves landed, his horn glowed black, and black arms appeared from somewhere out of sight behind him. These six arms grabbed the Elements of Harmony, and held them around him.
“These are not toys. The powers within were enough to defeat the Mare in the Moon, and return Discord to his stone prison, events you Equestrians were foalish enough to boast about across the world, and word got to Irvest. And now,” he smiled an insincere smile, “tell me, what did it feel like, when you returned to Equestria, and saw the land in ruins? To learn pegasi were persecuted and killed in horrific ways, and all only in my name? You hated me even more, but I can see in your eyes, even with them showing anger, there is fear. Fear of the unknown. You know what I was capable of so long ago, yet you do not know how more powerful I am now.”
“Why do you want the elements?” Twilight asked.
“Ah, good. For a while then, I feared you had all lost your voices. I fear you six will not be here to find out. And if there is one thing I’ve learnt, telling your foes what you plan to do means you’ll be defeated, just in the nick of time. I’m afraid that is one thing you will go to the grave never knowing. And now, I tire of our chat. Farewell you six, and enjoy your last breath!” He shouted.
Ulysses stomped a hoof to the ground, and the middle stone of the throne room burst into flame, a seemingly impenetrable wall between him and the six friends. They watched as he prepared magic and fired it towards them, all six diving out of the way just in time. Acting rather than thinking, the six friends scattered about the room, and Twilight begun to think.
Running around hopelessly wasn’t going to do much good, but maybe it could help. She looked at each of her friends as she too ran avoiding the magic fired at her by Ulysses, and an idea came to mind.
“Applejack! Rainbow! Come to me!” she called out. It took a minute or two for both to arrive at Twilight’s side.
“What is it Twi?” Applejack said, breathing deeply.
“Running around won’t get us out of this, but we need Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie to keep doing so. Moving targets are tempting, but will be more of a distraction to him. Its us three that’ll get us all out of here alive. I’ll reflect magic back at him, if I do it right, he’ll be unable to cast again for a brief moment. Rainbow, you then fly into him, as hard as you can without getting hurt yourself. If you do it right, you could leave him stunned. Applejack, can you cross the flames?” Twilight said.
“With a running jump, it’ll be no problem.” Applejack replied.
“Great. When he’s stunned, get across and try to break his horn. Without it, he’ll be no threat.” Twilight grinned.
With the plan devised, Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash put it into action. Rainbow Dash took to the air, avoiding a shot of magic cast by Ulysses. Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy kept running, only slightly aware of what the other three were doing.
Ulysses grinned as he saw Twilight come to a stop.
“Giving up? Good, make it easier on yourself!” he shouted, firing magic at her.
Twilight cast a shield in front of her, which rebounded Ulysses’ spell. It struck him, causing him to yell out in pain, momentarily dazed. Rainbow Dash took this as her cue, and flying as fast as she could, impacted Ulysses’ side with her head. Winded, Ulysses fell to the ground on his belly, gasping and moaning from the pain of both the rebounded spell and the headbutt to his torso.
As he fell, the flame disappeared. Applejack didn’t need to jump through the fire and ran towards him. While he had been stunned, Applejack had to avoid Ulysses as he threw his own legs at her. A few times she managed to kick at his horn with her hind legs, but had to retreat as Ulysses cast the wall of fire between himself and her, and spread it outwards.
“Clever, very clever. It won’t be so easy to break my horn. Now stop getting in my way, I have more pegasi to kill.” Ulysses taunted, preparing yet another spell.
Twilight followed the line of sight Ulysses intended, and saw that he was aiming at Fluttershy. Using her magic, she teleported to where the magic would strike. As it arrived, she knocked it back into the fire where it dissipated, and cast a spell herself which struck Ulysses.
Once again, Rainbow Dash flew into his side, quickly flying back and taking Applejack over the flame wall which Ulysses had managed to keep up, and kicked with her back legs at his horn, still causing only chips to break off, and avoiding Ulysses’ own attacks towards her. As Ulysses seemed to start to recover to force Applejack towards the flames, Rainbow flew back and got Applejack to safety. Ulysses shook his head, and then prepared a spell, aiming this time at Pinkie Pie, resulting in the same response by Twilight, leaving him open to attack by both Rainbow and Applejack.
“What’s taking so long? Shouldn’t his horn have broken by now?” Rainbow called out.
“I’m trying to help, but he’s got a few magic spells attached to it, I can’t tell which one is preventing it from breaking.” Twilight replied, teleporting to where Rarity was, and running alongside her.
This time, she caught Ulysses’ spell, and added her own magic to it, before sending it back. Ulysses this time however, caught the spell, adding to the power behind it himself, and grinned.
“Shoot, he’s changed tactics.” Applejack shouted.
“Don’t worry, I’m on it!” Rainbow Dash replied.
Rainbow Dash flew into the side of Ulysses’ head, causing him to fall to the floor, and left both him and Rainbow dazed on the floor. The flame wall had fallen, and Twilight ran closer, levitating Rainbow away from him. Ulysses recovered quickly and re-established the flame wall, leaving Twilight trapped with him. He grinned down at her.
“You’ve been the main thorn in my hoof so far, that ends now.”
Twilight felt his skull against her own as Ulysses tried to force her backwards into the fire. She resisted but gained very little ground compared to Ulysses. Noticing their horns were close, she tried to reach into his horn and find what was preventing it from breaking. It was just the distraction she needed too, as Ulysses felt her magic searching his own for what kept his horn from breaking.
Both unicorns began to move in the opposite direction, as Ulysses tried to overload Twilight’s magic, and she probed for the defensive spell protecting his horn. The physical struggle begun to move in the other direction, as Ulysses quickly became used to the invasion by her, and once more moved her closer to the fire.
With just ten feet left to the fire, Twilight felt there would be no hope to keep up the struggle and find the spell before Ulysses killed her. She didn’t care what spell she cast next, but she put all her effort into it and sending it down Ulysses’ horn.
With a loud yell, Ulysses fell to the floor once again, overloaded with magic. Twilight took the temporary rest to search for the defensive spell again, locating it and other spells she had never seen or heard of before. She removed the defensive spell and ran to safety again as Ulysses stood up.
Ulysses said nothing as he struggled against the remains of the magic overload to cast the fire walls again. Rainbow, who had watched Twilight physically struggle against him, worried that if he wasn’t defeated soon, and with how tired Twilight looked from the effort, then he would win.
She flew at high speed at Ulysses, impacting him as he prepared to re-fire the spell. While he was dazed, Twilight fired an overloading spell again at him, making Ulysses sink further towards the ground. Applejack was flown to him again by Rainbow, and kicked at his horn.
The room was filled with the sound of a bone breaking, and the pained cry of Ulysses. He stood on his feet, shaking and barely able to do so.
“M-my horn... h-how could you all... beat me?” he said, staring at them looking forlorn.
Twilight went to speak and take the elements of harmony back, but stopped. The floor, walls and ceiling begun to shake violently. From where he stood, sparks flew out of what remained of Ulysses’ horn, making it clear he was responsible. As she looked at him, Ulysses’ grinned.
“Girls! We have to get out of here! He’s trying to bring the castle down on us.” Twilight yelled, turning and running to the doors.
“Twilight, the elements!” Applejack called out.
Twilight cast a spell, her magic grabbing the elements of magic, loyalty and honesty. Ulysses however kept a strong hold on the remaining three, forcing Twilight to abandon them as large stones started to fall in the room.
-- The castle kept shaking as the six friends ran down the stairs and through the main castle. They watched as around them, walls fell into the path, and the floor cracked open at places. The coat of arms that had been on the walls fell down and shattered.
The door soon came into sight, and when they arrived, a new peril presented itself. Despite all efforts to push or buck the door, it wouldn’t open.
“Twilight, what do we do now?” Applejack shouted over the rumbles of the crumbling castle.
“Rarity, help me check for any spells keeping this door closed.” Twilight said.
Together, Rarity and Twilight checked the door, reaching out to it with their magic. Behind them, the ceiling of the corridor begun to crumble and fall to the floor. With a loud exclamation, Rarity found the spell and countered it.
“It was a very simple locking spell.” Rarity said, proud of herself as they opened the doors.
The courtyard was in a bad state. The lava fountains had broken, and lava now covered the path, but standing near the archway stood Sunshine Blaze, and the only part of the castle that hadn’t become covered in lava, which had cooled a few feet away.
“Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, help Pinkie Pie and Applejack across, Rarity, we don’t have much time, you’ll need to teleport with me.” Twilight stated.
“But how? I’ve never used that spell before.” Rarity questioned.
“Line of sight, cast a spell on yourself wanting to go where Sunshine Blaze is. Hurry!” Twilight replied, preparing to teleport herself.
Rarity bit her lower lip, and closed her eyes. Soon, her horn glowed blue, and she disappeared, only to reappear a second later a foot or so behind Sunshine Blaze. Twilight, who had used the spell enough didn’t need to close her eyes, as she cast it and disappeared from near the castle, appearing once more a second later closer to Sunshine Blaze than Rarity had done.
“It’s great to see you all came out! Are you all fine? Is Ulysses defeated?” Sunshine Blaze said with a smile as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy placed Applejack and Pinkie Pie on the ground.
“Sure did. Thanks to Twilight and Rainbow, Ah bucked his horn clean in half.” Applejack said proudly.
“Good, that’d explain why his castle is falling down. Without his full horn, his magic is going haywire. I mean, look up.” Sunshine Blaze replied, grinning with relief.
In the sky, the sun and moon were slowly lowering to their positions in the sky that they had meant to just be arriving at six years previous. The six friends cheered at the sight, smiling at one another.
“Now, where are the Elements of Harmony? I need you six to hold him down while I use the curse he placed on me against him.” Sunshine Blaze asked.
“Uh... well, you see...” Twilight begun.
“Oh no, you left them in there?” Sunshine Blaze shouted in panic.
“Only three of them are still in there. You don’t have to worry, Sunshine Blaze, with the castle falling down, Ulysses doesn’t stand a chance.” Twilight replied, trying to reassure him as she handed the other two elements to Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“Um guys, bit of a problem.” Rainbow Dash said.
Around them, the castle had stopped shaking and falling down, and the lava that had still been hot and liquid cooled and solidified in a second. The sight made the six friends feel uneasy, as they had expected the castle to fall to the ground.
As soon as it had stopped, once more the castle shook. A dark aura surrounded it and the outer wall and towers, ripping them from the ground and breaking them into pieces. The pieces of the castle orbited Ulysses, who stood in the air. With one yell of rage, he flung the pieces far and wide.
“Brother! Stop this, it’s over!” Sunshine Blaze called out.
When Ulysses spoke, it was clear he was still struggling against the magical overload. His voice sounded shaky and filled with anger despite the stuttering.
“You... y-you all DARE, to come and deny me m-my birth right? You all come here, based on what you t-think you know. You never told them the truth about us, Blaze. Tell them.” Ulysses hissed and yelled.
“What does it matter to them? Adopted, birth brother, your relation to me in exact words only needed one word, brother.” Sunshine Blaze replied.
Ulysses cast another spell, which passed over Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, but forced the others far back. With a shield keeping the two pegasi away from the rest of their friends, Ulysses landed. Cracks like those found in broken glass formed in the air around his body, and as Ulysses begun to laugh, streams of light flowed through the cracks and begun to twist his body. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy could only watch in horror as these streams of light warped and twisted Ulysses’ body.
Two minutes passed before the cracks begun to get wider, and Ulysses’ body had been twisted into something else entirely. His back legs and hooves now were long like a Saddle Arabian, but his forelegs had twisted into a shape with three joints, at the end of which were griffon paws. His head had been twisted into the shape of a dragon’s own head, but still retained his horn. His tail meanwhile had changed into a scorpion’s tail.
Outside the shield, Twilight and her friends, and Sunshine Blaze, stared in horror at what was now keeping them from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
“What just happened?” Rarity cried out, her eyes mere pinpricks at the sight.
“This is why Starswirl made the law on time travel, that it should be only possible once. Time doesn’t work the way Ulysses has been using it, he’s become a crack in the time stream, and its twisted his form.” Twilight whispered.
“So what in the hay do we do Twi?” Applejack shouted, worried for the two isolated pegasi.
“We need to get the remaining elements and use them on him, if we don’t, the very fabric of time and space will start tearing more than just himself!”
While the barrier kept Rainbow away from her other friends, it didn’t prevent her from hearing them. Ulysses, from what she saw, no longer had a hold on the elements of laughter, kindness or generosity, meaning they were somewhere on the ground among the rubble. Then there was getting the barrier down, something she would have to work out later. And to add to the problem one very terrified and unmoving yellow pegasus beside her.
Ulysses grabbed a stone pillar and swung it in the direction of Fluttershy. Rainbow moved quickly and got both herself and Fluttershy out of the way.
Fluttershy ran and soon found a solid stone which had once been a corner, just the right size for her to hide, but too small for the twisted form of Ulysses to reach in and grab her. Rainbow meanwhile flew around, avoiding the swings of the stone pillar and the scorpion tail. A glitter of gold in the light gave away where one element was, and avoiding his attacks, she swooped down and collected the element of laughter.
“Alright, one down, two to go. Keep up if you can!” she stuck her tongue out at Ulysses.
Ulysses didn’t attack her right away, rather, he switched his attention to where Fluttershy had hidden, and fired balls of magic at the stone in an effort to kill her within the structure. In her panic, Fluttershy moved further backwards, her hoof making contact with the element of generosity.
“Rainbow Dash! I found another!” she called as loud as she dared. However, it wasn’t loud enough for Rainbow to hear her.
Rainbow had thought of going to save Fluttershy, but had quickly spotted that Ulysses’ spells weren’t getting through the stone. Figuring Fluttershy was safe enough, she took his distraction as a moment to look for the missing elements. Looking through the ruins of the castle, she came across the remains of his throne, and sitting among the rubble was the element of kindness.
“Two down,” Rainbow grinned. A loud sound of stone breaking alerted her to the fact Ulysses had now succeeded in breaking through into Fluttershy’s hiding place, “oh no, Fluttershy! Hang on!” Rainbow shouted, taking to the air right away.
She wasn’t fast enough however, as Ulysses reached in and grabbed Fluttershy. With his other griffon paw, he took the element of Generosity off her and begun to squeeze her. He didn’t succeed in killing her, as touching the element of generosity burned at him, causing him to drop it, but not Fluttershy. With Ulysses momentarily distracted, Rainbow Dash threw her left back leg against his horn.
Ulysses roared in pain, collapsing to the ground and letting Fluttershy go. The barrier that kept them away from the others dropped, and Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie ran towards their pegasi friends.
“We’d better hurry,” Twilight said, using her magic to give the remaining elements to their rightful owners, “if we don’t use the elements on him, who knows when the whole of time and space will rip apart.”
Ulysses was no longer stunned however, as he stood up a black circle that also appeared round at the same time formed. Swirls of deep and very dark purple pulsed through it and unnatural green flashes gave the impression of invisible lightning strikes from somewhere, this was the fabric of time and space tearing around him. The six friends ran at him regardless, and found they could stand to face him in air, as though it were solid ground.
“So, it’s come to this,” Ulysses spoke, his voice much deeper and more draconic than it had been before, “despite my planning to break your bond to the elements and achieve my dreams, you all face me with your bonds restored.”
“Why did you do all this? What was the point?” Twilight asked, getting ready to channel magic into the element of magic.
“Long ago, I was told that I should have been born with wings as well. Wings nature denied me! With the elements, I would have undone what nature had no right to do. But I shall settle for this, the whole of reality being destroyed.”
From the advancing edge of the tear in reality, Sunshine Blaze shook his head.
“So, brother, you would rather being the king of a void than doing the right thing for the first time in a long time?” Sunshine Blaze shouted out.
“Better than seeing pegasi like you being able to fly where I was not given the choice! Enough talk, I shall end all of your lives before the void does so for me!” Ulysses laughed, his eyes finally caught up to the change as they went from his equine eyes to draconic within a blink.
All six friends had to dodge out of the way of dozens of plasma balls fired at them by Ulysses. As more were constantly fired, the majority towards Twilight, Ulysses also used his magic to create weapons, two very large scimitars which he took into his griffon paws. When Rainbow or Applejack attempted to get near him for a physical attack, they were forced to retreat from the stinger of the scorpion tail.
“What do we do? We can’t stay still long enough to use the elements and we can’t get near him to distract him long enough.” Rarity wailed, avoiding a dozen balls of plasma.
“Think about what we’re fighting for girls! If we give up now, everything is lost!” Twilight called out, still very much aware the majority of Ulysses’ attacks were focused on her than her friends.
Around her, each of her friends begun to think over what would be lost if they failed in this confrontation. Rainbow thought to Cloudsdale, lost in the void, and of Scootaloo and the hardships she had faced since Ulysses took over Equestria.
Applejack thought of her family, and the farm, which would be reduced to nothing, and what they must have endured because of Ulysses. Rarity thought of her sister, Sweetie Belle, who had seen horrifying sights and destroyed the youthful view of the world she had held. Pinkie Pie thought of the Cake family, and how they had to hide their son in the basement for his own safety and continued life, and how depressed Pound must be even still.
And Fluttershy thought of all the animals that had to fend for themselves because she had to flee from Ulysses. She wondered how many would still be alive if not for him.
One by one, the elements on their necks glowed, trapping the various parts of Ulysses, and even blocking the magic he cast from his horn. As he struggled against the restraints, Twilight channeled her magic into her element, her eyes changing to a bright white glow.
“NO! After everything, you would even deny me this? I won’t allow it!” Ulysses shouted, as the friends begun to be pulled closer to Twilight. “I have had enough of you six! I won’t stay idle as you resolve all this with the elements of harmony! I will ruin harmony once and for all!”
As the friends were finally close together and the elements begun to work, Ulysses had been freed from their restraining power. He quickly used his magic to cause an explosion. Twilight, who felt the elements were close to working, dropped the spell and cast magic of her own.
But it was too late, as Ulysses and the six friends were engulfed in the explosion. Sunshine Blaze was thrown backwards, striking his head against a rock as he landed. The smoke from the magical explosion rose up in the air, and all that remained in the blast zone were the six floating forms of the elements of harmony, and the bones of Ulysses, who had killed himself rather than be defeated by the elements.
In the sky, the sun and moon finally reached opposite sides of the horizon. The sky flashed white for a moment, and the forms of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna appeared. Looking around, the two sisters saw the Elements of Harmony jewels, floating around the unconscious form of Sunshine Blaze, before they sparkled and flew away across Equestria.
“At last! We’re back,” she paused, “where is Twilight Sparkle her friends?” Princess Celestia questioned, watching after the elements as they disappeared.
“It’s him, sister.” Princess Luna spoke, gently nudging Celestia.
“Yes. He sealed us away, I remember his face as well as you, Luna. Put him on my back, we’ll punish him back at Canterlot, and find out how long we have been sealed away for.” Princess Celestia replied, and looked towards Canterlot.
Sunshine Blaze smiled. Around him sat the six friends, all laughing and enjoying themselves. They had laid out a picnic blanket and placed the food on it, and all were currently enjoying the food and the company of the other ponies. He felt happy, he hadn’t had friends for a long time, and despite the circumstances in which he had met them, Sunshine Blaze felt like he had finally found friends again.
“So, Sunshine Blaze,” Rainbow Dash spoke while chewing the bite of the apple she had just bitten, “what are you up to these days?” she asked.
“Well, mostly I’m just travelling with Captain and his crew, searching for lost treasures that can come back to museums here in Irvest. Just my usual when not following leads on Ulysses.” he replied.
“That sounds exciting!” Rainbow Dash replied.
Sunshine Blaze closed his eyes and for a moment, simply enjoyed the feeling of the wind in his mane.
-- The splash of water to his face shocked him from his dream. He wasn’t in a field or on Captain’s ship, but the inky blackness was like a solid wall, and gave no hints as to where he was. Somewhere nearby a lantern which held a candle was lit, showing to him the cobblestone walls and floor. Closer to the light were iron bars, and two pegasi guards stood beyond them, staring at him.
“I thought the Princess said to bring him if he was awake.” the one further from the light said.
“Well he’s awake now. Up and at them, you.” the other replied.
Sunshine Blaze felt the cold metal of the shackles on his legs, and staggered slowly out of the cell. There, he attempted to move his wings, but found they were, along with his torso in the general area around them, restrained by a large tube of metal.
It didn’t make sense, why had they thrown him in a cell? What had he missed? As he walked ahead of the guards, he had hoped they would at least offer some clues to his situation, but both were silent as they walked along. Around them, the empty cells gave Sunshine Blaze a glimpse into what Equestria was like. There wasn’t a real need for dungeons or places to detain ponies here, because they were all well behaved. But looks, they mattered. What kind of authority didn’t have such a place? Those who didn’t usually found themselves on the working end of a weapon, wishing that they had at least made the effort.
A few minutes and many corridors later, he was in the halls of the castle where it was lighter, as the sun was low in the sky, having not long risen. Around him, the castle staff went around their tasks, pausing to watch him and the guards pass by. Sunshine Blaze hung his head in shame as the chains rattled against the marble floor. How he wished that it was night instead, so nopony would see him in chains.
He had attempted to talk to the guards, and currently his tongue hurt from when the guard hit him under his chin for attempting to speak. He considered asking why he was being led around the castle corridors early in the morning, but thought better of it, worried that another attempt would cost him some teeth.
Ahead of him stood two doors, with guards either side of it. It was clearly the throne room, but this didn’t answer any questions he had, rather, it gave him another. Why was he in chains, being taken to the throne room?
The throne room wasn’t as clean as Sunshine Blaze had been expecting. Around the room, banners hung torn, and pillars were either knocked to the floor, or into another pillar. Clearly, something had taken place. Sat in the middle of the mess, on a broken throne, sat Princess Celestia, and standing beside her was Princess Luna.
They didn’t look happy. He smiled to try and make them seem friendlier, but that didn’t work. The guards shoved him to the ground, where he struck his chin and stars appeared in his vision.
“What do you have to say for yourself for what you did to my sister, I and Equestria?” Princess Celestia spoke firmly.
Sunshine Blaze ran the sentence in his head again. She had just said what he had done to her and Princess Luna? He hadn’t ever met them before.
“Your highness-” was all he got out. One of the guard beside him lifted him up by their teeth, and the other kicked at his chin, drawing blood.
“You will not speak unless ordered to!” the guard barked.
“Guards, let him speak.” Princess Luna said, holding her wings up.
Sunshine Blaze opened and closed his mouth, trying to get the pain to pass. When it showed no signs of leaving, he sighed and spoke.
“Your highnesses, I’m afraid I don’t understand what is going on. Before this, I’ve never met you two face to face.” Sunshine Blaze said.
“You mean you do not remember coming in here, and attempting to take the lives of my sister and I, then sealing us in darkness when you couldn’t kill us?” Princess Celestia stared down at him, her eyes just slits.
Ulysses. He had almost bragged about what he had done to the princesses. But there still remained one thing he needed to address.
“Tell me, when ‘I’ came in here, what was ‘I’ wearing?” Sunshine Blaze asked.
Princess Celestia looked at Princess Luna, neither noticing that once again, the guards beat Sunshine Blaze across the head for questioning the Princesses, when he was there to be questioned.
“You wore a black cape across your back.” Princess Luna answered.
“Now you see, I always wear,” he got onto his hind legs and reached at his forehead with his front legs, but found his goggles were not there, “well, when they’re there, I always wear my goggles. The cape belonged to my brother, Ulysses. It fits, he bragged how he sealed you two away, and I have never met you two before.”
“These goggles,” Princess Celestia lifted them from beside the throne with her magic, “they were taken from you when we brought you in. But how do we know this is not some trick, so you can leave a free pony, and return to do what you planned when you have recovered?” she asked.
“Put them on.”
Princess Celestia stared at Sunshine Blaze, as though he had just asked her to shave off her mane.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
“Put them on, then toggle the switch nine times. They have a last recording function.” he stated.
It was a long shot, considering that the last recording may have been of the moments he had been brought to Canterlot, but Sunshine Blaze hoped that wasn’t the case, and when she watched, Princess Celestia would witness Ulysses.
Princess Celestia held the goggles over her eyes and toggled the switch nine times. She sat in silence as she watched what had been recorded, before setting the goggles down before her.
“Your brother was a burns victim?” she asked, opening one eye wider than the other.
“Actually no. It’s a long story, but I can shorten it. The bearers of the Elements of Harmony failed to keep them away from my brother, he survived their efforts to break his horn and bringing down his own castle. From there, the twists in time he created to pull off his scheme warped him and begun to destroy reality itself around him.” Sunshine Blaze answered.
Princess Celestia sighed, and levitated the goggles over to Sunshine Blaze, placing them back on his head.
“Release him. It seems we were deceived by a trickster unicorn.” Princess Celestia said, closing her eyes.
Sunshine Blaze breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the chains and wing restraint being removed. He flared his wings to stretch them, and smiled at the Princesses.
“You don’t need to say anything. My brother was very good at illusions, he often got me into trouble by appearing as me, but he would always forget that I didn’t wear a cape.” Sunshine Blaze stated.
“Yes, but there is one other thing. When we found you, there was a burnt body, a horrible sight. Who or what was it? I’ve never seen anything that looked like a pony with six wings.” Princess Celestia questioned.
“Ah, that would have probably been what was left of my brother. He never used to have wings, but when he stole the elements of harmony, he forced them to give him wings, and well, they don’t create something from nothing apparently. But then he lost the elements of harmony and use of the six wings, and rather than be defeated, he decided to lose on his own terms. I’m assuming you have him recovering before you punish him.” Sunshine Blaze answered, keeping eye contact with Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia however looked slightly worried for a moment towards Sunshine Blaze.
“Yes, well, the elements of harmony scattered when my sister and I arrived. We have no idea where they are.” Princess Celestia said, looking down at the floor.
“All you need to do is get those who held them to find them. It shouldn’t be hard, they embody the elements.” Sunshine Blaze smiled.
He couldn’t work out why Princess Celestia looked at him sadly. In a way, she looked at Sunshine Blaze as any grown up would look at the young, when the young had clearly not understood something important.
“I fear you are missing a very big point here. They can not look for them.” Princess Celestia stated.
“Sure they can, they defeated my brother, and have a bond to the elements. It should be easy for them.” Sunshine Blaze replied, smiling.
“They can’t,” Princess Celestia stood up, “they were killed at the battle against your brother. There were no bodies of them.”
This seemed to be missed by Sunshine Blaze. He had heard what Princess Celestia had said, but the dots didn’t connect in his head.
“I’m sure they’re fine. After such a long time away, and after a fight with my brother, they just went back home.”
Princess Celestia went to say something, but was interrupted by green smoke appearing before her. Using her magic, she opened the letter and read it. As she read, tears welled up in her eyes and begun rolling down her cheeks.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” she begun to speak aloud, “if you are reading this...” she paused. Looking up, she gazed on a ghostly figure of Twilight, standing in the room.
“Then it means I did not return from the confrontation with the one known as Ulysses, and Spike has sent this, my final letter. You may have met Sunshine Blaze by now, and it is because of him that my friends and I went into this fight. From speaking with Applejack, and witnessing a strange function of his goggles, I know why he asked us for help. He has even said to Fluttershy if my memory is right, Ulysses long ago placed a curse on him, to burn when he attempted to stop him. By asking us for help, Sunshine Blaze hoped he could stop his brother from a distance.”
The ghostly Twilight sat down, and looked to the floor on her right, sighing as she did so.
“I figured an enchanted letter would be better should things go badly, so you can see me one last time, and hopefully be proud of me. But I digress, Sunshine Blaze has asked for this help before, and has revealed that his brother changed him in more ways than just the curse designed to slowly kill him. After the destruction of his home town in Irvest, Sunshine Blaze has grown up with no knowledge of death and its finality. He knows what he asked of others, and now asks of me and my friends, but doesn’t understand. If we die, then that’s it for us. I won’t get to see another day, or speak to you. In his head, I am sure, Sunshine Blaze is still just the little colt that watched his mother die of burn wounds, not understanding that she hadn’t just fallen asleep.”
Princess Celestia took a moment to look at Sunshine Blaze. He had remained where he had before, but now lay on his belly, looking up at Twilight. His eyes sparkled slightly, as if some rather horrible thoughts of what he had exactly done were sinking in.
“As Spike writes this, we are in Irvest, preparing to return to Equestria. You probably won’t see it, but the sky is always red, and has been since Sunshine Blaze rescued us and brought us here. I haven’t spoken to the others since Sunshine Blaze left, but I can tell they’re thinking the same as me. That this is one fight where the outcome may not be as happy as it was with Nightmare Moon or Discord. We all know, deep down, we’re walking to our deaths. I felt so selfish earlier when asked to do this. I wanted to say no, I wanted to stay here safe, as a respected scholar. But,” Twilight faltered for a moment, “but to say no, when the world is dying from the endless day-night. While you remain trapped somewhere by him? How could I be so selfish, and put myself first? I bear the Element of Magic, and while it is in Ulysses’ possession as this is written, I would rather die trying to save the world.”
Twilight now stood up, a smile on her face.
“So then, this is where I end this rather long letter Princess Celestia. I do hope it will never have to be sent to you, but as you can see, this is what I have become in the six years. A respected scholar in a country that Equestria has never had relations with. And willingly leaving it behind. To save Irvest, to save Equestria, and the world. To save you. And please, if you ever do meet Sunshine Blaze, don’t blame him for this. He may look like a colt, but he is still young of mind, the prospect of death has never been explained to him. And thank you, Princess Celestia. Thank you for everything you have done for me, or helped me with. Your faithful student always, Twilight Sparkle.”
And with that, the ghostly figure of Twilight, cast into the room by an enchantment on the scroll, faded from sight. Beyond where she had appeared, Sunshine Blaze seemed to have finally connected the dots, as he had begun crying.
Princess Celestia lifted him up with her magic and brought him before her, placing him back on the ground the same way she had brought him over, laying with his legs underneath his body. Princess Celestia sat down and looked back towards Princess Luna, who had her eyes focused on Sunshine Blaze.
“Final letter... the way she spoke... I... I’ve heard of death, but,” Sunshine Blaze closed his eyes tight, “how could I have been so stupid? Why didn’t I see it before... Captain always waking me up on the boat, those I asked for help had gone missing. I just thought dead was another way of saying they had gone somewhere to sleep...”
“You are not to blame, Sunshine Blaze,” Princess Celestia spoke softly, “while you had no idea, my student and her friends did. I am sure they knew the risks like Twilight Sparkle said, and despite that, willingly gave their lives to save the world from Ulysses. I am proud of them, and while they will be missed, they will always live on in our hearts.”
Sunshine Blaze raised himself to his hooves, and stared at the ground. Slowly, he stopped crying, but didn’t make eye contact with the Princess.
“I deserve whatever punishment you deem fit.” he said, his voice flat and raspy from the crying.
“Why would I punish you?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Because of my actions, and request, your student, and the bearers of the elements of harmony are dead.” Sunshine Blaze replied.
Sunshine Blaze winced in anticipation, as Princess Celestia placed a hoof to his chin. Gently, she made Sunshine Blaze look her in the eyes.
“Your actions, while they did not end well for all involved, led to the right thing being done. Because of you, the six ponies who embody the individual aspects of harmony are gone, but look outside,” she paused and looked out of a window higher up in the room. The sky was blue, dotted with white clouds, among which, a single rainbow could be seen, “ because of you asking for help, and their choice, the world is safe once again. To punish you for that would mean having to punish anypony for enjoying a sunrise or sunset, for enjoying rainbows, or the warmth of the sun or the chill at night with the moon overhead. Instead, while we may have met under the circumstances where my sister and I had assumed you were the cause for everything, you may return to Irvest, and tell them Equestria wishes to open relations. And, you are free to return as you wish here.”
Sunshine Blaze didn’t smile, but his frown subsided. He looked at Princess Celestia, as finally, a smile returned to his face.
“I can see why Twilight held you with such high regard, you are very ki-” he cut off, as the goggles on his head shook slightly.
Sunshine Blaze quickly lowered them over his eyes, to the confusion of the princesses. He toggled the switch four times. His head spun around, while his mouth formed the shape of an o, and soon, he stopped in a random direction.
“Uh, sorry but, did Twilight have a favourite place here?” he asked, looking back at Princess Celestia, goggles over his eyes.
“In Canterlot? She rarely left her library before I sent her to Ponyville. Why do you ask?” Princess Celestia replied and questioned back.
“Just, there’s was a sudden surge of magic power. I need to check what it is!” Sunshine Blaze shouted, running out of the throne room.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna watched as he ran out of the doors, before looking at the other with confusion. They both soon came to a silent, unspoken agreement to follow after him.
-- The library Twilight had spent her time in before leaving for Ponyville was mostly the same as she had left it. The ruined present for Moondancer still lay near the stairs, where Spike had dropped it after he had removed it from his tail. The books and shelves themselves were coated with a thick layer of dust, as Twilight had been the only pony to use the library before she left, and since she had gone, it was disused.
Spiders had taken to the forgotten library, and often ate well since a window had remained open, just enough for when Spike had to send a letter.
As the doors burst open, shifting the dust and shaking the cobwebs, the spiders were no longer happy. Through the doors flew in Sunshine Blaze, who landed on his hooves and examined the library with his goggles. They showed that the surge of magic had ceased, but very powerful magic remained on the floor above where he currently stood. As he climbed the stairs, walking past the remains of a forgotten present, the princesses arrived, having flown after Sunshine Blaze as well.
As Sunshine Blaze walked out to the floor, he stopped to lift the goggles and place them back on his forehead. In the middle of this upper floor, hovering in midair and casting a purple light, was a star shaped gem.
“The element of magic! But, how did it get here?” Princess Celestia questioned, confused. She hadn’t been expecting to ever see the element that Twilight Sparkle had embodied ever again.
Sunshine Blaze didn’t answer. Slowly, with his head held low, he approached the Element of Magic, glancing up now and then, seeing the light shimmer within it.
“I feel pretty foalish for saying this,” he begun, “because I don’t know if I’m speaking to just an object, or if you can really hear me. But, I’m sorry Twilight. I’m so very sorry. You were right about me. I didn’t understand until today what death really was. I... I hope you can forgive me. I made you choose to live or die, without knowing what I was really asking. While the world may thank you for giving up your life to save them, all I want, what I want to know more than anything, is that you and your friends forgive me.” he said slowly, tears forming once again in the corners of his eyes.
The element of magic spun around silently. The light shimmered and made patterns and rainbows on the dust covered floor, as Sunshine Blaze finally looked at it, waiting for any sign to show he was forgiven.
He wasn’t expecting a large bubble of purple magic to form suddenly around the element. Clearly, Princess Celestia hadn’t either, but she reacted by rather unroyally grabbing his tail in her teeth and pulling him clear of the bubble. Inside, the element of magic begun to spin faster and faster, pulling the bubble back towards itself. As the bubble drew closer, it seemed to impact a shape, which became more prominent as it continued its collapse. When it had finished, the shape was that of a unicorn, and Sunshine Blaze watched, jaw dropped in awe, as the Element of Magic reformed the golden crown it had been in before, and held in the air on the head of this shape.
A pop made Sunshine Blaze and the Princesses close their eyes. Before they could open them again, the sound of somepony taking a breath as if they had just surfaced from a dive underwater filled the room, followed by a voice.
“Oh no, my library! It’s filthy! Spike! Where are you? We need to clean this place.... wait... why am I in Canterlot?” Twilight asked.
“Twilight Sparkle.” Princess Celestia opened her eyes, and looked at the purple unicorn with a shocked expression.
“Princess Celestia! I thought I’d never see you again!” Twilight said, forgetting her confusion and ran to her teacher’s side.
“After the letter Spike sent, and watching as the Elements of Harmony vanish, I thought the same. How can you be here?” Princess Celestia asked.
“The last thing I remember, we were about to use the elements against this pony called Ulysses. Then there was a bright light, and I felt suddenly constrained, as if in a small space. Next thing I know, here I am.” Twilight replied.
“That’s interesting,” Princess Celestia said, while thinking over what Twilight had just said, “Sunshine Blaze, can your go-” she stopped.
Where Sunshine Blaze had been standing was now just air. Across the way, a window was now fully open, the wind from outside whipped up the dust in the library. Sunshine Blaze had gone.
-- Granny Smith sat in a rocking chair in front of the house on the Sweet Apple Acres farm, watching as out in the fields, Big Macintosh gathered up the buckets of apples that had been bucked from the trees just an hour before.
He looked to his right when a soft thud indicated that a pegasus had just landed beside him. There, he saw Sunshine Blaze, smiling.
“Hello, are you Big Macintosh?” Sunshine Blaze questioned.
“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh answered, “something bad happen to AJ?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, something bad happened when we confronted Ulysses. Something that can be put right. Tell me, did Applejack have a favourite place on the farm?” Sunshine Blaze asked.
Big Macintosh didn’t reply right away. He slowly closed his eyes, and seemed as if he was trying to control his emotions. A minute passed before he opened his eyes again, and looked at Sunshine Blaze.
“AJ died, didn’t she?” he asked.
“Not yet. Not if the Elements of Harmony have any say in this. I need you to tell me, where was her favourite place on the farm.” Sunshine Blaze replied.
Big Macintosh walked a short distance away, stopping only to see if Sunshine Blaze was following him. Taking this as a cue, Sunshine Blaze begun to follow Big Macintosh. They arrived at a hill several minutes later, which overlooked the entire farm. In the middle of this hill, a tiny sapling was growing.
“It was but a seed when AJ up and disappeared six years ago. Near here, her first tree, Bloomberg, was grown, ‘fore it was shipped to Appleloosa.” Big Macintosh explained, looking at the apple tree sapling.
Sunshine Blaze lowered his goggles, and looked around. He smiled as he found what he was looking for, and walked towards it. Over an unassuming part of bare ground, floated the Element of Honesty. It too sparkled in the sunlight, but this time much brighter due to it being in the open.
Slowly, Sunshine Blaze stood beside the Element of Honesty, and sat down. A brief moment of silence filled the air, disturbed only by the sound of the wind blowing through the surrounding leaves on the trees.
“I can see why you like this spot Applejack,” Sunshine Blaze spoke to the Element of Honesty, as it floated silently beside him, “you can see the whole farm here. It must make you feel proud to be here, and see the trees growing and bearing fruit through your hard work. Of course, your brother deserves some credit as well.”
The Element of Honesty only responded by spinning once in the air, before resuming its soundless floating.
“You can still look after it. Ulysses didn’t destroy the farm, it is still here. Everything is fine now. And while I learnt a hard lesson on what I really asked you and your friends to do for the world, you shouldn’t pay the price for my, or Ulysses’, actions.”
Sunshine Blaze calmly stood up and walked up to Big Macintosh, as the Element of Honesty begun to spin faster and faster in the air. An orange bubble soon appeared, and shrunk. The orange bubble soon begun to touch a shape, of an earth pony with a stetson hat on her head. With a pop, Applejack replaced the bubble shape, gasping for breath. Beside him, Big Macintosh stared in awe at what he had witnessed.
“What jus’ happened?” he asked.
“What happened? The Elements of Harmony repaid your sister and her friends for saving them from Ulysses after six years. As he tried to kill them, they, sort of absorbed them, and kept them safe from a magical explosion. Somehow.” Sunshine Blaze replied, smiling.
Applejack, who had finally caught her breath again, was now looking confused around the farm, her eyes landing on her brother and Sunshine Blaze.
“What? Ah don’t git this. Weren’t ah helping Twi and the others with Ulysses?” Applejack asked at Sunshine Blaze.
“You were, and you did. Congratulations. Catch up with you later. Bye..” Sunshine Blaze answered, taking flight.
-- Fluttershy’s cottage showed signs that it had been burnt down when the nearest part of the Everfree Forest had burnt. However, somepony had rebuilt it to its appearance before the fire. Inside, as Sunshine Blaze found, it had been very well kept. It wasn’t surprising who had kept it clean and dust free since it had been rebuilt, Angel, the bunny Fluttershy often worried about in Irvest, had grown older and now had young of his own.
Angel and the other animals, who kept Fluttershy’s cottage clean were staring in wonder at the butterfly shaped gem that was the Element of Kindness, as it floated in the middle of the room.
Sunshine Blaze walked carefully towards it, gently picking up Angel, or at least the oldest looking rabbit that he hoped was Angel, and held him closer to the gem. The rabbit stared at him with some annoyance, but turned his attention to the Element that was now floating before him.
“Fluttershy... words can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for making you face such an insane pony. I hadn’t expected him to try and kill you all when you were about to defeat him, but, I... I hid the fact he wouldn’t have hesitated to try and kill you for being a pegasus, because I knew if I told you and your friends the truth, you would never have returned. But, look around, that is, if you can. These animals, some so young they have never met you, they’ve all helped to keep your old home clean. If you can, I’m sure you would like to return to meet them all.” Sunshine Blaze said.
The Element of Kindness seemed to dim a little. But it didn’t spin, or cast a bubble. It remained still, and got dimmer. It was almost as if it wanted to hide from him. Looking at the rabbit he was holding up, Sunshine Blaze watched as the rabbit jumped towards the Element of Kindness, and wrapped his little arms around it.
The Element begun to get brighter and spun, slowly, as a yellow bubble appeared. This quickly collapsed and popped, replaced by Fluttershy gasping for breath, while the rabbit remained holding its arms in a hug on her neck, with the Element of Kindness underneath it on Fluttershy’s neck.
Fluttershy lifted a front hoof up to Angel, and removed him so she could look at his face. She smiled and nuzzled him, before gasping with joy at the sight of the animals in her cottage. Angel thumped against her hoof, calling for her attention. He simply pointed at the open door, and as Fluttershy looked at it, she watched as Sunshine Blaze quickly became a speck in the sky.
“I don’t blame you, Sunshine Blaze. We had to do what was right. You reminded us of that when we had forgotten.” Fluttershy said softly, knowing that he couldn’t hear her words.
-- Carousel Boutique had been closer as Sunshine Blaze flew back over Ponyville. There were only three more places the remaining elements could logically be. Rarity had often talked highly of her fashion store, and had even done her best to recreate it in Irvest, so logic said that the Element of Generosity would have gone there.
The sight that awaited him within the store was fairly simple. Scootaloo, her body wrapped by the newest bandages from whatever injuries she had gained during the battle before Ulysses’ Castle, stood stone faced next to Sweetie Belle, who was currently on the floor crying. Floating just before the pair of teenage fillies, was the Element of Generosity.
As Sunshine Blaze walked in, Scootaloo simply glanced him over, before focusing once more on her crying friend.
“She’s gone... what’ll I do now Scootaloo? M-my sister i-is gone!” Sweetie Belle wailed.
“I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but the years have been kinder on you than me, so while its the best thing I can say, its not the kindest, pain free way of putting things. Your sister’s element of harmony is there, and she’s gone. Crying like a little foal wouldn’t be what she’d want for you.” Scootaloo barely flinched as she spoke the words, causing Sweetie Belle to get louder with her crying.
Unseen by the pair, Sunshine Blaze grinned.
“I don’t need to say anything.” he said.
In the middle of the air, the Element of Generosity spun, getting faster. Scootaloo reacted fast when the white and purple bubble appeared, pulling Sweetie Belle by her tail out of the way. The bubble followed the previous ones, it collapsed, forming a shape of a curly maned unicorn, before popping.
Rarity collapsed to the floor as she gasped for breath, the Element of Generosity now around her neck. Her eyes locked on to Sweetie Belle, who had her own eyes locked on Rarity, in shock of what she had just witnessed. Neither sister said a word as they ran at the other, hugging when they met, and crying with joy.
Scootaloo watched the sisters hugging and crying with joy, and for the first time in years, she smiled. Behind her, the front door clicked closed, and she turned her head, watching as Sunshine Blaze took flight.
-- Mr and Mrs. Cake were slightly worried by the blue balloon shaped gem floating in the empty room that they still maintained for Pinkie Pie. However, despite their worry, they tried to hold back laughs whenever Gummy, Pinkie Pie’s pet alligator, who had grown in her absence attempted to get at the gem and bite it in his toothless gums.
They turned their heads to the stairs when the bell by the front door jingled, indicating somepony had just walked in, and the sound of hooves clopping against wood gave away where they were heading. Soon, they saw the orange head with turquoise mane of Sunshine Blaze, who simply walked over to them.
“I suspect in a second, you’re both going to be very busy.” Sunshine Blaze stated.
“Why, whatever do you mean?” Mrs. Cake questioned.
Suddenly, there was a pop, and Pinkie Pie inhaled. There was no delay for the lively pink party pony. She tackled Sunshine Blaze and pinned him to the ground.
“Ohmygoshwedidit? WedefeatedUlyssesandtheelementsofharmonykeptussafeandnowyoucametogetusand,” she spoke without a single break or intake of another breath.
Giggling, Pinkie Pie let go of Sunshine Blaze and backed away a few feet, taking breaths again. As Sunshine Blaze got up, she begun to talk again.
“Are the others ok? That huge boom would have hurt so bad if the Elements didn’t use that strange magic that was to keep me in mine.” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Well, Twilight reappeared in her old library up in Canterlot, I left Applejack at her farm, Fluttershy is at her cottage, and Rarity at her old shop. I just have to find Rainbow Dash.” Sunshine Blaze answered.
“This is great news! You know what this calls for?” Pinkie Pie asked.
Sunshine Blaze simply blinked once. In that single blink, Pinkie Pie had gone from sitting with Gummy’s mouth clamped to her tail, to being surrounded by balloons and streamers, and Gummy now sitting on her head. He prepared to question how she had moved so fast in what was literally less than a second, but stopped, and shook his head. It was just Pinkie Pie, there was no other explanation needed.
“No, Pinkie Pie. What does this call for?” he asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
-- “A PARTY!” Pinkie Pie yelled at the top of her voice.
An hour had passed since she and the Cakes spread the word of the impromptu party, and tables and chairs now lined the middle of the street past Sugarcube Corner, and went out of sight all the way to the Town Hall. The tables and chairs were decorated with streamers and balloons, and food sat on plates down the middle of the tables, with plates set up before each chair.
Ponies had taken the excuse of a party to celebrate the downfall of Ulysses, and the return of the Princesses, and away from the tables, they played games or danced to music. On the horizon, the sun was beginning to set, but Pinkie had clearly planned ahead, as glass encased candles were set up among the food on the tables.
Pinkie Pie herself currently sat with her friends, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy, all were at the table closest to the town hall, with the next table over being where the Mayor sat, accompanied by Soarin’, two of the other wonderbolts, and Scootaloo with her friends Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.
Above them, as Gringhold departed to find a cave to sleep for a hundred years, a chariot pulled by two Canterlot guards that had survived the years under Ulysses’ rule arrived. It landed, and from the back, pausing only to breath in the cool evening air, walked Twilight.
“Twi! Over here!” Applejack called out.
Twilight responded by smiling, and running over as fast as she possibly could. She took a chair and silently watched as ponies all around celebrated.
“I never expected to see the end result of all this.” Twilight said happily.
“Yes, but we are here, if only thanks to whatever strange spell the Elements of Harmony used.” Rarity added.
Nearby, Sunshine Blaze landed, looking quite upset. He walked over to the table and sat beside Fluttershy.
“It wasn’t there. I checked Rainbow Dash’s home, but no sign of the Element of Loyalty.” he said, avoiding eye contact.
“Aww, don’t worry! I’ll throw Dashie a party when she returns!” Pinkie Pie stated.
“Was her favourite place anywhere in Ponyville?” Sunshine Blaze asked.
“Oh, no,” Fluttershy spoke up, “she may have lived in Ponyville, but she always liked Cloudsdale. She did her first and second Sonic Rainbooms there. She liked the fact that she could fly under the clouds, because it wasn’t like flying over a town. Since towns are on the ground, and it’d hurt to try.”
Sudden explosions of fireworks filled the air, causing the ponies to stop their conversation and look towards Canterlot. Fireworks flew through the air and exploded in a variety of colours and patterns.
“It seems they’re celebrating in Canterlot. That must be quite a party.” Rarity smiled.
“Aw... fireworks, why didn’t I think of those?” Pinkie Pie questioned, sounding dejected.
“Don’t sweat it Pinkie, yer party’s swell as it is.” Applejack replied.
They fell silent once more, continuing to watch the fireworks from Canterlot. After a while, Sunshine Blaze stood up and faced away from the table.
“Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Thank you, all of you. If I’d never met you all, I’d still be an ignorant colt, with no understanding of the consequences of my actions. You’ve all been good friends to me in the time I’ve known you. I just... I just wish we hadn’t met under such unfortunate circumstances. It was only because of my brother that I even had to speak to you all. But,” Sunshine Blaze turned his head to look behind him, a big smile appearing on his face, “regardless of the how, the outcome is clear. I always have friends in you. And I wouldn’t change that for anything.”
“Where are you going? You don’t have to keep travelling anymore now your brother is gone. Why not stay with us here in Ponyville?” Twilight asked.
“Maybe one day, I’ll return and take you up on that offer. But for now... for now I have one more thing I must do. Goodbye my friends.” he replied, taking flight.
The five friend watched as he flew away, tears of sorrow forming in the corners of their eyes. They looked at each other, waiting for one of the others to say something.
“Do... do you think we’ll ever see him again?” Rarity asked.
“Ah dunno Rarity. Maybe. All we can do is hope ah guess.” Applejack answered.
“I hope so too, I was going to make him an outfit and ask for him to help model new designs for colts.” Rarity added.
Applejack, Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie simply rolled their eyes.
-- Ulysses had said just before he died, that he hadn’t killed anypony since leaving Irvest. This was, simply, a partial truth. Somehow, Cloudsdale and the pegasi on it had survived the void, but many simply hadn’t, and the town was in need of major repair.
Slowly, Sunshine Blaze walked through the city, the distant sound of firework explosions filled the air with the only sound. It had taken him most of the night to fly there, and the moon had travelled across the sky, and was now low on the horizon. Silently, he put his goggles over his eyes and looked up. High above, a magical energy source could be seen, and he flew to it before removing his goggles.
“Hello Rainbow Dash.” he said to the floating Element of Loyalty.
The Element of Loyalty only just hovered over a cloud, which remained still in the air as if under the control of a pegasus. It sparkled slightly in the moonlight, and Sunshine Blaze felt as if it was watching him.
“I hope you can see this. Canterlot has been letting off fireworks all night, the pegasi that survived these last six years are busy flying around, taking messages of similar celebrations across Equestria. Word sure goes around fast.”
The Element of Loyalty replied only by lifting up a little, but it did not spin. He sighed.
“When I left Ponyville, your friends were attending a celebration there, held by Pinkie Pie, of course. She’s promised more parties when you return. But, there’s something I need to say to you. Will you listen to me?” he asked.
The Element of Loyalty spun once. Sunshine Blaze smiled, and took a deep breath.
“Didn’t you ever notice this all begun with you? How, in the different futures and the past, Ulysses had attempted to break or kill you? I believe simply, in the time he must have observed you all, he grew to hate you the most. You are the fastest pegasus he and I had ever seen. He hated us pegasi just for having what he was denied at birth, but then to find one faster than any he’d seen before, well, that made you his number one target. You weren’t just flaunting what he didn’t get when born, you made it all a big show. And well, I’m sorry. Back in Irvest, I made you and your friends choose between your new safe lives in a dying world, or returning here to face him and save the world. While you were willing to go right then, I would have asked you to consider it for longer than a year, had I known what I was really asking. I was asking for you to choose between living, or dying. I was such a foal... and, I hope you can forgive me.” he said.
A pop filled the air beside him, but it wasn’t followed up by a gasp for breath, rather, Rainbow Dash exhaled.
“Oh come on! There wasn’t any choice then! I couldn’t leave Equestria or the world die thanks to him. I’d gladly die for real than let ponies suffer and die.” Rainbow Dash stated.
“But you six weren’t supposed to. My brother’s curse was cast wrong. It burnt me, yes, but it stored his own power in me. If I’d acted faster, I’d have given it back to him, and none of you would have had to be released from the Elements of Harmony.” Sunshine Blaze said, looking at Rainbow Dash.
“C’mon, Blaze. Don’t beat yourself up over this. It’s done with, over. We can all return to peaceful lives now. Of course, I’ll help rebuild Cloudsdale, but first, I can help you get settled in Ponyville, since your old home in Irvest is gone.” Rainbow smiled, as the moon begun to touch the horizon.
“Rainbow...”
“It’ll be great! Wait, would you rather live on the ground or on a cloud? Because I’m the only one in town with a cloud home. But its free to make at least, so it’ll save a bit of money.” Rainbow continued, slightly excited to help Sunshine Blaze make a new home.
“...I’m not staying...”
“Oh it’ll be so awesome! Obviously, you can’t have rainbows at the front, well, not until the weather factory is rebuilt anyway,” she paused, “what did you say?”
“B-but why not? After all we’ve been through these last six years, you’re just leaving?” Rainbow stood up.
“It’s not that I don’t want to. But see it my way. Before I even met you six, I chased after my brother, trying to stop him. Now he’s gone, I can finally live! I can finally be free, able to travel to the places I want to know, and see the sights and wonders it holds from a normal perspective, rather than wondering if my brother is using it in some evil plan. Rainbow Dash,” Sunshine Blaze looked at her with pleading eyes, “I am finally free.”
Rainbow Dash smiled weakly, while inside, she wanted to cry from how sad she felt and how happy she was for Sunshine Blaze. His words hurt slightly, since it all meant the same thing, he was leaving, and she was unlikely to ever see him again.
“Will you ever come back?” Rainbow asked, small tears in her eyes.
“I hope so, one day. Irvest may be where I was born, but my home died when my brother killed everypony. Maybe... maybe one day, I can come back, and call Ponyville my home. I’d like that.” Sunshine Blaze turned his attention to the opposite horizon, as behind him the moon dipped out of sight.
“Blaze, thank you. I’m not sure if the others said this to you, but thank you for everything. Even when Twilight didn’t trust you, and the rest of us weren’t sure of who you were, or what you had planned, you didn’t let it get in the way. You saved us from Ulysses when he tried to kill us six years ago. And you reminded us that we had to do what was right for the world. Thank you for everything Sunshine Blaze.” Rainbow Dash said, nuzzling Sunshine Blaze in a friendly way, to end her thank you.
On the horizon they now faced, golden rays of light appeared, as the sun rose. Sunshine Blaze raised his wings.
“Where are you going to go?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Sunshine Blaze took a moment to think of an answer. As it formed in his head, he smiled, and looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes.
“Wherever the wind takes me.” Sunshine Blaze answered, and took flight.
Rainbow Dash stood on the cloud, watching as Sunshine Blaze slowly became a speck on the horizon, then vanished from sight for the last time. She sighed, and finally begun to cry the tears she had held back.
“I don’t understand you, Blaze. You watched your mother die and your home burn, you must have seen countless horrors, and yet, you cried only once the whole time I’ve known you. Any other pony would have broken down and given up the will to live. Yet, all because you were told to stay strong, you didn’t, and only cried once. How brave must you be?” she pondered aloud.
She sat there for a while longer, drying her eyes. Satisfied that she had dried them, she took flight and headed for Ponyville.
-- A year saw Equestria slowly return to normal. While largely unaffected, Ponyville and Canterlot returned to normal, and offered help to the other towns and cities to rebuild. Cloudsdale was restored soon after and it didn’t take long for all the towns to look like they once had again.
Life also returned to normal for the six friends. Applejack, using Equestria’s new relations with Irvest, opened links to the farm she had left behind in Port Equis. Between her and Big Macintosh, plans soon formed to open another farm in Irvest and expand the business.
Rarity likewise created links to her store in Port Equis, and begun shipping designs from Irvest to Equestria, while sending designs from Equestria to Irvest. Fluttershy only sent mail now and then to check on how the small animal caretaking business she had set up was doing.
Twilight, excited by the new relations had invited other scholars she had known in Irvest to come to Equestria, and see it for themselves, rather than hear about it and the history from her or any book. She remained in the Ponyville library however, content to return to her old life, studying the magic of friendship for Princess Celestia.
Pinkie Pie still worked for the Cakes at Sugarcube Corner, having at first seemingly forgotten the store she had run in Port Equis. Later, it was learnt she kept track of it by mail, but had happily returned to the life she had left.
Rainbow Dash likewise returned to the life she had known before, managing Ponyville’s weather and practising for when the Wonderbolts would eventually reform and look for new recruits. Since she had passed on control of the team in Irvest, she simply kept track now and then, offering advice to them by mail when they requested the help.
Even for Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, things returned to a relative normalcy. While the six years had kept them from finding their special talents, and left Scootaloo with a lot of scars and an emotionally distant outlook on life, the three teenage fillies resumed their lives.
And each day, the six friends kept watching the skies, looking for the colours of the friend that had saved them and aided them in saving Equestria. No matter how often Sunshine Blaze never appeared, they never gave up hope that he would one day return to tell them of his latest journey.
