A Matter Of Time

by Lspaceship

Rating: teen
Tags: Violence, Crossover, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dungeons and Dragons, Alternate Universe, Princess Luna, Changelings, Original Character, Adventure, Discord
Length: 3919

When a Purrsian from a time filled with the Chaos without the princesses was hurled back to a time before the Harmonic Return, there can only be one thing to do. Overcome all challenges and find a way back to his rightful time and family.

Formsu is a member of the PBB, the greatest warriors against Chaos in the reformed nation of Equestria. The threats of Discord that he face are among the most dangerous the Mad God can throw at him. But when he is thrown back to a time before the Return of Harmonic forces, he must find a way back to his home, and his family.

But how can a lone Purrsian stand against every challenge that comes his way, as forces both Chaotic and Harmonic work to limit his workings in this time?

Hello all! This fic is based on a Ponyfinder game that I play with a couple friends of mine. I fell in love with my character, and found myself writing about him in my spare time. I showed it to a couple people, and they urged me to publish it here. This is my first time officially publishing something to a site like this, so please leave constructive criticism.

Also, each original character I have mentioned and will mention in the future have a Pathfinder class. I'm not going to mention them directly every time, but there should be enough hints for readers to figure it out. It isn't necessary but should be a pretty cool thing to look for in the fic.

Cover art by Crazeguy

Huge thanks to the following for prereading this!
The author of smugbug and co, Carapace
Author of The Bug in Camouflaged Armor, vDrake 77
Sir Needs To Write More Fics, River Road

Published 2018-08-10 22:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-08-29 23:52:05 UTC

A Historic Recap/The Chaos Priest

The Time of Harmony was a beautiful age, ruled over by the Four Princesses in harmony, as the world became a better place for the chaotic and harmonic beings. The Doppelgangers were supposedly changed to pastel bug-ponies, the spirit of Chaos had friends, and was peaceful.

Harmony reigned over the land of Equestria, with it's Champions bearing the Artifacts. Technology and Magic we're advancing rapidly, and even more beings were bonding with each other under the Twilight Princess. Nothing could stop them.

How little they knew, how wrong they were.

Historians, as rare as they are, disagree on how it started, but the spirit of Chaos flew into a great rage. The most common rumour was his favoured pony had died of old age, and that his chaos magic split him in two. The kind prankster that he was in the past faded, as the Unspoken, his rage consuming him, began unleashing ancient and chaotic races who were created during the Discordant Age. The greedy Purrsians, honourable Clockwork Ponies, Phoenix Wolves, and Sun Cats being the most common ones. These chaotic races were hunted down and sealed due to their tendency to serve the one who created them.

The Princesses, (Celestia of the Sun, Luna of the Moon, The Harbinger Of Love, and The Revealer Of Secrets), clashed with the trickster, not realizing that the faith of the chaotic races, who were released in the conflict, fed The Unspoken power beyond measure. For a year they fought until finally, they were able to stop the mad beast. It came at a great cost, however.

The five entities had used the last of their great power, and had a choice: die and be forgotten, or ascend to full godhood, being fed by their disciples. The answer was obvious to all of them, and they shed their mortal forms to rise and become legends. They could not guide the world if they were dead, after all.

A century passed, and the world became a dangerous place, with bandits and creatures of chaos ruling the wilds. Yet followers of the Entities remained, worshipping and plotting their return.

In one town, that of Compitales, a force for harmony sprung up, determined to help save the people, and stop threats to the fragile peace that has spread through the civilized world.

Temple of Chaos, 723AA(After Ascension)

The priest of Unspoken, a Phoenix Wolf with a grey mane, let out a low laugh at the four beings before him. “You believe that you can stop our ritual? You are exhausted and weak, while we hold the power of chaos itself in our grasp.”

A grey mare in silver full plate armour stepped forward, her sword held by flickering magic, and started to rise forward, letting out the battle cry “For the Moon Princess!”

Her efforts were futile, as a blast of chaos magic knocked her to the side.

“Rising!” A pixie-sized blue pony with translucent wings cried out, flying towards the paladin of the Moon. A pie formed out of thin air around the two, to protect them from further harm. As this happened, the remaining two beings, (a blue-coated Pegasus stallion with a steel-gray and orannge mane dressed in leather armour and holding a musket, and a cloaked cat with black wings holding a cane) looked to each other for a moment.

“Charged, you realize that our best hopes for victory are in that pie, right?” The cloaked figure hissed to the Pegasus, his wings gripping the cane tighter.

“Of course I know! But as soon as PeeBee makes sure Rising isn't dead, she'll be back and ready to pound him into dust! We just need to keep stalling until she's done!” With those words said, Charged took aim at the priest and let off a shot which ricocheted off a barrier which had sprung into existence as the two spoke. “I can’t shoot through that, Formsu. The shield has a taint of Chaos magic to it, and my bullets aren’t enchanted with Order. Rising could probably pierce it with her Luna-blessed sword, but we don’t know how well she’s doing right now.”

Formsu cursed and nodded. “You're the one with the potions, and I doubt you could reload fast enough to keep his attention for the time me and PeeBee need to heal Rising. When I charge, you run to them. We just need to trust that she’ll let down the pie and allow you to give Rising the potion.” Formsu’s wing twisted the cane slightly, and the body of it unfurled into a bladed edge. He crouched down, and drew in a breath, ready to leap at the cultist.

The cultist turned, noticing that the figure in the cloak was ready to pounce on him. He called up his unicorn magic to unleash a great fireball on the unsuspecting duo when a voice whispered into his mind.

“I have a better idea…..let my magic flow through you…I will deal with them”

The cultist grinned as he felt the rush of chaos flow through his being, a ritual circle of orange energy fading into being below his hooves.

Formsu jumped, wings flared and teeth bared. His blade, poised to strike through the barrier, shimmered faintly with a silver light. He was ready to collide with it and strike again when orange magic grabbed him out of the air.

“Not so fast, Purrsian.” A smooth voice whispered into the mind of the struggling cat-bird. “You really thought that you could just throw yourself at my servant and get away without consequences? Your little Breezie friend may have protected that moon-hag, but you and the gunstallion? You were just begging for us to have a little chat….”

The energy bonds forced Formsu to the ground, expanding to a cube over his prone body. It turns opaque, blocking his vision to the outside world. As a moment passes, the orange light turned to a sitting room, with the Draconequus spirit of Chaos in a chair beside him.

“Hello there, little kitty. So, you’re the Purrsian who decided to go against the chaos that created you. Odd, I know that after I created you, your ancestors swore fealty to me as an army of chaos. So, kitten, what changed with your species? Did some pony princess and pals zap you with the kindness rainbow of friendship as well?”

The Purrsian stared at the spirit of chaos in front of him. Gods appearing to mortals, especially those who opposed them, were EXTREMELY rare. This god, in particular, appearing this calm was rare as well. This combination of circumstances would not go well, he suspected.

“I...ah….the only Purrsian army would be their mercantile army….And what?”

“A shame. I could have used those winged cats. The whole ‘friendship is magic’ concept... Disgusting, really. Thinking that they can just charm someone into being buddy-buddy with you because they decide that they don’t enjoy what you are doing with your life.”

“Ponies don’t do that! They try to make you see it from their point of view, not shove their ideals down your throat!” the Purrsian yelled at the chaos spirit.

“Of course, of course. Because friendship isn’t manipulation on a grand scheme of letting your ideals trump the others. Well, I suppose it is of no matter. I was asked by my favourite child to get rid of you.”

“I don’t fear death!”

“Killing you would be a waste of good chaos. Temporal displacement, however…...let’s just say I know that you’re going to cause delicious chaos already. Tell the Sun-Hag that I said ‘potato.’”

With that, the unspoken snapped his talons, and the energy cage shattered. The ponies outside were blinded by a flash of light, while the Purrsian inside could only see darkness. When the brightness faded, there were only ponies in the chamber. A cane and a suit of leather armour laid bare on the epicentre of the explosion, is the only clue to the existence of the Purrsian that once was there.

Canterlot Gardens, 7 PLR(Pre Lunar Return)

It seemed like the darkest night of the year. The new moon hung bleak in the sky, the stars seemingly dimmed for the first new moon of the year. The soft glow of the City of Canterlot faded over the Castle Statue Gardens, where beings of great power were either immortalized or forgotten as creations of an inspired creator. Most ponies came only three times in their lives, as a filly or colt, to see the sights, or to bring their child. As such, it was rarely visited by the public, and only guarded until the time of night that the palace closed down. There was simply nobody insane enough to try and mess with the statues. Of course, that all went out the window when an unfamiliar white light blasted out from the statue of a draconequus laughing at the world.

When the light faded away, and the darkness returned to cover the gardens, a winged figure laid unconscious on the grass, the crescent-moon symbol of Luna pinned on the black cloak that covered him.

Author's Note

Breathes in.

Breathes out.

SO! I'm really doing this, huh? You have no idea how nervous I am putting this up. I have no clue how good I've done, and honestly, I want to just be ready for any constructive criticism. I want to get ready for the edits I have to do to make this the best it can be. But for now, enjoy.

Arrival in a Strange Time

Canterlot Gardens, 7 PLR(Pre Lunar Return)

Sunrise in Canterlot is when any self-respecting business opens, and the Canterlot Castle Gardens are no different. It's a relatively small task for the guard to go through the gardens to make sure there would be no delays, which was one of the reasons that it was done by the lesser-ranked guards. It had been that way for centuries, and was the same as the black unicorn in guard’s armour was taught.

Idol Hooves enjoyed the monotony of this sweep. There were usually no problems as he walked through the gardens, checking if any of the bushes or trees were out of place, or if there was a problem with the statues. It was rare to find anything amiss, but if they were caught slacking by the Princess, well, that would not be optimal. This duty was one that the other privates would skimp on, using it as a small break or way to get adjusted to their new duties.

As the unicorn rounded the corner to the final place to check, his brow furrowed. There was no notice of a visitor to the gardens given, and the cloak laying over the prone form didn’t show any markings of any known noble figures that would have reason to come into the gardens at night. Upon closer inspection, the private couldn’t remember any noble family bearing a crescent moon emblem.

“Sir, are you aware that you are trespassing?”

A low groan was the only response that Idol got in response.

“Sir? Can you hear me?”

No response came, and the regulation number of times asking if the pony can respond before taking them to the infirmary was fulfilled. No member of the guard wanted someone to be hurt, after all. With a small sigh, the private summoned his magic to pick up and carry the figure out of the gardens, the cloak wrapped around him like a blanket.

Canterlot Infirmary, 7 PLR

The Canterlot Castle Infirmary was used to all sorts of magical and physical injuries and had the greatest assortment of healers and physicians in Equestria. For good reason, as much of the diplomatic parties of different races stay at the castle while working on agreements and compromises. So when a guardspony dropped off an unconscious member of an unknown species, some sort of fusion between a cat and a falcon, Doctor Bright Star did the only thing that came to mind. He sent a messenger to the Princess and started to magically examine the winged cat on the examination table.

“Nothing wrong with the subject’s physiology that we can see, the wings have no apparent problems. Beginning lower-level scan of the thaumic field, starting with any Earth Pony magic.”

The doctor prepared and cast a second spell, this one to look at the magical energy of the subject. Nothing was anomalous in the wings or the low-level magic present in all ponies. However, the doctor recoiled when the scan passed over the subject’s head.

“Nurse….” The doctor almost whispered. “Where’s the princess at this moment?”

“She should be on her way shortly. You are aware that if it isn’t urgent she waits until after Day Court finishes to respond to any summons to the hospital, correct?” The nurse replied, not noticing the expression on his face. “The messenger you sent earlier was probably stopped by the Guard.”

“Get her now, please. Our patient has an almost parasitic magic weighing on his mind. I don’t know what it is and can only hope that Princess Celestia knows how to proceed without removing it from his thaumic system. For now, try and keep him sedated. He seems to be sleeping easy, at least.”

The warmth of the sun entered the room as the graceful form of the Solar Monarch of Equestria appeared in the room. Nodding to signal the dripping off formalities, she spoke in a graceful, loving tone.

“What is the situation, that my brightest medical staff could not make sense of it?”

The doctor took that as his cue to step forward and explain the situation and show the Princess the results of the scans. Her brow furrowed at the description of the patient, and she stepped forward after the doctor had finished.

“Let us see if we can find the source of the enchantment on the patient's mind, shall we?” Celestia asked, powering up her horn with a combination of divination and examination magics.
Pressing it to the forehead of a being would allow the caster to see the origin of foreign magics affecting the being.

Touching her horn to the half-feline’s, she initiated the spell, experiencing a vision of a unicorn with a grey coat and a white mane, of a blue unicorn wrapped in stars, of a white wolf, and of a wizened flaming wolf. None of these imprints had the taint of the specific dark magic used to create this spell. They were just that: imprints. Diving into the makeup of the actual magic, she found that it wasn’t hurting it at all. It was just there, feeding into his mind.

“Doctor, are you sure that this is parasitic? Digging into the thaumic matrix of the spell, there is nothing to support your theory that it is harming the subject. It seems more like a symbiote than a parasite. It isn’t harming him according to my scans, and his mind does not exhibit the obvious signs of being in a coma or under a forced sleep spell. He’s just asleep.”

With that, the princess removed her horn from the sleeping being’s forehead and turned to leave. When she reached the door, the figure let out a groan and slowly opened his eyes.

Author's Note

Second chapter up!

I can't promise they'll all be up within a week or whatever of each other. College will probably take a lot of my time up, and depending on the response I get from you guys, I will be inspired to write more.

HUGE thanks to vDrake for allowing my use of Idol Hooves, I hope I did him justice!

Discussion with a goddess

Formsu was not having a good day. He started his day with a battle with the servants of chaos and after Rising was badly hurt, he was forced into contact with the Lord of Chaos himself. Now, he’s just woken up surrounded by unknown ponies in a white room. He slowly lifted his head to take a greater stock of the situation. Two unicorns and a pegasus were looking at him shocked as he started to blink the sleep from his eyes. There were no apparent guards around the room, and it all seemed so…pristine.

His eyes fell on the two unicorns, one clearly a doctor of some kind. He was levitating a clipboard in a silver aura. His green coat of fur was covered by a white coat, and he had a worried look on his face. The other unicorn, he could tell she was a nurse from the cap, had a grey coat with blue eyes. They didn't seem to have any weapons with them, but any spells they could cast could be trouble if they were hostile.

Then he looked towards the pegasus and was shocked at the sight that was in front of him. The mare was the spitting image of the paintings of Celestia that the celestial churches hang on their walls, down to the elongated wings and horn. This was no pegasus, not even a mortal by any definition! This was an alicorn, a being of legends! Any further thoughts were dashed as the enigmatic mare, quite easily the most important one in the room spoke up.

“Doctor, Nurse, you are dismissed. I will be conversing with our guest in private if you don’t mind.”

With a quick nod from both of them, the two unicorns almost ran from the room, as if they were being chased by specters of a time long past. As soon as they shut the door on the way out, the temperature in the room rose significantly.

“Now, creature of chaos, why are you here? I believed that I had sealed each of the vaults that your kind was imprisoned in after your lord was defeated. Now I hear that you were found in the middle of my gardens unconscious? Explanations are owed, young Purrsian.”

“Seals? Vaults? What are you talking about? I come from a pony town, Compitales!”

The heat worsened as the alicorn shot Formsu a glare. Between the immortal and the winged cat, heat distortions formed in the air. Despite the heat, her tone was ice-cold.

“You appear in my gardens, a creature from a race who was born of chaos magic who has been afflicted with forbidden magics of the mind and claiming to be from a pony town which doesn’t exist to my knowledge. Your belongings…” She passes an eye over the cloak bundled next to the bed Formsu was lying on.

Silence ruled for a second. He had no clue what was going on. What would make a being such as the one in front of him pause?

Then two. Formsu was starting to sweat under his fur and feathers. It had been spring, when did it get warmer?

The fateful third second passes. The alicorn brought in a breath, and let it out before speaking up.

“Your belongings will stay with me. They require study, and with the fact that you were found by where your master is imprisoned… You require study as well. So tell me, who are you, and why did you come here?”

The purrsian shrunk back at the intimidating being in front of him. He didn’t seem to be in any physical danger, but with this alicorn commanded a presence, unlike any others. She seemed to look through him, even though he had no idea who she was.

“My name is Formsu, and again, I’m from Compitales. If you point me there, I can be on my way without any trouble….”

“Compitales does not exist, young Formsu. As such, I cannot point you on your way. And regardless, you did not answer my question. Why are you here?”

“Where is here? I have no idea where I am, and who you are. Rising said all the alicorns have arisen to godhood. The ascension of another alicorn would have alerted the Solar and Lunar churches. I can't have been teleported far, the Unspoken couldn't have had enough power to move me across the world."

Formsu gasped, his eyes lighting up in awareness. He resettled himself and closed his eyes.

"This is just a vision. It can't be real, the cleric didn't have enough power to do anything more than this to me. I can break out of this easily enough, I just need to focus."

The alicorn's look softened, and she stepped up to the winged cat. She looked down upon the being, who was slightly shivering as his eyes were tightly shut. She wrapped a wing around his side and settled down next to the rightly terrified cat. And there they sat, for the small time it was until the guards informed the alicorn that she was needed to put the land to sleep. Rising to her hooves, the deific being looked back at the half-asleep Purrsian.

"I will be back as soon as is possible, young Formsu, to exchange information about your situation and where you have found yourself. I shall leave a guard here, for if you need anything. Do not hesitate to call upon her services if you need to."

Formsu sighed and opened up his eyes to gaze at the alicorn who stood in the doorway.

"What is your name? So I can ask if needed."

At the question, the alicorn raised her head and the cool air that had come in during the time she was comforting him was raised to a more comfortable warm.

"I am Celestia of the Sun, the Solar Monarch of Equestria. If you require me, my guards are available. I will be coming each evening, however, to discuss matters with you." Before Formsu could speak up, the princess smiled softly at him. "If there is a matter that you wish to not discuss, then depending on the subject, I will drop it or postpone the discussion. There are some things which we must discuss, such as what you know regarding this world, and where you are from. After you stay here for medical observation, you will be moving into the palace. I cannot allow you to roam free until I ascertain the situation, but know that you are not a prisoner."

As that, she exited the room, leaving Formsu to consider the position he was thrown into as the sun fell towards the horizon. The moon rose swiftly following that, shining its pale light down through the window of the room. Formsu gazed up at the moon, studying the night sky as if it was prophecy. His brow furrowed at the dark spots on the moon, forming the shape of a unicorn head.

'What are they doing now, I wonder? And what am I doing to get myself back?'

Author's Note

Chapter 3 complete!

Celebratory jingle!

As stated in the third chapter, the Locial Sisters (Locus being Latin for 'space') ascended to godhood when they defeated Discord on his third rampage. It was hard to write Celestia here, as there were a couple bits that I thought she should have freaked out big-time, but I liked where I settled on. In my mind, Celestia would save the interrogations for after Formsu is securely in her care. Ya never know what'll happen if you scare him too much while he's still in the hospital...

Anyway, what do you guys think? To borrow a phrase from Vdrake, comments are the author's food pellets!