Flight of the Valkyrie

Chapters

Chapter 1: Time Unspent
Chapter 2: Double Rainbow
Chapter 3: The Friendship Committee
Chapter 4: Birds of a Feather
Chapter 5: The Enemy of My Enemy...
Chapter 6: ... Is My Friend
Chapter 7: Quilts and Quantum Theory
Chapter 8: Homeward Bound
Epilogue: All Good Things…
The Final Letter

Chapter 1: Time Unspent

Lieutenant Shooting Star of Canterlot’s Valkyrie brigade soared toward the sky, slowly leaving the palace and her dwindling squadron behind. She was already known as the fastest flyer around, but today she would make history by flying faster than any pony ever had—faster than that monster, Discord, could possibly defend itself. It would be a fatal impact for both of them, but this was bigger than just her; this was for the future of Equestria!

She flapped as fast as she could, gaining altitude until she could barely breathe, before turning into a nosedive. Gravity aided her rapid descent, already doing more than her wings alone could as the grassland below approached at an incredible speed. With Canterlot Palace quickly coming back into focus, she pulled up as hard as she could, arcing her trajectory towards her target. Pushing her muscles to their very limits, she cut through the sky like a hot knife through butter. From what little her numbed skin could feel, it felt as though she were pressing against an invisible barrier, on the brink of piercing regular speed and reaching something… more.

As Shooting Star straightened her ninety-degree turn, battling dizzying g-forces as she caught Discord’s attention ahead of her, an unexpected shockwave burst around her. Her strain suddenly eased, and though the speed she was travelling had already rendered her deaf and blind, she could tell she was accelerating faster than before; faster than ever before. So fast, in fact, that the draconequus could barely react to her approach. Time slowed as she shot forward, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. Just a little further and she would be a true hero of Equestria. Just a little—bit—more—and—

The Valkyrie braced for impact, screwing her eyes shut as a deafening boom enveloped her; then silence. Seconds passed like hours, yet the inevitable impact never came. Had she missed? Had she somehow survived against all odds, passing through the beast and winning the day? She didn’t feel dead, or was this what… Elysium felt like?

She dared to open one streaming eye, finding only blurred scenery, but it was enough to remind her to slow down before she hit something solid and was really done for. She fought against the slipstream, barely managing to open her wings as an air-break, but was immediately thrown off-course by the fierce turbulence, sending her tumbling toward the ground like a meteor.

As the dust settled and nausea subsided, Shooting Star struggled to push herself from the miniature crater she had created. Her standard-issue flight-armour had absorbed the brunt of the impact, though discarding her helmet earlier was beginning to feel like a rash choice. With her head spinning and her quivering legs barely able to support her weight, a sudden flash ahead caused her to drop to her knees once more.

“What in Equestria is going on here?!” a blurry voice ahead of her demanded in earnest, though its tone immediately changed upon seeing her state. “Are- Are you all right?!”

“Who- Who are you?” Shooting Star croaked, unable to make out the figure though her squinted eyes and glassy vision. The cost of her intense stunt was rapidly catching up to her, leaving her feeling quite vulnerable amidst all these unforeseen developments.

“‘Who am I’?” the unfamiliar mare repeated, sounding almost insulted that she wasn’t immediately recognised.

A nearby flap of wings and thud joined the confusion, accompanied by a deeper, male voice.

“I got here as fast as I could! What’s going on?!”

“I don’t know, Spike. I’d like answers, but I think she needs urgent medical attention first,” the taller purple blob responded.

“Woah, she’s pretty beat up! And look at all those scars! We’d better get you to the hospital, stat.!”

Star tried to reply, wanting to tell them that she was fine, that she could manage on her own, and to just leave her alone, but found herself falling backwards into a warm, black abyss. Noticing her consciousness slip away, the tall mare called out in a distant, muffled voice.

“Hey, stay with me! Hang on!”

The morning greeted Shooting Star with a powerful headache and wing-pain like she had never felt before. She clasped her head between her aching hooves, groaning as if waking from a night of excess mead. She leaned back on the unusually plush stuffing of this unusually white bed, wondering where she was. Regardless of the ‘where’, at least she had survived, which was always a pleasant surprise. She was done for if she'd broken something, but an early retirement was better than death, even for an ace like her. Commander Ironhead would probably allow her to stay on as Drill Sergeant, though, what with being the Hero of Equestria now. The ladies would be all over her, she thought with a wry smile.

“Oh, good morning!” a motherly voice spoke, caressing her pains with its dulcet balm.

“Where am I?” she rasped, not realising just how dry her mouth was. She attempted to sit up, but a gentle hoof held on her chest, encouraging her to stay down.

“Canterlot Castle infirmary, m’dear.”

“Oh, that’s good…” She was almost coaxed back into slumber before her brain processed what was said. She raised her head once more, frowning as she struggled to see through the blinding morning light of the starkly white room. “Wait, ‘castle’?”

“I’ll be back in just a second, I need to let the Princess know you’re awake.”

“‘Princess?’”

Did she mean Celestia? The matronly earth pony exited through a set of swinging doors on her right without answering her question, leaving Star to take in her surroundings. The room was quite small for an infirmary, offering only four—though luxurious—beds, clearly meant for higher-class ponies than herself. There were two beds on the opposite wall, one to her left, and a tall, lone window reaching up to the lofty ceiling on the far left. Behind the glass was a picturesque view of one of Mount Friendship's signature rainbow waterfalls, illuminating the white-and-gold room with an almost blinding radiance. This view was what troubled her the most, though, as it made no logical sense to her location. The nurse had said this was Canterlot, yet there was nothing like this room in the palace, or around town; nor were there any ‘castles’, at least not in name…

A sudden purple flash lit the rims of the infirmary’s door for a second, followed by muffled, yet freshly familiar voices.

“How is she, Nurse Lovejoy?”

“Honestly, I dare say this ain’t the first time she’s been in hospital, the number of scars that poor thing has. Are you sure I can’t heal them up?”

“No-no. It’s just a hunch, but for now, please concentrate on just getting her mobile.”

“Well, alright then. She’s awake, so you can go on in and see her now. Just don’t-”

With another flash, a large purple pony suddenly appeared in front of Shooting Star’s recovery bed, startling her enough to send shooting pains through her wings. The swinging doors opened, revealing the nurse once more, looking less than pleased.

“Don’t startle her! Honestly, Princess, you don’t have to teleport everywhere, y’know.”

“Sorry,” the tall pony replied, looking back with a sheepish grin as the nurse rolled her eyes and returned to the hall.

This pony wasn’t just tall, though. Standing at twice the height of a regular mare, she had a long, flowing mane that twinkled like the night sky, wings as large as Star was, and… a horn as well. Being called ‘Princess’ and wearing royal regalia should have been cause enough for alarm, but she was an-

“An- An alicorn?!” the pegasus rasped, her eyes bulging.

“You really don't recognise me, huh?” There was a neutrality to her voice that bridged both disappointment and worry, though she quickly regained her regal composure. “Where are my manners? My name is Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and Primary of Equestria.”

“‘Princess’? Of ‘friendship’?” Star parroted, unable to absorb what was standing before her.

Was this a concussion? She blinked slowly, hoping the impossibility before her would disappear; instead, the fearsome, towering visage remained, now with her head tilted in confusion. This was beyond impossible. King Cosmos was the last alicorn in Equestria after the Queen's passing, and what possible claim could this pretender have when Princesses Celestia and Luna were the rightful heirs to the throne, even if they were but foals!

And yet the evidence that stood before her was undeniable. The stature, the mystical mane, the elements of every pony race in one… Unless this was some kind of illusion, she was unmistakably an alicorn—one that had not existed yesterday. Could there be alicorns outside Equestria? Had a citizen miraculously ascended during Discord's brief attack on the capital? But why, if she had just slain the beast herself?

Shooting Star had so many questions, but she could not accept answers from this… usurper. Where were the others? Where was Commander Ironhead, or any of the surviving Valkyries? Did not a single one come to see her after her brush with death? Was she not a hero?

“And you are?” the Princess asked patiently, allowing her guest ample time to reconcile her thoughts, all the while carefully studying her behaviour with caring, yet analytic eyes.

“How- … How?”

“‘How did I become a Princess?’ Well, that's quite a long story, actually. Perhaps hearing it will jog your memory? You see, it all began when Princess Celestia sent me to-”

“Princess Celestia! Where is she? Is she okay? And what of the King?” The patient forced herself upright, despite the pain shooting down her spine.

“Oh, so you know her,” Twilight mumbled indignantly, rolling her eyes before narrowing them in thought. “But ‘the King’? There hasn't been a King of Equestria in… well over two-thousand moons.”

“Two- Two-thousand moons? What madness are you spouting?!!” Shooting Star's eyes grew hazy as intense pain flooded her brain, forcing her to lie back down.

What- What was happening? This was lunacy. It had to be a dream, it had to be! She just… needed to rest. She would close her eyes and wake up in the palace’s infirmary, with a purple wing pinned to her bandages.

Princess Twilight sighed. “You don't have to tell me your name right away, but at least tell me where you came from, so I can help you get back home.”

She was still here…

“Look, I don’t know who or what you are, but as Saviour of Equestria, at least allow me the decency of being able to walk away before you start speaking nonsense,” Star huffed.

“Saviour of Equestria?”

The rainbow-maned pony opened one eye, disappointed to find the ‘alicorn’ imposter still standing over her. Whether this was a hallucination or some tasteless practical joke, she wanted it to end, now.

“Was nopony told yet? Yes, it was I who risked my life to defeat Discord. How else do you think I got these injuries?”

Twilight could not have looked more flabbergasted if she had practised.

“‘Defeat Discord’?! Discord is fine, what are you talking about?”

Shooting Star’s eyes opened fully, the smug defiance draining from her cheeks.

“What?”

“Discord is fine, I saw him not too long ago. Granted, I did sense an odd magical signature from where I found you, but nothing I would consider a risk to Discord… Believe me, we’ve tried.”

“W- Wha-? Then- Then why am I here? What happened?!”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out!” Twilight snapped, before taking a second to recentre herself. “What’s the last thing that you remember?”

“I- I have to get back to the palace, right now. If Discord is still attacking, they need me!”

“‘Attacking’? What palace? I really don’t think Discord- H-Hey!”

Shooting Star struggled to kick the heavy, white sheets off her as she fought to leave the infirmary bed, straining painfully against her bandaged wings and throbbing headache.

“Who knows how long I've been out. They- They need my help; I'll save them, even if they're already stone!” she feverishly muttered to herself, finally landing a hoof on the white, polished tiles.

“‘Stone’? Look, I’m really going to need to start getting some answers here. And just where do you think you're going?”

Princess Twilight held out her hoof in protest as the injured pegasus gingerly walked to the end of her bed, then made her way towards the window on the furthest wall of the small room.

“If this is a dream, I have to wake up,” she continued, talking to herself as she pushed on the glass to open it. “If not, I have got to get back to Canterlot Palace. They need me.”

“Please, get back in bed,” Twilight gently pleaded, calmly walking after her.

As this scene played out, the matron returned to the room once more, reading the notes on her clipboard aloud.

“Well, the good news is the x-ray is clean, so nothing is broken, b- What are you doing out of bed?! Get off the windowsill this instant!” the matron cried as she discarded her clipboard to rush forward.

“I have to get out of here,” Shooting Star muttered to herself as Twilight motioned for the nurse to stay back.

The pegasus climbed onto the window ledge, one hoof at a time, almost delirious from the pain she was in. She stretched out her bandaged and badly strained wings, resorting to pulling off what she could with her teeth.

“Princess, please!” Nurse Lovejoy begged, though the alicorn’s hoof remained.

“You're nothing but a dream—some nightmare brought on by a crumb of undigested cheese, or one of that monster’s perversions of reality.” Star looked back with a sneer, now addressing them directly. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’re that monster’s doing! This has its stench all over it. Well, you won’t get me playing your games, you hear me? If I’m going out, it will be on my own terms, not as your plaything!”

“Good gracious. She needs far more care than I can provide here,” the matron gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

“What monster?” Twilight asked in a far more authoritative tone, tired of having more questions than answers. “What does this have to do with Discord?”

Making her move to exit the window, Nurse Lovejoy pushed past the Princess just as Shooting Star leapt out. It hurt like Tartarus, and her wings burned in their sockets with the fire of a thousand suns, but she was flying. Barely able to flap fast enough to remain in the air, she slowly made her way towards Canterlot Town—or at least where it should be.

“Princess Twilight, please do something!” the nurse begged, almost tearfully.

“Something strange is going on here. Something very strange indeed,” she answered, more to herself than the fretting earth pony. “Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her. Just trust me for now.”

Twilight teleported out of the ward with a flash, reappearing in her throne room as her adopted brother and dragon ambassador, Spike, was playing with an odd-shaped sceptre he had found, causing him to flinch and drop it.

“So, how was she?” he asked, blushing as he kicked the cane behind her throne.

“Not good, I'm afraid, though she didn’t break anything, thankfully.” Twilight furrowed her brow and began pacing the hall in front of their raised thrones. “Her mental state is quite severely compromised, though. I couldn't get any information out of her before she started accusing me of being an illusion cast by Discord!”

“Discord? But he hasn't messed with anycreature like that in moons!” The purple dragon looked around the lavishly decorated hall before feeling his flexed bicep, muttering, “Sure would suck if this were an illusion… I’m pretty happy with Spike the Buff, if I do say so myself.”

“First that explosion, then this mysterious, scarred pony showing up outside Canterlot Castle, and now Discord’s in the mix?” she continued, ignoring Spike’s comment. “Something strange is definitely going on, I just don't know what yet.”

She stopped pacing, sternly looking to her kin with concern.

“Well, if she's not giving you any answers, you can at least clarify the Discord thing with him directly. If Discord doesn’t know her, then she might just be bonkers,” he finished with a shrug.

“I don’t think she’s ‘bonkers’, Spike, but it’s a solid first lead. But first things first, we need to make sure she doesn't hurt herself further while she's escaping.”

“She's escaping? Like, right now? Why didn’t you stop her?!”

Spike spread his large, leathery wings, ready to leave on the Princess’ command.

“Don’t worry, I can sense where she is. She has a certain… aura to her. It’s familiar, but I can't quite place it,” she frowned, before shaking the thoughts away. “Anyway, she didn't get far.”

“Come on, the longer we wait, the more she might hurt herself! Lead the way.”

“Right you are, Spike.”

With a smile, Twilight teleported the pair into the sky outside Canterlot Castle, hovering just behind Shooting Star as she struggled to escape. The labour of even just a few minutes of flight had brought beads of cold sweat to the pegasus’ brow, despite the short distance she had actually travelled. Spike wrung his hands with concern, edging closer to the slowly fleeing patient.

“You really should get back to bed. You’ll hurt yourself even more trying to fly on a sprained wing like this.”

“We're not forcing you to stay here, but please at least wait until you're fully recovered!” Twilight called out from behind. “You haven’t broken any bones, but that sprain could become a torn muscle if you continue to push yourself like this!”

The exhausted pegasus scoffed, continuing to force her way through the sky on her crippled wings. She had fought on the frontlines of the War without any support—this was nothing.

“I don't need advice… from some… dream Princess,” Star forced from her burning lungs. Despite her words, she could feel her eyelids becoming heavier as she slowly lost altitude.

“This isn’t good,” Spike fretted. “Where are you even going?”

Shooting Star couldn't have answered him even if she wanted to. The scope of her escape plan reached as far as the infirmary window, assuming the world outside would be immediately recognisable. This certainly looked like Friendship Mountain, but everything else was… wrong. A colossal monolith of white and gold sat where the palace should have been, were this Canterlot.

Was this Discord’s doing? That beast had already begun warping the palace to its whim, turning stone to fabric and breathing life to the braziers… Yet, this building appeared far too uniform and, dare she say it, beautiful for its doing. The hedges were neatly trimmed, guards in golden armour patrolled the courtyard ahead, and beyond this place lay the unfamiliar roofs of a thousand buildings, the likes of which she had never seen before.

Where… Where was she going? Was there an edge to this dream? A point at which even imagination could not stretch? … Where was this? … Where was she?

Spike and Twilight Sparkle shared a look of worry as the pegasus’ head began to lull—moving forward on muscle memory alone.

“I think this has gone on long enough,” the princess announced, casting a lasso of magenta magic toward the fading pony, who was easily caught in its gentle grip.

“Let- Let me- Let me go.”

Shooting Star’s complaints were easily overpowered as she was slowly reeled in, already exhausted beyond the limits of any regular creature. It was a wonder she was still conscious, let alone flying. She was turned to face the pair, and upon seeing Spike properly for the first time, rolled her drooping eyes.

“Oh look, the ‘Princess of Friendship’ has a pet dragon,” she deliriously sneered. “Sure.”

“Hey, who are you calling a pet?” Spike snapped reflexively.

“Spike isn't my pet; he's my royal adviser, a dear friend, and cherished brother,” Twilight corrected, turning to her companion and smiling warmly, receiving the gesture in return.

“Whatever,” Shooting Star scoffed as her eyes lost focus and her head sank.

Without the adrenaline of the escaping and the pain of flight to keep her going, she was quickly losing consciousness. Whether this was a nightmare, madness, or Discord’s doing, she would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her beg. She would fight to her final breath, like any Valkyrie worth her wings.

“Uh, I don’t think we have time for this right now, Twilight,” Spike pointed out, turning his attention back to their captive. “Let’s get her back in bed.”

Twilight sighed, nodding.

“I really didn't want to have to force her to do anything, but this is for her own good.”

Shooting Star shakily spread her wings over the magical tether; her broken pride and joy. If this nightmare truly was Discord's doing, that meant her sacrifice had been for naught. No Purple Wing. No retirement. No Equestria.

What good is a pegasus without her wings, and what good is a pony without her country?

The trio reappeared in the castle's infirmary with a flash, shocking the already frazzled nurse. Princess Twilight carefully levitated the unconscious pegasus back into bed and tucked her in, before following Nurse Lovejoy to the hall outside.

“Honestly, I've never seen wing strain this bad before,” the nurse stated in a hushed voice as the door closed behind them. “I can't imagine what she did to cause it, and this little episode will have only made things worse.” She sighed, trying to calm herself now the disaster was over. “Her wings will heal in time, but her mind…”

“Don't worry, Nurse Lovejoy, you can leave this patient’s care to me. I have a feeling there’s a lot more to this than we yet know.”

There was a twinkle in Twilight's eyes as she spoke, one that Spike hadn't seen in a long time. It had been decades since their last real adventure, and he knew there was nothing Twilight loved more than a certified mystery; no way she would delegate this one.

“Keep an eye on her, and let me know again when she wakes up,” she concluded. “Oh, and it might be an idea to put a lock on that window, too.”

With a smile and a nod, the alicorn and her royal adviser left the nurse with her patient and began back to the throne room—for once taking the time to actually walk there.

“You're loving this, aren't you?” Spike teased with a smirk.

“Of course not!” Twilight hastily objected, though her smile exposed the truth and she knew it. Her mind was already awash with possibilities, analysing the smallest of clues in what little she had learned from the obstinate so far. “This could be the start of something big.”

The purple dragon chuckled, shaking his head.

“Who knew that wide-eyed filly was still in there after all these moons? As for me, every day I spend out of bed is enough adventure for me. Speaking of adventure, is it lunchtime yet?”

“Oh Spike,” she quipped, causing both to laugh warmly, just like the old days.

For once in a very long time, tomorrow felt exciting again.

Author's Note

1st Edition – 11th February, 2020 (Release) (2,324 words)
1.1 Revision – 22nd July, 2022 (Minor formatting changes) (2,333 words)
2nd Edition – 13th March, 2023 (Refinements throughout) (3,113 words)
2.1 Revision – 27th April, 2023 (Minor grammar fixes) (3,110 words)
3rd Edition – 16th May, 2023 (Major rewrite, final) (3,891 words)

Chapter 2: Double Rainbow

Shooting Star slowly opened her eyes, acclimatising them to the sunlight shining through the two tall windows on the opposite wall.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” a male voice spoke from her right.

“Where am I?” she groaned, still half asleep and aching all over.

“Canterlot Castle, in the infirmary.” Oh no. “How are you feeling?”

She turned, laying eyes on a large, purple-and-green dragon sitting on a chair by her bedside. His legs were crossed with some kind of booklet in his claws, looking down at her expectantly.

“Oh great, still this,” she growled, turning back and closing her eyes again. “I’m not playing your game.”

“Game? What game? I only said 'good morning'...” he grumbled, not trying to hide his annoyance.

“Where’s your ‘princess’?” she sneered, eyes remaining shut.

Spike scowled, snarkily replying: “Actually, I was just going to get her.” He closed his comic book with as much passive-aggression as he could muster, before taking to his feet and walking up to and opening the ward’s double doors. “Twi-”

No sooner had he begun to speak, Twilight Sparkle teleported into the room behind him with that signature flash, startling the dragon so much that he fell forward, leaving the door to hit him as it closed.

“You’re awake! I’m so glad. You were asleep for two days, you know? I was starting to worry,” the Princess enthused, her face glowing as she approached the bed.

“Two days?!” Star sat up with a jolt, once more sending pain coursing through her strained muscles, albeit less than before.

“I almost couldn't sleep, myself. I couldn't help but look into the hints you've dropped so far,” Twilight continued, using her magic to fluff the patient's pillow before forcefully pushing the pegasi's head back into it. “As I mentioned before, there hasn't been a King of Equestria since King Cosmos and Queen Stella of the Third Age—Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's parents—but of course you would already know that, wouldn't you.”

“I don't have time for thi-” In an attempt to sit back up, the rainbow-maned pegasus was once again pushed back down by the alicorn's pink magic, cutting her off.

“Because what would a study-trip into the Third Age be without reading a thesis or two on the Second Dark Age?” she continued, barely pausing to breathe. “Second only in chronology, of course, as Grogar's reign was nothing compared to the disappearance of the King and Queen, as well as the first recorded appearance of Discord—that we know of, at least.”

As Twilight continued to exposit, Spike returned from the hallway somewhat disgruntled and rubbing his tender head.

“Most ponies don't study history prior to the Fourth Age, which made me wonder why you would mention it so casually, as if it were common knowledge.” The Princess paced at the end of Star's bed, completely embroiled in her own musings. “And that got me to thinking: what would it mean if it were common knowledge to you? You don't exactly seem to be the studious type—no offence—so that leaves only a hoofful of explanations-”

“Uh, Twilight? Think you should maybe get to the point?” Spike interrupted, knowing all too well how she could get lost in the rabbit hole of her own mind.

“Oh, right! Of course.” She stopped pacing, as though snapped out of a trance. “Given your lack of cooperation, there's only one creature that could confirm my suspicions of your origin. So, without further ado; Discord?”

Despite her eyes having thoroughly glazed-over during the alicorn's spiel, Shooting Star snapped to attention at the mention of her enemy's name. On cue, the very fabric of reality was pushed aside next to the purple Princess like an invisible curtain. Star's pupils dilated and her hair visibly bristled as the familiar draconequus form entered the room from his unseen dimension, looking as smug as ever.

“At your command, Your Majesty.” He bowed before Twilight, feigning an uncharacteristic and over-dramatic level of respect, which was met with no more than a sceptical eyebrow. “I am here, as summoned.”

“YOU! I KNEW this was your doing!” the bedridden pegasus barked, attempting to lunge forward but restrained by the alicorn's magic.

“And who do we have here?” Discord's casual smile widened, taken by the pegasi's ferocity.

“I was hoping you might be able to tell us that,” Twilight answered, immediately concerned by the stranger's reaction. “She certainly seems to know you.”

“Let me up!” she screamed, struggling against the invisible force pinning her to the bed. “I'll take you on again, just try me; and this time I won't miss! Let—me—go!”

“Ohh, she's a feisty one! I like her,” Discord grinned, though otherwise remaining unphased by the threats.

“So... You don't know her?” The Princess frowned, disappointed at the dead end in her investigation, as well as having caused the pegasus' distress.

“I'm afraid not, Princess, but she seems like a real hoot. We could use more of that kind of spunk around here.”

“Hey Discord,” Spike spoke up from behind the pair. “What's up with the grey?”

“Oh this?” The draconequus turned to his friend, motioning towards a streak of grey hair running through his short mane. “I noticed how everypony was starting to show their age, so I thought I'd try a new look. Fluttershy says it makes me look distinguished,” he gushed with pride.

“Let me go!” Shooting Star screamed again, still fighting against her bonds.

“Well, must be going,” Discord continued, turning back to the Princess. “I have to pick up the little Angels from bunny-school today, while Fluttershy tends to a herd of sneezing gophers. I don't know how she puts up with a whole platoon of those little monsters.”

“The gophers?” Twilight asked with dry confusion.

“The rabbits.” Without looking, Discord reached back and reopened the fold of reality he had arrived through. “Sorry I couldn't help with your little firecracker, Princess. Toodles!” With a dismissive wave he stepped back into the void from whence he came.

“We're still on for O&O tomorrow, right?” Spike called after him.

“Wouldn't miss it for the world,” his disembodied hand replied, giving a thumbs-up before disappearing entirely.

The captive pegasus roared in frustration. “Why won't you let me fight him?!”

“Fight him? Why in Equestria would you want to do that?” Twilight asked, releasing her magical restraints now that the pegasus' target had left.

“This is all his fault! Everything was normal until he arrived!” Shooting Star slammed her head back into the pillow, though her anger quickly shifted to melancholy. “I just want everything to go back to how it was before...”

“What was it like before?” the Princess cooed, feeling as though they had reached a turning point in her reluctance to speak.

“Canterlot! It was-” She grunted, struggling to properly word her thoughts. “How it's always been! The palace, the King, the... the Queen. Everything started to go downhill after the Queen...” She shook her head in self-admonishment. “I can't be telling you this! You could still be Discord, or spies, for all I know!”

“We're not spies, and I promise you that Discord isn't involved in this. He's been fully reformed for... decades now,” Twilight replied in a caring tone, a look of almost motherly concern on her face. “I don't know how to prove to you that this isn't an illusion, but I'll do everything in my power to help you make sense of what's going on.”

“Then let me go.”

The alicorn sighed, turning to her dragon companion, who looked back at her with worry.

“Okay. I meant it when I said we wouldn't hold you here against your will, and now that your wings have healed... You're free to go.”

No sooner had the words been said, Shooting Star was already out of bed and had started to remove the bandages from her wings using her teeth.

“But I'd like to go with you, for your own safety,” the Princess continued. “Maybe we can figure out what's happened to you, together?”

“Whatever,” the pegasus mumbled through a mouth of gauze.

“Then it's sett-”

Princess Twilight was interrupted by a loud belch from Spike, heralding the arrival of a magically-mailed scroll from his mouth. With a sheepish smile, the dragon unrolled the scroll and read it.

“It's from Luster Dawn. She says she needs to talk to you about a friendship problem as soon as possible.”

“Shoot!” The alicorn furrowed her brow, silently weighing her obligations. “Fine,” she sighed. “As much as I want to be here for this, my student needs me. Spike, send a letter to Rainbow Dash as soon as you can. Ask her to keep an eye on-” Twilight paused, turning to their guest. “I'm sorry, what's your name?”

The pegasus refrained from answering as she unwound the final coils of gauze. Twilight sighed again, turning back to Spike, who had already acquired a quill and parchment from somewhere and was busy scribbling the message.

“Ask her to keep an eye on our new friend here. Her rainbow mane should be distinctive enough to spot.”

As Star headed back towards the same window she had escaped from last night, Princess Twilight Sparkle turned to address her once more.

“I know this must be scary, being in a strange place around new ponies, but I promise that we mean you no harm. My good friend Rainbow Dash will take care of you while I'm away, so please don't feel like you have to go through this alone. We just want to help you.”

The pegasus held her place on the window sill for a moment, contemplating a response. Maybe this wasn't an illusion, and she really was in some kind of alternate Canterlot; but if so, how did she get there? Was it Discord? It must have been, surely, so what would he gain by pretending not to know her? Did he simply not recognise her? Even if that was the case, why did he behave so differently? The Discord she knew would have turned everypony in that room to stone, alicorn or not, so why didn't he? And what did that 'Princess' mean when she said he had reformed decades ago? Was this where he came from before attacking her Canterlot?

She grit her teeth, her head cloudy from all the confusing thoughts and overwhelmed by the incomprehensible situation. She needed air. She always thought clearer when she was in the sky. Without a word she spread her wings and took off from the infirmary ward, leaving the purple Princess' concerned gaze behind as she flew towards the clouds. What she needed right now was perspective, and nothing put things into perspective like looking down on the world from a lonely cloud. As she beat her wings against the steadily chilling air, she couldn't help but flashback to her desperate ascent leading up to the attack on that monster. Despite the unfamiliar ponies and strange architecture, the land itself was eerily similar to her own Canterlot. If she didn't know any better, the mountain reaching up beside her was identical to the Mount Friendship she knew from home, right down to the rainbow waterfalls.

Having reached a satisfactory height, Star landed on a small cumulus to observe the view, far away from the annoying reminders of her current situation. This world really was nothing like where she was from; the towers of white and gold, the onion-shaped spires covering the mountainside, the innumerable houses spreading out from the capitol. Unlike the sparse, rural farm-towns that speckled the landscape in her Equestria, ponies seemed to cover nearly every inch of the land here, almost as far as the eye could see. It was an impressive sight to behold, but in equal parts jarring, given the landscape she was used to. She remained on the cloud for some time, watching birds soar through the sky as her mobile cushion floated down from the mountain and toward a smaller village far below, enjoying the soothing glow of the midday sun.

“Pretty neat view, huh?” a raspy mare's voice suddenly asked from beside her, causing Star to backpedal off her cloud in surprise, dispersing it.

“What the hay?!” she gasped, shocked that somepony had been able to sneak up on her.

“Yeah, I get that a lot. Name's Rainbow Dash, you?”

This was another new pony; a middle-aged pegasus with pale-blue fur and rainbow-hued hair, which was an unusual sight, much like her own. The mare's forehooves were crossed over a dark bomber-style jacket as she effortlessly hovered in place with the tips of her wings, radiating a smug aura that she had only seen from day-one recruits before. As somepony who had dedicated their life to speed and intense aerial manoeuvres, the minute wing-muscle control and ease with which she was hovering in high altitude winds marked her as a fellow expert, despite her age.

“Not the chatty type, huh?” she continued. “Fine by me. I prefer to let my wings do the talking, anyway.”

“Oh yeah?” Something about this mare's attitude immediately riled her up.

“How about we race to that cloud over there and back.” She nodded to a spot past Star, who turned to see a distinctive spiral-like cumulonimbus in the distance. “If I win, you tell me your name. Deal?”

“Fine, but when I win, you leave me alone for good, got it?” It was time to put this pegasus in her place and show her what the fastest flier in Equestria could do.

“Deal.” The older mare flew to the pale-yellow pony's side. “Three—Two—One—”

Both fliers arched their backs, spread their wings, and burst forward on the silent count, rocketing through the sky toward the distant, hazy column. To the surprise of both, neither was pulling ahead from the other, despite their respective reputations. The two raced neck-and-neck, banking hard around the target cloud so close that their wings cut into the soft mist, causing it to twirl out behind them like surfers riding an epic wave. Now on the home straight, the two fliers levelled off, shooting one another impressed, competitive grins. Neither had been able to push themselves this hard against another pegasus for quite some time—if ever—nor were they willing to concede victory even in a race as inconsequential as this. Sparks flew as the two ponies pushed themselves to their limit, quickly coming up on the remnants of the cloud they had started at, then blasting past it with no signs of slowing down. The pair glanced at one another again, forelegs stretched ahead and beating their wings as hard as they could. Having passed the finish line with no clear victor, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes with a satisfied smile and steadily slowed down, followed by Shooting Star. Flying backwards as she slowed down, the pale-yellow pegasus nodded towards a nearby cloud, and the two settled on it. Neither attempted to conceal their breathlessness after the race, with an unspoken appreciation now shared between the two.

“Not bad, kid. You've got some wings on ya',” Dash panted, maintaining her smile.

“'Kid'? That's Lieutenant Shooting Star to you,” she heaved, returning a cocky grin as she relished her adrenaline high.

“Oh, so you admit that I won, then?”

Star scoffed. “As if! I would have left you in my slipstream if my wings weren't still busted.”

“Right, 'Lieutenant'. In my prime, you would have had a face full of tail in three seconds flat. Oh, and maybe I forget to mention that I'm a Captain.”

“Of—what?” she sneered sceptically.

“The Wonderbolts. Duh!” She nudged the golden pin on her lapel, depicting a lightning bolt with wings.

“Never heard of them.”

“Never heard of them?!” Her jaw dropped at the unconscionable idea.

“I—on the other hoof—am a decorated war-hero and Lieutenant of the Valkyries, the elite flying guard of Equestria.” She folded her forelegs, satisfied that this secondary competition was hers.

“Oh yeah? Well I've never heard of them eith-” Rainbow Dash trailed off, furrowing her brow. “No, wait, yes I have. But...”

“Is that you up there, Rainbow Dash?” A mare's voice with a country twang hollered up from the ground, having spotted a rainbow tail protruding from a cloud up above. “You get your be-hind down here this instant, missy. Ah've got ah blanket and ah picnic basket with 'yer name on it!”

“Shoot! I forgot it was Hearts and Hooves day today. I totally flaked on getting her a present!”

To the surprise of the earth pony below, Dash poked her head out from the opposite side of the cloud as the tail, giving her seemingly unnatural proportions.

“I'll be down in a second, okay? Pick a nice spot for us!”

“Well, alright. Don't keep me waitin', y'hear?” The orange mare turned to leave, shaking her head with a bemused smile.

“Okay, look-” The older pegasus turned back to Star. “I really need to go do this thing with AJ, so don't go getting lost or going rogue, okay? Twilight will have my haunches if you go missing on my watch, so just be cool and be back in the infirmary by dark. Deal?”

“Tch.” Shooting Star looked away, scowling like an angsty teenager. “Give me one reason to trust you. Any of you.”

“What other choice do you have?” Dash asked rhetorically, dropping backwards from the cloud and gliding over to where her marefriend had set up their picnic on a picturesque hilltop, overlooking what would have been the far smaller Ponydale in Star's Equestria.

The dusty-yellow pegasus bitterly glanced back to where her competitor had been and grunted. She was right, there wasn't much she could hope to achieve by flying off aimlessly. Even if the landscape was familiar, where would she go? Pegasopolis? It's not like anypony she knew would still be around, if these ponies were to be believed. Canterlot was her entire life, and nothing of that life remained here. As much as she hated relying on others, she didn't have any options here, especially if she ever hoped to get back home. Illusion or not—Equestria or not—she would get more answers cooperating with these ponies than she could hope to gain alone. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but a good soldier adapts, and she was one heck of a good soldier.

Finding a more secluded cloud to settle on, Shooting Star spent the rest of the day relaxing and soaking in the rays—something she hadn't had time for since the war. As calming as it was, she couldn't help but think of her fallen comrades back home. The pegasi that had remained to fight Discord were surely lost by now, to say nothing of ponykind in its entirety. For all she knew, she could be the last pony alive from her Equestria... And if there was nothing to go back to, then what? Would she live here? It certainly seemed peaceful, but it wasn't home. What would a war horse like her even do in a place like this? That pony had mentioned being the captain of the 'Wonderbolts', so was that this place's army? Maybe she could enlist there, though ranking under that smug mare would be all but unbearable, not that the Valkyries didn't have its own issues.

Lost in her thoughts and relative relaxation, it hardly felt like any time had passed before the sun began to set behind the mountainous horizon. Star opened her sleepy eyes and sighed, stretching out her wings before making her way back to Canterlot 'Castle', making good on the pegasus' request. She'd never had competition like that back in her world, and to think it would come in the form of a pony with the same rare hair genes as her. Maybe rainbow-haired ponies were naturally faster? Hah! As if. She'd busted her flank to get where she is today, and that other pony had probably done the same. Not even a cutie mark will make you the fastest—it just means that you have what it takes to rise to the top through hard work and dedication. That's something she taught to the hothead Royal Guard recruits back home, and they soon learned to respect the grind. The kind of work it takes to get that good deserves respect, and yet that pony's attitude did nothing but irk her... She'd often heard around the barracks that she was unliked by the rookies, even if they respected her. Was what she was feeling towards this 'Rainbow Dash' the way the recruits felt about her? She hadn't considered herself to be arrogant or a show-off, just driven and eager to put her skills to good use... Either way, that's an issue she needn't worry about until she's back at her own Canterlot—if she can get back, that is.

Author's Note

1st Edition - 6th March, 2020 (Release) (3,459 words)
1.1 Revision - 22nd July, 2022 (Minor additions and Pegasopolis retrofit) (3,488 words)

Chapter 3: The Friendship Committee

Morning breached the infirmary’s windows, waking Shooting Star as it had the day before. As much as she loathed to take orders—openly resisting those from her superiors that she didn’t agree with—sleeping rough didn’t seem worth the point she would be making by doing it. The matron entered the room with a clipboard in hoof, seeming quite surprised when she looked up and noticed the pegasus resting in bed.

“Oh, you’re back.” She didn’t sound too pleased to see the escapee, though still approached and began testing the flexibility of her patient's wings.

Star didn’t reply, though not out of spite. Perhaps guilt? Or maybe she just had nothing to say.

“Good, your range of motion is improving nicely,” she continued, giving the pegasus one last look before returning to her desk near the double-doors.

“So… This is Equestria, huh?”

The nurse raised her head and turned, lifting an eyebrow. “It is. Where are you from?”

Star snorted and looked out the window ahead of her, through which the rainbow waterfall refracted a spectrum of hues across the otherwise white walls inside. “Here, apparently.”

“Goodness, are you telling me you have amnesia?” She stood up and walked back to the bed, concern across her face.

“No, I remember everything, it’s just… different.”

“Different how?” she cooed, putting the rear of her hoof to the pegasi’s forehead.

“Just… different. Similar, yet… The buildings, the ponies, nothing here is like my Canterlot.”

“Well, if you’re in a more talkative mood today, should I let the Princess know? I’m sure she'd love to talk to you about it, and she’ll be a lot more useful to you than I am.” Content that her patient didn't have a fever, the nurse removed her hoof and made a note to arrange a brain scan later. “She has a knack for sorting things like this out.”

Spike the Dragon suddenly burst through the double-doors, red in the face and breathing heavily.

“Sorry I'm late,” he huffed, leaning on his knees. “It was Hearts and Hooves day yesterday, and I ended up over-sleeping.”

The matron swapped places with the dragon, giving him a light-hearted eye-roll as he passed.

Shooting Star sneered. “Let me guess, you and your precious Princess?”

“Eww, gross! Twilight is like a sister to me!” he gagged, sticking out his tongue in disgust.

“Oh, sure, a dragon and an alicorn siblings, why didn't I assume?”

Spike shot her an unimpressed glance before spitting a small green flame out the side of his mouth, a signal to let Twilight know that her little project was awake. No sooner had he done so, the Princess teleported into the room with her trademark purple flash.

“You're awake! Good,” she beamed. “I hope you had a nice time with Rainbow Dash yesterday, I'm sure you had a lot in common to talk about. Spike, how was your date with Gabby?”

He blushed, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, you know, it went pretty good. How did it go with Luster Dawn's friendship problem?”

“You know how it is with young fillies on Hearts and Hooves day. All she needed was a little perspective and a push in the right direction, just like when I was her age. More importantly, Rainbow Dash spoke to me after your little meeting, and I couldn't help but stay up all night researching the 'Valkyries' that you mentioned. Just like Dash and I recalled, the Valkyries were the very first iteration of what would later become the Wonderbolts! This was back during the Third Age, making it something that only historians or Wonderbolts members would know, narrowing down exactly where you fit into this puzzle.”

“You really shouldn't stay up all night like that, Twilight,” Spike interrupted, his arms folded. “Don't you have better things to do?”

“Pfft. Like what?”

“I don't know, like running the country?” He raised an eyebrow, causing Twilight to blush.

“Oh, right. Look, I'm sure everything is just fine without me keeping an eye on Equestria twenty-four hours a day. It's not like Celestia and Luna stepped in with every little problem.”

“Right, and how many times was Equestria in mortal danger under their watch?” Spike couldn't help but imagine a scene of ponies running back and forth across a flaming Ponyville, while Luna slept and Celestia sipped tea in their castle. “I know nothing major has happened since that whole Grogar thing, but we don't have the Elements of Harmony to fall back on anymore.”

“Ok, you've made your point, Spike. No more late nights,” she sighed. “Can I get back to what I was saying?”

He gestured for her to carry on.

“Thank you. Now where was I? Oh! So I was reading about the formation of the Valkyries at the beginning of the Great Griffon War, and I did find mention of a Lieutenant Shooting Star in the records. Of course it was an honorary title given to her after the war, since she was originally expelled from the academy for insubordination and the reckless endangerment of herself and others.”

“How do you know all this? Those are confidential records!” the rainbow-maned pegasus growled from the bed.

“As principal Princess I have access to all written records and historical archives, and let me tell you that power has not gone to waste!” She couldn't help but let out a barely tempered giggle-snort at the very thought of such literary adventures as of yet unhad, even after all her decades in power. Taking a breath to calm herself, she continued. “Records from that era are pretty spotty to say the least, but noted historian Silver Quill had already outlined and compiled the surviving documents in his own dissertation, so finding the originals was a breeze!”

“So if she's Shooting Star, are you saying what I think you're saying?” Spike asked, hoping for a more succinct answer.

“That's right, Spike. Right now we're looking at Equestria's first ever documented time-traveller!”

“You're joking, right?” Shooting Star straightened up, spreading her wings in contempt. “How in Equestria could I travel through time? That's impossible!”

“I was hoping that was something you could tell us.” The Princess seemed somewhat disappointed that Star didn't have an exciting story of her adventure through time at the ready, though not surprised. “But I can assure you, it is possible. I've done it myself on more than one occasion, and I'll be the first to tell anypony that time-travel should not be taken lightly.”

“As if!” She scoffed and crossed her forehooves, turning away; unwilling to entertain the idea for even a moment.

“As far as we know, Starswirl the Bearded was the only pony to ever formulate a working time-travel spell, though he never recorded using it himself. To somehow move through time accidentally... and by a pegasus no less!” Twilight's eyes had unfocused, lost in her own train of thought once again.

“Hey! I'm right here, you know!” she scowled. “It's not like I want to be, but I am!” She tossed the sheets from her lower legs and stood on the mattress, now eye-level with the princess and breathing angrily. “Princess, alicorn, I don't care; you need to start treating me like a real pony! I exist! I'm right here!” Her voice was bitter, but the tears welling up in her eyes spoke to an unshared fear. She was starting to lose grip on reality—whatever that meant anymore. She wasn't sure how much more of these mind games she could take. If this really was Discord's doing, then he was a certified evil genius.

“I'm sorry, I know you're upset. I didn't mean to reduce you to a problem that just needs solving.” The Princess bowed her head, attempting to diffuse the pegasus' anger. “I know I can get a little... wrapped up in things sometimes; and I know what it's like to need answers when you're feeling confused and alone. I'm being as forthcoming as I feel it's safe to be, but time-travel is a difficult situation to address—this is why it was banned so many moons ago by the Council of the Nine. Going forward in time isn't so much of a problem, but going back...” She sighed, risking Shooting Star's intense gaze with her own look of... regret? “Have you ever heard the term 'the ripple effect'?”

“No.”

“It's a way of exemplifying how something unassuming can have far reaching consequences—like a small pebble dropped into a large lake, creating ripples that reach across its entire surface.”

“So what's that supposed to mean?”

“Yeah, you've kinda lost me too, Twilight,” Spike confessed from her side.

“Basically, it means that even the slightest change to the past could completely alter the future; our present.” The princess turned to her advisor, who was clutching his head in worry.

“Are you saying that travelling back in time could-” he swallowed, “s-s-s-stop me from ever being born?!”

“It's highly unlikely, but yes; that's the problem, we have no idea what the effects of such a 'ripple' could bring. Knowing specific events of your own future—or maybe even just the time-travelling itself—could completely change Equestria as we know it!”

“Oh no!” Spike yelled, distraught and pale in the face.

“And that's just the beginning!” she continued. “For all we know, this was predestined, and sending her back is what we need to do to keep the timeline intact! Not doing anything could be the very mistake we were trying to avoid”

The purple dragon shrieked in existential fear, doubling over into a ball on the ground.

“So that's it, huh. You're sure I... travelled through time?” The pegasus' eyes were shadowed by a deep frown, but at least the anger seemed to have abated.

“If you really are Lieutenant Shooting Star of the Canterlot Valkyries, then that seems to be the only logical conclusion.”

The rainbow-maned pony exhaled, limply slumping down onto the bed.

“I'm sorry, I know it's not good news; but knowing is the first step on the road to a solution.” The Princess spoke softly, walking to the opposite side of the bed and laying a hoof near Star's. “We'll figure out what to do next—together.”

The pegasus looked up at Twilight through misty eyes and nodded, though the gesture seemed hollow in her confused and insecure state. The trio took a moment of silence to calm their racing minds before Twilight went on.

“As I mentioned before, records from your era are few and far between, be it from age, censorship, or lack of resources at the time. Can you remember anything from before you woke up here that might help us pinpoint when you came from?”

She snorted. “Why don't you ask Discord that? He must have been the one to send me here, there's no other explanation.”

“Was he the last thing you saw? The thing is... I already asked him what he remembers about you, and he said he doesn't recall anything before his showdown with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna—not even his years of rule over Equestria.”

“'Years of rule'?!'”

“Shoot! Um, pretend you didn't hear that, okay?” The Princess squeaked an awkward smile, having already bumbled her own rules for preserving the timeline. Spike face-palmed on the opposite side of the bed, having recovered from his panic attack. “Maybe you could just tell us everything that happened leading up to your arrival here?”

Shooting Star sighed and leaned back on the bed, finally giving in to the pressure of this bizarre situation. “Fine. The day started pretty normally; routine as usual. It's hard to know when things started to go wrong... The King had become lax in his duty to raise the sun, so the hours and days began to bleed together after-” She stopped abruptly, making direct eye contact with the Princess. “Just how much do you know about... that.”

Twilight blinked, though it didn't take long for her to realise what the pegasus meant. “About the passing of Queen Starshine? Only as much as the historians recorded. It remains the only documented case of an alicorn ever passing, and for it to happen during birth of Princess Luna... I only learned about it after assuming the throne, but the guilt it must have caused her may explain what happened later...”

“So you do know...” As insane as this situation was, there was no way that Discord could have known what happened in that operating room. Such confidential information would have been archived for only the highest members of court, so her story of being a Princess was starting to seem legitimate. “What happened later?”

“Uhh-” Twilight turned to Spike, who was vigorously making a gesture for her to stop. “I really shouldn't tell you any more than I already have.”

The pegasus grunted dismissively. “Well, anyway, sometime around midday everypony heard an explosion from the palace throne room. Next thing we know, the whole place starts to shift and change like some kind of nightmare—complete chaos.” The alicorn and dragon shared a knowing glance as she continued. “I was already on my way to the throne room when Diamond Aegis almost flew into me; said that Starswirl—Starswirl!—had ordered a palace-wide evacuation! Normally I wouldn't take orders from anyone but my commander or the King, but the situation being what it was left no time to question decisions. I raced outside and started airlifting ponies from the courtyard to just outside town, then before I knew it, we were all suddenly sitting back in the throne room. It happened so fast—in the blink of an eye.”

“Or the snap of a finger?” Spike interjected.

“Sure, I guess. That's when I first saw him; that- that creature, sitting there on his twisted throne where the King's should have been, mocking us. My hooves were glued to the floor somehow, and then he started turning ponies to stone left and right. We tried to stop him, but by the time we were free, half the staff were already...” She paused as her voice began to quiver, closing her eyes to suppress unexpected tears.

“Turning ponies to stone? That doesn't sound like the Discord we know, even on a bad day,” Twilight muttered, looking to Spike who silently agreed.

Catching her breath, Star continued. “We managed to surround him, but he swatted us away like flies. The commander ordered us to retreat to Pegasopolis, but I ignored his orders. I wanted to stay behind and rescue as many ponies as we could, but- A small squadron remained with me, but it was obvious we wouldn't make a difference against that monster. It was all or nothing. While the others distracted him, I prepared an all-out, final attack. I flew as high as I could, picked up as much speed as possible on the descent, and aimed to take us both out on impact... I would give my life to defend Equestria, but- but even that wasn't enough. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in this bed.”

“That sounds awful. I'm so sorry you had to go through that…”

“‘Pegasopolis’?” Spike interrupted in a lowered tone.

“I’ll tell you later,” Twilight hushed back, returning her attention to Star. “And you're sure this was the same creature we brought before you?”

“Yeah. You don't forget a face like that—the face of pure evil.”

“Hey, I know Discord is different from most—well, all—ponies, but he's really not a bad guy,” Spike pled in defence of his friend. “Sure, he's done some bad things in his time, but he was never 'evil'; he just- uh- had a different sense of humour to the rest of us.”

“You think this is funny?” Star snarled at the dragon, raising her voice as she spoke. “Turning my friends to stone? The fear of death in the eyes of the innocent? Does that sound like a joke to you?!”

“No! No, that's not what I meant!” He raised his palms in defence. “I just- I can't imagine the Discord we know ever being that cruel. Sure, he's tried to take over Equestria once or twice, maybe upset a few ponies along the way, but he’s never done anything to endanger lives!”

“I'll handle this, Spike,” the Princess cut in, exhaling calmly before continuing. “We don't doubt for a second what you're telling us, Shooting Star, I can see the truth of it in your eyes. We just want to understand how Discord—or somecreature impersonating him—could be capable of such an atrocity. As lackadaisical as Discord can be, I don't believe for a second that he could simply forget such a crime... Spike, you know him better than I do; do you think he could be holding back from us, even now?”

“No way! After the whole Tirek and Chrysalis thing, he knows the importance of trust and honesty—I'd stake my wings on it!”

“Okay...”

“Did you say Tirek? Like, the centaur?” Star asked, confused. “I remember my mother reading me bedtime stories about him and the first alicorn... What's he got to do with this?”

“It's a long story,” the Princess groaned, rolling her eyes. “That was a long time ago anyway. You don't need to worry about them anymore.”

“Worry? Why would I worry?”

“Spike, if you trust Discord, then I trust your judgement of him.” Twilight continued, ignoring the pegasus' question. “But that raises all sorts of questions about what Shooting Star encountered in her timeline...” She turned back to the patient. “Is there anything else you can remember about those last moments in your Canterlot? Anything at all?”

The proud Valkyrie looked up, thinking deeply. “There was one thing...”

“Yes?”

“When I was flying down, using gravity and my wings to reach speeds I never had before... Something... Something felt different.”

“Different how?”

She subconsciously unfurled her wings as she remembered the feeling. “It was like... It was like I was flying between the sky... At the peak of my momentum I felt almost frictionless, like gliding on a still summer's day, but at speeds so fast I could barely see. With every flap of my wings, it felt like the air behind me was bursting, propelling me even faster. I've never felt anything like it before, and I have a reputation for being the fastest around.”

“That sounds like...” Twilight turned to Spike, who shared her look of confusion. “Shooting Star, would you say the very last thing you remember is a sort of... explosion?”

She stared at the Princess blankly for a moment while she thought, before answering: “Yeah.”

“I think we should talk to Rainbow Dash about this,” Spike suggested.

“My thoughts exactly, Spike. I'll arrange a council meeting so we can hear what the others think, too.”

“No WAY was it a sonic rainboom!” Rainbow Dash yelled, slamming her hooves on the large crystal table as her voice echoed throughout Ponyville's Castle of Friendship. “The sonic rainboom is my thing! I'm the only pegasus to ever do it!”

“I know, but how else do you explain what happened?” Princess Twilight asked from her cutie-marked throne in the now-mapless map room. “The sonic rainboom was a legend long before you first performed it, and that legend must have started somewhere.”

The blue pegasus took to the air just above her seat and gesticulated wildly. “I don't care about that! I won't let her steal credit for my thing. It's MY—THING!”

“I don't know, Rainbow Dash, it does sound awfully similar,” Fluttershy cooed in her typical whisper-like voice while sitting on her own throne.

“Not you too!”

“Calm down there, Sugarcube, this ain't nopony's fault,” Applejack calmly instructed from below her three engraved apples. “We're here to talk about helpin' this filly, and gettin' riled up over nothin' ain't gonna help one bit.”

“'Riled up over nothing'?! This isn't 'nothing'! The sonic rainboom is practically the backbone of my entire career! If it hadn't been for me, none of us would-”

The earth pony gave Dash a withering eyebrow raise, pressuring her to reluctantly float back down to her seat. With her rump planted back on the hard, crystalline throne, she crossed her forelegs and scowled indignantly toward the wall.

“Twilight, did them books mention anythin' like a sonic rainboom?”

“No, nothing like that. Not even the ponies who were present at Shooting Star's disappearance mentioned anything in their statements. Maybe it happened too fast, or the petrification she mentioned affected their short-term memory, but all that was recorded was her disappearance on contact with Discord.”

“This is bogus,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, earning another unimpressed look from the country mare.

“Well this is news to me,” Discord remarked, his long body lying across Pinkie Pie and Rarity's vacant chairs. “It does sound exciting, though, doesn't it?”

Fluttershy turned to her draconequus friend. “Maybe she would feel better if you apologised to her?”

“I don't know about that, Fluttershy, she's still very upset,” Twilight interjected. “Remember that this only happened a few days ago for her, so an apology might ring hollow. She doesn't even know that her friends survived their encounter with Discord.”

“Why haven't you told her?” Spike asked from his somewhat uncomfortable position, perched upon the throne sized for his much younger and smaller self. Ever since Twilight had moved into Canterlot Castle, the Castle of Friendship had stopped growing to fit its occupants' needs, leaving it as somewhat of a time-capsule of their old adventures together.

“Spike, I already told you we can't tell her about her future. If we do manage to send her back to her own timeline, that kind of knowledge could affect all of our presents.” It was at this moment Twilight expected an elated interruption of 'Presents?!' from Pinkie Pie, though her seat remained silent in her absence—a bitter reminder of how times had changed.

“Isn't it a bit late for that?” Spike shot back. “Not only has she already seen plenty of the future on her own, but you yourself told her things she shouldn't know!”

“Nopony's perfect, Spike,” the Princess snapped, turning away as she blushed. He was right, of course. She had consistently let her excitement get the better of her so far, possibly endangering Shooting Star's chances of returning home, if not the lives of everycreature in the world!

“Ah, hypocrisy, thy name is academia,” the dragon waxed with theatrical flare, earning a red-cheeked glare from the purple alicorn and a giggle from Fluttershy.

“Lookit, ah figure we can't do nothin' for this filly without some solid evidence to work with,” Applejack posed. “Since we can't get nothin' useful from her, the books, or Discord-”

“Oh excuse me. When was the last time you remembered something from over two-thousand moons ago?” he snapped back.

“Be that as it may,” she continued, “Ah reckon we need to get practical. Rainbow Dash, how 'bout you help her recover at the academy, then see if you can't recreate this so-called sonic rainboom of hers?”

“That's an excellent idea, Applejack!” Twilight beamed, receiving a gracious hat tilt in return.

“Uh-uh! Absolutely not! No way! First she wants to steal my claim to fame, and now you want me to help her do it?!” The irate pegasus slammed her hooves on the table again, snorting steam from her muzzle.

“Dash, you got plenty of claims to fame; ain't no reason to get so defensive over this one,” AJ asserted as calmly as ever. “For Twilight's sake, you're the Captain of the Wonderbolts, Drill Sergeant at the Academy, and've helped save Equestria more times than Ah can remember!”

The rainbow pegasus made her stance known with a petulant re-crossing of her forelegs and a long, drawn out growl.

Applejack sighed, shifting gears to a more motherly voice. “Do it for me?”

Dash ground her teeth in frustration, then forcefully pulled her hooves down her face, stretching out its skin before shouting, “FINE!” indignantly.

“Great! With that covered, I think we'll adjourn this meeting for now,” Twilight announced, standing from her chair. “Thank you so much for coming, girls; you don't know what it means to me to have us all working together again like this.”

“T'ain't nothing, Twilight. You can take the pony out of Ponyville, but you can't take Ponyville out of the pony.”

“What does that even mean?” Discord sneered, floating up from his appropriated chairs.

“Don't mind him,” the yellow pegasus countered. “Applejack is right, we would never hesitate to help you, Twilight. After all, we are best friends until the end of time.”

“Bleh!” The draconequus stuck his tongue out in somewhat faked disgust, before turning and waving his hand in a circle to create a portal behind the chairs. “When you're quite done with all the snuggly-wuggly friend talk, I have an Ogres and Oubliettes board to set up. Let me know if that firecracker wants to talk again, though—it's not often I get to see a pony with such bloodlust in their eyes. It warms the cockles of my old heart.”

Discord winced as Fluttershy jabbed him in the ribs for his comment, giving an embarrassed smile back towards the group as she followed him through the portal.

“See you later, Discord!” Spike called out. “I'll bring the firesnap cider!”

“Too bad Pinkie Pie and Rarity couldn't be here for this.” Rainbow Dash circled the table to stand next to Applejack. “Would have been nice to see the whole gang back together again so soon.”

“Yeah. Rarity's still at the Las Pegasus Carousel, sorting out those fancy costumes for Flim and Flam's stage show,” Spike replied, long since over his childhood crush on the pony, though still close friends.

“And Pinkie Pie's with Maud, Mudbriar, and the Cheeses at the rock farm,” AJ continued, a bittersweet tinge to her voice. “We've all got our own lives these days.”

“Life might have taken us in different directions, and while I'm sad that we can't always enjoy each others' company like we used to, I couldn't be happier knowing that each of my friends are living such rich and happy lives.” Twilight smiled with a mistiness in her eyes, garnering similar reactions from the others.

“See ya soon, Twi.” The earth pony tipped her hat and made for the rear door, closely followed by Dash after a casual salute.

“So what now?” Spike asked Twilight, now the only ones left in their old castle.

“We'll leave it in Rainbow's hooves for now. They might not see eye-to-eye yet, but I get the feeling those two share some special kind of connection I've yet to discern. Anyway, I've got to get back to ruling the country, isn't that right, Royal Ambassador?” The alicorn gave her adoptive sibling a wry smile before sharing a light laugh.

As a silence warmed by their smiles settled in, the pair looked around at the nostalgic scene, from the cutie-mark-inscribed thrones to the majestic roots of the former Golden Oak Library above. One of the benefits of a crystal castle was that things remained exactly how you left them, and the wooden chandelier had only improved with age, with each memory-gem gleaming just as brightly as the day it was revealed.

“Let’s get going,” Twilight sighed, still smiling at the memories.

“Yeah.”

With a flash of light, the pair disappeared, leaving the room empty once more. A moment of silence passed within the cavernous walls of the castle, broken by the creaking of one of the map room's large, crystal doors.

“Is somepony there?” Starlight Glimmer asked, peaking around the door. Met by nothing but an echo, she slowly backed out the room with a look of concerned confusion on her face, closing the door with her.

Author's Note

1st Edition - 17th May, 2020 (Release) (4,515 words)
1.1 Revision - 14th Oct, 2021 (Minor clarification of RD's Academy rank) (4,518 words)
1.2 Revision - 22nd July, 2022 (Minor additions and Pegasopolis retrofit) (4,559 words)
1.3 Revision - 8th October, 2022 (Tweaked ending) (4642 words)

Chapter 4: Birds of a Feather

Morning dawned over Canterlot once again, waking Shooting Star to the increasingly familiar surroundings of Canterlot Castle's infirmary. Unlike previous days in this alternate Equestria, today felt different, as though the walls around her were no longer iron bars. More eager to greet the day than she had felt in months, Star decided to leave the ward—this time taking the door, rather than her usual route out of the window—and seek out the nearest garden.

Wandering the cavernous white and gold halls while rejecting offers of help from various guardsponies, it didn’t take too long for her to become completely lost within the opulent, indistinguishable, and labyrinthine corridors. Finally allowing frustration to overpower her pride, she accepted the help of the next guard to offer, who pointed to the door just opposite his station. Swallowing her chagrin, she nudged the rustic, wooden door open to reveal a small enclosed rose garden. It was perhaps two or three times the size of the infirmary, with looming castle windows on three sides, and a high, spiked wall blocking sight to one of myriad public areas surrounding the building. With a flustered nod to the guard, she entered the secluded, homely hideaway and began to peruse the flowers.

After a short time alone in the garden, having found a relaxing and sweet-scented spot to sit in the lush, manicured grass, a frustratingly familiar voice from the doorway broke the serene silence.

“Good morning, Shooting Star.”

Princess Twilight approached the rainbow-maned mare from behind, for once not suddenly teleporting into her face. She was as peppy and alert as ever, like an over-eager student addressing her teacher in the morning; a personality-type that Star found exceedingly draining.

“Hey,” she exhaled, feeling what little calm the flowers had brought her slip away.

“I’m happy to see you up and about. Did you sleep well?”

“Sorry, I’m not much for small talk. Let’s get to the point, shall we?”

Star attempted to busy herself with the colours and smells of the expertly sculptured garden, though her investment in the atmosphere was already broken.

“Right... Well-” She cleared her throat, trying hard to remain positive in the face of her guest’s abrasiveness. “For the time being I’d like you to remain in the care of Rainbow Dash. As a fellow pegasus, she’s the most likely to-”

“No way.”

“I’m sorry?”

“That hot-head from yesterday? No way. Can’t stand her.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” Twilight mumbled. “Look, I’m working as hard as I can to understand what happened to you, but time-travel is a poorly understood subject; not even Starswirl the Bearded—the only pony ever known to write a time-travel spell—actually understood how it worked.”

“'Starswirl?'You’re joking, right? I'm completely forgotten about, but you know about that bookworm?”

She wanted to be bitter, as would anypony in the face of being less than a hoofnote in history, but really she knew that her simple role as an officer of the guard was nothing compared to Starswirl's war-winning spells, even if she considered him a stuck-up egg-head.

“Oh, I more than just know about him. Starswirl has been considered the utmost authority on magic since the Pre-Classical Era! We have an archive dedicated to his recovered book collection here in the castle, and relics of his life go on a bi-annual tour around Equestria and beyond! He remains the golden standard toward which all studious unicorns aspire—at least I know I did.” She giggle-snorted—something that was quite unbecoming of a princess, but veryTwilight. “Things did get a little weirder after we met, though. There’s a good reason why ponies say you should never meet your heroes.”

Shooting Star faced the alicorn for the first time since she had arrived.

“I thought you said this was two-thousand years in the future, how could you have met him? Did he give himself eternal life? Or perhaps you are a time-traveller too,” she asked with dry sarcasm, tired of the word games these ponies like to play. For just once she wished somepony would be clear and direct with her—one thing she sorely missed from the barracks.

The Princess looked away awkwardly, rubbing her neck. “Well, technically, but-” She sighed. “It’s a long story, and I shouldn’t really have mentioned any of that to begin with.”

Twilight's eyes drifted as she briefly reminisced about her adventures with the Pillars so many years ago, and Starswirl's more recent funeral. It had been hard to accept at the time, especially since he had passed while on one of his many travels outside of Equestria; but even now she felt that loss of her life-long idol, and perhaps even a strange sense of guilt for not being there in his final moments, not that they shared much of a personal relationship. It was a feelingthat she had bottled up from everycreature, even Spike, and despite all the years that had passed since then, it was still something that she didn't really know how to express, even if she wanted to. Suddenly remembering where she was, she shook her head back into the present and focused on her guest.

“Anyway, Rainbow will be here in about an hour to escort you to the Wonderbolt Academy, okay? Please try to get on.”

Star growled as she turned back to the nearby rose bush, frustrated that her questions had gone unanswered yet again, muttering to herself

Twilight turned to leave, feeling that she had failed yet another chance to endear herself to the mysterious arrival, before hesitating and looking back at the pegasus.

“By the way, I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of something called a ‘sonic rainboom’, have you?”

“A sonic what?”

“Hm. Never mind. Thank you.” The Princess resumed her exit before yet again coming to a stop. “Oh, and I’ll speak to Starlight Glimmer about getting you a room in the Castle of Friendship, now that you've been discharged from the infirmary. You’ll like it there-” She lowered her voice as she left the garden, “-it’s very cold.”

The pegasus bit the inside of her cheek as she heard the door to the hallway creak shut. What was that all about? 'Starlight'? 'Castle of Friendship’? She had to be joking. Why is everything here 'friendship-this' and 'friendship-that'? It was sickening. Weak. There had never been time to make friends in her Canterlot. All she'd ever cared about was flying away, and then the war happened, and for the first time in her life she knew what her purpose was. She had worked her flank off as a Valkyrie ever since that day, and yet it felt like there wasn't an inch of personal space to have in this colossal, immaculate castle without somepony imposing their unrequited concern or flaunting their 'special relationships'. This was supposed to be a place of leadership—of propriety—not some holiday resort! She snorted angrily, causing the nearby rose petals to quiver in fear.

True to the Princess' word, Shooting Star's brief respite was interrupted yet again by a distant twinkle in the sky and a streaking rainbow trail toward the castle's hidden garden. Indeed, that same pony from yesterday came to an elegant mid-air stop, hovering just over the castle wall as she raised her sunglasses to look down at her new ward with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey,” she called out flatly, apparently as annoyed to be there as she was to be received.

“Hey,” Star groaned in response.

“So, look-” the sky-blue pegasus began, lowering herself to the grass beside Star. “I know we might not have got off on the best hoof yesterday, but Twilight's my friend—and more importantly, a Princess—so I kinda gotta do what she says.”

The Valkyrie looked up sceptically, unimpressed by this introduction so far.

“Element of Loyalty and all that,” Rainbow continued. “Aaanyway, I'll escort you back to the Academy since I've still got one more class to run, then after that we can head over to Cloudsdale to grab some lunch, since it's nearby for the graduation.”

Shooting Star rolled her eyes but nevertheless rose to her hoofs and wiped the loose blades of grass and dirt from her legs. “‘Cloudsdale’, huh? Better than sitting around here all day, I guess.”

“I guess.”

With a mutual disregard for one another, the two set off toward the mesa-bound Academy and its neighbouring city-in-the-clouds, with Rainbow Dash flying a little faster than she might normally do, knowing that Star could keep up. It didn't take long for the two aerial aces to reach their hometown of Cloudsdale—though only one of them knew it was such—floating just north of Rambling Rock Ridge.

As the glistening white cloud city came into view, Shooting Star couldn't help but slow in shock at what she saw. This was Cloudsdale? It was shocking enough that pegasi had built a second floating city, but this was nothing like Pegasopolis. Gone were almost all of the characteristic columns, arches, and cloud-formed huts that she remembered from her foalhood home; instead, this was a place of lavish sculptures, foreign machinery, glass walls, and more pegasi than she had ever seen in one spot before. As she glided closer, ignoring the impatient looks from Rainbow Dash, she began to spot more than just pegasi: unicorns, terrans, dragons, griffons, and other creatures she didn’t even recognise. This was nothing like her home. Part of her hoped that this future’s Pegasopolis remained as pure and familiar as her memories, though that was not something she dared to confirm. If any singular moment in this bizarre reflection of her Equestria could convince her that this was indeed her future, this was it.

“Hey, you coming, hotshot?” Rainbow Dash called back, forelegs folded in what was becoming her signature look.

“Uh- Y-Yeah.”

Struggling to pull her eyes away from the vast city that dwarfed the memories of her hometown, Shooting Star shook out her thoughts and reluctantly followed her escort. The two pegasi glided around the outskirts and highest towers, apparently taking the scenic route before swooping down toward a cloud-piercing mesa. Unlike the mobile city nearby, this was a separate, static piece of unfathomably high and sheer-faced land, featuring a large runway down its centre and a few large buildings around it. As they came in to land, the colourful dots she had seen from a distance revealed themselves to be yet more creatures, all in matching blue-and-yellow jumpsuits.

As the two rainbow-maned pegasi landed gracefully on the grass, it became clear that this was no regular military academy like her own. Not only was there a mix of species here, but their training seemed more like cheerleading than actual flight drills, especially for those without wings.

“I thought you said this was an academy?”

“Sure is! Wonderbolt Academy: finest fliers in all of Equestria,” Dash announced proudly, nodding to some passing cadets that saluted her. “We've come a long way since your time.”

Shooting Star scowled, not fully understanding the implication, yet feeling insulted nonetheless. “And the wingless ones?”

“Well, after Starlight became the Headmare of the School of Friendship, we started getting more requests from non-pony races to join the Wonderbolts. Once we started letting dragons and griffons join, soon non-flying creatures were applying too, wanting to join with their friends or having something to prove...” She chuckled, lifting her sunglasses from her head and sliding them into her jacket pocket. “My whole life I dreamed of becoming a Wonderbolt—to soar through the skies side-by-side with my heroes—but I never imagined I would hear that same story from an abyssinian.”

“A cat that wanted to fly?”

“It seemed crazy to me too, but he was so passionate, growing up collecting newspaper clippings, with a Wonderbolts poster over his bed... That's when I realised that our differences are only skin deep. Now Jasper is the coach of our flightless team.” She released a content sigh and began to walk forward, followed by Star. “I expect 110% from my Wonderbolts, so as long as everycreature gives whatever they're doing their all, that's good enough for me.”

“'Every creature', huh?”

Shooting Star continued to follow Rainbow Dash toward the bleachers ahead, looking at the groups of assorted creatures in a slightly different light now. Regardless of whether they served a purpose in her eyes, they did seem to be happy... It wasn't often you saw a smile in her barracks. In fact, it was usually her arrival that removed them.

“Must be pretty different from the Equestria you know, huh? It's still pretty new for us too, but I wouldn't change this 'golden age of friendship'—as Twilight called it—for anything. And you're just in time to see it at its peak, too.” Arriving at the bleachers, Dash turned to her ward and pointed towards the massive floating city nearby. “Like I mentioned, Cloudsdale is so close right now because the graduation ceremony is in a few days; everycreature and their parents are going to be here for it, so it's pretty packed right now.

Between the massive gleaming towers to her left and the interracial unity to her right, this whole scene was quite overwhelming. Is this what they called 'culture shock'? The last time she had seen a griffon, it was with their tail between their legs, fleeing the overwhelming might of the King and Equestria's finest, the Valkyries, after securing victory in the Great Griffon War. This Equestria made hers seem like a nightmare she had too recently woken from... Should she feel consolation that this utopia was the future of her land—one that she would never see naturally for herself—or was this all some sick illusion to undermine her opinion of the real Equestria? Well, it would take more than this to sway her. Life might be hard in her world, but it was hers, and she worked every day to ensure it would become a better place for all of ponykind.

Now standing in front of the bleachers, Shooting Star noticed a large golden statue a little further down the runway that had been obscured by them. It looked suspiciously like a young Rainbow Dash posing triumphantly over a geometric lightning bolt, though its plaque was too far away to read.

“Subtle.”

Dash looked over her shoulder and turned back with a smug grin. “Oh, that old thing? They practically begged me to put it up when I got my sergeant stripes. Guess you gain some clout after saving Equestria a dozen or so times. Pretty good likeness, don't you think?”

“Uh-huh,” she grunted dryly. This pony's ego was beginning to leave a bad taste in her mouth.

Dash's grin widened. “Bet there aren't any solid gold statues of you back in your time, huh?”

Star scowled in return. “We don't need statues, we're too busy doing our job. Another day of peace is thanks enough for a Valkyrie.”

“Whatever, you're just jealous.”

Dash turned away from the bleachers as a number of Wonderbolt trainees began to congregate around them. This group was mainly pegasi, but a couple of other winged creatures dotted the ranks too. Apparently this meeting had been organised prior to their arrival, as the rainbow-maned drill sergeant suddenly assumed a serious demeanour that her ward had yet to witness.

“Alright newbies, we've got a guest watching us today,” she shouted, exuding a far different confidence than moments before. “So let's put on a good show and show her what it means to be a Wonderbolt!”

“YES, SIR!” the group shouted back in unison, triggering memories of Star's own drills back home. Maybe things here weren't as different as they had first seemed?

“Give me three laps around the course; the first one back gets an autographed picture of yours truly!”

Star rolled her eyes, immediately rescinding her second thought. However, for whatever reason, these recruits seemed to respond to her inflated ego, taking off one after another like a highly trained detachment of her own ponies. The blue-and-yellow clad fliers banked and swooped through the various hoops and around the sculpted clouds like the best she had seen, which was surprising enough from such young cadets, let alone other races. She found herself lost in the mesmerising display of skill, perhaps because for once she wasn't in command of the group, and took a few steps to Rainbow's side. If these were the recruits, just how good were the full members?

“I've got to give it to you, they're good fliers.”

“Of course they are, they learned from the best!” she chuckled as the head of the pack banked around and shot past them, kicking up dust and blowing their manes about.

Shooting Star looked at Rainbow Dash's profile beside her, seriously wondering if she was as good as she bragged to be. That kind of ego has to come from somewhere, right? It takes a lot to instil the passion of high speed, precision flying into others, and Star had to admit that she wasn't the best teacher herself, often giving in to her own frustration and demanding trainees' respect through fear. Seeing the devotion that these fliers had for their sergeant and their craft said more than any gold statue ever could. As if sensing the tiny speck of respect that had manifested itself silently in her mind, Dash turned to her guest and smugly waggled her eyebrows, immediately putting Star back on edge. That ego!

“If only Starswirl were still here to help us with this,” Princess Twilight mumbled, holding up her own head as she wearily leaned into a book.

“Come on Twilight, don't be like that.” Spike looked up from his own book as the two worked their way through the Starswirl wing of the castle library. “Starswirl had complete confidence in you, so I'm sure he'd tell you that you can manage this your own way. Besides, you used to love combing through your books to solve the problem of the week.”

“I know, and I do, but there's only so many times you can read the same books, looking for that one sentence that makes it all worth it.” She sighed, straightening her back and rubbing her long, aching neck. “And it's not that simple, Spike. Any puzzle can be solved when you have all the pieces, but there is so much we don't know about ancient Equestrian history, and he was there. He lived it! Can you even imagine living in that golden era of scientific and magical discovery beside the first alicorn king and queen? I can't believe I never asked him about that period of history when I had the chance.”

“You can't beat yourself up over something like that, Twilight; you didn't know you'd ever need that kind of information until Shooting Star arrived a few days ago. You had no reason to ask.”

“But that's the problem, I didn't know! I should have asked him more about the Pre-Classical Era purely for the sake of historical preservation! All we have are legends and headlines prior to the journals Princess Luna and Princess Celestia kept in the Castle of the Two Sisters. As their mentor, imagine the stories he could have told!” She closed the dusty tome with a deep thump and cradled her head over it with both hooves. “Why did he never bring it up or write it down?”

“Twilight, you can't be expected to know everything,” Spike sighed, all too well knowing this spiralling pattern of hers. He gently laid down his own book and walked to her side, placing an empathetic hand on her shoulder. “You've got to stop holding yourself to such impossibly high standards. Nocreature is perfect, but you're the smartest pony I've ever known. If there's something you don't know, I can guarantee that most other creatures don't know it either. I think we all have things we want to remain in the past, and I'm sure Starswirl had his reasons for not sharing his.”

She looked up with a grateful, yet pained smile. “Thanks, Spike. After all these years, with all the books I've read and lessons I've learned, I thought I knew everything I needed to know... Yet no matter how much I think I know, there always seems to be something important just out of reach, that if I had only tried a little harder...” She sighed again, lowering her hooves to the sides of the tome in front of her. “I just don't understand how so much history can just disappear like this.”

“Disappear? What do you mean?” He took a few steps back, sitting on the nearest chair beside the Princess. “Are you saying that there used to be more?”

“Absolutely. You don't just go a thousand years with ponies not feeling like writing things down; it was lost, for one reason or another. As you know, we're currently living in the Fifth Age, which began with my coronation, but there are almost no surviving documents from the Third Age, before Celestia and Luna's rule. One of the few surviving written relics was Clover the Clever's journal, but even that reads like a collection of fairytales... It had never occurred to me before just how little information we have on early moments in history that affect us even now, like the Princesses' births, Discord's early life, and the founding of Canterlot. Sure, we have legends like Hearth's Warming, and clues like Mistmane's blueprints for Canterlot Castle, but nowhere near enough pieces of the puzzle to even guess the pattern.”

Twilight turned to look beyond the gated archives and through the far corridor's window to the sculptured garden beyond.

“There are huge periods of time missing from all official records, and more than can be explained by just the tyranny of the Dark Ages... It's as if decades were simply erased from history, and... and...” She looked back to Spike with tears welling in her eyes. “And I'm afraid it will all happen again. All these great moments, all these great and powerful ponies, barely remembered by future generations... What if everything we have learned—everything that we have taught—gets lost to time too?”

Spike exhaled, massaging his forehead. “That's a lot to unpack... Uh, well, there had to be a reason that those records were lost, right? Maybe things weren't as good as we'd like to imagine they were, so they chose to only pass on the important stuff? There's no way everything we've done for Equestria could just be forgotten; just look at how the School of Friendship brought everycreature together, not to mention all the times we've saved Equestria with our own hooves—uh, claws—uh, ourselves.”

“Historical revisionism is no joke, Spike,” she sniffed, wiping her eyes. “If that's really what happened, then a serious inquiry needs to be made into why history as we know it was altered. Everycreature should be held accountable for what they have done, no matter what side of history they were on.”

“Yikes, this is getting a bit heavy, don't you think? All we were doing was looking for references to Shooting Star and time-travel spells.”

Twilight sighed, reaching for a much thinner ledger that had been pushed further onto the table, while her current book was moved aside to make room for it.

“This is the last Canterlot census taken that includes Shooting Star, taken just after the Great Griffon War to measure their losses. This is the first and last one that her name appears in, listing her as on active duty with the Valkyries, despite her not being in the regular census taken earlier the same year, which ties in with her story. There's no way she could have seen these documents beforehoof, as they're not available to the public, so she didn't just make her story up.”

“So does that mean that she really does know Discord, then? Why wouldn't he remember?” he asked, switching to a mumble. “She seems kinda hard to forget.”

“I don't know, Spike... I'm concerned it might have something to do with Discord's past being a mystery, though.”

“Concerned? Why, do you think he did something?”

“He wasn't always as docile as he is now, Spike. I shouldn't have to remind you the number of times he's endangered Equestria.”

“Yeah, but-” He huffed, wanting to defend his friend, yet knowing all too well his disreputable past. “So what, you're saying that Discord made Equestrian history disappear? Why would he do that?”

“I don't know, Spike, I don't know. But I feel like we have an obligation to find out how deep this rabbit hole goes.”

“I know Discord used to be a bit of a menace, but erasing history seems extreme, even for him.”

“There are some things I haven't been able to explain, but the more I think about it, the more signs point to Discord's unique brand of chaos magic. Just look.” Twilight pushed away the ledger, bringing back a different history book than before, opening it to an earmarked page and pointing to a passage. “Look here. This isn't simply a book going missing or—Celestia forbid—a page being torn out; these words are missing. Words or entire sentences simply gone from these paragraphs.”

“So you think he was so ashamed of something he did, that he literally wrote himself out of these books? Surely anycreature with magic could have done that.”

“Technically, yes, but any creature with magic would have had to cast the spell on every single copy of the book. I requested a second copy of this book from Princess Cadence in the Crystal Empire, and it's missing exactly the same passages, despite being trapped in limbo by King Sombra's curse for a thousand moons, making tampering after the fact near impossible.

“Impossible for anything but chaos magic?”

“It's a possibility. Look, I know you get on well with Discord now, we all do, more or less, and I take no pleasure in pointing a hoof, but if he really is involved in this, we need to find out why, at the very least for Shooting Star's sake.”

Spike sighed, sliding the book over to give himself a better view of the omitted text.

“This is crazy... I mean, I know it's not beyond what he's capable of, but... I don't know, it just seems so sloppy compared to the other stuff he's done. We've seen him flip gravity, change the seasons, multiply himself, and he regularly turns our Ogres and Oubliettes games into reality, all with a snap of his fingers, so for him to just leave these blank spaces... I don't know. It just feels like if he really wanted to hide something, I don't think we'd ever know about it.”

“You're not wrong, and that's why we need to look into this further, to find out what really happened to Shooting Star back then, and if Discord—our Discord—truly was involved.”

Twilight stood from her stool and began to slowly return books to their original slots on the shelves, taking a moment to look over at the large hourglass looming menacingly in the centre of the room, like a constant reminder that time is forever ticking onward without relent.

“While we no longer have access to the vast stores of knowledge and personal experience that Starswirl the Bearded possessed, we do have a new source of information, fresh out of the Pre-Classical Era. The problem is that I think she's told us everything that she knows already, and I didn't get the impression that Discord was lying when they met...”

Returning the last of the local books, Princess Twilight turned back to Spike, who was clearly still coming to terms with the accusations levied against his friend. She'd probably said more than she should have given their close friendship these days, but if she couldn't talk about these things with Spike, then who could she? A small part of her worried if she was enjoying this return to the 'good old days' of solving problems as a close-knit team a little too much when real lives and relationships were on the line. She trotted to his side, now the one to place her hoof on his shoulder.

“The most important thing is getting Shooting Star back home. As always, I'll rely on you, one of my closest and life-long friends, to keep me in check. I know how I can be,” she smiled apologetically.

He smiled back, placing his hand on her hoof. “It's okay, I know Discord has done some really bad things in his time. That's why it's so hard to look back at who he used to be before reforming. He would never do those things now, and I think he would tell us if he really did know anything about their past together.”

“Yeah.”

“So, now what?”

“Well-” She lowered her hoof and slowly walked towards the nearest window, which looked out upon the colonised expanses of Central Equestria. “There's only one pony I know that has more experience with time-travel than myself.”

“Isn't she kinda busy these days?”

“Too busy for the Princess of Friendship? Besides, I should be way more busy than she is.”

“You can say that again,” he mumbled back.

“Knock-knock,” Twilight called out as she entered the School of Friendship's headmare's office, failing to actually knock on the closed doors.

“Oh, Twilight, what an unexpected surprise.” Starlight Glimmer looked up from her syllabus review, calmly placing her hooves together on the desk and adopting the 'mediator's smile' she had learned through years of dealing with difficult creatures. “How can I help you? If this is about your new friend staying at my castle, I already replied to your scroll; assuming Smolder sent it as I requested.”

“Oh you did? That's great! I've been so busy that I haven't had time to read my mail, which is ironic really—but that's not why I'm here. This might seem a little out-of-the-blue, but remember how you almost destroyed life as we know it with Starswirl's time-travel spell?”

Starlight raised an unimpressed eyebrow as the Princess approached her desk with Spike in tow. “As if anycreature will let me forget. Your point?”

“Sorry, let me explain. Recently we made contact with a particular mare—the 'friend' I mentioned in the scroll—who has found herself somewhat... 'out of time'. I was hoping you might have some insight into the spell you modified, as a means to send her back to her own time period. It's a long story.”

The headmare sighed and pushed her padded chair out from the desk, taking a few steps away from it to face the nearby window. “That was a long time ago, Princess. As I've said before, I only changed a line or two here and there. I'm hardly an expert on time-travel.” There was a brief pause before she turned her head toward the alicorn. “Besides, didn't you use the same exact spell yourself?”

Twilight giggled awkwardly, placing a hoof behind her neck. “Well, yes, but the original only sent me back a week, and only lasted one minute. I'm more interested in what you did to extend its scope and duration.”

“I wish I could help, Twilight, I really do, but my priorities have changed over the years.” She returned to her desk, propping herself up on it with her forelegs. “I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kind of busy running this school—that you left me—to keep up on my 'theoretical chronomancy'. I would think that if anycreature understood that level responsibility, it would be the Princess of Equestria.” She sighed, lowering herself from the table and shaking her head as she sat back on her impressive oak chair. Clearly it had not been a good day for her. “Don't you have better things to be doing? This seems more like a student problem than a me problem.”

“Luster Dawn? Pfff.” She swatted the air with her hoof. “She's not ready for something like this! Time-travel is serious—business.” She accentuated each word with a stamp of her hoof, though Starlight remained unimpressed by the Princess' shenanigans.

“You're just bored, aren't you?”

Twilight's eyes widened before darting side-to-side. “Ka! Pff! Tch! No! I'm busy too! I have plenty of... Princessy things I should be doing, but this is time-travel! This needs to be taken seriously, right, Spike?”

She looked back at the dragon, who simply shrugged. These days he spent more time outside Canterlot as the dragon ambassador than inside the castle, so he didn't actually know what Twilight was supposed to be doing instead of this.

“Time-travel is serious business, but she kinda has a point, this does seem like it would be a good learning experience for Luster, just like it was for you back in the day.”

The princess pouted impetuously, though she was clearly reluctant to defend her own actions. “Luster Dawn has her own lessons to learn and her own adventures to have. Shooting Star landed outside my castle, and I'll be the one to help her return home.”

Spike sighed hopelessly, exaggerating a second shrug. “Now you're really starting to sound like old Twilight.”

Indeed, this behaviour seemed more reminiscent of the younger, more emotional and impulsive Twilight, than the calm leader they had come to know. A disconcerting sight from such an imposing and majestic alicorn figure.

“Old Twilight?! What's that supposed to-” The Princess stopped herself, grunting before taking a deep breath to exhale her frustration. This is exactly what she had asked him to keep in check for her. There was something about being around old friends that brought out this younger version of herself. She knew this whole endeavour was a selfish pursuit, but the nostalgia was just so intoxicating... Should she have delegated this disaster to Luster Dawn, just like the many disasters delegated to her by Princess Celestia?

Starlight Glimmer giggled from behind her hoof. “You two haven't changed after all this time, have you?”

The two smiled awkwardly, not used to these spats being in front of other creatures.

“I wish I could help, I really do, but I know just as much as both of you do. I made those changes over many sleepless, revenge-fuelled nights, and when the spell ended and the scroll disappeared, I wasn't the one that did that. I don't have a clue what happened to it, and honestly, I wouldn't trust myself around time-travel again. The power to go back in time and undo the mistakes you've made... It's pretty alluring, even now.” She sighed, placing a hoof on the official documents on her wide oak desk. “Control over the curriculum is the most power I should have, and to this day I'm amazed that I'm allowed this much. If it weren't for you-”

“Starlight, I was just looking over these reports, and-” His head buried in a cycling stack of floating papers, the bearded unicorn, Sunburst, walked half-way into the room before realising it was occupied by more than just the headmare. “P-P-Princess?! What an unexpected surprise! Oh, um, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to-”

“It's quite alright, Sunburst, we were just leaving,” Twilight smiled warmly, grateful to know that she wasn't the only one reminiscing about the past. “Thank you for your time, Starlight. I'm sorry for keeping you from your duties; you're doing a fantastic job.”

Twilight nodded to Spike, who gave a little wave as the pair turned and left the room, leaving the two unicorns alone.

“What was that about?” Sunburst asked, nudging his spectacles up his muzzle.

Starlight shook her head with a blank expression. “I... actually have no idea.”

“So, that was a bust,” Spike stated as the two exited the school, garnering plenty of shocked and excited looks from the locals as they casually strolled towards Ponyville centre. “What exactly were you hoping to learn?”

“To be honest, I'm not sure,” she sighed, knowing that Starlight remembering any of the details on that scroll after so many decades was slim at best. “In a way, I think I was looking for moral support from somepony that had dealt with time-travel before; just to hear her say that it was hard, and I'm not struggling over nothing.”

“I thought you were over this kind of self-doubt.”

“I thought I was too... Do you know what it's like to be the best at something? To have nocreature to look up to or ask for answers? Knowing that if you can't do something, nocreature can?”

“Not really, no.”

“I cast Starswirl's time-travel spell myself, but Starlight did so much more by altering it the way she did and merging the spell with the cutie mark map—something I never would have dreamed of doing, let alone pulled off.”

“I think there's a good reason for that, though. She was kind of a villain, remember?”

“She had her reasons, though. Good or bad, we all have our reasons... It was too much to hope that she would remember what she did so long ago, though. If only we still had that scroll.”

“What happened to that thing, anyway?”

“You saw it, it got sucked back up into its own time portal... Who knows if or when it reappeared...”

“What do we do now?”

“I don't know. Without the original scroll or Starlight's memory of its contents, we've got no point of reference on how to write a time-travel spell. There are papers on theoretical chronomancy, like Starlight mentioned, but since it was publicly banned by Celestia after that little incident, nocreature has ever practically tested those theories, and I'm not sure we have the time to pioneer an entire branch of magical studies.”

“So... Is she stuck here for good?”

“I hope not, for her sake... One way or another, we're going to get to the bottom of this mystery, Spike, you mark my words.”

“Consider them marked,” he chuckled as the two continued on their way, followed by a slowly increasing group of admirers.

“I only hope that Rainbow Dash is having better luck than we are right now.”

The pair walked in silence for a few seconds before Spike turned to his companion with a jolt, hit by the lightning of a memory.

“By the way, you never told me what Pegasopolis is,” he asked with surprising intensity.

“Pegasopolis? I know you know this, Spike, it must have just slipped your mind with everything else going on. Think of the Hearth’s Warming Eve play—it was the name Commander Hurricane wanted to originally name Equestria, before the Fire of Friendship united everycreature. You have narrated it almost every year now. Honestly, you really should let a younger creature have a go.”

“But why would Shooting Star bring that up? I know she’s old, but she’s not that old… is she? Wouldn’t she have been in the play if she was?”

Twilight laughed warmly at his childlike naiveté. “Not everycreature is named in that play, you know—there were more than six ponies around during the Tribal Age. But no, Shooting Star isn’t that old. While Pegasopolis’ name was originally abandoned in favour of Equestria, following the end of the First Dark Age, many pegasi fled Canterlot to create their own safe haven in the clouds. What we know as Cloudsdale today was originally named Pegasopolis, in memory of Hurricane, who fell during the Dark Age.”

“If that name had so much meaning, why was it changed?”

“Well, you would have to ask an early Fourth Age pegasus that to know for sure, but I expect it had something to do with Celestia and Luna’s defeat of Discord—when they turned him to stone for the first time—and the re-unification of Equestria under their wings. It makes sense that the pegasi would choose to rename their capital to something a little more… broad-minded, considering that Commander Hurricane was claiming the unnamed Equestria for them and them alone.”

“Wow, I had no idea. I guess I figured that Cloudsdale had just… always been there.”

“I think we all prefer to not look back on our less inclusive pasts; even Ponyville has had its fair share. The important thing here is that Shooting Star doesn’t learn that Cloudsdale and Pegasopolis are one and the same place. It goes without saying that we should limit her exposure to as many cultural and scientific advancements as possible, but understanding those advancements is infinitely worse. Assuming an intimate familiarity with her hometown, knowledge of those changes could be devastating to the timeline if she returns.”

“‘If’?”

“If. When. At this point I just don’t know, Spike. The faster I figure this out the less damage her exposure might cause, so I’m well aware of the ticking clock. From this point on it’s muzzle-to-the-grindstone time, and I’ll just have to trust the others know what they’re doing. It was a risk allowing Rainbow to take Shooting Star to the Academy, but we need their specialist measuring equipment to see if she really is capable of a sonic rainboom in a safe environment. As long as she doesn’t leave the Academy, we’ll be fine.”

Shooting Star had spent the last few hours watching Drill Sergeant Dash instruct her recruits through various manoeuvres and wingpony trust exercises as she watched silently from the bleachers. Shockingly, the experience wasn't half as miserable as she had expected it to be, and as the session came to a close, with the worn-out trainees retreating inside from the summer sun, the pastel-blue pegasus floated down to Star's eye-level, pulling her flight goggles up onto her forehead.

“Well, I've got an hour or so for lunch now if you want to check out Cloudsdale, just as long as we stop somewhere for a hay burger first.”

“‘Hay burger’?”

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. “You don't know what a hay burger is?”

The pale-yellow pegasus shook her head, mainly knowing hay as a long-life ration.

“That's it! It's time to show you what it really means to be a modern pony. Come on!”

The sergeant shot up into the air, waiting for her ward to join her before zooming towards the nearby pegasus metropolis. It wasn't long before Rainbow Dash had ravenously consumed her meal, burping loudly at its conclusion, much to the disgust of the other patrons, before absent-mindedly poking at her teeth with the leftover toothpick.

“So. Good.” She leaned back on her stool with a hoof on her stomach, seeming quite content.

“You weren't wrong, these are pretty good,” Shooting Star admitted, licking the remaining salt and tomato sauce off her hoof, unaware of a large smudge across her cheek.

The Wonderbolts Captain leaned forward, offering a napkin with her wing while pointing towards her own cheek, which was blushingly accepted and dealt with accordingly.

“So what do you think of the new-and-improved Cloudsdale?”

“What do you mean, ‘new-and-improved’? How would I know?” She finished with the napkin by wiping down her hooves and looked out the nearby glass wall, beyond which lay an alien cityscape of cloud, glass, neo-classical columns, and buildings that were uncomfortably futuristic to her eye. “You've got lots of fancy stuff here—some stuff I don't even understand what I’m looking at—but it's just not…”

“Home?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Rainbow sighed, resting her hooves on the table as she hunched forward. “Back when I left Cloudsdale for Ponyville, it always felt strange coming back, like I was living in a memory that nopony else could see.”

Star looked back to the pegasus across from her, surprised by the sudden candour. “Yeah?”

“'There's no place like home', huh?” She mused, turning to the radiant vista. “I loved my parents—still do—but it never felt like home to me. I always knew my destiny was waiting for me beyond these clouds, so I flew the coop as soon as I could; learned to look after myself, built my own place, moved into a cloudominium when it collapsed, and never looked back. Can't imagine living anywhere but Ponyville now. Guess that's how you feel about your version of Cloudsdale, huh.”

“You mean my home? Something like that.”

Rainbow waited for an elaboration before looking back, biting on her toothpick. “Not much of a talker, are you?”

Star merely glared in reply, unappreciative of the pressure put on her to speak. What even was there to say anymore? She just wanted to go home.

“What about you?” Dash continued, never one to bow to uncomfortable moments. “Being in the Valkyries puts you in Canterlot, right—why'd you move?”

The cream-hued pegasus sighed, looking down at her empty tray, staring at a single, loose, rainbow hair on it. There was a lot that could be said; about her parents, her foalhood, about needing to get away and prove that she was somepony different than those who had raised her. There was a lot she had never said aloud, not that she had ever been asked. She had lied her way through the Valkyrie exam, wanting to let her wings do the talking, and even then she was laughed out of the training program. Nothing in her life had ever come easy, but she'd fought against destiny tooth and hoof to get where she was, and now look at her: a Lieutenant in the Valkyries, stuck in some alternate-universe-time thing as her fellow ponies suffered back home... Her life was a joke, so why not let somepony else in on it?

“I wanted to prove myself. With Pegasopolis being the way it was, there wasn’t much to aspire to besides flying fast and joining the Nephophytes. I was too young to join them before they were conscripted into the Canterlot Royal Guard, so I ditched my hometown and made my own way there to join the newly formed Valkyrie squadron directly. I knew I was squadron material even if they didn't, so I lied about my age and trained with them officially until they kicked me out for breaking their stupid safety rules, then I carried on anyway. War is about winning, no matter what; there's no such thing as ‘endangering yourself’ on the front lines. When the war began, I was on those front lines, day and night, whether Command liked it or not. What were they going to do? I wasn’t technically a recruit, and more importantly, they needed me.”

“You've got drive, I can appreciate that. Rules are all well and good until they need to be broken—not that I would ever condone that as Captain of the Wonderbolts, of course.” She smirked, relocating her toothpick to the other corner of her mouth. “Y’know, I’d totally forgotten that Cloudsdale used to be called Pegasopolis. I should put that on the next test.”

Shooting Star’s blood ran cold. “What?”

Rainbow Dash flinched, snapping the toothpick between her teeth. Twilight had been very clear about not divulging any future events, lest Shooting Star's knowledge disrupt the timeline upon her return, and one errant thought had just put them all in jeopardy. In her defence, it had been a long time since she’d taken the Wonderbolts entry exam, so her pegasus history was a little rusty. Honestly, who would remember that Cloudsdale used to be called Pegasopolis? Wait, come to think of it, wasn't bringing her to Cloudsdale an issue in the first place? Why did she suggest having a hay burger with her?! Maybe Shooting Star hadn’t noticed. Maybe she really didn’t hear what she’d said?

“Ha-ha, alright, let's hurry up back to the academy, now,” Dash awkwardly fake-laughed, almost falling off her stool as she hurriedly dismounted.

Star narrowed her eyes, but acquiesced. She followed the blue pegasus out of the diner as she appeared to attempt to block Star’s view of multiple different things with a single plastic serving tray, unsuccessfully, obviously. “Weren’t you going to show me around?”

She faked another loud laugh. “Yeah, well, I just remembered that I have- uh- papers to grade before the next drill. You know how it is, work, work, work, ha-ha-ha. Better get back.”

“Do you mind if I take a few laps of the city before I head back, then?”

“Uhhh…”

The colour seemed to drain from Dash's face as her eyes shot about, looking for the physical manifestation of an answer that wasn't there. They had already circled the city on their way to the Academy, so the damage was already done, right? It couldn’t get any worse? No harm in letting her look from a distance, surely, they’re just buildings!

“S-Sure, just, uh, don't go flying off, okay?” the anxious Captain continued. “Twilight would have my wings.” As awkwardly light-hearted as her tone has been before now, that last line was delivered with a cold seriousness.

Star smirked, feeling as though she had just won her first mental battle here. With a strong flap of her wings, she shot into the sky, followed uncharacteristically meekly by Rainbow Dash. As the Valkyrie took off to the east at speed, the Wonderbolt hesitantly floated westerly, biting her lip. Not actually having any papers to grade back at the Academy—or at least not ones she was willing to do—Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof-tips together as she counted her options. Realistically speaking, she was already in for a reaming by Twilight, so perhaps it would behoove her to do some damage control. It was too late to stop Star now, but the least she could do is tail her—make sure she doesn’t do anything that might compromise her or their timeline. She might not seem like it, but she was a master of disguise and sneakery when she needed to be—the clouds should be enough cover to hide her pursuit. She’d have to hurry though, as not to lose the already long-gone pegasus.

Shooting Star soared high above the intricate and gleaming city below, not quite as high as the tallest towers, but far enough from the bustle of the future world below to make the nightmare feel like a dream. Had Rainbow Dash really meant what she had said? Could this surgical behemoth of a city really be Pegasopolis? It had been two-thousand years, after all. Things were bound to look different… But there was one way to be sure.

Towers and businesses shrunk away as she cleared the urban forest of the city centre and gently banked around the outskirts. Showing no interest in the wonders of tomorrow, she soared towards the much smaller suburban housing districts, which became increasingly sparse and ‘rural’ as they stretched from the city, dappling the skies with their own personal altocumuli. The scope of what Pegasopolis had become was quite bewildering, if true, and even more so given how long it had been since she’d seen the town with her own eyes. However, as a floating city made of clouds, real-estate wasn't constrained to the same physical laws as terrestrial towns, meaning that it could expand indefinitely, non-linearly and non-destructively, pushing older buildings out as new ones were formed nearer the centre. With this in mind, her target would be further away than she remembered, but short of the building being purposefully dismantled, it should still be there, somewhere. It was hard to pin-point exactly where she was from memory alone, but she had spent so much time in this sky as a child, surely there was something—something that stood out as familiar… Wait, that, down there-

Like a hawk spying its prey, Lieutenant Star shot downwards, ripping the lighter altostratus apart as she dove. The rainbow-maned pegasus hooked up and maintained her position a few metres above the nearest house, just outside their front 'garden'. The architecture was totally different, and there was—obviously—a different name on the letterbox, but this cloud... this relative position… that gnarled, stump-shaped cloud… This had to be it, right? Her foalhood home, or at least what it is now.

She looked around from her hovering position, trying to picture herself playing in the wisps outside, building that small diving board to practise her mid-air recoveries, what used to be a full tree-like cloud that she would hide behind when- … It wasn't the same, but this had to be it. Nowhere else... felt like this. But why did she come in the first place? What was she hoping to see? Why would she choose to do this to herself so single-mindedly? If this really was the future, of course there would be nothing left of it… Nothing left of- … So why- Why were her eyes burning?

She sniffed, using the back of her hoof to wipe her eyes. This was stupid. She was an adult. She didn't need to think about her foalhood home or her parents any more, let alone do… this.

“Can I help you, miss?” a concerned voice called up from below, startling her through the blindness of her tears. As she blinked them away, she saw an aquamarine griffon was looking up at her, having just exited the house she was loitering over, clearly disturbing the new residents with her presence.

“No- No, I'm sorry. I was just… lost.”

Without another word, Star quickly beat her wings to escape as fast as she could, feeling a shiver run down her spine as she relived the first time she ran away from her home all those years ago. Of all things- The Great Griffon War was still a fresh wound on all of Equestria, at least in her time, and yet here they roamed freely; friends and neighbours, and in her foalhood home, no less! … No, ‘house’, it had never been her home. She had abandoned that building long ago, so what reason did she have to get upset now? It wasn't even the same house anymore, just a patch of familiar cloud and a stump.

With an angry grunt she wiped her streaming eyes once more as she flew back towards the Wonderbolts Academy, unaware of Rainbow Dash’s presence behind her.

Surreptitiously landing behind a building to appear as though she had been here all along, the Wonderbolt Captain officially reconvened with Shooting Star on the airfield, directing her toward a second set of bleachers past where they had originally landed. As luck would have it, Lieutenant Vapor Trail had planned a stretch class for wing injuries that afternoon, which Star was invited to participate in while Rainbow Dash and Commander Lightning Dust taught another platoon some more advanced two-creature manoeuvres. Feeling less tense after the exercises, Star returned to the nearest bleachers to observe the remainder of the advanced drills.

“They're really impressive, huh?”

The rainbow-maned pegasus looked away from the sky to see Vapor Trail take a seat next to her, seemingly free now that her class was over. It was hard to imagine how a pony with such natural beauty could also be a top flier in this organisation, but it wasn't the strangest thing she had seen today. Utilitarianism, it seems, was not necessary in a world without war or conflict.

“Yeah.” Star returned her gaze to the acrobatics display raging above them, genuinely impressed by their speed and agility, though unable to muster much emotion to convey it. Besides, for every feat of speed and agility she observed, there was an equal amount of showboating and fanciful special effects, ruining the purity of their skill for her. “I've never seen recruits pushed so hard before. Where I'm from, you either fall or fly, but there isn't much of what I would call 'natural talent', not like these pon- uh, creatures have.”

She giggled, watching the flashes and swoops with wide-eyed pride. “Yeah, Captain Dash and Commander Dust's classes are the most intense we offer here. A lot of newbies can't even make it through their first session, so the ones up there really are the best of the best.”

“The fully-fledged members must be really something when they get serious.”

“Even Istill try to watch our displays, when I'm not in them. The problem is that there are so many new applicants these days, it feels like we're teaching more than we're flying.”

Star glanced back to the mare beside her. Between her pale-blue coat, pale-green mane and modest nature, she was almost the perfect opposite of Rainbow Dash's bold looks and brash personality.

“So how did you end up here? You don't seem the type.”

“Oh, me?” Vapor looked down as she pushed her fringe aside. “That's a long story, from a long time ago. I guess some ponies just end up in the place they were meant to be, even before they know it. For me, flying is like love; always being pulled towards something you don't necessarily understand. Fearing it, but still wanting it. Captain Dash helped me realise what I wanted for myself, and that's something I want to pass on to the next generation of recruits.” She chuckled wistfully, looking back up to the fliers. “I'm so lucky to have met the Captain—and Princess Twilight—or I wouldn't still be here today.”

Star snorted quietly, wondering if this pony was a planted agent, or if the universe was simply conspiring against her stubbornness with all these coincidences. At the very least it was nice to feel like she wasn't being interrogated or babied throughout a conversation for once.

“It's easy to forget that I'm working alongside a real Equestrian hero,” she continued, sighing dreamily. “Back then it felt like we were a danger magnet, always attracting some kind of monster or disaster to ruin our week. Those six were like superheroes, swooping in to save the day every time, and not for thanks, fame, or bits, but because they loved this land so much... If I could be that kind of hero, just once, or train another creature to be, then this was all worth it, every second.”

It was Shooting Star's turn to sigh as her mind turned back to the disaster befalling her Equestria as they spoke, or perhaps it was already too late? She couldn't begin to imagine what that monster must have achieved after days of terror, considering what he managed in a matter of minutes. Then again, if this really was the future, everything turned out alright, didn't it? Ponies still existed... They had peace... But what of her squadron? Her... 'friends'? What if being here changed things—changed the destiny of her own time so it wouldn't turn out this way? Her head hurt trying to understand this alternate-time nonsense; she was a warrior, not a scientist!

“I've not seen you around here before, where are you from?” Vapor asked, seeming to notice her distress.

“Far away. Far away where there's still war, and pain, and-”

She clenched her teeth, hoofing herself in the temple in helpless frustration over the situation. Why did it have to be her? She was willing to give her life to defeat Discord and save the castle, so why is she trapped in this purgatory, left with nothing but regret and spite?

Vapor Trail reached her hooves out, wanting to help, but also not wanting to take liberties. “I'm sorry, I didn't know! I didn't mean to bring it up.”

This was ridiculous. She was a Lieutenant, hated by her trainees for being a hard-flank, so why was she breaking down like this in front of somepony she had never met before?

“Discord,” she spat, lowering her shaking hooves from her head. “Do you know Discord?”

“Discord?” Vapor asked in confusion, not understanding these tangents at all. She had no idea where Captain Dash found this mare, but it must have been an awful place. “Not personally. I know of him. If you want to talk to somecreature about Discord, your best bet is Fluttershy, they've been friends for-”

“Fluttershy. Where is she?”

“'Where is-'? Um, well, she has a cottage just outside of Ponyville, near the Everfree Forest, though she's probably still at her sanctuary at this hour, tending to the animals—if she's there at all, I don't-”

“Which direction?” None of those names meant anything to her, but she would get directions from passing ponies if she needed them.

The pale-green pony rubbed her hooves together nervously, extremely uncomfortable with what had been a quite pleasant conversation only a moment ago. “Uh, south-west from here.”

“Thanks.” Star spread her wings almost violently as she stood from the white bench.

“Wait! Shouldn't you tell the Captain where you're going?”

“No need. She led me here, but I was going back on my own anyway,” she lied, not that anypony would be able to stop her if they tried.

With a bend of her knees, Star shot off the bleachers and turned sharply towards Ponyville. One way or another, she was going to get some answers today.

Author's Note

1st Edition - 12th Oct, 2021 (Release) (9,179 words)
1.1 Revision - 18th Nov, 2021 (Added reference to Starlight accommodating Star during her meeting with Twilight and minor fixes) (9,245 words)
2nd Edition - 22nd July, 2022 (Major additions and Pegasopolis retrofit) (10,136 words)
2.1 Revision - 23rd Jan, 2023 (Clarified some dialogue) (10,193 words)

Chapter 5: The Enemy of My Enemy...

“What do you mean you lost her?!” the Princess shrieked in a nostalgic display of Twilighting.

“I told you I was going to be busy; it's not like I could keep my eye on her the entire time! She was sitting on the bleachers one moment, and the next, she was gone!” Rainbow Dash emoted dramatically as she hovered at the foot of Twilight’s throne in Canterlot Castle. “She seemed totally chill while we were talking in Cloudsdale, so how was I supposed to know she was gonna run away again!”

“You took her to Cloudsdale? Why?! How is that preserving the timeline?!”

“You said to look after her, so I looked after her! It was right next-door because of the graduation ceremony, so it would have been weird not to go! And if you’d wanted me to lock her in the dorms all day or assign a security detail to watch her, you should have told me!”

“‘The graduation ceremony’! Oh, how did I forget?!” She slapped her forehead. “Even so, you were supposed to be helping her open up and finding out if she really did pull off a sonic rainboom, not just fillysitting while you do your daily routine!”

“Well excuuuse me, Princess, but I'm not just some weather-pony any more. I can't just drop my duties as Captain of the Wonderbolts because you asked me to, Princess or not.”

Twilight stood from her throne with purpose, dropping any illusion that this was a common squabble between friends.

“But I am a Princess—the Princess—and your reckless disregard of my orders could jeopardise the very existence of Equestria as we know it! If Shooting Star learns too much about our timeline, we may be forced to keep her here so as to not pollute the events of the past. Not only will she never see her friends or family again, but the consequences of her permanent removal from the past could be equally as catastrophic as tainting it! What if she’s the ancestor of a pony you know? For all we know, their entire bloodline could be erased! Is that what you want?”

Dash frowned, lowering herself to the floor as she considered the greater repercussions of such a simple oversight, already blaming herself behind the bravado. It wouldn’t have been hard to keep a better eye on Star during the drills, just like she had followed her after the diner. She wasn’t often caught out by naivete, but perhaps Shooting Star had played her like a harp, fostering a false sense of trust that she then exploited to escape? It did seem like the tactic of a military mind in hindsight, not that they were holding her under duress or anything.

“No, of course not,” she answered, her voice audibly repentant now. “I did my best to keep an eye on her; at least as much as I thought I needed to. I even trailed her after she asked to fly around the city alone. I figured that the sights alone wouldn’t cause a problem, and after she didn’t take that opportunity to run away-”

“You let her explore Canterlot?!”

“Supervised!”

“How is that-!? Nevermind. She has seen the castle, after all, so it’s not like you’re the only one at fault here. At least she doesn’t know that Cloudsdale used to be Pegasopolis, right?”

An awkward silence hung in the air as Dash avoided eye-contact.

“Are you kidding me? Of all the-” She exhaled, pinching her sinuses. Breathe, Twilight, you’re better than this, just breathe. “And how did she react?”

“Um, well, confused, I guess. That’s when I told her we should leave and she asked to fly around.”

The Princess tempered her breathing, knowing that she was placing more than a fair amount of burden on Rainbow Dash’s back. Time-travel was a dangerous and poorly understood phenomenon that was frequently described as apocalyptic in scale, with multiple conflicting theories on what and what not should be done in its event—pure conjecture at best, entirely fictional at worst. Actual accounts of time-travel were almost non-existent, and she suspected that the majority of all occurrences had been witnessed by her first-hoof, somehow making her the utmost authority in this situation, despite almost entirely winging it every time. This was not Rainbow Dash’s fault; if anything, it was hers for not setting out clearly defined rules and itineraries.

Twilight sat back down on her velvet cushion, now equally as embarrassed by her outburst as Dash was of her own laxity. This unexpected ordeal was bringing out far more of her old, temperamental self than she was comfortable with. No longer was she the wonder-filled filly that could make mistakes and afford emotional outbursts like this; she was the Princess of Equestria, and creatures looked to her for calm guidance and knowledgeable authority. You’re a Princess, Twilight. Play your part.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight cleared her mind and carefully considered what Rainbow Dash had just said. Focus on solutions, not problems.

“You said she asked to fly around Cloudsdale? She hasn’t shown any interest in exploring the castle while she was here, so she must have been looking for something specific once she knew it was her home town… I can’t imagine that anything would be familiar to her after two-thousand years, though. Perhaps knowing what she was looking for might give us a clue as to where she is now?”

“I don't know. I don't think so.” Dash shook her head. “She just flew around to the suburbs then freaked out and went straight back to the Academy. Didn't even land.”

Twilight sighed, closing her eyes to massage her temples. “We need to find her before she accidentally contaminates herself past the point of no return, though honestly at this point it might be too late already. It’s easy to forget something somecreature said, but when you see things with your own two eyes... Did she say anything of note when you spoke?”

“Not really, she barely said anything—only mentioned joining the Valkyries. I guess I did most of the talking,” she chuckled awkwardly, rubbing her foreleg. “When it comes to unreadable creatures, she’s right up there with Maud and Briar. But is it really so bad if she sees stuff? Can’t you just make her forget with magic?”

“Erasing memories with magic is imprecise and far too dangerous. Memories are linked together like a web and you can never affect just one, especially if erasing days-worth of experiences. The last thing we need is to erase memories of her timeline too—that could be equally as catastrophic.”

Twilight openly groaned while deflating into her hooves, feeling as though Princess Celestia would have managed this situation far better than she was doing. With another huff, she steepled her hooves and stared intently at the floor, trying to find a single clue in everything they already knew.

“Let's think about this methodically. It’s possible that the goal of her previous escape attempts was to find Pegasopolis, hoping it to be familiar after Canterlot wasn’t. Given the opportunity to explore it, she flew directly to a residential neighbourhood, which remained relatively similar in layout thanks to it’s unique ability to expand non-linearly. There are a couple of reasons she might have visited this spot, but the most likely is that it was her foalhood home, being the last bastion she had before moving to Canterlot to join the Valkyries, based on the surviving censuses at least. Seeing as how she immediately left that location in an agitated state, it’s safe to say that she didn’t find what she was looking for, which may have been the trigger for her disappearance. The fact that she looked at all suggests that she may now accept this world as reality, at least, but that leaves us in an even more dangerous situation…”

She looked up at Rainbow Dash, who stared back blankly, having clearly lost the thread at some point.

“We have no idea what her next move will be,” she finished.

“Ohhh,” the pegasus nodded slowly, pretending that the answer was obvious now. “But wasn’t that already the problem?”

“Yes, but with nothing left to tie her to this world, she may have become dangerous. Either she believes this is all some illusionary torture designed for her by Discord, or she’s having an existential crisis about being in a future where everything she remembers is long gone. Being so resistant to our help, she’s clearly going to take things into her own hooves, and her first target would be-” The Princess jumped to her hooves, her expression dire.

“Discord,” Rainbow Dash replied, their eyes locked with a concerned frown.

“And the only reliably way to get to Discord-”

There was a heavy pause despite both already knowing the answer, broken when they spoke the name in unison;

“Fluttershy, are you here?” Shooting Star called out awkwardly, having never met this pony before or even knowing what she looked like.

Luckily for her the animal sanctuary was easy to spot from the sky, having asked a local for specific directions after finding her cottage empty. She knew she didn’t have long before the super-friends tracked her down, but she had a lead on them for now, and she intended to make the most of it.

“Oh g-goodness, a visitor! W-W-What do I do, w-w-what do I do?” a meek voice trembled from behind a nearby palm tree, apparently trying to hide themselves, though failing miserably.

The flight from the Wonderbolts Academy to Ponyville had been a long one, with the cool afternoon breeze helping temper Star’s emotions before this interaction. She exhaled and approached the conspicuous pony that was hiding little more than their face behind the trunk.

“Um, excuse me?”

The stuttering pony shot backwards with the kind of jump you could only produce if you were afraid of your own shadow. Falling to the floor in full view, the figure appeared to be a young earth-pony with a pale-green coat and cream hair. They shook in fear as they lay on their back with both hooves covering their eyes, leaving Star to look down on them with confused pity.

“Are... you okay?”

“S-S-S-So-So-So-Sorry!”

Shooting Star tilted her head, having never met a pony quite as meek as this. What was their problem? Had they never seen a pegasus before or something?

“Are you Fluttershy?”

“F-F-F-F-F-?”

“Oh goodness, what happened? Are you okay, Soft Touch?” a motherly voice called out as a concerned yellow pegasus with a long, pink ponytail approached. Carefully bending down to help the shivering pony up, she faced the unfamiliar pegasus with a look of polite distrust. “I'm sorry, Soft Touch isn't very confident around other ponies, they much prefer the company of animals. Can I help you?”

“Are you Fluttershy?”

“Yes?” she answered cautiously, taking a protective step in front of the cowering pony.

“I heard you're the pony to talk to about-” Star swallowed the knot in her throat, still finding it hard to speak the monster's name. “Discord.”

The pale-yellow pegasus exhaled, allowing her whole body to relax into what appeared to be a comfortable weariness. Clearly this wasn’t the first time she had been approached about this topic. “What's he done now?”

Star frowned, confused at what kind of relationship this seemingly kind pegasus could have with that chaotic murderer. “It's not really about what… ‘he's’ done now, exactly. How much can you tell me about ‘his’ past?”

Fluttershy blinked in confusion before her eyes widened, now realising who she was talking to. “Are you Shooting Star?! I had no idea you were coming here. Shouldn't you be with Rainbow Dash?”

“She was busy. Look, I'm sick of nopony answering my questions, so I'm taking things into my own hooves. I was told you were close to it, so I came to see you myself. Can we talk?”

The pink-maned pegasus looked over to the nearby waterfall, weighing her responsibilities, then back to the mare. Twilight would normally give her a heads-up about a meeting like this, but she was sure there was a good reason for not doing so. Besides, not only did she want to do her part to help Shooting Star get home, but she was quite interested in hearing about Discord’s younger years.

“Soft Touch, would you please attend to the snakes' five-o'clock massage for me? I think I'll be busy with our guest for a little while,” she cooed

“S-Sure, Fluttershy.” The young pony turned and galloped away as fast as their skinny legs would carry them, eyes shut tight and cheeks red.

“Please, come this way, we can sit at the stumps.”

The softly-spoken pegasus gestured towards a pink, ironwork table positioned between two tree stumps cut to just the right height for seating, and the pair trotted over, leaving temporary hoofprints in the soft grass beneath them.

“He seems... easily scared,” Star stated as she sat down, crossing her forelegs on the table.

“Oh, Soft Touch is a lovely pony. They're one of three assistants I have here at the sanctuary. As much as I love one-on-one time with all the animals, there are simply too many for me to care for alone these days. What they lack in social skills, they more than make up for with how well they handle the critters. Reminds me of myself when I was younger,” she giggled. “So, what is it you wanted to ask me about Discord?”

She exhaled. “Well, I don't know what the Princess has told you about me, but where I'm from—when I'm from—is a lot less... peaceful than this place.”

“Goodness, I'm so sorry to hear that. Are you saying that Discord had something to do with that?”

Star closed her eyes, feeling her upper-lip twitch as she relived those violent and harrowing final moments in her head once more.

“Yes. Discord attacked the palace—my palace—completely out of the blue. I was told he felled the King and then-” Her breath shuddered as she frowned, picturing those terrified civilian faces again. “It was turning ponies to stone left and right, indiscriminately—guards and staff alike.”

“That's awful!” Fluttershy extended her hoof towards her guest, genuinely upset and wishing to console the pegasus across the table, though Shooting Star remained rigid and unreceptive. She sighed as she retracted her gesture. “But that doesn't sound like Discord. The Discord I know would never harm anycreature, not even before he reformed. He may have caused a lot of trouble, but he never did anything to hurt us… Not directly, anyway,” she muttered, thinking back to Tirek.

“He turned the palace upside-down, literally! It was like he could change the very being of the world with a snap of his fingers, and revelled in the chaos it caused!”

“Now that sounds like Discord,” Fluttershy admitted with tired disappointment.

“You know, it's not very nice to talk about somecreature behind their back.”

The sarcastic voice caught both ponies off-guard as Discord suddenly flashed into existence, lying across the table on his side, facing Shooting Star. The sudden appearance of the Valkyrie's nemesis caused her to reel so hard that she tumbled backwards off her stump, hitting the floor with an uncomfortable thud, though mostly padded by the spongy grass.

“My ears were burning!” he continued, licking his fingers to extinguish the literal fires on the peaks of his ears, all while maintaining his smugly mischievous expression.

“Discord! Um, I'm not sure this is the best time-” Fluttershy began, anxiously tapping her hoof-tips together.

“Nonsense!” he exclaimed, forming a face on the back of his head to address her. “Where better to get your answers than straight from the draconequus' mouth, hm?”

With another click of his fingers, Discord, Star, the stump she had been sitting on, and the ironwork table disappeared; replaced by the pegasus laying on a chaise longue and Discord sitting in an antique armchair beside her. The reformed lord of chaos was now wearing a diamond-patterned sweater-vest, fake beard, and round glasses, as he licked a pencil tip before flicking through a clipboard of blank paper. Shooting Star lay supine, frozen by the shock of whatever had just happened.

“What in the blue-” she began, but was immediately cut-off.

“Now tell me vere it all shtarted goink wrong,” he asked in a mock Germane accent.

The pegasus flew into a rage, violently flailing her way off the couch, only to be grabbed by prehensile pillows and forcefully pulled back.

“Let go of me, you monster!”

“Very interestink, but how does it make you feel?”

“Discord!” Fluttershy snapped, causing the draconequus to flinch. The gentle pegasus raising her voice was a well-learned sign that once again he had gone a little too far.

“Oh, very well,” he grumbled, effortlessly snapping everything back to how it had been with a single flash of light.

Discord now stood with his arms folded petulantly next to Fluttershy, who smiled repentantly across the table at their intensely panicked guest. Star's eyes shot left and right like a mouse trapped in an Abyssian's larder, suddenly feeling that same helplessness of being at the whims of a greater power that she had just before arriving to this world.

“Now, apologise to our guest,” Fluttershy instructed her reformed friend in a scolding tone.

“Oh please, I was merely-”

“Discord. Like—we—discussed.”

“Fine,” he hissed, grinding his teeth in frustration before begrudgingly grunting through them. “I'm sorry for altering reality against your will. I am a recovering chaos addict.”

“That's better. Now, let's please conduct the rest of this conversation like civilised, reality-conforming adults.”

“Perish the thought,” Discord grumbled, flashing into existence his own version of one of the Castle of Friendship’s crystal thrones, and taking a seat.

Shaking her head with a small sigh, Fluttershy turned her attention back to Shooting Star, who was still staring at her friend, bug-eyed. “Discord is right, though, there's no better creature to answer your questions than him. Just as long as you don’t reveal anything that could change the past.”

“Please, what do you take me for? I’m quite familiar with time-travel etiquette, thank you very much,” the draconequus pouted, indignantly.

Every muscle in the Valkyrie's body screamed as she remained frozen in fight-or-flight mode. Watching your friends and colleagues turned to stone with the snap of a finger was one thing—she had even been teleported by him once, with the rest of the palace staff—but being the sole focus of his seemingly infinite power was truly terrifying. He could do anything. Anything. A snap of his fingers and she could cease to exist, be physically warped beyond recognition, or subjected to an unending existence of unspeakable torture at his whims, assuming that wasn’t already what this place was. Why had she tried to fight him before? What did she hope to accomplish as an insignificant pegasus against his magic? The only skill she had was flying away, just like she had flown away from her parents. She was a coward deep down, and this proved it.

Discord and Fluttershy shared a look of confused concern as the rainbow-maned pegasus shook in silence, a cold sweat forming on her brow.

“Come now, dear, I won't bite; not unless you ask me to,” Discord joked, opening his mouth to reveal his tongue as a miniature Discord, who waved merrily. Unimpressed, Fluttershy gave him a swift jab in the ribs, causing him to bite off his own tongue, which proceeded to sprout its own legs and fly to freedom. “Ow! You know, just because it's magic doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.”

“Don't worry, Shooting Star, he won't do anything to you while I'm here,” Fluttershy cooed passive-aggressively. “Go ahead and ask anything you'd like.”

The tense pegasus swallowed, attempting to regain control of her throat. Just what was it about this mild-mannered pegasus that bent this psychopathic force to her will? Was she somehow stronger than she seemed? Had he become weaker after all this time? It didn’t feel like it. She couldn't begin to understand this bizarre pair's dynamic, but that wasn't why she was here; she was here for answers, and she didn’t have time to wallow in her own insecurities. It was do or die time.

“Wh- Why?” She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to escape the flashbacks of her falling comrades.

“Hm. Oh, I know this one!” Discord exclaimed with a clap. “It's ‘What is a question I can't possibly answer’, Alex.”

Fluttershy shot him a withering sidewards glance, warning him to take this seriously.

“Oh, all right, but I don't see why I should be the only one making sense here; this is not part of my job description.” He sighed, swapping his crossed leg. “Let's start again, shall we? I'm Discord, Lord of Chaos and purveyor of madness,” he announced with pride, placing his hand on his chest before mumbling dryly; “Reformed, of course.”

The draconequus folded his mismatched arms as he relaxed back into his smug smile, waiting for a reply. After a few silent beats passed, he began to tap his cloven hoof impatiently.

“This is usually where civilised creatures give their names in return, you know. It takes two to tête-à-tête.”

“It's okay if you don't want to,” the yellow pegasus interjected, once more sliding her hoof across the table in camaraderie. “Just take your time. If it helps, Rainbow Dash already shared with us what you told her.”

“But it's the principal of the thing!” Discord objected, having already been forced out of his comfort zone himself. “Everycreature already knows my name, but I still introduced myself! Did they not have manners in ancient Equestria?”

“Shush. My name's Fluttershy. There's nothing special about me, I just run this animal sanctuary and take care of any sick or injured animals that come to Ponyville, big or small. I've been friends with Discord for quite some time now-”

“Best friends,” he corrected.

“-So I know how to deal with him, and I can tell when he's lying.”

“Yes, well,” he pouted defensively. “I've simply come to appreciate a little routine amidst the chaos of life. Don't think for a moment that I've become one of your 'domesticated critters'.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” she snapped, turning to him.

As the unlikely pair squabbled like an old married couple, Star attempted to calm her breathing, placing one hoof on the other to abate its shaking. She had felt fear before, having survived both a war and prior encounter with Discord, but this was the first time she had ever felt truly helpless, and it wasn't a feeling she was well equipped to deal with. She had always been the fastest, always had a plan, always believed it was just a matter of time before she got what she deserved... Was this the same ego she had scorned Rainbow Dash for? Had she been so accidentally successful her entire life that only now, as she feared losing everything that she had accomplished, she was finally seeing herself for the first time? These deeply personal questions were more than she was willing to confront at this very moment, but there was at least one she was capable of answering aloud;

“Lieutenant Shooting Star. Drill Sergeant of the Valkyrie Corps, aerial division of the Canterlot Royal Guard.”

The bickering immediately ceased as Discord and Fluttershy turned back to Star, surprised by her sudden vocalisation.

“Oh, so she responds to you,” the draconequus sneered. “And don't I remember something about your title being honorary? You forgot to mention that part.”

“Discord!” Fluttershy hissed, before smiling warmly at their guest. “Thank you for introducing yourself, Shooting Star, it’s a pleasure to formally meet you. Are you ready to ask Discord what you wanted to know?”

“I'm all ears,” the draconequus grumbled, contemptuously folding his arms at the short leash he was being kept on.

Shooting Star exhaled, lowering her forelegs to her side as she regained composure. “Why… Why did you attack Canterlot?”

She bit her cheek as she forced herself to make searing eye-contact with the monster across the table. Her attention was met with mild interest, though his eyes lacked any trace of intimidation, not that she expected to see any from this heartless beast.

“‘Attack Canterlot’?” Discord echoed with faux shock, overacting the following moment of thought by extending his lip and cupping his chin. “Well it depends which time you're talking about, though I wouldn't call it an ‘attack’, myself. Simply... ‘unappreciated entertainment services’.”

“‘Entertainment services’?” Star hissed through clenched teeth, feeling her face heat up from his blasé attitude.

“Discord, please take this seriously, she's already been through enough,” Fluttershy mediated. “You can see she’s trying, so you should too.”

He clucked his tongue. “I’m not sure exactly what you’re expecting me to confess to here. For all the disreputable dalliances in my past, not once have I done anything to make anycreature this angry at me. Why, she’s practically frothing at the mouth!”

With a small flash, the pair turned to Shooting Star, who now had a thick, white froth covering her lips like a beard. Realising what was now there, she turned and spat out what she could—thankfully, said froth tasted to be from cider in origin. Fluttershy turned back to her partner with a scowl, though he continued as if nothing had happened.

“If I had attacked Canterlot, don’t you think somecreature else would remember? Like, I don’t know, me? I’ve noticed that such a thing tends to attract some attention, and more than a little ire.”

“If it happened two-thousand years ago, nocreature would still be around to be angry,” Fluttershy snapped back, before realising what she said and turning to Star apologetically. “Sorry, no offence.”

“True, I do sometimes forget that not every creature lives as long as I do,” Discord mused, nodding. “Though I am reminded when I see the grey streaks in Rarity’s mane.”

Fluttershy delivered another sharp kick for insulting her friend.

“Outch! Honestly, I don’t know why you’re taking this Rainbow Dash-knock-off’s word over mine. You’d think I’d have gained a little ‘benefit of the doubt’ by now, having saved Equestria more times than I can count on my toes!” He gestured dramatically down to his singular hoof, which he wiggled for emphasis. “There’s only so many times I can defend my good name before getting testy.”

He huffed and folded his arms, leading Fluttershy to feel as though she had indeed been too hard on him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like we’ve been ganging up on you. I do believe you, it’s just hard to take your answers seriously when you’re behaving so insincerely.”

He heaved a deep sigh, relaxing his arms as he seemed to take on a more serious tone.

“As I’ve said, I don't recall having ever met this pony before, nor do I recall ‘attacking’ Canterlot with such results as to elicit this kind of hatred. Obviously she isn’t referring to the events of this era, and the only thing before that was my little tussle with the previous Princesses, which I’ll remind you left me as a garden ornament for the next two-thousand years.”

“And you don’t remember anything happening before you were turned to stone by-”

Fluttershy peeked at Shooting Star, worrying if they had already revealed too much of her future. Luckily, the Valkyrie appeared to be too caught up in her own schadenfreude.

“So you got turned to stone too?” Shooting Star smirked, relishing the irony too much to even realise the clear existence of a cure to said ailment.

“Oh don't look so giddy,” he snapped, pouting. “Honestly, you'd think I was as bad as Tirek the way you're carrying on.”

Fluttershy grit her teeth at the sudden release of even more future-sensitive details.

“Why does everypony keep mentioning Tirek?” Star immediately asked, her mood seemingly lifted by the knowledge of Discord’s comeuppance. “Is the book popular in your time or something?”

“‘Book?’ Oh, um-” Fluttershy stammered, unsure how to back-pedal from this one.

“Tch. Why does he get a book and I don't?” Discord snapped. “I didn’t even get my own crystal throne for saving Equestria!” He flung his arms out to emphasise the one he had created himself.

“‘Save’ Equestria? You?” Star half-snarled, half-chuckled, having not believed what she had heard the first time.

“Discord, shh!” Fluttershy hissed.

“Oh right, 'preserving the timeline' or whatever.” He rolled his eyes, leaning back inhis throne. “This spinning dirt-ball has been around for millennia, and time is still linear?Please.Talk about passé. Certainly not how I’d do things.”

“Enough of this nonsense,” Star interrupted, clearly emboldened by Discord’s fallibility. “I’m here for answers, not stories. I don't care if you remember me, but are you seriously saying that you don't remember killing King Cosmos and petrifying the staff?!” Star shouted, standing up as she leaned on the table. “You destroyed Canterlot!”

“‘Killed’?! ‘Destroyed’?!” He sat up, taking these allegations quite seriously now. “My dear, I think I would recall something quite so dramatic, as would history. Do you think I would have been given a chance at redemption had I done something quite so serious? You may not know me personally, but ‘serious’ is not in my repertoire.” He exhaled, relaxing his posture once more as he steepled his mismatched fingers. “I may not be the poster-draconequus for good intentions, but I won't be lumped in with the likes of that horned meat-head or that poor excuse of a 'Storm King'. I am the Lord of Chaos, not Destruction.”

“I'm afraid I have to agree with Discord on this,” Fluttershy stated with an almost apologetic look. “He may have done some unsavoury things in the past, like turning our friends against each other, capturing the Princesses, helping Equestria be drained of magic, not helping when Canterlot was enslavedfor the second time, impersonating Grogar-”

“Yes. Thank you,” he sneered sarcastically.

“-but he's never been violent. What exactly did you see him do?”

Shooting Star's lip raised, sick of having to justify her anger to everypony she met. Was it really so hard for them to imagine this all-powerful agent of chaos abusing his near-infinite power? Perhaps it was too long a time ago for them to care, but for her it was mere days.

“Besides dark magic that only ‘he’ could have cast?” she barked. “Stone walls becoming quilts? Objects springing to life? Teleporting the entire residence of the palace back as they tried to flee?”

“Well, those things aren’t exactly evil,” Fluttershy weakly joked before sighing. “I guess you get used to it.”

“He turned ponies to stone with his fingers, using the same magic as just now! He- They- They fell… Shattered. Valkyries- My friends- Private Bells—just gone.” A tear slipped from her eye before she knew it, which she angrily struck from her cheek. She glared at Fluttershy, her eyes as red as her cheeks. “Is that ‘evil’ enough, or was seeing my comrades shatter like glass just a cute little prank too?” Her chest heaved as she lifted an accusatory hoof toward the perpetrator. “I watched him swat us down like flies, no less real than he is right here, right now.”

Fluttershy had already teared up, her hooves covering her mouth as she struggled to find words strong enough to console the Valkyrie. She could feel the genuine pain radiating from Shooting Star, which was beyond a doubt spoken with truth from the heart. Likewise, Discord raised a feline paw to his chest, his face unusually straight as he expressed rare, genuine sympathy.

“It sounds like a truly terrible thing has happened to you and your kin.” He paused for a beat. “But I swear to you, hand on my heart, that I would have never done such awful things. For the pleasure I derive—or derived—from mischief and perversion, even before my reformation I would have never caused physical harm to any creature, let alone to that degree. I’ve never even heard of King Cos-”

Shooting Star shrieked in frustration, slamming her hooves loudly against the ironwork. Before her hosts could react, she spread her gradated wings with a mighty 'fwoosh' and blasted herself vertically into the sky, bursting a cloud above them before jetting off with near-sonic-boom speed, causing the nearby Soft Touch to nearly jump out of their skin.

“Wait!” Fluttershy screamed as she stood, though it was already too late to even be heard.

Discord exhaled heavily, finally feeling the weight of the accusations against him. He knew for certain that he had never done the things she was alleging—there’s no way he could simply forget such acts. It did sound like his magic, but it simply wasn't in him to be such a... monster. Was it? Sure, he could believe that he’d messed around with the palace and its staff so long ago that such petty misdemeanours had slipped his mind, but petrifying ponies? Allowing them to shatter? There’s no way he wouldn’t remember that, even if his memories were hazy before that first meeting with the royal sisters. That… was their first meeting, right?

Fluttershy lowered herself to her stump as she continued to stare at the cloudless spot in the sky, her mind blank as to what to do next. Not only had she been caught off-guard by this encounter, but she seemed to have only make things worse!

“What if what she saw only looked like me?” Discord pondered aloud, thoughtfully stroking his chin-hair.

“What?” the yellow pegasus asked hollowly from her deafening daze.

“Well, you and I are no strangers to changelings or disguises of a magical nature. Perhaps what she saw was me, but not me.”

Fluttershy blinked a few times, struggling to wrap her head around the simple concept. “Are you saying that... you were framed?”

“I can't imagine who would want to do such a thing, especially considering how ineffectual it was, given that we’re only just now learning of it. If somecreature was trying to besmirch my good name, they certainly did a poor job of it. Have you considered-”

Discord stopped himself, prompting the pegasus to ask what she was supposed to be considering.

“Have you considered that… perhaps she is the one trying to ruin my reputation?”

“What are you saying?”

“Think about it; I’ve begun to make quite a name for myself as the ‘eighth Mane Six’, and all of a sudden some pony appears out of nowhere, claiming that I’m some sort of super-villain that’s done things that only she remembers. How do we know that she’s not the changeling?”

“There’s no way that she was faking those emotions, I’d stake my sanctuary on it. Besides, if Twilight says that she came from the past, I believe her.”

He sighed, slumping back in his crystalline throne. “I suppose you’re right. It just doesn’t add up.”

“We should tell Twilight what just happened—she might do something dangerous while this upset. Besides, if anycreature can catch up with Shooting Star, it’s Rainbow Dash.”

Author's Note

1st Edition (Release) - 22nd July, 2022 (5,873 words) - Fun fact: this chapter was split it half because it was just too darn long!

Chapter 6: ... Is My Friend

Once again Shooting Star found herself flying angrily through unfamiliar clouds, blindly lost in thought as she rocketed through the sky, not giving a second thought to her surroundings. She didn’t know how long she had been flying for, but her wings ached and the cold evening wind cut at her moist eyes, distracting her from the steadily approaching tail on her six. Despite the wind battering her ears at this speed, a raspy voice managed to make itself heard over the roar.

“There you are! I've been looking all over for you!” Rainbow Dash shouted, slowly gaining on the rogue Valkyrie. “What were you thinking, flying off like that?! Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

Star snarled at the veiled pleasantries. As though these random ponies actually cared about her and what she’s been through—what her corps has been through! She was a scientific oddity to them, a problem to be solved, nothing more. They kept her in glass chains, pretending that she had free will while keeping her under constant surveillance; they harassed her with questions while ignoring the answers, and taunted her with the very monster that caused all this in the first place, while denying his—‘its’—involvement. What even was ‘this’? The future? Psychological torture? Some purgatorial dream after her self-sacrifice? Or perhaps this was Elysium, an afterlife nightmare mis-sold as paradise. One last ‘this is what you could have had if you were nicer’ moral beating to ensure she knew what she was missing before she ceased to exist. Peace, family, friendship, luxury; everything she’d never had.

“Slow down, will ya'?” the older mare shouted again from her flank. “Where are you even going?”

‘Where’?‘Where’ or ‘when’ meant nothing to her in thisdistorted reflectionof her lifeany more. If this whole world existed just to break her, congratulations, it worked! Finish her off however you like after, but for now, just let her be angry.

“What do you want?” she finally spat back, making no effort to slow or meet her pursuer’s eyes.

“‘What do I-’?!” Rainbow Dash echoed in disbelief, turning her own growing frustration into fuel for her wings. “You know exactly what I want—for you to come back to Canterlot with me and be safe! Now slow down so we can talk this out like adults!”

“Right. Back to your Canterlot. Your gilded cagefor me, your pet freak!You didn't give two horsefeathers about me earlier, and you don’t now! Well guess what, I’m done playing along! I’m getting out of here, one way or another.”

The effort she put into her emotional display unintentionally slowed her flying as she lost focus, allowing Dash to make headway. She wasn't actually angry at Rainbow Dash, of course. The blue pegasus had done nothing more than ‘manage’ her back at the Academy, yet Star was lashing out like a teen with her less-than-subtle parental issues. In fairness, Dash had been a fairly good host, given her busy schedule and having to censor the last two-thousand years of history. Watching the Wonderbolts perform had even been fun—dare she admit, inspirational—and given a clearer mind she might have regretted leaving the Academy at all. Still, between their locking of horns, the one-sided diner conversation, and essentially being told to sit in a corner and be quiet, she didn't feel like she owed the Wonderbolt Captain any favours in her current state.

“If I didn't care about you, would I be here right now?” Dash barked over the gale, now slightly ahead of the Valkyrie that was losing speed with every errant thought.

Before Shooting Star could react, Rainbow Dash whipped around and grappled her mid-air, sending the two tumbling as they scuffled. After a few seconds of panicked free-fall—which felt far longer to the pair—the pegasi came to a stop, now hovering with their fore-hooves locked together, pushing against each other with all their might. As strained as their fore-legs were, it was their wings that were doing the pushing here, and the pair appeared equally matched in their current states.

“I can't just drop my responsibilities to foalsit some ungrateful brat at a moment's notice, Lieutenant,” Dash snapped; though as deep as her scowl was, her words didn’t feel spiteful. “Did you ever stop to think about how we have just as little reason to trust you, as you do us? And despite that, look at all the things that Twilight’s done to accommodate and help you!”

Was she… insulted on her friend’s behalf?

“Stop flying away from your problems and confront them like an adult, Lieutenant! That's an order!”

Maybe it was the well-needed harsh words, her commanding voice, being technically outranked, or simply agreeing with her logic, but sense began to retake Star and she chose to comply. The grappling duo’s wings began to slow as their push-of-war concluded, neither side a victor and both seeming self-conscious of their displays.

The sun had fully set at this point, bathing the sky in a rich purple twilight. As a cape of twinkling stars revealed itself above, below glittered the warm suburbia of Ponyville. A far cry from the alien aesthetics of this era’s glassy Pegasopolis and pearlescent Canterlot, Ponyville had retained its rustic country-village charm, despite expanding significantly over the years. Shooting Star looked down at the amber lanterns dotting dirt paths between thatched cottages and wooden stalls, then to the orchards, forests, and fields that enriched the landscape like patchwork. It was homely, even for her. Almost… nostalgic. Nostalgic for what had been the present a mere week ago? What a thought. She had seen this all before, of course, but there was something magical about this view at night. It reminded her of the first time she saw Canterlot Town, despite it being on a mountainside—so different from the city of clouds she had grown up in, yet warm and welcoming. This was what terrans had instead of wings or a horn, she had thought to herself; they had each other.

“I think it’s about time you and I talked this out, pegasus to pegasus,” Rainbow huffed, still catching her breath as she smoothed back her ruffled mane.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Star replied, equally as exhausted and eager to give her strained wing a rest.

With a directional nod from Dash, the two descended toward the orange glow of the town, landing just outside a gingerbread-house-themed bakery, Sugarcube Corner. There weren't many townsponies still roaming the streets at this hour, but those who noticed the pair of pegasi were far more interested in the legendary hero of Equestria, Wonderbolt Captain, and Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash, than whoever was standing beside her. It was a refreshing change of pace for Shooting Star, who had felt as though all eyes had been on her since arriving in this Equestria.

“Why'd you run again? I thought we were past this,” Dash asked, seeming almost personally offended this time. “I trusted you enough to not breathe down your neck, and you go and bolt.”

Star sighed, looking down an adjacent lane for a few moments. “I'm sick of not being in control of my life anymore. I wanted to confront Discord myself, finally get some answers… See what you had been keeping from me.” She kicked at the dry dirt below her. “It was just a waste of time, though. Either he doesn’t know anything, or you’re all expert liars.”

“So Twilight was right,” Dash muttered, almost rolling her eyes at the tautology of it.

“Huh?”

“Nothing. So, you didn’t find out anything new?”

“No. I freaked out again,” she scolded herself, scowling at the floor. “I didn’t even ask decent questions, let alone get answers. He still denies it, of course, and… the yellow pony stood up for him, just like the rest of you.”

“Fluttershy,” Dash corrected her.

“I know what I saw. I'm not crazy; and I'm not a liar. Every pony in Canterlot could back me up—my Canterlot.” She twisted the tip of her hoof into the loose dirt, creating a small divot. “Now I've blown my only chance to get answers. So what, are you here to throw me in the dungeon so I can't escape again?”

“Nocreature is putting you in a dungeon, Shooting Star,” Rainbow Dash stated with blunt exasperation, actually rolling her eyes this time. She could really use a spa day after this. “I just- I don't know what more we can do to earn your trust. We helped you to recover from your injuries, gave you a place to stay, and Twilight has been working her flank off day and night trying to get you back home—the Princess of Equestria putting aside all her royal duties just for you. What more do you want?”

Shooting Star looked Rainbow in the eyes, wincing a little. “She has?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of a problem, if you ask me. She’s been getting real… Twilight about it.”

A moment of silence passed as dusk gave way to the warm glow of Sugarcube Corner’s lights overpowering the darkness.

“Every day I ask myself, ‘why me?’ Why couldn’t I have saved my friends with my final sacrifice and saved Equestria? Why this? Was this some sickness of my mind in its final moments? Was this purgatory? Elysium? Or had Discord caught me, and this was all his sick way of torturing me until I break?”

Rainbow Dash lowered her flank, taking a seat on the still-warm dirt as she seemingly witnessed a breakthrough. Perhaps subconsciously, Star also sat as she continued to talk.

“But the more time I spend here—the more I question my suspicions—the more real this seems, and…” She took a shuddering breath. “The less real my world feels. It’s only been a few days, and yet my bunk, my squadmates faces, the smell of Canterlot’s air… I’m forgetting them. The longer I spend here, the more of myself I lose, and every moment I’m not back home, more of Canterlot is lost to Discord—that Discord, the… evil one, I guess. I don’t understand any of this. If confusing and wearing me down was his plan all along, he’s winning. I just can’t fight this any more.”

Rainbow Dash sighed thoughtfully, looking up at the ever-more vividly twinkling stars. The temperature was starting to drop, bringing a slight chill to the air around them, though the bakery always managed to keep the nearby area slightly warmer, as well as radiating a delicate scent of fresh dough and icing. Conversations like this weren’t her forte and she'd much rather leave the pep talks to Twilight or AJ, but she was the one here right now, so it was time to step up.

“Look, kid, I know this must be confusing for you—I sure as heck wouldn’t know what to do in your situation—but you aren't gonna get anywhere if you keep everycreature at hoof's length like this. If all my years of saving Equestria have taught me anything, it's that no matter how capable you think you are, sharing the burden with your friends is always the smarter decision. No matter how big the storm cloud, friends can help you break it up and make it manageable; then it's clear skies in no time.” She paused for a breath. “So, are you ready to quit being a one-mare-army and let us help you?”

Dash smiled with an almost motherly smirk, seeming to have warmed up after Star showed her insecurities. But there it was again, all this talk about ‘friends’. Why are these ponies so focused on sharing feelings and personal thoughts? She had nothing against having friends, obviously, she just didn't have time for it, especially in her line of work. Mares weren't exactly lining up to go for long walks on the beach with the angry drill sergeant, and everypony else she knew was a colleague. Still, she wasn't a drill sergeant here—she wasn't anything here—just a lost mare with a chip on her shoulder.

The funny thing was, for as much as they butted heads and rubbed each other the wrong way, she probably had more in common with this cocksure Captain than she did with any of the other ponies she’d met here so far. Perhaps she saw too much of herself in the warped mirror of success, popularity, and confidence that sat beside her. Was it jealousy? Was it seeing the things she disliked about others amplified to a parodic proportion? Did any of this even matter? It’s not like she was planning on staying here and making friends, but she did need those ‘friends’ in order to get back to her Equestria…

Part of her still considered that this might be a sadistic trial designed to see just to see how much it would take to break her… But at this point, did that possibility even matter? Her real friends must be long gone by now, and she didn’t know anything of value anyway—besides, Discord had already overthrown the crown, so what more did he need to know? If breaking her mind was all he cared about, she wouldn’t be able to resist it forever. She was just so tired of flying against the wind. She wasn’t special; all she did was run basic flight drills, work out, and spend long evenings alone. So why not talk about it? At least this old mare was treating her like a pony for once, rather than some thingto be corralled. You win; I’ll sing, for whatever good that will do.

“Just keep in mind that we're doing all that we can to get you back to your time,” the Wonderbolt continued, having waited an uncomfortable length of time while Star was deep in internal monologue. “‘Chin up, fly high, and the sun will always rise in the morning’, right?”

If that was a well known saying, it wasn’t one in Star’s time. Still, she appreciated the sentiment. As the pegasi made their first meaningful eye contact of the conversation and shared a weak smile. Just as Shooting Star opened her mouth to say something, a shrill and half-familiar voice called out, startling them both.

“Hey Dashie! Whatchadooin'?”

“P- Pinkie Pie?!” Rainbow Dash scrambled to her hooves to embrace the approaching mane-to-hoof-pink mare that she hadn’t seen in some time. “What are you doing back from your family thing so soon?”

“Well, turns out there's only so much partying the Pie family can take when there's two super-duper party-planners at the helm, so we ended up coming back two days early. Honestly, I'm impressed Ma and Pa Pie lasted this long at their age. Perhaps two weeks was a little ambitious. Oh, but you should have seen some of the gags and routines Cheesy set up this year; it was a twenty-four-hour carnival-appalooza of non-stop party action! He’s certainly not lost it, that’s for sure.” She sighed dreamily, reminiscing with a slow shake of her head. “I knew I made the right choice when he proposed with that two-hour accordion serenade.”

“Sounds... intense,” an overwhelmed Dash replied, lost for better words.

“It was! The party was good too. S~o, who's your frie~nd?”

“Oh, uh-” Rainbow took a few steps back to re-include the equally overwhelmed third-wheel. “This is Shooting Star. She's... Uh-”

“Wait, lemme guess! Hmm...” The frizzy mare got in uncomfortably close to Star, scrutinising her face in intimate detail while tapping her own chin, lower lip protruding. Without warning, she zoomed around the already overwhelmed pegasus, pulling tools from her stuffed mane as she sized her up, measured her wing-span, and even took her temperature, before returning to her original spot in a flash. “She's an Honorary Lieutenant from the Valkyrie squadron of the Royal Guard—the precursor to the Wonderbolts—who accidentality time-travelled two-thousand years into the future, and you're trying to figure out how to send her back?”

Rainbow's jaw dropped. “Wha- How do you do that?”

“Oh, call it a mother's intuition,” Pinkie giggled smugly. “Besides, Twilight sent me a scroll explaining everything a couple a’ days ago.”

She slapped her hoof to her forehead as the earth pony continued.

“So when the opportunity presented itself, how could I resist being back in time to meet your new friend and make another one? Hah! ‘Back in time’! Get it? I've never had a two-thousand-year-old friend before. Apart from Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. And Discord, I guess. Plus the Pillars. Come to think of it, I've had LOADS of really old friends!”

The Wonderbolt sighed, shaking her head with a wry smile. “This… is Pinkie Pie, one of my oldest friends.”

“Uh, hi.” Star was rendered speechless by the staggering energy of this new arrival, lowering her voice in an attempted aside. “She… doesn't seem like your type of pony.”

She replied with a non-committal groan.

“I'm Pinkie Pie! Oh, but Dashie already said that, didn’t she? Nice to meetcha’, Shooting Star!” she beamed, holding out her hoof to shake, which Star reflexively mirrored, receiving a vigorous reception. “It's not often I get to meet a new pony these days, so I hope you stick around long enough for me to throw you a ‘Welcome to the Future’ party!” She suddenly gasped. “What even IS a ‘Welcome to the Future’ party? I've never thrown one of those before! I’ve got so much research to do, and supplies to order, and invitations to emboss!” She squealed, prancing on the spot.

The blue pegasus cleared her throat loudly. “So what are you doing out here anyway? Kinda far from home at this hour, aren’tcha’?”

“Oh, well it's kind of a tradition for the Cheeses to end a long trip with some warm sweet rolls from ol' Sugarcube Corner, and Pumpkin and Pound were kind enough to stay open late for us. We were catching up with the Cakes and that’s when I thought I heard you talking outside, so I came out to see.”

“The family’s here too?”

Peeking behind Pinkie, Dash saw Cheese Sandwich very clearly standing in the illuminated doorway of the bakery with their son Cheese Slice sitting atop his head, both waving heartily to the group, their faces covered in pastry crumbs. Rainbow smiled, giving them a more subdued wave back.

“Plus it's kinda nostalgic to see the old place again,” the pink pony continued with a wistful sigh. “So many memories.”

“Pinkie, you come here, like, multiple times a day. Sometimes I wonder why you even moved out.”

“Yeah, but it's not the same as actually living there, you know? Falling asleep to the smell of baking dough. Sprinkles and edible glitter everywhere. All-you-can-eat cupcakes at any time of the day or night...”

“I'm pretty sure that last one wasn't part of the deal, and I'm not sure going to bed with something in the oven is a good idea either. Besides, you're always sending us cakes and—” She visibly shuddered. “Pies. Somehow I doubt your home-life is much different.”

“Yeah, you're right, it is pretty great. By the way, I was working on a new song for our new friend on the way here, it goes a little something like this:—”

As Pinkie cleared her throat, Rainbow Dash spread her wings and turned to Shooting Star with a look of urgency in her eyes. “That's our cue to leave.”

Still thoroughly bewildered by this sudden change of tone, Star followed her lead and stood up, giving the Pinkie Pie an awkward, bemused smile before taking off after the Captain, who had already shot into the sky.

“Wait! Come back!” Pinkie Pie screamed from below. “I haven't sung in almost an hour! AN H O U R!”

It didn't take long for the flying pair to make their way back to Canterlot, soaring over the lavishly opulent town centre and toward the castle gates, before elegantly descending into the same rose garden they had left earlier that day. As the rainbow-maned pegasi stood beside one another, taking in the cool air and delicate fragrance of the flowers, lit only by the soft candlelight of nearby windows, it was clear that a lot had changed since this morning.

“Home sweet home,” Rainbow Dash quipped. “Brace yourself, Twilight might be a little-”

As if on cue a bright flash of purple light near-blinded those in the starlit garden, revealing the imposing stature of an alicorn that was no longer playing games, standing directly in front of Shooting Star. As the Valkyrie’s eyes recovered, the first thing she saw was what seemed to be the Princess’ eyes glowing high above her, before streaking toward her and stopping within an inch of her face.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!”

Almost literally blown back by the Royal Canterlot Voice, Star back-peddled in shock, landing rump-first into a rose bush as the unimpressed alicorn stood tall once more. This was not frizzy Twilighting or a strict librarian demanding overdue books from a filly—this was a Princess. The Princess, of Equestria. And she was angry.

Taking a breath to centre herself, Shooting Star carefully stood from her prickly throne and solemnly returned to her original position in front of the Princess, who was tapping her hoof in anticipation. Swallowing the lump in her throat, the Valkyrie Lieutenant formally and clearly answered the question like she was a recruit fresh out of flight camp.

“R- Recon, Ma'am!” She stamped her hoof and saluted, screwing her eyes shut as she waited for judgement.

Twilight's intimidating posture melted beneath the surprise of this reply. “‘Recon’? … ‘Ma'am’?!”

“Yes. M-Ma'am! I- uh- I went AWOL from the Academy without Captain Dash's permission to seek... Discord. In an attempt to gather intel with the aid of Ms. Fluttershy, I... Well, I failed to discover anything meaningful, Ma'am, that’s all. I realise that my actions have caused you a lot of trouble, going so far as to potentially threaten your lives, and I am prepared to face the consequences of my actions.”

Star lowered her hoof and then her whole body, prostrating herself in front of the Princess in a display that briefly made the alicorn question if this was a changeling diversion. She looked to Rainbow Dash, who returned her equally bemused expression, both stunned by this complete turn of character.

“What happened today?” Twilight thought aloud.

“Don't look at me, she wasn't like this earlier.”

Twilight leaned down with careful concern and gently encouraged the pale pegasus to rise by lifting her chin. Star finally opened her eyes, looking up into the soulful eyes of the Princess, which told her it was okay.

“Shooting Star, I would never punish anycreature for acting out of fear. Yes, your actions were reckless, but you chose the right path in the end, and that’s what matters. You’re here now. Being able to recognise that you made a mistake is the first step towards mutual understanding.” A warmness filled her eyes as she looked down at the pegasus, perhaps in this moment feeling more like Celestia than she ever had while lecturing Luster Dawn. Of course, Luster Dawn had yet to threaten reality as they knew it. Yet. “It doesn’t matter how badly you think you’ve messed up; my friends and I will always be here to listen to you, whether it’s a confession, concern, or question you have about your past or our present. We never sought to keep helpful information from you, only things you aren’t supposed to know yet.”

Shooting Star found her mouth slightly ajar, both taken aback by her lack of reprimanding, and for this intimate and understanding speech given to her by a princess, who until this very moment she had treated as little more than an enemy to mock. In her Equestria, going AWOL against the King’s orders would have been a court-martialable offence and almost certainly lost her her title, and yet here and now, she stood humbled.

“And technically,” Twilight continued, a smile creeping across her lips; “the proper etiquette of royal protocol would be to address me as ‘Princess’, ‘Your Highness’, or ‘Your Majesty’—not ‘Ma'am’.”

“S-Sorry, Ma'am! Uh- I mean, Your Highness!”

Twilight giggled into her foreleg. “I'm only teasing you, Shooting Star; the Guide to Royal Etiquette is long overdue for a revision. Here my friends call me Twilight.” She held out her hoof, sole up. “Would you do me the honour of being one of them?”

Star blinked, dumbfounded by this culmination to days of flagrant insubordination. Her mind began to race again. Had anypony ever asked to be her friend before? Is this how it worked? How are you supposed to respond? Yes? Thank you? Should she shake hooves? Salute? Kneel? This was a Princess, after all, and she had certainly never been briefed on the proper procedure for this situation.

Forcefully pushing her thoughts aside in fear of the pause being read as hesitation, while also not wanting to lose this opportunity for a fresh start, she extended her own hoof and gratefully placed it on the alicorn's.

“I have no idea what just happened,” Rainbow Dash announced, rubbing the back of her neck as she ruined the moment, “but it seems like you two have this under control. It's getting late, so I need to head back to the farm—got some early drills tomorrow morning.”

With a flick of her hoof from her forehead, the Wonderbolt Captain took to the sky without waiting for a reply, briefly looking back to see her junior saluting after her. What a wild day, she thought as she flew off, eager to swap the cold night air for a warm, shared bed.

After watching her friend disappear into a speck within the darkness, Twilight looked up at the vivid tapestry of stars above them. Having taken over Princess Luna’s duties some time ago, she had since grown a deep appreciation for the night sky—a jewelled tapestry of infinitely distant diamonds, sorely taken for granted by those who slept beneath them, including herself.

“She's right, it is getting late,” she almost whispered, her voice warm enough to ward against the creeping cold. “Hopefully Starlight won't mind our late arrival, but I think it will do you good to get some decent sleep somewhere other than the infirmary for a change.”

“Can't argue with that, Ma'am,” she replied, equally wistfully after sharing the star-gazing moment with her freshly ‘official’ friend.

“Please, ‘Twilight’.”

“O-Oh! Twilight.”

The Princess gave another small giggle, quickly growing to this new side of the time-travelling mare. “I know you love to fly, but it's getting a bit cold now. Would you mind if I take us to your new lodging with magic?”

Star swallowed. “I've never- been teleported before. Well, once—by Discord. Twice, actually. I don't care for it.”

“I think it’s a little different when it’s against your will. Discord tends to… play a little rough. Thankfully he’s mellowed in his ‘old age’.” Twilight lowered her hoof, which Star had forgotten was still being held, and moved to stand beside her. “Don't worry, you won't feel a thing, I promise you. If you’re scared, close your eyes, and I'll tell you when we're there.”

Shooting Star swallowed the lump in her throat again, though whether this was from the unknown fear of magical translocation, or the feeling of Twilight’s large wing wrapping around her like a soothing blanket of feathers, she wasn’t sure. The Princess smiled as she watched the pegasus close her eyes, and after one final look at the starry watercolour above them, the pair disappeared in a flash.

Three gentle raps echoed throughout the Castle of Friendship’s library room as Twilight Sparkle peaked her head around the crystalline door. Starlight Glimmer looked up from the books covering her table, her face dimly lit by a green-topped desk lamp that cast an unflattering shadow over the bags under her eyes. She was wearing small, circular reading glasses, and a comfortable, quilted, red velvet jacket—clearly dressed for bed, and just as clearly wishing she were there.

“You've learned how to knock, I see.”

Twilight smiled apologetically as she entered. “About earlier—I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me. This whole fiasco has had me reliving our old problem-solving days—back when we used to get our hooves dirty—for better and for worse.”

Approaching the pony-sized table, she lowered herself to the floor, putting her at an equal height to her old friend. Something about this scene felt so nostalgic, and yet so distant, too.

“Speak for yourself. Some of us don’t have the luxury of being a Princess,” Starlight teased, turning herself to face her guest. “Maybe I should find somecreature I can delegate my work to, too.”

“If only mentoring was that simple. I hope you don't mind, but I showed Shooting Star to one of the spare bedrooms; the third one in the east wing, with the nice view of the school.”

Starlight sighed, relaxing back into her ornate, matching velvet wingback chair.

“That's fine, of course. Pony knows I've got enough rooms to spare here, even after the school staff moved in.” She looked away and held her chin, lowering her voice. “Although, after what Trixie did in that room…”

“What about the room?”

“Oh, nothing,” Starlight smiled, waving away the justified concern.

“Hm… So how come you're up so late?”

“Well, you know what it’s like as Headmare, and things have only gotten worse as more students joined. Between expansions, accommodation, catering to different creatures' needs, the exponential paperwork, and, of course, managing the curriculum, I can barely find the time to sleep, let alone have a moment to myself and unwind. You were smart to get out when you did.” She slouched down, her eyes glazing over the top page of the stack of teacher reports in front of her, before pressing her hooves deep into her sockets, grateful for the momentarily cold relief.

“When you put it like that, it almost sounds like a punishment.”

“Almost? … No, no. I love this job, you know I do, I'm just... burnt out, y’know?”

“Yeah, I do,” she sympathised, both as former headmare and as a princess.

Twilight loved her job, which is why it was so hard for her to admit that she had long needed a break from the non-stop stress of mentoring a personal student, the administrative work of running a country, small- and large-scale mandatory appearances, and oh my gosh the backlog of books that had built up! Being the Princess of Friendship was nothing compared to the responsibilities of being the Princess of Equestria too—a job that had until now been split between two. No wonder Celestia and Luna were always so busy.

The princess looked around at what was once her own library, feeling nostalgia wash over her once more. The glistening crystal shelves that circled them were filled with significantly fewer books than the days she spent here, but held just as many memories.

“Have you tried spending some time with Golden Oak's roots? That always used to help me put things into perspective. Seeing it yesterday really helped perk me up.”

“The chandelier is beautiful, Twilight, but those are your memories, not mine.” She sighed, disgruntledlypushing away the paper she was failing to read. “Maybe it's time I take a long vacation—go with Trixie on one of her world tours, or maybe find that beach resort Celestia and Luna wrote about. I hear Trixie’s new caravan can comfortably fit two whole hammocks now… Wait, what do you mean ‘yesterday’?”

“There aren't many creatures that work as hard as you, Starlight,” the princess continued, ignoring the question. “You need to take breaks now and then, trust me. Nocreature would blame you, and it wouldn’t be fair if they did. Being Headmare of the school is so much more work now than it used to be, and you’re doing far better at it than when I was in charge, too. We all know how that went.”

“Don't say that, Twilight, the school wouldn't even exist without you! Running a school is one thing, but starting an original curriculum from scratch? That’s nuts! And besides, look at you! You're the freakin’ Princess of Friendship! It's not like you get to take a break.”

The alicorn chuckled, nodding. Giving advice was one thing, but following it was another, especially when you’re supposedly the most important pony in Equestria. Some days she wished she could go back to being that naïve little unicorn peacefully reading books in her tower, but then she remembers the good times.

“We both know I wouldn't take a day off unless I was dragged kicking and screaming out of the castle,” she joked, hoping to assuage this pity-party. As she thought this, an image of Pinkie Pie trying to throw such a party popped into her mind, which she quickly shook off. “Work is my comfort zone, whichI know can’t be said for most creatures, and I certainly shouldn’t be seen as a role model or goal in that regard. I may be many things, but ‘normal’ is not one of them.”

Starlight snorted, pushing herself and her chair away from the table to stand up, though still at eye-level with the Princess. “It's been a long time since we've had a chat like this.”

“Yes, it has. Too long.” She glanced down. “I can't help but feel as though I've let my job as Princess of Friendship overshadow my own friendships over the years. Ironic, isn’t it? The more creatures I meet and problems I solve every day, the less time I get to spend with with you,the ones who taught me all about friendship in the first place.”

“That's not your fault, Twilight, it's just a part of growing up.” Starlight’s look of concern momentarily broke into a smile when she realised she wasn’t counselling one of her students. “Look, we're all busy with our own things, our own jobs, our own families… I still consider you all my best friends, but I’ve not seen Applejack, for example, in—gosh—at least a year; and we live in the same town! Sometimes life just… gets in the way of living. Or something.”

Twilight let out a quiet snort, absently turning her attention to the ornate windows that sat high atop the bookshelves, beyond which sparkled the velvet night’s stars. How many nights had she spent in this room, back when it was hers? Between the quiet evenings of candlelight reading and frantic research all-nighters, it was easy to forget that she had given it all away decades ago now.

“Yeah,” she sighed.

Her entire life, ‘growing up’ had always been a contentious subject for her. As a filly, even the avid bibliophiles that her parents were encouraged her to ‘get out more’ and ‘be a kid’, going so far as to enrol her in the School for Gifted Unicorns just so she would be around other fillies her age. Come her teen years, the then-Princess Celestia forced her to leave Canterlot for much the same reason, and in doing so kickstarted the greatest adventure of her life; learning the value of true friendship. Yet as late as she was to this concept, she suddenly found herself launched onto the path of princesshood, with more to learn now than ever before. Despite her intelligent persona, she always found herself catching up to others’ expectations of her; and yet little did she realise just how much ‘growing up’ that would require.

Former Princesses Celestia and Luna are living legends for how long they had been in power—and for how long they had been alive, for that matter—with much of their history shrouded in mystery and lost records; the only exception to this being The Journal of the Two Sisters, which she herself found locked deep within the Sisters’ old castle, with a little help from Spike, of course. And just like all alicorns before her, ever since that day in Ponyville when she ascended into the sky and bore wings, time would slowly begin to lose meaning to her, too. Years passed like months, and before she knew it her friends stood around her with greying hair and wrinkled smiles. She had learned a lot over the years, but she was still behind on growing up, just like she always had been, except now the goal had been unfairly moved so much further away—maybe infinitely, for all anycreature knew. Doorways that once towered over her now threatened to clip her horn, while the ‘adult’ face that met her gaze in the mirror felt both unfamiliar and dishonest, belying both her insecurities and her true age. Growing old is a natural part of life; not something that anycreature wants, but something they shall always experience, whether rich or poor—all equal under time. Except for alicorns. Except for her.

Now that the Sisters were little more than quill pals, she counted her blessings knowing that she could share this uncertain future with at least Cadence and Flurry Heart—heck, even Discord was a comforting thought—but she couldn’t dare to face what that meant for her other friends. It wouldn’t be long before her job was all she had, and then what? Would she, too, rule Equestria for ten-thousand moons, every day a sea of faces; lifelong friends and acquaintances just names on a list, coming and going like ephemera? Sure, she had book-smarts, but how could that possibly prepare her for the prospect of immortality? Even Luster Dawn would grow old before her. How did the Sisters bear this burden, especially during those thousand moons apart?

“Terra to Twilight? Hello?”

The purple alicorn came out of her daze with a start, finding Starlight Glimmer up close to her with a look of confused worry in her eyes.

“Sorry, sorry,” she laughed, waving off the embarrassment as she stood up. “Just got lost in thought, that’s all.”

The Headmare grunted in reluctant acceptance, taking a step back to allow the princess to tower over her once more.

“I feel like there’s more going on with you than you’re letting on.”

Twilight chuckled warmly. “You weren’t picked as Student Councillor for nothing. But no, I’m fine. It’s nothing I haven’t been dealing with for a while now anyway.”

“You can’t keep these things bottled up, Twilight. Trust me, I know.” She smirked, thinking back to Trixie once more. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Really, it’s fine. I’ve taken up too much of your time already. You have school tomorrow, after all,” she poked with a joking tone.

“It’s the weekend tomorrow,” Starlight replied, half-smiling in case that was the joke. “I know I work hard, but even I have my limits.”

“Oh, it is? Sorry, I’ve been so focused on this time-travel issue lately that it’s been hard to keep track of time,” the princess chuckled, before letting out a sigh. “These late nights of research never phased me when I was younger.”

“Tell me about it,” Starlight quipped as the two began for the door. “Before you go, can I get you a cup of bedtime tea? I just received a new shipment of ginseng straight from Neighjing. Some nights I can’t sleep without it.”

Twilight smiled warmly, closing her eyes as she pictured simpler times. No matter how much time passes, creatures always remain true to their true selves, it seems.

“That would be nice.”

Starlight pulled the desk lamp’s cord with her magic as the pairleft the library, their hooves clacking against the crystal floor as they walked to the castle kitchen. Rather than any heroic deed or friendship lesson taught, it was these quiet moments of comfortable small talk and giggling as they sipped tea that Twilight hoped would stay with her for eternity. If their time together was finite, she would ensure that these memories were not.

Author's Note

1st Edition - 8th October, 2022 (Release) (6,695 words)

Chapter 7: Quilts and Quantum Theory

“And then she said that our visitor would be leaving soon, so I just had to return and meet her before she left. It's not every day one gets to meet a genuine ‘antique’ pony!” Rarity enthused as she walked alongside Applejack, her purple and white-fur-trimmed cape flowing behind her as they trotted down Canterlot Castle’s central corridor.

“Ah just don't understand how Pinkie Pie could have possibly known all that. She knew more than me, and Ah was here!”

“You should know by now not to question Pinkie Pie’s uncanny intuition, darling. Best not to put too much thought into it.”

The earth pony sighed, shaking her head. Some things were just beyond a simple country mare’s understanding.

“So what about yer thing in Las Pegasus with Flim and Flam? Don’t they need ya there?”

“Oh please, that barely took a day,” she exclaimed with a chuckle. “Truthfully, I just wanted an excuse to check in on Pistachio. He's doing a fantastic job running the Las Pegasus Carousel—you wouldn't believe the daring and bold choices he's made for his Autumn collection. And to think that I never would have met such a bright, young talent if it weren't for a delivery snafu.”

“Funny how things work out like that, huh? Ah wonder how Derpy’s doin’ these days. Ain’t seen her in the post office for some time now.”

“Oh, you don’t know? Twilight asked her to become the Equestria-wide liaison for differently-abled creatures. She goes around ensuring that every town has sufficient education, employment opportunities, and amenities—ramps, brayal books, school bullying seminars, things like that.”

“Well ain’t that somethin’.”

Finally reaching and ascending the stairs at the end of the long red carpet, Applejack tipped her hat to the assigned guards as they opened the two huge doors leading to the throne room.

“Rarity, you're back!” Twilight exclaimed with joy, standing from her throne to meet her guests halfway. “I was surprised to hear you were coming back to Canterlot so soon.”

Rarity lowered herself into a courteous bow, making the Princess blush.

“After hearing about your new special guest from Pinkie Pie, I couldn’t possibly allow myself to miss out on some first-hoof insight into Pre-Classical fashion. One must always be cognisant of the past's styles to design those of the future, I always say.”

“Ya do?” AJ asked wryly.

“But of course! Studying past seasons’ styles is paramount to evolving trends and learning from past missteps. Why, last summer’s hemmed lace debacle was-”

“Alright, alright, I believe ya.”

Twilight looked confused. “I… I don’t recall telling Pinkie when she was from.”

Applejack shook her head with closed eyes, warning her to not even ask. Heeding this age-old advice, the Princess moved on.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t think she’s exactly the ‘fashion’ type.”

“Nonsense! What creature doesn’t recognise the fashion of their time? Even Applejack understands the importance of the correct accessory, regardless of how woefully practical it is.”

AJ huffed in contempt as Rarity continued undeterred.

“Even a laycreature’s eye for texture, fabric, colours, and popular looks of the time could be invaluable, both for modern fashion and historic preservation. Goodness knows there’s a disturbing lack of information on the era.”

“You can say that again,” Twilight grumbled, recalling her tireless hours of work in the royal library and specialist archives across Equestria. “Still, I’m not sure she’ll be all that receptive to your questions. It was hard enough learning her name, let alone era-specific widths of pleats.”

“Never joke about the impact pleat width has had on the shape and flow of a garment, darling. You know, I thought for the longest time that Big Mac was a fashion cul-de-sac without a stylish bone in his body, but then he started wearing that jaunty waistcoat combo, and what a difference it makes to his outward persona! Of course, that could well be all Sugar Belle’s doing. Yes, it’s quite plain, and earth tones are so four seasons ago, but it’s infinitely better than lugging that hideous yoke around all day, don’t you think?”

She turned to get AJ’s opinion, who was staring at the wall in a haze, far from interested in her brother’s fashion choices. Rarity continued.

“If he can revitalise his look, there’s hope for you yet, Applejack. You could do with running a comb through your hair once in a while you know, dear; but that neckerchief is trés chic. Thrifting is very 'in' this year.”

Applejack blinked in stunned silence before turning to the white unicorn with a fierce glare.

“This were Granny Smith’s neckerchief, y’know.”

“And I’m sure she would be proud of how well you pull it off, darling.”

Grunting in frustration, Applejack turned her attention back to Twilight.

“That aside, we're here now. What was it you wanted us for?”

The Princess wrestled down her wry smile, having missed the presence of this banter in her daily life. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

“Well, we’ve been having a little difficulty managing Shooting Star’s behaviour since she arrived—thank you again for searching for her last night, by the way—”

“T’weren’t nothin', Princess. Ah’m just glad she turned up safe in the end.”

“—and I was wondering if you two might have any insight into-”

As she spoke, the door to her throne room began to swing open again, this time revealing a familiar pegasus, her back straight and to attention.

“LIEUTENANT SHOOTING STAR OF THE VALKYRIE DIVISION, REPORTING FOR DUTY, MA’AM!” she boomed, causing the two visitors to flinch before looking back in bewilderment.

Twilight sighed, sliding a hoof down her face. “And now there’s this.”

Rarity cleared her throat and straightened her posture, trotting back to the door to meet the guest of honour with refined purpose.

“You must be Shooting Star.” She chuckled. “Well of course you are, after such an… arresting entrance. My name is Rarity. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Despite her award-winning smile and an offered hoof, the rainbow-maned pegasus remained statuesque, as though she didn’t exist—the worst thing one could inflict upon Rarity—leaving her confidence broken and her lip quivering.

“Oh, um—” Twilight mumbled to herself, putting her hoof to her chin for a moment before calling out: “At ease, Lieutenant.”

The pegasus’ hyper-tensed muscles relaxed once she heard those words, adjusting to a more comfortable stance before nodding to Rarity in acknowledgement, who remained frozen in mortification.

“This is the pony that ran away twice and caused all that fuss?” AJ asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a long story, sort of.” Twilight sighed. “I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with her myself, to be honest. She’s already spoken with Rainbow Dash—and Fluttershy and Discord, apparently—but I was wondering if your down-to-earth approach might get some sense out of her.”

“And Rarity?”

“Rarity is… doing her own thing.”

Composing herself and adjusting the clasp of her cape, the white unicorn sidled beside the pegasus and draped a leg over her already re-tensing back. This pony had information she wanted, and was willing to smooth-talk to get it.

“Tell me what you know about pleats.”

Shooting Star raised a confused eyebrow as she was encouraged to turn back toward the door and walk out with the fashionista. Applejack sighed, adjusting her hat.

“Guess that’s my cue. Been some while since Ah’ve had to save somecreature from Rarity’s ways.”

Twilight smiled as she watched the three ponies leave her throne room, finding herself alone once more as the giant doors were slowly pulled closed. Coloured light dappled her purple coat as rays of morning sun shone bright behind the stained glass windows that flanked her. Today was the day, she thought. Today she would fulfil her duty of care to Shooting Star and return her home. The puzzle pieces were all here somewhere, she just needed to slot them together to see the full picture of what happened to her two-thousand moons ago.

Rainbow Dash was issuing orders to her aides beside the Academy’s runway when she noticed their attention had shifted. Turning back from her clipboard, she discovered the Princess of Friendship standing a short distance down the field, patiently waiting for an opportunity to approach while failing to remain inconspicuous.

“Vapor Trail, you give out the rest of the assignments,” Captain Dash announced, passing the papers over to her.

“Y-Yes, Captain,” Vapor stammered as she flipped the board over, tucking it under her foreleg to give a small wave to her old royal acquaintance, who returned the gesture.

“Something I can help you with, Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked as she walked over, raising her sunglasses to sit in her mane.

“Sorry to interrupt you, I know you prefer these visits to be scheduled.”

“No worries, I’m always down for a little spontaneity; just not when it comes to my cadets. I’M LOOKING AT YOU, BARREL ROLL.”

Despite not looking back, a cadet currently doing cartwheels far behind her suddenly tumbled over and quickly ran back to whatever his morning duties were, seeming quite embarrassed.

“Wow, you’ve really got this place under hoof, huh?” Twilight remarked, impressed.

“Yeah, I’m pretty good at what I do. So, what’s on your mind?”

“Right. Well, I was wondering if you could describe to me what a sonic rainboom feels like.”

“That’s what you came here for? You know they did all those tests when I was added to the Hall of Fame. That stuff’s more accurate than anything I could describe.”

“I’ve already read the data and done the calculations, but I want to know how it ‘feels’; straight from the horse’s mouth, so to say.”

“How a sonic rainboom feels, huh?” She frowned, taking to her wings as she crossed her forelegs. “This is about that kid, isn’t it. I told you, I was the first to do a sonic rainboom, nocreature else.”

“Be that as it may—and I’m not refuting that you weren’t, there’s no evidence to say otherwise, but it is a fact that the legend of the sonic rainboom existed long before you did. You know as well as anycreature that you didn’t come up with the name.”

Dash grumbled through her clenched jaw, unable to deny that. The sonic rainboom had been an old mare’s tale within the Academy for as long as she had been here, even as a Junior Speedster. Even her parents knew about it from the first time she announced that she would be the first to pull it off. With a defeated grunt, Rainbow returned to her hooves.

“How it feels, huh? Well, it’s been a while since I’ve done one, but it’s sort of like… Uh…” She rubbed her chin, never needing to put it into words before. “It’s kinda like, at the point you’re flying so fast that your eyes start burning, you feel this barrier, like a solid wall of air. Anycreature can fly at that speed with training, but pushing through that barrier, that’s what a Sonic Rainboom is. Once you’re through it, though, it’s like you’re gliding on a calm day, except the world is a blur and it feels like your skin’s about to be blown off.”

“Ew. That’s interesting, though; that’s almost exactly what Shooting Star told me she experienced too.”

“What’s next, you wanna give her my wings too?” Rainbow flicked the medal on her chest.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Rainbow Dash, please. If she had performed a Sonic Rainboom—or perhaps just a Sonic Rainboom—you would have experienced time-travel too. You’ve done it enough times for the occurrence to be more than a statistical improbability.”

She snorted. “I guess.”

“Well, have you experienced any strange behaviour during one of your Sonic Rainbooms?” she replied sarcastically.

Rainbow Dash visibly paused. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Twilight blinked, taken aback. “What do you mean ‘you don’t want to talk about it’? Talk about what?”

The Wonderbolt looked away, almost seeming embarrassed. Chalking it up to her competitive demeanour toward Shooting Star, Twilight sighed and chose to ignore the ambiguous statement.

“So, in your expert opinion, what do you think could have modified her manoeuvre in such a way as to cause time-travel?”

“Time-travel is more your area of expertise, Twilight, not mine. The whole story sounds ridiculous to me. Flying so fast that you skip two-thousand moons? Come on,” she huffed. “If it were possible, I would have done it already.”

Twilight sighed, thinking aloud on the data she had sourced from the Wonderbolts’ archive. “Breaking the sonic barrier creates a shock wave that separates gas molecules, which then react with the atmosphere to produce the polychromatic iris effect—”

“Way to make it sound lame.”

“—so, what if that shock wave reacted with something else; some unique molecule, or something that we no longer have in our time? That would explain why it’s never happened to you.”

“You said she appeared just outside the castle, right? I don’t see what could be so different about Canterlot between then and now. I mean, that castle’s been there for thousands of moons!”

“Technically that castle is only one-thousand moons old, since Celestia and Luna ruled from The Castle of the Two Sisters for a thousand years before it was built over the ruins of-” She shook her head. “But that’s beside the point. Honestly, I’m grasping at straws here. Perhaps foreign materials were used in the Valkyrie armour she wore when she appeared? Hopefully that’s something Rarity will ask her about. It might be worth running a scientific analysis on it anyway, to see if there’s any notable residue…”

“How do we even know her speed was even the cause of it?” Rainbow Dash took to her wings again as she crossed her legs, becoming restless from standing around. “She was fighting Discord, right? Maybe he did it and just doesn’t remember. Sounds like something he would do.”

“Discord might be powerful, but he’s never shown that level of quantum manipulation before. Though his presence alone is an unknown variable…”

“You know, I really thought you ponies had outgrown all this gossiping of creatures behind their backs,” a familiar voice chastised out of nowhere. “Honestly, I’m running out of spare ears.”

Twilight recoiled as she turned to find Discord looming beside her, once again snuffing out the literal fire on his ears with a miniature extinguisher this time.

“What do you want, Discord?” Rainbow Dash groaned.

“So prickly today! Come now, after all these allegations, you expect me not to make an appearance? I have a reputation to uphold! Besides, I feel the need to set the record straight about all this time-travel nonsense.”

“You remember what happened?!” Twilight asked excitedly, her eyes twinkling.

“Oh no, not in the slightest. No, this is a little lesson in chaos magic.”

With an iconic snap of his fingers, the trio switched places. Discord was now standing in front of a large, scrawled chalkboard, wearing a dark-grey suit jacket and green bow-tie. Twilight and Rainbow Dash found themselves sitting at stereotypical school desk-chairs, with Dashie now wearing a small, rainbow propeller-hat, which she quickly threw off, folding her forelegs with a fierce scowl.

“Now class, listen up,” Discord announced, extending his index finger like a pointer towards illustrations of the Elements of Harmony. “Chaos and order exist in much the same way as harmony and disharmony, yes? Just like those little accessories you oh-so loved to point at innocent creatures such as myself.” He noticed Twilight raise an unimpressed eyebrow. “Yes, well- As you likely know, your precious Elements held the power to neutralise magic—‘restore harmony’, as it were—but there was little they could do beyond the status quo. No flying Applejacks or fields of gold.” He teleported behind the alicorn, whispering an aside; “Though I did hear about Rarity’s valiant attempt in that regard. Shame I wasn’t around to see that one.”

“That’s it, I’m done here. I’ve got a class to run.” Rainbow Dash lifted the desk-arm and struggled to her hooves, only to be levitated into the air against her will.

“Ah-ba-ba. Class is still in session, Ms. Dash.” Already back in front of the board, Discord lowered the struggling pegasus back into her chair, this time strapping her in with seatbelts. “You may have those unsightly wrinkles, but I’m still your senior by a few thousand moons, y’know.”

“Discord, is this really necessary?” Twilight asked in an increasingly authoritative tone.

“You’ve had your time in the spotlight, ma chère Princesse. Time for this speculation to end.” He cleared his throat, spinning the chalkboard to its opposite side and pointing his finger toward a wall of incomprehensible scientific equations. “Much in the same way that harmony magic can only return things to normal, chaos magic can only distort the normal. Yes I can give life to an apple or create a flying pig from thin-air—” demonstrating both without even moving “—but these are all things you can find in your normal little world, just a little… rearranged. I take what already is and add a little flare to it. Everycreature loves dramatic irony; but the true irony here is that time-travel is a perversion of order reserved entirely by the likes of you.” Discord turned to Twilight and flicked her horn with his elongated finger, causing it to vibrate back and forth like a door-stop. “Well, pre-merchandise you, anyway; back when you were interesting. Unicorns really have a thing for time-travel, now that I think about it.”

“So that was just the long way of confirming that you weren’t involved?” she stated after the unpleasant sensation had passed. No longer finding humour in this situation, she used her magic to dispel her chair and teleport herself, now standing in defiance of Discord’s antics.

“What, don’t like being on the receiving end of one of your own legendarily tedious lectures?”

Dash smirked at this comment from her chair, while Twilight gave a royal pout.

“Indeed, all the time-travel that I’m aware of has been perpetrated by yourself, Starlight Glimmer, and by extension Starswirl the Bearded. And don’t even get me started on all that interdimensional-travel. If I had that kind of power, do you really think I would have allowed myself to become part of Canterlot’s rock garden for over a thousand moons? To be bested by your band of merry mares? To be manipulated by Tirek? I may be all-powerful, but even that has its limits.” He paused, floating into a reclined position with his legs crossed. “Time is a constant, mon amies; forever flowing forward. The only one with unnatural magic here is you.”

“If time is some invisible force you can’t mess with, how come you can mess with gravity?” Rainbow Dash asked in a moment of surprising insight.

“Well that’s- That’s different, isn’t it?” he answered with some fluster. “I add chaos to improve the natural world, so gravity is as easy as just… turning it. I don’t know, I didn’t take a degree in chaosology.” He looked down at his lecturer costume and flashed it away. “If I were to reverse time like I reverse gravity, I too would be reversed, andthus undo the reverse. It’s all very complicated, I wouldn’t expect your bird-brain to understand.”

“What did you call me?” she snapped, leaning forward angrily.

“And while we’re at it, do you really want to accuse me of defying the laws of gravity, with puny wings like those? You ponies make about as much sense as I do.”

Twilight sighed, ignoring the bickering. “So we’re back to square one… ‘Square one’… ‘Forward’… Discord, if you’re capable of making the natural unusual, would it be possible for you to send something forward in time?”

Discord levitated in silence, momentarily dumbfounded as Rainbow Dash struggled against her chair’s straps.

“I suppose I’ve never thought to try,” he stated honestly. “Who goes forward in time?”

“Here, try this.” Twilight teleported the recently born apple back between them, leaving it to flail helplessly against her levitation. “Try sending this a few seconds into the future.”

“Just like that, hm?” He stroked his chin-hair thoughtfully before lowering himself to the floor. “I suppose it’s worth a shot.”

Exhaling, Discord stared at the high-pitched, screaming apple and raised his taloned hand toward it, snapped his fingers with concerted purpose—the first time Twilight had ever seen him try to cast magic. An awkward silence fell as the apple continued to vehemently complain, Wonderbolt cadets soared overhead, and Rainbow Dash accidentality tipped her chair backwards while trying to free herself. He snapped again with a frown. Still nothing.

“P-Perhaps your magic is interfering with mine. Put it down.”

Twilight lowered the writhing fruit to the floor, which proceeded to flee as Discord snapped after it again and again. Letting out a huff of frustration as the limbed ball disappeared into a Wonderbolt changing room, causing a wave of screams and panic within, the draconequus rested his palms on his hips.

“Seems your theory was for naught, Princess.”

“Little help here?” Rainbow asked from the floor.

“Perhaps not,” she answered Discord, seemingly not hearing the plea.

Twilight walked to the chalkboard and flipped it over, the original Elements diagram having been replaced by a crude doodle of Discord and Fluttershy having tea. Using her magic to wipe it clean with the nearby eraser, she began to sketch out her own calculations in chalk as she talked.

“If we can take this as evidence that chaos magic is incompatible with time magic like you say, perhaps kinetic energy could have triggered the ambient chaos particles to give the interaction transitive properties, transcending space-time. Are you aware of your own magical aura?”

“I’m sorry, what?” he asked, unimpressed and frankly annoyed by her scientific techno-babble.

“Passive energy emissions, are you aware of them?”

“That’s not-” He sighed, shaking his head as he tried to keep up. “Yes, I am aware that all creatures with magic give off a certain… ‘aura’; myself included, of course.”

“Exactly. Starswirl himself noted that ‘ponies are not containers’—outdated phrasing aside—and that magic is always ‘leaking’ from creatures that produce it. For most creatures this wouldn’t be an issue, with elemental creatures radiating said element, and unicorns producing a cupcake smell, I’m told. In fact, it’s because of this residual energy that pegasi are able to funnel water up to Cloudsdale, as it creates a barrier between the individual fliers; right, Rainbow Dash?”

“Sure,” she grumbled from the ground, having accepted her fate at this point.

“But you,” Twilight continued, still scratching out equations on the blackboard. “You radiate chaos magic, which could have disastrous side-effects. Frankly I’m amazed that it’s never come up before. So while chaos magic might be incapable of casting time spells, the chaos particles you emit may have interacted with the kinetic energy produced by Shooting Star’s speed.”

“Really now, discussing someone’s ‘emissions’ in front of them is a little gauche, don’t you think?”

The Princess leaned in, furiously scribbling as flecks of chalk spat in random directions. “This is fascinating; I had never considered this before. Rainbow, what was the measured velocity of your Sonic Rainboom again?”

“Not until you get me out of this freakin’ chair!”

“Discord?” Twilight asked with clear intent, not turning from her work.

He rolled his eyes, snarling: “Fine. They’ve got me doing tricks on command now. How far the Prince of Chaos has fallen.”

Snapping his fingers, the chair disappeared and Rainbow Dash was back on her hooves, though visibly dishevelled with grass sticking out of her unkempt mane. After brushing herself off and grunting at the draconequus, she answered the Princess.

“Uh, something like one-twenty wing-power.”

“Puh-lease, with these scrawny things?” Discord mocked, lifting her wing with pinched fingers. “Besides, I’ve seen Pinkie Pie move twice as fast as you do, perhaps we should be asking her?”

“Oh yeah? Well why don’t we time just how long it takes for my hoof to reach your face?”

“Everycreature, please, I’m trying to hypothesise this interaction,” Twilight snapped. “Hm. Mmhm. Ah-hah! Got it!” She stepped back from the board proudly, turning to face her audience. “This is all theoretical, of course, but it is entirely possible that the frictive waves of a Sonic Rainboom—or equivalent,” she added, eyeing Rainbow Dash, “—could have agitated the ambient chaos particles around Discord, causing a magical reaction that transubstantiated speed into time. You described chaos magic as ‘rearranging what already exists’, and speed and time are often seen as two sides of the same bit, at least in popular theoretical physics papers.”

“Define ‘popular’,” Rainbow quipped, a remark not even heard by the Princess in her fervour.

“By an almost chemical reaction at the moment of impact, Shooting Star’s speed was re-equated into time by the ambient chaos particles of Discord’s aura, sending her forward in time at an equivalent rate to her speed, while remaining locked to the same geosynchronous location in space-time! To her, those two-thousand moons would have passed in the blink of an eye! Do you have any idea what this means for the future of science and our understanding of time magic?!”

Twilight beamed as she waited for one of them to congratulate her, or at least comment on her momentous breakthrough. A moment of silence lapsed as the ambient sounds of the airfield continued, with a distant “Caught it!” punctuating the pause.

“What?” Rainbow asked flatly.

“Let’s be honest, Twilight, how many of those words did you just make up?” Discord added, folding his arms with an unimpressed eyebrow.

“None of them! I don’t think. Anyway, I should get back to the castle and run some proper simulations to make sure this theory is safe for trial. Wouldn’t want you getting slammed into at mach one!” she giggled, completely disconnected from the moment. “Thanks for your help, you two, I couldn’t have done it without you!”

Without waiting for a reply, the Princess disappeared in a purple flash, leaving her companions in stunned silence.

“What was that about getting ‘slammed into at mach one’?” Discord asked the void where the alicorn had been.

Dash shook her head in silence.

“Well, whatever that was, it was certainly very Twilight.”

“You can say that again. Now if you don’t mind, would you mind getting you and your stuff off my green?”

“Of course. A pleasure as always, Rainbow Dash, see you at Fluttershy’s next soiree—I’ll be bringing the chess sandwiches.”

“Don’t you mean ‘cress’ sandwiches?”

Chuckling, Discord pushed his blackboard into an invisible slice in space, and him with it. The Wonderbolt Captain rubbed her forehead as she appreciated some sorely earned silence just as another scream erupted from the changing room, followed by an “Oops”.

“And take your freaky apple-thing too!”

“Truly fascinating. I had no idea that piercings were such a popular fashion statement as far back as the Pre-Classical Era!” Rarity enthused, jotting down copious notes with her horn-piloted, voluminous purple quill. “To think of all of the commoners’ wooden jewellery that must have perished before we could document and preserve them! Ah, this knowledge is both a blessing and a curse!”

“Yeah, I guess,” Shooting Star mumbled, utterly lost in the pointlessness of the conversation. Why had the Princess wanted her to talk to this pony? And why had they taken her all the way to this ‘Ponyville’ to do it?

“Now do tell me, were the everyday robes you mentioned typically ankle-length, a little higher on the leg, or dare I even say it, floor-length?”

“Alright, Rarity, Ah think our guest has had enough of yer questions for one day—” Applejack interrupted, stepping between the pair, muttering “—if not a lifetime.”

“Yes, yes, very well,” the white unicorn sighed, too caught up in her own thoughts to object. “I’ll set to with these sketches while my imagination’s fresh. Do be available later to check their accuracy, won’t you, darling?” She scribbled furiously in her journal as she blindly walked away. “I must ensure they are entirely authentic for this new Pre-Retro-Chic li—I mean Twilight’s research, of course,” she called back, fooling nopony.

Applejack shook her head as she ushered Shooting Star away from the quaint cafe’s seating area and over to a fence, beyond which stretched one of Sweet Apple Acres’ many crop fields.

“Sorry about Rarity, she can get a little… enthusiastic when it comes to clothes.”

“No, that’s… fine. I don’t think I’ve talked so much about clothing my entire life. I don’t even wear clothes, besides my armour, and that’s not exactly made for comfort.”

AJ chuckled, tugging at the brim of her hat. “Ah’m sure Rarity would say ‘it ain’t what ya wear, but how ya wear it’, but for me, it all comes down to meanin’.” Her hoof slid down to her antique-looking shawl with a melancholy filling her eyes. The moment lingered before she seemed to snap back to the present and her hospitable self. “Ah sometimes wonder if half the creatures in town would even wear clothes if it weren’t for her Carousel, haha.”

“She certainly is passionate.”

“Ah bet a lot of creatures see her as a one trick pony, but those of us who really know her know that she can apply that passion to just about anythin’. It’s amazin’ how far she’s come, from makin’ everything with her own four hooves to having a chain across Equestria and beyond! Guess you’ve come pretty far too, huh?” She chuckled, leaning more on the fence. “Never imagined it were possible to meet a pony older than Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, but then we met the Pillars, and now you! Time-travel is a heck of a thing.”

“‘The Pillars’?”

“Oh, uh, right. Maybe forget Ah said that.”

Star sighed, shaking her head as she too leaned into the fence. “I don’t know why I bother asking questions any more.”

“You know it’s for a good reason, Sugarcube. The less you know about now, the better. Wouldn’t want history to be rewritten because you decide to open yer own chain of Carousel Boutiques.”

Applejack laughed, eliciting a weak smile from the pegasus.

“No risk of that, I think.”

A comfortable silence fell as the two ponies looked across the gently swaying leaves of the apple orchard. The breeze was cool, but kept temperate by a gentle sun half-obscured by a fluffy white cloud. The smell of cinnamon hung in the air, wafting from the cafe behind them, no doubt having just baked a new batch of pastries. The sounds of laughter and chatting were almost inescapable anywhere near Ponyville as ponies and other creatures went about their comfortable lives. A far cry from the tense atmosphere of Shooting Star’s Canterlot Palace and the Valkyrie barracks. She might catch glimpses of her squad-mates joking around and being boisterous, but it always seemed to die out when they noticed her presence. Here, though, it was like these ponies didn’t have a care in the world… and maybe they didn’t. The more time she spent in this place, the more she realised just how stark her own time was in comparison. Fear and conflict was ever-present where—or when—she was from, that’s just how life was and nopony knew any different. But seeing that this was their future… the strife started to mean something. This is what they were fighting for all along; not just survival, but to thrive.

“It’s all starting to feel so distant now,” she thought aloud, looking down at the soft dirt and verdant grass behind the fence. “I know I’ve only been here a few days, but my home… the fight… It’s starting to feel like my entire life up to this point was a dream, and I’ve only just woken to reality.”

“This is reality, Sugarcube, but that don’t stop your home from bein’ real too. It ain’t so easy to forget yer roots, trust me. Big Mac, mah brother, moved out some time ago, but he still thinks of the farm every day and writes more than you’d think for a pony of so few words. Or maybe he saves them all up for his letters,” she chuckled, before shifting to a more thoughtful tone. “Where yer from is just as much as part of what made you you as the choices you make, for better or worse. We’re all made of a lot of things, like a giant quilt that’s yer life, even the bad parts. Always growin’, always learnin’. Ya can’t ever lose that.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She sighed, turning around and leaning back on the fence as she watched creatures pass the gap between the buildings. “I’m more concerned about the ponies I left behind than myself. They were counting on me to turn the fight around, or at least give them a chance to escape. What if me not being there is the difference between Discord destroying Equestria and this future?”

“Ah ain’t the one to talk to about all that time-travel mumbo-jumbo, yer best off going to Twilight for that, and Ah think Fluttershy would defend Discord in that regard, but Ah reckon all yer worries will be answered as soon as ya get home. Princess Twilight ain’t never been one to let a creature down; she always comes through in the end.”

“I hope so. I don’t think I could live with the guilt of not knowing what happened to my squadron and all those we lost up to that point… If I was supposed to lose that day and end up like the rest of them…” She closed her eyes, seeing the agonised faces of those Discord had turned to stone in front of her. “I want to face my destiny. I couldn’t care less about the things I’ve seen here. No offence.”

Applejack huffed with a smile. “Ah get ya, Sugarcube. Don’t need to tell me the importance of family.”

“Family? I wouldn’t- … They’re not- …”

“Family is more than blood, young’n. The bonds Ah’ve made with Twilight, Rarity, and the others taught me that. It’s about knowin’ they’ve always got yer back. Even if ya don’t get on sometimes, working together—saving Equestria together—forms a bond that ain’t easily broken. Ya said they relied on ya, right? Well that don’t come without trust, and ya can’t trust somecreature ya don’t like.”

Shooting Star snorted dismissively, looking up at the picturesque blue sky. Was there something to what she was saying? Despite not socialising with her colleagues, they still listened to her orders. Could you call that ‘family’? That word had been dead to her for years, but perhaps it wasn’t something she could run away from—perhaps it wasn’t something she should run away from. Did her squad spite her for abandoning the fight after she had convinced them to stay? Were they mourning her assumed death? Were any of them even left to feel those things? She obviously hadn’t so much as grazed Discord if he was still here in this far-future, not so much as remembering their fight.

Star turned back and lay her forehead directly on the wood, crossing her forelegs around it.

“Oh, hey now, Ah didn’t mean to go getting all serious on ya and upset ya or nothin’.” The country pony gently rested her hoof on the Valkyrie’s back. “Things can’t have turned out all that bad, or we wouldn’t be here now, would we? We’ll get ya home and everything’ll be fine, Ah’m sure of it.”

She huffed, her voice muffled. “Thanks.”

“Applejack, darling, are you done hogging our esteemed guest?” Rarity called out from the corner of the cafe, waving her hoof. “I’ve sketched some concepts and patterns I’d just love her to peruse for period accuracy.”

Shooting Star let out a groan only audible to the earth pony.

“You get used to it, Sugarcube,” the orange pony smirked, patting her back. “Ah promise I won’t let her talk yer ear off again.”

The two pushed themselves off the fence and began back to the eagerly awaiting unicorn.

“By the way, what was all that ‘reportin’ for duty’ stuff before with Twilight?” AJ asked as they walked. “Is that how y’all talked back in your time?”

“Oh, well, not usually. I guess when I started taking the Princess seriously it brought back a lot of memories of my time with the King.”

“The King?”

“Yes, King Cosmos. You don’t seem to have kings and queens now, do you.”

“Nah, it’s been princesses for at least as long as Ponyville’s been around.” She leaned in, whispering “And that’s a long time.”

“I didn’t see the King much—nopony did, especially recently, and now…” She shook her head, trying not to think about the black alert; getting home came first. “But being around him, you knew how powerful he was. His presence demanded authority and commanded respect. I never got that feeling from your Princess, though. I guess that’s why it took me so long to show her the respect she deserves—that and thinking this was a torture-dream concocted by Discord.

Applejack chuckled, shaking her head. “Twilight’s never ‘demanded respect’ from anycreature. What she has, she’s earned through listenin’ and doing her best to help creatures all across Equestria. As much as she admired Princess Celestia, she was never gonna be the same kind of leader as her—that’s just not who she is; kind, honest, and generous to a fault. Not to say that the previous Princesses weren’t, but they had a certain… aloofness to them, don’t ya think?” She barked out a laugh, forgetting who she was talking to. “Sorry, guess ya don’t. Still hard for me to imagine a time without them.”

The pair stopped at the corner as Rarity patiently waited for them to finish their conversation.

“Actually, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were fillies in my time. Princess Twilight mentioned them before… I don’t suppose you can answer, but what happened to them; are they alright?”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Rarity answered, “though nocreature has seen them for some time now; only Twilight receives the odd scroll. They’ve certainly earned their retirement after so many moons watching over us, though, so I don’t blame them. Equestria couldn’t be in safer hooves, after all.”

“So they are safe… That’s good to hear.” Star looked down with a faint smile, glad to know that at least some had survived the onslaught. Perhaps there was hope for her fr- … her friends, too.

“I ordered some fresh-baked cinnamon-apple muffins, I hope you don’t mind.” Rarity gestured to the laid table with a scattered stack of freshly sketched designs.

“You always know the right thing to say, Rarity,” AJ joked.

“You don’t get what you want in life without greasing a few hooves, darling,” she smiled back, escorting the group to their seats.

“This is fascinating, Spike,” Twilight Sparkle gushed as she peered down her magic microscope at the standard-issue Valkyrie collar plate.

“What is?” the muscular dragon asked half-heartedly as he struggled to assemble the rest of the Valkyrie armour on a mannequin behind her. It had been a long time since he had aided Twilight in one of her experiments, but his frustration was quickly overpowering the nostalgia of the situation.

“Based on the data I’ve gathered from Discord over the years, this armour does have trace residue on it!”

“So? Didn’t he mess with her yesterday?” he asked, only half-listening as he struggled with a pleather strap. “Why couldn’t Rarity be doing this?” he grumbled to himself as his fingers fumbled with the iron buckle.

“All things decay over time, Spike, even magic, and this plate shows… Well, I don’t know exactly what it shows, but this is chaos magic without a doubt, and it’s not fresh.” She twisted the magnification dial with her magic, focusing on the greying Discord-shaped particle. “What’s confusing are the subtle differences between this and what I’d expect to see from Discord’s magic.”

“So it wasn’t him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Who else could use chaos magic?!” she snapped, before sighing. “No, this has to be Discord’s magic… Perhaps time-travel did something to its chemical makeup? Either way, if I’m right, this could be a major breakthrough in time magic theory!” She looked up, a somewhat maniacal smile on her face. “I’m a genius!”

“Uh-huh.” Delicately placing the buckled strap on the mannequin’s flank, the whole structure shook threateningly before every piece fell to the floor in an avalanche of metal, eliciting a pained groan. “Isn’t armour supposed to be easy to put on? Why couldn’t they have something like Wonderbolt uniforms?”

Twilight turned to her friend as he faithfully reprised his role as assistant. “They didn’t have the resources for polyether-polyurea copolymer in the Pre-Classical era, obviously. But never mind that, don’t you know what this means?!”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me,” he grumbled, scratching his head before picking up a fallen spaulder.

“This is our first good lead! Of course it does offer more questions than answers.” She paced the floor of her private study, designed to evoke the look of the Golden Oak Library’s basement, tapping her chin as she thought. “If Discord truly was involved, why does he not remember the events Shooting Star described? I can understand him forgetting a specific pony, but nocreature would forget attacking the capital and turning ponies to stone… Does this mean that she is from a parallel dimension that just happens to be two-thousand moons behind ours? No, that’s too much of a coincidence for the consistency she shares with the surviving records. And what if there was an external influence for this time-travel beyond Shooting Star’s speed and Discord’s magic? Perhaps that accounts for the oddities in his magical residue?”

Spike stuck his tongue out in concentration as he carefully stacked the armour plates and pleather straps into a pyramid, having given up on assembling them correctly. “Why don’t you run a test and see?” he answered almost sarcastically.

“‘Run a test’? As in recreate the incident? Do you have any idea how dangerous that could be if I’m wrong?! Even if Discord could shake off an impact like that, how do you think Shooting Star would fare? What if she’s transported another thousand moons into the future?!”

“Then I guess you’ll get another chance to do it right.”

“Spike! This is a real pony we’re talking about, not some thought experiment!”

She huffed in frustration before trotting back to the microscope. The fresher Discord-shaped particles could be seen backstroking between the metallic atoms, while the older particle resembled an aged Discord, just… floating there. As she stared at it under the microscope, its eyes suddenly snapped open, staring directly into the lens. Twilight gasped, stepping back from the equipment as her blood ran cold.

“What’s wrong?!” Spike asked, jumping to her side.

“N-Nothing, I just- I thought I saw- … Sorry, I must just be tired, it’s nothing.”

“You sure? You have been burning the midnight oil, Twily, perhaps you should take a nap.”

“No, I’m fine, thank you, Spike.” She exhaled, shaking the haunting image from her mind. She wished she could brush it off as a ghost of exhaustion, but for that split second they had made eye-contact she was overcome with a malevolent intent the likes of which she had not felt since Tirek. Discord had never possessed magic so evil, so malicious… Could this be why Shooting Star’s account had seemed so uncharacteristic of the Discord they knew? Whatever this meant, it shouldn’t get in the way of sending the Valkyrie back to her own time, not unless she let it. The mystery of this Other Discord would have to remain just that; she had a promise to keep, and a new friend to send home.

Author's Note

1st Edition - 23rd Jan, 2023 (Release) (7,338 words)

Chapter 8: Homeward Bound

“And then I said ‘Oatmeal, are you crazy?’” Pinkie Pie finished, bursting into laughter.

Shooting Star smiled, surprised to be enjoying the company of a pony she first thought would be obnoxious and overbearing. As Pinkie concluded her lengthy and nuanced story, Spike the dragon burst through Sugar Cube Corner’s doors, staggering to a halt as he caught his breath.

“Sh- Shooting Star, Twilight asked- asked me to come get you. She has- something she wants to tell you,” he gasped, claws on his knees.

“The Princess wants to see me?”

Just as Shooting Star stood up, Twilight Sparkle appeared between them in a flash of purple.

“Shooting Star! Just the pony I was looking for!”

“If you were just- going to teleport here- why did you send me to get her?!” Spike snapped between wheezes.

“That’s not important now, Spike. Come on, I’ve got something to show you.” Twilight beamed, clearly ecstatic over something.

Not waiting for verbal consent, the alicorn teleported the pair out of the cafe, leaving Pinkie Pie and Spike in bemused silence.

“Oh come on!” the dragon yelled, throwing his claws into the air.

“I know, right? I’ve barely been in this story at all!” Pinkie empathised, before snapping back to her sugary demeanour. “Want a cupcake?”

Spike sighed, slouching toward the table in defeat. “Yes.”

Twilight and Shooting Star reappeared at her lab in Canterlot Castle, leaving the pegasus in stunned silence as the numerous and alien scientific wonders overwhelmed her senses. To their left stood a typical store mannequin dressed in familiar Valkyrie armour, while to their right lay a laden workbench, on which a plate of the same armour sat under a device.

“Here, take a look at this,” the Princess immediately began, ushering the stunned pony toward the microscope.

“What is this?”

“Oh, right.” Twilight hummed, pondering the repercussions of exposing Star to yet more future technology. “This shouldn’t be a problem if I keep things vague. Basically, it lets you see things up close. You turn that knob to zoom in and out.”

“So, like a microscope?”

“… Yes.”

While Shooting Star was aware of microscopes as a concept, the ones she knew were far more primitive than what was being presented to her now, not that she had ever used one in the first place. Twilight encouraged the Valkyrie to put her eye to the white-and-gold eyepiece.

“Do you see it?”

“Uh-”

Star peered into the protruding tube, finding some crystal-like shapes and… multiple Discords? The Princess said it showed things up-close, but what she was seeing made no sense. Surely this was some kind of… scrying device? Entertainment? Yes, perhaps this was some kind of joke; a trick of mirrors, like a kaleidoscope. How could looking at a sheet of metal show a living creature? Creatures could not possibly be so small, let alone all Discord.

“What in Equestria is this?”

“Residual chaos magic!” Twilight answered triumphantly. “On a portion of your armour! Sorry, I didn’t mean to bury the lead, but simply telling you felt a little anticlimactic, and I thought you’d like to see it for yourself. This is-”

“My armour?”

Shooting Star stepped back and yanked the metal collar from the delicate device without hesitation, causing Twilight to wince. Star turned back to the mannequin, recognising the subtle blemishes that confirmed it to be her own; not that it could be anypony else’s in this timeline, of course, but that armour was a common sight where—when—she was from, so she hadn’t thought more of it.

“What are you doing to my armour? What is this magic?”

Twilight tenderly inspected her microscope to ensure it wasn’t damaged before answering.

“Research,” she smiled with a hint of self-satisfaction. “And not just any research, but successful research!”

“Researching what, exactly?” Star asked in an increasingly annoyed tone as she trotted to the mannequin and clipped the collar-piece around its neck, leaving only the helmet missing.

“Sending you home, of course!”

“And what does my armour have to do with that?”

“Not your armour, per se, but what was on it. The final piece of the puzzle, the last ingredient of the formula, the key to-” She coughed, catching herself mid-tangent. “My point is, I’ve come up with a hypothesis that could send you back to your own time; all thanks to the residual magic left on your armour by Discord.”

“He left magic on my armour? Wait, so he did do it!” Her confused frustration quickly spiked to anger. “He lied to me, that sack of- You all lied to me! Summon him immediately and give me the truth, or so help me-”

“Woah, woah, woah. I’m starting to see the flaw in my approach.” Thankfully, she now knew how to calm the pegasus down. “Have you forgotten who you are addressing so quickly?”

Shooting Star’s eyes widened and her lips clamped shut. Indeed, the unexpected arrival of the Princess and subsequent teleportation to this strange place had overwhelmed her senses to the point of forgetting herself in front of royalty.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

Twilight sighed, shaking her head as she stepped toward the pegasus in a gesture of comfort.

“I should be the one apologising. I was so caught up in my own theatrics that I didn’t consider the reality of your reaction, and the clear explanation you rightly deserve.” She levitated a stool from the workbench and set it behind Star, who accepted the offer. “I don’t understand the behaviour of your era’s Discord, but I think it’s fair to say that he wasn’t the same creature he is now. He’s changed a lot in the relatively short time I’ve known him, so how different he was two-thousand moons ago… Well, I think your account speaks for itself. That said, as morally ambiguous as Discord has been in the recent past, if the present Discord says he didn’t do it, I believe him.”

“But-!” Star let her mouth hang in silent protest, fighting the urge to argue.

Did she stay her tongue out of respect for the Princess’ authority, or was she growing tired of her own blind hatred? Having now spent some time with this era’s Discord, as disagreeable as she found him, it was clear that he and his past self were not the same creature at heart. What power could quell the pure evil of his old ways was beyond her imagination, but something must have happened between then and now. Was it wrong to hate his present self for what he was in the past, as recent as it was for her? Forgiveness was a trait she had no experience with.

Yesterday she had been invited to a boardgame night held in Canterlot Castle by the Princess’ friends, including some she had yet to meet. One of those friends was Discord, which was why she declined the invitation. Despite that, she had spied on the group from the corridor as they played, shocked by the genuine fun they seemed to be having despite their differences. Different species, former enemies, all laughing and vulnerable together… Two weeks ago she never would have imagined speaking to a dragon, let alone watch one play games with a Princess of Equestria and the monster that had invaded their capital.

What is the value of forgiveness? What is gained from accepting losses as the past and breaking bread with the one who wronged you? The answer to this question seemed to be the fundamental difference between this Equestria and hers. Her Equestria was bitter, still raw from the years spent under Grogar’s tyrannical hoof and under constant threat from other would-be invaders. Ponies of her time feared other races and chose to defend themselves rather than risk being taken advantage of again. It was common rhetoric that ‘ponies are weak’, yet here stood a prosperous nation without fear or enemies—or at least none they hadn’t overcome with little more than kind words and bouquets. How? When would steel and sleepless nights give way to cupcakes and slumber parties? Perhaps her mind was too archaic to grasp these modern ideals, but this was the future that she and the Valkyries fought for—peace, comfort, the pursuit of personal passions—but in its most extreme form: a utopia for all.

Twilight could tell Star’s silence was weighted, seemingly lost in her own thoughts as her mouth slowly closed without further protest.

“I understand that you might never be able to forgive Discord for what he did to you in your time, but getting you home should be our top priority, not who or what brought you here in the first place. As much as I wish I could make things better for you and the ponies of the past, things must unfold as they are destined to, or your future will never become our past—so to speak—and I’ve seen the dramatic effects that can have firsthoof.”

She sighed, levitating another stool and placing it in front of Star, taking a seat herself.

“Last night, my friend, Starlight Glimmer—who I believe you met at the Castle of Friendship—suggested that I erase your memory of everything you’ve witnessed since your arrival, to protect the timeline.”

Shooting Star seemed to refocus on hearing this, making eye-contact despite her dazed expression. The Princess continued.

“I was going to tell her that wasn’t a good idea, of course. Memory is a tricky thing at the best of times, and even if I did—not that I would—I don’t know how I would get you home without your knowledge and the understanding we’ve grown to share. But do you know who spoke out in your defence before I could?”

Star blinked, not having an answer.

“Rainbow Dash. She said that you’d grown so much in such a short amount of time, that there was no way we could take that away from you—that no matter what you had seen here, your experiences could have only changed you for the better.” Twilight smiled, looking at the suit of armour. “I could talk for hours about the various theories surrounding time-travel; predetermination, the möbius paradox, ripple effect and chaos theory… but Rainbow Dash’s blunt and uneducated outburst gave me the only answer I ever needed. If experiences change a creature for the better, how could that ever have negative consequences?” She turned back to Star. “I think you’re the kind of level-headed pony that accounts for consequences before making decisions. You speak your mind, but only in service of the greater good. You’ve faced impossible situations lately, yet here you sit, calm, having adapted and survived. Your moments of desperation and recklessness were only in the pursuit of returning home to protect your friends and neighbours, not ego or self-preservation.”

Twilight smiled as the pegasus looked down, thinking about those final moments of her timeline again.

“Despite the things you’ve witnessed here, I don’t see a problem in returning you home. Whether this was how it was always meant to be, or whether I’m putting the fate of Equestria in your hooves… I know you’ll do the right thing. It’s time to go home, Shooting Star.”

“But-!”

She shocked herself at the reflexive reaction to ask for more time. What would she gain by remaining? Time was critical to her friends’ fates, if it wasn’t already too late, and she didn’t belong here. So why… Why would she hesitate to leave now, after fighting for it for so long? Was it hearing Rainbow Dash’s kind words, that she would have surely never said to her face? Was it feeling seen by the Princess, having never been acknowledged by her family or peers back home? Was it knowing that the momentary connections she had made here would never be felt again?

“It’s never easy to make absolute decisions, no matter how sure we are until the choice has to be made. Nocreature is infallible, not even princesses…” She smiled weakly, thinking back on the story of The Sisters as she dismounted the stool and returned it. “It’s hard to say goodbye to friends, new or old, but you’re needed back home, aren’t you?”

Star took a deep breath, trying to organise her thoughts. The bleak reality of her era felt like a bad dream in comparison to this utopia. For her Equestria, the war had never really ended. They lived in fear of the next attack; fear of the unknown; fear of trusting one another. The fight was all she had ever known, from her abusive parents to proving herself to the Valkyries, she had always been on the defensive. Ponies like her didn’t belong in this era. She needed the fight to know her place; without it… who even was she?

“Yes.”

Twilight smiled comfortingly, knowing this was hard for both of them, even if it was the right—neigh—only choice. There are some things in this magical world that not even friendship can best.

“You’ll be glad to know that I’ve run practical tests with the help of Discord, so what I have planned isn’t purely theoretical. Of course, it’s impossible to know exactly what happened to that apple, as the speed it had to achieve to activate the time-wormhole was more-or-less equal to the speed you travelled to get here—we made a lot of apple sauce working that one out, let me tell you,” she laughed, though quickly trailed off in this sentimental moment. “Anyway, either you’ll find an extra apple in Pre-Classical Equestria, or I’ll see you in two-thousand moons for a second go.”

“This might send me even further in time?”

“There’s a non-zero chance, but I haven’t spent all this time sitting on my hooves. We wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t think this was our best option. And if it doesn’t work? Well, I guess I have plenty of time to think of something better.”

Twilight forced a smile, which was reciprocated.

“I understand, Princess.”

“Please; ‘Twilight’.”

“Thank you, Twilight.”

Star dropped from her stool and slowly trotted to the dressed mannequin, staring at it face-on. Regardless of what had happened on this bizarre journey, it didn’t change who she was: a warrior. As if looking in a mirror, she saw her face on the mannequin, standing in full plate; the symbol of Equestrian pride.

Peace, friendship, understanding—rather than losing them to this future, they were values that she would fight to bring back with her to the present. It wouldn’t be quick and it wouldn’t be easy, but she would do her duty as a Valkyrie and as a member of the Royal Guard to protect what Equestria had stood for since the first Hearth’s Warming: equality and unity. She would fight to see this future come to pass, with every fibre of her being.

With renewed purpose, Shooting Star reached out to don her battle-worn armour once more. It was time to go home.

The sun hung low in the sky as a surprisingly large group gathered on a balcony of Canterlot Castle to see Shooting Star off. Discord floated more-or-less where he had been two-thousand moons ago, based on the Valkyrie’s directions, accounting for the drastically different layouts of the two eras’ royal residences. Star hovered not too far from him, subtly measuring the ambient air speed and precipitation with her wings, in the almost subconscious way experienced fliers do.

Most of the ‘Mane Six’ had gathered to see off their newest friend, along with Starlight Glimmer and the other boardgame-night ponies: a blue unicorn in a starry coat, a wide-eyed griffon, a large red stallion, a blue dragon, and some bug-pony creature. It was odd to see these different creatures she had never even met waving her off, but it perfectly encapsulated the essence of this Equestria and why it tugged at her to leave it behind so soon. She mentally and physically prepared herself as Princess Twilight approached her from the balcony, flying up between the two; her starlit mane flowing in the almost non-existent breeze.

“Alright, I’ll skip the specifics, but basically Discord is going to be using the Mirror of Harmony to invert his magic. It works a little differently when chaos magic is involved, so rather than purifying it into ‘order magic’, it sort of… well, it becomes ‘negative chaos’? Not ‘anti-chaos’, but-” She shook her head. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know how it works, but it seems to effectively reverse the flow of his magic.”

Saying this, Twilight used her own magic to pass a rather ornate-looking, round, crystal mirror to the draconequus.

“Think of it like reversing the polarity of a magnet, or the changing of the tide. It’s fundamentally the same magic, but it produces the opposite effect.”

“Far be it from me to question Twilight’s neurotic dedication to double-, triple-, and quadruple-checking things,” Discord interrupted, turning his nose as he took the mirror with pinched fingers. “But if this little stunt does end up turning us both to paste, just know it isn’t personal when I reform myself afterwards. Just a little perk that comes with being me.”

Star snorted, finding his macabre humour far more palatable than the practical jokes. It took a moment for the gravity of that thought to really sink in; she found the creature who killed her squadron and destroyed the capital amusing. This Discord and the one she had attempted to sacrifice herself to delay truly were night and day. Did something happen to make him change? Were they even the same Discord? These were questions she would never have answers for, it seemed; not that it even mattered. She would be long dead by the time this Discord was around, and she wasn’t planning on making friends with the other one.

“So what do I do?” Star asked, having already been briefed, but feeling the weight and finality of this moment fray her nerves.

“All you need to do is recreate the incident that brought you here to the best of your ability. Match your speed, your trajectory, even your emotions as faithfully as possible. We don’t exactly know what the ‘secret sauce’ was that brought you here, so replicating everything is the best chance we have at triggering the same reaction. It wasn’t raining, right?”

Shooting Star shook her head. “No, same weather, same season… It might have been noon, I think.”

“Right, on it.” Without fanfare, Twilight’s horn began to glow as the sun reversed its course in the sky, now shining down from above them. “There. Nocreature will mind if we’re quick.”

If there was any doubt left in Star’s mind that Twilight was a real alicorn Princess, literally moving the sky on a whim was more than enough evidence to convince her.

“Twilight, I’m- I don’t know if I can reach that speed again. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’ve never flown that fast before.”

As unlikely as it was that Rainbow Dash heard her from the balcony below, she called up: “I believe in you, kid! You can do this!”

“Woo-hoo!” Fluttershy added.

The Valkyrie smiled weakly, which Twilight returned in full-force.

“See? They have faith in you, and so do I. Just keep home in your mind and I’m sure you’ll find your way back. And remember: the faster you’re moving, the further back in time you’ll go. The same amount of time has passed then as it has now, so you do have a few days of leeway, but it would be a disaster if you arrived before you left. It’s… It’s a whole thing, so try to match your speed the best you can, okay?”

“OK…” Star exhaled, shaking the tension out of her muscles. “Ok.”

The Princess smiled and nodded, exiting the flightpath and returning to the crowded balcony.

“Give my regards to the world’s first time-travelling apple when you get there,” Discord quipped.

“I don’t know whether I should be thanking you, or picturing you with a hole through your chest,” she retorted with a wry smirk.

“You wouldn’t be the first, my dear,” he replied in kind. “But know that for as socially stunted as that purple pony might be, I’ve never known her to fail when it matters. If she says this will get you home, you should believe her.”

“Never thought I’d hear you praising a pony. The future is full of surprises.”

“Yes, well, you won’t be around long enough to tell anycreature, now will you, firecracker?”

“Wait! Wait!” a shrill voice echoed from within the tower, drawing the attention of the audience as Rarity burst through the inner castle doors and toward the balcony.

“Rarity?” Twilight exclaimed, surprised that she was this late to begin with, and now making such a scene of it, too. Rarity was known for her dramatic flair, but this was bordering on selfish.

Skidding to a halt in the circle of assorted creatures, she doubled-over, gasping to catch her breath.

“Are you alright, Rarity? What’s going on?” Spike asked, bending down to offer his claw.

“Yes- Yes, I’m fine, just a little- Just a little winded, that’s all. One doesn’t realise just how- many steps there are in a castle- until one has to gallop up all of them in one go.”

“Glad yer here, Sugarcube, but ain’t this a bit much, even fer you?” Applejack suggested.

“Yes, sorry about that,” she gasped, catching her breath enough to stand up straight. “But I simply couldn’t let Miss Star leave without this.”

Using her blue magic to unlatch her finely embroidered saddlebag, the unicorn pulled out a gleaming silver helmet, polished to a shine with an ornate trim, intricate tableaus on the cheeks, and a rainbow faux-mane from its crest.

“Rest assured, I made it with all period-accurate materials and techniques,” she continued, floating the helmet up to Shooting Star. “I hope that’s alright with you, Twilight?”

“Well, as long as it could have existed in her time, I suppose so,” the Princess conceded, feeling bad for doubting the Element of Generosity's intentions.

Star took the gift in her hooves. True enough, this helmet was structurally identical to the standard issue one she had discarded before her confrontation with Discord, though of far superior construction and laden with embellishments. She looked it over in awe, holding it as gently and uncomfortably as a newborn foal. It was beyond anything she had seen before, from the gold piping to the glimmering jewels accenting key points, to the scenes of Equestria’s formation on its sides. It was craftsponyship worthy of the King himself, and despite its solid construction, remained light and airy as all aerial corps armour should be.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” she thought aloud, blown away by the generosity of a pony she had barely spent any time with, let alone the contempt she had shown in return.

“Do say you like it!” Rarity called up, eagerly awaiting the verdict.

“It’s- It’s incredible, thank you.”

The white unicorn beamed happily. “Twilight was gracious enough to allow me access to the Royal Archives, where she just so happened to have a superbly preserved example of a Valkyrie helm locked away. Why she never told me about such a treasure before is beyond me, but studying it allowed me to reproduce a perfectly accurate replica—if I do say so myself—from the rainbow plume down to the exquisite tableaus. Whoever designed such a beautiful piece must have been a true master craftscreature of their time, though of course I couldn’t help but add a little Rarity flair here and there,” she chuckled.

“Wait, you have a Valkyrie helmet and you never told me?” Rainbow Dash snapped, turning to the Princess. “That should be on display at the Academy, not locked up in some dusty vault! That’s pegasus heritage!”

“Rainbow Dash, please, we’re in the middle of something here. Can we talk about this later?”

The blue pegasus huffed, folding her forelegs in contempt.

“With that said, if anycreature wants to say their goodbyes, now’s the time,” Twilight instructed the crowd, eager to close the book on this bizarre chapter of her rule.

“Take care, Sugarcube,” Applejack hollered, waving her hat in the air.

“This still isn’t a sonic rainboom, I hope you know that!” Rainbow Dash shouted, before being nudged by her partner. “And… take care of yourself, kid.”

“You can do it,” Fluttershy whisper-shouted. “We all believe in you!”

“What about me?” Discord whined. “I’m putting myself in harm’s way too, you know!”

“Uh; yeah, go Discord. Woohoo,” the yellow pegasus replied ingenuously.

He snorted at the poor effort to placate him. “I’ll take it.”

“All this drama is getting quite exciting, isn’t it?” Trixie gushed to Starlight. “I’ve never been to a time-travel takeoff before. Is that what you’d call this?”

“I don’t think anycreature has,” she replied. “Hopefully this doesn’t become a thing.”

“Think about it, Starlight; if this did become a ‘thing’, we’d have already seen the time-travellers.”

The purple unicorn was stunned to silence by this thought.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving already!” Pinkie lamented loudly as little Cheese Slice watched from her mane. “There’s like a million things I still need to put in your super-secret party dossier!”

“My what?” Shooting Star yelled back.

“Noth~ing! Just promise you’ll visit again, okay? And don’t forget to write!”

“I don’t think you understand what’s going on here.”

“Have a gouda trip!” a frizzy-maned pony called from Pinkie’s side.

“Good luck with things back home!” Spike shouted, waving with a smirk. “Give Discord what-for!”

“Thanks, some friend you are,” Discord sneered.

“Hey! We never met, but my name’s Gabby!” a grey griffon called out, energetically waving her taloned hand as she hovered beside the large dragon. “I don’t know much about you, but I’m sure you’re great! Have a safe trip!”

Shooting Star didn’t really know how to respond to that, both as an awkward social exchange, but also the particular prejudice she held told towards griffons, as all ponies of her era did. Seeing them roam freely around Cloudsdale and the Academy from a distance had been one thing, but to be addressed by one directly caused a surge of otherwise softened feelings that caught her off-guard. After all, this was two-thousand years after the Great Griffon War; this griffon obviously had nothing to do with that calamity, nor did her parents, or their parents… And yet Star struggled to suppress her scowl as she locked eyes with the feathered beast.

“Um, did I say something wrong?” Gabby hesitantly asked Spike, slowly setting back to the floor to hide among the crowd.

“Uh, I wouldn’t take it personally,” he replied behind a claw. “She has creature problems.”

“Bon voyage!” a multi-coloured bug-creature called up to her, speaking in tongues she chose to ignore.

“Is that everycreature? It can’t stay day forever,” Twilight urged, scanning the audience. Content that everycreature had said their piece, she nodded up to Shooting Star with a smile. “Break a wing.”

Shooting Star nodded back with a grateful smirk. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, she rose her newly acquired helmet and slid it over her ears. It smelled of buffing rub and iron, an already nostalgic scent from her barracks, and the interior pleather padding gently creaked as it fitted tightly against her skull for a perfect fit. Had Rarity measured her head while she slept? She wouldn’t put it past her; not that she was complaining.

With a proud smile, she gave the gathered crowd of new friends a final salute before flying toward Discord. He raised an eyebrow, expecting a parting sardonic comment, but was instead offered a hoof. Genuinely taken aback, he paused before reaching out and shaking it. With one last smirk, Shooting Star pulled the goggles down from her helmet and turned, flying directly away from the draconequus, leaving this new and bizarre Canterlot behind for the final time.

“You know, I think I might actually miss her,” he thought aloud.

“Aww, Discord!” Twilight empathised.

“You ponies are practically boring in comparison.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, regretting giving him the benefit.

Shooting Star beat her wings surely—having now more-or-less healed from her initial injury—as she climbed higher and higher, using the perennial landscape as reference for her original position. The air grew cold as the clear blue sky darkened and her breath grew thin. This was it. She closed her eyes, thinking back to the fight for Canterlot and what had driven her to that speed before. She had to give this her all.

“Terra or Elysium, here I come.”

With one final beat, she glided upward, hanging still in the air for a second before turning back and into a dive, flapping with all her might. The surge of air against her face was more bearable with goggles this time, but that didn’t stop it from feeling like knives against her coat as her gums began to flap against the pressure. Whoom, whoom, whoom; with each beat she sped up, aided by gravity and slightly more aerodynamic thanks to the helmet. As she passed the tips of the lesser mountains she banked up hard, struggling to keep her wings open against the oppressive air pressure. There came a sound like the tearing of paper, followed by loud pops as she could feel herself pressing up against that same invisible barrier as before—an experience that she could never forget. Discord swallowed as he held the mirror to his chest like a target. The Valkyrie began to instinctively close her eyes, feeling the air fold around her body as a deafening BOOM blasted from behind her, sending out a star-shaped rainbow shockwave.

“No. Way,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed under her breath.

“It’s a sonic rainboom!” Fluttershy screamed at an uncharacteristic volume, along with the assorted cheers of the audience.

“Nuh-uh!” the Wonderbolt desperately refuted.

“She’s- She’s going really fast,” Twilight fretted, the lone point of concern within a crowd of awe.

Discord reflexively flinched as the pegasus shot at him like a train. Shooting Star’s eyes remained tightly shut. All she could hear was the wind battering her ears like a hurricane and the slick, icy embrace of the slipstream. Her wings swung smooth and steady like oars through still water, with miles becoming years as time and space bowed to her untraceable speed. The only thought that filled her mind, besides a responsible amount of fear, was that she had to get back in time to save her friends. Nothing continuum-breaking—no meeting herself—just enough to make a difference. Just a little faster. Just a little—bit—more—and—

Had she hit Discord yet? She was on-target during the approach, so it was unlikely she had missed. At least she hadn’t felt the impact, as it would have certainly been the last thing she felt. She tried to recall her first journey through time, to compare the sensations, though right now it was hard to tell if there was a deafening cacophony or utter silence; a black void or closed eyes; movement or stillness. Feeling her breath begin to stifle and wings tire, she dared to open her eyes, finding nothing but a blur of colour behind fogged lenses. Panicking slightly, she attempted to slow down, commanding a little more control this time around.

The wind battered her feathers as she began to descend, deftly avoiding the large grey blob on her right while aiming for lighter, slower-approaching colours—hopefully clear sky. The air seemed to pop and crackle as she slowed down, with the unnoticed numbness in her limbs turning to that familiar bitter-cold stabbing, kindly reminding her that she was still alive. Despite all four legs and both wings reeling against her momentum, she wasn’t quite able to stop herself before hitting what she thought wasn’t there.

It took a few seconds for the frigid shock of the impact to pass before Star realised she had, one: mercifully hit water, and two: was, in fact, currently underwater. Frantically struggling to find up from down, she pushed herself towards the light, breaching the surface with a desperate gasp for air from burning lungs.

“Fur and feathers!” a voice screeched from the waterside, clearly taking somepony by surprise with her sudden arrival.

As light and airy as Valkyrie armour may be for flying, it was not designed for swimming, as made evident by Shooting Star’s desperate struggle to keep her head above the water.

“H-Here! Take me hoof!” the same voice called out, partly muffled by water washing over Star’s ears.

She moved towards the voice the best she could, and sure enough a pair of hooves grasped her flailing foreleg, pulling her toward the steep bank.

It took a few minutes to recover from the experience, but Shooting Star finally found herself back on solid land after what felt like an hour. Lifting the waterlogged goggles from her face with a small splash, she was finally able to look at her surroundings and who had saved her.

To her left were the looming grey walls of her era’s familiar Canterlot Palace—an oddly comforting sight given its bleak appearance and the enforced lockdown since the Queen’s passing. Home-sweet-home. For some reason the thought of doubting Twilight’s plan had not once entered her mind, and it was only now, after the manoeuvrer’s success, that the danger of what she had just done struck her. It was a strange mixture of adrenaline, pride, fear, and loss, all at once. But she was here now. But ‘when’ was here?

Kicking the water from her shoes, she turned back to the pony who had helped her out of one of Mount Friendship’s many plunge pools: Private Gliding Light. A familiar face! She couldn’t help but smile as though seeing an old friend, despite them having no social history together.

Gliding Light was a yellow pegasus with a long, orange mane tied back in a ponytail, wearing the same standard-issue Valkyrie armour as Star. Unlike most ponies she drilled, Light was a somewhat unwilling member of the squadron, taking up the mantle of her brother after his wing was irrevocably broken during the war. And unlike most ponies she flew with, Light chose to stay with Star in her defiance of their superior, confronting Discord to give the others time to escape. She was a contradiction of bravery and fear; softness and resilience; determination and trepidation. Discord had no knowledge or care of her nature, of course, swatting her like a fly during their encounter and leaving her fate unknown, until now.

“Is- Is it really you, Lieutenant?” she asked, audibly and visibly trembling.

Before Shooting Star could answer, she glimpsed a flash of light from the corner of her eye that she had become intimately familiar with as of late. Without hesitating she grabbed Gliding Light by the neck and fell backwards into the frothing basin, losing her shiny new helmet in the process. She held her panicking companion down long enough to convey the message to keep quiet, before letting go and cautiously peeking above the surface. Sure enough, Discord’s unmistakable silhouette was floating above the palace, looking for signs of the disturbance she had caused upon arrival.

Whether it was the active waterfall, their lack of unicorn or alicorn magic, or perhaps the residual chaos energy masking their presence, Discord didn’t seem to have noticed them. After looking around for a few more seconds, he shrugged, kicking a nearby pegasus statue in frustration before teleporting back from whence he came. The weighted Valkyries continued to hold their breath as they desperately kicked to not sink deeper, ensuring that he had truly left before fully surfacing. Leaving Gliding Light to struggle to the bank alone, Shooting Star took a single gasp of air before diving once more, hooking her helmet off the silt bed with one hoof and resurfacing. Once all four of her dripping-wet hooves were firmly planted back on land, she slid the helmet back over her ears, briefly showering herself with its collected contents.

“W-We could have j-just hidden b-behind that rock,” Gliding Light chittered out, now shaking from both fear and being soaked to the bone. She pointed to the nearby, large, mossy boulder she had been cowering behind before Star’s arrival.

“Sorry, I had to think fast,” Star smirked weakly. It felt strange interacting with a subordinate after her experiences in the future. Was it inappropriate to be friendly, or should she commit to discarding her old, self-isolating ways?

“It really is you, isn’t it?” the yellow pegasus smiled, relief warming her tired face.

“Yes, it’s me,” she confirmed, smiling back awkwardly. “Glad to see you, Private.”

“You are?” Light asked, genuinely confused by the show of concern as she rung out the pleather straps of her armour’s skirt. “Are- Are you alright? Did you hit your head? That was a heck of a speed you came in at.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It hurts like Tartarus, but I’ll live,” she answered, rolling her neck and aching joints. “How- uh- How long was I gone?”

“You were gone? I-I mean, it’s not like I didn’t try looking—I did—but when I saw Daisy—uh, Private Daisy Dale—fall into the water here…” she looked to the frothing pool and pointed, drawing Star’s eyes to the bottom. “I tried to get him out but- but he was just so heavy, I couldn’t…”

Shooting Star peered beneath the waves, barely making out the grey silhouette of a pony, rigid as though frozen mid-flight. She exhaled, having feared for the worst.

“At least he’s petrified.”

“‘Petrified’?”

“Yeah, this Discord seems to enjoy turning ponies to stone; weren’t you paying attention? I get the impression it’s reversable, though, so as long as he’s stone he should be fine down there. I think.”

“Did- Did you say ‘this’ Discord? Is- Is there more than one?!” Light stammered, the hopeless grimace returning to her face.

“Uh- No. You didn’t answer my question; how long has it been since we engaged him over the palace?” she asked, quickly changing the topic as she looked up to where Discord had been.

“Oh, um, I’m not sure. I had a bit of a panic attack after I couldn’t get Daisy out, and I might have… uh… been unconscious until you arrived. Was that huge bang you? What happened?”

Star looked to the east, where the sun hung significantly lower than the midday she had just come from. Having spent almost two weeks in the future, it was hard to tell exactly how much time had passed here, though it could have only been a matter of hours given Gliding Light’s account. Apparently she had not only matched her speed from the previous time-travel incident, but significantly exceeded it, considering Princess Twilight’s warning. Perhaps it was her eagerness to return home, or believing that she would come out of it alive this time, but she had only barely avoided the ‘disaster’ of that paradox-thing, whatever the consequences of that were. In truth, she had hoped she would reappear at the moment she had left, able to rejoin the fight and somehow turn the tide against Discord… Perhaps it was better that had not come to pass. Much like the fabled Icarus, she had dared to fly towards the sun with her selfish need to get back in time to make a difference, but unlike Icarus, she had accidentally fallen short. Oh well; no harm, no foul.

“So- So he’s all right?” Gliding Light asked, having received no answer to her previous question. “Shouldn’t we, um, at least get him out? What if he wakes up down there?”

“Just be glad he’s still in one piece,” Star answered dryly, the weight of her time’s plights slowly bearing back down upon her. Future Equestria was starting to feel like a pleasant dream, fading fast under the harsh light of reality. Indeed, if this sight upset Gliding Light, it was for the best that she somehow didn’t recall the scene in the throne room.

Shooting Star looked between the waterfall’s basin and the chaos-warped palace, weighing their options. Whatever grace allowed them to go undetected by Discord this time might not last forever, and there was no certainty that these petrified ponies would be revived any time soon. They were already wet, but would struggle to lift the statue even as a pair without shedding their armour, and that didn’t seem like time they could afford to waste. She didn’t even know for certain that it was possible for ponies to be revived from this state; Discord was hardly a benchmark for normalcy.

Of the few absolutes she had gleaned from the future, one was that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were safe, and that the bright future of Equestria must surely be connected to their survival through this nightmare, however unlikely that might seem right now. She had only rarely caught glimpses of the eldest royal daughter around the palace, and not once laid eyes on the younger, yet she somehow felt confident that Equestria’s future was safe in their tiny hooves. They were, after all, daughters of the great alicorns King Cosmos and Queen Stella. Might and logic had failed them; faith was all they had left now.

“Did the others get away?” Star asked, once again not answering the Private’s question.

“You mean the Commander and the others? I think so, I didn’t see them again. We kept that monster busy, like you ordered. Tried to, anyway. I think- I think I’m the only one left, though,” she answered meekly, twisting her armoured hoof into the soft ground.

“Then I think we’ve done all we can here. They flew to Pegasopolis, right?” she asked rhetorically, turning to the western horizon.

“Yes, but-”

Gliding Light was silenced by the sky suddenly coming to life, rendered speechless as the sun and moon began doing laps above them, making it feel as though days were passing in seconds. Sudden shifts in the stars was not uncommon as of late, given the King’s condition, but it was never like this—never this chaotic.

“What in Elysium-” Star exclaimed, shielding her eyes from the flashing as she looked up.

“It- It must be that monster!” Light squeaked, retreating behind her boulder. “It really does have the power of an alicorn! Oh fur and feathers!”

Star scowled. It came as no surprise to her that Discord’s power might extend this far, but the reality of it was just as terrifying. This Discord really did see ponies—neigh, the world—as toys to be played; entirely at his whim to tease or destroy… What changed? Would the royal sisters somehow get through to him—have him change his ways? Whatever the cause, as unsafe as any of Equestria was right now, this was probably the worst place of all to remain idle.

“We should go,” she stated with authority.

Indeed, as confused and helpless as she had been in the future, this was who she was in her era. Strong, decisive, reliable; a leader. The future may be all sunshine and cupcakes, but her Equestria required assertiveness and strength to survive, and that’s exactly the kind of pony she had always strived to be. She had to take the reins, for her own sake, as well as everypony around her. Now was the time for action, not theories.

“But we can’t do this alone,” she continued. “Any suggestions?”

Gliding Light blinked, taken aback. “You want… my suggestion? Um, well, let’s see.” She scratched her mane, remembering that she had lost her helmet when she was whipped into the royal rose garden by Discord. “All the Valkyries are gone, and I don’t imagine there’s anypony else left in the palace… If we wanted help, it would have to be from outside of Canterlot for sure.”

“Outside Canterlot, hm?” she pondered, thinking of all the options they would have had in Future Equestria. But this wasn’t the future, this was the present. Even if they dared ask another race for help, they would be lucky to leave with their lives, much less aid against an all-powerful monster. The other races would surely fall to Discord’s whims sooner or later as well, but right now Equestria was hardly owed any favours. No, if they wanted help, it would have to be from a pony settlement yet untouched by Discord’s evil. “Can you think of anypony?”

“Hm. Ponydale is the only settlement I can think of between here and Pegasopolis, but they’re just a bunch of farmers.” Gliding Light shook her head. “Besides the Nephophytes, the only other warriors I know of are the Mighty Helms, but they’re way out west.”

“The ‘Mighty Helms’?”

“It’s a tribe of primitive terrans that live on an isolated island in the Frozen Sea. They’re on the blacklist, though…”

“And you think they’ll be of use?”

“I- uh- I don’t know. If you want to meet up with the others at Pegasopolis, they’re the only other ponies I can think of in that direction. But they dissented after the War, so they might not even want to help us.”

“The Frozen Sea, huh? That’s twice the distance to where Pegasopolis should be… Two days flight without a break, I’d say.”

Gliding Light swallowed. “You don’t- You don’t want me to fly that far, right? Normal ponies don’t have your stamina, Lieutenant.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re a Valkyrie, and not a ‘normal pony’, isn’t it?” Star replied with a wry smirk. “Don’t worry, you can stay at Pegasopolis. I’ll go on alone if I have to. However they feel about the War, we have to stand united against Discord. Every hoof counts.”

With that, Shooting Star took to the air, offering a symbolic hoof to the Private.

“Let’s go.”

Gliding Light nodded, flying up beside her superior before the two set off westward.

“By the way, Lieutenant, where did you get that fancy helmet from?” she asked, having worked up the nerve.

“Oh, this? It… It’s a long story,” she smiled, thinking back to the dream-like ride her last few days had been. “It was from a friend.”

Gliding Light blinked in confusion as the two pegasi continued toward the North Brine, also known as the Frozen Sea, just as the sun settled on the horizon, silhouetting their glistening armoured frames with its golden rays. For what had been the darkest day in living history, knowing that it would all be alright in the end—however that point was reached—helped Shooting Star push on. However bad the present might get, there would always be hope if they were destined for such a bright future. She wouldn’t live long enough to see it herself, but if she could help set Equestria on the right path, that would be enough for her. The rest would be up to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

Two weeks later, an apple appeared from seemingly nowhere beside Canterlot Palace, moving at such a speed it had no time to consider its existence in this new era before it hit one of the palace’s towers, leaving behind nothing but a sweet paste.

Discord teleported to the roof of the palace once more, disturbed by the sudden burst of strangely familiar magic, yet once again finding nothing. He huffed in frustration.

“Perhaps I should put some of those ponies to work as guards. This really is beneath me.”

And with that, he teleported back to this throne room, eager to plot his next mischief with the other races of this vast and varied world. Flying reindeer? Hairless yaks? Perhaps a race of aquatic half-ponies? His options really were limitless. This fresh, new world was his oyster, and without the threat of those so-called ‘alicorn princesses’ to stop him, he could do whatever he liked. Today was another wonderful day in his Discordia, and gosh, did it feel good to be him.

Author's Note

This story continues in The Tale of Two Sisters.

1st Edition - 21st February, 2023 (Release) (8,024 words)

Epilogue: All Good Things…

Shooting Star beat her wings surely, Valkyrie armour and gifted helmet gleaming in the distant sky as she continued to climb, using the landscape to align herself just as she and the Princess had discussed prior.

“You can do this,” Twilight thought, every muscle in her body tensing as she watched helplessly from the tower balcony.

With one final beat of her wings, Star hung in the air for a moment before turning back and into a dive, using gravity to propel her faster than her wings alone could. Passing the tips of the lesser mountains, she banked up hard, fighting against the intense air-pressure as a deafeningly-loud sound like tearing paper began to shake the castle’s windows. The gathered audience attempted to cover their ears from this thunderous noise, prompting Twilight to cast a sound-muffling barrier around them, just as soft, white halos began to pass over the speeding pegasus, creating even louder pops.

Discord swallowed as he held the Mirror of Harmony to his chest like an archery target, wincing as an almighty BOOM shook the very mountains, marking the final moments of Shooting Star’s approach. A colourful, jagged shockwave erupted behind the pegasus as she streaked toward him, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake.

“No. Way,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed under her breath, hovering just above the crowd.

“It’s a sonic rainboom!” Fluttershy screamed at an uncharacteristic volume, along with assorted cheers from the audience.

“Nuh-uh!” the Wonderbolt desperately refuted.

“She’s- She’s going really fast,” Twilight fretted, the lone point of concern within a crowd of awe.

The audience watched Shooting Star like a firework delivering its beautiful payload; a streak of light hurtling towards the draconequus at terminal speed, faster than any eye could trace. She was almost home. Just a little—bit—more—and—

She was gone. The kinetic energy in Star’s wake hit Discord and the Mirror like a bubble, wrapping around them before a bright flash of light expelled it back; a visual suggesting that the pegasus had been successfully slingshot back in time as intended. As the loud rumbles and rainbow shockwave dissipated, Discord and the audience were left alone in silence. This was how it was meant to be, of course, but Twilight couldn’t help but feel a small sense of loss at the departure. She really was gone.

Twilight Sparkle’s journey from friendless filly to Princess of Equestria had seen its fair share of goodbyes, but none had ever truly been final… Not until recently. Perhaps this was simply part of growing up and leaving foalhood behind; proof that those innocent days of being a carefree unicorn bookworm were long gone. It was a hard truth to accept, but this was the best outcome for everycreature involved. Time marches forward, lives are finite, and all good things come to an end.

“Woah. Is this what it’s like to watch me?” Rainbow Dash whispered, the first to break the awestruck silence. “I’m awesome!”

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at the distinctly Rainbow Dash statement.

“So, she’s really gone?” Pinkie Pie asked, sounding as melancholic as Twilight felt over the loss of a friend, however short-lived their encounter may have been.

“She’s really gone,” the Princess repeated, needing to hear it aloud herself, too.

“How do we know she got home safely?”

“The only way we’d know for sure is if nothing changes in our timeline; though there’s no way to know if we would even notice a difference.” A thousand simulations ran through the alicorn’s mind, questioning discrepancies across every moment of her life; though as her eyes settled on the nearby rainbow-maned pegasus, she knew with a small smile that everything had turned out as intended. “Best case scenario, it should be like she was never here.”

“‘Never here’?” Pinkie parroted, far from consoled.

“Come now, darling, you know this is how it has to be,” Rarity reassured her friend, resting a hoof on her pink shoulder. “She was never supposed to be here in the first place. Of course we’re sad to see her go, but she had to go home.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac added in solidarity.

“Yeah, I know…”

As Pinkie Pie sighed, Little Cheese slid down her neck for a hug, and Cheese Sandwich put his foreleg around her.

“But there’s no way she was as fast as I am, right?” Rainbow Dash asked her partner, oblivious to other conversations.

“Is it really so hard for you to accept that ya might have an equal?” Applejack answered, shaking her head wearily.

“Yes!”

“Quit yer belly-aching, or Ah won’t make yer favourite apple cider fritters later.”

“What?! No way!”

“Oo, those sound delicious,” Sugar Belle beamed, following the couple inside. “Speaking of baked goods, I can’t wait for you to try my latest batch of secret-recipe cinnamon muffins!” She leaned in, whispering loudly from behind her hoof. “The secret is apples.”

Big Mac chuckled, “Eeyup!”

“It was a pretty impressive show, I must say,” Trixie commented to Starlight as they returned to the tower’s interior; one of many spare bedrooms. “Though the ending was a little anticlimactic. Any showcreature worth their salt knows to keep the loudest bang for last!”

“This wasn’t a show, Trixie; I don’t think they had the spectacle in mind. Theatrics aside, I hope she got home safe.”

“I’m sure she did. Headstrong ponies like her don’t just disappear.”

“I guess not.”

“I hope I didn’t upset her before such an important event,” Gabby lamented to Spike as they flew off the balcony, a regular day of activities ahead of them.

“Hey, don’t be like that, you did a nice thing saying goodbye to her. We don’t know what’s going on in the mind of a pony from two-thousand moons ago. She seemed to make it okay, so don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Spike gave the griffon a hug, bringing a smile back to her face before the pair took off toward Canterlot.

“Gosh, that was exciting,” Thorax exclaimed to himself with a grin, looking around at the slowly dispersing crowd. “All right, well… Back to the hive, I guess.”

“I’ll fly you back,” Dragon Lord Ember offered with a smirk, returning to the balcony after dodging the crowd.

“She’s my WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash screeched from within the tower as the main group descended the stairwell.

“I said she’s your great-ancestor,” Twilight repeated calmly as she continued walking. “I had my suspicions from the beginning, of course, but when a loose strand of her mane presented itself to me, I couldn’t help but take the opportunity to run a DNA test in my lab. A morally questionable choice, perhaps, but it’s not like I could tell her the results anyway.”

“Ya think?” Applejack snapped, looking very unimpressed.

“I couldn’t have told you sooner, or the knowledge of your shared lineage might have altered your interactions with her,” she continued, glossing over her severe breach of privacy. “Learning things about a far-distant future is one thing, but personal details—like whether or not you have a family—could have altered our timeline catastrophically. The last thing I want is for you to fade out of existence because you put her off having children!”

“Or ya could’ve, Ah dunno, not done that,” Applejack replied.

“She’s my WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash repeated, stunned to deafness.

“Settle down, sugarcube,” AJ sighed, shaking her head. “Well, to be fair, how many other ponies have you seen with a rainbow mane like yours?”

“It would almost be strange if she wasn’t related to you,” Rarity added.

“Now that you mention it, there was a certain resemblance,” Fluttershy mused aloud.

“The zap-apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I suppose,” Discord added, having caught up to the group after a moment alone to collect his wits. “By the way, you might want to have your royal glazier take a look at this.”

He presented the Mirror of Harmony to Twilight, pinched between two fingers as though it were particularly malodorous to only his nostrils. While the intricate frame remained intact, its crystal pane hung loosely from the edges in jagged spikes, utterly shattered by the powerful exchange earlier.

“Oh no, the Mirror of Harmony!” Twilight wailed, taking its broken form with her magic and vainly attempting to slot the remaining loose shards back together.

“I don’t suppose it’s still within warranty?” he asked glibly.

“What are we going to do?! Do we return it to the Treehouse without telling the kids and hope the magic restores it, or should I confront them about it directly? Should I have asked them before using it? It’s not like it was entrusted to us. But it’s not like they’ll know what to do either! Ohhh!”

“They’re not children any more, Twilight, I’m sure they won’t blame you,” Fluttershy consoled her much larger friend.

“You sure you didn’t see to this little ‘accident’ happenin’ while you were alone out there?” Applejack asked the draconequus with a suspicious eyebrow. “We all know you hate that thing like timberwolves hate orange jam.”

“I think you’ll find it’s called marmalade; and I don’t much care for your insinuation. Do you think it’s an easy task to ‘reverse’ chaos magic and send a creature back in time? It’s a wonder it didn’t break from trying to wrangle my incalculable power alone, let alone being rammed into by a pegasus travelling at mach two!”

“Now don’t you be sayin’ Ah don’t know the difference between marmalade and jam!” AJ snapped, stopping to point at Discord angrily.

No sooner had the main group reached the bottom of the tower’s spiral staircase, the ‘Student Six’—now adult teachers—charged into its lobby, accompanied by the founding Cutie Mark Crusaders, tumbling into a pile at the Princess’ hooves.

“Are we late?” Sandbar asked, squeezing his head out from the bottom.

“Of course we’re late,” Gallus answered, casually flying in beside the mound of creatures. “They wouldn’t be here if we weren’t!”

“Yona can’t be late. Yaks never late!” the largest of the group insisted.

“I think it’s pretty clear we missed it,” Scootaloo confirmed, rolling onto her back from the side of the pile.

“Aww man!” Sweetie Belle moaned.

“Uh, hey AJ,” Apple Bloom blushed, half-buried in yak fur as her elder sister joined the confused group. “Hey Big Mac. Hey Sugar Belle.”

Applejack sighed, covering her face with her hat as their brother edged his way past, avoiding eye-contact. Ocellus shape-shifted into a potted flower as the remaining audience members filtered around the two groups, all silently acknowledging the embarrassing situation.

“Oh, Sandbar, I’ve got those reports you wanted. I’ll leave them on your desk,” Starlight stated blankly as she passed.

“Oh, thanks.”

“So we missed it, huh?” Silverstream asked from the top of the pile, looking quite comfortable. “Bummer.”

“Yeah. You missed it,” Rainbow Dash answered curtly, irritated by how obvious that was at this point.

“Oh hey, what are you doing with the Mirror of Harmony?” Gallus pointed out, his judgemental tone pre-empting the reveal.

“Oh, right, uh-,” Twilight fumbled. “So here’s the thing-”

“We broke your precious mirror, all right? Is it really that big of a deal?” Discord snapped, folding his arms as he hovered behind the group. “These ‘Harmony’ things come and go; get used to it already.”

“You broke the Mirror?!” Sandbar exclaimed, pulling himself from the pile as Ocellus returned to her true form.

“It wasn’t on purpose, I swear,” the Princess insisted, shooting Discord a withering look. “We needed to use it to get Shooting Star home; to preserve Equestria’s timeline! I had no idea the kinetic energy would push it to its limit. I’m so sorry, everycreature.”

“Eh, it’s fine,” Gallus shrugged. “It’s not like it’s had many uses since reforming Chrysalis and Cozy Glow. Equestria has been pretty uneventful, all things considered.”

“Did you say ‘timeline’? Like, time-travel?!” Sandbar gushed, his eyes lighting up.

“What do you think we came here to see?” Scootaloo asked sarcastically.

“The Mirror was more of a shortcut to solving friendship problems anyway,” Silverstream agreed, now standing upright on Yona. “Kinda felt like cheating, to be honest.”

“So… you’re not angry?” Twilight asked, feeling relief wash over her.

“You’re the Princess of Equestria; it’s not like you need our permission to use it,” Gallus shrugged, landing on the tiled floor.

“I know that, but we wouldn’t have received the Mirror of Harmony if you hadn’t built the Treehouse in the first place. And it was thanks to your group learning how to use the Mirror, that we were able to use it to reform three of Equestria’s greatest villains!”

“I’m not sure I’d call Cozy Glow one of Equestria’s greatest villains,” Rainbow Dash mumbled.

“Quite. I’ve done far worse things than she ever did,” Discord pointed out with misplaced pride.

“Be that as it may,” Twilight growled through grit teeth, “the Mirror of Harmony may have fulfilled its purpose; restoring normalcy to Equestria once more, and giving itself to ensure our future. We should all be proud of what it has accomplished. Will you return it to the Treehouse of Harmony for me?”

“Sure,” Gallus answered, stepping forward to take the cracked mirror in his claws.

As he did this, the rest of the group finally pushed themselves off the ground and gathered around him. With Yona finally moving from the centre of the pile, Smoulder was revealed to have been flattened below her the entire time.

“So did that pony get back to the past safe and sound?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We think so,” Rarity answered with a smile.

“I wish I could have met her; she sounded awesome!” Scootaloo enthused.

“She wasn’t that awesome,” Rainbow Dash insisted, before relenting. “She was kinda cool, though.”

Applejack huffed with a smile.

“So just how distant of an ancestor was she?” the blue pegasus asked Twilight.

“Oh, well she was your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great-”

“Okay! Forget I asked. While we’re sharing, are there any other secret Valkyrie artefacts you’d like to tell us about?”

“Oh, I do hope so,” Rarity chirped. “I would love to study more than just the helmet of that exquisitely practical armour. To think she had a full set with her, and you never even mentioned it to me! I do hope you had the forethought to at least take some photographs.”

“It’s funny you should mention the helmet, actually,” Twilight Sparkle began, encouraging the two large groups to exit the tower with her as she talked. “I’ve always felt there was something off about its inclusion in the Royal Archives. Carbon-dating magic confirmed that it was thousands of moons old, yet its construction was so particular, and unlike any of the precious-few records we have from that era. I even showed Starswirl once, and he called it ‘an odd specimen, indeed’.

“The Valkyries were a force of necessity, formed to counter the griffon’s aerial attacks just before the moons-long Great Griffon War of the Third Age. That being the case, why would this singular surviving helmet suggest the remains of artistic tableaus and gemstone inlays?”

“Because they had a keen eye for the fabulous?” Rarity offered.

“Was it for their King?” Sweetie Belle suggested next.

“Both possible, but after seeing Rarity’s gift today, I have another—albeit paradoxical—theory,” Twilight continued.

“Surely you aren’t suggesting-,” Discord began with a scowl.

“That both helmets are the same one?” Fluttershy finished, to most of the group’s surprise.

“Exactly!” Twilight confirmed with vigour, once again energised by this perplexing adventure through ancient history. “Those embellishments are something only a creature with an eye for style and ample resources would indulge in, not any-old craftspony from the Pre-Classical Era.”

“What exactly are you saying, Twilight?” Rarity asked, deeply confused.

“It is my belief that the helmet you studied in the vaults is the same helmet she just left wearing, two-thousand moons older.”

“But that’s impossible! How could I base my restoration on something that I hadn’t yet created?” The white unicorn shook her head, unable to process the logic. “There must have been an original I based my design on, or how would I have known what they looked like?”

Twilight chuckled nihilistically. “Thus the paradox. This is why you don’t mess around with time-travel. Something felt off the moment you asked if we had any Pre-Classical artefacts you could reference for a gift… Call it predetermination or paranoia, but seeing your flawless recreation of that helmet in its prime just now, somehow I knew a loop had been fulfilled.”

“I must say, the more I experience of this time-travel nonsense, the less I like it,” Rarity huffed, frowning at the floor as she walked.

“Hey, Dashie,” Pinkie began, sidling up to her pegasus friend as the group slowly made its way down one of Canterlot Castle’s many hallways. “Do you ever feel like you’re a secondary character in somecreature else’s story?”

“Huh? No way! I’m the main character of my own story; it’s kind of my thing.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just, some days I feel like I have fewer scenes than other days, you know what I mean?”

“‘Scenes’?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, having never learned to simply accept Pinkie’s eccentricities. “Just ‘cuz you’re not the centre of attention, doesn’t mean you’re not important. AJ helped me realise that.”

“Oh, I know that.” The pink earth pony turned to Cheese Sandwich and Lil’ Cheese on his back beside her, sharing a wide grin. “I’m up there with the luckiest mares around.” She turned back, a bittersweet smile lingering on her lips. “It’s just, sometimes I worry if other creatures don’t see me happy, they won’t know I am happy, and worry about me when I’m not around.”

“Like who? We see you all the time.” Dash tried to console her friend with a smile, though if this whole episode had taught her anything, it was that she still had a lot to learn when it came to interacting with others. “Maybe not as much as we used to, but we know you’re happy, Pinkie Pie.”

“I know you guys do; it’s other creatures—the ones that only get to see us now and then.”

“You’re losing me again,” she confessed.

“It’s okay, they know who they are. But if somecreature can’t see us for a really long time, how can we let them know we’re okay?”

“I dunno. Write them a letter?”

“Words aren’t the same as seeing somecreature with your own two eyes—or however many eyes you have, I don’t judge. What if it’s the last time you ever see them, and you have no way of contacting them directly?”

Captain Dash frowned, starting to piece together the cause of Pinkie’s concern. This had to be about Shooting Star, right? Who else would she never see again or have any way of contacting? The pair had only spent an hour or two together, so it was understandable why she might have felt a little left out following the grand farewell.

“Well, if somecreature knows you well enough, I’m sure in their heart they know you’re doing fine,” she offered, trying not to wince under her own kitsch. “Same goes for you; do you think they’re doing okay?”

“Maybe. I really hope so.” Pinkie looked down, a look of sincere concern on her face that she hadn’t expressed in many moons. “Everycreature deserves friendship and happiness, even if they don’t think they do.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, still left uncomfortable by emotional topics. This was something better suited for Applejack’s down-to-earth advice, or Big Mac’s listening skills. She was a mare of action, not words. Still, she wasn’t the Element of Loyalty for nothing, and would never leave a friend hanging.

“Happiness is just a friend away, right? I’m sure she—uh—‘they’ are doing just fine, and knowing that you care is enough to cheer anycreature up when they’re down. If them being happy makes you happy, you being happy should make them happy too, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right, Dashie.” The parental-party-pony looked back up at her friend with a smile, though her eyes remained slightly reddened. “You always know the right things to say!”

“I don’t know about that.” She looked away in embarrassment and caught the eye of AJ, who smiled back warmly, apparently having heard the entire conversation. The pegasus turned back, now blushing boldly. “I-I’m sure any of the others could have said it better.”

“Nah, I like your advice the best. It always comes from the heart”, Pinkie beamed, before naturally gravitating back to her partner and son. Likewise, Applejack drew closer to the blushing mare.

“Mighty fancy words, you said there, Dash,” she teased with a smug smile.

“Shut up! I-I just said whatever came to mind.”

“You said what needed to be said, and that’s the most anycreature could hope for,” the earth pony reassured her, teasing aside. She proved her sincerity by sidling closer and nuzzling into her a little.

“H-Hey! Not in public!” the pegasus pleaded in a hushed voice, her wings unfurling in her bluster—a goal of AJ’s in her more playful moods—causing a few in the group to titter amongst themselves.

“How ‘bout we take this back to the farm?” she whispered into her ear.

Dash’s eyes darted about, unsure how to react to this proposal in a group setting.

“So let me get this straight,” Rarity began again for the umpteenth time. “You’re saying that the helmet that I crafted, based on the helmet you still have in your archives, which I just gave to Shooting Star, and she left with, are one and the same?”

“Really, Rarity, it’s not that hard to understand,” Fluttershy scolded her, finding her patience rapidly waning—a bad sign for any creature.

“Didn’t you put yer signature on it or somethin’?” Applebloom asked in an attempt to help. “Somethin’ that would still be on the one in the archives?”

“Please, darling. To sign one’s work is to admit a lack of uniqueness in one’s own style. My couture speaks for itself, armour or not,” Rarity replied with no small measure of pride. “Besides, I studied that piece with a fine-tooth comb. You don’t think I would recognise one of my own pieces, even after two-thousand moons?”

“When you made those changes to it, like the gems and stuff, were they based on anything?” Sweetie Belle posed to her older sister.

“I- Well, I- I suppose I noticed certain hints of missing fixtures, but the patterns on the cheek-plates were so worn, I designed my own from historical iconography.”

“Designs that could have worn down over two-thousand moons?” Scootaloo proposed.

“I- I mean- That- I don’t-”

“Ah think you’ve broken Rarity, Scoots,” Applebloom teased.

“All right, all right, leave my sister alone now,” Sweetie Belle warned her friends. “I’m sure she’ll get it in time.”

“Time is exactly the problem, Sweetie Belle,” her sister growled, feeling the butt of everycreature’s joke at the moment.

The large group arrived at the mezzanine of the castle’s main lobby, with Princess Twilight Sparkle stopping in front of the giant double-doors to her throne room; a common spot for greetings and farewells within the castle’s walls. She had already spent many moons welcoming dignitaries and throwing galas from this very location, just as Celestia had before her. She could almost see her smaller-self standing next to her mentor on these very stairs, starry-eyed by her mere presence and relishing in the formality. Now it had become a solemn spot for her, bathed in history, duty, and the future expectations of Equestria. Just as she had many times before, this was where she and her friends would part ways, though not for the last time. Not yet.

The group of teacher-friends passed by on their way back to the Treehouse of Harmony, accompanied by smaller pairings and lone members of the audience, all slowly making their way out of the castle without fanfare. Twilight looked to the far main doors, spotting Starlight and Trixie, Big Mac and Sugar Belle, and even Maud Pie and Mudbriar—who had apparently been there too, unnoticed by her—all filtering out into the greater Equestria. They all had their own lives, their own schedules, their own jobs, their own families to get back to… Time never stopped here, of course. No matter what happened, no matter who was there to see it, life continued on.

The dwindling group of friends lingered, making small talk and enjoying their increasingly rare opportunity to all be together at once.

“All right, Ah’ll see y’all later,” Applejack announced first, stepping to the side with Rainbow Dash. “Don’t forget you’re all welcome at the farm any time.”

“Yeah, we should probably get back to the Castle of Friendship too,” Applebloom added, with the Cutie Mark Crusaders alumni breaking off into their own group.

“So many papers to mark,” Scootaloo moaned, deflating at the thought.

“Yeah, so much for getting a break from work,” Sweetie Belle added, immediately looking tired.

“See ya guys ‘round,” Rainbow Dash saluted, taking to her wings and hovering over the Applejack to pick her up.

“Later!” the earth pony waved as she was hoisted up, with the pair zooming out of the open castle doors a second later.

“How come you don’t fly me around like that?” Applebloom teased Scootaloo.

“You wish,” she shot back as the trio trotted down the plush, carpeted steps; absent-mindedly followed by Rarity, who was still muttering to herself feverishly as they left.

“Say hi to Luster Dawn next time you see her!” Sweetie Belle yelled back with a wave.

Twilight smiled and nodded in return. Odd she hadn’t turned up for this one-in-a-lifetime event, though she was known for lacking certain time management skills. Come to think of it, Twilight hadn’t seen her student since this all began. Was this the kind of thing that Princess Celestia got up to when she wasn’t around, back in the day?

“We should probably be getting back too,” Fluttershy began. “I don’t want to leave the little ones home alone for too long; who knows what mischief they might get up to if they think they’re not getting their dinner.”

“I swear those rabbits will be the death of me,” Discord groaned, pulling at his face. “Didn’t you leave—what’s their name—Soft Touch in charge of them while we were here?”

“Yes, but you know how they are; leave them alone for much longer than half an hour, and they’re the one being looked after by the bunnies.”

Fluttershy gave a delicate smile and wave as Discord raised his claw half-heartedly, walking the both of them through an invisible slice in space and back to the pony’s quaint cottage.

“It was a super fun farewell-time-travel party, Twilight,” the pink pony squeaked, before leaning in closer and raising a hoof to her mouth, adding in a half-whisper, “though personally I would have added a few more balloons, confetti, and snacks. Not a bad first try, though!”

Twilight giggled. “Thank you, Pinkie.”

“Lil’ Cheese and I have the munchies that only bear claws can satisfy, so we’re heading to Sugar Cube Corner,” Cheese Sandwich announced with a smile, as the small yellow foal nodded excitedly. “ Care to join us?”

“Thank you, but I have some things I need to sort out after this whole fiasco, and more than a few bookshelves to reorganise.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie, Twilight!” Pinkie replied with a smile, bouncing over to her partner with almost as much energy as the old days. The family waved and began their descent before the pink pony stopped and turned back with an unusually serious look on her face. “Take care of yourself, Twily, okay?”

‘Twily’? It had been a long time since anycreature had called her that; even her brother, who coined the nickname. Come to think of it, it had been a while since she’d seen that side of her family, beyond official correspondence with Cadence. Even her niece, Flurry Heart, had become quite busy after taking the mantle of some of the Crystal Empire’s princessly duties. But she could think about that later; Pinkie Pie needed her right now.

“Thank you, Pinkie, I wi-”

“We might not always be around, but even when we’re not, know that we’re super happy and having a super fun time,” she continued, clearly determined to get her point across, whatever it was. “I’ll be super happy because I know you’re super happy too, so… take care, Twilight.”

The Princess smiled warmly. Perhaps her thoughts had been more visible on her face than she had realised. ‘Twily’ might have been an old nickname, but it had been even longer since she’d received a pep-talk from anycreature. Her powerful position and mature features tended to sell an aura of self-assurance that kept warm words at bay, so she hadn’t realised just how much she had needed to hear them.

“I will. Thank you, Pinkie Pie.”

“Okie-dokie! See ya’ soon, Twi!” the earth pony replied with her signature beaming smile, happily pronking down the stairs after her loved ones; a classic example of her ability to shift tones on a bit.

Twilight continued to smile, looking down at her hooves with a gentle nod as she thought on what her friend had said. By the time she raised her head, she realised that all her guests had now left, leaving her alone in the vast castle lobby, besides the two guardsponies flanking the door behind her.

She sighed, the smile fading, but not disappearing completely. Pinkie Pie wouldn’t want that. The Princess turned, and the guards instinctively knew to begin opening the large double-doors. She thanked them as she passed, though her voice rang dry.

Why had Pinkie Pie said that to her? Why now of all days? Perhaps she was feeling the same sense of loss over Shooting Star, or perhaps it was something else… She wasn’t going away, was she? No, she had only just come back from visiting her family’s farm, so she would probably remain in Ponyville for a while now. Perhaps it was…

Twilight sighed again, a little louder now that she was in the more personal space of her equally empty throne room, despite the inner door-guards. She climbed the steps to her plush cushion and turned to sit upon it, her mind still ringing with errant thoughts as she looked upon the hollow hall; as beautiful as it was bleak.

Certain thoughts surrounding her potential immortality had been becoming more frequent as of late, increasingly hard to ignore as she watched her best friends of so many moons age before her eyes. The sagging eyes, the grey hairs, their waning energy… For her, the greatest changes she had experienced were a growth spurt, a more defined chin, a longer horn, and a magical mane; but her friends…

Life was supposed to be an arc, but for her, her peak had stalled as she watched those she loved arcs’ dip. They had found love, begot families, lived their lives, all while she floundered, losing all sense of time. She felt no pressure to change or enhance her life as she once had, even as a fledgeling alicorn, before the true scope of her role in the world had been impressed upon her. Taking the throne from Celestia and Luna had been more than just a changing of the guard, but an entirely new phase of her life, beyond anything she could have imagined.

Twilight looked to her right, to the empty cushion reserved for her Royal Advisor, already gathering dust after its brief use the last few days. Even little Spike had grown into a full adult, yet she remained the same uncertain and oblivious unicorn she had always been, albeit with more governmental duties. Perhaps those very duties that now kept her so occupied were the reason she hadn’t the time to notice the way her life had stagnated. Was Pinkie Pie able to see this deeply into her? To read her very core more clearly than she could herself?

She smiled, shaking her head. No, Pinkie Pie was intuitive beyond reason, but she had made a point of never letting these fears of hers show. Immortality was her burden to bear as the principal Princess of Equestria, not something she ever wanted her closest friends to consider. She would be here for her friends, every day of their lives, just as they had been there for her ever since her very first day in Ponyville. She would be happy for them, just as the Element of Laughter had wished, because that happiness would ensure their happiness.

Family was never something she had needed, because her friends had become her family, and she would stay by their side until the very end. And when that end came… Equestria would be her family. Every creature, every pony, every student; each a unique life she would cherish and nurture. Perhaps this was how Celestia and Luna had felt of their position; parenthood spanning a thousand moons. It was the most natural conclusion to the seemingly unnatural existence of alicorns, and now the cycle repeated. Once the student, now the teacher.

One day, the only creatures that knew her as anything more than the Princess of Equestria would be fellow Princesses, or Discord. A sobering thought. Perhaps this was the same future that lay in store for Luster Dawn… though she doubted it. Who knew how many students Celestia and Luna had mentored over their long reign? Over the span of some two-thousand moons, it seemed unlikely that herself, Sunset Shimmer, and Snowdrop were the only ones of note.

No, she would bear this burden for as long as she could, just as the sisters had. Maybe one day, far in the future, there would be a new princess to take her place… but not innocent Luster Dawn. She deserved a future. A life. An arc.

Twilight took another deep breath, this time feeling her tensed muscles relax as she settled back into her chair. Now was not the time for self-pity, but the time for action. Envigored by this fresh reflection, she wanted to celebrate everything that Equestria had achieved in the last two-thousand moons, give or take, and she had just the thing in mind.

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood from her crystal throne beside Spike’s, one of seven surrounding the defunct Cutie Mark Map in the Castle of Friendship. Just over a month ago she had held a meeting to discuss what to do with the newly arrived Shooting Star, and now she had returned with an equally consequential purpose she wished to showcase to her friends.

The purple alicorn beheld the circle of warm faces, allowing herself an extended moment to drink in the nostalgic scene. All seven of her best friends were here this time, as well as Starlight Glimmer, who stood across the table from her. Discord was also present, though now devoid of a spare chair to sit on, was relegated to leaning on the back of Fluttershy’s—head resting lackadaisically on his clawed hand.

“Thank you all for coming to this special Friendship Committee, girls,” Twilight began, having relished the comforting atmosphere enough. “I know you have busy schedules.”

“Of course, darling, we're always here for you when you need us,” Rarity smiled reassuringly.

“What’s on your mind, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked in her naturally soft tone.

“Recent events with Shooting Star, and the many hours I spent researching time-travel got me thinking. So much has changed in the two-thousand moons since Shooting Star's time; not only have ponies grown closer, but we’ve learned to welcome everycreature, regardless of origin and free from judgement. Harmony has spread from our hearts, to the nation of Equestria, to the entire world; and that’s something I want to celebrate.”

The group nodded along in agreement, with only Discord rolling his eyes at the sentiment.

“I’ve known you all for almost forty moons now,” she continued, “and we have achieved so much already, in such a relatively short amount of time. Together, we have literally changed the world around us forever: the enslaved crystal ponies, the jealous changelings, opening the School of Friendship to everycreature, restoring Luna to her old self, and defeating Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, and even Discord-”

She paused with a slight smile for the rebuttal she knew was coming.

“‘Defeat’ is a strong word,” the draconequus countered, right on cue. “I merely conceded to your way of thinking, that’s all.”

“More like ‘concreted’,” Rainbow Dash retorted with a smirk, earning a few smiles around the table.

“Really, how many moons has it been, and still with the statue jokes?” he scoffed, turning up his muzzle.

“But what about the next ten moons? The next fifty? The next hundred?” Twilight resumed, satisfied they’d had their fun. “In a thousand moons, will anycreature remember the lessons we learned and passed on? Who will keep the torch of friendship lit when we are no longer around?”

A sombre silence lowered as the heavy topic of this meeting was finally revealed. Potential immortality aside, this proposal concerned the legacy of everycreature here, and insurance that peace remained—as far as Twilight was concerned—forever. Equestria had avoided full-scale war more than once thanks to the direct intervention of these six ponies, but that was not a timeless solution. Just as the Elements of Harmony had returned to the Tree, the Tree of Harmony seeded the Castle of Friendship, the Tree’s remains became the Treehouse, and the Treehouse of Harmony bore the Mirror; the tools we learn and use must be passed to the next generation, refined and concentrated with every telling. Perhaps she alone could be a bastion of peace for thousands of moons, just as Celestia and Luna had been; but not even that was eternal, and alicorns are just as fallible as any other creature.

Twilight lowered her head as she sat back down in morose contemplation, her friends looking at one another in confusion. It was a dense question to ask without warning, causing them to not only worry about their own futures, but wonder why she was suddenly asking such a thing. It seemed so… final.

“Can’t they just read our book?” Fluttershy suggested, placing her hooves flat on the table.

“I wish it were that simple,” the Princess answered with a shake of her head. “But our lessons may not apply in the future the same way they do now. If stories are not constantly reinvented, creatures tend to overlook them in favour of newer ones, regardless of the merit of their content. Only the most dedicated researchers and bibliophiles read books from a hundred moons ago, let alone thousands. Do you have any idea how hard it was to find intact bureaucratic documents from the Pre-Classical Era, let alone a guide on friendship?”

She sighed, steepling her hooves together on the inactive map.

“Aren’t creatures gonna continue to teach our lessons at the School?” Applejack asked.

“Teachers are largely responsible for their own curriculum, as long as it’s within the topic of the class,” Starlight Glimmer answered, pursing her lips. “You should know this, Applejack.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Curriculum. Ah have one of those,” she chuckled unconvincingly. “Totally don’t just say whatever comes to mind. Nope. Got it aaaaall planned out.”

“I don’t know why you even bother trying to lie, AJ,” Rainbow Dash teased with a smirk.

Starlight groaned, holding her forehead as the blue pegasus turned to Twilight.

“Anyway, aren’t you gonna be around to make sure things are okay, even if we’re not?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack snapped.

The alicorn sighed, pushing herself back up and beginning a lap around the table. It seemed she wasn’t the only one sheltering that thought after all; how could she be? They all knew the previous princesses and their history, so why would her life-span be any different?

“What? It’s probably true,” Dash whined in defence.

“You can’t just say things like that!”

“Immortality is a touchy subject, I’ve found,” Discord offered with a blasé gesture.

Though she didn’t say anything, Fluttershy looked down, pained by the memory.

“Surely you already have an idea in mind, Twilight?” Rarity asked. “You wouldn’t have called us all here otherwise.”

Twilight nodded as she passed behind Starlight. There was no point dwelling on questions with no answers; this had become her destiny from the moment she rewrote Starswirl’s spell… From the moment she read it aloud… No, perhaps the day she arrived in Ponyville, or even as far back as her entrance exam for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She had come such a long way, and who’s to say that this wasn’t where she was supposed to be right from the moment she was born. She was Twilight Sparkle; Princess, aunt, friend; and this was exactly where she was supposed to be.

“It’s only theoretical at this stage, which is why I wanted your feedback first. I want to leave a mark on this world that will never fade; something that can keep the magic of friendship alive longer than any book or memory.”

“Ooo! Like a festival, or a national holiday?” Pinkie Pie suggested with a tired excitement that showed her age. She had been unusually quiet until now, but as she pulled out a miniature equestrian flag from her mane and waved it around while confetti rained from… somewhere, she seemed just like her old self.

“No,” Twilight answered with a smile. “Sadly, the true meaning of holidays become lost over time, even if they’re actively celebrated. Just look at the Grand Galloping Gala, Nightmare Night, or the reality of Hearth’s Warming’s windigos. Our lessons need to be permanent, like a story etched in stone, without the risk of misinterpretation or reappropriation.”

The princess had finished her lap, now turning to the table as her horn began to glow. The ambient light of the room dropped, despite being naturally lit, leaving only the dim glow of the Golden Oak’s roots as three glowing outlines appeared over the table for all to see; a trio of purple geometric shapes in the shape of a horn, a set of wings, and an orb representing the planet.

“This was what I had in mind,” she continued, as the others stared in awe. “I want to imbue the lessons we’ve learned and the magic of friendship into three crystals, one for each pony race. With these tools, I believe that future generations shall continue our journey and add to the index of knowledge each stone holds, using it to spread that magic across the world.”

As she spoke, the three crystals converged, slotting together to create one unified shape. One might consider this shape symbolic of alicorns, but to Twilight, it meant a unified Equestria. Watching them come together for the first time in front of an audience, Starswirl’s voice surfaced in her mind, reading that unfinished spell that had caused her so much trouble, so long ago:

From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled.

It was a powerful memory, almost enough to draw a tear from her now hazy eyes. Perhaps all the troubles and tribulations in their lives had led up to this moment; a destiny they never could have foreseen, long beyond the scope of their own natural lives. The following words slipped from her mouth without thought, as though they were all she could say in this moment.

“From all of us together, together we are friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end.”

The room remained hushed, heavy with meaning.

“So… they’re kinda like the Elements of Harmony?” Spike asked, breaking the atmosphere of the room.

“You could see it that way,” she answered, separating the holographic crystals once more. “The Elements given to us by Starswirl and the Pillars unlocked our inner potentials, and the same could be said of these crystals. The magic they hold will be purely emotional, and not, as Dragon Lord Ember once called it, ‘weaponised friendship’.” She released the spell, allowing the three objects to dissipate. “My hope is that they will act like beacons in our nation’s capitals, much in the same way the Crystal Empire has the Crystal Heart. Perhaps a select few will be so inspired by the message of these ‘unity crystals’, they will be to their generation as we were to ours, and the Pillars before us.”

“What exactly do you mean by the magic bein’ ‘emotional’? How’re ya gonna get our lessons into a bunch of stones without a chisel?” Applejack asked with a hoof raised in confusion.

“This is the theoretical part. I intend to use the fullest extent of my magic to enchant the crystals with the purest essence of friendship; that warm feeling you get when you help somecreature or give a gift, and they smile back at you sincerely. Perhaps someday, when the world is full of technology we can’t imagine and creatures have drifted apart, touching the gem in their race’s capital will remind them of what it was we fought to protect. In fact…”

Twilight closed her eyes and the Friendship Crystals reappeared, now accompanied by dozens of additional shapes filling the room, each one evoking one of the many races of Equestria and beyond; dragons, changelings, yaks, hippogryphs, griffons, kirin, abyssinians, taurans, buffalo, breezies, zebras, and many more.

“These are the symbols I wish to share across the world, each one a powerful reminder of what we gain by staying together. Assuming I can get our crystals to work as intended, I’d like for every nation to have their own Unity Crystal,” she announced with pride, that idealistic twinkle returning to her eye. “Can you imagine? Not just three or six ambassadors of harmony like we were, but tens! Maybe hundreds!”

“‘Hundreds’?” Pinkie Pie echoed, her eyes widening. “Just think of all the potential new friends! The parties! The daily—no, hourly—birthdays!”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a businessmare,” Rarity began, crossing her forehooves on the table. “It’s to not let your aspirations get the better of you. You must have a solid foundation before you start thinking about expansion.”

“I think what Rarity’s trying to say is to get one working before you go into mass production,” Rainbow Dash concluded.

“That is exactly what I just said, Rainbow Dash; no interpretation required,” she snapped, huffing in contempt before turning back to Twilight with a flick of her greying mane. “Of course, if your project requires only the finest jewels, you know the mare to come to.”

“Thank you, Rarity, I know I can count on you,” the Princess smiled, as the wireframes disappeared once more and light returned to the room. “Together, I know we have what it takes to make this happen. I’ve already done some research into materials, and I believe the hippogryphs may have some rare aquamarine in Seaquestria with high magical potential, but ideally I’d like gemstones attuned to each respective race.”

“‘Attuned to each race’? What does that mean?” Spike asked from her side.

“Jewels are formed from extreme pressure exerted on unique minerals, which gives them their varying colour and attributes. Diamonds, for example, are highly attuned to earth ponies, due to their purely earth-based origins. Quartz is often used for enchanting and has a high magical potential, though bismuth is the mineral typically associated with unicorns. I could go on, but the point is that certain creatures resonate better with certain minerals, depending on what we can get our hooves—or otherwise—on.”

“I can’t really say I understand,” Spike admitted, scratching the back of his head. “But it sounds tasty, that’s for sure.”

“Speaking of dragons,” Rarity continued; “I've heard that a certain precious gemstone is sealed away in the Dragon Lord’s personal treasure hoard, because it emitted—and I quote—‘icky pony-feelings’ when touched.”

“That sounds like a perfect trial study!” Twilight beamed. “I’m sure they won’t mind trading it for an equally shiny local crystal. Shoot, I should have spoken to Dragon Lord Ember while she was here. Spike, Rarity, would mind acquiring it for me?”

“No problem! I've been meaning to go lava surfing with Ember for a while now, so it'll be two birds with one gem,” Spike chuckled, lifting himself off his tiny throne.

“I’ll ask Maud if she has something of equal value to trade,” Rarity offered as she stood up.

“Speaking of Maud, I’ll ask her if she knows of any weird crystals that give you the warm-fuzzies,” Pinkie announced, pulling an already-inked quill from her mane, ready to write a reminder on the base of her hoof. “Besides, it’s almost time for the Pie Sisters' Surprise Swap Day, and what better gift could I give Maud than a full day of talking about rare rocks? It’ll be fun and constructive. Funstructive!”

“Perfect,” Twilight beamed, overjoyed to have such helpful and supportive friends. “Researching these—hm, let’s call them ‘empathy crystals’—will help, though any magically-receptive gemstones will technically do, at least for now. When it comes to crafting the final artefacts, I want the enchantment to last as long as possible, which means using only the rarest and purest of crystals.”

As the room began to bustle with various ponies leaving on their new assignments or chatting amongst themselves, Twilight chose to take a moment for herself, looking down at the peytrel hanging around her neck. Reaching under it, she pulled out the chained Alicorn Amulet gifted to her by Celestia and Luna at the beginning of her reign proper. She was finally starting to understand what it meant to be a Princess, not just as a title, but as an obligation.

To her, this broken amulet symbolised the transfer of power from the two oldest rulers of Equestria to her, more so than any castle or crown had. It had once aided her control of the sun and moon when she could not do so alone, maintaining the status quo of Equestria; and now she looked to pass that responsibility on to the next generation, and beyond. Perhaps there would be a new alicorn when the time came, perhaps not, but it was up to her to prepare everycreature for that future.

She smiled farewell to the warm, old memories as she returned the powerless amulet to its place beside her heart. Keeping it close let her feel as though the sisters were still by her side, gently guiding her towards an even brighter Equestria for all.

“You alright there, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked softly, having approached without her noticing.

“Oh! Yes, yes, I'm fine, thank you,” she smiled, blinking back the tears in her eyes. “Time has passed so quickly, don’t you think?”

The country pony chuckled, tipping the brim of her hat. “When you work the farm every day like Ah do, the days can feel awful long. That said…” She looked back to Rainbow Dash, who was currently trading stories and joking around with Pinkie Pie. “When ya find the right pony—or creature—to spend it with, time sure can fly.”

Twilight smiled again, though it was emptier than the last, and luckily unnoticed.

“Oh, um, Twilight,” Discord began with an unusual uncertainty to his voice.

He approached the alicorn with a sheepish gait before turning back, looking to Fluttershy who silently urged him on. Nodding, he faced the princess once more.

“I- uh- just wanted to say; if there is ever a time you wish to talk about—perhaps—headier subjects than these ponies would understand…”

As Twilight raised an eyebrow, the draconequus cleared his throat, clearly struggling with this uncharacteristic show of sincerity. He shot a glare at the nearby Applejack, prompting her to roll her eyes and return to the group of chatting ponies.

“That is to say,” he continued in a slightly hushed tone. “If you would ever like to discuss your potential immortality, who better to share your thoughts with than a genuine millennial like myself?” he offered with a raised eyebrow. “Without the royal pains here, who else could understand what lies ahead for you?”

The alicorn tilted her head quizzically, turning her body to face him directly.

“Are you… worried about me?”

“Well, I- That is-” He straightened up, looking around to check if anycreature was in earshot. Groaning quietly, he looked back to yellow pegasus again, who enthusiastically nodded him on. Steeling himself, he leaned back in. “I suppose- Perhaps.”

“I appreciate the offer, Discord, I do. I think… I may take you up on that soon.”

She forced a smile, struggling to be enthusiastic over such a topic, though genuinely appreciating what it meant for him to offer.

“O- Oh! Right, well, yes, I suppose it’s a date, then.”

Seeming surprised with the positive reception, he straightened up and strutted back towards Fluttershy, who was beaming in pride, before turning back briefly.

“What sandwiches do you like?”

“Pardon?”

“Sandwiches. I need to know what you’d like to go with your tea. You do like sandwiches, don’t you? What civilised creature doesn’t?”

“Oh, well, yes, I hadn’t really thought about it. I suppose daisy is fine.”

“Daisy? Rather generic, but all right; it should pair well with the ginsing.”

“The what?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. See you on the flip side, Princess!”

He sauntered back to his yellow companion, his confidence renewed from how well the interaction went. Twilight shook her head in disbelief as she turned her attention back to the others, catching Rainbow Dash and Applejack just as they left. With Discord and Fluttershy teleporting away with a snap, the only other pony left in the room was Pinkie Pie, looking down at her hoof in confusion.

“Pinkie?” the Princess asked softly as she approached, sensing something was wrong.

“Yes, Twilight?” she answered immediately, looking up with her large, blue eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, I wrote a note on my hoof, but I can’t read what it says.”

Both looked down at Pinkie’s raised hoof and the inky smudge upon it, likely smeared as soon as she stood from the table.

“You don’t remember what it says? You only just wrote it.”

“Nope-eroni. My brain’s been like hole-y cheese since I had the little one; that’s why I wrote it down!”

“Oh… Well, you said you were going to talk to Maud about empathic crystals for the Unity project.”

“Ohh, that’s right!”

“If you’ve got room in your mane for a quill—and somehow ink, too—perhaps you should carry some paper with you?”

“Oh, I have paper,” the pink pony answered matter-of-factly, immediately pulling an A5 notepad from her voluptuous curls. That mane remained one of Equestria’s greatest mysteries.

“Wha- Then why did you-?”

“I know you like books, Twilight, but blank paper’s so boring and plain. Plus it tickles when I write on my hoof!” she giggled.

“But it wouldn’t be blank if-”

Just then Rarity peeked her head around the door. “Pinkie, darling, are you coming? I thought we were going to see your sister Maud together?”

“That’s my cue! See ya later, Twilight!”

Pinkie Pie beamed one of her wide smiles and bounced away, leaving the purple alicorn finally alone in the map room. Twilight smiled, shaking her head at the earth pony’s one-of-a-kind behaviour. She wouldn’t change a thing about her.

She sighed, looking back at the empty thrones that were so full of life mere minutes ago. As it often does when one is alone, the Princess’ mind drifted back to darker thoughts, and the cold crystal of the cutie-mark-crested chairs almost began to look like headstones…

Come on, Twilight, snap out of it. Lives are only as important as the legacies they leave behind, and that was exactly what the Unity Project aimed to preserve. If everything goes according to plan, they would be together forever—best friends until the end of time—spreading friendship through the hearts of everycreature that touched the empathic crystals. She could bring the world together, and eternal peace would be their legacy.

She knew she was incredibly fortunate to have lived the life she had, to have gained the friends she did, and to have been taught the value of living every single day to its fullest. It was tragic to her to think that somewhere out there, even now, there were lonely and scared creatures who lacked that spark of magic in their hearts, unsure of how to face tomorrow. There were only so many lives her friends and she could personally touch, but these Unity Crystals could change all that. Friendship for the friendless; hope for the dejected; understanding for the prejudiced; love for the broken-hearted.

Greater than any weapon or defence, beyond any spell or book, more life-changing than money or power: friends are the only way to truly change the world for the better. If she could pass on only a single sentiment to future generations, she knew without a doubt it would be that Friendship is Magic.

Author's Note

1st Edition – 14th May, 2023 (Release) (9,545 words)

The Final Letter

Dear Princess Celestia,

It has been a long time since I have written a letter to you, and longer still since I have sent one. I have always found solace in writing to you during moments of confusion, desperation, or reflection; and though you shall never see it, I can feel your hoof on my shoulder as I write even now, watching over me with calm understanding and unfaltering trust.

This last month has been a whirlwind of emotion, nostalgia, and a brief return to the passion and instability of my youth. Perhaps all this reflection is why I am writing this letter now, and why my mind has begun to wander to the future as of late. I must admit that I did not comprehend the full scope of my duties, both as a princess and as an alicorn, until just recently, and the burdens that you and your sister must have bore in silence.

Just as you mentored me during my formative years, I, too, have discovered a bright young protégé on whom to impart my knowledge, hopes, and dreams of a better tomorrow. Luster Dawn is full of energy, wanderlust, and mistakes, just as you must have seen me so many years ago. Within her, and all the creatures of Equestria, I can see a future brighter than I ever thought possible as a filly. I cannot thank you enough for the opportunities and knowledge that you passed on to me, and I shall strive to be the same influence on my own student. Perhaps in a thousand moons or two, I shall be able to thank you face-to-face, and we shall share an understanding like never before.

I am about to embark on a journey of knowledge, with the goal of harnessing the unity that we have come to exemplify as a nation, so that it might be shared with everycreature across the globe. I hope for a future with no need for defenders of compassion and justice as we were, where every species can coexist in harmony, and it is toward that destination I begin today. Spreading harmony across Equestria was only the beginning, as I am sure you intended, and I shall utilise everything in my power to see a future of peace and friendship for all. These Unity Crystals I shall dedicate to your honour, so that others may experience their teachings as I experienced yours. With any luck, my student shall never have to face the hardships my friends and I did to get to this point.

Project Unity shall be a lasting opus unlike anything we have accomplished before, and it never would have been possible without the help of my six oldest friends, and the mentorship that guided us here. Wherever you are, Celestia and Luna, I hope that you can feel the warmth of my thoughts as I write this letter, as I believe it shall be my last. I think I finally understand everything you intended for me to learn, and it is time for me to truly take the reins on my own. I promise, I shall not let you down.

Here’s to a bright future for all.
Forever your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Author's Note

1st Edition – 14th May, 2023 (Released) (536 words)

From student to mentor, to mentor from student. The wheel turns, the cycle begins anew. Peace everlasting, disaster ensured, intentions rendered moot. The future belongs to the young, and we are but dust and memories, shadows of what we meant to be. Like cold stones in the mouth, words mean little after the fact. This is my final letter. This is my final goodbye.