All For One

Lucille speedwalked out of Cyrstal Prep, her coat tails picking up some wind and moving about. Io jogged after, carrying their backpacks after a long day of school.

"Sis, can't we slow down?" Io asked, whining. "I think I forgot something."

Lucy scoffed and pushed forward, the sun dipping down behind the school. The day itself was like any other, but she had to go, and quick. The amount of homework that piled up and the fact that a new curfew was made by her parents made that she would have to hurry home.

"We'll be fine." Lucy said. "The worst is that somebody might leave the locker open, so let's get home quick."

Io huffed, shaking her head and readjusting the straps on the bags. She didn't like to be rushed because she always forgets something. "Fine. . .but I wonder how Alister is doing."

Sunset Shimmer walked outside of Canterlot High with Rainbow Dash and Rarity, the athlete and fashionista intent on hearing her take on the new arrival, as well as Twilight's mental state in recent months.

"So, he just didn't shake Pinkie's hand? That's kinda odd, even a goofball like her can make anybody her friend," Rainbow hopped down the stairs, two at a time. "Even Cranky."

"I agree, darling." Rarity said. "The way he interacted with Principal Celestia was certainly curious. And he just took a seat and drew in his notebook."

Sunset began to find that strange. Even when they had that 'talk' in the hallway, it left her down in the dumps a little. From his mysterious way of talking to the almost blank look on his face made it to where his intention could be anything.

"And you said that he might be from Equestria?" Rarity wondered, folding her arms.

"Maybe-" Sunset shrugged. "I remember when we fought. I kinda felt that. . .energy. It was faint, but I was able to get a feel for it. Either that or he's just that bent out of shape, kinda like I was before Twilight came along and. . .you guys did what you did.''

''Oh, yea,'' Rainbow blushed a bit, chuckling. ''We did do that.''

''But on a more pressing note; do you think we should get to actually finding out what his intent is? Or should we just leave it be?'' Rarity asked.

'Hmmm,'' Sunset thought, taking a seat on the stairs. 'Down one way, he just might want to be left alone. And I'm sure Celestia wouldn't want another issue like when I rose to take over the school to happen again.'

Before the she could voice another thought about it, Rainbow Dash beat her to the punch. "I think I got an idea.''

''Oh, goodness, no,'' Rarity groaned, backing away from Rainbow. ''When you have ideas, they always backfire in some way.''

Rainbow scoffed, crossing her arms and giving the straightest face ever. ''That was only one time; and what happened to faith in your friends? For all you know, it could be the best plan we may just have before we let Twilight interfere and make it even worse.''

Sunset and Rarity saw her point. The least we could is see what it is. ''Fine, darling. What is it?''

''I know how we can do this; Sunset and you can talk to Egghead and see what she has to say about her 'project' or whatever, and I can go and talk to someone who has what we need.''

''A-And what's that?'' Sunset yawned.

''Direct info,'' Rainbow said. ''Direct info, and it'll be so easy to get.''

Alister walked down the street of which Canterlot was located, only he was so far down, the school was long a blur in his mind. He walked down rows of homes, some 2 or 4 family flats homes, while the majority was single houses with varying levels of intricate brick design. He even saw some houses with awnings and small fountains with birds chirping about. If there was one thing that he knew, it would be that he would have to keep up his appearances for the benefit of keeping others in the dark. He stared down at the sidewalk, noting the very small cracks here and there. He one one thought on his mind.

''I only hope that the concept of time travel is like the way we put a theory to,'' Alister muttered, digging through a pocket to uncover a phone, the design plain and simple. It was black all around, with no noticeable buttons on the screen, as it was touchscreen. A few scratches here and there shone through the screen protector. Turning it on, the home screen came to life, displaying a picture of the one thing that he swore to right. ''I won't fail. The only ones who can fix this mess is myself. . .and that person. . .if they're still kicking,'' he dialed a number and stopped in front of one house, waiting.

''Hello?'' the phone picked up after three rings.

''It's me,'' Alister said back, his voice entirely calm. ''You said to call if I needed your help?''

''Somewhat true,'' the voice purred back, snickering a bit. ''That and also if you actually called, then it would be for the very thing we have in common. I assume you are outside?''

Alister breathed in and out came a heavy breath. ''Yep. 1543 Grand Park?''

''The very same. And Alister? Welcome back,'' the voice replied with glee.

''It'd be good if I didn't have to come back for this, but too much is on the line for us to do nothing. So this would be the time where us working together really would be the best of both worlds.''

Click!

''. . .I agree. Come on in.''

Walking inside of the somewhat small, burgundy house, Alister opened the door to see an assortment of candles, some lit in a particular way, some lit while some where not. The walls, a dark green were decorated with pictures of rivers, marshes and forests. The furniture inside gave the impression that only one person lived here.

Closing the door and sitting down on the small loveseat, Alister waited and hummed a small tune. A few seconds later, a figure emerged from the back room.

"Hello, there, Alister," the figure appeared as dark as night itself. The dress, long and simple accented the darkness of her skin tone. "How have you been?"

"You know, not really good if I have to come to you for help, Chrys," Alister rubbed his head. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

Chrysalis smirked, waving her fork and bowl of steak and egg breakfast. Her eyes almost closed completely, the green in her irises seeming to glow. She was always one for the dramatic, but this was a old friend of hers, so she could make an exception. "No problem at all. It's only a good talk between two good friends."

"Is it really?" Alister asked, sounding tense. "It's been a minute since I seen you, so I would think you cut me out."

"I wouldn't have if I picked up the phone, now would I?" Chrysalis pointed her fork at him, frowning. "But tell me the specifics and we can take it from there.''

Alister saw that she had a point; so he continued with his business here. He cleared his throat and loosened a few buttons on his black collared shirt and leveled with her. ''It. . .happened. I was sent back. By Adagio.''

Chrysalis paused, a audible hmmmph coming from her throat as she took another bite. Was he telling the truth?

''Are you being for real?'' she asked, scooting her chair closer to his. ''If that happened, then-''

''Then it really does mean that they went through with their plans to change the world, yes,'' Alister whispered, some words beginning to crack. ''But what I still find a little bit puzzling is that she reason why she had to be the one to send me back when I could have easily done it myself, and it wouldn't put me off course.''

''Are you sure that it put you off course?'' Chrysalis questioned, her lips in a straight line.

''What are you getting at?'' Alister asked, accepting the fork and bowl when she motioned for him to try some of her food.

''What I am getting at,'' Alister observed her walking around the living room, taunting the candle's flame with her fingertips. ''could be the result of a planned outcome. If what we saw all those years ago was to be true, then when you woke up, you were at where it all started; Crystal Prep. Often the solution to a problem is what caused it in the first place.''

Chrysalis held about as much knowledge about the events to come as Alister did. Meaning that it would difficult to determine the outcome of an event with so many unknowns.

''Say we believe that. How come unlike last time, they didn't remember what they did? Did we come too late to stop them?''

''Try right on schedule. You hold about as much hate as I do for those detestable girls, if not more. So what we can do is to stop them in their tracks before they can gain any real footing,'' Chrysalis said, weighing the options to do nothing or risk it all. ''But are you certain you want this? Killing may not really the best of ways to instill fear into someone as I look at it, but what are your thoughts?''

That forced Alister to go back in the deepest parts of his mind to extract the reason why. The confusion, the hate, the fear, the beatings, the disrespect, the threats, the death, and most of all. . .the laughter. It fueled him to push past his limits again and again for the sake of survival. He made a vow to himself that he would never allow anyone to belittle him upon this, or any time. In his heart, Alister knew corruption as his mentor, and the way he would use said corruption made him someone worth having to look back a second time.

''Yes.'' Alister said, after a long silence to himself. ''I am. Whatever comes, it will be a choice that I made, and the results will be just what I want. And all the while, I will make them feel what I felt, down to the last thought. if my hate for one person is a river of blood, then multiply that times 6, and it will be a maelstrom of it,'' Alister clenched his fist and growled. ''I swear it.''

''Mmmm, well spoken. I expected nothing less, but now comes the actual work. We need to work on altering the past as best as we can; only then can we proceed and start to weed out our frustrations with total abandon,'' Chrysalis turned on the TV, flipping through channels until she got to the news. On it, they both saw a face that sparked their interest immediately.

''And now we turn the mic over to the principal of one of the most prestigious schools in the city, Principal Celestia of Canterlot High, '' a news reporter handed the mic over to the her, the camera panning to reveal her face with a few faces.

''Thank you. It is my great pleasure to announce that thanks to the efforts of Mr. Fancy Pants and Mr. Iron Will have both poured their time and money into ensuring that Canterlot's 25th annual Fall Formal dance is to continue on strong for many years to come,'' the camera observed the two in question talking among themselves and laughing. ''Due to the carelessness of a few individuals, whom I will not name, all seemed to be lost. But friends can appear in any fashion, and I just want to be the first to say-''

''That you want to thank them from the bottom of your gold-plated heart, yada, yada, yada. It seems that you really are a good Samaritan, aren't you?'' Chrysalis turned to a different channel, hearing the sizzling of bacon in a pan as a cooking show was going on.

''That just gave me an idea.'' Alister said. Chrysalis looked puzzled.

''Okay, I might as well bite; how?''

''If you remember, it was Sunset who had a big hand in making the Fall Formal a mess when she showed up."

"True, and that led to those girls banding together to stop her, your point?"

"Maybe if we had a hand in doing that ourselves, we could pit the blame on them, thus leading to a possible shift in the timeline.''

Chrysalis got up, the seat creaking and giving way a little as she sat back and pushed her hair back. ''It's a start, but how much will the two of us waste doing this?''

''Not that much, seeing as I go to school there, and all I would have to do to get you in is say that you're a volunteer, plus you were an alumni there, so that should help,'' Alister smiled. Then he looked a bit sheepish as he asked; ''Mind if I crash here for the night?''

''I thought you'd never ask,'' a blanket was tossed in his direction. ''The couch is yours for however long you need it.''