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Chapter 1: We Interrupt Your Day to Bring You: Shenanigans!
Twilight sighed in relaxation as she heard Pinkie Pie cannonball into the lake, Rainbow Dash snickering as Rarity faced the full wave from Pinkie's stunt, and she laid back on a wooden deck chair.
The Mane Six had the found the small lake nearby the Castle of Friendship in a grassy but clean area, with a few trees for shade, but not too many to block the sunlight. It was their private little area, and the Mane Sixnot to forget Starlight Glimmer and Spikegot to enjoy the area together.
Next to Twilight, Starlight sat flipping through a spell book on a wooden chair. She sighed and closed the book in frustration. "How am I supposed to learn how to perform a fire spell if I'm stuck on step 2, use inner strength?" she asked. "What does that even mean ?"
"Oh, Starlight," Twilight said, shaking her head. "We're here to relax. Put that book down!"
"Well, ah'll be," Applejack said, whistling. "Twilight Sparkle, telling' somepony ta put a book down? Ah never thought I'd live ta see the day!"
Twilight rolled her eyes but smiled. "Really, Starlight, relax! The upcoming Magic Masquerade is going to be a walk in the park for you!" she said assuringly.
Starlight frowned as she reluctantly put the book under her chair. "Are you sure?" she asked. "The Magic Masquerade is going to be in Ponyville for the first time in decades. I don't want my performance to ruin everything."
Rainbow flew onto a tree branch above Starlight. "I've been hearing this Magic Masquerade for the past two weeks!" she said. "What's this masquerade about anyway?"
"The Magic Masquerade is an annual ball where the greatest magicians in Equestria gather to show off their skills," explained Twilight. "The maximum number of guests is 500, and I managed to get an invitation! Rumors have it the greatest magician is given a reward that enhances their magic skills significantly."
"Not to mention I have one," said Starlight glumly. "Sunburst managed to get me an invitation, as the Crystaller of Flurry Heart. He sent out recommendation letters to the ponies organizing the masquerade."
"Honestly, I don't see what the fuss is about," said Rarity drying herself as best as possible with her towel. "I suppose the ball will be grand and spectacular and absolutely gorgeous, but competing over who's better at magic? They should be socializing at a masquerade, not performing magic!"
"It's called the Magic Masquerade for a reason," said Starlight.
"There will be socializing," assured Twilight. "The Magic Masquerade has a lot of benefits, such as unicorns from all across Equestria getting to know others better, learning how others rank in the magic world, and schools for unicorns are able to recruit new students."
"But at our ages, would they still go to school?" asked Fluttershy from the shade of a tree.
"Oh, a few would," Twilight answered. "I would've continued my studies back in Canterlot if I hadn't chosen to stay here. Maybe I would've gone to another school. But ponies from our age group aren't the only ones who are going to be at the masquerade. A select number of younger unicorns can be able to perform magic as well as a high-level unicorn."
"Okay, I get it, I get it," Rainbow said, flying above the spot Pinkie Pie had landed into. "This masquerade thing is really important. But what about everypony in Ponyville? What do they do while the party's going on?"
"They stay inside until the masquerade ends," Twilight replied. "It's actually considered rude if they go on about their daily lives while it's on. Oh, I almost completely forgot! We're allowed to have a plus one!"
Pinkie's head popped up from the lake. She grinned. "Do you know who you're bringing, Twilight?" she asked.
"Well, I was thinking about inviting Spike," Twilight said. Her eyes widened. "Or I could bring Sunset Shimmer. Could I do that? I think she'd love it!"
"Well, you can always ask her," said Starlight, casually reaching under her chair.
"I think I'll send her a message when we get back," Twilight decided.
Rarity turned to Spike, who was swimming in the lake with Pinkie. "Spikey, wouldn't you like to go to the masquerade with Twilight?" she asked.
"Nah," Spike replied, swimming in place. "Who wants to listen to a bunch of magical theories with a whole bunch of unicorns when you can do that every day?"
"Hey!" Twilight said, glaring as she sat upright.
Spike strategically dove back into the water and Rarity rolled her eyes.
"Well, I wanna come to this masquerade!" Rainbow Dash said, flying onto the tree Fluttershy was under. "I wanna see all the awesome magic everypony's gonna do!"
"Me too!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, jumping up from the lake. "It'd be so much fun!" She then promptly dove back into the lake with a big splash.
"Put it away," Twilight said, raising her shades and lying back.
Starlight groaned and dropped the book. "I guess I'll try relaxing," she grumbled.
"Come on in, Starlight!" Spike invited her. "The water's great!"
Starlight sighed. "Alright," she said reluctantly. She got off her chair and walked over to the lake. Twilight watched as her pupil tentatively stuck out her hoof. She gasped, as it was most likely cold, but before she could take her hoof out, Spike suddenly emerged and grabbed Starlight's hoof and pulled her in.
Twilight and Applejack laughed at the scene. Starlight broke the surface and glared at Spike, who was chuckling. She then jumped him and dragged the drake underwater.
"Aww!" Twilight said. "They are so cute!"
Applejack grunted. "Ah dunno," she said, watching Spike and Starlight splash water at each other. "Ah reckon Starlight and Sunburst would make a better couple."
"I guess their ship name sounds better," Twilight remarked. "I think it would be Starburst, which sounds better than Starspike." She chuckled, wondering if somewhere else, she was being shipped with somepony.
"But think about it," Applejack said. "Starlight and Sunburst are good friends! They'd be a great couple."
"Do you have something against Starspike?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Applejack said, turning away. "Ah just think Starburst is a good couple."
Twilight shrugged. Applejack put on her shades and took a sip from a glass of lemonade. Rainbow Dash bolted into the lake, splashing Rarity once again. Fluttershy rested against the tree. Pinkie Pie swam out of the lake and began rolling around the grass. Spike raced Starlight back and forth.
She sighed once again. This truly was a good life. All her friends together, having a great time by themselves on a summer day, a whole day of fun in front of them. It was good to be an Element of Harmony today.
Twilight rested her front legs on her stomach and smiled as she dozed off in the afternoon sun, comfortable and happy.
"Twilight! You need to wake up! Twilight!"
Somepony was shaking Twilight violently. She opened her eyes and saw Starlight shaking her. Spike was getting a bucket of water. Rarity paced quickly and anxiously. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were nowhere to be seen.
"What's going on?" Twilight asked. "Where is everypony?"
"Well, Fluttershy went back to the castle with Pinkie Pie to get some more sunscreen," Starlight explained, letting go of Twilight. "And Applejack was going to bring the food so we could have a picnic. But then Applejack came running back and asked Rainbow to follow her. We could hear Fluttershy and Pinkie scream. We wanted to go and see if anything happened to them, but we wanted to wake you up first."
"Then let's go!" Twilight leaped off her chair and started running to the castle, her friends following close behind. They left behind the relaxing day they were supposed to be enjoying.
They found Fluttershy trembling behind a tree and Pinkie Pie hanging onto a tree branch above her.
"What's going on?" Twilight asked. "Are you two okay?"
Fluttershy and Pinkie shook their heads. "Sh-She...she looked dead for a moment," whimpered Fluttershy. "And then she just suddenly flew into the sky."
"Who?" Twilight asked, helping Fluttershy up.
"I don't know," she replied as Pinkie hopped to ground level. "She didn't look like she was from Ponyville."
"Well, duh!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "She just fell from the sky outta nowhere!"
"Out of the sky?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Yeah!" Pinkie replied. "We were just coming back when she just fell in front of us! She looked a little strange. She had red wings and battery blue hair and a white coat. How do you have a white coat with red wings?"
It did seem like strange features to Twilight, but she continued nonetheless. "What about Rainbow and Applejack?" she asked.
"We don't know," replied Fluttershy.
"But we better go see if they're okay," suggested Starlight.
"Agreed," Twilight said. She ran with the rest of her friends into Ponyville. And there was definitely something wrong.
Several ponies were tongue-tiedliterally. They were sticking out their tongues, which had been tied into knots. They ran around frantically, saying, "Ple helb!" Which most likely meant, "Please help!" Others were walking around blindly, bumping into other ponies and objects lying around.
"What's going on?" Twilight asked the nearest pony.
Lyra Heartstrings poked Twilight's cheek. "Is that you, Princess Twilight?" she asked. "Have you come to help?"
"I don't know what's going on!" Twilight said. "Who did this to everypony?"
"We don't know!" Piped up Derpy Hooves. Her eyes, though normally unaligned, were now like everypony else's. "But now, my vision's perfect!"
"Did you manage to see who did this?" Twilight asked.
"Sure did!" Derpy replied. "They looked like twins!"
"Two stallions?" Twilight asked.
"Nope!" Derpy answered. "A mare and a stallion!"
"Hm..." Twilight tried to think of any fraternal twins she knew, but nothing came up in her head. "Did you see where they went?"
"They teleported away!" Derpy explained.
"Fraternal twin unicorns who both know the teleportation spell?" Twilight asked aloud. "Who are these ponies?"
"Ar you going to ix our ungs o ot?" asked Roseluck.
It took a few minutes to calm down the victims, but Twilight and the other present mares of the Mane Six managed to wrangle all of them to one spot in town and Twilight performed the counterspells. By the time she had finished one by one, her horn was pounding and sweat traveled down Twilight's face. She had taken several deep breaths when she heard yelling. "Twilight!"
"What now?" Twilight groaned, turning to see Rainbow and Applejack bolt towards her.
They stopped abruptly before they could hit her. Applejack's hat was covered in soot and a part of Rainbow's tail had been burnt. "Did you see her?" Rainbow asked, flying above Twilight frantically.
"See who?" Twilight asked once again.
"I dunno, a fire-breathing unicorn maybe!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Didn't she go this way?"
"Rainbow, ah told ya! She went towards the Everfree Forest!" Applejack yelled, taking her hat off and shaking the ashes off of it.
"Well, I'm sorry if I wanted to save my wings from being burnt to a crisp!" Rainbow said, crossing her front legs.
"Saving yer wings meant destroyin' some of the apple trees!" AJ yelled.
"That's enough," Twilight interrupted. "What's more important is that neither of you was hurt. But are you sure the unicorn breathed magic? They didn't cast a fire spell?"
"Let's see!" Rainbow said, flying onto the ground. "We got to Sweet Apple Acres to get the food for the picnic. We see a unicorn with peach fur and a long purple mane and tail hiding behind an apple tree. We come close to her, she suddenly opens her mouth and there was green fire everywhere!"
"Everywhere but yer wings ya mean," Applejack mumbled.
"Exactly!" Rainbow said smugly.
"I think I've just about had enough of who's been doing this!" Twilight exclaimed. "We need a plan to find out where they are before they hurt anypony else."
"How?" asked Spike. "Whatever they're doing, they seem to be trying to avoid all of us."
A lightbulb lit up in Twilight's head. "Then what we'll have to do is make sure they can't!" she said slyly.
"Twilight, I know you really want to find out who's doing all this, but using the Mirror Pool?" Rainbow asked. "That's as far from Twilight Sparkle that I think you can get!"
The Mane Eight were on the border of the Everfree Forest. Twilight stared at the forest in front of her determinedly. The others were exchanging uneasy expressions.
"The Mirror Pool's the best chance we have," Twilight said seriously. "If I were to perform an illusion spell to create other illusions of us, they'd realize the illusions aren't the real thing. It would also cost a lot of my energy to do so many illusions."
"What about the rock Big Mac covered the entrance with?" Applejack asked. "That'll take a lot of energy from all of us."
"Unless somepony else has a better idea, I'm going in," Twilight said. Without hesitation, she walked into the Everfree Forest.
The seven left stared at each other for a moment. Starlight stared at the forest. She had never been in it before but had heard the rumors surrounding it. Was it really safe, especially since she had never been in it before?
"Well, we can't just let her go in on her own," Spike said at last. He walked into the forest and followed Twilight quickly.
"Are we really doing this?" asked Pinkie Pie, who was frowning. "This isn't a good idea."
Everypony but Starlight knew Pinkie Pie had had enough with the Mirror Pool when she had messed around with it before. They understood her skepticism.
"We should go with her in case she gets herself into trouble," Starlight said.
"You mean more trouble than she's already in," pointed out Rainbow Dash.
The remaining ponies walked into the Everfree Forest.
The Everfree Forest was like it's own zone. The sunlight could barely pierce through the trees, which were dark, strong, and thick. Strange sounds resonated from the bushes, trees, and the ground. Though it was the afternoon, it was like nighttime in Everfree. You couldn't walk three steps without discovering some kind of dangerous fungi or plant. Once, Starlight was about to sniff a lovely looking blue flower when everypony pulled her away from it quickly. Nothing in the forest was predictable.
After about what seemed like an eternity, Twilight stopped. She looked around and sighed.
"I think we're lost," she said bitterly. She stretched her wings and frowned.
"Lost?" demanded Rainbow. "What do you mean we're lost?"
"Lost as in I think we don't know where we are," Twilight replied. "What else could I possibly mean?"
"Ah don't think we've ever been in this part of the forest before," Applejack commented, taking a look around. "We might definitely be lost."
"Darling, we can't be lost," Rarity said, frowning. "How are we supposed to find our way back home?"
"We just retrace our steps!" Pinkie Pie answered. "It would have been a teensy tiny bit better if I had brought my red paintUh, Fluttershy?"
All eyes turned to Fluttershy. She was frozen in place, shock on her face. It was like she was a statue.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, walking towards her.
Suddenly Rainbow's eyes widened. "Don't move!" she yelled in a whisper.
Twilight turned to the direction Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were facing and froze.
One by one, they began to freeze up and stare in utter shock towards what seemed to be a clearing. It seemed slightly brighter than the rest of the area.
"What's wrong?" Starlight asked in a clear, loud voice.
"Shh!" the rest hushed at her.
"I will be quiet when you tell me what's wrong," Starlight said, walking over to where they were. "Why do you have to be silent? There can't really be anything bad in the forest, right?"
"No!" they whisper-yelled, staying in place.
Starlight turned in their direction. She paled significantly as she saw the scene in front of her.
Three ponies sat in the clearing, or what seemed to be one. Two of them wore ragged brown dresses, tattered and torn from wear. The pony in the middle wore a white dress, in much better condition than the other dresses. But the ponies had green ivy reptilian scales for fur. They had brown furry wings and talons that they couldn't have possibly have. Most frighteningly of all, they didn't have tails. Their manes consisted of tiny slithering green snakes, hissing, and biting. Their eyes looked directly at Starlight.
The three ponies rose simultaneously. They began to turn around, the snakes hissing louder.
"RUN!" Rainbow Dash screamed.
The group started running as quickly as they possibly could in the direction they came from. Starlight managed to keep pace with Twilight. "Whowho are they?" Starlight yelled.
"The three Gorgons!" Twilight yelled in response. "Three sisters who are so hideous, looking at them will turn you into stone! And there's no counterspell!"
Suddenly, they heard flapping overhead and Starlight nearly tripped. They were nearing a cliff when a gorgon shot down in front of them.
They screamed in terror and tried turning away. Unfortunately, the other two gorgons were behind them. The Mane Eight began backing up against one another, the gorgons hissing and coming closer
Twilight tried teleporting but felt the Everfree Forest work against her magic. She spent a great deal of energy trying to, ending with no energy at all. She could fly out, but she would leave her friends behind, and a gorgon would surely follow her.
"This is it!" Twilight cried. "We're done for!"
"NO!"
Out of nowhere, somepony swooped from the trees down onto the gorgon near the cliff. Twilight dared a glance and saw a mare standing where the gorgon had been.
The mare turned to face the gorgons remaining.
"Wait, don't!" Twilight tried to warn the mare.
"Don't come any closer or you'll be tumbling down that cliff with your sister!" the mare said boldly. She glared fiercely at the gorgons straight in their eyes.
Suddenly, the gorgons started freezing up. They screeched and hissed as Twilight watched in amazement. The gorgons began to turn to stone. Seconds later, they were just mere statues.
The mare looked to Twilight. Paying more attention, Twilight could see this mare was an alicorn. She had light purple fur, short straight mane and tail, the color blue, and beautiful sea blue eyes.
"I don't have the power to turn ponies to stone by the way," the mare said. "A counterspell I've always wanted to use! It's calledah, I think you'll know soon enough. They're not going to stay like that for long. Maybe half an hour or so."
"I'm very grateful for you saving my friends and I, but who are you?" Twilight asked, standing up and walking to the alicorn.
The mare seemed to shake as Twilight approached. But she swallowed hard and replied, "My name is Princess Evernight. I am your daughter."
Author's Note
Had this idea in my head for a while. Inspired by a few video games I'm addicted to.
Chapter 2: Meet the New Generation
Twilight stared at the alicorn before her. All her friends were gaping, jaws slack.
Sure, Evernight seemed to have features that resembled Twilight, such as the mane, the coat, and perhaps even the cutie marka white four-sided star with a pink star behind it and five smaller white stars around itbut time travel was impossible. The only method to do something so extreme was by using the spell in Canterlot Castle libraryand that only went back a few daysor by using Starswirl the Bearded's spell, which no longer existed. Not only that, but Twilight wasn't even in a relationship. How could this be her daughter?
"I know what you're all thinking," Evernight said, sighing as if she expected this reaction. "How could I be Twilight's daughter?"
"I think it's best if you recognize Princess Twilight by her true title," Rarity said, her eyes narrowing.
"Oh, come on!" both Twilight and Evernight groaned in unison.
Twilight glanced at Evernight, who seemed equally as surprised. Somepony who equally disliked the title "Princess"? Perhaps this was her daughter...
Evernight cleared her throat. "You always told me you didn't like the title," she explained. "It got in the way of who you really were. A mare of the population. Dad didn't really...Oh wait, you don't know who Dad is. I'm sure you'll find out soon."
"Is...is that it?" Twilight asked. "You just saved my friends and I. But just because you saved us doesn't mean you're truly my daughter if I'll ever have one. How do I know you're from the future? You could just be lying."
"I haven't lied very often in my life," Evernight said. "But Apple Blaze didn't like it and her mom told her she respected honesty and family morals."
"Apple Blaze...?" Applejack mumbled.
Evernight smiled, but she stared at the sky as if waiting for something. "If you really don't believe me, then how would you explain my knowing of where you would be? How do you explain the sudden appearances of several ponies across Ponyville? How do you explain the counter spell that I used against the Gorgons, one that hasn't even been created yet?"
"Well, you could have used a locating spell, or seen a divination," Twilight said, stepping towards Evernight. "You haven't explained how you know about those ponies who showed up. And if your counter spell truly did work, it would have frozen the Gorgons longer than half an hour." Twilight could see a fire beginning to rage in the alicorn's eyes.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning appeared from the forest. Clouds that hadn't been there a moment ago swarmed the skies. Howling erupted in harmony from the trees, like an orchestra of terror.
Wind picked up around them, circling like vultures. Evernight spread out her wings. "If you really don't believe me," she yelled over the wind, "then how are you to explain that I'm about to save your lives?"
Evernight pulled out a glorious sword from thin air, a blade glowing with a neon purple aura, and turned her back to Twilight.
"A sword?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "She knows how to fight with a sword!"
"It's called swordsmanship," Twilight mumbled, staring at Evernight.
Two beasts appeared out of nowhere, suddenly charging towards the alicorn. Their fur was as black as the night sky, their eyes the color of blood. Each had a set of vicious teeth, ready to pulverize them. They were three times the size of a large dog and running at a high speed.
Evernight didn't wait for them. She galloped towards them, yelling a battle cry.
She made a huge arc with her sword and an arc of purple hurled towards them. Evernight slashed again, but to her left this time. Two wide arcs, somehow floating raced towards the beasts.
"Won't they get hurt?" asked Fluttershy, whimpering.
The arcs reached them and with two powerful blasts, they each were hurled backward, unmoving as they landed yards away.
"Demon dogs," Evernight said, taking a step back and shielding her sword back into the air. "You can come out now, Breeze."
A head poked out of the woods, everypony turning to see.
A pegasus mare walked out of the forest and revealed herself. She had a pale yellow coat and rose gold mane and tail. Her mane was short and so was her tail. It was cut neatly but cut in a style so it looked like bangs. Her eyes were the color of dusk. Her fur was, however, rather strange. It was furry, more than it should be. Her ears were also quite furry. But besides that, she looked like Fluttershy. Breeze'a cutie mark showed a paw with a light pink heart in the center.
"Everypony, this is Breeze Pawfurd," Evernight introduced. "Daughter of the Element of Kindness."
Their heads turned to Fluttershy, who was staring at Breeze as if she were the greatest thing in the world. Twilight could see the similarities between the two...The way Breeze seemed to shy away at the very sight of Fluttershy, the way she seemed to carry herself. But the fur wasn't from Fluttershy...was it from the father? Or too much time around woodland creatures?
"I...thought, we weren't going to interfere with time?" Breeze asked quietly. Twilight had to perk her ears to listen.
"I calculated the time from three minutes ago, and it seems to me that it's alright for us to meet with them," Evernight replied. "Besides, haven't you always been curious about how our parents acted when they're our age?"
"Well, my dad's always looked the same," Breeze muttered.
Evernight seemed to ignore the comment. "Wasn't Bluebolt with you?"
"She was," Breeze replied. "But then she saw Mrs.Ms. Dash."
"Hey! I have an idea!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Why don't the two of you go looking for your friends and we can meet up at Twilight's castle so we can see our children!"
"Children?" Twilight asked. "They don't have any proof"
Breeze walked over to Fluttershy and whispered something into her ear. She took a step back and saw Fluttershy's face, pale, but happy.
"I guess you are my daughter," Fluttershy said.
"Wait, what?" Twilight asked.
"I promised myself that I would tell my first daughter one of my most private secrets," Fluttershy said. "I would never tell anypony but her. And she knew it. So Breeze must be my daughter."
"I think we should go with Pinkie Pie's plan," Twilight said. She turned to Evernight, who seemed to be hiding a quiet smile. "I'll believe you if I see the rest of the descendants. Gather your friends and meet us inside the castle in an hour."
"Thank you!" Evernight spread her wings and forelegs but immediately regained posture. "I-I mean, thank you, Twilight."
"Come on," Twilight said, turning around. She headed around the corner and back into the forest.
Spike exchanged looks with the rest of the Mane Eight. "I thought we were lost...?" he asked.
"I think it's best we don't tell that to Twilight," Starlight said, following Twilight's path.
"Let's see!" Pinkie Pie flipped through a checklist Starlight had let her borrow. "Food?" She checked the tables Rarity was busy decorating. They were covered in plates of freshly baked cupcakes, decorated swirling icing and lip-smacking frosting and colorful sprinkles, not to mention there were several other mouth-watering desserts.
"Check!" Pinkie Pie checked the small box next to food happily and moved onto the next item. "Fruit punch?"
Pinkie looked up and saw Fluttershy was just setting a bowl of punch down on the table. A few birds flew into the foyer and carried cups down next to the punch.
"Check!" Pinkie checked the box and moved down the list. "Rarity's working on decorations with Rainbow Dash...Applejack's making apple fritters in the kitchen..."
"I can't believe you're all really doing this." Twilight walked into the foyer from the staircase, disbelief written on her face. "You really believe everything Evernight said?"
"Well, she did know about a secret only Fluttershy knows about," Rarity said, tying a bow. "Breeze, I mean."
"And how could they have possibly known we were going to be in danger?" Rainbow asked, hanging streamers across the walls.
"A divination, a prediction, something that could actually explain this," Twilight replied, reaching the bottom of the staircase. "Coming from the future? I need to see evidence, not something that could clearly be a coincidence."
"Just you wait until we see them!: Spike said, rushing into the foyer with a big bowl of nachos. "I bet I have a kid! Oh boy, they're probably really tall and super awesomebut not as awesome as their old guy, that is!and have wings!"
"Spike, you don't have wings," Rainbow said, landing and spreading her wings for emphasis. "What makes you think your kidif you have onehave wings? And by the way, if they do have wings, that makes them more awesome than you."
"I dunno," Spike said, setting down the nachos and looking dejected. "What if I married a dragon with wings?"
"Not you too, Spike!" Twilight groaned, hanging her head.
"I'm sorry!" Spike exclaimed. "Seeing Evernight and Breeze just got me thinking what my kid could look like!"
"I'm not talking about that," Twilight said, glaring at him. "I'm talking about why you believe Evernight and Breeze are from the future. All they did was save our lives."
"''All they did'?" Starlight asked, mixing the punch. "You saved me . And you changed my entire life. Just because you save the world on a daily basis doesn't mean we're not grateful."
"If they're not from the future, then how can Evernight possibly be an alicorn?" asked Fluttershy.
Then came a few knocks from the door.
Applejack nearly dropped the fritters she was carrying. Rainbow forgot how to fly. Starlight stopped mixing. Spike stopped chewing on a nacho. Rarity tied a bow very tightly. Fluttershy's bird friends left. Pinkie Pie dropped her checklist.
Twilight looked to the massive doors. "I'll get it," she said nonchalantly.
Behind Twilight, her friends huddled together in the center of the foyer, whispering nervicitedly.
"What do you think they'll look like?" Rainbow whispered.
"Ah dunno," Applejack replied. "They gotta look like us, right?"
"Fluttershy, darling, you're shaking," Rarity whispered.
"I can't help it!" Fluttershy whimpered nervously.
"Do you think they're gonna be just like us?" Starlight asked.
"Maybe," Spike replied. "Evernight seems a lot like Twilight."
Something very out of the ordinary was Pinkie Pie in eerie silence.
Twilight opened one of the doors to be about as wide as she was. Evernight stood before her, smiling.
"Hi, mo" Evernight's face fell. "Hello, Twilight."
"Hello," Twilight said. "So you've brought your friends, have you?"
"Yes!" Evernight replied heartily. "Do we have permission to come in?"
"Of course," Twilight said, nodding, opening the door wider. And one by one, Evernight's friends walked into the Castle of Friendship. She closed the door as the last one entered and thought, This is going to be interesting.
Starlight immediately noticed two ponies who wore somewhat of a matching outfit. The mare's cloak looked oddly like Sunburst's. The stallion's cloak was like Sunburst's, only the colors were inverted. The mare had a golden shimmering coat, a magnificent wavy mane and tail, the colors of orange and cool blue. Her eyes were as blue as the sky during the day. The stallion had a white coat, and his mane was styled into a quiff. It was an amethyst color, with streaks of dark blue. His eyes were as blue as the night sky.
They were both unicorns.
The two caught Starlight staring and froze. She froze, too. She felt a connection with these two.
"M-mother?" the mare gasped, her ears shrinking down.
Before she knew it, Starlight was being smothered by the two, the stallion was crying, the mare was crying, Starlight was crying.
"I can't believe it's really you, mother," the mare cried. "When the portal exploded and we ended up here, we were so scared. We didn't know what to do, we don't know how to get back, I was feeling so lost without you!"
"I know you're not our actual mother from the future, but I saw it in your eyes," the stallion mumbled. "The same shock on your face when Sunspark got the Neighbel Prize, the same shock when you found out I had a marefriend."
"You have a WHAT!?" Sunspark yelled ferociously, making Starlight and the stallion wince, ruining the moment. "When was THIS? You never told me you had a marefriend! How come I'm only hearing about this now?! I thought we were twins, Moonbeam! How could you do this to me?"
While Sunspark continued to yell at Moonbeam, Rainbow Dash had immediately spotted her daughter. Shaggy electric blue mane and tail, white coat, and wicked red tipped wings. Violet eyes, Rainbow could see the same determination she saw in the mirror before a performance. There was an electric blue lightning bolt with red wings on her flank for a cutie mark.
"Hi, mom," the mare said with a cocky smile.
"Ha," Rainbow said, grinning. "You look like you could be my kid. But how can I be so sure?"
"You used to be an egghead," the mare said smugly.
"What?!" Rainbow yelped, taking a step back.
"Ha!" the mare laughed. "I knew you'd freak out!"
Rainbow grinned. "Okay, so you are my daughter," she said. "What's your name, sport?"
"Bluebolt," she replied. "Bluebolt Rosewing."
"Did I get all sappy when I made that name for you?" Rainbow asked. "But Bluebolt's alright."
In the meantime, Rarity watched a poised mare walk towards her. Her hot-pinked streaked blue mane was in a neat bun and her white coat brought out her emerald green eyes. Her cutie mark was a bright blue gem with a golden tiara on the top of it. She carried herself with the same posture Rarity used and loved.
"Mother," the mare said, bowing her head. "I am your future daughter, Sophie."
"Sophie..." Rarity smiled. "I do feel that 'Sapphire' is a more fitting name for you, dear."
Sophie's ears bent back. "Oh, um...My name is Sapphire," she admitted. "I just feel 'Sophie' is a more common name, and it's also more comfortable."
"Common?" Rarity scoffed. "Darling, you are the daughter of Rarity Unicorn, the Element of Generosity, fashion designer! You are anything but common!"
Sapphire stared at Rarity in disappointment. "Looks like you've always been like this," she said bitterly, hanging her head.
Applejack gasped as she watched the same mare from Sweet Apple Acres walk towards her. Getting a better look at her, Applejack realized this unicorn had purple and green hair and it was fashioned . She had a peach coat and her eyes were a sparkling green, as if she laughed often. Her cutie mark was a green apple with a flame across it.
"You" Applejack said.
"Yeah, it's me," the unicorn said with a not-at-all Apple accent. "The name's Apple Blaze. Sorry about burning up those trees. I'm still learning how to control it."
"Wait, you can breathe fire?" AJ asked.
"Well, Dad did marry you, didn't he?" Apple Blaze asked. "Where is he, anyway?" She turned to see Spike, his face in shock, unable to move.
"Daddy!" Apple Blaze rushed up to him and pulled him into a tight hug. "Mom was right! You're so much tinier than you are in the future!"
Pinkie Pie watched as a earth pony bounced over to her. She had a rose gold coat, cherry red puffy mane that was tied into a ponytail, and gorgeous sea-blue eyes. Her cutie mark was a red cloud around a yellow cherry. There was a bright smile on her face.
"Mom!" the mare yelled, jumping up and body-slamming Pinkie onto the floor.
"Hi!" Pinkie Pie greeted cheerfully, not even fazed.
"Hi! My name's Cherry Jam!" the mare said, getting up. "I'm your future daughter! We somehow got from the future to the past, but if we're here right now, then this is the present! We haven't found some of our friends, but we're sure they'll turn up soon! Oh my goodness, I'm so happy to see you again!"
"I'm going to guess Cheese Sandwich is her father?" Fluttershy asked, sipping a cup of fruit punch.
"Yes," Breeze replied, standing adjacent to her mother. "And my father's Discord!"
Evernight turned around and beamed at Twilight. "Do you believe me now?" she asked. "These are a few of the ponies that traveled back in time!'
A million thoughts were racing through Twilight's head. All her friends were embracing their daughters with open hooves. Well, except for Applejack and Spike, who seemed to be more in shock than anything. But besides that, they had already warmed up to the girls. Twilight turned to Evernight and shook her head, leaving the foyer to her bedroom.
Evernight stared at the other mothers with their children. She sighed in disappointment. "When will my mother believe me?" she asked no pony in particular.
Author's Note
Also, I like listening to this song while writing this story:
Chapter 3: The Future Fates
"Ah still don't understand," Applejack said, rubbing her forehead. And ah'm not sure ah wanna understand. "If you're from the future, what're ya doin' here?"
"And how come you have a horn?" Spike asked, pointing to his daughter's horn. "I don't think there's a trace of unicorn blood on Applejack's side of the family. And how come you're not like me?"
"I am like you, father," Apple Blaze said. "I've got pointy teeth and I can breathe fire." She bared her teeth and Spike could see some jagged teeth. She then opened her mouth and a fire blazed out of it.
"Of course, it's kind of embarrassing if I'm in the middle of copying notes and then I sneeze, and then all my notes burn up," Apple Blaze said, sighing. "But that doesn't bother me. I have the best parents in the world!"
"That still doesn't explain why ya got a horn," Applejack murmured.
"Oh," Apple said, suddenly piping down. "Well, Mrs. Sparkle helped investigate and determined that because Spike spent so much time around her and her magical experiments, I have a horn as a result. So, yay, I guess."
"I can't believe I have a daughter!" Rarity squealed. "Who's my husband? Do you have a stallionfriend? Do I have more than one child?"
"One question at a time, Mother," Sophie said. "Your husband is not a high prince of any land in Equestria if that's what you were going to ask."
"A prince as my husband?" Rarity scoffed. "I've had my fair share of princes, and I would most certainly not marry one. Unless he reached my standards."
"Oh, really?" Sophie asked, suddenly looking cheerful. "Glad to hear you're not as shallow as I thought you were."
Rarity gasped. "Young lady, you dare to speak to your own mother with that kind of tone?" she asked.
"Aaaaaaand why is that not surprising?" Sapphire said, sighing.
"Okay, Sunspark!" Moonbeam said, putting up another barrier to deflect his sister's magic. "I think that's enough magic for now. You certainly have gotten better at not consuming all your magic all at once."
Starlight looked at Sunspark's horn and saw it was beginning to simmer. "You can't control your magic supply?" Starlight asked her daughter.
Sunspark sighed. "No," she replied bitterly. "I don't know how you or Dad or Moonbeam do it."
"We tried teaching her how to control it," Moonbeam explained, walking back to his family. "You even created a spell to help her, which is why she seems to be getting better at it. But before then, she could cast two spells before ending up unconscious."
"Moonbeam!" his sister groaned. "Did you really have to tell her? It's embarrassing enough that all my friends know, but Mom in the past? That's just cold."
"Well I'm sorry if I'm trying to help you," Moonbeam said, staring fiercely at Sunspark.
"Just like how you helped those ponies when we were running away from Miss Hooves?" Sunspark snapped.
"It was not my intention to perform any of those spells!" Moonbeam said.
I cannot imagine the kind of headaches Future Me gets with them, Starlight thought to herself.
"So of course, my own daughter's just as awesome as I am," Rainbow said, grinning.
"If anything, I'm more awesome!" Bluebolt said smugly, walking around her mother.
"Yeahhhhh, let's not get tooooo carried away there, sport," Rainbow said, suddenly uneasy. "Hey, who's your dad by the way?"
"Your husband is none other than the great Soarin' of the Wonderbolts!" Blue exclaimed.
Rainbow scrunched her nose. "Soarin', huh?" she asked. "Are you sure? You have the papers to prove it?"
"Don't you, like, have a crush on him or something?" Rainbow's daughter asked, her mood becoming like her mother's. "Like him? Thought about him as more than a friend? Anything at all?"
"To be honest, I thought he was dating Spitfire," Rainbow admitted.
"No wonder my love life sucks, I got it from my mother," Bluebolt mumbled, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"How could your father possibly be Discord?" Fluttershy asked in confusion. "As far as I know, we don't like each other like that."
"Oh, that's okay," Breeze reassured her mother. "As a filly, I would ask you or Dad to tell me about you two fell in love, and it was always that you both eventually started liking each other that way."
"When is eventually?" Fluttershy asked.
"I dunno," Breeze replied. "It'll happen eventually though."
"Um..." Fluttershy rubbed her hoof. "Do you have powers like Discord? You inherited his fur and...energy, I suppose."
Breeze frowned. "No," she said. "But my brother did. I don't think that's very fair. He gets these really cool abilities, and what do I have? Nothing."
"I wouldn't say you have nothing," Fluttershy said, becoming upset. "Maybe you inherited the ability to wield the Element of Kindness."
"I don't think so," Breeze said. "I always asked you and you said that I would never be able to be the Element of Kindness. Like, how? I'm the daughter of the Element of Kindness! I should be able to inherit her kindness! I think my mother's just being foolish. I think she doesn't want to be replaced."
Fluttershy frowned. I think I might be right.
"So, how ya been?" Pinkie Pie asked her daughter. "Pretty good, huh? How many parties do I throw? Are you a super duper part pony like me, too?"
"Yeah, totally!" Cherry Pie said. "But I'm not as good as you at it. I don't think I ever will up to par with you."
"Awe, come on!'" Pinkie exclaimed. "That's not true. I bet you're just as good as party pony as I am! How many parties have you done so far?"
"Oh, a few," Cherry admitted. "About a dozen, maybe. But every time at the end of planning the party, you always look disappointed and then mumble, 'It's not that good,' and other stuff like that."
"That can't be true!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Your parties must be awesome! In fact, I'm gonna let you plan the next party coming up."
"Really?" Cherry asked, smiling. She hugged Pinkie tightly and said, "Thank you, Mom! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Evernight opened the doors to the library and, no surprise to her, found Twilight sitting at her desk with several books either opened or stacked.
"You're predictable," Evernight said.
Twilight looked up. "I'm sorry?" she asked.
"When I arrived at this point of time, I thought to myself, 'My mother would most likely recognize her descendant, because I look like her, act like her, and I know everything about her, right?' I was wrong apparently," Evernight said.
"When you have proof, I'll believe you," Twilight said, closing her book.
"You know what?" Evernight asked. "You'll have your proof at the upcoming Magic Masquerade."
"And how's that?" Twilight asked.
"That's where you meet Dad," Evernight said. "Now, I'll be on my way to help my friends get situated here in town until we find a way back to the future."
"Wait a minute!" Twilight exclaimed. "You don't have a way back to wherever you're from?"
"Well, it's whenever I'm from, but yes," Evernight replied. "You're dealing with me until I get back home."
Twilight blinked. "Well, that's just great!" she groaned, banging her head against the table.
Evernight rolled her eyes, sighing. "Thanks a lot, Mom," she mumbled before leaving the room.
Author's Note
Look, another chapter!
