The Tides Of Fate

It has been a few days ever since Ryuji started attending Canterlot Academy with Celestia and Luna. Because of what he had done in the lunchroom on the first day, he has become quite popular with the unpopular cliques of the school. Which he preferred. It was those very kinds of ponies one could truly count on in a bind. Even the goth crowd took an interest in him, and they hate interacting with someone who doesn’t dress in all black and heavy black makeup. The skater crowd couldn’t be any more impressed with him if they tried. As they have seen what he could down on his K-Drive and immediately accepted him into their fold. Celestia herself always kept him company when they had free time which meant she hung out with the unpopular bunch as well, not that she had a problem. She got less bored! That, and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her lover. It was only natural.

It was the middle of the day. Ryuji and Celestia were in their science class as partners. Not only did they make an excellent couple, but they made amazing study/lab partners as well. Before Ryuji started coming here to this school, Celestia’s grades had been slipping. Not because she wasn’t intelligent. It was simply because the ponies that she was working with wouldn’t help her because they would either just stare at her like drooling idiots or not have the nerve to treat her like any other pony. But seeing how long he has spent with Celestia, Ryuji was just the right being to help her. It made him happy to be able to help his princess be the best student she could be.

“So then, we put this much of the liquid into this tube, then let it sit for a few moments, letting bubble, then add just a drop of the mixture from earlier. Be careful now, Tia.”

Celestia nodded nervously as she held to two test tubes in her hands, her grip was firm but shaky as she had never done this on her own before. Ryuji noticed this and carefully took her hands into his as he approached her from behind. This made her blush heavily, but when he took her hands, she immediately started calming down.

“Are you alright, Tia? Here…”

He then began to angle her hand with the mixture in it to let just a drop pour into the other. Once it goes in, it start to bubble and pop, going from a light green to a deep blue. Celestia’s face went from nervous to cheerful as the desired color was met. She careful sat the tubes on their rack and scooted in close as both she and Ryuji wrote on their worksheets with the progress they have made.

“Okay! So this is the proper concoction for a basic cold and flu potion. I can’t believe we got it done on the second try!”

“Heh, there was bound to be trial and error on the first go around, Tia. Nothing is perfectly achieved on the first try unless you were born with the natural talent. Just remember that just because you are a princess, that doesn’t mean it’s the only thing you can be a pro at doing. The whole ‘preordained destiny butt mark’ you all have going on just...irritates me. Why should you only be confined to one thing?”

Celestia giggled and gave him a gentle nuzzle while the teacher was looking away. Public display of affection in school was frowned upon by them if they saw it.

“That’s why you are so lucky to not have to worry about such things. Anyway, we better finish up here. The sooner we are done, the sooner we can go home. Lulu has already finished her classes for the day and she might find that piece of double icing cake I hid behind the stuff in the fridge…”

Ryuji wanted to laugh aloud at that. It always amused him at how serious she got about cake. But he just gave her a light chuckle and nodded.

“Oh no. That would be a terrible tragedy! To not have a big slice of cake to go with your ice cold milk? The world is doomed!”

He said as he placed a hand over his chest in a falsely concerned manner. He then chuckled as Celestia puffed her cheeks up at him with a rather unamused expression on her face which then softened up with a light smile as she knew he was only teasing her as couples usually do. She didn’t have anything to tease him about back simply because he never revealed anything that she could do so with. Oh but the future her knows exactly how to do just that.

Once they finished up their assignment for the day, they both handed in their work after showing the teacher that they had completed it. They made there way out of the classroom and immediately, Celestia took his hand into hers and laced her fingers with his. Ryuji smiled and gripped her hand firmly as they walked out into the main schoolyard to make their way back to the castle.

“So Ryu. What are your plans later after you relax for a bit? I was hoping you and I could...Ryu…?”

A look of concerns fell over Celestia’s face as Ryuji stopped dead in his tracks. His face had gone pale with a wide-eyed look of slight fear and disbelief as he saw who was standing in front of him. He stepped back a few times, his body began to visibly shake as he saw…him. There, in front of him stood the one being he had thought he had gotten rid of for good. But here he was…

“Hey, kiddo. Long time no see. You have been pretty busy haven’t you?”

Ryuji’s heart rate rose higher and higher as the figure before him didn’t seem to disappear no matter how many times he blinked. Celestia looked in the direction that he was facing to actually see what he was seeing. She knew why he was acting the way he was now. As if being an exact copy of him wasn’t enough, she could feel the dark intent radiating off of him. And those black and gold eyes weren’t helping at all.”

“You...I killed you. Why are you here? Why now..? What do you want?!”

The doppelganger looked at him with a confused look then gave a dark and ethereal chuckle, just as his voice was when he spoke.

“Oh, you only severed my hold on you permanently. But that doesn’t mean you are rid of me. I am always going to be here to observe you, kiddo. As long as even a little bit of void energy is inside you, I am going to be there, watching. Not to mention, I am that dark side of you that will never fade. As a tenno, you should know this. I am merely a guide for you these days. What you do is totally up to you now. Be it murderous intent or a helping hand. YOU make the choices now. Always have.”

Celestia took a defensive stance in front of Ryuji with a glare directed at the void demon. She didn’t know what was going on. But she was going to protect him if she had to.

“Whoever you are, why do you torment him so? What exactly did you do to him to cause him such distress?!”

The double smiles lightly and just shrugs as if it was a mere small situation.

“Oh, just tried to take over his body for my own, threatened to kill the future you and any of his other friends should they get in my way after a successful takeover. You know, something that a chaotic entity that lives within a powerful being would do. After all, you don’t know Ryuji as I do. I shared his mind with him for over a thousand years, even as he slept.”

Celestia’s eyes widened and her pupils shrunk at how….casual the double spoke those words. It only made her take a more defensive posture in front of Ryuji, her horn glowing a bright golden glow. It was clear that she was extremely angry with the entity in front of her.

“I don’t care, you won’t cause him any more trouble you...vile demon!”

The double suddenly slides up right into Celestia’s face with a dark smile. This made her freeze up in terror at how sudden and fast he was.

“Oh, you will see me again and again, princess. Every time he gets angry, enraged or even murderous, watch for the shift in his eyes. As I will be watching and enjoying the show. You can count on that.”

With those final words, he disappears in a black aura with an eerie laugh. Celestia turns to see Ryuji on his knees with the same look of fear on his face. His hands were shaking as Celestia took them into her own, squeezing them assuringly as she brought herself to his attention.

“Ryu. Ryu, look at me. It’s alright. I am here. He is gone.”

Ryuji looks up from the ground to Celestia. His expression slowly softened as he stood back up and shook his head to snap himself back.

“I am fine now. Thank you, Tia. I just...never thought I’d have to see him again after what he did. But, it seems like that is no longer the case since he has made himself known once again.”

Celestia gently takes one of his hands into hers again and gently pulls him along.

“Come on, let's get home~. I nice hot bath will make you feel better. And yes, I do mean with me.”

“Wait. What?”

--Later--

The bathroom was full of steam as the water from the faucet flowed into the large tub. The water shifted and rippled as both Celestia and Ryuji made their way into the water and lowered their bodies into the soothing hot water. Celestia was quick to wrap her arms around him from behind and pull him into her lap. Her heavy breasts pressing against his back and her wings wrapped around his form as she rests her chin on his shoulder giving him loving and gentle nuzzles. Even in this time..and at her age, she knew just how to comfort him in his favorite way.

“There we go. Now just relax my love. It’s just you and me here now…”

She said as she gently rubs her soft, warm hands up and down his torso both in front and back. It wasn’t so much as a lewd caressing, but a comforting massage and rub down to take away the tension that had built up in his body. She could see it in the way he stands and walks. His shoulders were always so high and tense even more than a guard who drew the short straw on going tonight patrol in the lower parts of Canterlot.

“Are you always so tense, Ryu? I can only imagine what the older me has to do to help you unwind when you get like this…”

He lets out a grunt and sigh of relief as he feels the tension slowly leaving his body. He relaxes against her soft, plush, warm form as he lets her tend to him in this manner. It truly felt wonderful. But he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t miss the way her older self did it.

“Heh, the older you did it more lewdly than this. But, this is very very nice. I can feel the stress melting off my body with this. I truly appreciate this, Tia.”

“Mmmh, you need not even give it any thought, Ryu~. As your future wife, it is only natural for me to make sure that you feel relaxed and loved at the end of the day. When you told me about us from your time, I made up my mind to get a headstart, and I wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

He nodded and turned his head to gaze at her.

“I certainly wouldn’t have said no, not now. I love you, Tia. No matter how old or young I see you in these time jumps, I will be only yours. That much is clear. I just hope that I am not altering my time flow too much to cause negative effects. Though, I do miss being in my original time. I miss not only you but the others as well.”

“Others?”

She asks in a curious tone as she brings her hands to his back now, grasping his shoulders and rubs the tension out of them and she gently peppers his neck with kisses and nuzzles as she listened to him speak.

“Yeah, six other mares who play a rather vital role for many, many, many years to come. I cannot go into too much detail about them. But, just know that they are the first ones who showed me that I belonged here in this world. Especially a certain bookworm who I care very much about.”

Celestia smiles and ‘hmmm’s lowly as she wonders just who these mares are. But if he couldn’t tell her, then she wouldn’t press the matter. She was just happy that he was surrounded by many who care for him in his time, knowing she had absolutely nothing to worry about.

“Well, that makes me extremely happy knowing this. But once your reason for being here ends, how will you return?”

“Well, I suppose it will do what it does after every time jump. It will return me to my present time.”

Ryuji suddenly remembers something and gives a chuckle.

“If I remember correctly, there was an old saying from a character from a book that was published in my universe. He was a wizard that was the head of the magic school or something. And he said “Mysterious thing, time. And when meddled with, dangerous.” I should have taken that quote to heart when all this was going to happen to me.”

Just as he started to relax more, he heard something going off in his pants pocket that he had neatly folded up with his other clothes and armor. He knew what it was too. He quickly jumps up out of the water which surprised Celestia. He makes his way glowing source that was in his pocket it and takes out the coms device. It was sparking blue as if it was imbued with some kind of magic. Once he presses a few buttons, the large full screen holographic that stood about his height appears in front of him, giving a full view of the surrounding both to him and the viewer on the other side. At first, the image was blurry and the voices were hard to make out. But once it became stable his eyes widened as he heard the voices of and saw Celestia and Twilight.

“Ryu? Can you see and hear us?! Hello?!

Shouted Twilight as she continued to fumble with the device. Ryuji was amazed that this thing could work over different times. Could it be because he has gone through time so many times that the magic that does send him drew to his form and affected what he had on him at the time of the jump?

“Y-yeah, I see and hear you both perfectly. What I don’t understand is how…”

Celestia looked up and down at her fully naked fiance and then behind him.

“I...see you are in the middle of a bath. I am just happy you are safe, I was so worried-...”

“Ooooh wow, so that’s what I look like when I get older?! I look so pretty!”

The room fell silent as both Celestias made eye contact. Both of them speechless for many reasons. Twilight met Ryuji’s gaze which had an “Oh shit, How’s this gonna go down?’ look to them. Perhaps he shouldn’t have answered that coms call...

"Heheh, how are you going to get out of this one, kiddo?"

"Shut up..."

He conversated with his double in his mind.