Time Spiral and the Continuum Countdown

Chapter Two

The Brotherhood

The flight was long, the pony carrying me had been struggling to maintain his speed for hours. Occasionally I felt his grip slip, but every time he would double his efforts.

The sun had well and truly set by the time we arrived at the place my pilot had called the Cathedral. In the daylight, I imagined, it would be a shining monolith if it hadn't been shielded by an array of mountains.

For somepony I had never met, he was being awfully generous, and it intrigued me.

We landed at the gates of the Cathedral, a brilliant light flashed as some kind of light shield separated and allowed us entry.

As we walked through giant wooden doors the light shield glistened once again and then faded from view. The doors were pushed shut by cloaked ponies on the inside.

"Welcome to the Cathedral, Time Spiral," said a feminine voice among the cloaked crowd.

"How do you know my name?" I asked shakily.

"I am Stark," she responded, "leader of the Brotherhood."

"Who?" I asked warily.

She waved her hoof and beckoned me to follow her, I did. We walked down a red carpet in between rows of pews. Everypony stood up. I was keenly aware that they were all looking at me. Some even seemed afraid, though I cannot imagine why, I was just a regular old Unicorn. As I looked closer I realized that may have been the reason. There were no Unicorns here.

Stark pushed a small wooden door open at the end of the carpet and stood aside, allowing me to enter first. I smiled graciously and nervously.

The room was sparsely decorated, only a lamp and an open book lay on the wooden desk alongside the bedhead.

Stark removed her cloak, revealing her dull gray coat and big blue eyes. She seemed intrigued by me, and yet somewhat wary.

"Why is everyone looking at me so weirdly?" I asked.

"The reason is simple, and you might have guessed it already," she said dully, "you are a Unicorn, Time Spiral."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

Stark pulled out a chair and asked me to sit, she sat on the edge of her bed.

"Many years have passed since you disappeared from your home in the destroyed village. Nearly four hundred in fact. During that time a great war swept across Equestria between the worshipers of the Sun and those of the Night. As the
two forces clashed many things were lost. The Crystal Kingdom was entirely obliterated. Eventually the warring factions disintegrated but a New Lunar Empire was forged in the ruin.

"For quite some time the New Lunar Republic shone as a beacon of communication and industry throughout Equestria. Eventually some ponies became restless in their desire for power. The Unicorns, most of them at least, rose up and usurped the throne from their monarch. A civil war between Unicorns and Pegasi soon erupted from the old Lunar Capital. But as they were unable to equal the might of the Unicorns' combined magical powers the Pegasi joined the Earth Ponies and built numerous sanctuaries across the continent.

"Since then we have relied upon technological advancement to keep ourselves safe from the Unicorn threat. This sanctuary is the home of the Brotherhood of the Continuum. It is home only to Pegasi and Earth Ponies, you are the only Unicorn to set foot between these walls."

Confusion riddled my mind as I tried to take in all that she was saying. I didn't want to believe her, but I couldn't sense a lie.

"All the Unicorns are bad?" I asked.

Stark smiled and shook her head. "Not all of them," she responded, "but the ones that aren't live in fear of those that are."

"Why did you bring me here?"

Stark's smile faded. "This may be too much for one so young to understand, so please try to understand."

I nodded.

"When the New Lunar Republic fell almost four hundred years ago Princess Luna made a prophecy. It referred to a pony who would return the land to purity and rid the land of the evil that now plagues it.

"From the fires of rebellion a young warrior shall be born,
though young he will strike courage into the hearts of stallions
and mares alike. Though inexperienced he will bring about the
downfall of all that undoes this world."

"Many believe that it is a young Unicorn that shall free us from this endless war. We believe it is you, time traveler."

"You're being silly," I retorted, "of course it doesn't mean me, I'm not a time traveler; I'm just a regular Unicorn, I don't even have a special ability."

"Then how did you get here, how did you come upon our time?"

"It must have been the pony that broke into my house, he must have sent me here."

"He did not," said Stark, "you are a time traveler and I can prove it."

I was getting cross. "How?" I asked defiantly.

Stark lifted her hoof and pointed to my flank. "Your Cutie Mark is disintegrating."

I snapped my head back to look at it, she was right, my rainbow spiral was spiraling inwards and disappearing.

"WHATS HAPPENING TO ME?" I shouted.

"Time Spiral, remain calm," she began, "getting worked up will serve no pony, this just proves you are a time traveler."

"What happens when my Cutie Mark disappears?"

Stark's face was stern. "It would kill you."

"WHAT?" I screamed, "how do I stop it?"

"You must take control of your special ability before the Cutie Mark is gone completely, it is known as the Time Travelers Curse," she told me, "it is said that, before her death, Princess Celestia placed a curse upon all time travelers in order to weed out those she deemed unworthy of the power it granted."

I was terrified. "How do I do it?"

"You need to understand yourself, to understand your power and above all else you must understand the power you behold."