Back to Equestria

Princess Celestia sat in the main hall of Ponyville Library, in a suitably large chair at the end of the room. The rows of bookshelves made a suitable environment for serious conversations.

As always, she retained an unflinching regal composure, well-practiced and well-used over her thousands of years of rule. In those millennia, her royal mask had only broken twice.

It was about to break again.

Emmet Brown silently stepped into the oaken library, glancing around. He immediately noticed the princess, (who certainly struck an imposing figure, if not a “manly” one) and removed his hat, taking a step forward.

“Hello, uh, your highness Celestial.” Doc managed a shaky bow.

Celestia pursed her lips. “It’s Celestia, actually.”

Doc’s eyebrows flew up, as he hastily covered his mistake. “I’m sorry, y-your highness, Celestia. M-my apologies, I didn’t-“

“No, no, it is fine, Emmet.” Celestia gave a soft smile. “And please, there is no need to be so formal. Just ‘Celestia’ will do.”

“Celestia, then.” He did his best to return the smile. “I understand you have some questions for me?”

The princess nodded. “Three, actually. May we begin?”

“Of course! But, ah-“ Doc wrung his hands together, still nervous. “I was wondering if I could ask you two questions, as well?”

She nodded. “Of course. Perhaps you should go first, hmm?”

Doc nodded, grateful. “Thank you. Ah-“ his face grew intrigued, “-I was wondering, how did you know my name? My first name, I mean. I don’t believe I’ve mentioned it, while here.”

Celestia chuckled, soflty. “I believe I did mention the recursive nature of this timeline? I believe Marty has been wondering the same thing. You will have your answer once he returns, Emmet.”

“And what about this... energy manipulation, he now possesses? How did he come by that?”

The princess inhaled, as if to recall an old thought. “The full explanation is quite lengthy. I can deliver it to you at a later point, if you wish. However, I believe I can simplify it.

“All creatures are attuned to perform magic, even humans. This is done through the use of an extrasensory portion of the mind, known as a Third Eye, located at the center of the forehead.

“Human beings, long ago, developed the ability to actually tap into this magic. However, over the eons, it fell out of use, and the ability was lost. Despite this, the possibility was still there.

“Marty McFly is, I believe, descended from one of these more powerful magic users. Thus, when a large amount of magic surged through him, it did not kill him, but instead awakened these vestigial structures, and allowed the ability to mature.”

Doc stood there, gaping. “S-so, when he touched the ruby...”

“...he began his journey into a fully-fledged magus.” Celestia finished. “I believe he will be quite powerful when he is done maturing.”

Doc rubbed his chin for a moment. “That is astounding. Actual magic, by Marty McFly. Oh, I’ll need to do some tests, we’ll-“

The Doc’s face froze, then grew sad. “Oh, great Scott...” He faced Celestia. “What will this mean for Marty? When he returns home?”

Celestia sighed. “He can not ignore the magic. It will not go away. He will... need to learn to live with it. Needless to say, his life will be interesting.”

They both fell silent for a moment. Finally, Doc spoke up. “How do you know so much about humans?”

Celestia shot him a wry grin. “I believe that was more than two questions, Emmet.”

Doc didn’t respond. After a moment, he waved a finger at Celestia, giving a short chuckle. She chuckled back, equally as shortly. “My turn for question?”

Doc gave a mock bow. “My lady.”

Celestia looked at him for a moment, then allowed herself a hopeful smile. “...Right. I have three questions for you, Emmet.”

Doc nodded, and she continued. “The first. How fast can you fix your DeLorean?”

He thought about it for a moment. “I believe I told Twilight a few weeks, but with her help, I could probably do it in another ten days.”

Celestia smiled. “That is wonderful to hear. She is admirably curious- I take it she pestered you about internal combustion?”

“Oh, she still does. But she understood it faster than Marty did. Sharp as a razor, that one.”

“My student, you know.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes. First one I’ve taken on in nearly eight hundred years.”

Doc smiled. “Well, you made a good choice, I can tell you.” He clasped his hands together. “Now, your second question?”

“...Right.” Celestia stopped smiling, her face softening. “Have you ever... been struck by lightning, while inside the DeLorean?”

Doc blinked. “Yes, as a matter of fact. One-in-a-million chance, but it happened.”

“I-I see. So, it happened, and what... happened?”

Doc thought for a moment. “Well, there was an overload. In the Flux Capacitor, or perhaps the Time Circuits.”

She nodded, and Doc continued. “Well, they sent me back in time seventy years. I was stuck there, in fact, until I thought enough to leave Marty a letter. He brought the Time Machine back, so I could...”

Doc chuckled. “Well, it’s actually pretty complicated. At any rate, Marty went back to 1985, and the DeLorean was destroyed in the process.”

Celestia was honestly surprised at that. “Destroyed?”

“Yes. At my request.” Sighing, Doc wrung his hands together. “I felt, for a time, that time travel would cause nothing but grief, for all involved. As it did. But, I eventually changed my mind, and built another one.”

The princess thought about this for a moment. “Another DeLorean, you say?”

“Oh, no, not a DeLorean. I stayed in 1885, so I had to make it out of a train.” He chuckled. “Clara has it at the moment. The DeLorean we arrived in, well, it appeared out of nowhere. Someone sent us-“

“Clara?”

Doc blinked at the princess’s question. “Hmm?”

Celestia’s face was unreadable. “Who is Clara?”

Chuckling, Doc shrugged. “Well, she’s my wife.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the room darkened. Celestia’s eyes glazed over, and she didn’t respond.

Doc, suddenly uncomfortable, drummed his fingers on his hat.

Celestia closed her eyes, and inhaled. “Thank you, Emmet. Please send in Marty on your way out.”

Doc tilted his head. “Didn’t you say you had three questions, Celestia?”

Oh, mother, he said my name. Celestia smiled weakly to herself. If only I could hear it again. “That will be all, Emmet. Thank you.”

Doc nodded, and left.

Celestia released a shaking breath, allowing the full front of her sadness to rise to her face. I thought I could stand this and I clearly can’t. Luna was right.

After a moment, Marty walked in the door. Celestia immediately recomposed herself, smiling warmly at him. “Hello, Marty. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”

Marty chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “Well, it’s been a day. And a half.”

“More like seventeen years, hmm? But we of all people should know that time is relative.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, I heard of your adventures within your own world. With your parents?”

Grinning, Marty nodded. “My parents, and me. Let me tell you, literally walking on your own grave is not a fun thing to do.”

Celestia nodded. “I can imagine. Now, how well can you fly the DeLorean?”

Marty shrugged. “Well enough, I suppose. Although,” he rubbed his chin, thoughtfully, “if I had to, I would probably say I’m currently the best at it. Doc never drove much at all, before he had the finished time machine. Then, he didn’t really drive it that much, before it was destroyed. And he can’t work the hover conversion to save his life.” Marty snorted a bit at his own joke.

The Princess smiled in return. “Well, that’s good. Now, I need you to listen very carefully. The date you will have to go to is January 28th, 5,213 B.B., at 9:35 am. Do you understand?”

The human nodded. “One-two-eight, five-two-one-three, nine-three-five. Got it.”

“Wonderful. You should go to the center of what is now the Everfree. In that time period, there will be a royal estate, surrounded by a grove of orange trees. Land the DeLorean in the grove, then look for Starswirl.” Celestia smiled, softly, her eyes growing sad. “He’s a white stallion, with a faded red mane & beard.”

Marty committed the information to memory. “Alright, I think I can do that. But what’s the Everfree?”

Celestia pursed her lips. “The large forest, directly adjacent to Ponyville.”

“Oh! That. Okay, that’s not too hard.”

The Sun Princess tilted her head, looking at Marty curiously. “Have you met my sister, Marty McFly?”

“Your sister?” Marty shook his head. “Can’t say that I have. Is she night themed?” Marty smiled at his own joke, straightening his vest.

“Yes.”

Marty paused. “Oh. Well then.”

Celestia shook her head. “Well, for when you encounter her, her name is Luna. I have a feeling you two will get along.”

The human digested this for a moment. “...Alright, will do.”

“Good. Now, about Shining Armor.”

Marty cringed. “Ugh, what is with that guy? He’s a nutcase.”

“On the contrary, Marty McFly. Shining Armor is the captain of my royal guard. Typically, he has a calm, level-headed demeanor. This situation, however, is unique.

“Several months ago, his wife was kidnapped and impersonated by an evil creature called a Changeling. These creatures have the ability to take on the appearance of any being they choose, and feed off of love, like a parasite. He was oblivious to the switch until Twilight Sparkle revealed her for what she was, saving his fiancée’s life. Since then, he has been extremely paranoid.”

Marty let out a harsh laugh. “Paranoid meaning hostile?”

Celestia sighed. “No, not usually. But he had already been harboring feelings against you from your earlier encounter, when he was just a colt. The small duel you had then was his first major failure as a guard. He was only a child, and it impressed upon him deeply.”

Marty nodded. “Alright, I get that. But why is it a good idea to lock me and him in a time machine together?”

“Because, Marty McFly, I know that you are not an evil person. This journey will be the only way I can be sure that Shining Armor gets over his hatred of you, a hatred which is poisoning his mind. And, I believe he will be beneficial for the trials ahead.”

Celestia blinked, then added, “or, rather, the trials behind.”

Marty nodded. “Okay. What about Spike?”

Celestia pursed her lips. “Spike is important. Very, very important. I can only hope my student forgives me for what that young dragon needs to go through.”

Marty thought on her words for a minute, looking downwards. “But, he’ll be okay, right? It’s not like he’s going to die or anything.”

“Oh, no. Spike will not die on this venture. There are very few things I can guarantee you, Marty McFly, but Spike’s survival is one of them.”

“Alright then.” Marty folded his arms, settling himself. “If there anything else?”

“Nothing more.” Celestia affirmed. “Do you still remember the date I gave you?”

“One-two-eight, five-two-one-three, nine-three-five. Easy as pie.” Marty smiled.

“Wonderful. Thank you, Marty McFly. Would you please send in my student, after you leave?”

“Sure thing, Highness.” Marty turned and exited the library, thinking ahead.

Or, behind. Man, time travel would be some much easier if people could just get the tenses straight.

Marty watched Twilight enter the Library, then turned to the rest of the gathered. “Well, this is going to be interesting.”

Applejack cantered up to the human. “Marty, we’re gonna be headin home. Pinkie, Rainbow and Ah. Should prolly let ponies know where we’ve been, that sorta thing.”

“Alright, AJ. See you guys later.” Marty, Doc, and Spike bid the group a farewell as they walked away.

Spike awkwardly sat on the ground, having difficulty managing his hooves. “Augh, this is so annoying. Let me tell you, I’ve never been so appreciative of having opposable thumbs in my life.”

Doc chuckled. “Yes, thumbs are pretty great.”

Shining Armor growled, turning towards them from where he sat. “Horns are better, you monsters.”

Marty chuckled, raising his hands in mock defense. “Woah, a bit racist there, hmm Shiny?”

Shining’s face grew slightly despondent at the comment. He huffed and turned away. Marty frowned. “Hey, Spike, what’d I say?”

Spike twiddled his hooves together. “Uh, well, calling people ‘racist’ is a pretty big deal in Equestria. Cause, there are so many different species, and then different classes of those species,  being ‘racist’ is akin to being called ‘ignorant’.”

Marty’s mood fell. “Oh.” Sighing, he walked up, and sat down beside Shining Armor.

As he sat, Shining glared at him, but did not move. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah. Look, dude, I didn’t mean to call you ignorant. I was just trying to break the tension.”

Shining growled. “I do not care what insults you call me. You are a horrible monster, and I am only going inside that infernal contraption because my Princess has commanded me to.”

“You know, she told me you’re not usually like this.”

This gave Shining pause. “Who did?”

“Celestia. She told me you’re usually pretty level-headed and rational. But, she also mentioned you’re still a bit paranoid, because of the.... Shifters? Shiftlings?”

“Changelings. And perhaps I am being a bit defensive, but that’s completely normal when a time-traveling monster from your childhood kidnaps a foal.”

Marty gave the stallion an odd look. “Dude, that foal was Spike. He’s right there.” He pointed at the small pegasus, who waved.

Shining snorted. “Yeah, well, you’re still an unholy abomination. Nopony should be able to mess with time.”

“Didn’t your sister mess with time? She told me about it, when she-“

“That’s not the point!” Shining waved his hooves in the air angrily. “I just... augh. I don’t know. You’re evil.”

Marty grimaced. “That’s a pretty strong accusation, especially considering you ‘don’t know’, eh?”

Shining didn’t respond.

Shrugging, the human stood up. “Well, we’re not gonna hurt ya. So, I don’t know. Think it over.” Finished, Marty strode over to where Doc and Spike were speaking.

Seeing Marty walk up, Spike looked at him. “So, you guys all good?”

Marty shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s being a bit...”

Doc raised a hand. “Obtuse?”

“Yeah, that’s it. He just seems like an asshole, but all the little ponies tell me he’s a great guy.”

“Well, he is,” Spike countered. “I’ve actually never seen him this irrational. But you can’t really blame him, what with the-“

“-Changelings, right.” Marty shrugged. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to hope he calms down before our little sojourn into the past.”

“Yes, when are you going?” Doc asked.

Marty waved a finger. “Ah. I remember this.” He took a deep breath. “One-two-eight, five-two-one-three, nine-three-five. So, January 28th, 5,213 B.B., 9:35 AM.”

Doc blinked. “Alright. What are you supposed to do?”

“Find this Starswirl guy, give him the watch, and tell him to destroy it.”

“Well, that seems straightforward enough. I wonder what she’s talking to Twilight about?”

“No, Twilight, you may not go and meet Starswirl.”

Twilight’s puppy-dog-eyes widened, and her pout became more pronounced.

Celestia shook her head. “No! For once, your puppy-dog-face won’t work, Twilight. You may not go.”

Twilight’s face grew even sadder. “P-p-p-please?”

“NO!”

Marty waved a hand. “Important sciencey stuff, probably. Or magicky stuff.”

“Magicky stuff, that I may add, Marty,” Doc poked his friend in the chest, “that you can now do. As soon as we get home, I will of course be performing tests.”

Marty cringed. “How many tests?”

“All of them.”

He groaned. “Doc, that’s gonna take a month.”

“Marty, you can do magic. That’s an entire physical force, that no modern science knows about! Oh, Clara’s gonna have a fit when she hears about this.”

Half an hour later, Twilight emerged from the Library, immediately followed by Celestia. Twilight’s head was hung low.

Marty elbowed Spike. “What’s up with her?”

The pegasus colt shrugged his wings. “I dunno. I guess she was really bummed about not seeing Starswirl the Bearded.”

Suddenly, Twilight galloped towards Spike, and swept him up in a bone-crushing hug.

Spike pawed at his neck. “Gah! Air!”

Twilight loosened her grip, but wordlessly continued hugging. Spike was confused, but did not protest.

Celestia turned towards Marty and Doc. “Everything seems to be in order. If you are all ready, you can depart.”

Marty nodded. “Right.”

The DeLorean was still parked beside the Library. Marty walked over to it, reaching down to open the driver’s-side door. Shining Armor eyed him suspiciously, and Marty noticed.

He let the door hiss open. Shining flinched, and Marty waved his hands towards the opening. “After you.”

The unicorn eyed the DeLorean (and Marty) warily, then slowly put a hoof forward. Quickening to an unsteady walk, he approached the car.

He stuck his head inside the door, looking around. “How... interesting.” He gestured at the leather seats. “We sit here?”

Marty nodded. “Yep. We sit in the chairs, facing towards the window. When we move the controls, we move forward.”

Shining nodded, slowly. “Like a miniature train...” Finally, cautiously, he entered the DeLorean, and sat down on his haunches in the driver’s seat, looking pleased with himself.

Marty coughed. “Uh, Maybe move over one, boss. That’s the driver’s seat.”

“Wha-?” Shining glanced at the steering wheel in front of him, then squinted. “Oh, right.” He clambered into the passenger seat.

Marty nodded, then hopped in after him. “Come on, Spike.”

The small pegasus’s ears perked up at the mention of his name. “Be right there!”

Spike pried himself away from Twilight, then began to walk over to the time machine. Before he could take more than two steps, however, Twilight crushed him into her hug again, continuing not to speak.

“Come on, Twilight, I’ll be back before you know it.” The small pegasus pushed himself away from her, then quickly flapped outside of her reach. Giving a small wave, he finally made his way to the car, and clambered into the back seat.

With everyone inside, Marty turned the ignition. The engine flared to life, startling Shining Armor, who braced his hooves against the walls of the DeLorean.

Marty glanced at him. “Relax, dude, it’s just the engine.”

Shining nodded. “Right, right.” The stallion didn’t relax his grip.

Before Marty could close the door again, Celestia called out. “Marty! Do you remember the date?”

As an answer, Marty flicked on the time circuits. “January 28th, 5,213 B.B., 9:35 AM. We’re on it, your majesty.”

“Then good luck.” Marty pulled the gull-wing door closed, and stepped on the ignition. The DeLorean abruptly rose into the air, hovering ten feet off the ground.

“Gah!” Shining yelped, peering out the glass window. “Aauuuah!!”

Spike snickered. “Relax, dude, it’s just like flying in a chariot.”

“J-just like a ch-chariot.” Shining forced himself to calm down, taking deep breaths.

Sparing a sidelong glance to the panicking pony, Marty maneuvered the DeLorean into the air, high above Ponyville. “Alright, Sparky, now to go through time, we need to be going really fast.”

“O-okay...” Shining stammered. “How fast?”

Now, dear reader, I would like to spare you a bit of information. Eighty-eight miles per hour is not extremely fast, to you or I. However, we live in a world where personal motor vehicles are commonplace, and speed is measured in how many times over we break the sound barrier.

The only ponies to come even close to this speed are pegasi. Rainbow Dash had a perfectly wonderful time in the DeLorean, because honestly, she could probably outpace it ten times over. However, in the pony world, these speeds remained solely with pegasi, because the Friendship Express wasn’t particularly fast.

Shining Armor was not a pegasus.

Marty shrugged. “Eighty-eight miles per hour.”

“Eighty-eight! That’s that’s that’s...” Shining put a hoof to his chest. “Sweet Celestia.”

“Relax, Shiny,” Spike chimed in. “It’s cool. You can barely even tell you’re moving.”

“Really?”

Spike shook his head. “Nah actually you can feel it really well, it’s so fast. But it’s perfectly safe.”

Shining turned to Marty. “Really?”

Marty shook his head. “Nah. If this thing stops in mid-air, you’re probably going to die.”

The unicorn’s expression fell. “Oh.”

The human nodded, sagely. “Yeah.”

The three of them sat there for a minute, a thousand feet in the air.

After a moment, Marty spoke. “Welp, let’s get going.”

He floored the gas pedal, and the DeLorean shot forward.

“-AAAAAAAAA-” Shining Armor was screaming.

“WOOOOOO-“ Spike was whooping, his wings flared in excitement.

“AHAHAHAHA-!” Marty was laughing his ass off.

As the car rocketed forward, sparks began to flicker off the windshield. A halo of light formed at the front of the car, flickering in anticipation.

Marty glanced at the dashboard. “Eight-eight!”

There was a brilliant flash of light, and they were gone.

High above Equestria, four flaming tire tracks sped across the sky. They slowed, and eventually dissipated, leaving no trace that anyone was ever there.

Six thousand two hundred and fifteen years earlier, Equestria was a much different place.

Less than three centuries since the reign of Discord, and one more to go until the Equestrian Valley was founded. The Everfree forest extended throughout the entire country, with the occasional village.

It was a time when most ponies lived somewhere else, far to the north. Very few ponies ventured south this far, braving the Endless Everfree to seek adventure and knowledge. There were legends of a hidden palace, deep within the heart of the Endless Everfree, where, if one wished, they could seek hidden knowledge of the world.

It was thousands of feet above this old world that a young pegasus filly was flying. This little blue pegasus’ name was Twister, and she had a heart for adventure.

“It can’t be much further now,” Twister said aloud. “I bet the hidden palace is just around here somewhere.”

Twister had set out to the Endless Everfree with her parents. Her parents, however, didn’t make it. Continuing on her own, Twister sought her destiny at the Royal Palace.

“Come on, come on... Where are you you dumb old-“

BANG

Twister stumbled in mid-air, and she swiveled her head around, trying to find the source of the noise. “What the hay? Where did that come fr-“

BANG

“-om?”

BANG

There was a bright flash of light, and a giant metal bug appeared out of nowhere, flying through the air, faster than Twister could possibly follow.

The filly’s eyes widened, watching the giant bug-thing speed away. “Wow!”

Without a second thought, she zoomed after it, seeking the thrill of adventure.