My Little Pony: A Stitch in Time

by FoxMcCloud7921

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Dark
Length: 6806

Twilight and her friends must face an enemy not seen for centuries...

Long ago, the Dark Interlopers, unicorns capable of wielding dark magic were cast from the realm of Equestria and banished to another, sealed by powerful magic. However, the seal, after centuries of weakening, has broken and the unicorns, thirsting for revenge, return to claim the years and land that were stolen from them.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle, now in her new castle in Ponyville, still has questions even after her battle with Tirek and now her worth will be tested as she must go toe to toe with an enemy with an ability even Princess Celestia does not have: time travel.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-08-14 18:41:36 UTC

Prologue

Youtube Video

Prologue

*Centuries ago, before the rise of Nightmare Moon, even before Tirek and his brother Scorpan came to the country of Equestria, an era of peace was being celebrated by the ponies who lived there. However, despite the long years of peace, it would soon come crashing down.

While unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi lived in harmony, there were those known as the Dark Interlopers, unicorns who practiced dark magic, magic that had existed since the beginning of time. Once their numbers had grown large enough, the temptation of power became too much to resist, and suddenly the entire land of Equestria was being terrorized by this dark power, and on the brink of civil war.

However, the one type of magic that can overcome any magic, even dark magic, was alicorn magic. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, much younger and new to their thrones, confronted these unicorns and quelled their rebellion. Their leaders gone, the rest of them received the worst possible punishment: exile. They were then banished to another dimension: a dark and eerie place that was fitting of the crimes they committed.

For centuries, up until now, this dimension had been sealed off by powerful magic but due to recent events, there has been an imbalance of magic and the seal, which has slowly been weakening over the years, is at risk of being breached. Time can only tell what will happen if and when the seal finally wears off…

It was always the same: the darkness, the ambiance. But the faint glow of twilight somehow made it look somewhat pleasant. Traya stood on the balcony on the very top of her palace. Her palace. It was strange to think it belonged to her, and a palace no less. Since her citizens were first banished here, they had to start from scratch, nothing given to them, and everything had to be done themselves.

Of course, that had been centuries ago, and she hadn’t even been born yet. She was among the fortunate ones; her ancestors were the ones who did all the hard work. But their efforts would never be forgotten.

“My Queen.”

Traya had already felt her guard’s presence, little to his knowledge, but it was always humorous to have to make him “get” her attention. “What is it?”

“I have some… interesting news.”

Traya sighed inwardly. This had better be important. “And… that would be…?”

“It’s the seal my queen, it appears that it is wearing off at a faster rate than before, meaning something has happened.”

Yes, that did sound interesting. “So, the time approaches even closer now,” she thought. “Indeed it would seem… very well. Then it is time to make preparations.”

“Of course your majesty, I will alert everypony.” The guard then trotted off.

Traya looked back into the black-purplish sky. So, something has happened in Equestria and the seal is on the verge of breaking. She then smiled. How she longed for this day. She did not think she would be alive to see it but it seems fate decided otherwise. With a hint of sadness, she had wished her parents, the former king and queen, had still been here to see this. Of course… she wasn’t sure if they would approve of what she had planned next.

Her smile turned to a wicked grin. Yes, she had grown fond of this land but as she had learned, why have one when you can have them all? Yes, she had no doubt Celestia and Luna were still ruling their petty kingdom and she would make sure they answered for everything. Sure, they would not know her, but it made no difference.

“I shall be seeing you both soon enough,” she thought. “And then we’ll finally settle this dispute…”

(A/N: For this next part, the song I’m using is “Fate of the Unknown” from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=fate+of+the+unknown+kingdom+hearts])

*Twilight Sparkle wasn’t sure where she was or how she got here…It certainly reminded her of the Castle of the Two Sisters but… different somehow. It was then she realized she wasn’t alone. At her side she saw Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence. But why, what was going on?

She then saw they were staring ahead and when she looked she saw a figure approaching them. She couldn’t see who it was at all, it was like a walking shadow. She then saw Celestia, Luna, and Cadence look at each other, nodded slightly and took off towards the figure. Twilight was slightly taken aback but flapped her wings to join them.

Celestia and Luna charged up their magic but the figure seemed prepared for them as suddenly the ground below him lifted him up towards the heavens, causing a wall to block them. Twilight was still not sure what was going on but if the princesses were attacking this pony, then he had to be evil. She then flew upwards towards the figure. The two sisters, plus Cadence, attacked again but the figure shielded their attacks. Well, now it was known the figure was a unicorn at least.

Twilight then had an idea. If the three of them were keeping him distracted, this could give her an opening. She concentrated, focused her magic as she zoomed towards the figure. However, it seemed the figure had anticipated her and as it turned towards her she stopped, feeling a chill go down her spine. She froze and she felt like she lost the feeling of her limbs, but in fact the figure was controlling her now and suddenly at great speed she was falling and hit the ground with such force she wouldn’t have been surprised if every bone in her body was broken and so otherwise.

Luna had somehow used this moment and teleported behind the figure, trying to use a close-range attack but the figure was quicker. Luna suddenly froze as frost appeared on her mane and body as she suddenly fell from the sky. Had Celestia not rushed down in time and caught her, her entire body may have shattered into pieces. Celestia held her younger sister close as Luna tried to move, only able to look at her sister helplessly.

It was then the figure finally used magic of it’s own as a dark sphere appeared and floated toward the sky. The sphere grew larger and larger, now resembling something that of a portal. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence could only stare at this new sight, knowing that whatever they were trying to prevent, it was now too late.

Twilight, meanwhile, slowly got to her feet, the pain in her almost too much to bear. She stared up at the figure and suddenly, she felt darkness obscuring her eyesight but it wasn’t her body shutting, it was like something was awakening… something she had never experienced before. Her emotion turned to anger and before anything else, darkness surrounded her…

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Twilight woke up with a groan. As she opened her eyes, she once again had to take a minute to realize this was her old tree home but rather her new castle. Everything here was much larger, including her bed. Then again, this was what it was like to be a princess, or so they say.

The one thing she had loved about her old home was that everything was easily accessible. Here, not so much. It took her ten minutes to find the kitchen the first time. The other thing was that because the castle was so large it was so… quiet. She had felt the same way about the Castle of the Two Sisters but… here it was also empty.

Twilight yawned slightly as she went into the throne room and sat down in her chair. It was too bad the others weren’t here; it would be at least nice to talk to them. Soon her thoughts turned to the dream she had.

It was the third night in the row that this dream occurred and still she had no idea what it was about. Was it a premonition of something to come? Maybe because she had recently dealt with Tirek that she was feeling paranoid about something.

Unfortunately, the thought of it brought her to something else. It had been about two weeks since defeating Tirek and the memories of then still went through her mind. She didn’t think about it much the first couple days but soon it came to her: What had happened to her that day?

Was it the fact that her home had just been destroyed, one that she had had for over three years? All she could remember she was pretty enraged and not so willing then to hold back the power she possessed. That was the other thing: with all that power she could practically have done anything. If Tirek hadn’t matched her in power, who knows what could have happened to him?

“There’s no point worrying about it… you’ve already worried about it for the past week,” she thought as she turned the wrong corner and ended up in the ballroom. “Ugh, why can’t I figure this place out yet!?” she snapped at nopony in particular. She then sighed and retraced her steps and went the other direction.

It only took another two minutes before she found the throne room. It was there she found Spike eating a bowl of cereal at his seat. Now there was a sight to see. “Good morning Twilight,” Spike said cheerfully with a spoonful in his mouth. He swallowed. “I thought you were never going to get up so I almost brought you breakfast in bed.”

Twilight smiled slightly. No matter what, Spike always found a way to cheer her up and was lucky to have him as a friend. “That’s sweet of you, Spike. Sorry, had a little trouble getting to sleep last night.”

Spike’s smile turned to a frown. “You know that’s the third night in a row…”

“I know,” Twilight said as she flew over to her throne. “I’m still adjusting that’s all…”

“It’s the castle isn’t it?”

“Mm… I guess so. It’s just so… different than what I thought it would be. It’s also kind of quiet as well. I can’t even tell where Owlowicious half the time.”

“Well you know, we can always hire some maids and servants,” Spike said hopefully.

“Spike, we are not hiring maids and servants,” Twilight said sternly. “If Princess Celestia can find staff for the castle that’s fine but I’m not going to bug her about it.”

“Fine, fine,” Spike said, rolling his eyes. “So what’s on the agenda today?”

“Uh…” Rarely has Twilight found herself at a loss. In her old home, there was always plenty to do and Spike had his own list of things, including dusting the bookshelves or cleaning the windows. But the library she had now was mostly empty since most of her books were destroyed. And considering how large the castle was, she was more lenient on giving Spike more time to clean everything. “How about the bookshelves?”

“Not even a speck.”

“Windows?”

“So clean you can see Rainbow Dash’s house from here.”

“Kitchen?”

“Spotless.”

“Hmm…” Twilight thought for a moment. “Well, considering how busy we’ve been, I suppose we could try to do something fun. We can go see what the other girls are up to.”

“Sure, and you can make your weekly round of the town,” Spike said proudly. “After all, you have to keep up appearances.”

Twilight giggled and finally her dark thoughts were put behind her. “Yes, you’re right about that. Let’s just hope we can leave the grounds in one piece.”

She had been partially joking about her castle being surrounded. For almost a week entirely, everypony in town wanted to see the new castle. Twilight would always miss her old home but at least the castle resembled it slightly. “I guess we’re in the clear for now,” Twilight said as the doors opened. That would probably change when the Royal Guard started to guard the castle. Twilight certainly wasn’t in any hurry to obtain staff, because she knew once they did come, the castle would become much livelier.

And then her princess duties would truly begin. Princess of Magic and Friendship she may be, she would still have to fill out documents and attend meetings with other Equestrian leaders. And the parties… well, at least now she and the others could attend the Royal Gala freely. Then again, the last time they were there things didn’t end too well.

They finally reached Rarity’s boutique and went inside as the bell jingled on the door. “Hello Rarity,” she said. She saw the purple-maned mare in front of her but she appeared to not have heard her. “Uh… Rarity?”

“Shh,” Spike said. “She’s in her thinking mode.” Twilight rolled her eyes. Of course he would know that.

But indeed Rarity did seem distracted by the dress she currently had displayed. “Hmm… no that can’t be right, I know I did the measurements right but something’s missing…” she said quietly. “A little extra color…? No. The material seems okay but why can’t…. UGH!” She groaned. “Curse my lack of inspiration today!” She then turned around. “Oh! Twilight darling, so terribly sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“You didn’t hear me open the door?” Twilight asked.

Rarity sighed. “Sorry again; I was hoping to come up with something spectacular for the upcoming fall season but sadly I have nothing. It had been a lackluster couple of weeks.”

“I know what you mean,” Twilight said. “Well, I thought maybe if you weren’t too busy we and the other girls could go do something?”

“Hmm, like a picnic?” Rarity asked. “Yes, that does sound splendid and believe me, I’ll do anything to get out of here for a few hours at least.”

“Okay then,” Twilight replied. “You can go get Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and we’ll go get Rainbow Dash and Applejack.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rarity said as she got a piece of parchment and quill. “I do need to do some shopping on the way too…”

As it turned out, it didn’t take too long to find Rainbow Dash. As Twilight and Spike were making their way through town they could’ve sworn they heard a loud groan up above. They looked up and there was a cyan-colored mare with her head in a cloud, quite literally.

“Uh… Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah…?” Her reply was muffled in the cloud. She didn’t even look up.

“You uh… okay up there?”

“No…”

“Er… want to talk about it?”

That got a reaction out of her. She pulled her head up and almost got in Twilight’s face. “So here I am, getting notified about possibly getting an assignment, as a Wonderbolt mind you, and what happens instead!? Freaking Thunderlane gets the assignment! Thunderlane!”

“O…kay?” Twilight said.

“It most certainly isn’t! I had my hopes set on this, to prove myself to Spitfire and the others!”

“What was the assignment exactly?”

“No idea, but that’s not important.” Dash then sighed. “Oh well, maybe it wasn’t anything important, how should I know?”

“Uh, what exactly is her issue with Thunderlane again?” Spike whispered.

“Well, since you’re not busy, maybe you wanted to go on a picnic with me and the other girls?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash seemed to have calmed down and returned to her cloud, sitting in it lazily. “Not sure, I’ll have to look at my schedule… but I may be interested.” Yep, she was back to her old Dash self.

“I’ll take that as a yes then,” Twilight replied. “Well, I’m heading off to Applejack’s so-”

“Wait!” Dash said, zooming next to her. “I’ll come with ya, I have to go over there anyway.”

As they approached Sweet Apple Acres, they could two mares yelling in the distance, which sounded like regular conversation up close. “Sis, yer bein’ ridiculous! I thought we agreed I can handle myself on my own!”

“I’m not saying ya can’t but fixing up the treehouse by yerself is a big task, especially by yerself!”

“Yer just sayin’ that cause you don’t trust me with the staple gun!”

“Yer darn right I don’t trust ya with that staple gun!” As they guessed, they saw that the two arguing were Applejack and her sister Apple Bloom.

“Well fine, yer so good at it, you fix the treehouse!” Apple Bloom then stormed off back towards the house.

Applejack sighed and then she noticed the trio behind her. “Oh uh… ya saw all that didn’t ya?”

“Part of it,” Dash said. “Makes me glad I don’t have any younger siblings.”

“What about Scootaloo?” Applejack countered.

“What about her? We’re always cool,” Dash said with a smile.

“Is this a bad time?” Twilight asked.

“Nah, nah, already got my morning chores done. I just happened to see Apple Bloom dragging out this big box of tools and of course that always spells trouble,” Applejack said. “Anyway, what can I do for you?”

“Got any free time?” Twilight said.

“Hmm… I reckon I do,” Applejack replied. “Just give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready to do whatever.”

“Actually…” Dash said. “Before you go, did you get it ready?”

“I did,” Applejack said. “You got my payment?”

“Right here,” Dash said as she tossed Applejack a small bag of bits.

“Nice doing business with ya,” Applejack said cheerfully.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Twilight asked suspiciously.

Applejack chuckled. “Zap Apple season just started and Rainbow Dash here wanted to make sure she got first dibs on some jam.”

“Why Princess, that’s not illegal is it?” Dash grinned.

Twilight just rolled her eyes. They never were going to let it go, were they?

“Ah, what a lovely day to spend a picnic by the lake,” Rarity said as she was tanning herself on a beach chair.

“CANNONBALL!” Pinkie Pie decided now was the time to take a dip into the lake and this ended up with a drenched-looking Rarity.

“Well, at least it was…” she muttered.

“I think it’s nice we finally have some time to spend together,” Fluttershy said as she was eating a cucumber sandwich. “It’s been really hectic at the cottage, not to mention I’ve been spending a lot of time with Discord.”

“What fer exactly?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, he’s been feeling really bad about what happened before, even though I assured him that I forgave him already,” Fluttershy replied.

“Serves him right,” Dash said. “He can’t be forgiven that easily for what he did.”

“Come on Rainbow Dash, we’re all friends now,” Twilight said. “Besides, if I can forgive him, I’m certain you can.”

“Speaking of which,” Rarity said as she dried herself off. “Have you heard anything from Princess Celestia recently?”

Twilight shook her head. “It feels like it’s gone back to what it was before Tirek showed up. It’s been pretty quiet at home too.” She then looked at everypony and said, “But don’t get me wrong, none of you should feel inclined to move in or anything.”

“Not at all,” Applejack said. “In fact, I think it’s more convenient that we stay where we are. I mean, I still gotta help tend the farm, Rarity’s got to do her dresses, Fluttershy’s gotta keep an eye out for her critters-”

“And I have to keep up with overwhelming demands for pastries at Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced out of the lake. “By the way Twilight, did you get our delivery?”

“Pinkie Pie, when you said twenty boxes of assortments, I thought you were exaggerating,” Twilight said.

Pinkie gasped. “Twilight, there’s many things I do but I never exaggerate.”

“Gee willickers…” Applejack muttered.

“I didn’t mind them at all,” Spike said. “I already took care of five of them for you Twilight.”

“You what!?” Twilight snapped.

The other girls started laughing. It was times like this that they savored the most, even when they knew it wouldn’t last long.

All of a sudden, Spike’s demeanor changed. “Ugh, I don’t think that’s indigestion I feel…” He then burped out green flames and in those flames appeared a letter.

“A letter from the Princess?” Rarity asked.

“Go ahead and read it Twilight,” Applejack said. And read it she did.

Dear Twilight,

I apologize if my absence has left you unsure of what to do but the matter I’ve been dealing with can no longer be held secret and I need your help. If you can, please come to Canterlot as quickly as you can.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

P.S. I think it may also be beneficial if your friends come along as well.

“It sounds really important,” Fluttershy said.

“Yes,” Twilight said, sighing. “Sorry girls, sounds like duty calls again.”

“Are you kidding?” Dash said. “It’s always fun when danger’s involved!”

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Twilight and the others arrived at Canterlot as quickly as they could by Twilight’s balloon. Once inside the castle, they found Princess Celestia and Luna waiting for them. “I’m glad you’re here,” Celestia said. “We don’t have much time on our hooves.”

“What’s going on? What happened?” Twilight asked.

Celestia sighed sadly. “Something I should have seen earlier. You see, because of Tirek’s doing, there was a short period of time where there was a magical imbalance.”

“Ooh ooh! Because he had all the magic and nopony else did?” Pinkie asked.

“That is correct, and because of this, we now have a new problem,” Luna said as she levitated over a book, one that Twilight and the others have seen before.

“Long ago,” Celestia began. “There were a group of unicorns who excelled in dark magic, or as some would call it the dark arts. They were known as the ‘Dark Interlopers.’ Because of their magic, many feared conflict would arise and certainly it did. They caused panic and chaos throughout Equestria to the point where Luna and I had no choice to intervene. Because they would not heed our demands, we had no choice but to banish them, permanently, to another dimension.”

“This gateway to the other dimension had been sealed with powerful magic, a seal that has slowly been fading over the centuries but because of this imbalance has been weakened even more,” Luna added. “It may only be hours before the seal breaks.”

“And then what happens?” Applejack asked.

Both Celestia and Luna looked at each other. “We don’t know,” Celestia replied. “And that is why we must be prepared for anything. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are already fortifying their defenses at the Crystal Empire as are we.”

“But… maybe they’ve changed since being sealed away?” Fluttershy suggested.

Luna looked skeptical. “It’s possible, but then again they’ve had plenty of time to plan out and enact their revenge.”

“And what of the other cities?” Twilight asked.

“We have done all we can, but I know for sure if there’s one place they will come to, it will be Canterlot,” Celestia replied. “Of course, I believe the Elements of Harmony could be of help as well.”

“We’ll do whatever we can, right girls?” Twilight asked. All of them nodded.

“Uh, so what am I supposed to do?” Spike asked.

Celestia smiled. “Have you forgotten Spike? You are our genuine messenger to the Empire.”

“Oh… right,” Spike said, chuckling slightly.

Suddenly, one of the guards entered the throne room and bowed low to both princesses. “Your highness, something is approaching from just outside the city limits.”

As they all went to the balcony and looked out, Celestia could see dark clouds forming on the horizon. She then sighed. “It would appear that we are indeed out of time. If they wish to attack, then we must defend Canterlot at all costs.” She looked to Luna and both nodded as their horns glowed. Soon, Canterlot was enveloped by a shield sphere, similar to the one Shining Armor cast during his wedding.

“What do you need us to do?” Twilight asked.

“For now, we wait,” Celestia replied. “It is up to them to make the first move and depending on what is will determine what we do next.”

As they waited, not a sound could be heard. Minutes passed by and nothing. “Okay, I know I can handle waiting for the sun to rise, but this is just ridiculous…” Applejack whispered.

“Tell me about it…” Rainbow agreed.

“Shh!” Rarity reprimanded them both.

Twilight looked around, noticing all the guards at their posts but nothing seemed to be happening. “Something should have happened by now.”

Celestia didn’t seem so sure. “Perhaps, or they’re lying in wait of something…”

“Ooh, very perceptive of you Celestia…” They all turned around and saw what looked like a pony fading into the castle. The mare was being flanked by two guards who shared the same coloring. “It seems that the years have made you all the wiser…”

“And I would assume that you’re their leader?” Celestia asked.

“Indeed, but where are my manners, I haven’t even introduced myself yet,” the mare said, bowing slightly. “I am Queen Traya, a name you will all come to know in a short time.”

“So the Interlopers have established a monarchy during their exile,” Luna said. “I can’t say that I’m surprised.”

“Ah yes Luna, I see the stories are indeed true, and your words are so cold,” Traya said.

“So now that you are free, what do you plan to do?” Celestia asked.

“A very good question, what should I do?” She looked to her guards who kept staring ahead. “I’ve had some time to think about it… I suppose the easy answer is either revenge or world domination because let’s be honest, who wouldn’t be upset about being exiled to another dimension for a thousand years?”

“Your ancestors decided their fate long ago, so if there is anypony to blame it is them,” Celestia countered.

It was then that Traya finally dropped the act. “Even so, our ancestors and those who came after had to start over. We had to provide for ourselves in a land that was not so giving. My kingdom that you mock is the reason we survived!”

“I do not doubt your words but I have my duty to do as well,” Celestia said, stepping forward. “And if you plan on exacting your revenge on my pupils then you will leave me no choice.” Her horn then glowed yellow as she prepared her attack.

But Traya hardly looked intimidated. “Time!” she then shouted. Suddenly, everything went still, because time had literally stopped. Traya shook her head. “And here I thought after all these years they would’ve learned a thing or two.” Her guards didn’t answer, even though they had not been affected by the spell. She then sighed. “Not much of talkers, are you?”

She went up to Celestia, who was still in the middle of her own spell. “Poor Celestia, and here I thought are meeting would be much more… exciting.” Suddenly, purple spikes appeared out of nowhere, pointed at Celestia. “But try as you might,” she added, walking away from her. “There’s no running from this pain… regret awaits.” She waved her hoof and time started moving again.

It was strange. One moment Celestia was preparing her spell, the next out of the corner of her eye, purple spikes closed in and struck. She had no time to protect herself as she was sent back and collapsed to the floor. “How… did this…?” And then she realized what Traya did and now she understood how she got past all her defenses.

“Sister!” Luna was already at her sister’s side, making sure she was alright. Traya then noticed somepony else had stepped forward.

“I don’t know what you did but you’re going to pay for hurting Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed.

For the first time that she noticed her, Traya seemed almost taken aback. “She’s almost as old as I am…at least by a few years…” It was also then she noticed the mare was also an alicorn, but she had never heard of this one. A smile crept on her face. “So, I see Celestia has added to her entourage. How sweet, but if I were you dear, I’d stay in your place. You don’t possess the powers that I do…”

“Yeah well she isn’t alone!” Rainbow Dash and the others got in front of Twilight, although Fluttershy was a bit reluctant. “We’ll all take you on!”

Traya found it odd that such ponies would be so willing to defend their ‘princess’, but as she looked closer, it finally clicked. “I see, I finally understand. So the Elements chose these girls? How pathetic. Well, I’m sorry to say I am in no mood to play.”

She then looked to Celestia and Luna. “Consider this a warning, princesses. You see, my warriors are already surrounding all of your major cities, Canterlot included. You can try to fight me all you want, but by doing so you will only cause the destruction of Equestria yourselves.”

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She then turned to Twilight. “As for you girls, I simply cannot have the Elements of Harmony standing in my way. But don’t worry, I won’t even have to lay a hoof on you all. No, I have a better idea instead.”

Suddenly, the six of them were floating in the air, being guided by Traya’s magic. “Twilight!” Spike shouted, the only one who wasn’t affected.

Five warps suddenly appeared behind them. “All I can say is safe journey for all and… well, I’m afraid we won’t be seeing each other again in this lifetime.” Then Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were sent screaming into the portals, soon closing once they disappeared.

“No!” Twilight shouted. She turned to Traya angrily. “What did you do to them!?”

“What, the farewell wasn’t clue enough?” Traya asked innocently. “Your friends are now scattered around the time spectrum. Whether they’re in the past or the future I do not know. What I do know, dear princess, is that I saved the best for you.” A portal then appeared on the ground below where Twilight was floating. “Where you’re going is known as the Void. The rules of time and matter do not exist in this place; it is only a place of loneliness and despair. Although, compared to your friends, I personally consider you the lucky one. Goodbye princess.”

Twilight felt Traya’s magic fading and she then fell into the darkness below her. But despite her cries, nothing and nopony could hear her now.

As Traya watched her go, she then turned to the two princesses that remained. “Now then,” she said pleasantly. “I believe this is the point where we begin negotiations…”

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Darkness. It was all Twilight could feel and see. However, there seemed to be a soft glow of light nearby, out of the corner of her eye. As she opened her eyes slowly, she saw that the glow was coming from a street lamp. As she got up slowly, she realized she was looking at what appeared to be part of a train station.

However, that was really all it was. It only went up to a certain point and beyond that was complete darkness. Traya had mentioned that this place had been called the Void but surprisingly it wasn’t what she had expected.

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And now that she thought about it, she remembered what happened. Her friends… Twilight had experienced failure in her life but nothing to this degree. “My friends… they’re gone… and there was nothing I can do…”

She suddenly felt tears in her eyes. Normally, she would’ve thought of a plan and would assure herself that everything would be okay. But it wasn’t. That mare, whoever she was, had powers even greater than Celestia. She had easily made her way into Canterlot and barely had to lift a hoof. And now, this place, wherever it was, would be her prison, possibly for all eternity. Well, it was certainly better than Tartarus.

She then heard something and realized she wasn’t alone. Even better. Her horn glowed threateningly. “Whoever you are, don’t come any closer, I’m warning you!” It was then she saw something in the darkness, somepony approaching. She then fired her spell and the bolt of energy surged forward… and then froze there in time.

“Seriously now, can’t a pony just walk up and say hello?” a voice then said. “I didn’t realize I had to make my presence known twenty meters away…”

The voice certainly didn’t sound threatening, if not offended, but Twilight wouldn’t be fooled so easily. “In that case, why don’t you show yourself…?”

“As you wish,” the figure said. As he approached, Twilight could see the figure was wearing a black cape. But it was the face underneath the hood that caught her attention. “Well, this is certainly the first I’ve-hey!”

Twilight had moved quickly, knocking the figure down and pinning him while her horn glowed angrily in his face. “What did you do with my friends!?”

The figure, who’s face she could see clearly now and had the same coloring as Traya and the other ponies she saw, was caught off guard and couldn’t bring himself to words. “Friends?”

“Don’t play games with me mister, or I swear I’ll-”

“Wait, hold on a second!” The pony looked her over. “Okay, I see now. You’re Equestrian, no doubt, and a princess judging by the horn and the wings, which means the seal finally broke?”

“Like you wouldn’t know,” Twilight said darkly.

“I wouldn’t,” the pony replied. “I’ve been out of touch of things for… quite awhile, but I’m assuming somepony brought you here, yes?”

“Yes… but why does that matter?”

“Because I was sent here against my will as you were,” the pony said.

Twilight’s horn dimmed slightly as she partially let her guard down. “Traya was her name.”

There was something in the pony’s eyes but it was gone before she could think about it. “Yes, she also was the one who sent me here. Now, will you please not char me so I can at least explain myself?” Twilight was still skeptical but she got off of him. “Thank you,” the pony said. “As you guessed, yes I am among the group of ponies you have no doubt met. Of course, if I wanted to hurt you I would’ve done so already.”

“So… what is this place?” Twilight asked.

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“Ah, yes,” the pony said. “Well, to be quite honest it doesn’t really have a name, but some call it the End of Time. Time does not exist, nor do the laws of physics or anything else. I have been here for over two years and I have not aged a day since being here, so look at this way: you’ll never have to worry about growing old, nor do you ever get hungry. You just… get used to it.”

“So there’s no way out?” Twilight asked.

The pony was silent for a moment. “Officially, no, because most ponies would be able to bend time to their will.” He then smirked. “Unofficially I, on the other hoof, can bend time.”

“If that’s true, why haven’t you tried escaping?”

“I would’ve already if I could,” the pony countered. “Traya was clever enough to seal the door behind me with powerful magic, so I was stuck here. She was probably hoping I’d try hard enough that once failure was imminent I would practically lose my mind. But it seems only now that that magic has finally faded.”

“So you can help me?” Finally hope was returning to her.

“Let’s be honest here, princess,” the pony said. “If Traya has invaded Equestria, it’s already over. Her powers know no bounds and frankly, she could’ve ended your life then and there instead of bringing you here.”

“First of all, don’t call me ‘princess’,” Twilight snapped. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and I’m asking you as a favor so I can help my friends.”

“Let me guess, they were sent off in different directions of the time spectrum?”

Twilight’s look said it all. “How did you-?”

“We’re good at reading minds too,” the pony grinned.

“Okay, you’re going to stop that,” Twilight grumbled. “But look, even if you won’t, can you at least get me out of here?”

The pony sighed. “You’re new to this whole thing aren’t you…?” He was quiet for a few moments. “Alright, fine I’ll help you but don’t think this is a long-term thing. I’ll help you find your friends and return you to your time and that’s it. You can deal with Traya on your own.”

Twilight smiled and bowed. “I am in your debt.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the pony said. “By the way, the name is Nihilus. And other thing, since I’m the one doing all the work around here, you have to listen to every word I say. Besides, past or future, it can be a dangerous place.”

“Very well,” Twilight said. “So where to first?”

“Well it’s not so simple,” Nihilus replied. “Sure, we could go skipping to and fro to find your friends but we’d get nowhere. Do you have anything that we can use to track them?”

“I don’t have anything that would- wait huh?” Something dropped next to her and Twilight saw it was a bit. “Wait, this wasn’t here before…?” Upon closer examination, she recognized it immediately. “This is the bit Applejack had before it…” Suddenly it dawned on her. Despite where she was, she had almost forgotten about the Elements, and how they always find a way of reaching out to her. “Yes, I think this could work.” Her horn glowed and suddenly so did the bit. “I put a locater spell on it, which means it’ll-”

“Thanks for the lecture princess, but I’m aware what a locater spell is,” Nihilus said with a smirk.

“Well fine then,” Twilight sniffed. “Then I’ll leave the rest to you then.”

“Thank you,” Nihilus said. He then took a deep breath and soon his horn glowed black as a portal appeared before him. He seemed surprise. “I can’t believe it… it actually works now…” He then turned to Twilight. “Go ahead, but I should warn you, the first time may be a little disorienting…”

Twilight nodded and stepped forward, stepping into the portal before her. She braced herself, ready for the plunge but realized she was still on her feet, despite there being no ground beneath her hooves. Ahead of her, she could only see what looked like a tunnel, leading her only to her destination. The bit started to react and shot forward, leaving a trail behind to guide her.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” Nihilus said behind her. “But don’t stare at it too long or you will probably get queasy; I would know.” The two of them continued forward until the small bead of light ahead grew larger and larger. “Well, this is it. Just be prepared for what’s on the other side.”

All Twilight hoped as she stepped forward was that she wasn’t about to appear in front of a carriage.

Soon she felt real ground, and a slight breeze through her mane. It was near dusk, as the sun was slowly creeping towards the horizon. She then saw the outline of a city just ahead. As Nihilus followed her, he took a deep breath. “Well, that’s the first breath of fresh air I’ve had for almost two years.” He looked around. “Yes, a lot has changed in the last thousand years…”

“Maybe for you, but this looks like the present to me,” Twilight said, as she headed towards the city. “It looks like Manehattan. Applejack is no doubt here.”

“And here I thought they taught you princesses to not judge a book by its cover,” Nihilus muttered.

However, once they reached a hill, Twilight soon realized something was different. Sure, maybe there were a lot more lights but Twilight certainly didn’t remember all those airships in the air… In fact, almost everything seemed more digital than it had been before. “Okay, I stand corrected…” she said.

Once they finally reached the edge of downtown, they could hear constant music, close to the music Vinyl Scratch played a lot. Not only that, but she saw many of the ponies were dressed in casual wear. “Hold on a second,” Nihilus said. “Just realized we can’t have an alicorn rolling through the streets casually.”

“Well, you’re right but-hey!” Suddenly, she found herself wearing a gray turtleneck. “…Seriously?”

“What, I thought that would suit you best?” Nihilus said innocently. “I could always have try a few dresses.”

“No thank you,” Twilight said through gritted teeth. “Come on, let’s just go find Applejack already.”