Elements; Thousand Years Comingby JumpitydudeChaptersNew and oldIntroductionsJumping inNew and oldRainbow Dash barreled into the library, nearly knocking several books over. In the library were Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle, all of whom looked right at her. Spike, however seemed to be out. "Hey, Dash. Can it wait? I'm looking into the earthquake from earlier." "Twilight, that wasn't -" "It's strange, though. We haven't had a natural earthquake like that in around three hundred years!" "But it wasn't -" "After all, the tectonic plates settled down around then. So the earthquakes should have sto-" "TWILIGHT!" Twilight fell quiet. "That wasn't an earthquake." "What makes you think that?" "Earthquakes don't move clouds." She stared at the distant town. Two of her friends had started it no more than 15 years ago. 10 years after the infamous Nightmare Night. Ever since, she always had a weird sense of what was to come. Yet now, more then ever, she felt it screaming at her. "Hey. How are you?" "..." "You're unusually quiet." "..." "Funny you would say that." "..." "Well, I'm the quiet one. She's usually -" "We need to get to Ponyville." "Huh?" "Heh. I guess they would like us to visit them soon." "Not soon." She turned towards them, an unusual fire in her eyes. "NOW!" "Yeah, I just thought it was an unusually large gust of wind, or some prankster. It wasn't until Scootaloo asked me about the earthquake that I realized it happened." "That sounds crazy, but so does a natural earthquake. I'm not even -" They all stopped as a letter materialized in front of them. Twilight lifted it up and opened it, reading it out loud. "Twilight "I'm sure that you are already aware and likely looking into the earthquake from earlier. You should be informed that it wasn't just Equestria that felt it. Several world leaders, some as old as I am, have come to discuss this. There will be a guard carriage to bring you here in two hours. If you need more time than that, let me know when you get here, and you can use the royal archives. Your faithful teacher, Princess Celestia" As Twilight started to panic, Rarity couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them from the shadows. She slowly trotted through the alley of Ponyville, taking in the dripping water as she walked by the puddles. She could only imagine how the town would be in ten years, one hundred years, heck, even a thousand years, if it'll last that long! "A thousand years...is she really..." *CRASH!* A loud sound from nearby snapped her out of her daydream. Her first instinct was to check if anyone was hurt, unaware of how deadly it could be here. He didn't have a particular destination in mind, just a calming walk through town. For some odd reason, he was always amused by how gravity even affected small things, like drops of water. "EEEEEEEEEEE!" He was snapped out of his trance by a scream. A desperate scream. His wife's scream. Twilight was panicked. She didn't have enough time for a full analysis of the earthquake, and they were half way to Canterlot! She needed to hurry! Dash was bored. If she was on her own, she would have made it to Canterlot well before now. Then again, she wouldn't even consider presenting anything to Celestia on her own. Fluttershy was entranced. The birds outside of the window were so beautiful and full of life. What she wouldn't give to fly with them. Pinkie was Pinkie. The less said about her, the better, wild as she is. Rarity was hopeful. She wanted to travel around Canterlot, showing what she had, despite all the chances she already had. Like she always said, if you've got it, flaunt it. Applejack just wanted the dang thing to land already! The instant after she was attacked, she saw what could only be described as a brilliant bright light. She couldn't focus on anything else, as if the light was forcing her to focus on it. Is this what it's like to die? As her vision went back to normal, however, she saw that the "light" was actually a pony. Somepony she knew. "It figures that you, 'heroes,' would show up at the last moment. And I can't hope for that poison to work on you." "You don't want to fight me. You hurt my friend, you just said that your poison doesn't work on me, and did I mention? I'm one of the best guards ever." "No no. I have more than one poison, it's just finding one that will work on you. Don't think I don't know who you are. In fact, I think that I have an advantage because of that." "Let's see." "Come on come on come on! There has to be something here!" Dash, the only one who opted to stay with Twilight as she searched, was lazily hanging over a guard rail. "Calm down." "HOW CAN I? I CAN'T DISAPPOINT FIVE WORLD LEADERS!" "It's technically only three, cuz Celestia and Luna don't count. Besides, two are chill about it, and the last is a Griffon. Don't worry about it." A pegasus! A pegasus did all this damage? And so fast! "What's wrong?" The destructive colt asked him. "My poisons starting to take its toll, captain?" He tried his hardest to hide his true status. "How... How did you do this? Even somepony twice my strength would take hours to do this. Yet you managed this in minuets without any pony noticing. How?" The insane colt smiled. "Maybe someone in the afterlife can tell you." He decided to drop the act, his breathing and posture returning to normal. "Maybe, but I don't intend to go there anytime soon." "W-what?" "Isn't it funny? How sound can affect more than your hearing?" The world around them looked like it was spinning. "You think I'm to your left when I'm to your right. You try to look at me, but instead look away. I look like I'm retreating when I'm moving towards you. You try to move away from me, but you just draw closer. We have more than five senses, and this song is ruining your sense of space" The mad colt looked angry. "I h-haven't hit you a-at all?" She couldn't help but smile. Her spell worked perfectly. And by making herself invisible, she was perfectly safe. Even the pony behind her couldn't tell she was there! The only one who could see through her spell perfectly was Celestia, and if she was there, there would be no need to- "I see you, Rose Petal." Twilight walked nervously through the grand double doors. If it weren't for the five mares behind her, she would have been running, having not found anything of use. Before her was an empty table, large enough to seat the five world leaders before her, and then some. "Kurow? Ya there?" "Yes sir." "You don't have to address me so formally, ya know." Rarity shot Luna a smile, which she found returned to her. Rainbow Dash kept her eye on the Griffon, Lord Sharpclaw, notorious for his short temper. Applejack calmly shared a nod with the Zebra leader, Nandin Pourtind. Pinkie Pie found it hard to keep her composure around Celestia for some reason. Wait, no, she was just being herself. "I don't like feeling like I'm -... Heh. Look at her. She looks like she won the jackpot." Fluttershy found herself completely enraptured by the final world leader. He had the body of a pony, but his eyes, muzzle, mane, and tail all resembled a dragons. She was incapable of thinking about anything but the first chance she has ever had to meet a - "You gonna talk to her, bro?" "What? Never seen a Kirin before?" "Okay, then. You could have called her cute or something." She was snapped out of her trance. "YES! Er, no. Well, I -" "Well then." "FLUTTERSHY! You're embarrassing us!" "Where are you, anyway?" "I'm above you." "Figures. "I don't mind. I just wanted to know." He seemed to resemble Celestia in how he spoke. "Calm as always, bro." "I thought you liked calling me sir." "I just, I've always wanted to see a Kirin!" Fluttershy was floating in the air, hooves over her mouth and a bright red blush all over her face. "I never thought I would get the chance to see one!" "I'm almost tempted to jump down and cuddle her." "Will you?" "No, that would probably get me beaten up." That's it, Fluttershy. Just keep distracting them. Anything so I don't have to- "Why are we here again?" "Twilight," Celestia cut in. "Have you found anything out about the earthquake yet?" "Oh, right. That." Twilight's ears fell flat. She was hoping to avoid the subject for a bit longer, unwilling to admit to Celestia that she failed. "Uhh, well, you see, umm..." "I wouldn't have expected her to know about that. It's very obscure." Celestia's expression quickly fell. "I see..." "Should I tell them?" "They can't know yet. Besides, Celestia will make the connection soon enough." "What is the meaning of this, mare?" Sharpclaw slammed his claws onto the table, causing everyone in the room to flinch and the basket in front of Celestia to nearly topple over. "You said you got your best scholar to investigate, but all you did was get this kid to do it! Even MY scholars are better trained than she could ever -" "Did you notice?" "Notice what?" "The basket?" "There's no -... Wait..." "Do not talk about MY STUDENT LIKE THAT!" If anything overtook the fear Sharpclaw created, it was the fear that Celestia created. Twilight knew how bad Celestia's rage could get, but never saw it this close. And she was across the room! "Where did that basket come from?" "You'll see." Celestia slumped down in her place, letting out a huge sigh, before looking at the basket of flowers on the table in front of her and taking one in her mouth, swallowing it before she continued. "If Twilight couldn't find the truth, I doubt anyone can." "Looks like Luna noticed." "Was the alliteration intentional?" "Alli- Oh. No, it wasn't" "Sister! You cannot be this dense!" Everyone looked at Luna in pure shock. "It has been right in front of you the whole time it has been here!" "Who left it?" "One moment...Ooo, she's scared now." Applejack looked at the basket of flowers in front of Celestia. "Now wait a sec, where did those flowers come from? The table was clear when we came in, and no one else has entered or left!" "Who?" *WHAM!* Everyone froze. *Thud* They looked towards the door. *Groan* Celestia giggled, then stood up to head towards the door. "Her." "Oh." "You didn't hurt yourself now, did you?" Celestia spoke with subtle mirth in her voice."I've found it quite hard to escape through a closed door." The,... Pony?, let out a squeak not unlike one of Fluttershy's. "Don't worry. I'm not mad at you. I'm impressed that you managed to slip past my guards. Then again, I haven't seen this kind of magic in a long time." Celestia sat down in front of where the invisible mare apparently was. "Now, what's your name?" Everything was silent for a moment, then a gentle voice. "Uh-oh." "What?" "Gotta go now!" "Why? ... Kurow? Are you there? Kurow!" "Celestia?" The voice was similar to a young filly's, or Fluttershy's. Gentle, almost mute. "Kurow! Kurow!... Damn. Why does he do that?" Yet, it seemed to shake Celestia to the core. Her smile was gone, her eyes were wide, and her voice was barely a whisper. "T-that voice. Sh-sh-show yourself... Please." The mare complied, her spell fading quickly. Her eyes were pink, with her mane and tail a more faded shade. Her coat was light green, and her Cutie Mark was of a rose stem with three rose petals. "Rose Petal." The young mare started to get to her hooves. As she stood up, there was the sound of massive wing beats coming from above. Everyone looked to see a stallion who stood a full head above the average pony. His coat was white. His mane, gray with black stripes. His eyes, black. His mark was a tower. "Rook." The stallion, Rook, stood next to the mare, Rose Petal. Celestia was shaking. She quickly glanced at everyone else, checking to see if she was hallucinating. Given that several were staring at the two in shock, she assumed she wasn't. "Y-you're... You..." She started tearing up. "Y-y-you're a-a-a..." She rose one of her front hooves, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "You're... "Alive!" She threw herself forward, grabbing them in a tight embrace. Rose and Rook, who had been stoic until then, finally let themselves smile. It was a touching sight to see. Rook was the first to break the following silence. "I don't know how long it's been, but I'm glad to see you remember us." "Heh, isn't that cute?" "Oh, Kurow. There you are. Where were you?" "Had to un-poison somepony. "YOUR HIGHNESS!" "And there's the memo for the princess." "Who was it?" "One of those two's friends." Everyone looked at the servant that had just entered. Celestia was obviously annoyed at being interrupted, but was otherwise calm. "Yes, Sundance? Is there something you need?" "That means..." "Yeah. If you don't mind, I would like to keep an eye on them." "There's an unknown mare in the infirmary. She appeared in the garden, and was stuttering incoherently before passing out. Several guards want to imprison her once she wakes up, but nothing will be done without your approval." Sundance took a quick glance around the room. "And, if you don't mind, might I suggest considering hiring more attentive guards? "Go ahead. You do pretty much whatever you want anyway, bro. I'm not stopping you." Celestia's irritation turned into amusement. "This mare is an ace infiltrator. Even with guards within this room, she would go unnoticed." Celestia turned to the rest of the room. "We will return to this room in about an hour. I do have an idea of who the mare might be, and would like to meet her. You are all free to do anything within the castle rules. I'm looking at you, Sharpclaw." "Go on! Talk to her!" Twilight, Celestia, Rose, and Rook were the only ones to actually leave the room. Applejack sat next to the zebra leader. Rarity and Pinkie both approached Luna. Rainbow Dash flew right up to Sharpclaw. Fluttershy nervously trotted up to the Kirin leader, only to be received with a pat on the head. "Um, sir? What is your name?" "Pfft! You haven't told them your name!" "Shut up Kurow." "Most call me 'Sir' or 'Kirin,' if not 'dragon thingy.' My real name, however, is Susano." "I'll leave you two alone now." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Are you... The Shinto god?" "No, but I was named after him." "..." "........." "................................................" ".......ot a t........f you ...............therwi.......ill remi...yo.........ok is q...........ior." "Bu.....r hi......." "...ve! No.." ".s she..." "He........re yo....ake?" "...u? Lu..." "L...au!" "Luau?" She was just waking up, the voices in her head more disjointed than usual. Wait, those weren't in her head. She slowly opened her eyes. "Rook? Rose?" When she could finally see again, she saw both of their smiling faces. "I thought you were dead." She moved her neck as far as she could, stiff as it was. "Where are Crabby and Willow?" In a moment, both of them went from looking like everything was right to everything was wrong. "Oh, no." "Luau." Two more mares entered her line of sight. One of them a violet unicorn she couldn't recognize, the other... "Celestia?" She looked saddened for some reason. "It may have been minuets or moments for you, but it's been such a long time for me." "And court is in session." "Kurow, what the hay?" The doors opened to the room, causing all chatter to cease. "Pinkie, did you invite all of my guards?" "Did she?" "Not the one in the bathroom." "Pfff- What?" Pinkie gave a sheepish smile. "Did you need them?" "Isn't there something you need to do?" "Yeah." "... I love you." "I love you too, bro." Celestia let out a little chuckle. "Actually, this works out well for me. I was going to make an announcement anyway." "Wait, wait." Luau was dizzily laying on Rook's back. "How is Luna back already?" "That's the first part of the announcement." Celestia stepped up onto her spot at the table. "These three, Luau, Rook, and Rose Petal, are three of the ponies I trust most. Rook was once captain of the royal guards, Rose was a gardener, and Luau was well before her time." Celestia let out a huge sigh, knowing that this next part would be hard for anyone other than Luna and Susano to believe. "Yet, they aren't from recent times. They vanished one day, the first time the world shook like this. That day..." Get ready for a riot, Celestia. "Was nine-hundred and ninety years ago." Introductions"I still can't believe you would do that, Rose." All Rose did was giggle, apparently proud of herself for what she did. Celestia knew it was coming, but that didn't make it any easier to handle. Everyone in the room was so loud, and not one of them would listen to her. Her eyes snapped shut. As if the silence wasn't deafening enough, she couldn't hold her composure, due to how emotional the day had already... ...Wait... Silence? 'Ooh. She's good.' She opened her eyes to see that everyone was still bickering, but... silently? A soft giggle to her side drew her attention. "Oh, yeah. You turn invisible by 'muting' the mind. Your powers being based on sound is a show of your true talent in auditory manipulation." Rose Petal smiled at Celestia's compliments. Hearing her voice made everyone in the room realize that they weren't making any noise. All of them sheepishly turned toward Celestia. She gave a soft smile. 'Oh, now they realize they aren't talking.' "As I have said, these ponies are from nearly a thousand years ago. They once stood by my side in a special battle. The battle against Nightmare Moon." Sharpclaw rolled his eyes. "Pfft! That silly fairy tale?" Luna's wings flared open as she stomped on the table. "That, "fairy tale" was me!" 'I don't know if he realizes that. Even with you pointing it out.' Pinkie was Pinkie. "Oh! Which of you was the Element of Laughter?" The thought of a second Pinkie Pie terrified everyone who knew her. Celestia was thankful that it wasn't quite like that. "Err, you mean the Element of Positive Energy? That was me." Suddenly, Pinkie Pie in Luau's face. "Oh! Maybe you're my ancestor!" Luau took a moment to look away and think of a response. "Maybe?" Rook and Rose were highly amused at the thought of Luau being nervous. "There's actually no, 'maybe' about it. You are her ancestor." Everyone gave Celestia their full attention again. "The Elements were passed from generation to generation, exce-" "Whoa, Celestia, WHOA!" Rook caught Celestia off guard. "I never thought... Oh, goodness! He must have been great to get your attention." 'Oh, this will be good.' "Wha- I was going to-" Rose caught on to what Rook was doing. "Don't be shy~" 'Really? She's getting in on this, too?' "I- Rose! What are you thinking?" "Wait, Celestia? You're my ancestor?" Unlike Rose and (probably) Rook, Twilight honestly believed that she inherited her Element from Celestia. 'No she's not.' "Bu- Thanks, you two! Now look at what you've done!" Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Good friends don't humiliate their friends. Great friends do it all the time, though." 'How I wish I knew.' Celestia let out a huge sigh, thankful that someone finally gave her a break. Twilight stared at Dash blankly. "Did you say that to show how close they are to Celestia, how close you are to us, or to say that I'm not related to Celestia?" "All of them." Rainbow looked right at Celestia. "Hey, princess? I don't mean to be insulting, but I don't think you noticed that two of them are missing." "Yes. I did notice that, and it concerns me greatly. I-" "Celly?" Susano cut in. "Are you okay? You don't normally show this much emotion." "I'm fine. Just... lost my composure for so much of today, I think it deserves the rest of the day off." Celestia cleared her throat. "Anyway, I believe that they are in Equestria somewhere. They vanished at the same time these three did, so I have no reason to think otherwise." "Do you have a pickle barrel?" "Kurow, What the hay?" A sudden crash jolted Rose from her flashback. So much so, she darted under Rook, who blushed at the uncomfortable position he was suddenly in with the mare that was essentially his sister. "What was that?" 'Crabapple.' "It came from the library!" "Sir! Please calm down!" Spike ducked to dodge another haphazardly thrown book, as Owlowlisious got to work collecting the books, leaving the psychopath to Spike. "You don't know my name! You don't know her name! Shut up, you useless dragon!" "S-sir-" The colt's orange mane whipped around as his golden eyes locked on to Spike with rage. "WHAT DID I JUST SAY?" He went right back to tearing the library apart. "You should learn your place, you stupid-" He was cut off by a book hitting him squarely in the back of the head. "What the-" There where three ponies behind him, all of whom he recognized. His rage quickly changed to surprise, then to glee. "Rook! Rose! Luau!" He quickly ran up to them. "Where's Willow? Is she safe?" Their shared look of pain told him everything in an instant. He made a sound that resembled a full grown dragon trying to imitate a cat. He was immediately back at the bookshelves, tearing books from their places. "I've found nothing on any of us! Not even a footnote!" He started to flip through a history book. "If I had even something small to go off of-" *THWACK!* "WHAT?" "Will you stop ruining my library?" With his three friends were six mares he didn't know. "I take it you're Crabapple?" 'Yup.' "Pfft! Whatever! I'm busy right now!" He continues looking through the book he held as the purple unicorn trotted up to the bookshelves. "I think this one has a mention of one of your friends." Crabapple looked up and saw the book she had: Finance: Tricks and History. "Ah! Here!" "Is somepony still trying to cheat the system?" He knocked her out of the way to get a better look at the part she mentioned; 'That would be the first thing to focus on.' "The pony to develop the banking system, which, to date, has been the most successful method of ensuring a pony's keep is what they earn, is Balanced Budget. He created it under the orders of prime minister Crabapple, who is known as one of the first of the Apple family. He also acted to gain the attention of one of the prime minister's friends, a shy, gentle gardener. One of the biggest conspiracies- Wait, 'one of?' That's disturbing. -conspiracies surrounding both of them is their sudden, presumed deaths. One day, the prime minister and four of his friends, including the gardener,- And the the prime minister's wife, who was also the founder of healer hall, and the captain of the guards at the time, and don't forget his personal tutor, who was also an inventor well before her time, -vanished, with a town being wiped off the maps until somepony else made their own town there, coincidentally another Apple family member. Or, knowing Celestia, who I'm assuming is still alive, not so coincidentally. A few days later Balanced Budget vanished, leaving only a will. To this day-" He looked over to Rose, who only gave him a small, if tearful, nod. "-To this day, his fate is unknown. Some say he ended his own life in the ruins, out of despair of losing his wife. Some say he left to start a new life, ready or perhaps eager to move beyond his wife's disappearance. The ultimate truth is only known by his long gone spirit." Crabapple closed the book. "That's it. Nothing more." 'Why is reality so depressing?' "Here. 'Rumors and Mysteries for the ages.' This will have something about you in it." The unicorn levitated the book in front of him. "... No thanks. Not yet at least. I need to clear my head." "And make sure Angel doesn't kick this one." 'Uhh...' Everyone turned towards Fluttershy, baffled by her apparent non-sequitur. She looked at the rest of the room, and became quickly flustered. "Um, I need to go. A birdie told me that there's a mare near my house." "May I go with you?" Attention was turned to Crabapple. "I should go for a walk, and who better to do it with then the inheritor of my wife's Element of Harmony?" "How...?" "Ya know what? How about we all go? What better way to get to know someone then to spend time with them?" Crabapple smirked. "Am I correct to assume that you inherited my Element?" Applejack made a proud stance. "And a proud inheritor of the Apple family name! Name's Applejack. Introductions can continue on the road." 'Dang that's crazy!' She was so happy. The animals there were so nice. She didn't know where she was, but to a degree, she didn't want to leave. It was a nice shift from the sudden loss she had just experienced. Very, very welcome. Angel wasn't to happy with this sudden intruder, and intended to make sure she knew she was on his turf. He wound up a kick, and struck her hard in her white flank! None of the other animals liked how he tried to claim Fluttershy's turf as his own. But the biggest proof he screwed up came right before he flew, when she shot a death glare at him. *SQUEAK!* *THUD!* 'O hai, Angel Rose looked down. "Um... Rook?" As they made their way to Fluttershy's cabin, Pinkie and Luau were talking about their inventions, while Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Crabapple talked about agriculture and economy. Rook, Twilight and Rainbow Dash spoke about flying teams. Rose hung behind for the most part. "So 'The Twisters' aren't around anymore? That's a shame." 'Of course he wouldn't notice.' Rainbow Dash reflected pain in her face. "Yeah. Sorry about your daughter's team." Twilight looked up in wonder. "Was Twister vain at all?" Rook was baffled. "How did you know her name?" 'Because it's the same as the teams?' "I read in a history book on flight that her team joined with a certain other team." Rose was irritated. "Rook." Dash rolled her eyes. "Let me guess; the Wonderbolts?" 'Naw! Really?' "Yup!" Rook flared his wings with a huge smile. "The Wonderbolts are still around!? Breakneck would be so happy to hear that!" Rainbow whipped around, her spectra of a mane becoming one color for a brief moment. "You know the founder's name?" Rook looked like a foal at Heaths Warming. "Heck yeah! He's the reason I got my cutie mark!" Dash looked star struck. "Dude. That's so aweso-" Rose had enough. "ROOK!" 'Pfft!' Everypony froze and turned around. Rose levitated a bunny up beside her. "Hit you." "Angel!" Fluttershy ran to hold her precious pet. "What happened? What are you-" Her mind put the pieces together. "You kicked the pony at my cottage didn't you?" Angel looked sheepish. At least, as sheepish as a bunny could. Crabapple chuckled. "She sure must be strong." "Well, we're almost there. It's just around this -" Rarity stopped upon hearing something. It was a gentle voice, singing a tune so sweet. It was entrancing to listen to, as if it forced you to throw all your fears and sorrows away, letting happiness and peace enter your heart. So sweet. So gentle. So... 'Ah!' Purifying. 'She doesn't notice her Quanta.' Crabapple's eyes went wide. "Th-that voice..." He ran in the direction of the voice, with the rest following a short bit behind. The mare quickly came into view. Her coat was snow white. Her mane and tail, a braided leafy green. Her cutie mark representative of a tree. A willow tree. As soon as the mare realized there was someone else nearby, she opened her eyes and looked at them. The tan, orange maned stallion, three crabapples on his side. She stood up, her green eyes meeting his yellow eyes. "C-Crabapple?" "Willow!" He charged towards her. "Crabapple!" She charged towards him. They met halfway, holding each other as if to never let go. Their friends, old and new, smiled and 'aww'-ed at the sight. Almost all of them. 'What are you looking at, Dashie?' One was too distracted by a nearby tree to watch them. Or rather, what was in the tree. What happened next was swift, less then a moment. Rainbow Dash darted between the reunited couple and the dark vial flying towards them, grabbing it out of the air with her wing, tossing it up, catching it with her hoof, and throwing it back at the tree. Or rather, whoever was hiding in the tree. Oddly, they didn't even make a slight effort to move, allowing the vial to break on them, spreading the contents on their garb. 'Hello again, Death.' "Isn't that how it is? The hero stepping in to save the day at the last moment." Dash was too angry to soak up any sort of glory. "And here I thought sis already killed them." "Wait, you?" Rook was baffled. "How are you still alive? You were supposed to die hundreds of years ago!" The evil stallion chuckled. "My partner can manipulate time, and thus, it means nothing to me. A hundred years, an instant, it's all the same with her at my side. Now if you don't mind, it seems I have some planning to do in order to be rid of you all. Tata." "Hey! Wait!" In a moment, he was gone, proving his claim about time. The eleven ponies could only just stare at where their new villain was just moments ago. In the silence that followed their sudden introductions, Willow was able to think about something that was said. "Hundreds of years?" Everypony looked at Willow. "Oh, yeah. You weren't there for that, and you only just met back up with your husband." Luau's line gave Pinkie pause for thought. "Wait, if the Elements of Harmony are inherited, and the old Elements of Honesty and Kindness are married, does that mean Applejack and Fluttershy are related?" 'Distantly' Twilight rolled her eyes. "Distantly." 'Hey!' Willow looked at her four friends, who had apparently befriended the six strange mares before her. "You don't mind catching me up on things, do you?" Crabapple smiled and held her to him with a hoof. "Of course not. But I don't think you'll immediately accept things." 'I'd be surprised if she did.' "We'll see about that." Author's Note "Geez, you has poor logic! How could his pardener having time manipulashon allow him to control time?" He didn't say he could manipulate it, just that it didn't mean anything to him. As for his disappearing act, his partner froze time, grabbed him, and left, meaning he still doesn't have control over time. Jumping inWinter Willow's eye twitched. "What is this, I don't even..." 'I'm not surprised.' Pinkie was cheerful as ever. "And that's all from just today!" Willow rubbed her head. "Let me just... First thing's first! Rainbow Dash, how did you know that guy was going to attack us? You just flew in and stopped him before anyone else knew he was even there!" Dash looked distracted. "Rainbow?" "I'm really not sure." Everypony was confused. "It's as if, well, as if I felt him get ready to attack. As if I knew where that bottle would go. As if the air around me was talking to me. Trying to warn me that he was dangerous. I mean, I'm fast, but even I shouldn't be that fast." 'Air is awakening as well.' Twilight let out a small chuckle. "Yeah! You'd have to consider a Sonic Rainboom to be a walk in the park!" Crabapple rolled his eyes. "Pfft. That old fairy tale still exists? I thought it would have died out by now." 'It's very popular.' "Hey! Breakneck almost pulled one off!" Rainbow Dash stood up. Rarity lightly glared at the tower of a stallion. "Almost only counts in horseshoes, dear boulder brain." His wings flared up. "What's that supposed to mean?" 'Light and Dark. Fighting as usual.' "Dashie?" She started fixing her mane. "I could explain it to you, but I doubt you'll understand the smallest parts of it." "...!" His face filled with rage. "Why you-!" Pinkie, however, demanded more attention. "Dashie, where are you going?" That's when everyone else noticed Rainbow Dash stepping outside. 'That got them to stop.' "Uh, Rainbow?" "Where are you going?" Rainbow kept walking, the rest keeping an eye on her. She stopped in the middle of a nearby field. "What -" She crouched down, before suddenly launching herself into the air. As she was rising, an explosion rang out, colors expanding out from where Dash was. Rook was the first to stop gaping at the sight. "You were saying, Crabapple?" 'Oh! Burned!... Sun burnt?' Right after Dash leveled herself, another Rainboom shot through the air. She made a prismatic circuit around Ponyville, and landed in front of the ten that watched her take off. "Yeah, walk in the park. I'm a freak of nature. Now, come on! Ponyville is under attack!" 'Uh, geez. That wasn't sudden.' A group "WHAT?" rang out. "We don't have time! Follow when you can!" With that, she dashed off. Rook didn't waste a moment before following, with Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Luau, Crabapple, and Winter Willow right behind. Rose Petal and Fluttershy watched them as they slowly vanished from sight. "You're not a fighter either, are you?" "Um, no." *WHAM!* "Told you she'd come." 'Smart kid.' Rainbow Dash didn't want to start getting a big head at the moment. "What are you three doing here?" "Getting our paranormal investigators cutie marks!" "Well get out of here before these things hurt you! What are they, anyway?" Her eyes met one of the creatures eyes. Or eye, as each only had one. The creature looked like a wheel with said eye in the center, and feather like protrusions around, with blades sticking out of the sides. There were some with black feathers, but most were gold. "Jeez. From above it looked like there were a lot less." 'There were.' "You don't say." The white stallion glided down beside the blue mare. "How did you keep up?" The stallion shrugged. 'Oh, reasons.' "Dash," The orange filly garnered attention, "The gold ones are making the black ones, but it looks like each one can only make one copy." "Thanks, Scoots. Now get out of here!" The orange filly didn't need to be told twice. Her friends followed rapidly, passing the seven grounded ponies that followed the pegasi. "Wow!" Twilight was awestruck, "I've never seen anything like THAT before!" 'You don't say.' "You don't say." 'Hey!' "Crabby, aren't these the things that-" "- attacked us a thousand years ago, yes. There were even more back then." Rook spun around, "What? I don't remember these things!" Luau took to her friends side. "They appeared after you vanished." "ALRIGHT!" Everyone was thrown off guard by Willow's sudden outburst, "This is for what you did long ago! HIYAAAA!" Willow charged toward one of the monsters... which promptly spun on its axis and knocked her back into Crabapple. "Owwww..." 'Genius!' "Good job, Willow," Crabapple's voice was flooded with sarcasm, "That was the key to beating these things. Ten out of ten." "But... but our children!" "You won't avenge them by being stupid!" *SHHHHZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ* The couple was pulled from their bickering by an ominous sound. One of the wheel creatures was revving up. "Be careful! We don't know what- WOAH!" Applejack was cut off by the revving creature shooting straight towards her, barely giving her enough time to dodge it. "Hah! Ya'll couldn't hit the broad side of a baARGH!" 'Yeah, don't look away from enemies. Just saying.' "AJ!" After the first creature blew through, a second, unseen and unheard, took the same path and struck Applejack from behind, knocking her to the side. Dash and Pinkie were at her side in seconds. "Come on, AJ! Get up!" "Do you like my pet?" 'And there's Time.' An ominously gentle voice went through their ears. They looked and saw a young mare, dressed in an Arabian style, hiding her body, save her eyes and ears. Rook promptly lashed out at her. "YOU! This is YOUR fault! You destroyed this town once and now you want to destroy it AGAIN!" "What do you mean by, 'pet'?" Rarity was focused on her words, "It sure looks like there's more than one of these things." 'Technically true.' "His name is Deja-vu for a reason. He can make as many of himself as I please." Luau stepped up, "You're in league with that one colt, aren't you?" "Yes, a very well kept secret, I'm sure." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Rainbow Dash glared at the mare. "I won't let you do anything to this town." "But I'm not doing anything. At least, not this time. This time it's all Deja-vu." 'Who follows your orders.' "Even so, you called him here, meaning his destruction is on your head." "Sorry, but I have further business to attend to. Good luck." 'No you don't! Get back here!' Before anyone could get a word out, she was gone. Three more of the creatures revved up, forcing their attention from the now gone mare. One aimed for Twilight, one for Willow, and one for Rarity, all of whom dodged easily. 'Crap! I can't chase her yet! They need me!' "Good job, giiIAAAH!" Luau was cut off by one of the "echos" aiming for her, with Pinkie and Rook being targeted by the other two. Rook grabbed the one aimed for him and threw it into the one aimed at Luau, causing both to break and vanish, while Pinkie leaped out of the way. Yet one of them hit something. Applejack, who was behind Pinkie, unconscious, was run over by the one Pinkie dodged. "NO!" Rainbow dashed over to AJ's unconscious body to ensure her safety, only for one of the monsters to block her path. 'I was hoping not to come out so soon, but...' "I've... had... ENOUGH OF YOU!!!" 'Wha- Is she?' She threw her hooves to the sky, as if to call down lightning. 'No way.' Which is exactly what she did. 'That's... How? How can she use that already?' With a loud *BANG*, lightning shot from the sky, striking one of the "Deja-vus" and destroying it. Followed by another. And another. Soon enough, lightning struck all of them, and there were no more wheel creatures left. Wherever she was, Trixie felt proud of Dash. 'That... that was... beautiful...' With the carnage over and the threat gone, Dash fell into a sitting position. In spite of all the praise aimed at her, she felt like she was a freak. A monster. "Make sure AJ's not dead." She stood up and left, leaving the ponies she saved wondering what happened. 'Where did she... Dang! Lost her!' She looked out at the scene. She wasn't quite sure what happened, but her pet was destroyed. "What. Happened?" She turned to look over her shoulder, seeing her partner angry. "I thought he would be enough." He got in her face. "He wasn't. I gave you a simple task, and you botched it." She held her ground. "Like how you botched that raid I planned out? There's always going to be some variable. A spanner in the works, as they say. Someone you didn't anticipate, there at the exact moment that it ruins your plans." He smiled. "Now you know that variable." She smiled. "And I can accommodate." "Perfect." He walked off. She turned back towards the scene. "Maybe it's closer than I thought." Luau tended to Applejack, making sure she would be fine. Rook, Twilight, and Crabapple discussed tactics and how to fend off future incidents. Rarity and Pinkie, meanwhile, watched as Willow approached the distant pegasus, who had just done something impossible. Twice. "Dash?" Winter Willow, founder of Healer Hall, a place where ponies go to heal unseen wounds, has always had the ability to know another's emotions. So it would clearly bother her when she knew someone else was bothered. That was the case with Dash. "What do you want?" Rainbow Dash, having never heard her name before, and having just met her, didn't know what her intent was. 'She wants to know you.' "What's bothering you? You saved us, your friends say you're boastful, but you're skulking over here as if someone died." Dash stayed quiet. 'Open up, Dashie.' "What is it? Are you reminded of someone? Is it -" "What am I?" 'Really? This?' Willow was caught off guard. The question seemed unprovoked, and there was no reason for her to ask it. Dash looked shattered, her face showing no emotion, and her wings splayed out carelessly. Seeing Willow's confusion, she continued. "I'm not silent, I'm boastful. I'm not cautious, I'm reckless. I'm not aware, I'm oblivious. No one that met me today would know that without my friends telling them, and even then it would be hard to believe. I'm not me, so what am I?" 'Such poor logic is you, though.' Dash probably expected Willow to shut down and back out. She didn't know Winter Willow. "You are yourself. There is no one else you could be. If you doubt yourself, look in a mirror. Look for someone that isn't you. Philosophical or not, you're a hero. But even more, you are Rainbow Dash. That's what matters." 'This is to her what flying is to you.' Dash looked her in the eyes, then turned her attention back to the spot on the horizon that she was interested in earlier. Willow tilted her head. "Rainbow?" "No. That's not what matters." Willow was stunned. Dash stood up. "What matters is my friends, and what they need in me. Come on. Let's check on AJ." Luau felt around the unconscious mare's hind leg as the pegasi walked up. The other ponies approached as they got closer, eventually surrounding Luau, awaiting her analysis. "She'll be fine, but it would be best for her to stay off of her hooves for a short while." 'Nope!' Rarity and Twilight looked pained. Pinkie let out a sigh of relief. Dash chuckled a bit. "She won't like that." Rook smiled. "I'm going to guess she'll kick and scream as much as she can." "Yeah." Willow shot a glance at her husband. "Apple family members tend to be that way." The three pegasi shared a giggle at Crabapple's (apparent) expense. His eyes shot left to right for a bit. "Honeycrisp complained more than I ever did!" 'That's it! Pin it on the psychopath that just tried to kill you!' That got the pegasi and unicorns laughing hard. Crabapple gave a nervous smile. "Luau?" Pinkie's voice got them to stop. "What's wrong?" Luau looked troubled. "Remember where those things hit her?" 'So her spine has healed already.' Every pony shared a glance. Twilight spoke first. "Uh, didn't one hit her haunches?" Willow continued. "Yeah, and the other one struck her in the back." Luau nodded. "The second one was moving as fast as, if not faster than, the first one. What's troubling me is that, in spite of her hind legs being broken, her spine is no worse for wear. How is it that both of her legs broke from one of them being struck, but a direct hit to her back did nothing?" 'It did something, but the damage was already healed.' The response she got was silence. Until Rarity let out a cough. "Maybe it wasn't the things hitting her, but her getting thrown to the ground. She was already on the ground when the second one hit her." 'Where Darkness comes up with a valid excuse...' Rook cocked an eyebrow. '... and Light doubts it due to spite.' "I'm late again, aren't I?" 'Yup' All potential discussion was cut off by Celestia. "HablejiggablablehjigujiguBLA?" 'Fun!' Willow apparently decided to show her skill in gibberish. Crabapple, in contrast, was emotionless. "Hello again, your highness." 'Bland.' Celestia cringed at his statement but looked happy none the less. "I knew you two would be fine." "Wait wait wait. I thought a thousand years had passed!" "Ah, so they already explained that to you." "But how are you still alive?" 'She immortal, foal!' "It's just what I was cursed with." Celestia looked around. "Where are Rose and Fluttershy?" Rarity stepped forward. "They stayed at Fluttershy's cabin, likely to avoid getting in our way." 'Where Darkness speaks facts...' Celestia stared at Rarity with a slightly ominous look. "... Well, it seems Applejack filled that role." '... and one of Light's followers doubts her out of spite.' "Ain't that grand to wake up to!" 'That line brings back memories.' Dash flaired her wings. "AJ! You're alright!" Applejack cringed as the pegasus death-gripped her. "Where did those things go?" Twilight smirked. "The Deja-vu's? Just ask Da-" "DEJA-VU?" 'S-sorry princess. I don't think they heard you in Neighpon.' Everypony turned to the princess, baffled and startled by her loudness. Her eyes were wide and her jaw was wide open. After a moment, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Well..." She opened one eye and bit her lip. "Now that I know where to start..." She took a deep breath. 'You should have already known.' "I've got a lot to explain." 'Yes you do.'
New and oldRainbow Dash barreled into the library, nearly knocking several books over. In the library were Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle, all of whom looked right at her. Spike, however seemed to be out. "Hey, Dash. Can it wait? I'm looking into the earthquake from earlier." "Twilight, that wasn't -" "It's strange, though. We haven't had a natural earthquake like that in around three hundred years!" "But it wasn't -" "After all, the tectonic plates settled down around then. So the earthquakes should have sto-" "TWILIGHT!" Twilight fell quiet. "That wasn't an earthquake." "What makes you think that?" "Earthquakes don't move clouds." She stared at the distant town. Two of her friends had started it no more than 15 years ago. 10 years after the infamous Nightmare Night. Ever since, she always had a weird sense of what was to come. Yet now, more then ever, she felt it screaming at her. "Hey. How are you?" "..." "You're unusually quiet." "..." "Funny you would say that." "..." "Well, I'm the quiet one. She's usually -" "We need to get to Ponyville." "Huh?" "Heh. I guess they would like us to visit them soon." "Not soon." She turned towards them, an unusual fire in her eyes. "NOW!" "Yeah, I just thought it was an unusually large gust of wind, or some prankster. It wasn't until Scootaloo asked me about the earthquake that I realized it happened." "That sounds crazy, but so does a natural earthquake. I'm not even -" They all stopped as a letter materialized in front of them. Twilight lifted it up and opened it, reading it out loud. "Twilight "I'm sure that you are already aware and likely looking into the earthquake from earlier. You should be informed that it wasn't just Equestria that felt it. Several world leaders, some as old as I am, have come to discuss this. There will be a guard carriage to bring you here in two hours. If you need more time than that, let me know when you get here, and you can use the royal archives. Your faithful teacher, Princess Celestia" As Twilight started to panic, Rarity couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them from the shadows. She slowly trotted through the alley of Ponyville, taking in the dripping water as she walked by the puddles. She could only imagine how the town would be in ten years, one hundred years, heck, even a thousand years, if it'll last that long! "A thousand years...is she really..." *CRASH!* A loud sound from nearby snapped her out of her daydream. Her first instinct was to check if anyone was hurt, unaware of how deadly it could be here. He didn't have a particular destination in mind, just a calming walk through town. For some odd reason, he was always amused by how gravity even affected small things, like drops of water. "EEEEEEEEEEE!" He was snapped out of his trance by a scream. A desperate scream. His wife's scream. Twilight was panicked. She didn't have enough time for a full analysis of the earthquake, and they were half way to Canterlot! She needed to hurry! Dash was bored. If she was on her own, she would have made it to Canterlot well before now. Then again, she wouldn't even consider presenting anything to Celestia on her own. Fluttershy was entranced. The birds outside of the window were so beautiful and full of life. What she wouldn't give to fly with them. Pinkie was Pinkie. The less said about her, the better, wild as she is. Rarity was hopeful. She wanted to travel around Canterlot, showing what she had, despite all the chances she already had. Like she always said, if you've got it, flaunt it. Applejack just wanted the dang thing to land already! The instant after she was attacked, she saw what could only be described as a brilliant bright light. She couldn't focus on anything else, as if the light was forcing her to focus on it. Is this what it's like to die? As her vision went back to normal, however, she saw that the "light" was actually a pony. Somepony she knew. "It figures that you, 'heroes,' would show up at the last moment. And I can't hope for that poison to work on you." "You don't want to fight me. You hurt my friend, you just said that your poison doesn't work on me, and did I mention? I'm one of the best guards ever." "No no. I have more than one poison, it's just finding one that will work on you. Don't think I don't know who you are. In fact, I think that I have an advantage because of that." "Let's see." "Come on come on come on! There has to be something here!" Dash, the only one who opted to stay with Twilight as she searched, was lazily hanging over a guard rail. "Calm down." "HOW CAN I? I CAN'T DISAPPOINT FIVE WORLD LEADERS!" "It's technically only three, cuz Celestia and Luna don't count. Besides, two are chill about it, and the last is a Griffon. Don't worry about it." A pegasus! A pegasus did all this damage? And so fast! "What's wrong?" The destructive colt asked him. "My poisons starting to take its toll, captain?" He tried his hardest to hide his true status. "How... How did you do this? Even somepony twice my strength would take hours to do this. Yet you managed this in minuets without any pony noticing. How?" The insane colt smiled. "Maybe someone in the afterlife can tell you." He decided to drop the act, his breathing and posture returning to normal. "Maybe, but I don't intend to go there anytime soon." "W-what?" "Isn't it funny? How sound can affect more than your hearing?" The world around them looked like it was spinning. "You think I'm to your left when I'm to your right. You try to look at me, but instead look away. I look like I'm retreating when I'm moving towards you. You try to move away from me, but you just draw closer. We have more than five senses, and this song is ruining your sense of space" The mad colt looked angry. "I h-haven't hit you a-at all?" She couldn't help but smile. Her spell worked perfectly. And by making herself invisible, she was perfectly safe. Even the pony behind her couldn't tell she was there! The only one who could see through her spell perfectly was Celestia, and if she was there, there would be no need to- "I see you, Rose Petal." Twilight walked nervously through the grand double doors. If it weren't for the five mares behind her, she would have been running, having not found anything of use. Before her was an empty table, large enough to seat the five world leaders before her, and then some. "Kurow? Ya there?" "Yes sir." "You don't have to address me so formally, ya know." Rarity shot Luna a smile, which she found returned to her. Rainbow Dash kept her eye on the Griffon, Lord Sharpclaw, notorious for his short temper. Applejack calmly shared a nod with the Zebra leader, Nandin Pourtind. Pinkie Pie found it hard to keep her composure around Celestia for some reason. Wait, no, she was just being herself. "I don't like feeling like I'm -... Heh. Look at her. She looks like she won the jackpot." Fluttershy found herself completely enraptured by the final world leader. He had the body of a pony, but his eyes, muzzle, mane, and tail all resembled a dragons. She was incapable of thinking about anything but the first chance she has ever had to meet a - "You gonna talk to her, bro?" "What? Never seen a Kirin before?" "Okay, then. You could have called her cute or something." She was snapped out of her trance. "YES! Er, no. Well, I -" "Well then." "FLUTTERSHY! You're embarrassing us!" "Where are you, anyway?" "I'm above you." "Figures. "I don't mind. I just wanted to know." He seemed to resemble Celestia in how he spoke. "Calm as always, bro." "I thought you liked calling me sir." "I just, I've always wanted to see a Kirin!" Fluttershy was floating in the air, hooves over her mouth and a bright red blush all over her face. "I never thought I would get the chance to see one!" "I'm almost tempted to jump down and cuddle her." "Will you?" "No, that would probably get me beaten up." That's it, Fluttershy. Just keep distracting them. Anything so I don't have to- "Why are we here again?" "Twilight," Celestia cut in. "Have you found anything out about the earthquake yet?" "Oh, right. That." Twilight's ears fell flat. She was hoping to avoid the subject for a bit longer, unwilling to admit to Celestia that she failed. "Uhh, well, you see, umm..." "I wouldn't have expected her to know about that. It's very obscure." Celestia's expression quickly fell. "I see..." "Should I tell them?" "They can't know yet. Besides, Celestia will make the connection soon enough." "What is the meaning of this, mare?" Sharpclaw slammed his claws onto the table, causing everyone in the room to flinch and the basket in front of Celestia to nearly topple over. "You said you got your best scholar to investigate, but all you did was get this kid to do it! Even MY scholars are better trained than she could ever -" "Did you notice?" "Notice what?" "The basket?" "There's no -... Wait..." "Do not talk about MY STUDENT LIKE THAT!" If anything overtook the fear Sharpclaw created, it was the fear that Celestia created. Twilight knew how bad Celestia's rage could get, but never saw it this close. And she was across the room! "Where did that basket come from?" "You'll see." Celestia slumped down in her place, letting out a huge sigh, before looking at the basket of flowers on the table in front of her and taking one in her mouth, swallowing it before she continued. "If Twilight couldn't find the truth, I doubt anyone can." "Looks like Luna noticed." "Was the alliteration intentional?" "Alli- Oh. No, it wasn't" "Sister! You cannot be this dense!" Everyone looked at Luna in pure shock. "It has been right in front of you the whole time it has been here!" "Who left it?" "One moment...Ooo, she's scared now." Applejack looked at the basket of flowers in front of Celestia. "Now wait a sec, where did those flowers come from? The table was clear when we came in, and no one else has entered or left!" "Who?" *WHAM!* Everyone froze. *Thud* They looked towards the door. *Groan* Celestia giggled, then stood up to head towards the door. "Her." "Oh." "You didn't hurt yourself now, did you?" Celestia spoke with subtle mirth in her voice."I've found it quite hard to escape through a closed door." The,... Pony?, let out a squeak not unlike one of Fluttershy's. "Don't worry. I'm not mad at you. I'm impressed that you managed to slip past my guards. Then again, I haven't seen this kind of magic in a long time." Celestia sat down in front of where the invisible mare apparently was. "Now, what's your name?" Everything was silent for a moment, then a gentle voice. "Uh-oh." "What?" "Gotta go now!" "Why? ... Kurow? Are you there? Kurow!" "Celestia?" The voice was similar to a young filly's, or Fluttershy's. Gentle, almost mute. "Kurow! Kurow!... Damn. Why does he do that?" Yet, it seemed to shake Celestia to the core. Her smile was gone, her eyes were wide, and her voice was barely a whisper. "T-that voice. Sh-sh-show yourself... Please." The mare complied, her spell fading quickly. Her eyes were pink, with her mane and tail a more faded shade. Her coat was light green, and her Cutie Mark was of a rose stem with three rose petals. "Rose Petal." The young mare started to get to her hooves. As she stood up, there was the sound of massive wing beats coming from above. Everyone looked to see a stallion who stood a full head above the average pony. His coat was white. His mane, gray with black stripes. His eyes, black. His mark was a tower. "Rook." The stallion, Rook, stood next to the mare, Rose Petal. Celestia was shaking. She quickly glanced at everyone else, checking to see if she was hallucinating. Given that several were staring at the two in shock, she assumed she wasn't. "Y-you're... You..." She started tearing up. "Y-y-you're a-a-a..." She rose one of her front hooves, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "You're... "Alive!" She threw herself forward, grabbing them in a tight embrace. Rose and Rook, who had been stoic until then, finally let themselves smile. It was a touching sight to see. Rook was the first to break the following silence. "I don't know how long it's been, but I'm glad to see you remember us." "Heh, isn't that cute?" "Oh, Kurow. There you are. Where were you?" "Had to un-poison somepony. "YOUR HIGHNESS!" "And there's the memo for the princess." "Who was it?" "One of those two's friends." Everyone looked at the servant that had just entered. Celestia was obviously annoyed at being interrupted, but was otherwise calm. "Yes, Sundance? Is there something you need?" "That means..." "Yeah. If you don't mind, I would like to keep an eye on them." "There's an unknown mare in the infirmary. She appeared in the garden, and was stuttering incoherently before passing out. Several guards want to imprison her once she wakes up, but nothing will be done without your approval." Sundance took a quick glance around the room. "And, if you don't mind, might I suggest considering hiring more attentive guards? "Go ahead. You do pretty much whatever you want anyway, bro. I'm not stopping you." Celestia's irritation turned into amusement. "This mare is an ace infiltrator. Even with guards within this room, she would go unnoticed." Celestia turned to the rest of the room. "We will return to this room in about an hour. I do have an idea of who the mare might be, and would like to meet her. You are all free to do anything within the castle rules. I'm looking at you, Sharpclaw." "Go on! Talk to her!" Twilight, Celestia, Rose, and Rook were the only ones to actually leave the room. Applejack sat next to the zebra leader. Rarity and Pinkie both approached Luna. Rainbow Dash flew right up to Sharpclaw. Fluttershy nervously trotted up to the Kirin leader, only to be received with a pat on the head. "Um, sir? What is your name?" "Pfft! You haven't told them your name!" "Shut up Kurow." "Most call me 'Sir' or 'Kirin,' if not 'dragon thingy.' My real name, however, is Susano." "I'll leave you two alone now." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Are you... The Shinto god?" "No, but I was named after him." "..." "........." "................................................" ".......ot a t........f you ...............therwi.......ill remi...yo.........ok is q...........ior." "Bu.....r hi......." "...ve! No.." ".s she..." "He........re yo....ake?" "...u? Lu..." "L...au!" "Luau?" She was just waking up, the voices in her head more disjointed than usual. Wait, those weren't in her head. She slowly opened her eyes. "Rook? Rose?" When she could finally see again, she saw both of their smiling faces. "I thought you were dead." She moved her neck as far as she could, stiff as it was. "Where are Crabby and Willow?" In a moment, both of them went from looking like everything was right to everything was wrong. "Oh, no." "Luau." Two more mares entered her line of sight. One of them a violet unicorn she couldn't recognize, the other... "Celestia?" She looked saddened for some reason. "It may have been minuets or moments for you, but it's been such a long time for me." "And court is in session." "Kurow, what the hay?" The doors opened to the room, causing all chatter to cease. "Pinkie, did you invite all of my guards?" "Did she?" "Not the one in the bathroom." "Pfff- What?" Pinkie gave a sheepish smile. "Did you need them?" "Isn't there something you need to do?" "Yeah." "... I love you." "I love you too, bro." Celestia let out a little chuckle. "Actually, this works out well for me. I was going to make an announcement anyway." "Wait, wait." Luau was dizzily laying on Rook's back. "How is Luna back already?" "That's the first part of the announcement." Celestia stepped up onto her spot at the table. "These three, Luau, Rook, and Rose Petal, are three of the ponies I trust most. Rook was once captain of the royal guards, Rose was a gardener, and Luau was well before her time." Celestia let out a huge sigh, knowing that this next part would be hard for anyone other than Luna and Susano to believe. "Yet, they aren't from recent times. They vanished one day, the first time the world shook like this. That day..." Get ready for a riot, Celestia. "Was nine-hundred and ninety years ago."
Introductions"I still can't believe you would do that, Rose." All Rose did was giggle, apparently proud of herself for what she did. Celestia knew it was coming, but that didn't make it any easier to handle. Everyone in the room was so loud, and not one of them would listen to her. Her eyes snapped shut. As if the silence wasn't deafening enough, she couldn't hold her composure, due to how emotional the day had already... ...Wait... Silence? 'Ooh. She's good.' She opened her eyes to see that everyone was still bickering, but... silently? A soft giggle to her side drew her attention. "Oh, yeah. You turn invisible by 'muting' the mind. Your powers being based on sound is a show of your true talent in auditory manipulation." Rose Petal smiled at Celestia's compliments. Hearing her voice made everyone in the room realize that they weren't making any noise. All of them sheepishly turned toward Celestia. She gave a soft smile. 'Oh, now they realize they aren't talking.' "As I have said, these ponies are from nearly a thousand years ago. They once stood by my side in a special battle. The battle against Nightmare Moon." Sharpclaw rolled his eyes. "Pfft! That silly fairy tale?" Luna's wings flared open as she stomped on the table. "That, "fairy tale" was me!" 'I don't know if he realizes that. Even with you pointing it out.' Pinkie was Pinkie. "Oh! Which of you was the Element of Laughter?" The thought of a second Pinkie Pie terrified everyone who knew her. Celestia was thankful that it wasn't quite like that. "Err, you mean the Element of Positive Energy? That was me." Suddenly, Pinkie Pie in Luau's face. "Oh! Maybe you're my ancestor!" Luau took a moment to look away and think of a response. "Maybe?" Rook and Rose were highly amused at the thought of Luau being nervous. "There's actually no, 'maybe' about it. You are her ancestor." Everyone gave Celestia their full attention again. "The Elements were passed from generation to generation, exce-" "Whoa, Celestia, WHOA!" Rook caught Celestia off guard. "I never thought... Oh, goodness! He must have been great to get your attention." 'Oh, this will be good.' "Wha- I was going to-" Rose caught on to what Rook was doing. "Don't be shy~" 'Really? She's getting in on this, too?' "I- Rose! What are you thinking?" "Wait, Celestia? You're my ancestor?" Unlike Rose and (probably) Rook, Twilight honestly believed that she inherited her Element from Celestia. 'No she's not.' "Bu- Thanks, you two! Now look at what you've done!" Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Good friends don't humiliate their friends. Great friends do it all the time, though." 'How I wish I knew.' Celestia let out a huge sigh, thankful that someone finally gave her a break. Twilight stared at Dash blankly. "Did you say that to show how close they are to Celestia, how close you are to us, or to say that I'm not related to Celestia?" "All of them." Rainbow looked right at Celestia. "Hey, princess? I don't mean to be insulting, but I don't think you noticed that two of them are missing." "Yes. I did notice that, and it concerns me greatly. I-" "Celly?" Susano cut in. "Are you okay? You don't normally show this much emotion." "I'm fine. Just... lost my composure for so much of today, I think it deserves the rest of the day off." Celestia cleared her throat. "Anyway, I believe that they are in Equestria somewhere. They vanished at the same time these three did, so I have no reason to think otherwise." "Do you have a pickle barrel?" "Kurow, What the hay?" A sudden crash jolted Rose from her flashback. So much so, she darted under Rook, who blushed at the uncomfortable position he was suddenly in with the mare that was essentially his sister. "What was that?" 'Crabapple.' "It came from the library!" "Sir! Please calm down!" Spike ducked to dodge another haphazardly thrown book, as Owlowlisious got to work collecting the books, leaving the psychopath to Spike. "You don't know my name! You don't know her name! Shut up, you useless dragon!" "S-sir-" The colt's orange mane whipped around as his golden eyes locked on to Spike with rage. "WHAT DID I JUST SAY?" He went right back to tearing the library apart. "You should learn your place, you stupid-" He was cut off by a book hitting him squarely in the back of the head. "What the-" There where three ponies behind him, all of whom he recognized. His rage quickly changed to surprise, then to glee. "Rook! Rose! Luau!" He quickly ran up to them. "Where's Willow? Is she safe?" Their shared look of pain told him everything in an instant. He made a sound that resembled a full grown dragon trying to imitate a cat. He was immediately back at the bookshelves, tearing books from their places. "I've found nothing on any of us! Not even a footnote!" He started to flip through a history book. "If I had even something small to go off of-" *THWACK!* "WHAT?" "Will you stop ruining my library?" With his three friends were six mares he didn't know. "I take it you're Crabapple?" 'Yup.' "Pfft! Whatever! I'm busy right now!" He continues looking through the book he held as the purple unicorn trotted up to the bookshelves. "I think this one has a mention of one of your friends." Crabapple looked up and saw the book she had: Finance: Tricks and History. "Ah! Here!" "Is somepony still trying to cheat the system?" He knocked her out of the way to get a better look at the part she mentioned; 'That would be the first thing to focus on.' "The pony to develop the banking system, which, to date, has been the most successful method of ensuring a pony's keep is what they earn, is Balanced Budget. He created it under the orders of prime minister Crabapple, who is known as one of the first of the Apple family. He also acted to gain the attention of one of the prime minister's friends, a shy, gentle gardener. One of the biggest conspiracies- Wait, 'one of?' That's disturbing. -conspiracies surrounding both of them is their sudden, presumed deaths. One day, the prime minister and four of his friends, including the gardener,- And the the prime minister's wife, who was also the founder of healer hall, and the captain of the guards at the time, and don't forget his personal tutor, who was also an inventor well before her time, -vanished, with a town being wiped off the maps until somepony else made their own town there, coincidentally another Apple family member. Or, knowing Celestia, who I'm assuming is still alive, not so coincidentally. A few days later Balanced Budget vanished, leaving only a will. To this day-" He looked over to Rose, who only gave him a small, if tearful, nod. "-To this day, his fate is unknown. Some say he ended his own life in the ruins, out of despair of losing his wife. Some say he left to start a new life, ready or perhaps eager to move beyond his wife's disappearance. The ultimate truth is only known by his long gone spirit." Crabapple closed the book. "That's it. Nothing more." 'Why is reality so depressing?' "Here. 'Rumors and Mysteries for the ages.' This will have something about you in it." The unicorn levitated the book in front of him. "... No thanks. Not yet at least. I need to clear my head." "And make sure Angel doesn't kick this one." 'Uhh...' Everyone turned towards Fluttershy, baffled by her apparent non-sequitur. She looked at the rest of the room, and became quickly flustered. "Um, I need to go. A birdie told me that there's a mare near my house." "May I go with you?" Attention was turned to Crabapple. "I should go for a walk, and who better to do it with then the inheritor of my wife's Element of Harmony?" "How...?" "Ya know what? How about we all go? What better way to get to know someone then to spend time with them?" Crabapple smirked. "Am I correct to assume that you inherited my Element?" Applejack made a proud stance. "And a proud inheritor of the Apple family name! Name's Applejack. Introductions can continue on the road." 'Dang that's crazy!' She was so happy. The animals there were so nice. She didn't know where she was, but to a degree, she didn't want to leave. It was a nice shift from the sudden loss she had just experienced. Very, very welcome. Angel wasn't to happy with this sudden intruder, and intended to make sure she knew she was on his turf. He wound up a kick, and struck her hard in her white flank! None of the other animals liked how he tried to claim Fluttershy's turf as his own. But the biggest proof he screwed up came right before he flew, when she shot a death glare at him. *SQUEAK!* *THUD!* 'O hai, Angel Rose looked down. "Um... Rook?" As they made their way to Fluttershy's cabin, Pinkie and Luau were talking about their inventions, while Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Crabapple talked about agriculture and economy. Rook, Twilight and Rainbow Dash spoke about flying teams. Rose hung behind for the most part. "So 'The Twisters' aren't around anymore? That's a shame." 'Of course he wouldn't notice.' Rainbow Dash reflected pain in her face. "Yeah. Sorry about your daughter's team." Twilight looked up in wonder. "Was Twister vain at all?" Rook was baffled. "How did you know her name?" 'Because it's the same as the teams?' "I read in a history book on flight that her team joined with a certain other team." Rose was irritated. "Rook." Dash rolled her eyes. "Let me guess; the Wonderbolts?" 'Naw! Really?' "Yup!" Rook flared his wings with a huge smile. "The Wonderbolts are still around!? Breakneck would be so happy to hear that!" Rainbow whipped around, her spectra of a mane becoming one color for a brief moment. "You know the founder's name?" Rook looked like a foal at Heaths Warming. "Heck yeah! He's the reason I got my cutie mark!" Dash looked star struck. "Dude. That's so aweso-" Rose had enough. "ROOK!" 'Pfft!' Everypony froze and turned around. Rose levitated a bunny up beside her. "Hit you." "Angel!" Fluttershy ran to hold her precious pet. "What happened? What are you-" Her mind put the pieces together. "You kicked the pony at my cottage didn't you?" Angel looked sheepish. At least, as sheepish as a bunny could. Crabapple chuckled. "She sure must be strong." "Well, we're almost there. It's just around this -" Rarity stopped upon hearing something. It was a gentle voice, singing a tune so sweet. It was entrancing to listen to, as if it forced you to throw all your fears and sorrows away, letting happiness and peace enter your heart. So sweet. So gentle. So... 'Ah!' Purifying. 'She doesn't notice her Quanta.' Crabapple's eyes went wide. "Th-that voice..." He ran in the direction of the voice, with the rest following a short bit behind. The mare quickly came into view. Her coat was snow white. Her mane and tail, a braided leafy green. Her cutie mark representative of a tree. A willow tree. As soon as the mare realized there was someone else nearby, she opened her eyes and looked at them. The tan, orange maned stallion, three crabapples on his side. She stood up, her green eyes meeting his yellow eyes. "C-Crabapple?" "Willow!" He charged towards her. "Crabapple!" She charged towards him. They met halfway, holding each other as if to never let go. Their friends, old and new, smiled and 'aww'-ed at the sight. Almost all of them. 'What are you looking at, Dashie?' One was too distracted by a nearby tree to watch them. Or rather, what was in the tree. What happened next was swift, less then a moment. Rainbow Dash darted between the reunited couple and the dark vial flying towards them, grabbing it out of the air with her wing, tossing it up, catching it with her hoof, and throwing it back at the tree. Or rather, whoever was hiding in the tree. Oddly, they didn't even make a slight effort to move, allowing the vial to break on them, spreading the contents on their garb. 'Hello again, Death.' "Isn't that how it is? The hero stepping in to save the day at the last moment." Dash was too angry to soak up any sort of glory. "And here I thought sis already killed them." "Wait, you?" Rook was baffled. "How are you still alive? You were supposed to die hundreds of years ago!" The evil stallion chuckled. "My partner can manipulate time, and thus, it means nothing to me. A hundred years, an instant, it's all the same with her at my side. Now if you don't mind, it seems I have some planning to do in order to be rid of you all. Tata." "Hey! Wait!" In a moment, he was gone, proving his claim about time. The eleven ponies could only just stare at where their new villain was just moments ago. In the silence that followed their sudden introductions, Willow was able to think about something that was said. "Hundreds of years?" Everypony looked at Willow. "Oh, yeah. You weren't there for that, and you only just met back up with your husband." Luau's line gave Pinkie pause for thought. "Wait, if the Elements of Harmony are inherited, and the old Elements of Honesty and Kindness are married, does that mean Applejack and Fluttershy are related?" 'Distantly' Twilight rolled her eyes. "Distantly." 'Hey!' Willow looked at her four friends, who had apparently befriended the six strange mares before her. "You don't mind catching me up on things, do you?" Crabapple smiled and held her to him with a hoof. "Of course not. But I don't think you'll immediately accept things." 'I'd be surprised if she did.' "We'll see about that." Author's Note "Geez, you has poor logic! How could his pardener having time manipulashon allow him to control time?" He didn't say he could manipulate it, just that it didn't mean anything to him. As for his disappearing act, his partner froze time, grabbed him, and left, meaning he still doesn't have control over time.
Jumping inWinter Willow's eye twitched. "What is this, I don't even..." 'I'm not surprised.' Pinkie was cheerful as ever. "And that's all from just today!" Willow rubbed her head. "Let me just... First thing's first! Rainbow Dash, how did you know that guy was going to attack us? You just flew in and stopped him before anyone else knew he was even there!" Dash looked distracted. "Rainbow?" "I'm really not sure." Everypony was confused. "It's as if, well, as if I felt him get ready to attack. As if I knew where that bottle would go. As if the air around me was talking to me. Trying to warn me that he was dangerous. I mean, I'm fast, but even I shouldn't be that fast." 'Air is awakening as well.' Twilight let out a small chuckle. "Yeah! You'd have to consider a Sonic Rainboom to be a walk in the park!" Crabapple rolled his eyes. "Pfft. That old fairy tale still exists? I thought it would have died out by now." 'It's very popular.' "Hey! Breakneck almost pulled one off!" Rainbow Dash stood up. Rarity lightly glared at the tower of a stallion. "Almost only counts in horseshoes, dear boulder brain." His wings flared up. "What's that supposed to mean?" 'Light and Dark. Fighting as usual.' "Dashie?" She started fixing her mane. "I could explain it to you, but I doubt you'll understand the smallest parts of it." "...!" His face filled with rage. "Why you-!" Pinkie, however, demanded more attention. "Dashie, where are you going?" That's when everyone else noticed Rainbow Dash stepping outside. 'That got them to stop.' "Uh, Rainbow?" "Where are you going?" Rainbow kept walking, the rest keeping an eye on her. She stopped in the middle of a nearby field. "What -" She crouched down, before suddenly launching herself into the air. As she was rising, an explosion rang out, colors expanding out from where Dash was. Rook was the first to stop gaping at the sight. "You were saying, Crabapple?" 'Oh! Burned!... Sun burnt?' Right after Dash leveled herself, another Rainboom shot through the air. She made a prismatic circuit around Ponyville, and landed in front of the ten that watched her take off. "Yeah, walk in the park. I'm a freak of nature. Now, come on! Ponyville is under attack!" 'Uh, geez. That wasn't sudden.' A group "WHAT?" rang out. "We don't have time! Follow when you can!" With that, she dashed off. Rook didn't waste a moment before following, with Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Luau, Crabapple, and Winter Willow right behind. Rose Petal and Fluttershy watched them as they slowly vanished from sight. "You're not a fighter either, are you?" "Um, no." *WHAM!* "Told you she'd come." 'Smart kid.' Rainbow Dash didn't want to start getting a big head at the moment. "What are you three doing here?" "Getting our paranormal investigators cutie marks!" "Well get out of here before these things hurt you! What are they, anyway?" Her eyes met one of the creatures eyes. Or eye, as each only had one. The creature looked like a wheel with said eye in the center, and feather like protrusions around, with blades sticking out of the sides. There were some with black feathers, but most were gold. "Jeez. From above it looked like there were a lot less." 'There were.' "You don't say." The white stallion glided down beside the blue mare. "How did you keep up?" The stallion shrugged. 'Oh, reasons.' "Dash," The orange filly garnered attention, "The gold ones are making the black ones, but it looks like each one can only make one copy." "Thanks, Scoots. Now get out of here!" The orange filly didn't need to be told twice. Her friends followed rapidly, passing the seven grounded ponies that followed the pegasi. "Wow!" Twilight was awestruck, "I've never seen anything like THAT before!" 'You don't say.' "You don't say." 'Hey!' "Crabby, aren't these the things that-" "- attacked us a thousand years ago, yes. There were even more back then." Rook spun around, "What? I don't remember these things!" Luau took to her friends side. "They appeared after you vanished." "ALRIGHT!" Everyone was thrown off guard by Willow's sudden outburst, "This is for what you did long ago! HIYAAAA!" Willow charged toward one of the monsters... which promptly spun on its axis and knocked her back into Crabapple. "Owwww..." 'Genius!' "Good job, Willow," Crabapple's voice was flooded with sarcasm, "That was the key to beating these things. Ten out of ten." "But... but our children!" "You won't avenge them by being stupid!" *SHHHHZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ* The couple was pulled from their bickering by an ominous sound. One of the wheel creatures was revving up. "Be careful! We don't know what- WOAH!" Applejack was cut off by the revving creature shooting straight towards her, barely giving her enough time to dodge it. "Hah! Ya'll couldn't hit the broad side of a baARGH!" 'Yeah, don't look away from enemies. Just saying.' "AJ!" After the first creature blew through, a second, unseen and unheard, took the same path and struck Applejack from behind, knocking her to the side. Dash and Pinkie were at her side in seconds. "Come on, AJ! Get up!" "Do you like my pet?" 'And there's Time.' An ominously gentle voice went through their ears. They looked and saw a young mare, dressed in an Arabian style, hiding her body, save her eyes and ears. Rook promptly lashed out at her. "YOU! This is YOUR fault! You destroyed this town once and now you want to destroy it AGAIN!" "What do you mean by, 'pet'?" Rarity was focused on her words, "It sure looks like there's more than one of these things." 'Technically true.' "His name is Deja-vu for a reason. He can make as many of himself as I please." Luau stepped up, "You're in league with that one colt, aren't you?" "Yes, a very well kept secret, I'm sure." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Rainbow Dash glared at the mare. "I won't let you do anything to this town." "But I'm not doing anything. At least, not this time. This time it's all Deja-vu." 'Who follows your orders.' "Even so, you called him here, meaning his destruction is on your head." "Sorry, but I have further business to attend to. Good luck." 'No you don't! Get back here!' Before anyone could get a word out, she was gone. Three more of the creatures revved up, forcing their attention from the now gone mare. One aimed for Twilight, one for Willow, and one for Rarity, all of whom dodged easily. 'Crap! I can't chase her yet! They need me!' "Good job, giiIAAAH!" Luau was cut off by one of the "echos" aiming for her, with Pinkie and Rook being targeted by the other two. Rook grabbed the one aimed for him and threw it into the one aimed at Luau, causing both to break and vanish, while Pinkie leaped out of the way. Yet one of them hit something. Applejack, who was behind Pinkie, unconscious, was run over by the one Pinkie dodged. "NO!" Rainbow dashed over to AJ's unconscious body to ensure her safety, only for one of the monsters to block her path. 'I was hoping not to come out so soon, but...' "I've... had... ENOUGH OF YOU!!!" 'Wha- Is she?' She threw her hooves to the sky, as if to call down lightning. 'No way.' Which is exactly what she did. 'That's... How? How can she use that already?' With a loud *BANG*, lightning shot from the sky, striking one of the "Deja-vus" and destroying it. Followed by another. And another. Soon enough, lightning struck all of them, and there were no more wheel creatures left. Wherever she was, Trixie felt proud of Dash. 'That... that was... beautiful...' With the carnage over and the threat gone, Dash fell into a sitting position. In spite of all the praise aimed at her, she felt like she was a freak. A monster. "Make sure AJ's not dead." She stood up and left, leaving the ponies she saved wondering what happened. 'Where did she... Dang! Lost her!' She looked out at the scene. She wasn't quite sure what happened, but her pet was destroyed. "What. Happened?" She turned to look over her shoulder, seeing her partner angry. "I thought he would be enough." He got in her face. "He wasn't. I gave you a simple task, and you botched it." She held her ground. "Like how you botched that raid I planned out? There's always going to be some variable. A spanner in the works, as they say. Someone you didn't anticipate, there at the exact moment that it ruins your plans." He smiled. "Now you know that variable." She smiled. "And I can accommodate." "Perfect." He walked off. She turned back towards the scene. "Maybe it's closer than I thought." Luau tended to Applejack, making sure she would be fine. Rook, Twilight, and Crabapple discussed tactics and how to fend off future incidents. Rarity and Pinkie, meanwhile, watched as Willow approached the distant pegasus, who had just done something impossible. Twice. "Dash?" Winter Willow, founder of Healer Hall, a place where ponies go to heal unseen wounds, has always had the ability to know another's emotions. So it would clearly bother her when she knew someone else was bothered. That was the case with Dash. "What do you want?" Rainbow Dash, having never heard her name before, and having just met her, didn't know what her intent was. 'She wants to know you.' "What's bothering you? You saved us, your friends say you're boastful, but you're skulking over here as if someone died." Dash stayed quiet. 'Open up, Dashie.' "What is it? Are you reminded of someone? Is it -" "What am I?" 'Really? This?' Willow was caught off guard. The question seemed unprovoked, and there was no reason for her to ask it. Dash looked shattered, her face showing no emotion, and her wings splayed out carelessly. Seeing Willow's confusion, she continued. "I'm not silent, I'm boastful. I'm not cautious, I'm reckless. I'm not aware, I'm oblivious. No one that met me today would know that without my friends telling them, and even then it would be hard to believe. I'm not me, so what am I?" 'Such poor logic is you, though.' Dash probably expected Willow to shut down and back out. She didn't know Winter Willow. "You are yourself. There is no one else you could be. If you doubt yourself, look in a mirror. Look for someone that isn't you. Philosophical or not, you're a hero. But even more, you are Rainbow Dash. That's what matters." 'This is to her what flying is to you.' Dash looked her in the eyes, then turned her attention back to the spot on the horizon that she was interested in earlier. Willow tilted her head. "Rainbow?" "No. That's not what matters." Willow was stunned. Dash stood up. "What matters is my friends, and what they need in me. Come on. Let's check on AJ." Luau felt around the unconscious mare's hind leg as the pegasi walked up. The other ponies approached as they got closer, eventually surrounding Luau, awaiting her analysis. "She'll be fine, but it would be best for her to stay off of her hooves for a short while." 'Nope!' Rarity and Twilight looked pained. Pinkie let out a sigh of relief. Dash chuckled a bit. "She won't like that." Rook smiled. "I'm going to guess she'll kick and scream as much as she can." "Yeah." Willow shot a glance at her husband. "Apple family members tend to be that way." The three pegasi shared a giggle at Crabapple's (apparent) expense. His eyes shot left to right for a bit. "Honeycrisp complained more than I ever did!" 'That's it! Pin it on the psychopath that just tried to kill you!' That got the pegasi and unicorns laughing hard. Crabapple gave a nervous smile. "Luau?" Pinkie's voice got them to stop. "What's wrong?" Luau looked troubled. "Remember where those things hit her?" 'So her spine has healed already.' Every pony shared a glance. Twilight spoke first. "Uh, didn't one hit her haunches?" Willow continued. "Yeah, and the other one struck her in the back." Luau nodded. "The second one was moving as fast as, if not faster than, the first one. What's troubling me is that, in spite of her hind legs being broken, her spine is no worse for wear. How is it that both of her legs broke from one of them being struck, but a direct hit to her back did nothing?" 'It did something, but the damage was already healed.' The response she got was silence. Until Rarity let out a cough. "Maybe it wasn't the things hitting her, but her getting thrown to the ground. She was already on the ground when the second one hit her." 'Where Darkness comes up with a valid excuse...' Rook cocked an eyebrow. '... and Light doubts it due to spite.' "I'm late again, aren't I?" 'Yup' All potential discussion was cut off by Celestia. "HablejiggablablehjigujiguBLA?" 'Fun!' Willow apparently decided to show her skill in gibberish. Crabapple, in contrast, was emotionless. "Hello again, your highness." 'Bland.' Celestia cringed at his statement but looked happy none the less. "I knew you two would be fine." "Wait wait wait. I thought a thousand years had passed!" "Ah, so they already explained that to you." "But how are you still alive?" 'She immortal, foal!' "It's just what I was cursed with." Celestia looked around. "Where are Rose and Fluttershy?" Rarity stepped forward. "They stayed at Fluttershy's cabin, likely to avoid getting in our way." 'Where Darkness speaks facts...' Celestia stared at Rarity with a slightly ominous look. "... Well, it seems Applejack filled that role." '... and one of Light's followers doubts her out of spite.' "Ain't that grand to wake up to!" 'That line brings back memories.' Dash flaired her wings. "AJ! You're alright!" Applejack cringed as the pegasus death-gripped her. "Where did those things go?" Twilight smirked. "The Deja-vu's? Just ask Da-" "DEJA-VU?" 'S-sorry princess. I don't think they heard you in Neighpon.' Everypony turned to the princess, baffled and startled by her loudness. Her eyes were wide and her jaw was wide open. After a moment, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Well..." She opened one eye and bit her lip. "Now that I know where to start..." She took a deep breath. 'You should have already known.' "I've got a lot to explain." 'Yes you do.'
