Chapter 1- Timelines

Date: Over a decade after the adventures of Littlepip and Security.

Our settlement burned, terrified yells of old and young alike ripping through the air. Armored raiders added their rancorous laughter to the mix, taunting and cruel. Years of work, blood, and triumph crumbled into ash or burned with plasma fire.

Despite blood still coursing through my veins, my world had ended. His lifeless eyes gazed back at me, blood dripping from the lips that had kissed me only hours before. My new world consisted of ramming a crude machete through the side of the armored griffin that had sent his talons across my stallion’s neck.

A scream forced my hooves to pound into the cracked, blistered earth, my mind numb as I charged to the nearest building; a dome built of hardened clay and plaster. The neutral yellow tone was sprayed with red blood, most likely that of one of the watchtower guards. The rusty revolver in my magical grip clicked twice, one of the old rounds finally igniting to punch a hole through the nearest raider, a mare with serrated teeth that had been latched around the neck of one of the guards. I was yanked inside, my vision blurred as figures rushed to board up the simple door.

“Here! More boards!”

“That won’t hold them!”

“We only need a minute!”

Hooves dragged me to the center of the room, and my green eyes met that of my sister, her own amber orbs shining with fear, anger…and an emotion so rare nowadays. It was a look that gave me strength, as my sister always managed to do, despite being a year younger.

She looked at me with hope.

“Start the spell!” Autania barked, her voice as strong and powerful as always. Her marefriend was busy shoving more ruined furniture against the doorway, and a lone griffin traced strange runic circles underneath me.

“Good luck.” He whispered, then stepping back to trace a few more patterns, embedding them with his own magical power. White tendrils of energy latched onto his muscled frame, drawing every ounce of power from his being. A few memory orbs were scattered to the side of the runic circle; reminders of our goal and purpose. The six unicorns stood around me, just as we had rehearsed many times before. Despite bullets punching through the ceramic walls, the ponies stood firm, sending magical beams into the floor, where the runes began to slowly gain in strength and power. Teal light pulsed from the patterns like a heartbeat, quickening in intensity and speed. Zebra etchings added their power to the mix, stabilizing the transport spell as it threatened to tear itself apart.

“NO!” A cry rang out, a raider’s crude spear punching through the barricade and through a light blue mare’s side.

No…not Sky Spray. Autania didn’t deserve to lose her too…..

The spell gained in strength; to stop now would tear the building and all occupants apart. Exploding with a violent blast of shrapnel and splinters, the barricade failed, and raiders pouring in. A large stallion chuckled, casually plunging a knife into my sister’s side, the other unicorn’s following suit.I only saw her lips move in a single sentence as my world went dark, blood oozing from her lips as she collapsed to the floor, her horn still flickering with power.

“Go. Sisters…don’t…break…..”

The spell then activated, whiting out my vision in a never-never land of arcane energy.

While I couldn’t feel my body, my determination gave me more sense of self than anything. That was one of many tips to travel, at least from what I had learned, to keep your sense of ‘self’

They say the wasteland would draw and quarter any ponies with morality, with a heart. Anypony, or anyone, for that matter, would fall prey to the evil and desperate beings that roamed these lands. The wasteland took everything from its inhabitants. Families, friends, dignity, purpose; it never gave anything back. Nothing was returned but pain and suffering.

Yet there were those who strove to buck the wasteland in the teeth, to rip from it a piece of their life that they could call theirs. Their names were distant, legendary in stature and reference, but remembered nonetheless. Littlepip, her friends, Security, Watcher, so many others, any ponies who didn’t give up, as many did nowadays.

They changed things, whether permanently or not, that was not the point. The fact was, they did. I didn’t care about adding my name to that legendary list. I would be content with failure, because I- no, we would have done more than so many already. It wasn’t about revenge.

At least, that is what I wanted to believe. My sister wasn’t stupid though. She knew why I didn’t elaborate on why I volunteered for this, to chance getting torn apart by time and space. Everything I had lost, everypony I loved who died and bled out in front of me, it all could be traced back to the failings of a few individuals.

The wasteland has done few good things for me, but teaching me this life lesson is one of them. It taught me that even those who are seen as Gods can be held accountable. They will pay for their mistakes. The blood of millions is on their hooves. As I feel myself stretched thin, it is so easy to imagine the others I sense around me in the magical river of time are those souls who cry for vengeance.

My vision cleared, as it did with shorter jumps, test runs to ensure the archived spell was truly viable. I was blinded by the bright colors for only a moment. Everything was so crisp and clear, the air itself a sweet sensation filling my lungs. I allowed myself to enjoy it, if for but a second.

Then I saw her; radiant, and poised sitting on her throne, alabaster coat glimmering in the sun which she herself raised.

The knife, stamped with runes and enchanted with spell, darted forwards. No time to prepare, no time to dodge. It was a perfect shot, just how I imagined it would be. No fancy bullets for the one who destroyed the world, only a magical blade with layers of poison, both ethereal and mortal.

Then, a tremor.

Everything stopped, the knife freezing mid-air, as my vision began to run like wet paint in the rain.

No no no no no!

The spell was failing, collapsing on itself, and yanking me back to the river of time. There was no permanence, nothing to anchor me to this timeline.

As I felt myself get dragged away from reality, and my mind begin to shut down, I managed a final cry, and I hoped that white demon would hear it all the way to Tartarus.

“MURDERER!”

Near Future, Current Equestria.

The Dignitaries nodded to the royal guards, their golden armor glistening in the newly raised sun. Zebras, Griffins, and Ponies alike streamed into the grand hall of Canterlot Castle. The grand summit was more than a simple formality nowadays. As each nation grew, as did their needs. While supplies were stable for now, gems and coal were the hot topics of political circles nowadays. There were even talks of pirates beginning to loot shipments of gems, but those were only rumors, so far as official reports went.

The atmosphere was professionally tense, each faction having their own ideas and agendas for the conference, but an air of dignity reigned over the leaders. The Elements of Harmony would be present for later talks, more as a figurehead than anything else. Their unpredictable ventures forced for flexible planning when it came to any of them for attending.

The previous day had been a hearty meal, each nation leader being served dinners prepared by specially trained chefs from their own native lands, so no individual felt left out. Miffed as she was, Princess Luna was exempt from the conference; a few individuals still having outdated views on her temporary form as Nightmare Moon. It was a view that stubbornly refused to change on the Zebra’s part, more so due to their culture and bull-headiness than anything else. But, as Celestia reassured her constantly, “It is a work in progress.”

After the next morning’s meal, each nation’s dignitaries and rulers all met at a large oval table; each with custom-made couches and chairs carved from fine wood and set with plush cushions to each suit the anatomy of the sitter. The guards from each species lined the walls, the best of the best all dedicated to the protection of their charge.

Alabaster coat shining from a fresh grooming session, Princess Celestia rose from her seat at the table with a gentle smile, bowing her head to each pair of leaders.

“Thank you all for making the trip to attend this historic conference. I know it is not a scheduled affair, but I do hope you have been comfortable. As you all know, the…..main……” Her voice trailed off as none of the delegates were paying any sort of attention. Rather, their focus was the faint outline of a pony becoming visible in the center of the table. As the wood cracked and began to be eaten away by arcane energy, the delegates were temporarily deafened by the unmistakable shout of Celestia, her Royal Canterlot voice in full effect.

“SEAL THE CASTLE!”

Numerous magical spells activated, Luna detecting the same thing her sister was currently monitoring. Time travel spells were unmistakable when it came to magical signatures.

“Delegates, please stand back from the table. I believe we are about to have a visitor. I shall explain momentarily.” Celestia instructed calmly. As the zebras and griffins took a few steps back, the princess held up a hoof at some of the guards who were edging forward, both pony, dignitary, and royalty alike.

“Do not approach. This is a time travel spell, and quite a powerful one at that. This is no planned event or ruse on my part. The castle is now sealed to minimize damage to this time zone. I am not aware how much any of you know of spells that allow you to exist in the past, but they are extremely unstable. It may be a simple mistake, or something more serious, but all we can do is wait. Do not approach the arcane bubble. It will tear apart anything, or anyone that dares interfere. Whatever actions take place here could drastically affect the future, or not at all. I would ask for your co-operation, if not trust in this matter as we discover who our friend is.”

Each ruler could only nod as the energy continued to build; whatever their views of Celestia was, they could all agree that being wise was a common thread.

Purple and silver orb of twisting magical energy began to slow, and the image of a mare slowly resolved into existence. Clad in strange, alien clothing, and wielding a magically-enhanced dagger, pure murder shone in her eyes. Celestia didn’t even get a chance to utter a word as the weapon flew towards her; the runes on the dagger throwing aside any magical attempts to slow its path.

The weapon stopped, not a hoof-length from her chest. The image of the mare shimmered, but not before she screamed. A tear-stained expression of hate and anguish wrenched onto her features as a quickly-fading hoof was pointed at Celestia.

“MURDERER!

The visitor then vanished, the arcane orb contorting to twist itself into nothingness. The empty silence was a vacuum, every scratch and cough echoing around the rooms.

One of the griffon princes coughed, glancing over to the Princess hesitantly.

“Your majesty? Do you have any idea who-“

His question was abruptly cut off as another figure flashed into existence, this one a male pony. No arcane bubble accompanied his appearance, only a brief flash of light. Strange tattoos and markings scored his flank, and he actually managed a few steps, twisting with a spear in his mouth’s grasp, aiming once again at Celestia. He vanished a few feet from the princess, much like the other pony.

A griffin now appeared, this time lunging towards the questioning ruler. He was halted after only a few steps as well, the grey and black feathers sliding off his hide like paint, the time spell appearing to fail. Like the first visitor, he managed only a few words.

“You killed us all, you-“

The images were getting faster. The griffin hadn’t even faded before a zebra had blurred into existence and crossed the distance of the table, glaring at the soon-to-be prince, or their equivalent of it. A strange language left his muzzle, and the royal dignitary promptly scuttled backwards against the wall, a cold sweat breaking out across his entire body.

The zebra visitor pointed a hoof at the prince and uttered a few more words, shaking a strange staff at him before vanishing. No more visitors existed long enough to perform any communication, but instead began to flash faster and faster in and out of the circular hole in the table. Some aimed towards the royalty and delegates, others towards Celestia. There was no sound other than the soft popping of arcane magic as the phantom attackers blinked in and out of existence.

“What we are witnessing, is a break in the timeline, due to this being a nexus point. Celestia explained, clearly shaken by what the group was witnessing.

“The idea that every choice we make is another plane of existence. That is what is generally accepted. A choice has been made in a timeline, our timeline. That choice has spawned hundreds of similar choices. That choice, was to come here, at this time, but it seems to have spanned across all of our races. For what reason….I do not know. But this choice, whatever it may be, is focused on this day, and this hour. All these individuals are from different ways that choice has gone.”

A voice them piped up; a few of the guards turning to look across the room at the shivering royal.

“He said…’My family is cursed to bring death to us all. The spirits of the dead are watching, waiting for justice to be done to us. Death and agony is our legacy.” The zebra dignitary whispered, still staring at the flashing individuals.

The arcane travelers were flashing in and out of time far too quickly to be identified. An audible hum now filled the room as magical energy licked out from the point of entrance, melting any pillars or furniture it touched into slag.

The images then stopped, a single figure now standing in the smoking hole that was once the conference table.

The earth pony mare, a dark violet with stunning green eyes, looked at an odd device on her forelimb and nodded approvingly. A strange device was slung over her back; made of metal with belts and gears visibly turning with soft clicks and whirs.

A patchwork of wire and plates appeared to cover her vitals in a sort of fashioned armor, what appeared to be the barrel of a weapon strapped to her right side, a strange metal lead along her neck and near her mouth.

“Arcane fields stable, timeline adjustments correct, so it worked then…” She muttered, finally looking up at the stunned occupants.

“One of the last conferences before the disaster begins, and this world falls. I should be honored.” She huffed, calmly stepping out of the hole and onto the actual table, glancing at the large arcane burn scorched into the floor.

“Huh. Didn’t think the spell would be that sloppy, but I’m here, and that’s what matters.”

“And here you are, my little pony. May I ask why, and when, you have come here?”

It was Celestia who spoke, and the mare’s gaze matched the princess’s, not wavering in the slightest. Clearly there was nobody in the room capable of intimidating this mare.

“When? A couple hundred years in the future, give or take. The reason?” The mare’s face twisted into a pained grimace, a few tears in her eyes as a foreleg was wiped on the other, a bit of blood staining her fur.

“The occupants of this room are responsible for the deaths of millions. Zebra, griffin, pony….everyone and everything. It’s all gone. I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen. Maybe. Even with my help, maybe it does have to happen. But, maybe in one timeline, it will be set right.” Her eyes then grew even colder as she locked gazes with each dignitary, and then finally with Celestia.

“If nothing else, I will make sure I don’t break a promise.”

Author's Note

As always, feedback welcome! Just a story of what could have been, a happier ending to the FOE Universe.
Just a story that was inspired from a song; has been in my head for years. So here it is!