Author's Note

POVs: 3rd person, Twilight's, 3rd person, Celestia

The number of fingers you would have if you had 3 hands: Explanations

"What-" panted Luna. "the- hell- is wrong with you?"

Clover bit her lip. "I can explain-"

"You can?" snapped the younger mare. "Because it looks like you used my sister as a shield and nearly got her killed!"

"There's a perfectly logical explanation, just let me explain!"

"Alright then, go!"

Clover sighed. "Where to start......Well, for starters, you don't need to call me Clover anymore. My real name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm a time traveller from the future. Celestia's still alive then, so I figured it didn't matter what I did now."

"Prove it!"

Twilight's horn began to glow magenta and the collar of her cloak undid itself, revealing two large feathery wings. Everypony gasped, except Pinkie Pie and the orange Unicorn.

"Well, duh!" protested Pinkie Pie. "It wath thoooo obviouth! There wath even a thection from her POV where she admitted it!"

"What?" choked Kimono.

"It's a long story....." muttered Minty.

"I'm from the future too," added the orange stranger. "My name's Sunset. Sunset Shimmer."

"That still doesn't make it okay!" protested Luna.

Twilight wasn't in the mood to argue. "Sorry- she'll be okay- Sunset, you go check on her. Luna, have you introduced yourself to the others?"

"Yeah...."

"What was up with that weird light?" asked Scootaloo.

"The Elements of Harmony," answered Twilight Sparkle. "They chose you."

"What does that mean?"

"Hard to explain- magical friendship stuff-"

"Twilight....." muttered Sunset darkly.

"What?" asked Twilight. Luna looked up.

"Her pulse is getting weak, I don't think she's going to....."

Her voice trailed off, sighing.

"Oh no!" screamed Twilight. "Oh Celestia, what have I done?"

"Calm down-"

"I BROKE TIME! I CREATED A REALITY-BREAKING PARADOX! I KILLED CELESTIA! WHICH MEANS I WON'T BE HER STUDENT, WHICH MEANS I WON'T GO BACK IN TIME AND DO THIS, WHICH MEANS I WILL BE HER STUDENT AND GO BACK IN TIME AND-"

"Calm down, Twilight! Everything is going to-"

"I'M WORSE THAN STARLIGHT GLIMMER!"

"Everypony out of the universe!" ordered Pinkie Pie unhelpfully before eating herself.

"That's it!" yelled Twilight. "Pinkie Pie, you're a genius!"

"What, so you listen to her and not me?" protested Sunset.

Twilight ignored her and her horn began glowing. A second later she vanished and returned a second later. "Yes!" she yelled in triumph. There was a flash of magenta light and she and Celestia vanished. "

"She's lost it," whispered Sunset. "What am I gonna do..."

Okay, Twilight, everything's gonna be fine. Deep breaths. There's enough time.

I have no idea what I'm doing.

Oh sweet Celestia, what have I done?

I stared. Celestia's just lying there on the starry floor. She's still out cold. Great. Now what?

Thank Celestia that Celestia- I mean, present- I mean, future Celestia- taught me how to teleport here. Now......The spell?

"From all of us together, together we are friends, with the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end!"

Does this even work when she's unconscious?

After a few seconds she started to glow white, rising upwards. Yes! It's working! Everything's going to be okay!

A flash of light......

"She'll be fine."

"Wha-how-" spluttered Luna. "What did you do?"

She stared at her still-unconscious sister. Her eyes locked in place as they noticed the large Unicorn horn atop her head, and her massive feathery wings. "What did you- how?"

"Alicorns have more magic," explained Twilight. "they can survive things other races can't. If she was out any longer she was at risk of brain damage and we can't get her to a hospital out here. If she died now then that could potentially create a reality-breaking paradox."

"You must be fun at parties..." the dark blue mare muttered. Then she jumped forward, landing next to Twilight's ankle. "This is for almost getting my sister killed!" she declared before digging her teeth in.

"You know, that's a great way to get your jaw broken!" advised Twilight.

"Are you threatening me?" Luna asked, before biting again.

"No, it really is! Biting a pony's leg could trigger a reflex action causing them to kick out, which is almost garenteed to break your jaw!"

Luna let go. "Speak English! Or Spanish, either one works.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "When you bite ponies, they kick out."

At that moment Pinkie Pie caused a minor distraction by coming back into existence. "What did I mith?"

Twilight explained. Kimono stared. "Okay, knowing you were Twilight I can kind of let pass, but are we just going to ignore the fact that she ate herself, vanished, and came back into existence?"

"Oh yeah," muttered Minty casually. "She's been like that ever since she was alone with the monster. Nopony's quite sure why."

"You seem awfully casual about that!" muttered Sparkleworks.

"You get used to it."

Sparkleworks and Kimono doubted they would.

I fluttered my eyelids open, straining to remember what had happened. I stared around. We're not in the castle anymore, everything is grassy.......Did we come here on the way to Unicornia? I don't think so. I can see the palace in the distance. Judging by how far away it is, I'd say we're just over three kilometres away. Sine the average walking speed is 6.4 kilometres per hour, that means I've been out for about half an hour.

Half an hour? Shouldn't I have brain damage by now? And that's assuming that until now we've just spent the whole time walking, which seems unlikely.

I pushed that thought out of my mind, moving my front legs slightly. No leg injuries, no broken ribs. So far, so good. I stretched my back legs out. Nothing sore there.

I looked around. My glasses were on the floor a few metres away. That means that somepony cared enough to grab them. Luna? That seems likely. Kimono and Sparkleworks barely know me and Clover......well, it wasn't exactly betrayal, but it was selfish as anything and she clearly doesn't care about my safety.

I nervously raised a hoof to see if there was blood on my head. I felt a massive lump, too big to be a bruise. I felt up it and found it extended around the length of my foreleg and ended in a sharp point. A Unicorn horn? But.....that's impossible.....

I sat up, staring at myself, and gasped in shock as I saw them.

Feathers. Wings. Two massive, feathery wings. On me. One on each side. What. The. HELL?!?!

I must just be seeing things. I reached out with my hoof and grabbed my glasses, shoving them on and looking back. The wings.....they're still there. What's going on? Why are they there?

I heard hoofsteps and looked up. Clover was trotting towards me. She's not wearing her cloak. It looked like there were feathers on her sides. What? I must be seeing things. I backed away. "G-get lost!"

"Don't worry," she said in what I think was supposed to be some sort of reassuring tone. "I know, that stunt of mine in the palace looked bad, but-"

"What did you do to me?" I demanded, gesturing towards my wings and discovering I could move them. Does that mean it's not a hallucination?

"I can explain!" she stuttered.

"Get away from me!"

I struggled to my hooves. My legs shook under my weight. In that second, I gained a great respect for all Pegasi. Wings are heavy!

"Celestia," ordered Luna. "Let her expain."

I stared. Had Luna betrayed me? No, that's impossible. Did Clover tell her something? Maybe. She actually has an expanation? I doubt it.

"Alright then," I decided nervously. "Explain. You have ten minutes to satisfy me or I take Luna and gallop for it."

"What? Ten minutes?" she spluttered.

"Hurry up or I make it five."

I realise that, as a young mare with no battle tactics whatsoever and two new limbs that I don't know how to use, I'm not really in any situation to make threats. But if she is just a psychopath and a good actor, then she must still need me or she would have just killed me and pretended it was because I had been badly injured. If I have a reason to stick around, then I will.

"Alright," she began. "How would you react if I told you that I'm actually from the future and I can time travel, and my real name is Twilight Sparkle, and she-" she gestured towards the orange Unicorn- "is named Sunset Shimmer and from the future of an alternate universe?"

"What?" I choked.

"It's true."

She turned to her side and I saw the feathers on her sides. Is that what she looks like without the cloak?

The next thing I knew, I was looking at a Unicorn. With massive wings. What the hell?

"I can explain," she repeated. "In the future, ponies make a spell that turns ponies into Alicorns. Long story. Anyway- I know you in the future, so I assumed that it didn't matter what I did now. Long story short, my stupidity almost got you killed and then I changed your species to save you."

"What?!" I demanded.

"You heard me."

I stared for a few seconds. "Okay," I mumbled. "I'll stay here. But if you pull anything like that again....."

"Hey guyth! Watch thith!" called a voice. I turned to see one of the Earthponies we had rescued- a pink mare, with lighter pink hair and balloons for a Cutie Mark. She ever so slightly nudged a tree with her hoof, and the tree collapsed over. "But- but-" I spluttered. "Newton's third law! How is that-"

"A draconequus altered her genetic structure," explained Twilight.

"How does that work? Like, is completely throwing physics out the window a dominant or recessive trait?"

"Dominant. And thinking with a lisp is recessive."

"My name ith Rothamena!" she introduced, trotting over to me. "The narrator thaid your name ith Thelethtia, right?"

"What?"

"Don't ask," advised a young orange Earthpony. "Her real name is Pinkie Pie. I'm Scootaloo. Do you want to play hoofball? Or basketball? Or underwater basketball? Or frisbee? Or golf? Or naked frisbee golf? Or-"

"Sorry," apologised a dark pink mare. "my sister's an idiot. I'm Cheerilee."

A green pony with pink hair trotted forward. "Hi, I'm Minty!"

"And I'm Rainbow Dash!" introduced a blue pony near the back.

"The name's Toola-Roola," said another pale pink pony.

"I'm StarSong!" said the purple Pegasus.

The white Unicorn filly stumbled forward. "I'm Sweetie Belle!"

I smiled. "So, can we get back to Ponyville?"

They all just stared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Err," Cheerilee muttered. "Celestia......Ponyville is gone."

"What?"

"I saw it," explained StarSong. "It just went black and vanished."

"WHAT?"

Twilight sighed. "Your Ponyville is gone. I'm sorry."