All Your Fault (Fallout Equestria with Pre-Reform Starlight)
Starlight Glimmer waited patiently. She always did. Sometimes the spell spat her out a minute earlier, sometimes only a few milliseconds. It was longer this time. There was a rising sound of gears and tearing behind Starlight, so she lazily turned around and charged some kind of offensive spell.
It was never fired, though. An eyebrow crawled upwards as the portal just sat there, no Twilight Sparkle or Spike to be seen. It was long enough that Starlight began to worry. Could something have happened to the spell? As she stretched her magic out to scan the integrity of the portal, a great plume of smoke and fire billowed out from the portal, along with an ash-covered alicorn, and a small dragon.
They crashed into one of the runways scattered about the flight camp and rolled head over hooves/heels until they came to a stop, lying on the ground. Starlight waited for them to get up, tapped a hoof on the runway, then began to worry. Shit, did something happen to them? The mare stood and slowly walked to the duo.
Please don't be dead. Starlight stood over Twilight and nudged the mare's horn with a hoof. She didn't stir. Starlight swallowed and nudged her horn a few more times, then moved on to poking Spike's stomach when Twilight didn't move. What could have happened to them? She looked closer. They're still breathing, so there's something.
Starlight's breathing picked up. What do I do? If she really is hurt, then I should get some kind of doctor here? But what would he say about seeing an ali- Starlight had made the mistake of turning away from Twilight, hoping to catch sight of anypony resembling a healer.
There was a loud crack of energy as Starlight felt something slam into the back of her head, sending her flying forwards. The mare's horn struck the asphalt, sending sharp stabs of pain through Starlight's mind, plunging it into unconsciousness.
When the mare came back around, she saw two very purple, very tired eyes staring at her own. "Good, you're awake." Starlight tried to charge a spell, but her mind seemed to shiver, sending all the important info on spells flying out of reach. Her horn throbbed with pain. "Don't bother. I've given you a drug that I designed myself. Breaks magical concentration then eases up to only block anything more complex than light or levitation."
Starlight tried to make out details of the darkened room then blinked. "You sucker punched me!"
Twilight smiled. "That's right! I am sorry about the horn, though. That's going to hurt for a while."
"Yeah, no kidding. I hit the asphalt at pegasus speeds!" Starlight gingerly touched her horn, then glanced back at Twilight. "So, what's this all about? Usually, you'd be giving me a speech on friendship by now."
The alicorn laughed, catching Starlight by surprise. "Starlight, you and I both know that's pointless at this point. I've given you everything I have, and more. I've shared every lesson from every letter I've sent to the Princesses, and you still somehow haven't given up."
"So... what are we doing here?"
Twilight's horn lit up, matching a point on the wall. There was an echoing pop as the room burst into light, causing Starlight to groan, and shield her eyes. When she was finally able to see, she realized that they were in some kind of bedroom, with walls covered in dirt and grime from years of age. Starlight was sitting on the bed, and Twilight was looking down at her.
"Where are we?" Starlight quickly jumped off the bed and began taking more detailed notes of the environment. Like the row of metal lockers next to a grimy whiteboard, the flat black panels that made up the floor, and the metal-and-glass box sitting on top of the metal desk. Starlight wanted to ask what the box was but felt it wouldn't be appropriate at that moment.
"We are in one of the many timelines that you created, Starlight. I've come here a few times to figure out where exactly it went wrong."
Starlight's eyes widened. "How did you get the spell to be that precise?"
"Practice and patience. Some of the timelines were safe, or intact, so I just hung around until I felt it time to return."
Starlight nodded, then looked around. "Where's your dragon?"
"Spike? On guard. It wouldn't do to have some monster wander into this place and catch us unawares, now would it?" Starlight gulped. "Anyways. I've spent a couple years in this timeline, each time trying to find some info on where exactly your meddling caused things to go to hell." Twilight shrugged. "There's nothing. Actually, as far as the official documents are concerned, you never existed."
Starlight's frown went even deeper. A chill ran down her spine. "What do you mean? Why are we here, then?"
"Well, I've decided that it isn't something you've done in this timeline that fucked everything up." Starlight flinched. "It's you. All of your time magic did this. Every time you sent me away, to a new timeline, somewhere out there a different Equestria got a little bit different. We've done quite a few repeats: you do the math."
A saddlebag flashed into existence, held up by Twilight's magic. She took out a device from the saddlebags; some kind of brown wrist device with a glass rectangle and some knobs on one side, and a shiny clasp on the other. Before Starlight could even react, Twilight pulled her hoof forward and slapped the device onto her wrist.
"Since friendship is clearly not the way I'm going to get you to stop, I've decided to do something entirely different. If you're alive by Wednesday morning, meaning you've got tonight and three days, I'll meet you at my library in Ponyville. At exactly 7 am, I'll cast a modified version of the time spell, taking Spike and myself back to Cloudsdale, where we will watch the sonic rainboom, then back home. If you are not there, then I'll leave you behind. No exceptions, no negotiations.
"I don't want to do this, Starlight, but you've forced my hoof. I simply don't have the energy to care about you anymore." Twilight looked down at the stunned Starlight with pitying eyes. "May the goddesses have mercy on your soul." There was a flash of lavender light as Twilight disappeared, leaving Starlight with a pair of saddlebags, a brown wrist device, and too many questions to count.
Author's Note
This one was never continued because I don't really want to do a full FoE story, even if I do have a set limit on the days. It was made because I wanted to read a story where Twilight and Starlight go to that wasteland timeline, and it's FoE. Plot happens, and they get stuck there.
