Chrono Crusaders - Series One

Chapters

Episode One - One-Point Twenty-One Jug-O-Whats
Episode Two - Revelations and Preperations
Episode Three - An Apple Never Falls Too Far From The Tree
Episode Four - In Defiance of the Fates
Episode Five - A Link In the Chain of Destiny

Episode One - One-Point Twenty-One Jug-O-Whats

The idea had been spinning around in her head all night, and as a result, Apple Bloom had gotten very little sleep. She finally gave up on rest and headed out an hour before sunrise, determined to put her plan into action. Gathering all of the required supplies and carrying them to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse had been a grueling job, but Apple Bloom knew it would be worth every second.

It had been nearly two weeks since school let out for the summer, and though they had been crusading almost every day, Apple Bloom and her two best friends still hadn't earned their cutie marks. This day would be different, her idea was far too good not to work. The epiphany had come when she was reading a book she had borrowed from Twilight's library, A Trottingham Stallion in Princess Luna's Court. Apple Bloom knew in her heart that if building a time travel device did not earn cutie marks for herself, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, then nothing would.

“Hey, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said as she entered the clubhouse, Sweetie Belle following close behind. “What the heck is all this junk?”

“It ain't junk, its a time machine, or at least it will be soon. We need more stuff though, I ain't got everything we need here on the farm.”

“Really, a time machine?” Scootaloo said. She smiled brightly for a moment before her expression turned to confusion, “hold on, how do you know how to make a time machine?”

“Well, this book I got talks a little about how to make one.” Apple Bloom rummaged through her pile for a moment until she found her book, and the plans she had sketched, handing them to Scootaloo, who immediately tossed them aside. “The book ain't got everything we need to know in it, but I bet we can figure the rest out as we go along.”

Sweetie Belle picked up the crude crayon drawing and began to examine it, a skeptical expression drawn plainly across her face. “I don't know about this, doesn't it seem a little dangerous?”

“Oh, don't be such a wuss, I think its an awesome idea,” Scootaloo said. “Apple Bloom, show me what all you got so far.”

Apple Bloom had gathered various lengths and gauges of electrical wire, three folding lawn chairs, two wall clocks, an electric fan, a green marker, some copper tubing of varying sizes, a gas generator, three gallons of gasoline, and a whole slew of random metal parts she had either found, or liberated from the family's farming equipment. She also had a bag of tools, several planks of wood, and plenty of screws, nails, hinges, nuts, and bolts. She showed each piece to her friends, who were visibly becoming more excited as each new item was presented to them.

“We still need three cookie sheets, and as much plutonium as we can get our hooves on,” Apple Bloom said. “I was kinda hoping Twilight might help us. She did some magical time travelin' a few months ago, remember?”

“Wait, so if you can time travel with magic, what's the point of the time machine?” Sweetie Belle asked, confused.

Apple Bloom considered this for a moment before answering. “Well, only unicorns can use the magic, for one, and I think that only goes back in time, and only for a minute or two, this will let us go anywhere in time, for as long as we want, even to the future!”

"It does sound fun to travel trough time,” Sweetie Belle admitted, “maybe we will even get our time traveler cutie marks.”

“That’s the spirit, Sweetie Belle! Let's go get Twilight, and find all the rest of the stuff we need,” the pegasus filly exclaimed.

The three fillies, extremely excited and resolute in their plan, literally jumped out of their clubhouse, bypassing the steps completely. Scootaloo pulled Apple Bloom's wagon from under the wooden building, and attached it to her scooter.

“What the heck is plutonium, anyway?” Scootaloo asked.

“I dunno, but I'm pretty sure we need it.”

Sweetie Belle climbed carefully into the wagon, and strapped her helmet on, “Well, what is it for?”

“We gotta have one point twenty-one jug-o-whats of power,” Apple Bloom explained. “We gotta build something called a flex compactor, and put the plutonium inside, that’s what makes it work.”

“Well, how the heck are we gonna find plutonium, if we don't even know what it is?”

“Maybe Twilight knows. We should head to the library first,” Apple Bloom said, putting on her helmet and taking her standard seat in the wagon.

“Good idea, Twilight knows, like, everything,” Scootaloo replied, as she strapped on her helmet and saddle bag, mounted her scooter, and took off towards town.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TIME MACHINE BUILDERS! YAY!”

o:O:o

Sugarcube Corner was nearly empty when the Crusades arrived, populated only by Pinkie Pie, and, to Scootaloo's glee, Rainbow Dash. They had to pass by the bakery to reach Twilight's Library, and couldn't resist a quick cupcake detour. The five ponies shared in an abundance of confections, and talked talked happily, the smell of sugary sweets and freshly baked pies keeping everyone in high spirits.

“Pinkie Pie, can we ask you a favor?” Apple Bloom asked. “We need some cookie sheets. We are building a time machine.”

“What the hay do cookie sheets have to do with time machines? Where did you get a crazy idea like that anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“They are for the flex compactor. We need them to shield us from radiation,” Apple Bloom answered, matter-of-factually.

“You didn't say anything about radiation, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie said, “that sounds really dangerous.”

“No way, you have to be exposed for like ten minutes before it starts having any lasting effects,” Apple Bloom explained, “and at least thirty as long as we have the shielding. We won't be exposed for nearly that long.”

“I don't know, I still think it sounds dangerous” Sweetie Bell said, an obviously nervous tone in her voice.

“I can TOTALLY lend you some cookie sheets! We have like a bazillion of them here, I bet Mr. and Mrs. Cake won't even notice!” Pinkie said, and disappeared into the back room of the bakery, appearing an instant later carrying three cookie sheets, and three filly sized radiation suits. “Here you go girls, I had this radiation gear laying around, and I though you guys might like to use it. You don't want to be growing any extra heads, or mutating into weird freak trolls or something, radiation is nasty stuff. I used up all my plutonium experimenting with glowing cupcakes though, too bad you didn't tell me you need it last week, it would have been TOTALLY fun to go on adventures though time with you three.”

“Wait, are you saying those glow in the dark cupcakes were... radioactive?” Rainbow Dash asked, a horrified look on her face.

“Of course they were, Dashie! How the heck else would I make them glow green? Duh!”

“Wow, does that mean you are radioactive now, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked, “Are you gonna become a super hero or something, that would be SO COOL!”

“Oh, man,” Rainbow said, visibly shaking, “I need to go see a doctor, right now.” With that, she raced out of the window, and was out of sight in seconds.

“So, do you know where we can get the plutonium or not?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Plutonium? What are you talking about? Why in the world would I have any clue where to get plutonium?”

“But Pinkie Pie, you just...” Apple Bloom said, “Oh, never mind. Let's go, maybe Twilight will know.”

o:O:o

The quarter-mile trip to Twilight's library went as smoothly as could be expected. They only crashed twice, once into a tree that Scootaloo swore had jumped right out in front of her, and once into a crate of oranges that Scootaloo said she sincerely believed that she could clear. Apple Bloom had an urge to tell Scootaloo exactly what she though about her excuses, but resisted for the sake of avoiding unnecessary arguments, crashing was pretty much par for the course anyway.

They asked Twilight about plutonium the moment they arrived, and Apple Bloom immediately regretted it. She really should have foreseen the inevitable lecture about the radiation, and the properties of the various radioactive substances. However, as boring as it was, she had to admit she did learn a few useful facts. The first useful fact was that plutonium is actually less dangerous than she has assumed, something about half-life and gamma something. It was still dangerous, but as long as they wore the radiation suits, it would be fine. The second fact was far more discouraging. Plutonium, it seems, is exceptionally rare, and extremely expensive. Uranium, on the other hoof, is supposedly much cheaper and easily acquired. Apple Bloom didn't know if uranium would work, but she figured it was worth a shot.

“... so in conclusion, university studies have shown that nuclear power will be the next great innovation in energy production, reducing the cost of electricity as much as tenfold, and allowing widespread adoption of powered appliances and battery-operated vehicular transportation. Any questions?”

“Yeah, where do we get some of this uranium stuff?”

“Well, Apple Bloom, it is a highly regulated substance, and you must be licensed to handle it,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “Now that I think about it, you girls really shouldn't play with volatile elements. You never told me why you think you feel you need uranium, or plutonium for that matter, either.”

“We're building a time machine!” the Crusaders said in unison.

“A what?”

“A time machine!” the girls answered, again in perfect unison.

“I think that might be a little over your head girls. The science involved would be extremely complex, I doubt a team of the best scientists in Equestria would be able to pull it off.”

“But that book you lent me said all we need to do is build a flex compactor, and channel one point twenty-one jug-o-whats of energy into a rift in the time-space thing-a-ma-do,” said Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, sounds super simple to me,” Scootaloo added.

“Sounds super scary and dangerous to me,” Sweetie Bell said.

“It's called a flux capacitor, and the energy unit is a gigawatt,” Twilight said.

“That's what I said, flex compactor and jug-o-what. The whole thing sounded really easy to build when the book told about it. I bet we can do it.”

“Girls, that is just a story, though I believe I have some books here that will give us more information on the time-space-continuum, and the various theoretical circumstances in which one might go about manipulating it.” Twilight began pulling books of of various shelves, quickly amassing a large stack that appeared to be in danger of toppling over.

“That's alright, Twilight, we ain't got time for all that today,” Apple Bloom said. Twilight made no reply, apparently already deeply absorbed in a large brown tome. Taking the opportunity for escape, the Cutie Mark Crusaders slowly inched toward the door, and exited silently, their bookworm host giving no sign that she noticed their departure. “Alright, Crusaders, time for us to find us some uranium.”

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS URANIUM FINDERS! YAY!”

o:O:o

“Alright girls, my contact says that this wagon is headed to Canterlot, we ain't got any second chances in this operation, so be careful.”

The three fillies were dressed in black ninja gear, and wearing matching black saddle bags. Hiding in the shadows of a closed vegetable stand, they waited for the opportune moment. Each filly had told their respective guardians that they would be spending the night at one of the other's houses, in order to facilitate their mission to the Canterlot University Science Research Institute. They knew that it was do or die. If this operation was a failure, not only would they miss their best chance at obtaining any radioactive fuel sources, they would also face at least two weeks grounding each, if not more.

Apple Blooms contact was Dinky Doo, who had heard from Sunny Daze, who had heard from Starburst, that Bon Bon's cousin, Radish Runner, delivered vegetables to the Canterlot University cafeteria every Sunday evening. It hadn't taken long to identify the grey earth stallion packing the wagon as Radish Runner, Pinkie Pie had been happy to point him out. Apple Bloom watched him closely, waiting until she was sure that he was distracted before she gave the signal.

“Now,” she said, just as Radish Runner tuned his back to speak to a sea foam green unicorn mare. Apple Bloom leaped onto the wagon and under the blue tarp with astounding grace and precision, Scootaloo following close behind.

“Come on Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo whispered, and held out a hoof. Sweetie hesitated for a moment before finally jumping up and grabbing pegasus's hoof. Scootaloo pulled her up, and the two disappeared under the tarp an instant before Radish Runner turned back to face the cart.

“Alright, looks like we made it,” Apple Bloom began. “Like I said, we ain't got no second chances, so I need everypony to be on their A-game. Now here is the plan...”

The stowaway Crusaders discussed the plan as quietly as they could muster as the vegetable wagon began it's trip toward Canterlot. They would sneak out of the wagon once they arrived, and stealthily find their way to the nuclear energy research laboratories. Once there, they were to dress in the radiation suits that they had stowed in their saddle bags, find a way into the hazardous materials storage, and acquire as much plutonium and uranium as they could carry. When that was accomplished they would return to the wagon and ride it back to Ponyville. It would take an hour for the wagon to be unloaded, re-loaded with last week's empty barrels and crates, and begin it's return trip, so the Crusaders had complete their task in that time. It was a risky plan, to be sure, but if they were to get their time machine up and running, it had to be done.

o:O:o

“So far so good,” Scootaloo said, as she pulled the hood of her hazmat suit over her head. The first few steps of the plan had gone off without a hitch, and they had just found a maintenance closet near the laboratory entrance to use as a changing room. After a few minutes, all three were dressed and ready for the next phase of the operation.

“Alright, ain't no turnin' back now. Y'all ready?”

“I'm ready.”

“Very ready!”

“Alright, let's do this, Apple Bloom said as she opened the closet door, and stepped into the dimly-lit hallway, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle following close behind. The hallway was extremely plain, with white walls and a grey and white checked floor. Glass doors leading to the various labs were placed at even intervals of about thirty feet, above each one was mounted a blue plague with white letters identifying the purpose of each lab.

They passed three doors, one on the left, and two on the right before reaching the target destination. Scootaloo was reaching for the door latch when something caught her ear. “Wait, do you hear that?”

Sweetie Belle's eyes widened in alarm.“Hear what?”

“Voices. I think somepony is coming, we need to hide!” The pegasus looked around in panic. Not seeing any hiding spots in the hall, she grabbed the latch on the door, and swung it open, diving into the room. “Come on!”

The fillies busted into the laboratory, and dove into an open cabinet under a large table with a metal top. Apple Bloom closed the slatted door once they were all inside, and the three friends huddled together in silence. The voices grew closer moment by moment, until they could hear two distinct voices entering the room. They pressed their noses against the cabinet door and peered through the slats.

Two gryphons entered the laboratory, each had several black bags, similar to the saddlebags the Crusaders had brought, and were talking quietly to each other. They moved to a large door on the opposite side of the laboratory, and the larger gryphon took several odd looking tools out of one of his bags, and began to tamper with the locks. Scootaloo couldn’t quite see what was happening, but she imagined that he was attempting to bypass some sort of security. After a minute or so, she heard a loud click, and saw the door swing open.

“Alright, Oscar, your move,” the larger gryphon said.

“Ten-four, Ned,” said the smaller gryphon. Oscar entered the room and began filling his bags with heavy-looking metal boxes, some marked U-235, others marked P-239. Every time he filled two saddle bags, Ned would take them, stacking them near the cabinet where the crusaders hid.

“I think that is the stuff we need,” Apple Bloom whispered. “They are taking it all for themselves.”

Scootaloo examined the contents of their cabinet for a moment, and realized that there were several boxes of similar size to the ones the gryphons were stealing. They were marked lead shielding, ”I have an idea,” Scootaloo whispered. “give me your bags.”

Scootaloo quickly and quietly filled the saddlebags with the boxes of lead, and resumed watching the gryphons, waiting for their attention to be directed away from the area the Crusader were in. She placed one of the bags on her back, and once both of their adversaries were inside the room beyond the security door, she stealthily opened the cabinet, and switched her bag of lead for one of the uranium and plutonium filled bags, rushed back to their hiding place, and gave the bag to Apple Bloom. Repeating the process again, she gave the second bag to Sweetie Bell.

“Okay, just one more,” the pegasus filly whispered, and watched the gryphons closely, preparing to switch the third bag. Once she believed the coast was clear, she carefully opened the cabinet, and dashed towards the pile.

“Hey, who are you?”

Scootaloo whipped her head around, and saw Ned coming right for her. “Run,” she exclaimed, “they saw me!” Scootaloo quickly grabbed a bag of radioactive fuel, before running out of the laboratory as fast as she could. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle leaped out from hiding, and followed their friend, Ned close on their tale and Oscar not far behind.

“You have no idea who you are stealing from,” Oscar yelled. “You filthy little mules are gonna regret this!”

“You'll have to catch us first,” Scootaloo said, and blew a raspberry over her shoulder at the gryphons. The three fillies ran with all of their might through the hallways, past the biology labs, and into a large courtyard.

“Look, over there,” said Apple Bloom, gesturing over to a drainage trench along the far side of the courtyard. “there is a big pipe at the end of that ditch, they ain't gonna be able to fit in there, but we can.”

With hope of escape, the three fillies ran with renewed speed, desperate to lose the much larger, and slightly faster gryphons. Apple Bloom made it through first. “Hurry up ya'll, they're gainin' on ya!”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo ran side by side, still more than a dozen yards from the ditch, Ned tailing them mere feet behind. Scootaloo leaped forward and furiously fluttered her wings, just as the pursuing gryphon swung with his large foreclaw. His strike missed the pegasus, but he made contact with Sweetie Belle's tail just enough to yank out a chunk of hair and sending her into a tumble. Scootaloo, quickly grabbed her fallen friend by the mane, and yanked her into the drainage pipe, just as Ned took another mighty swing, missing both of them by less than an inch.

“The went in that ditch there, Oscar,” Ned said, sticking his head onto the pipe, but unable to proceed. “Look for the exit, maybe we can get them when the come out, or at least trap them at both ends.”

“Dang, that was close,” Apple Bloom said between exhausted breaths. “We better find a way out before they find a way in.” Her friends nodded in agreement, both still too winded to speak.

It quickly became dark as they proceeded deeper into the drain, and soon they were traveling completely blind, and knee-deep in water. After several minutes, Apple Bloom could feel a fork in the path where two pipes met. “Scootaloo, grab my tail with your teeth, and Sweetie Belle, you grab hers. We need to make sure we stay that way so we can stay together, it wouldn't do us no good to somehow get separated. There is a split here, we should take the left path, I think that's the direction of the cart we were on.”

They did as Apple Bloom asked, traveling that way for a short while when the earth filly lost her footing due to the pipe suddenly dropping into a steep descent. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle tried to hold on, but couldn’t get traction on the slimy floor, and instead were dragged along and into a fast slide down the pipe. The Crusaders slid together, tumbling trough the pipe, knocking into each other and scraping along the rough concrete interior of the drain. Without warning, the pipe came to an end, opening up to another drainage ditch, only this time the pipe was several feet above the ground, and with a splash they landed in pile on the ground.

“Ow, that hurt,” said Scootaloo. “Everypony okay?

“I'm a little busted up, but I'm okay, How about you Sweetie Belle?”

“I think I'm alright. Where are we?”

Scootaloo looked around for a moment, hoping to see something she recognized. They were near a large building, and Scootaloo was about to suggest they see if they could find an entrance, when she saw the two gryphons come around the corner from beyond the building. “Quick, hide,” she said. “It's the gryphons.” The three of them jumped into some nearby bushes, and huddled together, trying to stay still so not to shake the leaves.

The gryphons searched the area for several minutes, covering the area in a regular pattern. The fillies were growing more frightened as the gryphons bared down on their position.

“They have to be here somewhere,” Oscar mumbled, and began sniffing the ground.

Oscar snorted when he noticed the drain. “Hey there is another ditch over here, the are probably clo-” The quickly raised up on his hind legs, “crap, there is someone coming.”

The fillies followed the gryphon's gaze, and saw the cart that they had stowed away on earlier rolling down the path, pulled by Radish Runner. The gryphons ducked back behind the building to hide, and the Crusaders silently agreed that now was the time to escape. As the wagon passes, they emerged from the bushes as silently as they could muster, they placed their bags on the wagon first, then each jumped up. Sweetie Belle again needed help to clear the needed height, but soon all three boarded the wagon and slipped under the tarp, just before the wagon passed the edge of the building, and into the sight of the watching gryphons.

“Holy, Celestia, that was close,” Sweetie Belle said.

“You're telling me,” Scootaloo replied.

o:O:o

Anypony who looked upon the bizarre contraption that stood in the clearing next to the clubhouse would have likely described it along the lines of 'hideous,' but for the three fillies who looked upon it at that moment, it was a thing of beauty. They spent the better part of a week constructing the ungainly machine, and what stood before them was a lopsided mass of wires and cables, held together with an unstable-looking copper frame. There was a control panel consisting of numerous knobs and dials, with two clocks mounted into the wooden face, and a slot-machine style lever mounted on the side. Three folding chairs were nailed to the plywood base, facing the control panel, and a large engine made up of a gas generator and various mismatched parts was mounted to the rear. On the side of the engine was the 'flex compactor,' as the Crusades called it, flashing with brilliant multicolored light, a funnel jutting from the top to facilitate the insertion of radioactive fuel.

“I think it's done, y'all,” Apple Bloom said, and pulled her friends into a tight hug.

“Do you really think that it's gonna work?”

“Of course it will, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo said, “what could possibly go wrong?”

"Y'all think we should give it a name? We can't go around just calling it the time machine all the time."

"It has to be something awesome," said Scootaloo. "How about Time Thrasher Two-Thousand?"

"We ain't trying to thrash time, just explore it and stuff. What do y'all think of the Timeinator?"

"That's um... good, Apple Bloom, but I was thinking something more like the Epoch."

"What the hay is an Epoch?" Apple Bloom asked.

"It means an important event thats starts a new period of history, or the time period named after that sort of event."

"Sweetie Belle, you really should have been born a dictionary instead of a pony," Scootaloo remarked.

"Well I think it's a dang fine name. It's settled then, the Epoch it is," Apple Bloom said. “So where do y'all wanna go, or I guess I should say when do y'all wanna go?”

“Let's go see the dinosaurs!” said Scootaloo.

“A billion years in the the future!” Sweetie Belle said.

“How 'bout something not so far. We can find ourselves as grown ups, and find out how we get our cutie marks,” Apple Bloom suggested.

“That's a great idea,” Scootaloo replied, “let's do it.”

The three fillies bounded into the Epoch, and Apple Bloom commenced fiddling with the dials for a moment, setting their trip to twenty-five years in the future. “Everypony ready?”

They looked at each other for a moment, all of their hearts pounding, before crying out at once.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TIME TRAVELERS! YAY!”

Apple Bloom pulled the lever, and the machine began to vibrate, shaking more and more as the moments passed, until the fillies felt like they were caught in a powerful earthquake. In an instant, a blinding light filled their vision, and they were violently thrown out of the time machine, landing in the grass several feet away. They slowly got to their hooves, and took a look around them.

Scootaloo was the first to speak. “Did it work?”

“I think it did,” Apple Bloom said, sounding a bit shocked. The other two turned to see where Apple Bloom was staring, and what they saw confirmed that they had indeed been taken somewhere. The clubhouse was there, but in a state of woeful disrepair, and in the distance they could see the sprawling apple farm, though it seemed to stretch out a bit farther now.

The three of them explored the farm, noticing various differences here and there, though it was still comfortably familiar. When in the orchard to the east of the barn, Sweetie Belle stopped as she glanced to the left, and pointed a hoof. “Apple Bloom, look!”

The earth filly turned to where her unicorn friend was pointing, and saw a collection of flower bouquets in various states of freshness, and a small memorial message carved into the trunk of a fallen golden delicious tree.

"Looks like we definitely made it to the future,” Apple Bloom said, her voice shaking.

TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE TWO
REVELATIONS AND PREPARATIONS

Thank you for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed this first episode of Chrono Crusaders.

Special Thanks to BraveHeartBrony for naming the Crusaders' time machine.

Note On Dating System - When Luna and Celestia defeated Discord, and took control of Equestria will be considered year 1. Any years prior to that date will be noted as 'BE' (Before Equestria) and counted in reverse, like BC is counted in our calender - Luna's Rebellion, and imprisonment on the moon will have taken place in June 612, and her release in June 1612 - Discord's defeat by the Elements of Harmony will have taken place September of 1613 - Princess Cadence’s wedding will have taken place March of 1614 - The Time Machine was built by The Crusaders in July of 1614.

These dates are pretty arbitrary, but I needed something, so that is what I came up with.

All logos and images by me, using screen shots from the show, fonts from DaFont, and images found on Google. Images created using Photofiltre.

Episode Two - Revelations and Preperations

“You hurry up and get your work done, Apple Fries,” Apple Bloom said. “Get all them bushels on the cart for yer Uncle Mac, he ain't as young as he used to be, and we don't need him throwing out his back again. After you do that, there are a bunch of galas and empires in the kitchen that gotta be bagged in dozens to be sold.”

“But, Momma, I already told Shinespark and Mornin' Glory that I was gonna meet them at the lake today.”

“That's all well and good, but you need to take care of yer responsibilities first. I'm pretty sure those two will survive a couple hours without you. I'll tell you what, If you get it all done quick like, y'all three can come with me to Sugarcube Corner for some ice cream. That's where we gotta deliver those bushels to anyway. I know it's hard work, but I will be workin' in the barn, or in the south field mendin' the fences if you need some help. Now, off you go.”

“Fine,” Apple Fries said, as she shimmied under the wooden fence, and dragged her hooves towards the east field. Big Macintosh had already bucked a few dozen golden delicious trees in the area, and at the bottom of each tree was a bushel or two, waiting to be stacked on the wagon for transport. Apple Bloom watched for a few moments, making sure her daughter got to work, and once satisfied, turned toward the barn to fetch her tools.

“Oh, pony feathers!” Apple Fries yelled from the orchard.

“Now, you watch your tongue, that ain't how a lady talks,” Apple Bloom said over her shoulder.

“Sorry, Momma,” Her daughter replied.

Apple Bloom gave no more thought to her foul-mouthed foal as she sauntered toward the barn, her mind occupied by thoughts of the day ahead. She was starting to grow very tired of fixing the fences every week, but could not see any way around it. After the Livestock Liberation Act of 1636 had passed three years ago, it had become unavoidable. She had no problem with the act itself, allowing the cows and sheep free range of the farm seemed only fair. Penning up intelligent beings always felt wrong to her, but she could never convince the rest of the Apple Family to allow the sheep and cows free range. Soon after the law passed, however, she realized why everyone in her family except for her had voted against the bill. Cows, it seemed, have no respect for the sanctity of white picket fences, and more often than not would knock them over, or break right through, rather than walk around them like civilized folk.

As Apple Bloom approached the barn, she could see Featherweight flying around the roof of the barn, busily replacing missing shingles, and marking areas of the roof that needed to be reinforced or replaced completely. Before she married the pegasus stallion, the barn had always been a thorn in her side, simply refusing to stop sagging, and always threatening to collapse. Featherweight wasn't the best handy-stallion in Ponyville, but the ability to fly was a definite advantage when working so high above the ground, and Apple Bloom knew her husband was happy to take on the time-consuming, but relatively simple task of maintaining the shingles. She would never trust him to do any of the heavy carpentry, that had gone sour one too many times, but it was nice to be freed from the light work.

“Hey there, Bloom,” Featherweight said as he glided down to greet his wife. “I see you are trying to get Apple Fries to actually do some work. I've been keeping an eye on her, and I swear that silly filly must have spilled at least five bushels in the two minutes it took you to walk here. She almost let the wagon get away from her once or twice too.”

“That so? I swear I weren’t never that much trouble when I was a filly. Fool kid musta' got it from your side of the family.”

Apple Bloom could see her husband stifle a laugh. “Sure, darling, that must be it. You were always a perfect angel when we were young, I can't recall a single time you ever caused trouble for anyone.”

“I don't think I like your sarcastic tone there. Of course I was a perfect angel back then,” she said with mock frustration. “Well, anyway, I better get to it, the fences ain't gonna fix themselves.”

“Okay, darling, don't work too hard,” he said, and took to the air, resuming his own work. She watched him for a moment, admiring his graceful flight and determined spirit before heading into the barn. Her friends had never understood what she saw in Featherweight, and granted, he wasn't as large or strong as most other stallions, but he was as honest, caring, and hard working as any stallion she knew. There was also a certain appeal to the way he soared through the sky, never too fast, but always graceful and full of subtle beauty. She stood transfixed for a moment before finally tearing her gaze away and stepping into the barn.

Once inside, Apple Bloom took her sheet of measurements from her saddlebag, and spent the next hour and a half sawing planks of wood and fence posts to size, double checking each before lining them up along her workbench to be painted. Something about the repetitive task was almost therapeutic to her, the steady rhythm of the saw, the aroma of sawdust and paint. As far as she was concerned, this was a little piece of heaven. It gave her time to think, to reflect on her life, plan out her day, or simply turn off her mind for a while. Apple Bloom was lost in her own mind when she was abruptly ripped out of her thoughts by three terrifying sounds in quick succession.

The first sound was the voice of her husband. “Dear Celestia, no,” he had yelled with a desperate and horrified tone.

The second and third sounds came a few seconds later, only a second apart. The sound of Apple Fries screaming, and a very loud crash.

o:O:o

“I can't believe that I gotta do all this junk,” Apple Fries complained under her breath as she ducked beneath the fence and shuffled towards the closest bushel. While she was certainly proud of the Apple name, she often wished she had been born into a wealthy family like Shinespark had been. “I don't know why Momma expects me to do so much buckin' work. Between this, school and all my homework, I work way more than her or Daddy, I just know it”

She tried to stack both of the bushels that sat under the first golden delicious tree on top of each other and carry them together, but they proved to be much too heavy. She lost her grip before she had lifted it more than a few inches, sending dozens of yellow apples rolling across the grass. “Oh, pony feathers,” she yelled before she could stop herself.

“Now, you watch your tongue, that ain't how a lady talks.”

“Sorry, Momma,” she said. She wasn't actually all that sorry though. She stuck out her tongue at her mother's backside before picking up the spilled apples with a sigh.

For what felt like many hours, but she knew was probably only ninety minutes or so, she huffed and cursed her way across the orchard, stacking bushels on the cart, the sour expression never once leaving her face. A few times she dropped a bushel, and had to pick it back up, and once she had almost tipped the whole cart over, but she was finally almost done in the east field. She carried the last bushel to the cart, still cursing to herself despite her relief at finally finishing the outdoor phase of the day's labor.

“Thank, Celestia,” she said to herself, as she shoved the bushel on the the wagon, “at least now I can go inside to work, this heat is killin' me.”

She had just released the safety brake when she noticed that she had inadvertently parked the wagon on the very top of a hill. Apple Fries knew from previous experience how heavy a fully loaded apple cart was, and did not want to risk trying to get it to the bottom of the hill on her own. With an exasperated sigh, she trotted down the hill and toward the barn to get her mother to help her.

She screamed with shock and pain when the cart hit her, and for a frightening instant the cart pushed her sideways. Then there was an abrupt stop as the cart slammed her violently against a tree. She felt something in her spine snap, and all pain suddenly ceased. She was vaguely aware of the total lack of feeling in her lower body, as she struggled to pull herself from the mass of tree trunk and apples, thrashing wildly with her front hooves. After a few brief moments, her strength failed her, and her body slumped limply onto an overturned apple bushel. The last things that Apple Fries was aware of was her father landing in front of her, his eyes wide in horror, and her mother's voice desperately calling her name. In that moment her world faded away, and consciousness left her entirely.

o:O:o

It was far too much for Apple Bloom's little mind to handle. All she had wanted to do was find out what she and her friends' cutie marks were going to be, and this new information was shocking and unexpected to say the least. All that she could do was stare at the small shrine in a near catatonic state. She truly had no idea how to process it all. Her future daughter would die at only twelve years old, a mere three years older than her own current age. Apple Bloom had never even met this filly, yet somehow the loss that she felt was still greater than any she had ever before experienced.

Sweetie Belle slowly walked onto the orchard and sat down in the grass beside Apple Bloom, and the devastated pony leaned her head on her friend's shoulder. For a long time the two fillies sat together in silence. Having her friend there with her somehow helped her clear her mind, and eventually Apple Bloom broke the silence with a whisper.

“We gotta fix it,” she said to Sweetie Belle. “We gotta go back and make it right.”

The unicorn brushed a hoof through Apple Bloom's mane with a sigh. “I thought that you might want to do that,” she said softly. “I probably would want to fix it too. Rarity says 'the future is what you make it.' I think that it's true too, so I will help you however you want me too.”

“You're the best, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said, and pulled her unicorn friend into a tight hug.

Apple Bloom knew that she should have a plan, but in order to begin developing any sort of strategy, she first needed to know exactly what had happened. She knew that there was an obituary printed whenever a Ponyville resident passed away, because, for some reason she could never understand, Granny Smith always liked to read them. She also knew Twilight Sparkle had always kept an archive of Ponyville Tribune and The Canterlot Sun at the library tree, so perhaps whatever librarian was currently there would do that too. It was a place to start, anyway.

They headed towards town, forming a plan of action together, bouncing ideas off of each other, and assigning tasks. By the time they had reached the outskirts of Ponyville, the three friends had a well-formed strategy. Finally, they reached the hills that bordered town, and stood in wide-eyed awe when Ponyville came into view. The once tiny village had grown to at least twice it's previous size, and several multistory buildings stood proudly in the center of town. The stood together for a few moments, taking in the unexpected sight .

“Alright, everypony know what they need to do?” Apple Bloom asked, and both of her friends nodded in confirmation. “Good. We meet back at the Epoch at sunset, that gives us about three hours.”

The three fillies galloped together down the hill, and upon reaching the town border they split up, and headed toward their respective destinations, knowing that time was of the essence and failure was not an option.

o:O:o

When Apple Bloom had arrived at the library, she was relieved to find that Twilight wasn't there. She had been afraid that after all those years, the purple unicorn would still live there, though that turned out not to be the case. Apple Bloom asked about Twilight, her curiosity too much to resist, and the current librarian, an elderly pegasus stallion named Loose Leaf, told her that Twilight Sparkle was now head librarian at Canterlot Palace.

Loose Leaf had gladly allowed her to search the archive of newspapers, even offering to help, though the young earth pony declined, preferring to do it on her own. It took Apple Bloom quite a while to find what she was looking for, a short article in The Canterlot Sun, detailing the circumstances of the accident. Tears filled her eyes as she read the page, and saw the picture of a smiling earth pony that could never be mistaken for anything other than an Apple. She waited until Loose Leaf was distracted, and tore the article out of the paper and stuffed it into a fold in her bow. She felt a little guilty about destruction of library property, but felt that it was a necessary evil. Once satisfied that she had what she needed, she neatly stacked the papers back on the shelf, thanked Loose Leaf, and galloped back to the agreed upon meeting place.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were already waiting at the time machine when Apple Bloom arrived, and to the young earth pony's surprise, another quite familiar pink pony was there too.

“Oh my gosh, you are finally here not grown up Apple Bloom! I knew you girls would get the time machine working! I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and then finally I got the ear twitch, knee jerk, nose itch, tongue curl combo! I used to get it all the time when Minuette and the Doctor would show up in that weird blue thing. They left a long, long, LONG time ago and never came back, so when the combo happened again, I knew, I just KNEW that it had to be you three! I'm so excited to see you all!”

Apple Bloom stared in shock at the bouncing pink pony, noticing that while she looked older, she didn't seem to have aged nearly as much as she would have expected her too over twenty five years. She was a bit chubbier, and had a few faint lines around her eyes, but she had to be well into her forties by now, yet she looked no older than her teacher Cheerilee, who Apple Bloom knew was only thirty-four. Pinkie Pie's energy level, however, had not aged over the years all it seemed.

Apple Bloom turned to her friends. “Um, I thought y'all were supposed to not get seen by anypony we know.”

“We couldn't help it, she was already here when we got back. We tried to hide, but Pinkie had already seen us,” Scootaloo said apologetically.

“Don't you silly fillies worry, I won't tell anypony I saw you, especially not your adult selves. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie Pie said, as she did the motions inherent to the unbreakable promise.

The three fillies' eyes went wide when Pinkie said that, and they all yelled in excitement as one. “You know our adult selves?!”

“Well of course I do! I know everypony in Ponyville, always have, always will. Hey, that rhymed!” Pinkie began to sing cheerfully, inspired by her inadvertent rhyme.

I know everypony
In all of Ponyville
I've always known them all
I know I always will

I throw them parties everyday
'Cause partying is Pinkie's way
And everyday in Ponyville
Is somepony's birthday, Yay!

“Needs work, but I think I can manage to make a whole song out of it,” Pinkie said.

“Yeah, its nice Pinkie. So if you know our adult selves, can you tell us what our cutie marks are?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Of course not, silly, that would ruin the surprise! Anyway, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle told me about your plan to save Apple Fries. I really, really, really hope you can do it, everypony is so sad about what happened to her. Come find me when you go back to save her, I really want to help you girls. See you last month!” Pinkie Pie bounced off without another word, a hopeful expression on her face.

“Bye Pinkie Pie,” the Crusaders said to the pink blur as it disappeared down the path.

“Well, that was interestin',” Apple Bloom said.

“So did you find anything, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo asked.

“Sure did, what about you guys?" she said, as she pulled a newspaper clipping from inside the fold of her bow.

“Well, Pinkie says that we can stay at her place when we get to last month, so if it takes a few days to do what we need to do, at least we wont have to sleep outside,” Scootaloo said. “Other than that, we couldn't really find out much.”

“That's okay, I think I found just what we need anyway, look.” Apple Bloom handed the newspaper clipping to the other two fillies, who both began to read.

“That poor pony,” Sweetie Belle said, a tear streaking down her face. “I can't believe something like that happened right here in Ponyville. It's so sad.”

“I know, that's why we gotta fix it,” Apple Bloom said. She felt like crying too, but she had spent all of here tears at the library.

After much discussion, they had decided that they should prepare before attempting to alter the time line, and thus returned to their own time to set up for the upcoming rescue mission. Apple Bloom set the machine to send them back to the day on which they had left, only an hour after their initial departure. Once again, the machine shook violently, and again the Crusaders were hurled out of the contraption in a flash of light, but this time they were prepared, and they suffered fewer scrapes and bruises than before.

“We really need to do something about all that shaking, I don't think I can handle getting knocked around like that anymore,” Sweetie Belle said as she stood up.

“Yeah, we ain't gonna be happy if it shakes itself apart, especially if we ain't even in our own time when it happens,” Apple Bloom said. She trotted over to the machine and began examining all of it's vital components. “We gotta reinforce the frame, and secure the engine better. We should probably get some better seats too.”

Once Apple Bloom had drawn out plans for all of the necessary improvements, she gave herself and each of her friends a list of tasks, and they spent the next several days worth of Crusading time upgrading their invention. The copper frame was reinforced with crossbars and joined with heavier bolts, and the engine also got it's own frame, securing all of the vital parts. Scootaloo found out that Mr and Mrs Cake were throwing out an old sofa, and so convinced them to let the Crusaders have it instead. It made a fantastic replacement for the folding lawn chairs, both more comfortable and more secure. At the end of the fourth day, the upgrades were finally complete, and the three fillies all headed home to rest, agreeing to meet as early as they could the next morning, ready for their rescue mission.

o:O:o

“I still don't understand what two ducks have to do with it,” Scootaloo said.

“Are ya even listenin' to me? What I said was we gotta be careful about what we do, or there might be a paradox,” said Apple Bloom .

“Fine, I don't see what a pair of ducks has to do with it then. I'm also pretty sure that a pair of ducks is exactly the same thing as two ducks.”

“How did you get to be so dang thick, Scootaloo? It's amazin' that you ain't died from pure stupidity by now.”

“Me? You're the one who is trying to tell me that we'll be attacked by ducks if we mess with time too much. If that's not stupid, I don't know what is.”

“Ya know what, never mind about the paradox. We just gotta be careful is all I'm trying to say.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Apple Bloom is in charge, and whatever dumb rules she pulls out of her flank have to be followed, or else we get attacked by ducks,” Scootaloo said sarcastically.

“Calm down, Scootaloo, I never claimed to be in charge. All Crusaders are equal, and you know it.”

“You sure act like you're trying to be in charge. You know what, I'll just meet you at the clubhouse in a little while. I wanna go get my scooter and see if I can get some bits from my foster mom anyway. I'll be at the clubhouse in like an hour.”

“If that's what you want to do, fine. Just don't take too long, we need to get goin' soon.”

“Alright, alright, I'll hurry, don't spit your bit!” Scootaloo answered.

Apple Bloom turned her head and checked her flank, and saw that Scootaloo was doing the same. “Dang, still no arguing cutie mark.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Scootaloo said. “Anyway, see you soon.”

“Yep, see ya soon,” Apple Bloom replied. She adjusted her overloaded saddlebag, and headed back towards Sweet Apple Acres. On the way, she realized that she was going to pass right by Carousel Boutique, and so decided stop by and get Sweetie Belle. Rarity told her that Sweetie wouldn't be available until her morning chores were done, a task which involved getting the smoke smell out of the kitchen, apparently. While she was there, Rarity put up a valiant effort to convince Apple Bloom to model some filly-sized dresses and hats she was working on, and it took her several minutes to finally escape with her dignity intact. All things considered, the trip into town had been mostly a waste of time, and Apple Bloom wished that she had spent the time getting an extra hour of sleep, and packing up the Epoch with supplies.

Soon enough, she arrived at the clubhouse, and was surprised to find that Scootaloo had actually beaten her there. The orange pegasus was covered in mud, tree sap, and pine needles for some reason, and was clumsily shoving their wagon into the Epoch.

“There, done,” Scootaloo said with a final shove, “Oh, hey Apple Bloom, what took you so long? And where is Sweetie Belle?”

“She should be here pretty soon. Hey, how's the fuel look?”

Scootaloo studied the flex capacitor for a moment. “Pretty low, probably should refill it before we go.”

“Aright. Unless you wanna suit up, maybe you should stand back. Why don’t you go down to the house and hose yourself off,” Apple Bloom said, and Scootaloo hurried off toward the Apple Family home. Apple Bloom opened a hatch in the Epoch's control panel, and removed one of the radiation suits, a pair of long tongs, and a box marked U-235. After donning her suit, she carefully opened the box and used the tongs to remove two rods of uranium, dropping them into the funnel atop the flex capacitor. Once that was done, she put all of the refueling supplies back under the control panel, and waited for her friends. It wasn't long before Sweetie Belle, and a much cleaner Scootaloo had arrived, and after a last minute check to make sure that they hadn't forgotten anything, they all loaded into the Epoch and departed.

TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE THREE
AN APPLE NEVER FALLS
TOO FAR FROM THE TREE

As always, if you notice any mistakes, please let me know, it is very much appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Vectors used in title image can be found here:
CMCs by RegolithX
Pinkie and Gummy by MoongazePonies
Background by Dipi11

All other logos and image edits by me, using screen shots from the show, fonts from DaFont, and images found on google. Images created using Photofiltre.

Episode Three - An Apple Never Falls Too Far From The Tree

“It just ain't fair! Momma says that it runs in the family, and that she didn't get her cutie mark until she was almost as old as I am, but I'm the oldest pony in the whole town without a cutie mark, maybe in all of Equestria!” Apple Fries stomped her hoof and grunted. “Ugh! I was so sure we'd get our pirate cutie marks. We spent all buckin' week makin' them costumes!”

“Well, we didn't have a ship, and the nearest ocean is like a zillion miles away, so I'm really not that surprised,” Shinespark replied. “Plus, our parents wouldn't let us pillage Ponyville, so that kinda made it hard to plunder any booty. I guess we could try ninjas."

“Didn't we already do ninjas?” Morning Glory asked, as she flew around in lazy loops in the air just above the other two fillies.

“No, that was samurai,” Shinespark answered.

“Well, it's worth a try I guess.” Apple Fries said. She briefly considered the possibility of becoming a ninja, and wondered why they hadn't tried it before. She was just about to ask the others if they had any idea where to find some shuriken and a pair of nunchucks, when a bright flash from the east side of the farm caught her attention. “Whoa, did y'all see that?”

“Yeah, I wonder what it was,” Shinespark answered. “Morning Glory, you should fly over there and check it out, you can get there faster than us.”

“Sure thing. Be right back,” she said, and took to the air, bolting toward the source of the mysterious light.

“You know, if we do this ninja thing, we'll have to get some awesome weapons, and find an evil villain to conquer. I think that's where samurai, superheroes, and secret agents all went wrong, no villains,” said Shinespark.

“I was just gonna say we need some weapons, but that villain thing is a good point, too.” Apple Fries replied. She turned around, intending to grab an apple off one of the trees near the path, instead finding herself nose to nose with a hyperactive pink pony.

“Hey, Apple Fries! Hey Shinespark! I just got the weirdest combo! Ear twitch, knee jerk, nose itch, tongue curl! It's so exciting! I haven't had that combo in YEARS, except for that one time that it happened next month! Gotta go, I have important business!”

Pinkie Pie shot off like a bullet in the direction that the light had appeared from. Apple Fries briefly wondered how an earth pony could run so fast, but then she remembered it was Pinkie Pie, and figured it was just one of those inexplicable things. She put it out of her mind when she noticed Morning Glory was heading back.

“Did ya see anything?”

“Yeah, there is some sort of strange machine out by that old tree fort. I thought I saw a couple ponies out there too, but they must have saw me coming and hid, cause when I landed I couldn’t find them.” Morning Glory answered.

“A machine? What kind of machine?”

“I have no idea what it is, I've never seen anything like it before. It's like a copper cage with all these wires and a big engine, and it had a couch and a scooter and a bunch of other stuff in it too. It was pretty weird.”

“Yeah, that sounds awful strange. Pinkie Pie just went out there too, maybe we should go check it out.” Apple Fries said.

“Pinkie Pie? Where did she come from?”

“I dunno, I think she jumped out of a bush or somethin',” Apple Fries answered. “Anyways, we gonna go check it out or what?”

“Let's do it,” Shinespark said, and the three fillies all broke out in a full gallop.

“BLANK FLANK BRIGADE MYSTERIOUS MACHINE INVESTIGATORS! WOO HOO!”

o:O:o

“Alright, Crusaders, it's time to embark on an epic quest to rescue Apple Fries from imminent death! Once I pull this lever, there ain't no turnin' back,” Apple Bloom said.

“Ready!” said Scootaloo.

“All set!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Remember, Crusaders, never reveal your true name, or let anypony discover that we are time travelers. We can't tell Apple Fries that she is in danger, so we need to prevent the accident without letting her know what we're doing. Don't make contact with anypony unless it is absolutely necessary, and whatever you do, never interact with your future self. If we do anything to cause a paradox, it could mean the end of Equestria,” Apple Bloom said, proud of the short speech that she had written and practiced extensively the evening before. She pulled the lever, the engine hummed loudly, and the flux capacitor lit up brightly as the energy built up. The Epoch began to vibrate, increasing in speed and intensity, but never shaking like it previously had done.

“I still don't understand what two ducks have to do with anything,” Scootaloo said an instant before the flux capacitor flashed.

The arrival was far more comfortable this time around. Instead of sending the fillies hurtling through the air, it merely shuttered for a moment before the engine shut down, leaving the Crusaders safely seated inside the machine.

“Commence stage one! Prepare the future clubhouse to serve as base of operations.” Apple Bloom said, happy that she had read enough spy novels to know the appropriate things to say. They exited the time machine, and quickly got to work setting up their headquarters, though were soon interrupted when Sweetie Belle spoke up in alarm.

“Look, there's somepony coming, quick, hide!”

The three fillies dropped what they were doing, and darted away, concealing themselves in a patch of tall grass. When the pegasus landed, Apple Bloom noticed that she was just a filly, perhaps only a year or two older than the Crusaders.

“Wow, she looks a mite like Cloud Swisher and Flicker, don't she?” Apple Bloom whispered to her friends.

“I don't think that's their names, but yeah, she kinda does,” Scootaloo answered.

The pegasus eyed the machine for a moment, circling it a few times and occasionally poking it with her hoof. “Hey, is anypony here?” She called, scanning the area. “Hello, hello!... Huh, I could've sworn I saw somepony. Oh well, whatever.” The pale blue pegasus took one last look at the time machine before taking to the skies again, heading back in the direction from which she came.

“Whew! That was close,” Sweetie Belle said. They emerged from their hiding place, and resumed work, only to be immediately interrupted once again, only this time by a pony that they had no hope of hiding from.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my! You're here! I'm excited, are you exited? I've never been so excited in my life, well except that one time next month, but that hasn't actually happened yet, so I guess this is still the most excited I have ever been!” Pinkie Pie said, as she bounced in circles around the trio of Crusaders.

“Hi, Pinkie Pie. We were kinda expecting you to show up, just not so quickly,” Apple Bloom said. She noticed a small alligator clinging to her tail, its yellow eyes staring blankly into empty space.. “Wait, is that Gummy? I ain’t an expert on these things or nothin, but shouldn't he be bigger by now?”

“Of course this isn't Gummy, you silly filly! Gummy is SO HUGE now! I had to let him free, but I still visit him at Froggy Bottom Bog. He has a hard time catching food, with no teeth and all, so I bring him punch and cupcakes pretty much every day!”

“Who is that alligator then?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, this is Gumbelina, she is Gummy's daughter! You can tell the difference because Gummy is HUGE and has purple eyes, and Gumbelina has yellow eyes and is just little! Anyway, I gotta go, you girls have fun doing whatever you are doing here in the future. Don't cause any paradoxes, and make sure you come by Sugarcube Corner and get some tasty treats! Bye!” Pinkie pulled three cupcakes out of nowhere, and gave one to each Crusader, before racing away at seemingly impossible speeds.

“Gosh dang, it seems like she got even crazier over time. I'm not even sure how that is possible,” Apple Bloom said. “Well, we better get back to work.”

Moments later, the three time travelers were interrupted for a third time, before they could really get anything done. They never even noticed the three ponies that were approaching the clearing, too busy attempting to prepare their center of operations.

“Gotcha!” said the purple unicorn filly as she leaped into the clearing.

The time traveling ponies jumped from surprise, and turned around to find themselves face to face with a trio of fillies. Apple Bloom immediately recognized one of them as the Pegasus from earlier, and another as their target, Apple Fries.

“Howdy! I'm Apple Fries, this is Mornin' Glory, and Shinespark.”

“Oh, um... My name is uh... oh yeah, my name is Lemon Drop,” Apple Bloom said.

“I'm Sugar Swirl,” Sweetie Belle said.

“My name is Epic Thunder,” Scootaloo said. “Pretty awesome name huh?”

“If you say so,” Morning Glory said. “Anyway, what are you guys up to? And what's that crazy looking contraption?”

Apple Bloom was not prepared for this question, and from the expressions on her friends' faces, neither were they. “Well, it was suppose to be a time machine, but it don't actually work,” she said, mentally kicking herself for giving an answer so close to the truth.

“Oh, that kinda makes sense, I guess, but why did you build it on Apple Fries' farm?” Shinespark asked.

“Oh, is this part of the farm? There weren't any apple trees out here, and the clubhouse looked abandoned, so we just figured nopony was using it.”

“Yeah, its part of Sweet Apple Acres, alright, but we don't ever use this area, so I don't see no harm of y'all using it, so long as y'all let us come play with you out here,” Apple Fries said with a smile. Suddenly her eyes lit up, and her smile grew much wider. “Hey, y'all are blank flanks too! You can join our club if you want. We're called the Blank Flank Brigade, and we go on missions to try and get our cutie marks.”

“Really? We have a club like that too,” Scootaloo said.

“Cool! What's your club called?”

“THE CUTE MARK CRUSADERS!” all three Crusaders said together.

“Wow, my Momma was in a club called the Cutie Mark Crusaders when she was young,” Apple Fries said. “Hey, Lemon Drop, you kinda remind me of my mom, are you part of the Apple family?”

“No, I don't think so, I'm from the Lemon family. We farm lemons... yeah, that’s it, lemons.”

“Are you sure? You sure do seem like an Apple. You better come meet my Momma, she would know for sure,” Apple Fries said.

“No, we can't do that, we gotta unpack and set up the clubhouse,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Me and Morning Glory will do it for you. You should totally go meet her mom, Mrs. Apple Bloom is pretty awesome,” Shinespark said.

Before Apple Bloom could protest, Apple Fries bit down on her tail and started dragging her towards the apple orchards. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed reluctantly, as Morning Glory and Shinespark started poking around inside the time machine.

“This could turn out bad,” said Sweetie Belle.

“I know,” Scootaloo answered. Apple Bloom gave her friends a pleading look, but they just shrugged and followed the two Apples, apparently at a loss about what they could possibly do to help.

o:O:o

A group of pegasi zipped around in the mid-morning sky, dutifully manipulating clouds in an apparent effort to set up a shower over Sweet Apple Acres. Scootaloo watched them intently as she listened to the conversation between Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Apple Fries.

“Anyway, like I was sayin', Shinespark's momma's name is Diamond Tiara. She is alright, I guess, but sometimes she can be a little crabby. I probably wouldn't hang out at her place at all if it weren’t for her daddy's racing snails. Woo, doggy! you ain't never seen no snail zip down a course like his do, it's pretty crazy. So I guess between her momma being born into money and all, and her daddy's money from championships, Shinespark is just about the richest filly in these parts.”

“That's awful interestin', what about Morinin' Glory?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah, I really like her mane, and her coat too. She is such pretty colors.”

“Her momma is named Cloud Chaser.” Apple Fries looked up and scanned the sky for a moment, and pointed a hoof at a cloud a short distance away. “There she is right there, she's head weather pony for Ponyville, so you can usually see her around when they're doin' their stuff. That one over there with her is Mornin' Glory's flight instructor.”

Scootaloo followed Apple Fries' gesture, and saw Cloud Chaser moving a large cloud across the sky, helped by a purple-maned orange pegasus that looked very familiar, though Scootaloo couldn't quite place her. Realization struck when Apple Fries next spoke.

“Morinin' Glory says Scootaloo is an awesome instructor. She was actually a Wonderbolt, can you believe that? She was one of the best too, until she busted herself in a crash. Those two have been working really hard lately, getting her ready for the Best Young Fliers Junior Division.”

“A Wonderbolt, really?!” Scootaloo said with a bit more excitement than she should have. “So uh, how did she crash?”

“She was doin' this trick she came up with called the Scootaboom Twister. It's like a Sonic Rainboom, only she would do a 360 roll right as it went off, so instead of just a ring of color, it would make a figure eight shape. She's one of only two ponies in history who ever could pull off the Rainboom, and the only one that could ever do the Twister, which makes her pretty buckin' cool, if ya ask me. Anyways, I guess she misjudged how high she was, or whatever, and crashed right into the stands. She was in the hospital for weeks, and afterward, she couldn't go as fast as she used to, so she retired and became a flight instructor.”

Scootaloo could hardly contain her emotions. To think she would not only perform a Sonic Rainboom, but actually improve upon it was unbelievably awesome. She hardly even gave a thought to the part about the injury, instead daydreaming about flying with the Wonderbolts, performing for thousands of adoring fans.

They walked for a few minutes longer, Apple Fries doing most of the talking, until they eventually came to an area of the farm where several ponies were working.

“Momma! You 'round here?”

Adult Apple Bloom stuck her head out from behind a tree, and gave her daughter a smile. “Howdy, Fries, what's up? Who are your... friends....” The elder Bloom's eyes widened and she reluctantly cantered over to the four fillies. She nervously glanced at each of the Crusaders before making shaky eye-contact with her younger self. “I was wonderin' when y'all would show up,” she said with a shaky voice, then looked worriedly at Apple Fries. “I gotta say, I was kinda hopin' y'all never would.”

“Hey Bloom, hey Shrimp!” A voice said from just above them. An orange pegasus with a messy purple mane landed next to the elder Apple Bloom. Her face fell when she saw Apple Fries' companions. “Oh no...”

The younger Scootaloo went into full panic mode, Apple Bloom had warned her not too interact with her adult self. Her eyes darted around the area looking for a place to hide. Her gaze fell on a couple of mallards waddling casually across the orchard.

“Sweet leaping Luna! A pair of ducks!” Scootaloo cried, and bolted full speed away from the group and back towards the time machine, leaving nothing but a dust cloud in her wake.

o:O:o

After a whispered reminder to the Crusaders about making sure not to let on who they were, or how they had got there, the elder Apple Bloom had allowed them to spend the day playing with Apple Fries and the other Brigadiers. To the dismay of all six fillies, nopony had earned their cutie marks in ninjitsu, gymnastics, bass fishing, or fire-eating. No amount of rain, and no lack of cutie mark acquisition could dampen their spirits, however, and none of them felt that the day had been wasted. Soon though, the sun was dipping low in the sky, and Shinespark and Morning Glory reluctantly had to take their leave. Soon after, Featherweight had showed up to take Apple Fries home, telling the Crusaders to head back to the clubhouse and wait.

To the surprise of nopony, Pinkie Pie was already there, having decorated the clearing near the clubhouse with balloons and streamers. She had a veritable banquet of cakes, pies, and cookies, a whole selection of sodas and punches, and numerous party games ready to go. The three fillies and the mare cheerfully snacked and played, until finally three more ponies arrived. The Crusaders immediately recognized two of them as the adult versions of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. With them was a beautiful white mare with a curly pink and violet mane, and it didn't take long for the crusaders to deduce exactly who she was.

After ensuing that all six ponies had full glasses of punch and full plates of food, Pinkie disappeared into the trees, returning an instant later with a huge pile of branches and small logs. Over the course of about ten seconds, Pinkie somehow built and lit a pleasant bonfire.

“I know you guys probably want to talk in private, so I will just be in here playing with Gumbelina. Let me know if you need anything!” Pinkie said, and excused herself to the interior of the run-down clubhouse.

The six ponies took seats around the fire, adults on one side and fillies on the other, each directly opposite from their counterpart. The elder Apple Bloom opened her mouth to speak, but tears overtook her, and she was unable to begin. Adult Sweetie Belle wrapped a hoof around her friend, and comforted her with soft whispers and gentle strokes. It reminded young Apple Bloom of how Sweetie had comforted her days before in front of Apple Fries' shrine, and the earth filly couldn’t help but smile.

“Alright, I guess I'll start,” adult Scootaloo said. “We know why you are here, of course, we were once in your position, although things were... different then. That actually isn't that surprising though, considering what happened when were were foals.” She spread her wings, and gently fluttered over to the small scooter leaning against the Epoch, looking it over with a sad smile. “We tried and tried to change what happened, but nothing worked. We could change a few things, alter the circumstances, but the end result was always the same.”

“Y'all have to understand, girls,” adult Apple Bloom said between sobbing breaths, “I've had a quarter century to come to terms. It's a burden I've carried almost all my life, a heartbreak that has become a part of me, even defined who I am.” She dipped her head as a tear ran down her muzzle, and dropped to the ground, then raised her glance and met her younger self's eyes. “It's a burden you will have to carry now, too. I spent my life hoping to change it, I did my best not to fall in love with Featherweight, did all I could to prevent becomin' pregnant.”

“It isn't just you, Apple Bloom, all three of us have struggled with the knowledge of what is to be. We have come to realize that the time line will fight change, it will resist all attempts to master it.” Sweetie Belle met the eyes of each of the Crusaders, lingering the longest on her younger counterpart as she spoke, her face laden with regret and sadness. “It is as if some powerful outside force guides certain aspects of our lives, and the life of poor little Apple Fries, pushing us all relentlessly in a predetermined direction. I really don't know of any other way to explain it.”

The elder Scootaloo nodded in confirmation as she took her place by the fire again. She looked at the adult Apple Bloom with a concerned expression before speaking. “The three of us have always had an agreement that if this day came, should you three ever appear, that you don't tell us anything about of what you know.” She looked at the elder Apple Bloom, who gestured for her to go on. “None of us know exactly when it will happen, or how, but we do know that it can never be prevented. We have to insist that you return to your own time, and try to forget you ever came here. You need to go back, and destroy the machine. No good will ever come of it, all it can do is bring things to light that can't be changed.”

“No!” The younger Apple Bloom sprang to her feet, anger, sadness, and defiance all apparent in her voice and expression. “No, I ain't gonna just accept that, I spent all day with Apple Fries, and she is my friend! No, she's more than that, she's my family! I love her, just like I love Applejack and Big Mac, maybe even more. I can't explain it, but it's like she's part of me or somethin'. I ain't just gonna let her die.”

A thick silence hung in the air, and all six ponies gathered together around the younger Apple Bloom, and soon there were comforting hugs and mournful tears shared by all.

o:O:o

Pinkie Pie was the first of the seven pones to wake, and she busied herself with preparing breakfast for her friends. She noted with a heavy heart that she had awoken with an arrow-straight mane and tail, though she felt no hint of the insanity that often accompanied it, only a deep sadness. She couldn't help but overhear the conversations that had taken place the evening before in this clearing, and the knowledge that she now bore weighed on her soul as if she carried the whole of Equestria on her shoulders.

The meal that the pink pony prepared hardly resembled her normal sugary fare, consisting of sliced apples, orange juice, and salads made from fresh romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, and diced cucumbers. She set five places at the picnic table, and six more on a picnic blanket in the nearby grass. With great care, she added the finishing touches, then retreated to the clubhouse balcony, and watched her sleeping friends as Celestia's sun slowly rose, threatening to breach the cover of the trees and bathe the clearing in the bright morning light at any moment.

Three pairs of ponies slept soundly in the grass, a filly and a mare in each set. Pinkie was not surprised in the least by who had paired with who, noting with a smile that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had both slumbered with the other's filly counterpart, each mare on her side with a forehoof wrapped around their filly companion. The pair of Scootaloos both slept on their backs, with their hooves jutting towards the sky. The young Scootaloo's head was propped on the older's belly, using her adult self as a pillow, her wings and hooves twitching intermittently, as if she was dreaming of running or flying. The older mare's wings were spread wide across the ground, and her mouth hung open, a stream of drool running down the left side of her face. Pinkie believed that the whole scene might be the cutest thing that she had ever witnessed, and the feeling in her heart from seeing the peacefully sleeping ponies gave her mane a tail a hint of it's previous bounce.

The morning light reached filly Sweetie Belle's eyes first, owing to her position relative to the sun and the tree line, and as a result, she was the first to stir. She carefully tried to slip from under her partner's hoof, though her effort was unsuccessful, and adult Apple Bloom soon became the second to rise. One by one everypony awoke, except the elder Scootaloo, and had gathered at the breakfast area for light conversation. Soon enough, Featherweight arrived with the Brigadiers, and Morning Glory wasted no time in waking up her sleeping mentor with a vigorous shake. Finally everypony was present, awake, and alert, and the meal began in earnest.

Once the meal was done, everypony said their goodbyes, Featherweight left the Brigadiers, and Pinkie left with the adult Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, leaving the elder Apple Bloom alone with the Crusaders.

“Alright, girls, I am only gonna say this once, so listen up,” the elder Apple Bloom said. “Y'all are gonna head straight back to your own time, and dismantle that infernal machine, you understand?”

“Yes, ma'am,” they all said in unison.

“Good, now give me a dang hug, and then y'all gotta go.”

One by one they hugged the yellow mare, first Scootaloo, then Sweetie Bell, and finally Apple Bloom. “It's awful strange huggin' yourself, you know”

“Yeah, I guess it is ain't it? Now off you go! I ain’t telling y’all again!”

The Crusaders double checked that they had packed up everything that they had brought, and once satisfied, took their seats in the Epoch. Apple Bloom saw that her older self was waiting at the edge of the clearing, presumably planning on staying until they had gone.

“Well, we didn't do what we came here to do, but at least we got to find out what our cutie marks are gonna be,” Apple Bloom said. All three fillies had, of course, made it a point to check out what their adult version's cutie mark was, as well as finding out what it was for the other two. None of them understood what their own was supposed to mean, but they all understood the meaning of the marks belonging to the other two Crusaders. “Alright, y'all ready?”

“Are we really going to just give up on Apple Fries, like this?”

“Of course we ain't, Sweetie Belle, I have a plan!” Apple Bloom pulled the lever, and away they went.

o:O:o

“Did we even go anywhere? It looks the same,” Scootaloo said.

“This is actually the next mornin', today is the day that it happens. From what the newspaper said, it happens in the afternoon, but sometime before four o'clock, so we got somewhere between four and eight hours, I figure.”

“That makes sense I guess. So you still think we can change it, even after what they told us? I mean what we told us? Ugh, this is confusing!”

“We gotta at least try. This time around, nopony can know we are here 'til after it's done, no matter what happens. We can't talk to Apple Fries, Morning Glory, or Shinespark, we can't talk to our future selves either. Not even Pinkie Pie if we can avoid it.”

“Pinkie might be unavoidable,” Sweetie Belle remarked.

“Well, we'll see how that goes. Seems like she's on board with our plan, though, so if we gotta, we'll just tell her Pinkie Promise not to tell nopony we are here.”

They spent the next few hours avoiding contact with other ponies, even managing to keep away from Pinkie Pie, despite one close call. Apple Bloom thought that Pinkie probably actually knew that they were hiding in that hay bale, but played along when she realized that they were trying not to be seen. At around one-thirty, they finally caught sight of Apple Fries walking the path near the east orchard, accompanied by adult Apple Bloom. It was both in the area of where they had found the memorial, and nearing the time that it should happen, so the Crusaders followed a distance behind.

“It looks like your adult self is leaving,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Good, now is our chance to get close, lets hide in that row of bushes across the path from Apple Fries,” said Apple Bloom.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders Rescue Mission is go!” they all whispered, and began darting from one hiding place to another each time Apple Fries turned her back, until they were right across the path from the orchard where she was working.”

“Apple Bloom, isn't that tree right there the one we saw? The one that had fallen down and had the flowers and stuff?” Sweetie Belle gestured towards a large golden delicious tree directly across from their hiding place.

“Holy Celestia, that is it. We gotta get as close as we can without being seen.” Apple Bloom watched her future daughter for a few moments, and when she dropped a bushel of apples, decided to use the distraction to make her move. In a flash of yellow and red, she bolted like an arrow across the path and under the fence. With a mighty leap, she dove up to a branch in one of the smaller trees, and hid among the branches. She motioned for her friends to wait for her signal, watching Apple Fries intently. A few moments passed before she saw another chance, but when Apple Fries turned away to pull the cart to the next set of trees, she gave her sign. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo rushed to Apple Bloom's tree. Scootaloo easily scaled it, but Apple Bloom had to reach down to assist her Sweetie Belle in the climb.

They sat in silence among the branches, watching every move that Apple Fries made, their hearts racing in suspense and bitter anticipation. For a long time, nothing of note happened, the filly seemed to just be preforming routine farm chores, the same kind Apple Bloom did nearly every day. Finally, Apple Fries finished her work, and began trotting down the hill towards the path. Apple Bloom breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the filly was in the clear, but that relief was short-lived.

From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the rolling cart. She jumped from her perch, and galloped as fast as she could towards Apple Fries. She glanced from the rolling cart to the oblivious filly, and back again, and Apple Bloom realized it was going to be close, the cart was rolling extremely fast, Apple Fires was directly in its path, and Apple Bloom was still several yards away.

“Look out, Apple Fries!” She leaped with every ounce of strength she had at the endangered filly, and grabbed her around the neck with both front hooves. They tumbled several times alongside the runaway cart, coming to rest a few yard from the foot of the large tree, just as the cart struck it with a loud crash. Splinters of wood and chunks of apples rained down on the two fillies. Apple Bloom caught her breath and sat up, and she saw that Apple Fries was doing the same. They were battered, bruised, and covered in sticky gobs of apple, but both very much alive.

Featherweight swooped down towards his daughter, scooping her up on his hooves and hugging her tightly, as he hovered just above the wreckage. “Oh, thank Celestia! I though you were... oh, I thought I had lost you. Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“Yeah, Daddy, I'm fine. Lemon Drop saved me, she pushed me out of the way. Ugh, you can put me down now, Daddy.”

“Apple Fries, you're okay!” The elder Apple Bloom rushed to her daughter, and scooped her up, just as her father was putting her down.

“Yeah, momma, I'm fine, I'm fine!” Apple Bloom let go of the filly, and Apple Fries pointed a hoof and gestured towards her savior. “Lemon Drop helped me.”

“Lemon Drop? Oh you mean...” She followed Apple Fries' hoof, and locked eyes younger self. The two other crusaders rushed past her from behind a moment later, and pulled Apple Bloom into an adorable three-way hug.

“You did it, Apple Bloom, you saved her!” Scootaloo cried.

“I knew you could do it!” yelled Sweetie Belle.

Apple Fries' face bore a look of confusion, and she looked up at her mother. “Momma, why did Epic Thunder just call Lemon Drop by your name?”

Before she could answer, there was a ear-splitting snap. Apple Fries' eyes went wide, and she began to run wildly away in panic.

“Apple Fries, no!” Featherweight screamed, but it was too late, and the damaged tree fell just as Apple Fries crossed it's path. There was nothing any of them were able to do, and all five onlookers were forced to watch in horror as Apple Fries was crushed beneath the heavy trunk.

TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE FOUR
IN DEFIANCE OF THE FATES

Thanks for reading, and as always, if you notice any mistakes, go ahead and let me know in the comments so that they can be fixed.

Images created using the following:
CMCs by smlahyee
Sweet Apple Acres background by Gameguy001
Blank Flank Brigade background by Scootaloooo
Pony Creator by generalzoi

All other logos and image edits by me, using screen shots from the show, fonts from DaFont, and images found on Google. Images created using Photofiltre.

Cutie Marks are my design, though I did use some clip art I found on Google to help make them.

Episode Four - In Defiance of the Fates

A week had passed, yet Apple Bloom was still inconsolable, and to make matters worse, she wouldn't even tell Applejack why, which had led to quite a bit of worry on the orange mare's part. The other crusaders had been coming by every day, so she knew it had nothing to do with a fight with either Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle, and she seemed in good health, so it didn't seem to be that either. Still, she hardly spoke, never smiled, barely ate, and refused to do any work on the farm, and Applejack had finally had enough. Apple Bloom was going to tell her why she was acting this way, or by Celestia, she was gonna snap out of it, and it was gonna happen today, whether she liked it or not.

“Howdy there, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, cracking open the door to her sister's bedroom.

“Oh, hi. Breakfast ready or somethin'?”

“Not for another half hour or so. I just wanna talk.”

Apple Bloom huffed and pulled a pillow over her head. “I already said I can't talk about it. Now leave me the buck alone about it,” she said, her words muffled by the pillow.

“Dagnabbit, Apple Bloom, I don't give a hoot what your mood you're in, you ain't gonna be cursin' like that, 'specially not under your Granny Smith's roof. Listen, I'm just worried is all, little sis.”

“I know, and I can't say I don't appreciate it and all, but it just ain't something I can talk about,” Apple Bloom said.

“You know dang well there ain’t nothin' you can't talk about with me, Apple Bloom. Now we are stayin' in this room right here 'til you spill it, so I suggest you get to talking, little one.”

“Fine! You really wanna know?” Apple Bloom said, her voice turning from sadness to anger. “I had to watch somepony die okay! I had to watch her die three times, and I couldn't do nothin' to stop it, no matter what I tried!”

Apple Bloom rolled off of her bed and sprinted away, slamming her bedroom door as she left. It took a moment to register what her sister had said, and even once she did register what she had heard, she still could not make any sense out of it. Nopony had died in Ponyville in months, and nopony ever died more than once, so Applejack had no clue what to make of it. Finally she came to her senses just as she heard the front door slam, and quickly went in pursuit of her little sister.

She could hear the sobs coming from the Crusaders' clubhouse, and briefly considered whether or not to just go in, call to her sister from outside, or let the whole matter go for the moment. Finally, after pacing entirely around the clubhouse several times, and briefly wondering what it was that Crusaders had hidden under a large green tarp, her decision was made for her.

“Applejack? I thought I heard you out here” she heard Apple Bloom say from the balcony of the clubhouse. “If I show you somethin' you promise not to punish me? You can't tell Rarity, or Scootaloo's foster mom either.”

“You know I can't promise nothin like that, Sugarcube, but if you are in some kinda trouble, you need to let me help.”

“Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say. Alright, come on up.”

The first item that Apple Bloom showed her was a small newspaper clipping. Applejack read it twice, unable to believe what it said. She even flipped it over and examined the reverse side, a portion of a grand opening advertisement for a store called 'Heartstring's Harmonies,' that featured the image of a familiar green unicorn, only she was much older than the mare than Applejack recognized as a citizen of Ponyville. The second item she was shown was a pencil rubbing of some sort of memorial plaque, Applejack was again struck with disbelief at what it said.

“We tried and tried to save her, but we just couldn't Applejack, no matter what we did.”

“Where did you get this stuff, Apple Bloom, and why are you trying to play such a darn cruel joke. It ain't funny,” Applejack said, in utter shock that her little sister would invent such a story, and even go to the trouble to fabricate evidence.

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me,” Apple Bloom said. “Here, I got one more thing I gotta show you.”

Applejack followed her sister to the large tarp, and watched as Apple Bloom tugged on it, until finally it fell, revealing a large and unstable looking device. Wordlessly she began to manipulate dials, appearing to carefully adjust and double check each one, occasionally glancing toward a clock on what Applejack assumed was the control panel.

“Alright, I will be back in exactly one minute.” Apple Bloom pulled a large lever, and the strange device made a series of worrisome noises before a blinding light suddenly appeared. When her vision readjusted, there was no sign of either Apple Bloom, or the machine. Panic struck, and Applejack began frantically calling her sisters name.

“Apple Bloom! Apple Bloom, this isn't funny, now get your flank out here before I have a heart attack!”

Without warning, there was another flash of light, and Apple Bloom reappeared inside her machine. Apple Bloom had a newspaper with her, and when she gave it to Applejack, she saw that it was dated October 5th, 1593, the day of Applejack's birth.

“It's a time machine, sis. I built it with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.”

Applejack looked from her sister, to the newspaper, to the time machine, and back to her sister again. She felt her head begin to swim, and despite her effort to maintain composure, the shock was too much, and she abruptly fainted.

o:O:o

“I can't believe you told your sister! What the heck were you thinking?”

“I was thinkin' that we needed help, Scootaloo. Plus, she wasn't gonna give up 'til I told her what I was so upset about. It ain't like I had a choice.”

“I think that you did the right thing, Apple Bloom. So what if we get in trouble, we have to do everything we can to save Apple Fries, no matter what.”

“Well, I don't wanna get grounded for some filly that hasn't even been born yet,” Scootaloo said indignantly. “We stole the fuel for the Epoch, you know. We might not just get grounded, we could get arrested, or worse!”

“Well, we will just have to not say nothin' about that then. Now calm down, Scootaloo, I will make sure I take the blame for everything if I have to.”

Apple Bloom had been brought to Twilight Sparkles library, and Twilight sent Spike to get Sweetie Belle, Rarity, Scootaloo, and Scootaloo's foster mother, Cinnamon Twist. It had been over an hour since the adults had retreated upstairs, and despite her confidence that she had indeed done the right thing, Apple Bloom was still worried about what they might say or do when they returned.

“Anyway, once everything is fixed in the future, we can just go back to before I ever told Applejack, and just not say nothin.”

“Can we even do that? I still don't really understand how time travel actually works. Like, why didn't we ever run into ourselves when we kept going back to the day that Apple Fries... um, the day that it happens.”

“I can't rightly say that I know exactly, but I guess if you go to a time just before you were there before, it kinda cancels the last time. That’s why I kept taking us back a few minutes earlier each time. Remember that book I had when we were building it? I read about it in there, it's actually about magical time travel, but a lot of stuff seems to work the same.”

Finally, they heard the adult ponies heading down the library stairs, and all three Crusaders, held their breath, fearful of what they may have decided. Applejack, Rarity, and Cinnamon Swirl all followed spike into the kitchen, while Twilight began magically taking books from various shelves, and stacking them on the table.

“Okay, girls, we've discussed it, and see no reason why you should be punished. In fact, I believe that you three may have achieved one of the greatest scientific discoveries in history, as unlikely as that seems. For now, however, there are matters of more importance to discuss.” Twilight selected one of the books from her stack, and magically flipped through the pages until she found what she desired, and levitated it to the Crusaders. “I understand that you have had trouble affecting the time line in any lasing way. Perhaps if we start by trying to determine exactly why that is, we can begin to work on a solution. I would have normally considered this just a legend, were it not in the same book that helped me learn about Night Mare Moon's return. Apple Bloom, read it out loud, please.”

Apple Bloom took a deep breath, and began reciting the words on the pages for everypony present to hear. “The Sealin' of the Fates. Before the first Equestrian War...”

“... protectin' the fate of all creatures that call Equestria their home,” Apple Bloom finished.

“Wait a minute, does that mean that we can't change anything? That's what it sounds like it says,” Sweetie Belle remarked.

“Well, yes and no. Time travel magic is is an entire complex school of it's own, a suborder of Sorcery, which is known to be among the most advanced magic. I myself can only preform basic sorcery, and only the Princesses can handle the most complex spells.”

Twilight Sparkle selected another book from the stack, and read silently for a few moments. Apple Bloom noticed that the title was Advanced Sorcery Book Two; Space, Time, and Dimensional Magic. “It seems that a magical time traveler can effect nearly everything when they travel, but certain things will resist being altered, and even if a traveler changes those things, something will inevitably happen to correct the change.” She flipped the pages to near the end of the book, and read again. “Okay, so here is a spell that can essentially isolate a certain portion of time-space, and allow otherwise impossible alterations to happen. Wow, this spell is far beyond my ability, though it can be performed as a tandem spell with other unicorns, but it is extremely risky. Just the list of warnings is more than eleven pages long.”

A blue flash of magic appeared in the center of the library, and quickly dissipated, leaving behind the form of a graceful blue alicorn.

“Ah, right on time, Princess,” Twilight Sparkle said. The three fillies stood shocked for a moments, then quickly dropped into low bows.

“Greetings, Twilight Sparkle. You may rise, children, there is no need for such formality. I take it these are the fillies you wrote about, Twilight?”

“Indeed they are, Princess.”

“Please, just Luna when in private, you know by now how I feel about pomp and circumstance. I must admit, Celestia is doubtful that the task you wish to attempt should be undertaken, though she has left the matter ultimately to my discretion.”

Luna looked each of the Crusaders in the eye one by one as she spoke. “You must understand, that fate has it's reasons to prevent certain occurrences, however, I am willing to consider intervening, if I deem the matter worth perusing. Please, tell me all that you know, leave out no detail, no matter how unimportant it may seem, I must know everything.”

Apple Bloom began with how she had gotten the idea to build a time machine in the first place, and detailed how it was built, attempting at first to skip the matter with the Gryphons, and the theft of the radioactive fuel. Luna promised them immunity of legal ramifications, however, so the Crusaders spilled all, often interrupting each other when one of them felt another had left something out that was worth telling. For several hours, the Crusaders talked with Luna, answering her questions and retelling portions when the Princess required clarification. It was nearly sunset when they finally finished their tale, but finally Luna was satisfied that she had heard enough to make an informed decision.

“Thank you for telling your story, children, and thank you, Twilight Sparkle, for your hospitality. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, it has been a pleasure to spend this time with you, you have given me much to consider. I must consult with my Sister, and partake in some research, you shall hear from me when I have reached a decision. I sincerely wish I could spend more time with you all, but alas, night is upon us, thus duty calls, and I must respectfully take my leave. May you have a pleasant evening.”

“Thank you Princess Luna,” The Crusaders said together.

“Yes, thank you. Goodnight, Luna,” Twilight said.

“Goodnight. I bid you all farewell, until we meet again.” With a burst of blue magic, Luna disappeared from the library, leaving the Crusaders to wonder what she would decide.

Several times, Luna wrote letters to Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, sometimes addressed to one of them, other times addressed to all three. Each time the letter was delivered by one of her bat-winged royal guards, and each time the guard had waited silently and patiently for the letter's recipient to draft a reply. On the morning of the eighth day, four guards arrived in Ponyville, each with an identical letter to the fillies, as well as Twilight Sparkle, informing them that a pair of chariots would arrive late that afternoon. They were to meet at the Library and board the chariots, to be taken to a meeting in Canterlot with Princess Luna.

o:O:o

Twilight Sparkle had told her that when visiting Canterlot Palace, the chariots usually land outside the gates, so Apple Bloom was mildly surprised when their bat-winged chauffeurs flew past the gates and over the royal gardens. She was more surprised when their chariots descended into the sculpture garden. The last time she was here, she and her friends had inadvertently released Discord. It was unnerving to say the least, being near that statue again.

Princess Luna greeted them happily, and did not seem the least bit worried that the Crusaders would repeat their previous mistake, and Apple Bloom wasn't sure whether that was reassuring, or a reason to be even more nervous. Either way, this is where Luna had chosen to meet, and Apple Bloom was in no position to protest, so she did her best not to think about where she was, or her previous experience there.

“Good evening, fair Twilight Sparkle, good evening, young Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. I am pleased that you could join me here tonight,” Luna said as they exited the chariots.

“Good evening, Princess.” the Crusaders said in unison, bowing low.

“Please rise, children, that isn't necessary. Such formalities make me a bit uncomfortable, and I do my best to avoid them, especially during private meetings such as this. So no bowing, and please, just call me Luna. I will make it a royal decree if I have too,” Luna said with a smile.

“As you know, I have spent the preceding days pondering the wisdom of intervening in fate in order to save the life of one of my future subjects. I want to make it clear that no matter how we approach this problem, there will be a great degree of risk, and no guarantees that we will succeed. Do you understand?”

“We do, Princess... I mean Luna. I believe that it's worth it to try.,” Twilight answered.

“Us too, it's important to us to try and save Apple Fries,” Sweetie Belle added.

“I know it is, especially to young Apple Bloom, I am sure. If I am to agree to this, you will be expected to perform certain tasks. Some of them may not be easy, but my instructions must be followed to the letter.”

“We understand. Ain't no way I am gonna give up of Apple Fries, I will do anything I have to,” Apple Bloom said.

“Of that I am sure. Since we seem to be in agreement, let us discuss what we need to do,” Luna said, a tone of grave seriousness in her voice. “First, you should be aware that certain magical safeguards have been put in place over the centuries, measures that are designed to protect the time line from negative alterations. I have done what research I could, and have seen no evidence that the death of Apple Fries should have any effect on the larger time line. However, I must warn you, if we save this pony's life, and at a later date it becomes apparent that the death indeed served a greater purpose for fate, action will be taken without hesitation. Also, I can't stress enough that any action we take will be in direct defiance of fate, and there is a strong possibility that any plan we make, no matter how well thought out, may be doomed to failure.”

As if to punctuate her serious tone, as the Princess continued her speech, the skies opened above the sculpture gardens, and rain began to fall, first as a light sprinkle, but quickly growing to a heavy downpour. The princess made no indication that she even noticed, and continued speaking heedless of her increasingly wet mane and coat.

“You are to say here as guests of the palace, and you as well, Twilight Sparkle, to act as their caretaker. For the next week, and perhaps more, should it be required, I will work with you, side by side, to formulate a plan of action. When such time comes that we are ready to proceed, you three will travel to the future in your device, and inform the adult Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle of your plan, as well as any other individuals who may need to be involved. Twilight Sparkle, as well as being my sister's student, you and I shall have begin to have monthly meeting specifically to study the advanced and hidden magics. I was going to ask this of you in time, though this situation serves well as an opportunity to ask. You are not yet powerful enough to perform the magic required, and alas, neither am I. We shall not travel through time, Twilight Sparkle, but instead we will do our part when the day comes in the natural way. Is this arrangement acceptable to all of you?”

“Yes, Princess Luna,” Apple Bloom said, and the other Crusaders nodded in agreement.

“And you, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Of course. I would be honored to study magic with you. Really excited, in fact,” Twilight said, blushing slightly.

“Then it is settled, our work shall begin tomorrow. Twilight, my sister wishes for you to visit her in her chambers. When she heard you were to arrive tonight, she cleared a portion of time to spend with you. As, for you, children, I don't know about you, but in my opinion, rainy nights are the best times for outdoor fun.”

The Princess's demeanor abruptly changed from one of weighty seriousness, to carefree playfulness. “Tag, you're it,” she said, and tapped Apple Bloom on the head. While Twilight headed inside to dry off, and visit Princess Celestia, The Crusaders played cheerfully in the rain with Princess Luna, and soon all four of them were caked in a generous layer of mud.

o:O:o

To Apple Bloom's eyes, it appeared that the trio of fillies had simply winked out of existence in their time machine, only to reappear an instant later.

“Good, you're still here,” Sweetie Belle said.

“We've spent weeks working on it,” Scootaloo added.

“And we think we got a plan,” the younger Apple Bloom said.

“So, um... yeah, what they said,” Sweetie Belle finished.

“Now, dang it, you three, this whole situation is hard enough as it is. We asked y'all to let it go, so please, just go back to where you came from and stay there.”

“Please, Mrs. Apple Bloom, just hear us out, we promise if you don't want to try our idea, we will leave and not come back ever again,” Scootaloo pleaded, putting on her cutest, saddest face, and the other two crusaders did the same.

Apple Bloom considered their proposal for a moment. Eventually and reluctantly, she agreed to at least hear them out, it couldn't hurt to at least see what they had come up with. “Fine, but if I ain't happy with what I see, y'all gotta go straight away. I am goin' against my better judgmental here, so y'all better be appreciative.”

Immediately all three Crusaders' faces brightened, and they quickly reached behind the Epoch's seat, and began pulling out numerous books, scrolls and charts. They set up their presentation on the picnic table, and the elder Apple Bloom watched and listened, doing her best to keep an open mind. As the Crusaders excitedly presented their plan, Apple Bloom's heart started to race. It was something that she had never considered, and it gave her a glimmer or hope.

“Well, I'll be! Y'all have really thought this through haven't you?”

“You got no idea what we've went though to get this all planned out. Please, just give us a chance,” the younger Apple Bloom begged.

“I can't say that I even understand everything, especially the parts about magical fields and ancient legends, but I think I should at least give thought to what you have here. I'll tell you what, I'm gonna get the others, and let them take a look too. I suppose it's my choice in the end, since Apple Fries is my foal, but this plan involves them too, so I aught to at least give them a chance to have their say. Y'all don't run off, now, I should be back with Scootaloo and Sweetie soon.”

As far as Apple Bloom knew, only four ponies in all of Equestria knew of Apple Fries' fate, seven if the younger versions of Apple Bloom and her two lifelong friends were to be considered. Apple Bloom had never told Featherweight, Applejack or Big Macintosh, she believed that the fewer ponies carried such terrible knowledge, the better. It was unfortunate that Pinkie Pie had overheard them talking around the bonfire, but that was in the past, so nothing could be done about it now, Apple Bloom supposed.

Thoughts of the plan that the fillies had developed raced in her head. It would be difficult, that much she knew for sure. It would involve letting others in on the secret. Worst of all, Apple Fries would have to be a willing participant, she would have to be told.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, as well and both of Apple Bloom's siblings were sitting on the deck of the Apple Family home when she arrived. She could see Apple Fries playing with her two friends among the honeycrisp trees. She paused for a moment and took a deep breath before ascending the wooden steps of the deck and taking a seat among her friends and family.

“Scoots, Sweetie, somethin' important has come up, and I need y'all to come with me for a bit if you don't mind.”

“Everything okay, little sis?” Applejack asked, concern apparent in her voice.

“Yeah, AJ, it ain't nothin', I just need to talk to them in private for a bit. Think y'all can keep an eye on Fries for awhile?”

She beckoned her friends to follow, and the three ponies traveled together to meet the awaiting Crusaders.

o:O:o

“Girls, this idea is fascinating,” the elder Sweetie Belle said as she studied the proposal laid out in front of her. “Though, I don't think that I would have enough magic to do it.”

“We found somepony with an awful lot of magic that is willing to help. She should be showing up tonight.” the younger Sweetie Belle explained.

“That is good to know, we will definitely need the help. That is, if we decide that we are gonna do this,” the elder Apple Bloom said.

“I don't even know why you are even considering not doing it,” Scootaloo said as she flew around the clearing in wide circles, the younger Scootaloo riding on her back with an impossibly large grin on her face. “I say any chance is better than no chance at all.”

“Yeah,” the younger Scootaloo added. “What's the worst that could happen?”

“Well, the spell disrupts the time-space continuum, so we will only get one chance at it, and no amount of time travel will ever be able to change it. We will just have to accept the results, for good or ill,” adult Sweetie Belle said.

Apple Bloom was torn. This plan gave her hope, gave Apple Fries hope, and that was something that didn't exist before, but the risk was high. If the plan failed, if the spell were to be miscast, not only would Apple Fries die, but the spell could literally destroy the magic of all those involved. Not just unicorn magic either, but pegasus and earth pony magic as well. Indeed, the risk was high, but the reward would be the preservation of a precious life, the life of the pony she loved most. It was a difficult decision for her, but finally her mind was made. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and reluctantly, but confidently, spoke to her five companions.

“I can't say I'm sure that this is a good idea, but we have to try. Dear Celestia, I pray that this is the right thing to do”

TO BE CONCLUDED IN EPISODE FIVE
A LINK IN THE CHAIN OF DESTINY

Thank you for reading, and as always, please let me know if you notice any mistakes, so that they can be fixed.

Title Card created using the following images:
Twilight Sparkle by AncientKale
Luna and CMCs by Kumkrum
Background - Artist unknown

All other logos and image edits by me, using screen shots from the show, fonts from DaFont, and images found on google. Images created using Photofiltre.

Episode Five - A Link In the Chain of Destiny

“Time, my little ponies, time is a strange and complex thing. To any one individual, time appears to march ahead in one direction, forever charging forward. This, however, is only partially true. Each choice we make, no matter how trivial, has the potential to send time on a differing path, and many millions of parallel paths may exist at any one time. Nonetheless, fate will periodically intervene, merging all of the paths towards a single point once again. In this way, time is like a chain, and these meeting point are it's links.”

Princess Luna knew that not everypony to whom she spoke would full grasp what she said, though she hoped that her explanation would be sufficient to at least allow them a preliminary understanding. “The spell that we shall cast causes the path we are on to skip one of these links, to bypass the joining of the time line that is meant to occur at the moment of young Apple Fries' death. In this way we shall circumvent destiny, and allow her to survive.”

“What happens at the next link, Princess?”

“I cannot say that I know for sure, Twilight Sparkle,” The Princess answered, “There is a chance that the time line will right itself then, rendering our efforts for naught, though I do not believe this shall be the case. What I believe will happen is that the time line will adapt, it will make allowance for the individual who does not belong, and continue otherwise unheeded.”

Luna paced a wide circle around the eight ponies gathered in the clearing near the abandoned tree house, mentally double-checking her course of action to be sure she was not overlooking any important detail. “I have chosen the eight of you to aid in our tasks, because I believe each of you shall have an important role to play. Twilight Sparkle, You shall assist me in creating the break in the time line, merging your magic with my own.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, but did not speak, instead allowing Luna to continue.

“Sweetie Belle, I have taught you two spells which you shall simultaneously. The first is a spell to connect your mind with your younger counterpart, the second a support spell, designed to help hold together the magic that Twilight and I shall perform. Young Sweetie Belle, you allow your older counterpart's knowledge to enter your mind, and use that knowledge to cast the same spell as your counterpart.”

“Yes, Princess,” both Sweetie Belles said.

“Young Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, your task is to protect Apple Fries during the course of the spell's duration, no more than one of you shall leave her side at any one time. You must observe her carefully even in her sleep, for although we shall remove her from destiny's grasp, it will not exempt her from danger, fate may still attempt to end her life. You are not to let that happen. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, you are to assist your younger counterparts in this task, and again, no more than one of you shall leave young Apple Fries' side at any time. This shall give her a minimum of four guardians at any moment.”

Both trios of ponies nodded in understanding, silently considering the task ahead, and knowing that the life of Apple Fries will lie squarely in their hooves.

“Pinkie Pie, you have expressed an ability, one that to my knowledge is unique to you. Somehow you have been blessed with the gift of foresight, your 'Pinkie Sense,' as you have so fittingly named it. Your task will be one of early warning.” The Princess gestured to Pinkie with her hoof, beckoning the pink pony to stand before her. “If you would please step forward, I wish to cast a charm upon you, one that shall link you with young Apple Fries, and hopefully increase the chance that you will be able to detect any eminent danger.”

Pinkie Pie bounced from her seat, and landed directly in front of Luna, a huge grin pasted on her face. The Princess's horn lit up and within moments, Pinkie Was surrounded by a pale blue glow. For a brief second her hooves lifted off of the ground and her eyes shone white. Once the charm was complete she slowly descended until her hooves gently made contact with the ground.

“Wow, Luna, that felt super-duper weird! Oh my goody goodness, I can feel Apple Fries! It's like she is all up inside my brain and stuff, its really ultra bizarre, but pretty awesome too!”

“That is very good, Pinkie, exactly what I was hoping for. It is nearing nightfall, so we must make haste. My magic is most powerful just after moon rise, so I wish to cast the spell then. Please, Apple Bloom, fetch your daughter and bring her to the path at the center of the farm. It is there that we shall perform the ritual.”

The elder Apple Bloom quickly headed toward the farmhouse, while the rest of the group departed in the opposite direction, bound for the center of Sweet Apple Acres. Upon reaching their destination, Twilight Sparkle moved to a level portion of the path, and began magically etching a ritual circle in the course dirt. The ground lit up with purple fire, etching first the shape of a perfect circle, then traced a nine-point star inside. When the shape was complete, the purple fire died out, leaving the shape on ground below, glowing with a pulsating light. By the time the magic circle was complete, Apple Bloom had returned with Apple Fries, and Luna began to speak.

“Young Apple Fries, you must listen to me carefully. What I have to tell you will be shocking and frightening, though I assure you we are all here to safeguard your well-being. You life is in grave danger, young one, destiny has chosen you to be taken from us. However, I believe that this terrible tragedy can be prevented. Tonight, once the sun had set, we shall perform a ritual designed to spare your life. Do you understand?”

Apple Fries' eyes were wide with shock at what the Princess had told her. She stood still as a statue for a moment, though eventually gathered the wits to slowly nod.

“Young Apple Fries, please step into the center of the magical circle, and stay there. Try to stay as still as possible. What happens may be frightening to you, as we will be casting a very powerful spell. I assure you that you will feel no pain, and be in no danger. However, if you resist the spell, it may not be effective. You need to relax and accept the spell's effects.”

Apple Fries hesitantly moved to the center of the circle, and sat down in the dirt. “Very good, please remain there. Everypony else, please take your place at the point of the star where I direct you, and remain in your place until the spell is complete.” Luna sent each pony to their assigned place one by one, and soon every point of the circle save one was occupied. Luna took her place in the final spot, facing across the circle and towards the sunset.

“I shall first raise my moon, then I must arrange my sky to aid our task.”

The moment that sun dipped below the horizon, Luna's magic surrounded her, and she began the ritual, beginning with the raising of the bright full moon.

The nine ponies watched Princess Luna with great interest. Of them, only Twilight Sparkle had ever actually witnessed Luna raise the moon, and even she had never seen the Princess alter the stars. The magic that flowed from the alicorn was thick in the air, surrounding her as she hovered several feet in the air above the apple orchard, swirling and weaving around her form. Her magic was not made of light, but of darkness, stealing the light from Luna's surroundings, simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. The moon rose above the horizon, and the stars drifted slowly across the sky. The familiar constellations would not be present this evening, the stars instead formed cryptic magical symbols that would assist and enhance the spell to soon be cast by the Princess of the night and her companions.

Once the moon found it's place above the horizon, and the stars finished their dance, Luna locked eyes with Twilight Sparkle, silently signaling to the aging unicorn that the time to cast was upon them. Luna and Twilight both began to chant as one, speaking in an ancient and magical tongue, first quietly, then gradually louder, until their voices seemed to echo from everywhere at once.

“Spiritus tenebrarum noctis, commoda nobis virtute succurre nobis potestatem ut ista continuatio vinculis solvere fata. A iuvenes vita pendet in statera hoc nocte, dirige nos ut contendunt ad ius hoc terribilis iniustitia.”

Spirits of the night and of shadows, lend us your strength
May your power aid us as we break this link in the chain of destiny
A young life hangs in the balance this night
Guide us as we strive to right this terrible injustice.

As she spoke these words, she and Twilight merged their magic, a beam of energy shooting from each of their horns. Where the magic met, the beams wrapping around one another in a spiral, hooting towards the sky together and forming a glowing orb high above. Luna gave another silent signal, and the horns of both of the Sweetie Belles lit up with lavender light, their beams merging with the others, casting a brilliant light across the orchard. Although neither fully understood what the words meant, they both instinctively joined the chant, the four voices merging as one in a strange and powerful harmony.

“SPIRITUS TENEBRARUM NOCTIS, COMMODA NOBIS VIRTUTE SCUUURRE NOBIS POTESTATEM UT ISTA CONTINUATIO VINCULIS SOLVERE FATA. A IUVENES VITA PENDET IN STATERA HOC NOCTE, DIRIGE NOS UT CONTENDUNT AD IUS HOC TERRIBILIS INIUSTITIA.”

The energy of the spell reached it's critical point, and the spell separated from the horns of the four casters. The pulsing orb of magic hovered high in the sky, hanging for a few moments before breaking into nine separate strands, three at a time, in groups of three. The first set struck the elder Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, and the second hit the younger three. The final set struck Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Luna, and the magic coursed through the nine ponies, causing them to raise into the air and hover.

All at once the magic exploded forth from them, merging on Apple Fries, and she too began to glow and hover. The magic burst outward in a ring, radiating from the group and moving across the orchard. Released from the spell's hold, the ten ponies fell to the ground, and watched as the ring first grew outward then folded up into the sky in two great arcs, forming a dome above the farm, then slowly fading until nothing of the magic could be seen.

“It is done,” Luna said between panting breaths. “The spell is cast, though our task has just begun.”

o:O:o

Applejack sighed as she finished arranging the barn. Along the walls were sixteen mattresses. Six for the elements of harmony, who all had come to Sweet Apple Acres, either to assist directly or provide moral support. Six more for both trios of Crusaders, both young and old, and finally one each for Apple Fries, Big Macintosh, Featherweight and Princess Luna. Pinkie Pie had worked with her for the majority of the day, decorating the barn for what she called a 'Super Wonderful Kicking Fate To The Curb' party. Of course, Pinkie had assisted with with baking, cooking, and drink mixing as well, before departing to do her part in the spell. Now that Applejack's task was complete, she stepped out into the night, knowing that soon her friends and family would be arriving. No sooner had she settle in her chair, then she saw Luna and her group approaching from the east, and Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash approaching from the south.

The Apple family farm had not seen a party of this caliber for at least ten years, the merrymaking lasting well into the night. There was strong cider all around, and even Apple Fries and the Crusaders were each allowed a weak cup of an apple juice and hard cider mix. Finally, at after three, the last of them fell asleep, leaving only Luna awake to stand as a sentinel in protection of Apple Fries.

The morning came far too quickly for the slumbering ponies, though they all awoke with little argument when the Princess beckoned them to rise. “Thank you all for being here. I know each and every one of you is here to support our cause. I assure you that your concern is greatly appreciated. Aside from those of us assigned to tasks on this day, I ask that you carry on with your business as well as you can, and that you do not interfere with those who are active in our cause. The spells effect will last for three days, and provided that nothing happens to young Apple Fries in that time, our task will be complete.”

Luna turned towards Apple Fries, and met her eyes. “Please do not separate from your guardians. They will do all that they can to protect you. Other than remaining by their sides, please try to go about your life as you usually do. If anyone has questions, now would be the time to inquire. I grow weary and must retire soon.”

“Just one, miss Luna,“ Apple Fries said. “Why me?”

“I am not sure I understand, young one.”

“I mean, ponies die all the time, why am I so important that you'd go to all of this trouble for me? Not that I ain't super happy that you are.”

“Ah, a valid question, but not one easily answered. Part of it is because you are so young, for a life to be extinguished so soon is something that breaks my heart. Also, you are close to those who I would call life-long friends, I have known your mother since she was younger than you, and your aunt Applejack for even longer. There are also selfish reasons, I must admit. I was present when the fate of Equestria was sealed on the peak of Mount Fortuna. I wish to test the boundaries of that spell.”

“I get it, I guess. Well, I am awful glad you are helpin' me. Thank you Princess.”

“It is I who should thank you, young one. Motivated largely by my wish to change your destiny, I have spent two and a half decades honing my magical skills. I am finally as strong as I once was, in the times before the Nightmare. Now, if there is nothing else, you all know what your part shall be. Good luck to all of you, I must rest now, then travel back to Canterlot this evening to perform my duties, though I intend to return on the morrow. I shall see you come morning.”

Those present posed no more questions, so the Princess of the Night took her place on a mattress and quickly fell into a deep slumber.

o:O:o

“Alright, now. Lemme make sure I get y'all. You are actually my momma from the past?” Apple Fries was rather surprised at this strange piece of information, yet at the same time it somehow made perfect sense.

“That's right,” Apple Bloom answered.

“So, Sugar Swirl is Sweetie Belle, and Epic Thunder is Scootaloo?”

“That's right.”

“That's pretty nutty. No wonder I thought you were an Apple, you are one!”

Apple Fries was assisted in her chores by the younger versions of all three Crusaders, who were helping her work in the orchard, while their older counterparts were relaxing under the shade of a tree nearby. The four fillies were having a glorious time discussing the hows and whats of their lives. Sweetie Belle was rather surprised that her older self was the singer and bassist for a rather popular local rock group called The Muffin Tops, and was in utter shock to find that, during her twenties, her older self had fronted a very aggressive band called Switchblade Sugar High, that had a few top ten singles on the Equestrian metal charts, before they broke up due to the drummer's rampant salt lick abuse. Her older counterpart had refused to let her listen to any of the records from either band, saying that it might influence her future creative endeavors.

“So, now that we got all that identity junk worked out, I was wondering, what is the plan after we finish all of this?” the younger Scootaloo asked, as she stacked a bushel of golden delicious on the cart.

“Well, we got a whole mess of apples in the kitchen that need to be bagged up for sellin' at the market.” Apple Fries said.

“And I gotta take these here apples to Sugarcube Corner,” the elder Apple Bloom explained.

“After that, Shinespark and Mornin' Glory are meetin' us at the lake. We are gonna try for our scuba divin' cutie marks,” Apple Fries added.

“Aww. We already tried scuba diving,” Sweetie Belle said, “but swimming is pretty fun anyway, so that's okay by me.”

Apple Fries stacked the final bushel on the cart and kicked off the safety brake. “Oh, dang! We parked the cart, right on the top of the hill.” She turned and trotted down the hill towards her mother, who was sitting in the shade of a large tree. “Momma! Think you can help us up here?”

The apple cart began rolling down the hill, right towards Apple Fries. “Look out!” the elder Scootaloo yelled, and sprung up, flying as fast as her wings would allow toward the cart. The younger Apple Bloom took her cue and ran towards Apple Fries. At the exact same instant, Apple Bloom rammed right into her future foal, sending them both tumbling down the hill, and the elder Scootaloo slammed into the cart, digging her heels into the ground. The cart screeched to a halt, and Scootaloo kicked the brake back into the locked position, then slumped to the ground with a sigh. Her shoulders would hurt later, but she knew it was well worth it.

“Yay! You did it!” Apple Bloom cheered, and soon, her older self, and indeed all the ponies present joined in on the small celebration.

Bagging the apples had been an uneventful experience, but with all the hooves involved, it took less than half an hour. Happy that the work was done for the day, the elder Apple Bloom embarked on her delivery to Sugarcube Corner, while the other six ponies headed toward the lake on the edge of Ponyville to meet up with Shinespark and Morning Glory. They decided it was best for the Crusaders to stick with their pseudonyms while with the other fillies, and to not mention the spell, or the danger to Apple Fries.

“Hey, you're finally here,” Morning Glory said as the group approached. You brought our friends too!”

Hugs and smiles were shared for only a brief moment before all six fillies were in the water, and the two adults took their places on the bank, making sure to keep a watchful eye on not only Apple Fries, but all six of the young ponies. Even then, it all happened far too fast for either of them to react.

When Apple Fries went under, Scootaloo learned that wings were good for more than just flying and powering a scooter. It was a strange emotional conundrum, being both desperately panicked by Apple Fries struggling to surface, and thrilled by the sensation of her wings thrusting her through the water at speed she had never know she could achieve. She reached Apple Fries just after Morning Glory, and wrapped her hooves around the drowning filly's waist. Morning Glory took the lead, swimming backward toward the surface while holding Apple Fries' front hooves, while Scootaloo pushed forward with powerful wing beats. Breaching the surface, Morning Glory thrust into the air, “I'm gonna try to keep her above water, I need you to get us to the bank!”

Scootaloo did as she was asked, and soon the reached dry land. “Oh, Celestia, she's not breathing!” Scootaloo cried.

Morning Glory had of course learned life-saving techniques as part of her flight training, and immediately took action. The moments dragged on for what seemed like an eternity as Morning Glory performed the resuscitation, and for a grueling thirty seconds, she desperately breathed for her friend. Finally with a cough, Apple Fries hacked up a worrisome quantity of water, and though light-headed and disoriented, she was thankfully breathing under her own power.

The nerves of all the ponies present were spent after that incident, so it was decided that it was time to head back to the farm. The evening passed peacefully, with no further danger or excitement.

o:O:o

Pinkie Pie awoke with a start. At first she was unaware of the reason for her sudden waking, though it became clear mere seconds later when it happened again. In quick succession, her left hind leg jerked forcefully, barely missing Gumbelina's head, then her head twitched to the right, causing her neck muscle to stretch just a bit too far and sending a shooting pain up to her head, and finally her whole body shook violently vibrating her clear off of the bed.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no! Gotta hurry, hurry, hurry, before it's too late!” She sprang to her feet, and barreled through the upstairs window of Sugarcube Corner, paying no heed to the several small cuts she suffered from the shattering glass. She hit the ground running, and in a pink blur, raced to Sweet Apple Acres, praying that she would make it in time, and literally kicking herself for not insisting that she stay at the farmhouse. She decided then and there that she would sleep in the clubhouse, or even in a tree if she had to, no matter what Applejack said.

She was almost to the farmhouse before she noticed the torrential rain and near gale force winds. She pushed herself harder, forcing herself not to slow down, and with a mighty bound, crashed into the window of Apple Fries' bedroom, sustaining several more cuts from shattered glass. Pinkie scooped the sleeping filly in her front hooves and quickly spun backward, breaking the bedroom door off of the hinges and slamming into the hallway wall.

Apple Fries awoke from the sudden motion and impact, her eyes snapping wide as she and Pinkie Pie watched the wind tear a hole in the roof of her room, sending shards of wood and shingles down onto her bed, followed an instant later by all three Crusaders crashing out of the bedroom in panic.. A moment after the initial collapse, the largest support beam cracked and fell, tearing through the mattress. It had impaled the bed at the exact place where Apple Fries' neck had been a moment before.

“Thank you Pinkie Pie,” Apple Fries cried, just before the tears burst forth from her eyes. Pinkie Pie held the filly in her arms, gently stroking her mane as the rest of the house's inhabitants rushed to investigate the sudden noise. Pinkie Pie barely noticed the stream of thank yous, her mind too busy registering her own numerous minor but painful injuries.

An hour later, the sun slowly rose, bathing the front deck of the Apple family home is warm light. All six Crusaders, both young and old were present, as well as Apple Fries, Big Mac, Featherweight and all six elements of Harmony. Fluttershy and the elder Apple Bloom were busily attending to Pinkie Pies wounds, methodically disinfecting and bandaging her patient, and so they didn't even notice Princess Luna swooping down to meet the group.

“Greetings, my little ponies. From the looks of things, I would guess that you have much to report, I see all are alive and well.” She looked at Pinkie Pie for a moment, and quickly amended her last statement. “Alive at least, perhaps not entirely well. Please, tell me what the previous day has brought.”

They reported the events of the last twenty-four hours to the Princess, who listened with a growing expression of caring concern. Finally, the story was told, and the Princess considered what she had heard.

“It seems that fate is quite insistent. This endeavor is indeed proving to be difficult. I shall forgo sleep today in order to help keep watch over young Apple Fries.”

o:O:o

As it happened, the Princess was nowhere nearby when danger was once again upon Apple Fries. The morning was as uneventful as could ever be expected, full of pleasant conversation and peaceful relaxation. The Crusaders and Brigadiers played together in the lawn near the farmhouse, enthusiastically, but unsuccessfully trying to earn their kickball, foot racing and cow milking cutie marks. When lunch time came, Luna decided that her presence wouldn't be dearly missed, so without a moments hesitation, she accepted Rainbow Dash's invitation to nap with her and the Scootaloos on a fluffy cloud a short distance away.

Apple Fries eagerly went straight for the food that she was named after when Applejack announced that lunch was ready, filling a large bowl full of the oblong cut treat, and rushing to the picnic blanket in the front lawn.

“Mmm... these are so good! You made 'em with empires today, auntie Applejack, my favorite!

“Empires are my favorite too,” Apple Bloom declared, and her older self expressed her agreement from her place on the deck.”

Sweetie Belle, Shinespark and Morning Glory all stole a fry from Apple Fries' bowl, and they too agreed that they were quite delicious.

“I told you,” Apple Fries' said, and nopony makes 'em better than auntie Applejack.” She dove face first into her bowl, and filled her mouth with a massive quantity of fries. Her face instantly turned from one of glee to one of terror, and she began making the motions of a cough, though no sound escaped her mouth. At first her companions didn't notice, too busy with their own meals, so Apple Fries swung a hoof at Sweetie Belle, who happened to be the closest pony.

“Hey what was that for... Oh, oh my!” Sweetie Belle's mind raced. Rarity had taught her what to do if somepony was choking, so she quickly placed herself behind Apple Fries. and wracked her brain for what to do. “Okay, just, um... Just try to stay calm, okay. You three! Go get help!” Apple Bloom, Shinespark and Morning Glory rushed towards the deck, while Sweetie Belle wrapped her forelegs around the choking filly's chest, and thrust inward. Nothing happened. Her panic rising, she repositioned her hooves and tried again. Finally on her fifth try, just as her older self dove onto the picnic blanket to take over, she compressed her friend's chest just the right way to send the half eaten apple fry out of Apple Fries' throat and directly into her older self's eye.

o:O:o

Rainbow Dash had lost some of her speed, but none of her daring in the past decades, as was evidenced by the bizarre and dangerous sport that she was participating in with the elder Scootaloo, and Princess Luna. They had set up a triangular course in the sky above the farm, two hundred yards on each side, long straight strands of stratus clouds marking the boundaries. In each corner were numerous small black storm clouds, the ammunition for the competitors. The rules were simple, every pony for herself, each time you tag an opponent with a bolt of lightning, you gain a point, first pony to ten points wins. The six fillies watched with interest as the two pegasi and the royal alicorn buzzed about in the sky pushing around clouds, and aiming the built up static electricity at one another with carefully directed kicks.

Scootaloo followed closely on Luna's tail, readying her strike. Seeing her opportunity, she turned around and kicked hard with both back hooves. The bolt tagged Luna right on the backside, popping loudly as it made contact.

“Ha! That’s six points!”

“Touché, Scootaloo! Though I am still in the lead!” She swooped up and stole the cloud right out of Scootaloo's hooves, and punched it forcefully. The bolt's mark was true, contacting Scootaloo's shoulder. “Ha ha! Now I am ahead by two points!”

Mildly angry at the Princess, Scootaloo chose not to react when she spotted Rainbow Dash taking up an offensive position behind and to the side the alicorn. She angled her cloud towards Luna's flank, and spun around to make her attack. An instant before the bolt was released, Luna caught sight of her assailant and quickly dodged. The unnecessarily large blot grazed the Princess, missing by a hair, instead striking a tall apple tree. The tree exploded in a fireball, the mass of the shrapnel heading directly toward the group of spectators.

With no time to think, Shinespark threw up the first spell she could think of, and one of only a few that she knew. Luckily it was the right spell, though an instant too late. The green disk of magical energy was still opening when a branch reached them, so instead of stopping it, the shield instead only defected the flaming shard a few inches to the side. The fiery projectile spun in the air, and struck Apple Fries in the exact spot that Rainbow Dash had aimed for on Princess Luna. Apple Fries winced in pain and the burning end of the stick tore across her flesh, leaving a long gash as a trail of singed fur along her flank.

“Rainbow Dash! Scootaloo! Luna! Get your sorry tails down here this instant, or I swear to Celestia, I will find a way up there!” Applejack's voice yelled from the far end of the orchard.

The three ponies flew down and landed in front of a very angry Applejack, and an even angrier Apple Bloom.

“Now, what the buck were you thinkin'?” the adult Apple Bloom began. “I got half a mind to buck all three of you into next Tuesday. I don't give two bits that you're a princess, or my best friend.” She looked both Princess Luna and Scootaloo in the eyes as she said this. “And as for you, miss Rainbow Crash, ain't you a mite too old for this kind of nonsense? Now you three go apologize to my young'un, and make darn sure she is okay, before I send all three of you to meet your maker.”

It wasn't often that the Princess was scolded, especially so harshly, but she stood and took it, never once retuning the anger or attempting an excuse. It was Apple Fries' mother and aunt whom she stood before after all, and in hindsight, she should have known better, and put a stop to the risky sport, rather than become an active participant.

When they arrived to Apple Fries' location, the elder Sweetie Belle and Fluttershy were already treating the wounds.

“Oh, um... Hello, Princess, Rainbow, Scootaloo. You three should really be more careful. If Shinespark hadn't been able to get that magic shield up so quick... well, um. It could have been much worse.”

“Dear Fluttershy, indeed it is my actions that caused this. Young Apple Fries, please accept my humblest apology for my mistake. I shall make this up to you in any way you wish.”

“Aww, Princess, it ain't nothin I ain't had before. I get busted up all the time. A little scrape and a bit of burn can't stop me, nohow.”

The elder Sweetie Belle gasped. “Just a scrape? I'm afraid that you need stitches, little one. Come on, let's get you into town and to the clinic to get fixed up.”

“Please, allow me,” Luna said, and lifted Apple Fries onto her back with her magic. Making sure to secure her with a magical strap, Princess Luna took to the sky, rushing towards Ponyville Medical Center.

“Come on, Apple Bloom, hop on,” Scootaloo said to her dear friend, “I know you're mad at me and all, but you need to be with Apple Fries, so let's go.” She crouched low to allow Apple Bloom to climb on her back, and once her rider was safely on board, she took to she sky, following the Princess and the injured filly. Rainbow Dash flew alongside Scootaloo and the Crusaders and Brigadiers took to hoof, running towards town, while Applejack went back to the farm to gather the others.

o:O:o

“A sphinx! I was not aware that they still existed, we must assist the townsfolk!” Luna cried when she saw the chaos in Ponyville.

“What about Apple Fries?” Apple Bloom asked from Scootaloo's back.

“Her injuries will not be fatal. The bleeding had subsided, though she does need care as soon as possible. Rainbow Dash, please take young Apple Fries to the others, then gather the elements and bid them to make haste, I shall need the assistance.” Luna swooped to the ground, and let Apple Fries off of her back, Scootaloo landed as well, allowing Apple Bloom to dismount. Once free from her rider, Scootaloo took flight again, joining Luna in the charge toward their newly discovered foe, as Rainbow Dash lifted Apple Fries and took flight in to opposite direction.

“Scootaloo, flank her from the left and attempt to distract her, I shall approach from the right and attack.”

“You got it, Princess!” Scootaloo charged full speed toward the huge creature and began taunting her with close flybys. “Hey, there ugly! Catch me if you can!” The Sphinx jumped atop a house and began swiping at the pegasus with her great hand, though each attack missed the mark, but only by a few feet.

Luna landed among a group of terrified ponies, her horn already glowing, preparing for an attack. “Citizens of Ponyville! Have there yet been injuries?” Luna released a bolt of dark magic, striking the creature's chest as she asked this, then turned her attention to the ponies around her.

“I don't think so, Princess. It only got her a few minutes ago, please help us!” a blue pegasus mare answered.

“Good. All of you, find shelter, we will take care of the threat,” Luna said, and took to the air with a powerful beat of her wings. She swooped around behind the sphinx, while Scootaloo dove in front of it, effectively continuing her distraction. The Princess grabbed the creature her magic and lifted it into the air. With a flick of her neck, the creature was sent slamming onto the street below. Luna could see a sizable group of ponies approaching from the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. “Scootaloo, fly to them, bring the Elements of Harmony here, I will keep her busy!”

Scootaloo flew as fast as her wings would carry her toward the group. The sphinx lifter her head, obviously seeing the grand banquet heading her direction. She quickly rose and ran toward them before Luna could react. Her speed was stunning, and within seconds, she was upon them. “Protect the young ones,” Luna yelled, though it was a moment too late. The Creature had caught the scent of fresh pony blood, and immediately went for Apple Fries, Scooping her up in her huge fist before any of the surrounding ponies could stop her.

Twilight and Luna reacted simultaneously. The purple unicorn teleported to a roof that she knew the creature would pass, and loosed a bolt of magic from her horn, striking the creature directly in the face. A the very same instant, Luna conjured a magical spear, and pierced the foul monster in the ribs. The cry of agony was deafening, though she did not release her captive.

“Help me! Please!” Apple Fries screamed, “Princess! Twilight, please help me!” She struggled with all of her strength though she could make no progress in escaping.

Applejack, Big Mac and Apple Bloom were the next to attack. They galloped full force toward the sphinx, and rained blows upon the creature, livelong experience with apple bucking ensuring powerful strikes. The Sphinx lashed out with her free hand, and swatted Big Macintosh away, then did the same to Applejack on the return swing. Both farm ponies went skidding across the pavement, sustaining painful but nonlethal injuries, though it was enough to take the aging earth ponies out of the fight.

“Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, prepare to catch Apple Fries, I am going to try and force the monster to release her. Twilight, aim for her hand.”

Twilight Sparkle shot a bolt of purple energy towards the creature, and at the moment the spell connected, Luna seized the creature's fingers in a telekinetic field, and attempted to force the weakened had open. The creature resisted and pulled back hard against the magic. The combination of forces caused the creature to release Apple Fries as she swung her arm back, sending the terrified filly sailing over her shoulder.

Of all the ponies, it was Fluttershy who reacted fastest. The yellow pegasus became nothing but a blur as she took to the sky, blazing right past the creature and towards Apple Fries. Fluttershy rolled in the air, and caught the filly just before hitting the ground. She wrapped all four hooves around Apple Fries, and slid across the grass on her back, traveling several yards before skidding to a stop. The rescue was nothing short of miraculous, and everypony present knew it.

Now that the creature held no captive, Luna took her chance. With a powerful burst of magic, she wrenched to spire from atop town hall, and aimed it toward the sphinx. “Stand clear!”

She sent the spire at amazing speed, her aim devastatingly accurate. With a nauseating crunch, the makeshift spear shattered the monster's sternum and penetrated it's heart. The sphinx bellowed loudly and stumbled for a moment before falling to the earth.

o:O:o

Princess Luna stood hidden among the tall apple trees, watching the young family enjoying their evening together. Luna marveled at how beautiful Apple Fries had grown to become in her adulthood, and marveled at the sheer adorableness of her three young foals. These past fifteen years, not a week had gone by that she had not checked on the mare's well being, it was this mare that had show her that the plan would be possible after all. As far as Luna was concerned, Apple Fries was the single most important pony to ever come into her life. With a smile, she turned towards the far edge of the farm, taking her time as she strolled toward the stone bridge that crossed the stream marking the boundary of Sweet Apple Acres.

Her eyes moved up to the dark overcast sky. The rain would begin any moment, and Luna felt that now would be the ideal time to put her plan into action. She felt the first drops fall just as she reached the stone bridge, bringing a gleeful grin to her face. Indeed, she knew now that without a doubt destiny was not written in stone, the past could be changed.

She stood on the peak of the bridge for many minutes, gathering her magic. It would take a great deal of energy to travel so far back in time, but it would be well worth it. Forty years she had been preparing for this day, and finally the moment was upon her. It was four decades to the hour since she had received the letter from Twilight Sparkle, asking for her assistance in changing the future of the doomed filly, and as fate would have it, the moment was perfect for the spell to be cast.

As her horn shone with a massive light, Luna closed her eyes and released the spell. When she opened her eyes, her heart soared, she had done it, she had traveled twelve hundred years into the past. This was the first day that she could recall having that terrible feeling of jealousy inside of her. Now that she knew fate could be changed, she knew she had to stop it.

She spread her wings and flew toward the castle in the center of Everfree, ready to do anything that was necessary to stop Night Mare Moon before she could ever come into being.

Hurray! It is finally finished! I hope that you enjoyed my first ever My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic Fan Fiction! This also happens to be the longest story I have ever written, by far. Thank you to everyone who read this story, you seriously rock. The magic spell is Latin, at least in theory, what I have is what Google Translate told me the translation was, so it is probably inaccurate. Also, the sphinx in the second image is my first attempt at a vector. I am pleasantly surprised at how it came out.

As always, please let me know if you see any mistakes, so that they can be fixed. Also, since this is the final part, it would be super awesome if you would leave a quick comment and let me know what you thought.

I have a few ideas for my next story, if any of them sound like something you want to read, let me know. I am still deciding which I want to start first, so any input is very welcome.

Idea 1 - A side story to Chrono Crusaders - Series One, detailing the day that the Cutie Mark Crusaders spent with the Blank Flank Brigade, and the morning they spent having breakfast with the gang before being made to head home by adult Apple Bloom. - Singe Chapter / One-Off / Supplemental story

Idea 2 - The Crusaders go to the distant future, after the end of pony civilization, and encounter the last remnant of Equestrian society. - Single Chapter / One-Off

Idea 3 - A multi-chapter story detailing the events of a single day in Ponyville, from the eyes of several background ponies. Each chapter would be the story from the point of view of one pony or group of ponies (ie. Chapter 1 from Derpy's POV, Chapter 2 From Lyra and BonBon's etc.) from morning until night, with their tales intertwining. - Six to Eight Chapters

Illustrations created using the following sources
Apple Bloom by Kooner01
Sweetie Belle by CptOfTheFriendship
Title Card Dash asn Scootaloo by NightmareMoonS
Twi and Pinkie by TheDarkestDayDream
Dash and Scootaloo by MrLolcats17
The End Luna by Alex4nder02
Battle Luna by DraikJack
Big Mac and Apple Bloom by Tatsumaru-Ishida
Rarity and Pinkie by delectablecoffee
Title Card bakground by BronyB34r
Sphinx Battle background by Trotsworth
The End Background by MLP-Vector-Collabs

Holy Celestia, that is a lot of links! Hopefully I got them all, and didn't mislink anything.

All other logos and image edits by me, using screen shots from the show, fonts from DaFont, and images found on google. Images created using Photofiltre. Sphinx vector created by me using Inkscape.