Learning To Live

by Nekron Smauzog

A sensitive man was always trying his best to deal with life, whether his struggles with friendships or maintaining the best motives. Everything changes when he is supposedly killed in a deadly chase dealing with a dangerous criminal gang, and he appears in Equestria. What is his purpose there? But most to notice, why is he even there?

53. The Cutie Re-Mark

A/N: Of all the chapters I have written, this has got to be the longest out of all of them.

Only two more months and then I am finished college, and then I shall enter the world of work from there, but I won't abandon the story. Other than that, I have seen Deadpool in theaters and never have I laughed so hard in my life. A fantastic movie and I am excited to hear that there will be a sequel in the future.

Anyways... Review Response Time!

jvs12: Thank you. :)

Austin 'SirAuruda1st' Bass: The chapter title could very well be a song. ;)

4theworldman: That Lime Rocks comment was on my mind for a while.

billykilly: Thank you. :) Here it is at last. Also, did you enjoy Deadpool?

Steve03: Well, read on and find out. :) Next two chapter after are going to have Starlight Glimmer, Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon as important roles for those upcoming.

raven 2012: Thank you, I am.

The master: An actor to describe Brayden? That is a tough one, I don't even know if I can think of any that describe him.

Randy mrash: The Friendship Games is sort of canon, but non-canon in this story.

ghostbusters fan: Probably not. It would be confusing to see both human Twi and the real Twi being in love, so I decided it's better with one than having both at the same time.

gto99: I saw the trailer and the clip with Flurry Heart. I was impressed to see an alicorn baby, but again, Season 6 could be canon in this one or it won't be. It's up to me to decide if I should do that. If demand is high though, I would consider mentions of Season 6. Maybe one chapter based on an episode if it is good.

rd24: Well get ready, this'll be good.

Crocodile hunter: To answer your questions, I do not picture this to be like the story of Superman. To explain the entire him being sent to Earth, he was reborn again without knowledge of his first birth in Equestria. For Rebecca, her family has grown to hate the ponies since the original was banished to Earth from Whinnepagos years ago before Brayden under the name of Sun Light was born. Read my one-shot "The Myth of the Holy Sword" to know a little more. Who is Brayden's father? The only thing I'm going to say is 'future chapter', that's all. Not giving out spoilers on that.

Juul265: The sparks he is receiving will be explained in a future chapter.

Well, thanks again for the reviews. Gotta run now, I'm seeing Black Sabbath tomorrow and then Nightwish the next day after. (I'm so excited to finally meet them! I'll let you all know how the 'meet and greet' was.) Expect a new cover photo for the story sometime soon.

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Ah, what a good sleep that I had last night...

I find myself stirring awake in my bed as the sunlight beams into the bedroom I slept in each and every day that I have been in Equestria since I first arrived. The bed sheets keep me warm at night from the autumn chill that comes seeping in each time that Luna's moon is out and the sun faded down below the horizon to open up on the east the next morning as Celestia had intended.

Wait, the sun has come out at such a later time than usual... what time is it? I turn to my side to see the time on my alarm clock switched to not ring off and away. I didn't suspect that it would be 10:23am. Practically almost the time of the afternoon, and I guess I might have missed out on breakfast that I usually have with Fluttershy downstairs. Better to get up and have breakfast now than never, last thing I'd want is an empty stomach.

I slip the bed sheets off of me, getting up and stretching my arms and legs for a couple of moments before my bare feet have touched the floor. The floor isn't too cold as it could have warmed up from the sun itself. After the stretch, I got up off of my bed and walk towards my wardrobe, opening it up to pick out my clothing for the day.

From out of my wardrobe, I grab those I felt like having today and take off my pyjamas and change into a new set of clothing. The t-shirt I have selected is the color is a brilliant red with the usual denim jeans for the autumn weather. Have to make sure to grab socks when I go outside today. From the left side, I can hear the Song of Order floating there just humming the same gentle tune that I loved to hear when there is no danger nearby that would be considered threatening or if friends were being put in danger.

"Is it really that necessary for you to change in front of me like that?" The Song of Order said to me in the calm voice that it spoke to me in like always.

"Well, I am going out aren't I?" I responded back, slipping one sock onto my right foot before proceeding to put the other sock on the other. "I'm not sure what Fluttershy is up to, but I am sure that she could be busy. Twilight is in Canterlot right now at a lecture at the School for Gifted Unicorns with her assistant Spike to help her out... hmmm, not sure what else my other friends are doing right now."

"How about some training with me?" The spirit of the blade spoke to me. "It has been quite a while since you have undergone some training for a while."

I turn to look at the Song of Order with a smile abroad my face, lifting my head slightly and then downward a few times to form a nod of confirmation. "Yeah it has been some time. I'm eager to fulfill more understanding and knowledge on how to defend myself and protect those I love." I finish slipping the sock on my left foot and move towards the blade.

I step closer to the blade, my right hand taking it by the grip and sheathing it behind my back for later use when the day progressed. From there I head to the door and make my way outside of my bedroom, heading into the second floor hallway of the cottage.

I make my way downstairs to the living room to see that there are no animals inside of the cottage. Hmmm... Fluttershy must have let them out for the day. After all, weather looks like it's going to be a good day today with the clear skies above. Other than the sound of the birds chirping outside, all was pretty much silent in the cottage interior. I turn to look in the kitchen, seeing nothing.

A white paper is left on the table by the window along with a wooden bowl of fruits and nuts probably left out for me to have. Fluttershy must have known that I would sleeping in a bit late, and made this food for me and left me a note to read on where she could be as of right now. I move towards the side of the table, picking up the note and beginning to read it in silence by the motion in the both of my eyes.

"Brayden,

I am out at the moment with Rarity at the Carousel Boutique to help her out with some dresses to try on for the next shipment to the Boutique in Canterlot. I might end up seeing you later for dinner back at the cottage. I've left out some food for you to have for breakfast.

Fluttershy"

I smile to myself knowing that this was her to keep an eye on my health and well-being seeing that she's put pieces of my favorite fruit 'apple' into the bowl along with celery sticks and cut carrots. I place the note back on the table and pick up the small bowl of fruits to start eating breakfast.

The meal itself is relatively short, and quick. But is better than nothing being offered to me, and it is sweet of my close friend to make this for me before she went out.

Once I had finished with breakfast, I notice from outside of the kitchen window that a few animals are already starting to wander out and explore in the daylight. Normally I would believe that Fluttershy would be taking care of most of them, but sometimes when she wasn't around and I'm the only one at the cottage I would a few of them regardless as they would probably be gathering for acorns. (Don't think I mentioned they were squirrels.)

"The next training session out in the fields will be more difficult than the last time you have done this in regards to the timberwolves. I hope you are up for this challenge." The blade's voice tells me while I am taking the wooden bowl over to the sink to wash out.

"I bet it'll be harder," I respond to the blade when turning the tap and washing out the bowl with the help of a dryed-out dishrag on the right side of the sink. "Probably will be hydras this time, maybe the Ursa."

"Perhaps." The blade tells me, its tone always remaining the same.

After having washed out my bowl in the sink, I take it out and place it on the drying rack, grabbing a dry cloth to wipe out the wet bits and drops on the inside and outside of the bowl. I had to make sure it was spick and span, but even when I finished cleaning it; still looks a bit wet to me based on the splurges of waterdrops on the outside but it is better than nothing at all and I'm pretty sure the sunlight will dry it away.

I'm not really sure... I don't think what was placed into the bowl for breakfast will be enough to support me on the day especially now that I just happen to hear my stomach rumbling again. I feel like I need to have a bigger kind of breakfast, as it's not really this good to starve and I did think Fluttershy would leave more stuff out. I can't exactly blame her though, she was in a hurry to help Rarity after all.

"You still seem a bit hungry." The blade commented to me.

I look a little annoyed that he stated the obvious answer. "Of course there Sherlock Hooves, you've got to point that out."

"Haha," The blade's spirit responds back to me, kind of mocking a bit of a laugh. "I can see what you did there. Sarcasm. In a rather bad way if you ask me."

"My apologies there, it was only just right about now I realized it before you said it." I said back to him, turning around to make my way out of the kitchen. One other place is on my mind as of the moment, and that would be the Sugarcube Corner. The Cakes always had something there to serve breakfast in small portions like those baked cinnamon buns fresh out of the oven and ready to serve.

"It is alright, you best be on your way. I recommend satisfying that hunger in your stomach though as you probably won't be able to focus." The blade recommended while I slip my boots on and approach the front door from there forward.

I touch the front door's knob and open it up to unveil the daylight and step out unto Equestria again as I did usually every day I have been here. A few of the small critters around the cottage turn to look at me coming out from the cottage for a moment and then turn back to go about in looking for acorns to hibernate for the winter until Winter Wrap Up began. With the Song of Order on my back, I was ready to head out for the day again.

I make my way down the hill the cottage rested upon, crossing the stone bridge. I made sure to wave to the ducks that quack at me which could probably mean 'Hello' and I don't even know it. I wish I could understand what animals were trying to say, but that's Fluttershy's job and she would let me know that.

However, my favorite animal so far is the eagle that Fluttershy has for adoption. I could have a pet myself, but I need to think long and hard about which one I want. Even Fluttershy and Rainbow will agree with me too as it wasn't easy for Rainbow to pick Tank as her pet. Will definitely keep that in my mind, but keep it in the back of my mind for now until I feel I can have one.

No school fillies out trotting to school from what I can see. Probably have already made it to the Ponyville School to be taught another lecture on Math or possibly some of Equestria's history. Last I heard before today: my friends Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo have been joining up with both their new friends Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to work on a project in accordance to a science project.

The trees no longer have any leaves as most of them have faded away and fallen off, disappearing until Spring comes back again. All that can be seen is the empty branches being carried from the trunks of the oak trees throughout the trail on the way to Ponyville which looks distant but is starting to come forward on approach the closer I walk towards the friendly town.

A few of the pegasi flew across above the trees, like Derpy Hooves who was probably delivering some mail like usual and being cross-eyed again. The rest of the pegasi were completely knew to me, but I remember seeing them around Ponyville a few times since I've arrived so I don't really want to question who they are unless they introduce themselves to me. Most of them disappear when passing by across the eastern horizon where Celestia's sun has risen, headed on their way to do whatever they needed to do.

On the stone bridge crossing, I can hear the small stream flowing from under the bridge and out down towards one of Equestria's small lakes. Maybe one of the big lakes perhaps? From the shadows in the body of water, a few fish are seem swimming with the gentle current on the journey of heading to a new system after the pond. The sound of the water is rather relaxing to my ears, and it does give me a bit of a sleepy expression. I need to keep awake though, and continue on my way to Sugarcube Corner.

I pass the bridge and continue on the path moving into the town of Ponyville, headed right in from the southern division of town. A few ponies are trotting about and I could see a few familiar faces on my way there. There's Time Turner trotting next to Roseluck and talking to one another before seeing me coming my way into town with Roseluck giving me a friendly smile and a wave with her left front hoof.

"Afternoon Brayden!" I can hear another voice call out to me. I turn around after waving to Roseluck and see one of the mares from the flower shop waving to me as well.

I wave back at her and the two other mares, a friendly smile on my face. "Afternoon!" I call out to them.

A few others passing by are happy with me among them in their presence, also greeting me as I went on my way onward to the square. A few others are a bit too busy, but their head turn quickly to share a greetful smile as I continue walking along. From across my sight, I recognize those two being that of a unicorn and an earth pony sitting together on the trademark bench that I knew about.

Lyra herself becomes happy to see me coming along into town and from how far I was, I think she was telling Bon Bon that she will be right back before getting off of the bench and begin galloping towards me with a rather joyful look on her face. I did not suspect myself to again get knocked onto the ground when Lyra pounces on me in surprise with that friendly way of doing it when she saw me.

"Brayden," She says to me, not realizing that she sort of is on top of me when she pounced playfully onto me. "It's good to see you again!"

While getting myself up from the ground, my upper body motions upward, with me putting the both of my arms around my friend and pulling her close to share a friendly hug with her. I'm pretty sure the clean dirt won't ruin the back of my t-shirt. It's not too cold out but it could've been worse for me. She moved her hooves behind my back to share the hug I was giving to her for a few moments, and then separate from our hug.

"It is good to see you again too Lyra." I respond back to her, the same smile of greeting filling my mouth to share the same expression that Lyra most likely is giving to me in return.

"Sorry for pouncing you like that unexpectedly." Lyra apologizes, trotting backwards a bit to let me stand back up on my two feet.

I chuckle for a moment while I am getting. "It's not a problem at all, I'm actually probably used to that by now." I said to her. "So how's life been going for you? Any updates on how Lemon Hearts are doing?"

"They're doing great! Both of them are in Canterlot today like usual with Moondancer, probably going to Twilight's lecture at the School of Gifted Unicorns and then going for a visit to the aquarium to see all of the new fish that the scientists from Tall Tale have found in the western oceans away from Siren Cove. I don't think anypony would even be thinking of going there to see any of those sirens. Once they have you under their spell you can't escape unless somepony breaks it. Putting beeswax in your ears will help in the long run if you are going in there to explore."

I shook my head. "I don't think I'm planning it, but I'm pretty sure that Sonata misses her home." I told her, thinking about my friend.

"We understand, she was once one of those bad ones out there. Not all creatures are bad though... except those that emerge from deeper within the Everfree Forest close to the bog." She had a look on her face that could tell if she probably offended me. "No offense since Fluttershy found you in another part of the forest."

"None taken at all." I said to her. "But I'll give credit to her bunny rabbit Angel for finding me there when he was venturing off away from the cottage for a bit. Had no one found me, I could've been timberwolf food right then and there."

"Thank goodness," Lyra sounds a bit relieved to hear that. "If you never came to Equestria, I would have still thought that humans in Equestria were all but a myth still."

"Lyra!" I can hear Bon Bon from the bench that Lyra was sitting at next to. "Hurry along, I would like to continue telling you how it was hilarious to see Derpy try to play Pin the Tail on the Pony during this Nightmare Night!"

"Hold on there a minute!" Lyra turns her head and calls back to her friend. She turned her head back with the both of her brilliant gamboge eyes glancing at mine. "Sorry about that. You know Bon Bon sometimes."

"It's not a problem at all either. I know that because I want out on an adventure with her, so I know."

Lyra's face dropped in what almost looked like a frown. "You both risked yourselves getting hurt by going into that dangerous territory. I know it's Celestia that sent you and her with a few others on the mission, but I did worry something bad would happen."

"Other than me ending up in the hospital, I'm perfectly okay," I commented. "I made sure that nopony got hurt or let alone killed. If that were to even happen to anypony, even if I knew them a little, it would pain me inside to see that ever happen. It's why I have the Song of Order on my back."

Lyra trots closer, looking behind at the claymore of silver resting behind my back with a look of curiosity. "You've got it out today. Going out to practice with it?"

I nod my head in response to her. "Of course, I need to focus if I want to know the weakness of my foes ahead whether they're timberwolves, hydras, ursas... yeah, I'm pretty sure that you got most of that." I told her, knowing I just can't go through the entire list.

"Yep." Lyra says to me, which almost reminds me of the usual response Big Macintosh spoke each time somepony asked him a question that he knew. "I find it very good that you are keeping the importance inside of knowing you have to train hard and well. It'll help you focus in battle and keep you from getting distracted during the fight."

I can hear Bon Bon groan from the bench. "Lyra!" She calls out, sounding a little annoyed.

"I know, give me a second!" Lyra calls back to her. She returns to our conversation. "Honestly, she can be a bit impatient sometimes."

"That may be true, but I might not want to take up too much of your time if that is the matter of a fact." I said to her, scratching the back of my head and the tone of my voice sounding a bit awkward even for Bon Bon sounding a bit short. But even then, every friendship can have its ups and downs.

"I am pretty sure that you are busy too, but when you're not too busy at one point, how about you, Bon Bon and myself hang out somewhere in Ponyville?" Lyra offers me, a bright smile on her face and her left front hoof reaching out and touching the top of my right hand.

"Will do," I nod my head with the positive remark I made. "We'll just have to figure out a good time to do something like that."

I knew that was going to be goodbye for now, as I know that I'll probably meet up with her another day from this particularly fine one that I am living in. "Would you like to touch my hands like you always do?" I questioned. She puts down her left front hoof and watches as I open the both of my hands and bring them forward a little to allow her to do so if she wanted to. If not, then I'm okay with that as well.

Lyra just couldn't say no to that question at all. She places the both of her front hooves onto the both of my hands and I move forward a bit to maintain a bit of balance for she is on the both of her back hooves. She held onto them for some time, but after that passed I take a step back to allow her to let go and back onto the four of her hooves touching the ground.

"I'll see you later Brayden." She says to me with a smile as she trots along beside me for the moment to get back to joining with Bon Bon in the direction ahead.

I wave goodbye to her as I take a turn in the direction to not go the same way, but more head towards to the slight left where the Sugarcube Corner would be. Just another walk through town again while saying hello to every friendly face that I came across. Golden Harvest, Filthy Rich, and even Vinyl Scratch was trotting through town probably listening to the beats on her headphones. I wave to her, but she's probably too distracted with her music to even noticed that I am there. Oh well, probably will greet her another time though I remember being introduced to her by Pinkie at my 'Welcome to Ponyville' party.

A few shop wagons are open, with few ponies alike selling different kinds of fruits like apples being sold by Granny Smith herself with the aide of Big Macintosh himself keeping watch. No sign of Applejack though, as I'm pretty sure that she's probably with Rainbow Dash at the swimming hole, or perhaps Sweet Apple Acres. I'm sure that's what I know from the last few days that have passed.

The Sugarcube Corner is seen right up ahead on the path, past a few of the local shops throughout whether it was the Sofas and Quills shop on the far right from my sight where Twilight usually bought the quills and ink each time she had to write things down or just to Princess Celestia herself, probably on how she has been doing... maybe on how I've been since the secret had been revealed to me.

Big Macintosh and Granny Smith themselves seem to be a bit busy that I don't think they've noticed me. Oh well, I always see them at Sweet Apple Acres whenever I'm visiting Applejack, so I'm fine that they have a job to do.

I continue on downward when I get closer towards the Sugarcube Corner itself, home of Pinkie Pie and the Cakes themselves. But they're not the only ones though, as Sonata Dusk was also residing with them too. I haven't seen Sonata since the adventure into Mortem, so it would be good to catch up and see how things were going for both her and myself as she probably wants to know.

On approach to the building, my feet move and step upward on those two magenta colored steps right outside of those recognizable swinging doors from the first time I ever set foot into the shop to introduce myself. Even outside, the scent of freshly-baked cinnamon buns and muffins were filling in my lungs every time my nostrils inhale. It should be just enough for those cream-like cinnamon buns to fill my belly and not starve this late after having woken up at that time.

I place the both of my hands onto those doors and push them open, as they move lightly without any delay to them at all. I can see Pinkie Pie at the counter, keeping an eye out on the store while that recognizable smell was still going on.

"Hey there Brayden!" Pinkie greets me as I step closer towards the counter. Her hooves rest on the top of the strong glass there as her blue eyes watch me. "How are you this morning?"

"Doing fantastic like I usually am." I respond to her.

"Wait, is that the Song of Order on your back?" She had to ask all of a sudden. "I've never seen the Song of Order out of the cottage before except only in battle that I have seen it when you fought Nightmare Moon, Tirek, and the big BAD Queen of the Changelings!"

I turn to look at the silver claymore on my back while I respond to her, then turn back to look at her. "I figured that I should go and train for a bit today. It has been a while since I've done that, and I feel like I should enhance in combat and the defense of Equestria."

"I see," She said to me, moving her left front hoof to ring on the silver bell sitting next to the cash register. "I can only assume that you are here to get something. What is it you would like to order?"

"I'm probably going to have a single cinnamon bun glazed if that's alright." I said to her, crossing the both of my arms with a proud look upon my face.

"Alright!" Pinkie says with a giggle, opening up the cash register. "It'll only be two bits please!"

I dug out into my jean's back pocket and could feel the two golden bits in there. I brought out the both of them and give them to her. Her right front hoof moves and takes it, placing them into the register and trots over to take one of those sweet glazed cinnamon buns and placing it with a napkin below the light dessert.

"Also, have you seen Sonata around?" I asked, picking up the cinnamon bun from the top of the counter and ready to eat.

Pinkie nods her head in response to my question. "Of course, she's just in the kitchen helping me bake this fantastic cake that I plan to use for another random celebration with our friends. I'll go and get her for you. Cake's practically almost done by now."

I watch as Pinkie trots to the swinging doors on the left past the counter, entering the kitchen. I can hear a bit of talking in there, most likely her telling Sonata that I am waiting for her. During the wait, I take a few bites from the cinnamon bun to pass the time as I don't want to starve after all for the rest of the early afternoon and have to wait until later. The sound of hooves are also picked up getting closer, probably my friend on her way.

Sonata comes in from the kitchen, wearing an apron that seems to have a bit of cake frosting scattered a bit all over it, probably on working on the decoration of the pastry, a color of cream botched onto the leather of white. When her eyes caught onto mine, she looks surprised, but then happy to see me.

"Hello Brayden!" She greeted me with enthusiasm in the tone of her voice. "It's good to see you again."

"Same here Sonata." I respond back to her and opening the both of my arms a bit to offer her a friendly hug.

Sonata could not refuse and trots past the counter towards me, approaching to wrap her left front hoof around my back. I wrap the both of my arms around her neck in return as we share the friendly hug together. It doesn't last too long though as I think Sonata abruptly took one hoof back and realized what just happened.

"Oh no," She said to me, sounding only a little bit disappointed while looking most likely on my shirt. I turn to look at it as well, seeing there were splotchs of cake frosting loosely on some parts of around the bottom. "I am so sorry about that Brayden. I knew I should have taken off my apron before hugging you."

All I can do from there is chuckle and respond after she said that. "No worries Sonata, I have to do laundry with Fluttershy in the evening so it's alright."

"If you say so," Sonata tells me, sounding almost a little cautious until she realizes that I've come here even if it is a brief visit. "You wanted to see me?"

"Of course, I just wanted to check up on how you were and how everything is going around the shop ever since bringing you here to Equestria." I say, taking another bite of the glazed cinnamon bun when I was finished.

Sonata sighs happily, probably as the way of reflecting back on what happened in Sugarcube Corner. "It's really good here and I feel happy. Your friend Pinkie Pie was happy to introduce me to the Cakes who run the shop and were more than happy to offer me an extra room in the building and with an offer that I could lend an extra hoof around the shop to fasten business here. Back in the mirror world, I was terrible at cooking but your friend showed me how and I was happy to accept my new role around the shop."

I was listening to her tell me the story while I am chewing on another bite of the cinnamon bun. My left hand is holding onto the napkin so that my hands don't get too dirty and sticky while I eat. "I'm glad to hear that." I comment.

"Thanks," She smiles at me having given her that positive remark. "After taken the role, Pinkie was also able to bring me along to other places in Equestria that I've never been to yet. At the time, I was only here and then Canterlot. She brought me to Trottingham, Manehattan, the Crystal Empire and this small village in the outskirts of Equestria to meet somepony named Sugar Belle. Tried the many pastries and snacks they've created... so magnificent!"

"Village? Sugar Belle?" I asked before thinking about it in my head as those rung a bell. "Those sound familiar..."

"Of course it is, but you and I were in the mirror world during that entire fiasco where Pinkie and her friends came to visit. That's what Pinkie told me, including that fact that everypony there had the same cutie mark as an equal sign. An equal sign!" She says, sounding a little surprised that she remembers the story behind it.

Hmm... an equal sign as a cutie mark... everypony in that village having it. It actually seems to be connecting with something Twilight told me. I can also remember that there was somepony behind all that doing in order to try and make everypony equal. It does remind me of some things that happen back on Earth kind of like a regime. Crap, I feel like even those exist in Equestria as well. But usually caused by one rogue pony not following the way of Celestia herself, so why would they want everypony equal and without their special talent to use at all?

"There was a mare behind it from what Pinkie told me, but she seemed to have escaped when they got their cutie marks back," I am starting to remember a bit of the story on what Twilight told me while I was away. "She apparently used a staff at first to extract the cutie marks from our friends, replacing them with an equal sign. Thanks to Fluttershy though, she was able to reveal the true self of that mare, leading her to gallop off and not been seen again."

"Oh my."

"Turns out that staff wasn't actually magical and that it was her own magic that was doing the entire source of her operation the entire time," She continues. "Nopony knows what happened to this mare from what I know but the village there is continuing to build and thrive to better itself into a more safer place for all."

"The mare though... I might not know her name but I have a feeling that somepony was following me while me and Twilight were in Canterlot. We were having dinner with our old friends and Moondancer, and I noticed on my way out... part of a mane, but her face was blocked out by the menu so I could never see what it looked like nor the color of the eyes," I said to her, remembering something that seems completely odd from an event not too long ago. "It's strange... as I'm sure that Twilight told me about her. I swear it almost matched the description on what it looked like."

"It could have been anypony." She states to me, probably trying to not worry about it. "Brayden, we all get that feeling sometimes, but most of the time they are all friendly and easy-going."

"Of course, I think it was just a strange thought in my mind after all." I respond, taking another bite from the cinnamon bun in my hand.

Sonata places her left front hoof on top of my right hand. "Today is a great day to be outside before the winter comes in the next few days as we're expecting heavy amounts of snow," She sounds very informative while speaking to me. "So in that case, you might want to ask Rarity if it's possible to get you a warmer and harder coat for winter."

"Don't worry about it. If I know her, she's always looking forward to creating another set of fashion for me depending on the weather or not." I told her, with one of my best friends coming to mind when she had been mentioned. It is true after all, she's been helping me out by designing and creating a few sets of clothing for me even during the times of the season. Some clothing I have already from Earth during the summer equinox.

"That's good," She compliments. "What you're wearing right now definitely suits you."

"Thank you." I answered to her compliment. "As I said, don't worry about the mess on my shirt. I'm not going to get angry at you about that as it can be typical and have to get your hooves dirty sometimes while creating something for all."

"You have hands though, and it's the only difference." She says to me.

"I'm human, and it's all that I am proud of." I stated, a smile abroad my face. "Being different from everypony can create huge benefits."

Only two bites to go, and I've already taken one of the two from the cinnamon bun on the napkin. Pinkie of course comes in from the kitchen, having a bit of a messy look on her face and mane from the hard-earned decorating that is going on right now, and I'm pretty sure she is making a giant cake about now. "Sonata, can I ask you into the kitchen? I need your help with the finishing touches!" She says to her, looking really bouncy

Sonata turned her head while Pinkie called her name and she nods her head in understanding when the pink mare I knew told her everything on what would happen next. "I'll be in there." Sonata says to her. Pinkie looks enlightened by this, and heads back into the kitchen.

"I'll talk to you later, alright Brayden?" She says to me, keeping that same smile upon her face whenever she saw me. The same smile I know is the sign of trust between both me and her as I helped her out in the mirror world to both save and stop her Dazzling friends Adagio and Aria when they combined into Adaria.

I nod my head in understanding, offering another warm, friendly hug for the both of us from my right arm opening. She trots forward and we proceed to give each other another hug. And just in case, don't think that it'll turn into something, because I only see her as a friend. That a reminder for you? Good. "Talk to you later. I'm just going to finish this last bite and then be on my way. I have training to do."

We separate from the hug and she turns to look at me. "With the Song of Order? Is it that blade sheathed on your back?" I nod in response to her questions. "I see, and be careful not to accidentally cut yourself with it."

"I only inflict harm towards enemies of Equestria or anything dangerous... why does she think I'll cut you when I am unable to?" I can hear the Song of Order's voice behind me that not even Sonata nor anypony can hear except myself which is typical. I do have that feeling one day the Song of Order will reveal its voice for all of my friends or even Equestria... but it is unknown and only a theory for me.

"I'll be careful." I said to her, smiling as she turns and begins trotting back into the kitchen once again with the sounds of tools used for cakes being placed down. Probably Pinkie herself in there.

I take the last bite of the cinnamon bun and chew it up until I am able to swallow it down. The fruits that Fluttershy gave to me has water included so I don't think I would find myself thirsty at all until later. My left hand tosses the napkin into the small open trash bin at the end of the room's corner there opposite end of the counter. I can hear the swinging doors behind me moving for a moment, but when I turn to look I can only see that it is Derpy Hooves just trotting in.

"Hello Brayden!" She greets me, trotting on her way towards the table at the other end of the room. Pretty much all she had to say to me really, because she was probably here to order another few batch of muffins for her to munch on. (Pretty sure her shift as the mailpony ended earlier than I thought.)

I wave with greetings to Derpy who got up on one of the chairs and begin sitting there, looking really patient and rather happy at the same time, showing those usual derped eyes.

I start making my way out from the Sugarcube Corner, walking towards those same swinging doors that she trotted in from, pushing them lightly to open up and step out back to the autumn outdoors. Nothing much has changed outside as there were ponies along the way that were buying some food from one of the vendors or even heading on their way to the marketplace just southeast of town to gather produced fruit, vegetables and dairy products for the winter.

The skies above look pretty good as well, and while the snowfall wasn't going to be for a few more days, I better enjoy the autumn weather while I can. The sound of the gentle wind can be heard in my ears at a low frequency, blowing above the housetops and keeping with the flow as only a few dead leaves are seen flying off. My ears pick up the chatter of Ponyville's citizens either buying/selling or just with their friends to talk of their daily life as usual.

That mulberry colored dot in the sky got my attention though, and the closer it came is when I realize that it was a certain mare that I knew. Twilight. She was in flight, descending slowly down towards the square of Ponyville, and there's her assistant sitting on her back for the ride from Canterlot.

Was her lecture in Canterlot already finished? And why does Twilight look so worried? Better talk to her to see what's wrong. Sure I'm delaying my training but I should investigate the problem for Twilight first.

Twilight descends down above the skies and lands on all four of her hooves, Spike hopping off from her back. I come forward as she closes the both of her wings after having landed back on Ponyville soil again. "Hey Twi!" I call out to her, getting her attention.

She turned to the sound of my voice with her ears perking up while I move closer. A smile was brought onto her face when she saw me from those violet eyes of hers. "Hey there Brayden," She says to me when I approach her. The both of us share a gentle peck on the lips and then separate. "It's good to see you again after a lecture in Canterlot." She says, while I walk next to her.

"It is alway good to see you Twi." I said to her, placing my right arm around her neck to keep her comfortable with me. "You seemed quite a bit worried when I saw you coming down from the sky and I was wondering if everything is okay."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't usually look this worried after speaking to groups of ponies; whether stallion or mare. It's what I am concerned about," I said to her, Spike joining beside her on her right while I'm on her left side. "Did something go wrong at the lecture?"

"There were no problems Brayden that were major..." Twilight says to me, and then exhales a sigh before turning to look at me. "I thought I saw her with my own eyes during the lecture itself among the other ponies..."

"Who?" I had to ask.

"Remember when you were in the mirror world? Me and my friends in that village?" She says to me, the tone of her voice became more worried than ever and it was almost like she was shaking. "I swear that I saw Starlight Glimmer at the lecture. The one behind all of replacing cutie marks with equal signs."

"Starlight Glimmer?" Spike asked, a look upon his face that he thought Twilight was going to start panicking again, and a bit suspicious at the same time. I don't think I even notice the knapsack on his back as well.

"I was sure I saw her Spike," She responds to her assistant, turning her head to look at him. "But when I looked again, she was gone! I'm just worried what she could be up to."

"Nothing good I bet," Spike's voice drops down as he also probably remembers Twilight telling him about this Starlight Glimmer, but I still don't know what she looks like... yet. "I heard she wasn't happy the last time you saw her."

"Forcing everypony in her village to have the same cutie mark wasn't right," Twilight said, sounding like she was worried out of her mind about this. I wasn't there at the lecture, but I'm pretty sure that something caused her to see this Starlight sitting there and watching her the entire time. "We had to do something!"

"And I am proud that you and our friends had to stand up to her in order to keep the peace and the rights to everypony living there." I said to her.

"And now she's coming back for revenge." Spike speaks out, causing me to turn and look at him with a glare for opening his big mouth a little too early at the bad start. I turn back to Twilight, seeing that she is shaking... probably very nervous and scared at the same time on even the thought of that mare she told me about. Spike without the big mouth needs to hide the fact of mentioning the word 'revenge' to her. "Uh, or she was just really interested in your speech!"

I gently place my right hand that had been resting around Twilight's neck, on her back to give it a gentle rub to keep her comfortable and cheer her up from this. She stops shaking for a moment when I touched her, turning to look at me. "Don't worry about it Twilight. When you mentioned her name to me, even I thought I saw her back in Canterlot, but it could have been another mare just sitting there with her face hidden from sight. Probably looking to find the right entree if you ask me." My mouth forms a smile on my face to show some good feelings towards my special somepony.

"Thanks Brayden..." She says to me, a silent sigh emerging from past his lips inaudible to me. That warm, affectionate smile crawls upon her mouth aimed right at me in my sight.

"I'm always here for you, like you are there for me in my time of need." I respond to her, my brown eyes momentarily staring into her beautiful heavenly eyes. Her left hoof lifts, taking my right hand and beginning to hold it with that soft feeling that I loved each time we were out on a date or cuddling together.

She turns her head to look back at her assistant. "Honestly, both of you. I'm not really sure what I saw. But as long as I have my friends, I know everything will be alright."

"That's what I like to hear, Twi." I told her, my right hand's fingers curling around her left front hoof holding my hand.

We began heading towards Twilight's castle, as it looks like my training will have to be delayed for only some time. Apologies to the Song of Order, but seeing how easy it can be to lose focus and gain it towards spending some time with Twilight, I can only sincerely hope that it understands.

"I can see you brought out the Song of Order today. Any plans with it today?" Twilight asked me, noticing now that it rests, sheathed behind my back.

I shook my head in response with a smile. "Originally I was going to, but since you're here my training will have to wait for a few hours. I'm pretty sure that I feel like spending some time together. Maybe a date?" I said to her.

"Oh boy." I can hear the Song of Order respond behind me, sounding like this was typical of me to slack off from this.

Twilight giggles as we head on our way, my feet walking beside her as she trots down the pathway to her castle. "Of course Brayden, I'm always open for you when I'm not busy. Asked me at a good time as well." She says to me after that giggle she made.

"So how's been life in Equestria going for you?" I can hear Spike asking me that question. I turn to look at him, smiling in response and listening to his question.

"It's going fantastic Spike," I answered. "I've been to the rock farm on the south-western end of Equestria to meet Pinkie's family. Hung out with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash over the last few days. Rainbow needed me to see her flight tricks and I thought they are pretty good if she is still trying to get into the Wonderbolts. It's a dream for her after all."

"I also heard from Twilight that you..." He said with a sly, yet joking voice in his tone. "You are the son of Celestia herself, aren't you?"

"Uhhh, yeah..." I said, getting a little bit uncomfortable at being told that I am Celestia's 'son' when I'm not ready to acknowledge her as 'mother' just yet. "It's true, but I don't feel comfortable still calling her mom and I would appreciate it if I'm not referred to as her son as of right now. The public cannot know just yet, as there will be an outcry among many and would shock... maybe surprise them out of nowhere," Me, Twilight and him approach the castle, my feet stepping up onto those golden steps to reach from the large double doors. "Last thing I want is to look like a celebrity."

"Oh gee," Spike says to me. "I didn't think that you would share the same blood as her, so I was surprised myself when Twilight told me."

"Spike," Twilight says, sounding like she is giving a bit of a warning. "Anypony could be listening, so I suggest that we all drop that subject until Brayden tells the public himself, right?"

"Hm, right." Spike says, clicking his tongue from inside his closed teeth and as a joke winking at me like he 'isn't' going to open his mouth and tell anypony, let alone our friends. But Celestia forbid he tells Pinkie... she'd literally gallop about town running the news off to everypony.

We open the doors into the grand staircase at the bottom of the castle floor, passing the entrance. From there we move forward, making a right towards the staircase and beginning to walk up. I can hear the sound of Twilight's hooves on the gold-colored crystalline steps of the stairs as we proceed upward towards the main hall.

"Anything in mind you want to do tonight?" Twilight asked me, the tone of her voice sounding happy and comfortable once again.

"Well, I figured we could do a little bit of something here at the castle. Read books, have dinner, cuddle perhaps?" I suggested to her, with nothing else really on my mind on what me and her could really do in Ponyville, though there are some places I will have to consider going to with Twilight on future dates unless... I get the thought of the question, but no idea when it'll happen.

"You always have the most brightest of all date ideas Brayden," Twilight responds, her eyes turning to look at me. "Your turns are up, but on the next date I'll make sure that I get to pick something for the both of us to enjoy alright?"

"Sounds good Twi." I said to her, removing my hand from her hoof.

I placed my right hand onto her mane, giving it soft and gentle strokes on her soft, silky mane briefly on our way up. Knowing she would be comfortable now that I'm here, I remove my hand from her mane when we arrived at the top of the stairs, her magic channeling from her horn to surround that aura of her magic around her bags resting on her sides. Her bags are removed and she hangs them up on the nearby bag rack.

"Maybe I was just more stressed about that speech than I thought." Twilight says to me, sounding like a load of distress that had been place onto her before was already gone in an instant. I continue to trot alongside as we begin making our way down the hall towards the room with the map.

"Yeah." I can hear Spike agreeing with her, even sounding relieved himself. Probably that Twilight didn't panic and that I was there to help her calm down. "That sounds better than Starlight Glimmer coming back with an evil plot for revenge."

"If you think about it, Twilight told me she galloped off into the mountains. She's probably still there thinking it over from the last experience with her," I said to her, only making some theories on even why she thought she saw her... probably remembering a past memory. "Perhaps it's a sign that she's coming back from the mountain passage and she's learned the value of what friendship is after all."

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter anymore now. It was probably my imagination Brayden." She says to me, approaching the door to the map room, being that they were another set of double doors. Her magic is channeled again, opening the doors on approach and then all three of us stopping and standing there as another giggle comes from her. "Well, when both of you say it like that, it does sound kind of silly."

"Or it's totally true!" We could hear Spike say to us, sounding like it really is a good time to panic. Both myself and Twilight turn to look at him, seeing that fearful expression on his face and his eyes just darting across the room in realization that all three of us weren't alone in the map room. Spike you better not be playing a trick on us... I turn to look and gasped silently when I saw that somepony in the room before my own eyes.

She was seated in the map room, right where Fluttershy was supposed to be whenever there were meetings in the castle for my friends. The coat... the mane... all of it I remember from the restaurant back in Canterlot, as I recall the color of the pale, light grayish heliotrope for the coat of light fur and that mane of moderate purple carrying streaks of lighter purple and a pale light grayish aquamarine. She is leaning back in Fluttershy's throne seat, front hooves behind her head and her back hooves propped up onto the map.

But those eyes staring by that demented smile on her face... the color of them is a Moderate persian blue and I could tell by that face that she had been expecting us. Before she opened her mouth to speak, I knew that Spike was right all along and even Twilight herself too though I doubted her at first... this all made sense now on who she was mentioning seen during the lecture. Starlight Glimmer. By the time she opened her mouth, I knew she hid some sarcasm in that voice as well as leaving it like it was a surprise for all three of us.

"Welcome home, Twilight!"

All three of us were speechless at first at Starlight's appearance in the room. However since Twilight has met her before, she is the first to set a few hoofsteps from under the door arch and into the map room with myself following behind her slowly. "Starlight Glimmer! What are you doing here?!"

"Surprised to see me? I expected more of a reaction from you when I was hiding in the lecture, watching your every move and speech while talking about yourself." Starlight responded back to her, not taking notice of me there yet.

"But how did you even get into the lecture hall? Security was really tight at the School for Gifted Unicorns!" Twilight responds, still shocked on how she even got there.

Starlight sits up in the throne seat. "Oh that? I had to disguise myself in some way and keep myself out of your eyes when I followed you everywhere. And what of your 'other' friends? How's Moondancer and Discord?"

"They are none of your business firsthoof!" She retorts after having even known that I saw her as well from the restaurant. "And I thought you were in the caverns within the mountain pass to think over last time!"

"I was, but there's always a way out and I knew I had to do something to get back at you and your friends to surprise them in any way, but now that I have what weapon I have, I can make sure that you will be the only one to see it, but I'm sure you want to know more on this to and the danger of what I consider to be 'friendship' and 'cutie marks'!"

Twilight looks like she is getting defensive, though the magic in her horn isn't ignited yet so I don't think a battle between the two mares is going to happen just yet. "Is it why you have come back for revenge?"

"Precisely, Twilight." Starlight claps the both of her hooves together in a joking, yet dark matter. "You and your friends ruined my plans to create a new Equestria from out of the small village and now, why shouldn't I have revenge?" Her eyes then turn to notice me, with a smirk crossing onto her face when she recognized me as the human from the restaurant. "Say... who is this with you and that dragon?"

Twilight trots to the side, standing in front of me ready to defend me if absolutely necessary. "He is my special somepony Brayden, and keep him out of this!"

"Yeah!" Spike agrees with her. "He's none of your business, but only her business!"

Starlight's horn channels with the aura of turquoise and uses her magic to teleport herself over in front of Twilight. "Why else should I not be able to talk to him? He seems rather interesting... and lookie here, he's not a stallion nor mare which means... no cutie mark!" She still holds that smirk on her face as her persian blue eyes turn to look at me.

"I'm warning you now Starlight," Twilight sounds like she is getting a bit aggressive. "I have no idea what you plan to do with Brayden, but keep your hooves off of him!"

Starlight chuckles herself, not taking those eyes off of me. "Now that I've noticed him, I want to know a little bit about him."

"No!" She says to her, standing her ground. "He's not going to open his mouth to speak to you! Why should he after all you did back in the village?"

Starlight could only guffaw, trotting to the side to get even closer to me. "And your name is Brayden as I overheard at the restaurant too, hmm?" She asked me with a sly looking smile crossed onto her face.

"Were you listening in on the conversation?" I look a bit suspicious from what I was hearing.

"Of course, I was trying to find hints on how I could have my revenge on Twilight and those friends of hers that stopped my plans to create an ultimate utopia!"

"It would have failed anyway Starlight." Twilight says to her.

"Who cares?" Starlight turns to look at her with a bit of a glare in her sharp tone. "You were one of the six to help destroy that plan!"

"So that explains why I saw you there at the restaurant in Canterlot." I said to her, just about realizing why she had been doing this the whole time and neither me nor Twilight were aware that she was there in the shadows and hiding to find every detail on how she can make the comeback.

"But why are you here anyway?" I can hear Spike asking from my right.

She turned briefly to look at the dragon and then back at me with a smile upon her evil glare. "Why am I here, little dragon? I'm here because of revenge as I overheard you talking about with Twilight and the human boy Brayden here!"

I felt very ticked off inside when she referred to me as 'human boy'. "Do not refer to me as human boy please." I responded to her comment.

"Nopony said you could talk, but once I show the true reason I'm here you'll know very soon enough what I am trying to achieve." Starlight says, getting up on the both of her back hooves and placing her front hooves onto my chest. "After all, everypony including humans like you should be equal."

I can hear Twilight growling, and muttering something through her closed teeth. "Get your hooves off of Brayden!" All of us could hear my special somepony loudly when Starlight Glimmer put the both of her hooves on me. When she's growling like that, you know very well that you shouldn't mess with Twilight, nor her friends or loved one.

"Hmmmm, nah." The mare says to her, probably pissing her off even more. "I think this boy here would be very resourceful for my needs in order to have revenge. He is just what I need as a... 'captive' you could say. Just like I held you and your friends captive until you accepted our will to be equal no matter what! You had few chances Twilight, but you blew them over 'cutie marks' and 'friendship'!"

I can see her horn channel magic, covering me entirely in that magic aura of hers, being that of a light turquoise color. My feet are lifted up off of the ground and I can only look at the ceiling while I can hear Twilight gasping, which comes off to me as surprise and worry by the tone of it.

"Release him Starlight!" I can hear Twilight shout at her, knowing she'll do what she can to help me out.

"Don't fret about it Twilight Sparkle!" I can hear Starlight say as she moves and begins to trot back towards the map which hasn't been activated yet. "Once I've done what I need to be done, you'll not need to worry about him anymore. He's mine to have!"

"He'll never be yours! He's essential for all of my friends and whatever you plan on doing to him or anything, you're going to be sorry!" Twilight threatens at her, still haven't ignited her magic in a way of hoping Starlight will stand down and think this over.

I feel myself being moved within the aura of Starlight, turned to look and watch what was going on. The mare is now standing at the map with both Twilight and Spike standing there across from the map, unsure as to what is going on with her at the moment. I don't want to struggle or shout at her, as she is a mare herself... but with the Song of Order on my back that she hasn't realized yet, I will defend myself and break that spell around me if I have to.

"Wanna bet?" Starlight says to her, smirking once again.

Her magic sparks up while already lit, seeming to have lifted up what seems to be... a scroll? Her horn sparks again, using it to aim right at the scroll itself, firing a beam of turquoise right there, influencing contact with the crystalline stone grown from the center of the room with a strike of the same color in its lightning. From there, there is light and then the map of the wide world of Equestria being enabled for all four of us in the room to see it. Twilight glares, unaware as both I and Spike were.

"What are you doing Starlight?" Twilight says, a sharp tone of warning in her voice while still looking a bit ticked at what is going on.

Starlight began to laugh wickedly, as even I had no idea what she was doing either. "I'd tell both of you, but I don't want to ruin the surprise!" She says to her, turned to look at Twilight for a moment before turning back to look at the scroll. She is able to crumple it up and throw it between Twilight, Spike and the map before I even had a chance to even begin reading the properties of this scroll itself on what it could do. "Well, won't be needing that anymore..." She says loudly as if she was trying to provoke Twilight.

With her horn channeling once more, she conjures another spell at the map while laughing to her like she finally got world domination. Rings of light began to move upward from the edges of the map itself, like something big was coming that scroll probably has. What exactly was that scroll and I was right about what Twilight told me when I first heard the story. My eyes were on Twilight who at first is shocked at the sight of this magic being brought before all of us. She ignites magic to her horn and fires a bolt of it right at this contraption that Starlight is setting up, but it is to no use as the rings seem to have a barrier.

The rings eventually form together, creating what seem to look like holographic images of clocks scattered in a globe-like cycle, and admittedly I can hear the sound of ticking that normal or grandfather clocks make when each second goes by. I am surprised myself by what is going on, and now I finally realize what this very well mean...

Is she trying to time travel?

The clock holograms and light rings all finish flowing upward into the top of the map room, gathered in an orb of time above, with only the bottom cut off and revealing a pathway into wherever it could take me, but judging by the look on Starlight's face, she has plans herself if this is time travel she was doing as of the moment. She sparks more magic to her horn, allowing her to grip levitation... something that Twilight told me is difficult.

"No!" I shout at the mare before turning to Twilight who was ensuring that Spike doesn't fly in with us to wherever the portal will take me and Starlight. "Twilight! Help me out!"

Twilight can't react, but even when she fires another bolt of magic at Starlight, there is only the risk that she could accidentally hit me in the process if she isn't careful. I can feel the magic pulsating around me, but not from the Song of Order itself which is only singing a little bit to warn me of danger from the mare taking me away from everything.

"Don't worry Brayden, I'll figure something out!" Twilight calls out to me. Even when Starlight turns me around, I can tell she is trying desperately to find a way on stopping this spell that her enemy is doing.

Both myself, limp but still able to move a bit, and Starlight Glimmer ascend towards the event horizon of the portal and with that I can only hear Twilight scream out my name when I was sent directly through the portal and into the green pathway which reminds me of the sequence to enter the mirror world when I decided to visit Sunset while there. Starlight can only stare straight ahead, with her magic still ignited and levitating to get where she needed to go.

"Tell me where you're taking me!" I shouted at her, still having no idea what she was intending to do to Twilight or my friends.

"You'll find out soon enough human!" Starlight says to me while we seem to be rushing on what seems to look like a breeze as we got closer towards the holographic clock ahead.

The portal from behind has closed, so there isn't really any turning back from where me and her were going. I feel like how she told of how she could have use for me... I think she wants me to be her slave and support her wrong-doings even if I don't like it. The speed we are headed towards the end of the spell's tunnel is rather accelerating and everything begins to blind the sight from my eyes as I'm forced to close them to prevent damage.

---

All I hear is the sound of wind... and the magic aura still covering me from head to toe, and only able to move a bit within, but nowhere close to me escaping the grasp. By the time my eyes open up, letting in the light that only blurs me momentarily. It was only another surprise to me when my vision cleared.

I found myself in an earlier Cloudsdale Flight Camp, with a few younger pegasi fillies or foal flying about in the air over the road for where I figure Wonderbolts would do their training... or more rather for those still learning to fly and having races whenever they could. I see only a few familiar faces, except they are younger versions.

"This is the past..." I can hear the Song of Order emitting its voice for me to hear. "That scroll was something that Starlight Glimmer could have taken from somewhere, but my thoughts suggest Canterlot."

I felt myself being dragged in the overskies of Equestria, not once having been noticed by a single filly airbourne or on the clouds. Seeing how this was the past, any alteration could cause a different timeline as even the smallest change can affect the future in many ways possible. It's something that I have learned from a show back on Earth from that time. Both of us were headed toward a small cloud probably for the both of us, probably to interrogate me, but I don't even want to look down from this height, especially since I don't have wings to support me mid-air. Luckily with the Song of Order on my back, I could probably keep in-flight just fine.

"Alright, listen up human." Starlight finally spoke to me, nestling herself inside of the small cloud, and myself just floating right into the white smoke with her. "If you really wanted to know why I have taken you with me, I'll tell you why. You're a part of my plan."

"What plan? And you better not refer to me as human." I both said and asked at the same time, knowing she'll tell me everything now.

"That scroll of magic from a few minutes ago? That was a scroll that I have taken from the Canterlot Archives... or rather 'stolen' it if you know what I mean," She began to explain to me. "After Twilight and her friends foiled my plans to create the perfect society, I wanted revenge! I followed hidden in the shadows for a bit, knowing you were the only one to notice me back there... and then I figured I could have use for you. The plan already came into full motion when I was observing Twilight trying to 'stop' Discord from brainwashing her friends."

"They're my friends too!" I state, sounding a bit harsh towards her.

"Oh, they are, hm?" Starlight says, putting a smile that told me she wasn't surprised at this revelation I told. "Honestly I don't care. When that pink mare brought up time travel, I had to go back to Canterlot, break into the archive to find anything on a scroll especially when Twilight recalled using it last time. I altered the details on that spell, so that when I could use it, I'll be back here in this point of time to make my right decision."

I felt a little uneasy on where this was going. "What decision?" I asked her, a little suspicious about her.

Starlight chuckles to herself, and finally reveals the truth to me. "Why, to prevent Twilight and her friends from ever being able to meet at all. Which is why I finished the spell during Twilight's lecture... heading back to where and when Rainbow Dash performed the first Rainboom. And in short, I will prevent Rainbow Dash from ever causing it in the first place or let alone winning the race!"

Are you serious right now?! She can't do something like that! Without Twilight and her friends meeting, that would mean the Elements of Harmony were never found again... and many worse things to come after that! Who would be able to stop the darkness from attacking these peaceful enchanted lands?

"You can't do that!" I shouted at her.

"Oh, yes I can!" Starlight says to me. "After all, shouldn't everypony be equal?"

"But you're acting like one of those people back from where I came from. You can't force your opinions down our throats and expect everypony to follow! It's not like that at all!" I respond to her. I really wanted her to understand what I am coming at, but to no avail.

She levitates closer towards me, placing the both of her hooves around my neck. I felt very uncomfortable with her touching me after having explained her whole plan behind this. "No matter now, once I have completed what was needed I can finally continue leading that 'village', with you at my side as somepony who has to listen to me, and you're that one race that can help me."

"Get your hooves off of me." I muttered to her with an angered tone in my voice, still feeling uncomfortable.

"Why should I do that? You'd be the perfect candidate as the prince alongside me. You and I, leading our village and expanding until all of Equestria is rid of these cutie marks and special talents!" Starlight says to me, her head moving closer towards me.

"What in Celestia's name are you trying to do?" I sound a little more aggressive. As I am surrounded in Starlight's aura, keeping a hold of me... I cannot escape on what she is going to do with me. Nopony looking, my uncomfortable level reached a whole new level.

Starlight moved her head close and pushed my head forward, forcing myself to get locked into a strained kiss. I feel very uncomfortable and don't kiss her back, but I find myself trying to push her away. Only her eyes are closed and my eyes were open in a complete shock. Figures that she is trying to seduce me to join her side, and goes against everything Twilight has done. But... How dare this mare lay her lips on me!

"Get off me!" I shouted at her, struggling myself out of the kiss. Eventually with some struggling, I was able to move off from her lips and push myself away, while still restrained by the magic. "Get your hooves off of me!"

She was no doubt a little surprised at this, chuckles for a moment before gritting her teeth and forcing me to look her straight in the eye. "You better be lucky that you're all a part of my plan! If you weren't I would have dropped you down from this cloud, seeing that you could very well fall all the way below!" She shouts at me, the tone of her voice gaining quite a temper. "Once I've prevented that Rainboom, you will be my love slave! You'll never say anything, and never will be able to try and re-write that spell I did! Never! There isn't going to be a single thing you'll ever do once this happens!"

"YOU'LL NEVER WIN! TWILIGHT WILL STOP YOU!" I shouted right at her, feeling a bit of my anger arguing right back at her. For here, this was absolutely necessary as I know that this is altering the future to create a dangerous change for Equestria.

"But she isn't here!" Starlight says to me, laughing after having said that. "That scroll has been set out as a trap for her! She'll be here, yes! Exactly what I need for her to watch as the Rainboom is prevented!"

"So you set her up!" I said to her, feeling like I wanted to attack her, but kept myself from doing so. "You don't have to do this! Doing so, changes the future in many ways where the outcome is bad!"

"And do you have proof of that?! No!" Starlight says to me.

The sound of pegasi chattering among one another grew silent, catching both the attention of myself and Starlight Glimmer. To her however, this probably meant showtime. The race between Rainbow Dash and the bullies were about to begin within a few moments. That cruel smile upon her face, and myself moving upward in the aura, forcing me to watch this dramatic turn of events.

The race has already begun, and I can only watch as the younger version of Fluttershy is knocked off of the cloud, screaming as she fell. I couldn't find myself to shout out her name or acknowledge, as even something like that could change the future from even the smallest change. What Starlight was planning to do, was going to be a major change for the future of events yet to come if she succeeds.

Wait, I see Twilight and Spike! They're watching what is going on from another cloud, and they haven't seemed to have noticed me being held hostage or Starlight just yet. I'm quite angry towards Starlight who not only wants to prevent Twilight and her friends from meeting, but also wants me to be a slave to her without any freedom and let alone hold me hostage.

My eyes turn towards the filly version of Rainbow Dash, watching as she is rocketing forward in a zip line, raining downward towards the ground to get that boost in order to process a Sonic Rainboom. I can see the power starting to flow in front of her as she moves closer towards the position that Starlight Glimmer is hiding me in. In my mind, I am a bit worried about what this mare holds even by her ignited horn when it begins to spark again.

Moments before that big memorable moment, I witness as her horn shoots out a beam of turquoise magic to encover and hold the filly Rainbow Dash in place upon impact. I can hear the filly shout with a bit of surprise when she was covered by this magic.

"Aw, sorry about this!" I can hear Starlight say to her even within that close range.

It was from here that I watch as the bullies managed to beat her in the race while she was being held and locked in place by the magic of this vengeful rogue.

My heart begins to feel a bit of pain as soon as the bullies won the race. Without the Rainboom now, I can feel it within my heart that the young Twilight back in Canterlot was unable to unlock her element within... preventing her from getting into the School of Gifted Unicorns. Fluttershy, unable to find a way to gain her element of kindness even after she was saved by the swarm of butterflies. Applejack, still in Manehattan with her relatives and unsure as to getting home back to Sweet Apple Acres. Pinkie, still living on the rock farm and without a clear and bright sky to show her that a party can change everything. And Rarity? Still flustered on how it's just a giant rock and pushing it off into the gorge below... never again to find that talent for dress-making and generosity.

It seemed like moments passed when Starlight held her in place much to my horror as well as Twilight's. Rainbow Dash is released, but she looks very disappointed for having lost the race to the bullies there.

Twilight on the other note, came flying towards the both of us and to my relief as well as I know she's got to get me out of Starlight's grasp. Flapping her wings, she approached the rogue raising her tone to sound both angry and confused at the same time. "What did you do?!" She shouts at her.

Starlight could only offer her an evil smile, responding to her question. "You are about to find out."

That orb appears above both Twilight and Spike who is riding on her back the entire time with the green pathway seen like a wind tunnel. The both of them look like they are getting pulled almost instantly, dragged right back down into the future.

"Bah!" I can hear Starlight say to me and turn me around under the orb of the time travel spell to face her. "Spoiler alert: I wasn't actually planning on having you as my slave anyway! Though I did attempt to seduce you onto my side, you won't listen to reason. So, fare thee well... human boy. Have fun with that 'Twilight' in another world that is equal and under my hoof!"

I can feel myself being dragged down for a moment and thrown upwards right towards the spell's portal, and the aura of Starlight's magic being released from myself, allowing me to move once again, but the portal has closed right behind me, so I can't really grab the Song of Order I have on my back, sheathed carefully.

I felt myself following down the same path that both Twilight and Spike were taking, rushing down the tunnel of green and past the many holographic clocks, showing the events that were meant to be, not existing at all anymore. The event horizon was much closer than I thought, as I impact it and find my surroundings in white at first.

---

The white fades off quickly and the spell's portal spit me out onto a hard surface behind me, catching me by surprise. It wasn't really painful, but it does catch me off-guard and finding myself in the outdoors once again and on the ground once the portal disappears out of sight.

I groan as I begin getting up off of the ground with the sound of hooves approaching me. It was Twilight herself who looked really worried about myself and feared on what Starlight was going to do with me. "Are you alright Brayden?!" She says to me, offering me a hoof to help me back up and onto the both of my feet.

I take her soft hoof, allowing her to help me up. I got up onto my two feet and glance right at her from there. "When Starlight took you with her back there, I got so worried about what she was going to do with you! I'm so sorry that I couldn't stop her from taking you!" She sounds a little panicked from the witness back at Twilight's castle.

"It's alright Twi," I said to her, placing my right hand onto her left cheek, trying to keep her calm. "But many worse things came along when she brought me back there..."

"What do you mean?" She asked me.

I sighed from even remembering the memories of what happened back in the past there with Starlight's attempt to seduce me. "Starlight was trying to apparently make me her slave... she was forcing me to kiss her, and I was lucky to have shoved her off of me."

"She did?!" Twilight exclaims all of a sudden, the tone of her voice turning aggressive and filled with fury. "I can't believe that even somepony like her would try to get you to belong to her!" That angry look on her face changed when she realizes that all three of us have to calm about this. Twilight just softly groans to her before continuing, sounding a bit calmer. "I don't know what Starlight's up to yet, but we'd better figure it out before it's too late."

"Um, Twilight?" The both of us turn to look at Spike who is standing up on the crystalline map itself, shining the holographic images of what was in Equestria as of right now. He points upward with his right claw towards the sky. "I think it already is."

When Twilight looks around, she made the sudden gasp of realization which I believed was true and even I knew what it very well meant as well. The castle walls no longer surrounding the map itself, the sun light shining over Equestria with a much dim red to accompany the skies... the waterfall behind Twilight's castle was still there, but even I am as shocked as ever, minus how the map still stood there lonely...

Twilight's castle was gone!

"Uh, Twilight?" Spike asked again, snapping Twilight out of this horrifying moment that we were living in. "Where's your castle?"

"The map pulled us back, but whatever Starlight did in the past changed things here!" While she was explaining this to the both of us, I took a look right on the map that has a different tint of color added to the map as it was almost like a blood red.

Every place on the map looked exactly the same, with only the slight major change to the northern part of Equestria since the alteration Starlight has caused. Only the Crystal Empire looks a little bit different, like it was a darkening tint of black with an eerie shadow seeming to loom over it accompanied by the aura of red. No wonder even the skies of Equestria itself seem more depressing.

"But why?" Spike opens up again, a thousand questions probably running through his head just like my own as of now. "And how did we get here? Where's here?"

Twilight brought out the scroll from within his backpack he was still wearing. "More like... when..." I said to Spike, turning to look at the dragon standing there on one of the ruined throne seats to get a glimpse on what Equestria looked like now.

"What do you mean?" He asked me.

Twilight was the first to answer those exact words I have told the both of them. "Starlight altered Star Swirl's spell, then somehow used it on the map to travel into the past and change something!" My eyes were taken off to look at the realm of Equestria around us, surrounded in its once glory, blotted by the depression that took to even the far reaches. "Once she did, the map pulled us back to the present!"

"So we're back where - I mean when we started?" Spike asked again.

"Not exactly." Twilight responded, a little surprised by this change herself after having witnessed it. I turn to examine the map once again most directed towards the Crystal Empire. "Everything's different. Look... The map doesn't even make any sense anymore! The Crystal Empire takes up half of Equestria!"

"Plus there's the whole missing castle thing." Spike stated which was something pretty obvious that we didn't need to know again after having seen it with our own eyes.

"Right!" Twilight says to the both of us. "This is too big to handle on our own."

"You think?" Spike could only say, hopping down from the throne to join up between me and her.

"We need to find our friends and get help!" Twilight could only respond, seeing how she always comes up with the perfect solutions.

"You take the lead, I'll be on the lookout for any danger that should threaten." I said to her, the Song of Order on my back and waiting to be sheathed in case. The Song of Order has not responded to me from its telepathic speech, but it's singing warning has toned down for now to a gentle hum without any danger nearby.

Spike joins beside me while I am walking behind her on the short pathway down from where the castle should have been. My eyes are perched over the crawling horizon with only a small cloud of smoke nearby. A riot perhaps? Maybe it was an incident and that an experiment had gone wrong in town. Because of time alteration, things shouldn't be too bad in Ponyville right?

I was completely wrong though...

Ponyville looked to be a bit deserted by the looks of it, with only a spare few galloping about for shelter to hide. I could tell this from when the light of Celestia's sun shone over the town, revealing a few details from what I knew. Each home or small shop looks to be boarded up from the windows to the front and back doors to prevent entry perhaps? Were they hiding from me? Wait... could Starlight have altered the past to make my human presence look like an enemy.

I can hear a crow cawing from the green fields of Equestria, pecking out the last of wild grass for the animals and then flying off to devour its remains by carrying it in its beak. I pick up my speed a bit to join up with Twilight.

Spike's attention was brought away when he turned towards one of the closed houses, seeing only an open window there to bring in light. One of the villagers hiding in the shadows was in that house, coming in through the light to reveal herself before him, as I stop to watch. It's Golden Harvest. Spike waves to her hoping for a positive response. But with both of her eye set on me and then him, she looks frightened and closes the curtains from her window, now hidden again.

"I'm gettin' a bad feeling about this Twilight." I can hear Spike comment, him joining as well on Twilight's right side after we have picked up the pace with Twilight trotting slowly and trying not to be a threat to anypony like we would seem to be.

"I know Spike, but this is Ponyville." Twilight says, turning to look at her assistant. "How bad could things be?"

It all turned for the worse when the shadow of the sweet shop, the Sugarcube Corner was unveiled before our own eyes. It doesn't even look like it from back in the original timeline... it reveals itself to be more of a shop that sells loaves of bread, size, flavor... you name it. Not even a mention of the name is found either.

"Is... is that Sugarcube Corner?" I had asked, seeing that even the bread shop looks boarded up as well to most likely prevent theft from probably stealing the scraps that haven't been sold at all.

Twilight looks speechless as well when we were observing the once-Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie would usually be with Sonata to bake together. Wait... this is an alternate timeline... so Sonata was never brought back to Equestria from the mirror world and was still a part of the sirens... holy cow that is some bad news that I can only predict myself... "I don't understand..." I can hear Twilight say to her.

I place my right hand onto her back, giving her a gentle rubs to keep her calm. "Don't worry," I responded to her. The both of us turn to look at one another. "Once we find Starlight, I swear that we will bring her to justice no matter the cost."

Twilight moves her head closer towards me while that worried and sad look on her face remains, gently nuzzling my right cheek with her left cheek. "I just wish I could understand more about why she was able to acquire this time-travelling spell." She tells me.

A gasp of alarm snapped us out of this quick, and quiet moment between both myself and hers abruptly which sounded like Spike himself like it was a group of dangerous creatures out of the Everfree Forest. After having turned to look at him, it was more solely him gasping at something has just saw when looking in a completely different direction. It looks like the Carousel Boutique nearby and even I know he would be this shocked. Well, seeing how I know that he has a crush on Rarity it does explain everything.

Twilight and myself followed after the young dragon as he runs as fast as his baby dragon feet could carry him when approaching the abandoned looking Carousel Boutique. Its doors bordered closed like every other home or shop in town. The town hall we saw from the distance looks rather deserted as well as the windmill with only the small silent breezes of wind to process the speed of the turbine.

"Rarity?!" Spike calls out to the building, panting after having ran from the Sugarcube Corner all the way over to here. He ran over towards the front door of the shop, banging on the door and hoping for an answer from anypony inside, even if it was Rarity herself in there...

Spike moves next to the window after the door wouldn't open nor budge even by the boards on the frame of the door to keep it from doing so. "Rarity!" He acknowledges her name in a shout once again, peeking through the small opening that the wood bars haven't blocked out once the home/shop was boarded to be left forgotten by most of the changed society.

"I don't think she's here Spike. I'm not sure anything we know is the same." Twilight told her assistant, only for both of us to see his disappointed face. But all hope is not lost from there, as Twilight places her hoof onto her assistant with a smile abroad her face. His green eyes turn to look at her violet eyes. "But I know one place that could never change!"

"Sweet Apple Acres?" I guessed.

"Right!" Twilight responds to me, a bright tone in the sound of her voice. "And all three of us know Applejack herself as a close friend, even I am sure she will understand what is going on." All of us turn to go down another direction to the path we usually took to get to Sweet Apple Acres from there. I know that Applejack will be there and should be happy to see us!

Or maybe not...

The farm itself looked completely changed when we stopped right under the wooden arch holding that apple sign there carved in wood to symbolize Sweet Apple Acres... or what had turned into a massive food production industry, spewing out smoke from the chimney pipes like any other factory back on Earth, where even then it would be pollution in the atmosphere, destroying it from years to come slowly at a time.

I begin moving closer towards the expanded barn, unable to see through the windows from any of the dust particles that had been there for quite some time, worn over the window from both the exterior and the interior itself. I can hear Twilight trotting behind me, notifying me that she was following behind. My body stops there in front of the window, with only the illusion of steam coming through the dusted image inside.

All I had to do really is wipe a bit of the particles to shine in the window in order to see what was truely going on in there...

I was horrified at what the barn itself had turned into. Apples moving along in a single line after having been picked ripe from the trees of the farm, ready to carved away by automatic machines. There's a pot with its lid rattling with metal sounds each time there had been pressure as I can only watch as the apple slices move along into another machine where the fate of the fruits having been carved for supplies come out in a different kind of packaging... cans themselves. Slapped there is a logo of Granny Smith herself, another member of the family and a good friend to me, as poured into them before being slammed shut and encased by a wooden hammer were what look to be a much cheaper version of apple sauce.

From inside past the machinery, I thought I recognized those two familiar faces in there working with the equipment. Big Macintosh was there, what seems to look like a surgical mask over his snout like there was a dangerous pandemic going on around the place. Could that have been the reason why everypony was hiding? I don't think even that would answer my question as the Crystal Empire has the majority of Equestria as of now. The other being a mare, and I knew that was my close friend Applejack... but except seems different to me...

Hm, reminds me of the 1940's propaganda that I can recall seeing in History class when learning about the world wars that went on there, as she is gathering a barrel already filled with these cans of food, ready to ship them off somewhere. She moves out of the barn window's sight, but I turn to my right to notice that wagon open with its barrels sitting there to be loaded on.

Twilight had also looked within the walls of the factory barn, even surprised as what was going on in there as well. I had my close eyes off from the scene going on, now witnessing Applejack rolling the barrel herself from the barn to join with the others. Now I feel sad that she isn't wearing her usual Stetson-hat that I always remember her wearing. Twilight hasn't noticed yet, so I tap her a few times on the back to signal her attention.

She turns to look at me, still holding a face that wondered if everything was alright. I raise my right hand a bit, pointing out AJ to her in order to get her to notice. Twilight and Spike who had been watching as well, turn to see their best friend working away under the cloudy skies of pollution. I can hear Twilight gasp with excitement, glad that all three of us were able to find our honest pal.

"Applejack!"

The earth pony's ears perk up at the sound of Twilight calling her name. She turns to look at all three of us moving forward to approach our friend. Twilight of course, is the first to set hoof forward with relief to see her and seems to share a friendly hug with her. I don't think this AJ really feels this to be a good moment though, judging by the slightly awkward and serious look on her face.

She lightly pushes Twilight back a bit from the hug with a single hoof, trying to keep the situation as calm as possible. "What can Ah do fer ya?" She asked us in the recognizable southern accented voice I loved to hear whenever I was with friends.

"It's so good to see you!" Twilight sounds this thankful for quite a blessing like this to happen when no other friend has come up. I nod with her in agreement. "We couldn't find Pinkie or Rarity or Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash, but I knew you'd still be here!"

"Of course Ah am." Applejack looks a little confused. "This is mah home. But who in tarnation is Pinkie Bow and Flutterdash? Or ya fer that matter?"

"You... don't know who I am?" Twilight responded while Applejack trots over towards the barrels to get one onto the wagon.

I had to respectfully pull Twilight right to the side for a moment, as just as confused as this universe' version of Applejack was about everything going on, she sounds like she is too. Twilight turns to look at me, knowing that I probably had something to say and it could either be information that I knew or bad news to tell her.

"Twi," I responded to her. "We're dealing with this alteration where this is a universe in which you never met Applejack, so she wouldn't know who you were. So what Starlight Glimmer did was alter the effects, preventing you from being able to meet her in the future."

She felt a little sad about this with her ears flopping down for a moment until I placed my hand onto her right cheek. Her head turns up and her beautiful eyes stare back at mine. "I'll talk to her for you." Twilight nods, her ears perking back up to watch me interact with this version of my close friend. I turn to see Applejack placing the barrel onto the wagon she rolled it up on. "So you don't know who Twilight, Spike or even myself is?" I had asked.

"Nope." Applejack responded to me after standing that barrel the right way up and trotting forward to get down from the wheel. "Honestly, the only name Ah recognize is Rarity, but she left fer Manehatten years ago."

"Probably to become a world-famous fashion designer, I bet." Spike says.

Applejack could only shake her head, hopping down off from the wagon and joining us again. "Not that Ah know of. Last Ah heard, she went to help with the cause like everypony else."

"The cause?" Twilight asked, unsure as to what AJ was talking about.

"The war against King Sombra and the Crystal Empire." That was the words that I feared I would hear even in this world, and I could tell it was bad judging by the mass of the Crystal Empire lands expanding and the palace itself in a dark crystalline color of grim.

"WHAT?!" All three of us shout simultaneously, unable to unhear what was heard.

Applejack still looks confused. "Where have ya three been? And Ah'm guessing yer a human that Ah remember Granny Smith readin' to me from bedtime stories. If so, it's mah first experience seein' one... Ah guess."

"Actually, it's when." Spike says, looking like he was trying not to faint from the news brought before him by this version of Applejack.

Twilight trots forward past me once again, approaching Applejack. "I know this is hard to believe, but you and I and those other ponies I mentioned are friends!"

"Did ya bump yer head on a crate of cider or somethin'?" Applejack says, probably already thinking she was crazy to even bring these news along to her when she didn't even know her in the first place.

"I'm telling you the truth!" Twilight responds to her. "And if you come with us, I'll prove it."

I can hear Applejack sigh, in a mild annoyed tone. "Alright, but this better not be a waste of mah time." She responds to her, Twilight turning another direction and trotting past me.

We can only follow Twilight now, and I'll keep an eye on Applejack. She might not know me here, but hopefully seeing this map can convince her otherwise... it just has to take a bit of persuasion no matter how honest Applejack is.

"Well, Ah'll admit... Ah've lived in these parts mah whole life and Ah've never seen this before."

That was Applejack's first response to seeing the map with her very own eyes as I took a seat on Rarity's throne for the time being as well Twilight taking her seat at her own throne. Spike is looking over the map of Equestria watching over the enchanted lands and keeping an eye out for any changes should there be any.

"There's also supposed to be a castle that goes with it." Spike comments.

Applejack trots over beside Twilight's throne. "But Ah still don't see what this has to do with you and Ah bein' friends." She responds to her, while I sit there in silence to listen to their conversation.

Twilight looks down at the map at first, trying to process on what she was going to tell Applejack, even if she thought she was lying to her. But she has to explain to her what was going on no matter the cost. "Another pony named Starlight Glimmer used this map to travel through time and change things in the past," She explains even on such short notice which I am completely fine with. "For some reason, the map's here but everything is different!"

"Probably because the map itself was used for the spell and is a bearer from that spell." I can hear the Song of Order say to me, which nopony else could hear.

"Different how?" Applejack questioned.

"Well for one thing, where we come from there's no war with King Sombra." Twilight says, her left front hoof touching the map in the process and watching everything that slowly moves back on the region part of Equestria. "Maybe you could tell us how the war started, then we can figure out when everything changed."

Hmmm... probably when the Shadow Nation attacked. Nah wait, this is no time to joke around on that meme.

"That's easy enough..." Applejack says to us, exhaling a sigh like this was living back in a terrible past which would remind me of when the elderly back on Earth have told me about the second World War. "When the Crystal Empire returned, it brought King Sombra back with it."

I can only listen to her story on it, while in my imagination I am hearing the sounds of the chains and slavery that went on there, with the tyrant unicorn king of steel laughing in the darkness as he told his subjects to kneel down to her forcefully from below the crystal palace. I can hear my heart start to beat faster when I am hearing the news about this, like this was the first time ever being in an alternate Equestria that sounds let alone similar to the World Wars... except its happening here.

"It didn't take long for him to force every one of his subjects to fight for him against Equestria." Applejack continued to explain with the sound of marching hooves coming in from my imagination. The war between Celestia's royal guard and their indoctrinated Crystal citizens fighting... and I thought I saw a vision of Rainbow Dash herself on the battlefield with Pinkie there and Maud as pegasi soldiers. That would have been awesome to see.

"And even with Princess Celestia leadin' the charge, it still takes every last pony in Equestria doin' their part, workin' day 'n' night, to keep up the fight." Applejack finishes, with only the saddest days seen in visions from this world of Manehattan filled with Crystal Empire refugees and the train sending citizens off to another city distant from Manehattan as it could strike probably in days. By the time she is done her story though, the imagination ends there struck by reality and what horrors was going on.

Twilight was surprised herself to even hear that story. "I just can't believe it!" She says. "Except for Brayden here, we stopped King Sombra! You and me and all of our friends!"

Applejack shook her head in disapproval to her statement. "But we aren't friends," She tells her to her own dismay. "At least not here..."

Twilight looks a little disappointed. "Right..."

All of us were in silence and Applejack didn't know how to respond after Twilight simply replied like that. Spike himself could only watch to, waiting for either me or AJ to speak. Perhaps waiting for Twilight to speak up again.

"Look," I kind of predicted Applejack would speak up again in a tone that she did all she could here. "Ah hope all this helped, but Ah really need to get back to cannin' those apples."

Those very words from Applejack herself does give Twilight and myself a bit of confidence on what we could think of doing. No, I'm not thinking we should try to step into Crystal Empire territory and face off against King Sombra and his armies of thousands... it would be suicide to even attempt that as three alone. "Thank you," She tells her, grateful for hearing the information on how the war started. "We're going to set things right."

Applejack could only sigh and turn around to trot away, still speaking though it would be the last we'd hear from this alternate universe version of her. "Ah hope ya do."

Applejack trots off into the distance, heading back to the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Now it was just me, Twilight and our other friend Spike with us. All there by ourselves with the map just glowing away with a red color included with it.

"So..." Spike is the first to talk to us both after watching this version of my close friend leave. "How are we gonna set things right?"

"I don't know!" Twilight gets up off of her throne trotting towards me while her eyes were wathcing her assistant. "The only thing we know for sure is that Starlight stopped the Rainboom."

"And that the map's still here." Spike stated, seeing that is quite true as normally it wouldn't be here if the spell was used in another alternative way.

A happy gasp of discovery came from Twilight's mouth as she zips over towards her assistant. "Spike, that's it!" She responds to him with a happy tone in her voice before turning to look at me. "The map is connected to the Tree of Harmony! It must sense that something isn't right! That's why it's still here!" Well, mystery solved there, so sorry about that Song of Order.

She channels magic to her horn and opens up Spike's backpack to get out the time travelling scroll. "I'll just use Starlight's version of the spell and go back a little earlier and stop her before she even knows we're there!"

Twilight hops up onto the top of the magic from where Starlight Glimmer was floating over before I was brought back into the past. Spike hops up as well and then again onto her back to ride. She then turns to look at me. "Brayden, take and hold onto my hoof. Because we're at a big height, I don't want you to fall."

I nod in agreement and get up off of Rarity's throne and place myself onto the top of the map which ripples in response from our activity on top of it. I can hear paper rustling and could tell that it was the scroll itself she was working on. Spike touches it, placing it in his backpack and closing it when the light rings began to appear once again with the portal above us back to where the Rainboom was supposed to happen.

I take Twilight's hoof and hold onto it, as we find ourselves flung from the here and now, back into the portal leading us backwards again in time. Yes... the sounds of the rushing winds and the clockworks ticking away at what time it possibly could be. The event horizon was much closer than I thought it would be this time when all three of us smash into the holographic clock itself with a brief flash of light.

---

The light lifts and I find myself still holding onto Twilight's soft hoof and the speed that the portal took us at, slowing down. Spike nearly fell there through the clouds, but with Twi's magic she was able to stop something bad from happening to her assistant. I look down from Cloudsdale this high up in the skies and atmosphere, and wow did I never get this nervous in my life... this vertigo nearly made me let go of Twilight's hoof.

Either than me now just getting this used to be up above the clouds, well slightly above, everything looks to be as according as planned for being able to stop Starlight a little early, though we'd have to find her hiding spot that I can remember from that certain spot on the cloud. Twilight flaps her wings, relieved that we were back.

"Good, we're back." Twilight says to the both of us. "Both of you keep an eye out like I am. All we have to do is find Starlight and-"

The sound of a magic bolt heading toward all three of us caught myself off-guard. The Song of Order began sanging immediately of danger nearby, but it sung too late by the time the bolt had hit us. I find myself unable to move and covered in crystal along with Twilight who is frozen there on the spot and frozen in place... like me.

"Well, finding her will be easy!" I can hear that voice again of that mare who tried to seduce me and stopped the Rainboom from happening, with Starlight Glimmer herself coming out from the shadows to face herself before us. I want to form an angry expression upon my face, but I am unable to change my surprised look on my face. "But stopping her's gonna be harder than you think!"

Starlight used her magic, floating around the crystal we were imprisoned in while she was talking to Twilight herself, not focused on me this time. Better get ready for her, she'll probably go on a rant this time, and probably reveal some secrets like every villain that hides it verbally. While she begins, I think the crystal is slowly sinking through the clouds next to the race track for the Pegasi.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I created that spell to send myself back in time. So when you cast it, I still get sent back here. It wasn't difficult to change Star Swirl's spell. He'd already done the hard part, but figuring out I could use the map to go to any time or place and pull you along with me?" She lets out a bit of a short laugh. "I even impressed myself with that." Her face began to grow serious and angry from there on forward. "I knew you'd try to stop me. You're so predictable. Why else would I leave the scroll behind? Touching it triggered the map to whisk you here and watch me erase the one thing that linked you with your friends!"

Goodness, now I remember everything Twilight told me about Starlight Glimmer and her plans in that village that the map called them to... That's when she finally set her hooves down on the crystal to accelerate its sinking speed.

"My village was a sanctuary of equality, where nopony's cutie mark allowed them to feel superior!" Starlight does sound pissed now that you think about it. "It was a special place, and you and your friends took it away!"

She disappears from our sight at the top of cloud, now covered in a complete white. The bottom of the cloud has opened up and the sound of magic is heard not from Twilight, but more rather Starlight above the cloud who uses her magic to levitate herself from the cloud and downward to face us again at the sinking crystal we are stuck in. The look on Twilight's face has changed its shocked expression as she looks back at Starlight.

"Now it's my turn to take something special from you!" She continues. "I tried to get your special somepony here to come onto my side, but that human boy won't listen to me as he'd rather side with you, the predictable and the spoiler! But as for you in the end... Without the rainboom, you and your friends will never form your special cutie mark bonds! Cutie marks for cutie marks! Sounds like a fair deal to me!"

With that, the mare herself places her right front hoof onto the crystal itself, her eyes turning to look at me in the process with a cruel smile upon her face as a way to try and tell me that I could have taken sides with her. With a slip from the puff, I can see ourselves falling from within the crystal and downward in the skies while Starlight waves at us still floating in that same spot.

The worse for all of us though is that we were falling and were bound to make target for the soil of Equestria down below, with our expressions still looking shocked and surprised. I am still unable to move or react to any of this at all...

From within the crystal, I can hear Twilight channeling magic to her horn to try and break us out from the crystal prison. A few sparks are heard before I can hear the power level of her magic powering through with a flash of light. The prison itself begins to crack, and I feel myself starting slowly move again from the atmosphere being sucked into the crystal. My fingers on my left hand begin shifting a bit with my other hand remaining held onto Twilight's hoof.

The crystal finally shatters and all of us are free once again. The wind on my face, and Twilight's mane moving in the wind... all of us were free from whatever spell Starlight placed to trap us in there.

"TWILIGHT!" We could hear Spike calling out in a bit of a panic. All of us turn to look downward, seeing as the baby dragon himself was unable to fly and is falling at even the wrong time we broke the spell.

"Whoops." Twilight says, flapping her wings to go and save her assistant.

"Brayden..." I can hear the Song of Order communicating with me telepathically even in this dangerous time. "Activate the magic of the blade, I'll give you the ethereal wings to make haste with flight."

I heard exactly what the claymore was telling me, and move my left hand all the way to my back to hold onto the handle of pommel, allowing me to feel the flow of the magic blade entering into my body and flowing throughout within my veins. I do not take my claymore out off from my back, but allow my right hand to let go of Twilight's hoof.

The ethereal wings appear just as the Song of Order would say that it would provide me with. Twilight only turned back a moment to see what happened with me before taking a hold of Spike and saving him from his fall. She continues to make flight, accelerating upwards back to join with me.

"I think I know exactly what we need to do now!" Twilight exclaims proudly like an idea had already come to her during her flight back to me, while my ethereal wings float in the skies to keep me from falling. I am eager though to hear what plan Twilight could be using to stop Starlight above.

"What's the plan?" I said to her.

"We have to look out and find where her hiding spot will be in one of the clouds." Twilight tells me.

I place my hand on my forehead in the form of a salute. "We're on it like a team!" I said, a brave smile formed upon my mouth with my eyes forming to look strong and willing to fight if absolutely necessary.

Twilight channels magic to her horn and I feel its essence rise quickly around her, myself and her dragon assistant Spike as she powers it to ensure a safe teleport into one of the white haven clouds above in Cloudsdale from where we had fallen. With the Song of Order's magic, these ethereal wings were quite useful when the blade was activated as even it could allow me to walk on clouds. Without these wings by deactivating them, I could just fall through the white and back down to the surface.

"Okay, keep your eyes peeled..." Twilight tells the both of us, who is on the lookout for this mare herself as well.

"Right!" Spike says, getting out some binoculars from his backpack and beginning to look around the area of the track to find where Starlight could be located because when we were trapped inside of the crystal she just goes up back into the clouds and disappears.

"We have to stop Starlight as soon as Rainbow Dash and those bullies race by," I responded to the both of them. "We failed once, we cannot risk to fail again."

Twilight and I are both distracted by the time we heard Spike speak to us again, like this was important. "Um, Twilight? Brayden?"

"So be ready." Twilight responds to him, still distracted by the lookout and search.

"I know, but-" Spike wanted to get out more, but Twilight interrupted him further.

"Because she could pop up anywhere!"

I turn from my search on the opposite side of the cloud, watching as Spike tapped Twilight on the shoulder to get her attention. She turns to look at his face that best described that something was wrong. "Like over there?" He questioned with concern in his voice, offering the binoculars to her.

From over there, I can only see a little bit of what both Twilight and Spike were viewing... Starlight Glimmer. Wait, she's with the younger versions of the bullies and Fluttershy herself! OH CRAP, this is bad and I don't know what she is telling them, but she is not telling anything to my closest friend. Twilight herself is shocked as well with a short gasp, making haste to flap her wings and put Spike to ride on her back.

I wield the Song of Order from behind my back which began to sing once again of great danger. Even if she wasn't acting this hostile towards the young Fluttershy or bullies, I need to make sure nothing bad is about to happen to them. My ethereal wings took flight as well behind Twilight as we hurry to find out what's about to happen.

"...Just remember how you'd feel if somepony said those things to you." I can hear Starlight telling the young fillies which sounds rather... different. Why would she be stopping the bullies from teasing her? Isn't that Rainbow Dash's job to challenge them afterwards? Nevertheless all three of us came right on time to stop whatever was going to happen, though not hostile as of yet but still thinking about it.

"What's going on here?" Twilight demanded, sounding a little harsh.

Starlight could only smile herself to hide the hatred she was feeling towards her nemesis. "Oh, I was just reminding these two colts how hurtful teasing can be." She says to her in a rather happy tone like nothing bad was happening at all.

"Well, don't!" Twilight said to her, putting on an angry tone.

"Huh?" The bullies and the young Fluttershy were confused as to why she'd say those words.

My eyes were glaring at Starlight the entire time, and even they don't even notice she is a unicorn using magic to walk on clouds. "I mean... you were?" Twilight corrects herself so she doesn't look silly in front of Fluttershy.

"Of course!" Starlight says to her, placing a hoof onto the back of my close friend. This in fact, had angered me quite inside on what she was doing. Brainwashing her so she couldn't be bullied about this further. "In a world where everypony is unique, some are bound to feel more special than others. But that isn't a license to be cruel, is it?"

"No, of course not..." Twilight says, sounding a bit disappointed to try and not say anything as this was about to change the past for the worst possible time.

"Whoa, is that a human behind her?" The young bully known as Hoops says, pointing at me with a single hoof.

"Of course young one," Starlight says to him, still hosting the same fake smile on her lips. "They are a myth, but he's the last one and even then he understands that everypony is unique. But isn't it a shame we don't live in a world where everypony is equal? Nopony would ever tease anyone there! Wouldn't that be nice?"

The two bullies Hoops and Dumb-Bell, plus Fluttershy herself nod in response in agreement on what Starlight had told us, even turning to smile at me.

"No it wouldn't!" Twilight shouts at the wrong timing. But she had to stay with the topic instead of forcing something negative here in this situation. "I mean, it'd be nice not to be teased, of course. But that's not the same thing!"

"Come on Fluttershy." The young Hoops says directly at the yellow pink-maned filly in front of him. "Maybe I can help you get through the course this time."

Fluttershy stuttered a bit, but the high-pitched tone in her voice sounds really cute. "Well, I-I sure could use the practice..."

The young filly and the two colts all went off together on friendly terms with no thanks to Starlight Glimmer herself. This was going to be really bad, especially when I knew Rainbow Dash helped stand up for her in the original version. For Twilight, I knew this wasn't going to be the end for their rivalry. The blade sings again in case, and I get myself into position and ready to fight.

"Brayden, stand down." Twilight commanded to me, easing me down to lower the claymore. With a brief smile, it fades to a frown and glare when turning back to the mare who prevented all this. "We know you only convinced those bullies to not tease Fluttershy to stop the rainboom!"

"Oh that's not true." Starlight says, which I am surprised she's not acting this angry after all that happened in the village of equality when she was still leader. "I convinced them not to be bullies because everypony should be equal. Stopping the rainboom is just a bonus."

"You're not going to get away with this!" I shouted at her, feeling aggression tense up inside of me.

There is the sound of whooshing, which caught me, Twilight and Spike off-guard whereas Starlight doesn't react at all to this as she probably saw this coming in the first place. I tapped on Twilight's right shoulder with my left hand while my right hand still grips the Song of Order itself. When they turned to look at me, I point out the cyan mare with the rainbow mane and tail flying about in the skies of Cloudsdale casually.

Twilight knew this would be a good time to convince the young version of my best friend Rainbow Dash to commit to the Sonic Rainboom without trouble... I hope. "This isn't over yet!" She warned Starlight before opening her wings and flapping them once again to approach the nearby rainbow maned pegasus filly.

"If you say so!" Starlight calls out to Twilight when she left that conversation. She turns to look at me however before I left. "And don't think that you'll help to solve this between me and her, human!"

I grip the blade tighter when she called me a human. "Never call me that. EVER." I warned her with sharpness in my tone and the anger sinking further in front what I could see.

"Temper there human..." She smirks with a bit of laughter. "If only you could be able to see the vision I have for an equal Equestria. No though, you have to side with Twilight... your special somepony!" Her voice grew serious towards me while that smile remains. "I know so much about you... that discovery about that 'princess' Celestia herself being your birth mother! I had to take pre-cautions when I was hiding to find that out!"

"That is none of your business!" I told her off, trying to hold myself back from shouting at her.

She laughed again, like my attempt had failed. "Keep holding on whatever is private for you, but soon everypony would be able to know especially when it isn't your timeline! Humans were only considered to be a myth, and you are one in body form! Wherever you go in the next change, you'll only be notified with 'humans are myth' and not even Celestia in those will know who you are!"

I turn to look at Twilight who was just approaching the young Rainbow Dash in the distance. "Keep running human boy, but you'll never escape the destiny of what equality is like, especially since you're not a pony and can't have a cutie mark like all these other who are cursed with it!" She says to me, her smirk never changing at all.

My ethereal wings flap and take off from the cloud while sheathing the Song of Order behind me. I will have to deal with Starlight for her crimes later on, as Twilight could use a bit of help convincing the young Rainbow to perform her trademark rainboom from the past.

"Hi!" Twilight introduced herself to the filly when I had approached from behind.

Rainbow looks a bit awkward at this sudden approach. "Um... hi?"

"You think you can stop for a minute?" I said to her, saving Twilight a bit of talk for a moment.

"Sure." The young filly floats there on his small tiny wings, taking a look at me. "Wait a minute, aren't you a human being? I thought those were only in myth."

I nod in response to her question. "Of course, but I am in fact real. I believe Twilight here though has something to say to you though if you would take the time to listen."

All three of us watched as Rainbow's small ears perk up to listen away at the mulberry coated alicorn who was Twilight herself. "I hear you're pretty fast." She tells her.

"Pretty fast?" The young filly says, looking proud and arrogant like the usual Rainbow Dash I knew back in the original timeline I was whisked away from. "Please! I'm even faster than that!"

"Okay," Twilight manages to let out before inhaling and exhaling a sigh of preparing to ask a question to her. "You want to race?"

Rainbow takes a look at Twilight herself from top to bottom to judge her by the size she was at by age. "Um, that wouldn't really be fair. I mean you're a full-grown pony and..." She froze right there for a moment, looking a little bit surprised. Possibly it's Twilight's horn and wings together. "Wait. Are you an alicorn?"

"Come on! I thought you were fast!" Twilight says, providing encouragement to try and persuade her.

Rainbow Dash looks a little nervous, turning to look at her, Spike who is riding on her back and waving with greetings by the look of it. She turned to look at me as well unsure on what to say to Twilight's offer for the race between the filly and the princess.

"Uh actually..." Rainbow managed to get out, seemingly shying away from this situation. "I just remembered I have somewhere I need to be." She flaps her wings and begins to fly off.

Twilight wasn't going to give up on this though, she flew after Rainbow with me following along, knowing that even I had said something... it won't change the outcome at all. I am in flight on Twilight's right side to keep an eye on everything while still persuading Rainbow who seems to be acting more resistant to this.

"Okay, listen." Twilight says, sounding a little desperate. "You don't have to race me. I just need you to fly fast enough for a sonic rainboom!"

"What?!" The young Rainbow sounds bewildered for that matter. "I can't do that!" Nopony can! It's not even a real thing! It's just an old mare's tale!"

"But it's not!" My stupid big mouth has to open up and speak out. "I know it's not! Twilight here has seen you do it in the future!"

Great job Brayden... great job looking completely like I was delusional in front of the young Rainbow Dash herself.

"Ooookay..." Rainbow sounds a little bit uncomfortable being with all three of us while Spike himself doesn't say anything to contribute to the awkwardness. "I'm gonna go now."

"No! Wait!" Twilight tried her best to keep Rainbow Dash where she was, but all the filly had to do was fly off past a few of the clouds and out of our sight, never again to be seen from there.

That sound of laughter... already Starlight's starting to piss me off. She is using her magic to levitate herself upwards to join us with the disappointed Twilight having seen a friend of ours fly off. "Gee Twilight, what's the matter?" I can tell that was sarcasm in her voice under that smile while she spoke. "Couldn't convince her to do the impossible? That's too bad..."

The portal appears above all three of us once again, while Starlight could only float there to watch as we are once again sucked right into the portal and into another alternate timeline I suppose.

---

The portal managed to spit us out back onto the map, but more rather in a jungle-like forest floor that surrounded the crystalline map. I was able to catch my balance and land feet first on top of the map thanks to the magic of the Song of Order on my back. I don't think Twilight and Spike caught theirs though as they take another hard landing.

I can hear Spike groan for a moment before getting up. "Well, that didn't work."

My feet tread to the end of the map and step off to join next to Twilight on her right side. "This is going to be harder than I thought..." She says, like this was a difficult question in mathematics like I had been through before in high school. "We'll have to try again!"

"Hey Twilight?" Spike questions with concern once again. Both of us had ignored him as I was trying to keep Twilight confident that we can stop Starlight from altering the fate of Equestria even further than that.

"Don't worry Twilight, you've always found a way and you'll find it there within that special mind of yours." I told her, taking her left front hoof with my right hand and holding onto it.

She gently moves her head forward and nuzzles the sides of my nose with her snout. "I really hope you're right on this Brayden..." She says to me, sounding a bit sad but unable to give up and not even willing to do so. "But of all things, I don't want to live in that awful future we saw back there with King Sombra!"

I can feel tapping on my right shoulder, and I can tell that its Spike himself who holds a face of fear upon his face with a bit of fright combined with it as well as tapping onto Twilight's left shoulder. "I don't think you'll have to!"

Wait, what does he mean and why is looking over... Great Celestia!

Many spears were pointed at all three of us to our complete shock. They were sharp and I wouldn't want to dare get myself poked with one of them. A mixture of what seems to be a tribe in military face paint I think... pointing at us, and worst of all is seeing alternate versions of Pinkie and Fluttershy, my close friends pointing their spears at me.

"Pinkie? Fluttershy?" I said to them, rather in shock. "It- it's me Brayden, your friend! You know me, and Twilight and Spike here as well."

"Silence, changeling!" Pinkie warned me, causing me to take a step backwards and bumping right into the map behind me.

Fluttershy sounded rather aggressive especially under that tone she was carrying. That warning in the tone of voice made all of us gulped and I knew we were in deep trouble by this order being carried out she has spoken of. I never did expect myself to hear my closest friend say that... but it's enough to harm me though she is the alternate version of Fluttershy back in regular Equestria.

"All servants of Queen Chrysalis found in these woods must be... destroyed!"

Wait a minute... Queen Chrysalis?! She's here! Oh my Celestia, I'm about to panic again even after having fought her before. But I don't see her around and only mentioned by the strict and violent Fluttershy all three of us are witnessing as she is probably placing the blame upon us for being changelings ourselves. Got to keep calm for now...

"Wait!" Twilight cried out. "We're not changelings! I'm a pony! And he's a dragon!" She points out Spike when she refered to him as the dragon he would be before them. But honestly Twilight, just pointing out the obvious was unnecessary.

All the native Pinkie could do was not believe her, approaching the assistant and pointing a spear at his belly if he tried anything. "A likely story! Do something dragonish!" She commanded Spike to do something from out of a dragon's league, but not like any of those dragons I witnessed from Mortem at all.

He takes in a deep breath, probably to show his proof of actually being a dragon himself. On exhale, I don't think there was enough ignition within to spark the green flames but more rather blackened smoke to cover up the pink mare's face. Well, even if it was the color green we'd probably would've been destroyed anyway.

Pinkie wheezes for a few moments while the smoke lifts away into the atmosphere of Equestria. "That works..." She says, slowly backing up as she probably thinks that this baby dragon before her.

I pause there for a moment to think of a plan on how all of us would get away, but we were surrounded and most likely spears will fly if that is the case of running off into the extended Everfree by the looks of it. "Well... I give up." I said in total defeat, just raising the both of my arms up into the air like I was about to get arrested by the authorities.

"Uh," Twilight says, standing there wondering what the hay was going on until she finally caught on. "So do I and this dragon!" Spike joined in raising the both of his small dragon claws in the air, already knowing that this surrender is the best other option. I can't even reach for the Song of Order as they would become hostile immediately.

"Don't be silly! Changelings don't give up!" I can hear a stallion yelling at me from the gathering tribe members. "They fight until they are pummelled to dust, which is something we will do to all three of you!"

"The servants of Chrysalis will do anything to save their evil skins!" Fluttershy stated, driving her spear further towards me feeling like it would prod right through me at any moment in this timeline... and I think this version of her will kill me if nothing comes to stop it. I gulp, afraid of death coming to all three of us.

"Stop!" Oh thank Celestia, somepony yelled out for this deadly situation to end right at the nick of time! From the direction that the voice was coming from, its sound came from the jungle trees with the sound of trotting while the recognizable zebra comes out from the shadows. I was in relief after telling by that tone in her voice and the accent that it was Zecora herself, halting the group from attacking. "If these three are changelings we'll soon see, though I think they're not what they appear to be."

Twilight was in relief as well to see a familiar face before us. "Zecora! Please, you have to listen." She begged, hoping that it will persuade her to have the tribe let us go free.

One of the tribe members has some sort of bowl in his hoof that he offers to Zecora. The zebra herself takes whatever is within the bowl as when she turned to look back at us, I can see that looks to be a green colored fluidish ointment. She remains calm, though still a bit wary. "Beneath this salve, no changeling hides, for it reveals the truth inside." She says, making another set of rhymes as she spoke.

She started by placing the ointment on the two faces I was journeying through time with, its designs almost resembling that of soldiers during another war in that jungle on the other side of the world... oh gee, I can't even remember what it was. Oh well, it'll come back to me later. When it was my turn for the salve to be placed upon myself, I close the both of my eyes while Zecora works out on forming the shape of the ointment like a mask abroad my face, rubbing her hoof all over.

When she had removed her hoof from my face, she takes a few steps back. Probably trying to make sure all three of us aren't really changelings. We were expecting this ointment to start stinging us at first, but rather instead brightened us to a temporary glow for the moment of time. Each pony of the tribe gasped themselves in shock of what going on, and even I don't know either on what was happening.

I can hear Pinkie Pie asking the tribe leader herself in question. "What does it mean?"

"The meaning is far worse, I see," Zecora tells her and then turns to look at the three of us, looking relieved to see them standing down and not pointing their spears at us anymore. "For it is we who should not be."

"I think I can explain." Twilight says to her, trotting forward a few steps.

"I'm sure you can, but let's not talk here." Zecora warns us carefully and bravely at the same time. "Chrysalis and her army will soon draw near!"

I shook my head. "I definitely don't want to be here if I was to ever see that wretched queen of the changelings!" I told Zecora as I move upward to join alongside with her and Twilight. I can hear Spike as well following alongside us while the tribe moves along to get back to where their village could be from what I could guess is Ponyville itself.

"You, the human being have dealt with changelings before?" Zecora turned to look at me, hearing me out as I spoke the truth to her. "In your time, humans like even here were part of the lore."

"I know," I responded to her. "She tried to get me to kill my friends, and manipulated me into becoming evil by a dark substance that she used for her own advantage to try and make me her king if she had succeeded in her plan."

"Seeing you, a human myself for the first time," She says. "Only bedtime stories to others, but you exist which is good for Celestia in even this prime."

"But what happened here though? Why are changelings now just attacking and what happened during the alteration in this reality?" I questioned to her while Zecora was listening to what I wanted to know.

She seemed as wise as the Zecora I knew back in the original timeline, but felt bad for myself for having not spoken to her since the 'fire ant' troubles that I was supposed to help out with, but in the end my friends took care of that. Ever since then, not really any mention but more rather only a few possible times anyway.

"The changelings took over not too long ago," Zecora claimed these bad news to us. "Though I'll wager in your world that isn't so."

"Chrysalis and her army tried to take over Canterlot, but my friends and I stopped her." Twilight spoke after having told briefly on what happened. Okay Twilight, you were there and I watched that episode... you were a part of stopping her, but it was mostly both Shining Armor and Princess Cadence who stopped you and blasted you out of Equestria and into the Changeling Badlands in the first place.

"Those friends as you know them are not here, alas." Zecora continued. "But tell me how all this came to pass."

"Starlight Glimmer, a pony who traveled back in time to stop my friends and both myself and Brayden here from ever coming together!" Twilight explained a little bit on what was going on and if these really are the intentions of the mare herself screwing with time whenever the scroll's spell was used.

Zecora looks over towards the tribal versions of our friends Pinkie and Fluttershy, trotting ahead in search of any changelings lying around or possibly spying on them to watch where they are going. "And is it these friends you have in life that keep Equestria free from strife?" The zebra herself still holds some questions.

"I guess so..." Twilight says. She lowered her head for a moment with her ears flopping downward, and even thinking of that second failure. "But this is the second time we've come back and this world is even worse than the last one!" She exhales a sigh, trying to figure out what more to say while both myself and Zecora take the time to listen. "If Starlight keeps doing the same thing in the past, how could the present be so different?"

"Ah..." Zecora says, turning a bit in direction to stop the tribe from moving. She trots over towards the smallest stream in this jungle territory, looking down as it flows in a single direction. "Time is a river, where even the tiniest change seen can lead to a cascade of effects downstream." She places her hoof to disrupt the stream supposedly, only for the flow to keep on moving in a different direction before heading back onto its regular path.

Zecora removes her hoof after that, trotting toward the wall of large jungle leaves, as the tribe begins positioning itself into place in honor of their leader of the resistance against the changelings. "This part of the forest is dark and damp, but it's done well to hide our camp." She tells all three of us before two of the stallion tribals place their hooves onto the leaves and push them forward, revealing the camp to us while all of us set forward inside.

The camp itself were set into the trees and sometimes the interiors were made out from the giant trunks themselves. A few of the fillies or colts gallop about in the village, playing chase or tag most likely while the stallions are building more settled defenses for the village. Not a single sight of any recognizable Ponyville landmarks were seen, so I can only assume we were in a different part of the extended Everfree Forest.

One stallion from the forest has brought back a few fruits, seeing how this reality doesn't host too many since the Changeling takeover that Zecora told us about. He trots over towards the foodmaster at the quarter of the large willow tree offering him all that he could find within the forest, seeing how it has grown overtime. A few young fillies pass by myself, stopping only for a moment to look at me in awe. In the original timeline, it would be those two school fillies I can recall meeting... forgot who they were though... Ditzy and Aquamarine.

"It looks cozy." I can hear Spike commenting behind me and in front of Twilight when she came to a stop to look around at the village.

That comment, I can very well agree with. It does look very cozy and welcoming to anypony who isn't a changeling of course. But I also wouldn't be surprised if anypony would make allies with even a single changeling drone themselves who dare defy their queen and leave to join the side of Equestria.

There is the distant sound of native music in the distance, since I can recognize the sound of the flutes and a bit of banging from the single beat of the drum itself, with only a few other percussional instruments to accompany along with the flow of peace going throughout the village. Now I can feel myself being brought back to the days of playing Skyrim back on Earth, as the villages there were quite immense and beautiful.

The Song of Order had been calm the entire time, but now it just decides to start singing once again in the sign of danger nearby. I take out the blade and begin to observe and try to figure out if this was just a coincidence. "What's going on?" I asked the blade quietly.

"I can sense danger nearby... changelings are coming." The blade's voice spoke to me.

Twilight herself noticed as well when the claymore began singing as when we got into this timeline, I had to sheathe it so I don't look like another big threat to the tribe or their village by the looks of it. "Brayden," I can hear her acknowledge me. I don't take my eyes off from the blade of silver however as the written words in the stones of silver were glowing golden. "Why is it doing that now?"

"It senses danger," I said to her. "I don't know why... only when it was dangerous, the blade sings when I'm about to get struck or of great risk... but I'm not sure why it's doing it now..."

"Help! Help!" I thought I recognized that tone of elegance in her voice when I soon heard the screaming. From the other side of the village border considering that is a decent small place to hide, three figures appeared from out of there, revealing ourselves in the light under Celestia's sun and they all seemed out of breath.

Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack... they're here too?

"Please! You have to help us!" Rarity was panicking, which seems completely off as she looks perfectly fine like she had not at all been in a danger zone.

"The changelings attacked Ponyville!" Rainbow Dash says, but her panting breath seems to be a bit... forced for that matter. "We barely escaped with our lives!"

Zecora trots forward, standing before all of us. I'm still trying to investigate why the Song of Order would tell me that the changelings were coming. But there is none in sight. "The only changeling attack I see is the one that come here looking for me."

By the time that I turned to look up from the claymore I wield, I could see Applejack setting hoof forward a couple of steps. She has this look on her face, that gave off a crooked smile to her friendly face. Wait a minute, if this Applejack is acting this way than why the evil look upon her... oh no...

"It's taken quite a while to find you, Zecora..." Applejack says in a low, yet victorious tone in her voice. There was the ring of green magic surrounding the image of this mare disguised as my close friend who laughs with the same evil tone as the recognizable magic began to lift over her.

Oh... oh my Celestia... that crooked horn appearing in her transformation along with that dark coat upon that 'bug' who tried to make me kill Twilight in the first place... those green-lit eyes... I was already starting to shake with fright as soon as she had appeared, finishing her transformation into the recognized queen of the changelings.

Queen Chrysalis herself...

"Brayden, is everything alright?" Twilight sounds a bit worried about me, placing her right front hoof onto my shaking left hand.

I was speechless at first to see her in front of me in the flesh once again. I have fought her before, but I am afraid to face her again and I am pretty sure the nightmares I had with her included in them are going to come back. "She... she's here and after me probably..." I said a bit frightened and scared.

Spike also placed his left claw onto my right hand, trying to ensure that I will be okay and all of us will get out of this. The changelings that were disguised as Rarity and Rainbow Dash uncurl from the disguises, revealing their drone supreme selves before all of the tribe, with the Queen of the Changelings still standing there in a confrontation with her and Zecora.

The queen herself began to laugh, before continuing in her true, revealed form. "What a lovely village you've chosen to stage your little resistance. It looks absolutely delicious!" As she slurped her tongue in front of Zecora, the leader could only glare at her before some of the tribe members blocked Chrysalis' way to the zebra herself. She trots backwards on her slimy hooves with those recognizable holes in them. "Oh come now Zecora, you're vastly outnumbered!"

Our eyes were brought upward towards the skies of Equestria as the black dots rose from over the forest, sounding off that sound of their wings as a giant swarm. One of the fillies unmasked herself by that green magic to show the drone's true form to one of the frightened villagers. Queen Chrysalis had two royal Changeling guards at the both of her sides, in flight right there with cruel and hungry smiles upon their faces.

"I know you don't want your charges hurt," The queen interrogated her with a threatening tone in her voice. "Come quietly to the dungeons of Canterlot and I promise to leave the others alone."

"Why would she ever trust you?!" I can hear Fluttershy shouting at her.

Twilight took a step forward behind Zecora, as I open my ears to listen to her and taking my attention off from the queen of the changelings which to my relief isn't after me like she would want to do that again in the original timeline. "Even if there's a chance Chrysalis will honor her word, shouldn't you try?" She asked.

Zecora doesn't turn around to look at either me nor Twilight nor Spike. "Race to the map while we hold off their attack. Stop Starlight and put the whole world back on track!" She tells her in a hushed, yet defensive tone in her voice as her attention is drawn to the enemy before her.

"Come on Brayden, we must head back!" Twilight says to me, channeling magic to her horn to get Spike onto her back. I nod with understanding as I can still hear the issue that was going on right behind me as I sprint right behind her as she gallops.

Queen Chrysalis was starting to get impatient almost like Lord Tirek when I had dealt with him. "Time to make a decision Zecora!" She warns her, looking like something was about to happen right about now.

"Even if what you are saying were true," Zecora says at first before the tone of her voice grew loud and almost reminded me of that one soldier from that one movie back on Earth. "We'd never surrender to a creature like you!" And with a yell when I looked behind, I can hear as she began to clash and fight hoof-to-hoof style with the queen herself as all of the village begins to battle the winged bug-equines.

A few of the changelings that were scattered, begin to take pursue of us. As I sprint, I am able to grip onto the claymore in time as one of the changelings draws near with a roar sounding out from its mouth. I drive the blade around behind me, poking the changeling drone with it and sending it right onto the jungle floor, in harm.

Twilight was panting as she galloped towards the map in the center of all the extended Everfree, jumping up onto the top of the holographic map and waiting as I hurried behind, joining her and with the both of my boots sounding on top of the crystalline top in accordance with the holographic display of green. I still am gripping onto the Song of Order as it could very well be used now when dealing with Starlight Glimmer again in the past.

The changeling drones begin to gather around and approach closer, and I knew we had to go right about now so Spike grips onto the magic scroll with the portal into the past opening and us being sucked in before the changelings could grab us. I can already feel the ointment Zecora gave to me disappearing completely by the time I hit the event horizon...

---

We were back in Cloudsdale again... and from out of the portal I can sense that Starlight Glimmer was nearby on that cloud ready to strike at Twilight with her magic. By the look that Twilight had on her now-clear face, even she could have sensed it was coming as well.

I ignite the power within the Song of Order to power my offensive actions should she aim right towards the both of us again. The horn of Twilight's was also channeling, as when Starlight fired the turquoise colored bolt of magic right towards all three of us to trap us in crystal once again, a bubble shield formed around to block the power of this rogue unicorn before us.

After the bolt has passed, Twilight lowers the shield and glares at her, showing the baring teeth in anger right at her rival who is equally as powerful as her, except only seeming to have become slightly more by the looks of it. Twilight's wings spread and flies right into the air, firing a bolt of her violet magic right towards the mare.

The mare was able to see it coming, jumping out of the way on the cloud she stands upon while Twilight's magic carved a slice into the fragile white fluff. The cloud broke in two and Starlight channels magic onto her horn to start levitating mid-air as the clouds disappear.

"Not bad... but it's going to have to take more than that!" Starlight teased her.

"Lucky for you, there's more where that came from!" Twilight taunts back to her, preparing another bolt of magic from her horn.

With another bolt of magic fired from her horn, Starlight was able to create the same kind of bubble shield to surround and protect her from harm, as I figured she must have learned that quickly from Twilight's defensive tactics. Lifting the bubble shield, Starlight wasn't going to let Twilight best her just yet as she begins to fire another bolt of turquoise magic right at her as the mulberry-coated alicorn took flight.

Twilight flew through the rings that most young pegasi flew through as in half, the beam cuts through. The remains fell down from the sky and disappear into the nothing that clouds were formed from. A few of the fillies were watching the entire flight of the alicorn, and look rather excited about this while Twilight returns to make another offensive strike at Starlight herself.

Starlight continues to stand there upon the half cloud, having finished dispersing that magic bolt to try and attack. Twilight fires another bolt at her, but unfortunately missed her target as she jumps off and out of the way to catch herself via magic while the cloud explodes into nothing once again.

"You've really got to work on your aim." Starlight comments with a glare upon that cruel smile of hers.

She didn't expect me to come joining in the fight as well when I charged at her with my ethereal wings spread out and in flight towards her. My blade moves forward to try and slice at her... she must have known that I was coming already as she clashed her horn with the Song of Order.

"Hola!" I responded to her with sarcasm in my voice, while the blade is held between her horn.

Starlight released her horn from the grip of the silver blade. "Didn't expect a human like you to start fighting!" She shouts before clashing at me once again.

"I only do that for the sake of Equestria!" I shouted right back at her, trying to throw another clash with her horn as she pushed me back with the both of her hooves.

After I have been shoved, she is quick to turn back towards Twilight, firing another bolt towards her. Twilight teleports out of the way, carving a straight hole into the cloud that had been right behind her. From there though, I knew the fight itself was really starting to begin. Spike himself is watching from the raceway as it is more structured so it won't be possible for him to fall this time. With the further grip of my blade, I charge again at Starlight.

The fight looks rather crazy, both Starlight and Twilight firing bolts of magic at one another and causing destruction through the raceway for young fillies in Cloudsdale. I have clashed a couple of times with Starlight, hoping that she will at least stand down and surrender herself to us in hopes that we will overwhelm her. Nope... she's not giving up by the looks of it. When I tried to strike again, she fires another bolt of magic and hits me on my chest on the opposite side. Thank Celestia, if it was my heart she'd probably kill me.

I can feel my right hand release the Song of Order and my ethereal armor and wings disappearing from my use as I began my fall. This wasn't going to be like last time when Nightmare Moon was still evil and tossed me through the window in hopes that I would have fallen to my death. I can see Twilight gasping quickly as I zipped past her before she speeds off with adrenaline in her wings pumping to gain up to me.

My left hand reached forward to grab a hold of Twilight's hoof while I can see Starlight above, getting ready to fire another spell towards the both of us. This is probably the match of the vision by now that I have witnessed when I was visiting Pinkie and her family on the Rock Farm days before.

I was able to grab a hold of Twilight's hoof as she ignited another bubble shield to surround us when the rogue mare above fires another bolt right towards us both. The bolt hits the shield, dropping the magic when it was finished.

I can see the Song of Order falling and pull back with a jump into the skies, releasing myself from Twilight's hoof to grab onto the blade, igniting the powers instantly for the flight back towards Starlight again, but only to maintain a distance when I threw my left hand towards her to release a bolt of my own magic towards her.

The bolt I have released hits the mare, causing her to stumble back a bit. "How- How are you able to have that kind of magic?! Only Equines like myself are allowed that!" Starlight shouts, firing another bolt towards me.

I use the blade to deflect the beam of magic right into another direction, missing Starlight but going off somewhere else. "You could say it's my secret!" I said to her, charging at her again and clashing with her horn.

Her head butts me right in the belly and I find myself knocked backwards, firing another bolt of magic towards Twilight who looks rather exhausted from the magic she was dispersing right about now against her rival.

I am a bit worried at first, so I fly off while Starlight fires another quick bolt of magic at Twilight, which her magic ignites to create a small barrier to counter it. My boots land onto the raceway where Spike joins the both of us while Starlight positions herself onto another clouds that hasn't at all been blasted.

"Whoa!"

I can hear a bit of cheering right behind us, and boy did I start to panic when I turned around and saw what was going on. The young Rainbow Dash was there, eating a bag of popcorn and watching along with Dumb-bell and Hoops on all the action that was going through. I wasn't going to stand there and let them watch, I had to say something.

"What are you doing?!" I said to her. "You have to finish your race!"

"No way!" The young rainbow maned pegasus resisted. "This is way more exciting!"

"See?" Starlight responded to us from the cloud she stands on. "You can't stop me no matter what you do."

With that, the portal into the present appears above me and both Twilight and Spike with them getting sucked in first, so I was able to see what happened before I got sucked in with them after.

The filly Rainbow Dash tosses her popcorn in frustration and shouts "Aw, man." before trotting off in anger. This is all I can see before being sent forward in time myself...

---

Yet another landing right back face-first on the map after having been spit out from the portal itself. Talk about not realizing that would happen more quickly that I thought it would after having landed safely in the previous future with the changelings. Guess not...

I can hear Twilight and Spike both groaning, while I slip off from the crystalline holographic designs of the alternate world, glowing a color of midnight blue. My two feet touching the floor of the forest we were in, my right hand reaches out and helps Twilight off from the grass with Spike getting on his two dragon feet.

Spike's expression on his face changed when he had turned to look up at the sky which I don't seem to have noticed as of yet. "That's strange..." He comments.

"Well you obviously don't mean us falling, because that's becoming pretty routine." Twilight says to herself, looking a bit tired herself even from the battle. Probably she's trying to recharge her magic after that battle we had in the past with Starlight.

"No," Spike says, his eyes still perched onto the sky. "It's just the other times we've come back, it's been day... but look now!"

I turn to look up at the sky, letting out a gasp of shock when I saw the stars shining out at night with the moon shining above all of Equestria, seemingly frozen in place. The moon doesn't maintain some its beautiful dove white, and shows a difference of colors that look so familiar from a mare I know in the original timeline.

Oh no... don't tell me what I think this means...

"Why would the map bring us back to a different time of day than when we left?" Twilight asked herself, looking at me as I stood there.

The Song of Order began to sing once again of danger close by, after hearing a couple of wooden branches from afar starting to crack. All of us turn around, trying to find the source of the branch snapping, but are only able to find many lime-green eyes staring right at us from under the dark forest.

A few of them rise out from the shadows, as the figures we recognized well enough as the timberwolves of the Everfree Forest. By the night above, they would be free to roam through the grasslands of Equestria for as long as they wanted to in the shadows... snatching the young ones in the night to feed was something I feared was a part of this alternate Equestria. The timberwolves pounce onto the map, glaring at all of us with sap running from under their mouths.

"Um, maybe we should figure it out later!" Spike says, while Twilight ignites her magic to place him on her back.

I can hear the timberwolves growling at all of us, ready for us to be their prey supposedly. Nevertheless, I began to make a dash for it along the open path with Twilight galloping right behind me, almost like we would be going completely in circles as of right now. As I run, I do take a bit of a moment to glimpse behind us, only to see no timberwolves in pursuit. Their howls fill the night along with the crickets chirping into the night and frogs ribbiting away.

I can hear Twilight starting to run out of breath while I am breathing a little harder, beginning to form a bit of cramps into my legs. There is a light source ahead, following a part of the grassy path we caught onto in the Everfree Forest, so we proceed onward with very quick inhales and exhales as we press on, my feet sprinting all the way.

My sight upon the cliff nearby skids me to a halt, and I grab onto my knees to pant for breath from all the running I had to go through. I am surprised myself at the same time, for I was expecting the timberwolves to start coming after us immediately as all three of us would look like prey to them that would be stalking as soon as we appeared in this alternate reality of what would have been Equestria.

"The Castle of the Two Sisters!" I can hear Twilight calling out beside me after having gasped.

Mentioning that location was brought to my attention when I stopped panting for breath, releasing my hands from my knees. The sight came into view and I can see the clear, brand new castle standing there from the cleared forest, its large tower embracing the sky with the large symbol of the crescent moon shining above for all of the darkened Equestria to see. An observatory's telescope is scanning out among the stars, looking possibly for any other life out there... perhaps like all everypony wants to know just like on Earth.

Another howl from the timberwolves have brought a chill, and even I knew that they were probably on their way right now to catch up and have us for dinner... in fact I can't even tell what time it would be.

"Well don't just stand here!" Spike shouts to us panicked already.

I began to pick up the pace again, turning in direction of where the wooden bridge should be, now that it is replaced by a fine stone bridge standing there above the abyss where the Tree of Harmony lies, though it doesn't seem to shine anymore as there is only darkness with the mist rising through.

From past the stone bridge and down the path, everything began to come to view with the courtyard opening up before my eyes with a statue of an alicorn that looks... somewhat recognizable to somepony I know in the original timeline. While I still have that feeling I know who it could be... I can't let my hopes down as this castle could be the only escape from those timberwolves behind us.

The double front doors into the castle were in sight past the midnight garden's statues of that alicorn, as each panting breath we take pumps more adrenaline into us to run even further towards our destination. My right hand is able to reach out, and I find myself latching onto the bluish handle and pulling the door open for Twilight to come galloping in with Spike riding on her back.

I turn back to the gardens, no sight of the timberwolves anywhere... Nevertheless, I just want to get inside before they even arrive on the scene so I just run inside and make sure to pull the door shut from the castle hall's interior.

The sounds of the howling grew quiet, for we seem to be in what looks like a safe haven. The lobby itself reminds me very much of what it was like when I was looking back into the thousand year past from that vial I drank in Celestia's chambers. The only difference was that the flames from the hung torches aren't the usual flame orange-yellow, for it is the color of cyan-blue.

Spike hops off from Twilight's back, walking on his two dragon feet as we begin pacing forward with caution. "This place looks a lot cleaner than I remember." He commented.

The rug on the steps looks really well done too, I can really admit. I mean with the decoration of the stars on them, I can tell that whoever designed this has good taste. My feet tread up on the stairs, making way to see what is above... maybe the throne room perhaps?

I walk beside Twilight, who looks clueless about this castle or the chilling presence that even myself can feel as we continue forward. I can hear hooves coming from a different direction that wasn't Twilight's herself as I know I heard them from right beside me. I'll have to keep an eye out, find out whoever is trotting in these halls even at this time of night, or let alone day for that matter.

My eyes were upon that white unicorn trotting about the halls with a different style to her mane than the usual look I recognized when I saw my best friend. It's Rarity herself, a dress that look designed as a steward for whoever is in control while her magic works on a bit of the tapestries spread throughout the castle halls.

"Rarity?" Twilight asked, catching the attention of the mare almost instantly without any trouble or any shocked expression on her friend's serious face.

Our best friend however, seems to remain firm as her focus is still on whatever she is doing... fixing them up? They do like a bit dusty. "The castle isn't open for viewings today," Rarity stated firmly. "The tapestries all need changing... again."

Knowing Spike however, he came running up to the white unicorn before him with the both of his arms and claws open, probably offering a hug even though he probably has no idea that this is an alternate Rarity we're dealing with. "Rarity, it's me!" He says, sounding joyful to see his crush right there before him.

Rarity looks disgustedly at the baby dragon that is even talking before her. If I know her, she was always there to talk to Spike whenever I caught him at the Carousel Boutique and even I know that the Rarity I know would converse with him. "I don't socialize with dragons. I don't know anypony who would." She stated coldly once again, turning around as a way to symbolize the cold shoulder to a sad Spike.

"Rarity, you have to listen to us!" I approached her after her interaction with Spike there as a way to try and persuade her which failed. "The future of Equestria's at stake!"

"I don't know how you know my name, but I am far too busy to entertain some foreign monster's ridiculous fantasies, let alone for any of you three." She coldly said in that tone of her voice.

She begins to trot away once again, but Twilight will not rest that easily with the answers of our best friend. She could only groan while Rarity was trying her best to trot away from all of the disturbance we were probably causing to her. "We have to get back to the map so we can stop Starlight from changing the past, because every present we come to is worse than the last!" She shouts but to no avail when she trots away with that annoyed look on her face.

"Time travel, you say?"

That voice... I know that tone when I hear it. When I hear it, I'm usually happy to see one of my favorites talking to me. But the way she was saying that, it doesn't sound very happy to see me, but more rather like she was enjoying what Twilight was talking about. Even that caught her attention by the time we turn around and see who it was.

There in the shadows, seated upon the dark throne at the end of the room, lies that recognizable mare that I knew with the flowing mane. Even the tapestries in the room display the image of the moon and the black coated mare standing proudly in the one above the throne for all to see. Four guards with bat wings stood guard by the throne, standing proudly for this tall alicorn before us.

When she pokes her head out of the shadows, as she finished talking, I can already tell that this was the mare I didn't want to see from her under that cruel smile she displayed... Nightmare Moon herself.

"Now that's something I would like to see..."

I gasped there in horror to see that the Nightmare I knew was gone and replaced with the dark monster of arrogance that I knew consumed her. Without our friends in this universe, Luna never came back and Nightmare Moon was still both in control of her body and still showed a dark side that broke my heart inside completely to see her like this. She lets out a wicked laugh at us while she stands up on all four hooves from her throne.

Her black wings spread and begin flight off from the throne on the steps, landing on her four hooves to face us. That recognizable helmet... the mare I know would never wear it again after I had redeemed her. With the time alteration, I would not have redeemed her and it would stay this way. "Tell me how all three of you came by this magic to travel through time!" She demanded almost instantly.

The guards began to surround us, almost ready to strike if we made any moves to attack her by the role she was playing here. By the look of it, it was what was predicted before... the Queen of Equestria under the everlasting night to remain forever as it is what the dark side of her would have wanted.

"The princess asked you a question!" I can hear one of her royal guards shouting out. I turn around, knowing that tone as well while the guard removes her ebony helmet to reveal that buzz cut on her rainbow mane. Rainbow Dash... why would she be doing this?! "And unless you three wanna end up in the dungeon, you'll tell her what she wants to know!"

Nightmare trots forward towards us, her fangs showing as she spoke to the both of us. "Nopony in my kingdom but me should possess a magic powerful enough to change time." She says to us, as she doesn't sound angry at us, but more rather serious.

"Your kingdom?" I had asked, even though I have been through something like this in the original timeline.

"Of course, human." Nightmare confirms, smiling at me. "Who else would dare try to run this kingdom of power under my hoof?"

"Um..." No Spike, don't say anything! "Celestia, of course!"

Well, good job Spike. You've made the guards look nervous and Nightmare herself looks a little pissed that you have mentioned her sister's name, as it is under the possession of Princess Luna still. Twilight looks a bit panicked, but I look more annoyed as he can't keep his trap shut sometimes. (Seriously, just kidding Spike. You're an awesome friend.)

The black alicorn just begins to laugh like this was all a joke that we were telling her. Even her royal guards began chuckling only for a moment until she stopped with a smile that we must have been dumb enough to forget something. Her left hoof points to the window at the strange-colored moon, which I now recognize the colors as soon as she spoke. "My sister Celestia has been imprisoned in the moon for years! But it is no less a fate than she'd sentence me to!"

"Nightmare!" I said to her, approaching the black alicorn, sounding only a bit desperate yet sad in the tone of my voice. Her cyan cat eyes were drawn towards me, showing only a bit of confusion. I find myself taking her right hoof with it's shoe, looking at her in all of her beauty within, as I can still see the mare I know inside. "I don't only acknowledge you, but I also acknowledge Luna inside you, my friend. I know you still have a good heart, you don't have to do this."

"Luna?" I can tell that I pissed her off now when she takes her hoof and shoves me backwards beside Twilight who gasped when she saw that. "Foolish human! I am no longer that mare who was never recognized by her sister Celestia when I banished her son from Equestria! I am Nightmare Moon, the true Queen!"

"But I know you still have good in yourself, and you would raise the sun even if you don't intend it!" I try to argue back at her, but I know she was going to shut down that idea either way even with the guards getting furious from the mention of the sun. "Release my mother from the moon at once!"

"I'll never bring back the sun for the night must remain in this state forever! And you're her son?" All Nightmare Moon could do, until she laughed herself. "Keep your filthy words in foreign peasant... you are nothing but a myth to Equestria! A human boy like you would never be the son of Celestia even if she was to convince me! Oh wait... she's in the moon!" She began howling with laughter once again.

I was quick to sheathe out the Song of Order and begin pointing it right at her, while her guards began to assume offensive positions in my direction, probably waiting for me to strike their queen at any moment to defend her by any means necessary. Sure the Song of Order will bring her back, but it would also help to bring my aunt Luna back as well.

"Say... this claymore of silver... that's the Song of Order I recall having been told about when reading the books." Nightmare says, channeling magic to her horn to take ahold of the blade, slipping it from my hands and into her possession. "Hmm, I could have use for this by the plan I just thought of from that spell."

"Give it back!" I shouted at her.

"In due time, human." She responded back to me with a smile before it faded and was aimed directly back towards Twilight. "Now, reveal to me the source of this time magic!"

Twilight paused to think about this herself on if she should surrender the spell to the black mare both of us know. If you think about it, she does prove a point that it would be the map itself probably guiding us there. "...Alright." Twilight says, giving up on trying to hold back from resistance.

"Twilight, no!" Spike shouts, a bit surprised as even myself was that she would surrender this easily for the alternate Nightmare Moon.

"We have no choice Spike," Twilight says to her assistant before turning back to acknowledge Nightmare before us, trotting only a few steps forward. "We can take you to it, but you'll have to get past the timberwolves."

"I am the ruler of all Equestria." Nightmare blantly stated like this wouldn't be the problem for her and for the woodland monsters to come before her and turn and run in fear. "Do you think I can't deal with timberwolves?"

"No..." Twilight responds. "I know you can."

Nightmare still holds a look of doubt upon her face. "And if any of you two were thinking of trying to escape..." Her horn is still conjured, but it grabs a hold of our friend Spike, wrapping him up in chains without any ways of getting away as there is no key for the lock, not seen in any way possible. "...It would be very unfortunate for your friend here."

I didn't have a choice either when the night version of Rainbow Dash places her hooves behind me and pushed me forward to send me on my way while Nightmare is trotting on the left side of Twilight from my point of view. I find myself catching up on Twilight's right side without the Song of Order in my possession, as it is held by this Nightmare's magic.

I can only recall leaving the castle with the guards on our tail and Nightmare keeping an eye out for any timberwolves waiting for us as their dinner. A few timberwolf alphas were seen among them, but even the sight of their brethren being blown to branches, led to them running off whimpering before Nightmare Moon cast her spells on them to break them apart.

This had me sigh in relief silently, as I knew the alpha were also very poisonous and very skilled leaders in the pack. Seeing that I was in a close encounter with one of them, it is easily explainable...

Through the open pathway to the shining beacon of the crystalline map, most of the dangerous creatures roaming the forest whether it is the cockatrice, manticore or the timberwolves themselves scattered throughout. Though the cockatrice can freeze you into a statue if you're not careful like it did to Twilight at one point until Fluttershy helped free her from the stareful lure.

Nightmare's cyan cat eyes widen when she saw the map standing there in the distance from a few of the trees, illuminating the alternate version of Equestria itself as Twilight's castle still isn't there. "How does it work?" She demanded almost instantly with a harsh tone running in her voice.

Twilight turns to look up at the alternate mare we knew, glaring at her. "A pony from our tiem used this spell to travel back and change the past." She explains, sounding a bit annoyed as she spoke those words.

As our friend trots past us approaching the map herself, that same dark and cruel smile I was afraid of seeing crossed onto her face. "And now... you two will give this spell to me!" Nightmare exclaimed proudly. "With it, I will ensure that the Elements of Harmony are never found and my reign lasts forever!"

"But it won't." I stated.

"WHAT?!" Nightmare Moon turns around and looks at me with a surprised look on her face that eventually turns to look angry towards me. Even though I set her off, this was not the true Nightmare Moon I knew.

I pointed towards Twilight herself with my left hand's index finger to highlight her right there with Nightmare's eyes watching me with the piercing glare. "In our world, our friends and my special somepony herself found the Elements and used them to defeat you! From there, I was able to redeem for all the good cause of Equestria!" Twilight stood there proudly, when I briefly turned to look at her, before looking back unafraid. "And we will do all in our power to bring that world back!"

"No!" Nightmare shouts at me, channeling magic to her black horn while Twilight spread open her wings igniting her magic. I can hear magic bursting from behind me and Twilight then re-appearing behind the black mare on the map, waiting for me to act while she deals with freeing Spike from the grasp of the dark queen.

My focus was on the Song of Order itself that she also is carrying in her possession. I ran towards her, knocking her onto the forest floor and then hopping up to grab onto the pommel of the silver blade. Her guards are galloping towards me, but I wave the claymore in front of their faces to get them to back up.

"You fools! Stop them!" Nightmare commands angrily to the night guards. "As for that human, bring him to me!"

I hopped backwards by the power of the blade that supplied brief power for me with a backflip onto the crystalline map itself. Spike has been freed after having heard the magic spells of Twilight behind me while I was distracted with retrieving my claymore weapon, seated on her back. Twilight has the spell ready and powers it up, conjuring the rings to protect us and Spike when the portal appeared to prevent the interruption of this alternate world.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" I could hear Nightmare Moon shouting in total defeat with her guards galloping as fast as they could to stop us. That is all I can really see before we are sucked into the portal.

We all knew that we have to stop Starlight, even if she keeps messing up time...

---

Immediately, we cross out from the changed present and into the past once more over the skies of Equestria. We could tell that Starlight was going to attack us again and turn in quick directions to see that she was just about to enter and plan an attack on the both of us. Twilight's magic was conjured onto her mulberry-colored horn, firing a bolt of her magic right at the mare herself.

Her beam of magic hits Starlight, freezing her right in place with that same crystal spell that she trapped us in first. A shocked look was upon her face and frozen right there while activating the magic of the blade to spread the ethereal wings before her. Twilight looks rather cross towards her, knowing what has to done here.

"Now more than ever I know how important it is to stop you!" Twilight shouts at her while she in enclosed within the crystal.

Starlight's horn glows within the crystal and breaks it apart with a clever smile upon her face. "Well, good luck!"

When I saw the same magic channelled to her horn, I thought she was going to fire another blast of magic at us. Instead by the flash of light, she has disappeared over towards one of the clouds. Twilight gasped there as the race was going on right this moment and knew right there that Starlight was more desperate than ever to prevent us from fixing this mistake.

Within the filly's range for her to reach, Starlight moves a hoof upward into the air as in a way to trip Rainbow Dash as she flew. It's reminding me a lot of those bullies I knew in middle school that have been tripping innocent kids in the hallways outside of the classrooms. With a scream, the young Rainbow Dash was flown out of the direction of the race with an automatic lose by the looks of it.

I can tell that Starlight was already smiling to herself in victory once she saw the portal appear above our heads, watching as we are flown back into the present.

This present though, is very fearful by the looks of it, as there seems to be nothing but us down in the gorge under the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. Above us, Twilight's gasp is silent and so was mine, even in the volume of how loud this magic attack above was going on for... and it was also unexpected to see an old enemy of ours...

It was Lord Tirek himself, free from the realm of Tartarus. Without Twilight's friendships with our friends, it seems like he was able to steal the magic of each and every pony throughout the enchanted lands of Equestria, including the power he now possessed which he stole from the princesses themselves. The horned centaur was roaming above in the Everfree Forest, not having noticed us but is destroying the wilds of the forest.

Twilight and Spike are rather fearful of this reality, and I am relieved that they have decided to activate the magic of the time scroll again, sending us out of this place and back into the past, and knowing we had to attack and stop Starlight immediately.

After the quick journey in the portal, I find myself activating the power of the blade and my anger growing quite tempered towards the unicorn floating above us, waiting for either me or Twilight to make a move. I would be the first to make that move as my left hand begins to glow the essence of the claymore's magic.

My left hand fired right at her a quick bolt of magic, knowing that I have to freeze her in place while Twilight watched me, her teeth gritted and glaring at her rival.

Unfortunately Starlight wasn't going to let me best her after having refused to go with her plan to make all of Equestria 'equal' and without a talent. She moves quickly to the side by her levitation spell, causing my beam to accidentally hit the filly Rainbow Dash while Fluttershy and the bullies were watching.

Starlight could only look at me with this rather sarcastic open mouth expression while she claps the both of her hooves in a way of telling me 'Congratulations for doing that'. That golf clapping from her hooves is all we can really see until the portal zipped us back into the next altered reality.

Well, I didn't expect myself to go landing in a bunch of teddy bears with Twilight and Spike. Everything else is just pink clouds of cotton candy and chocolate rain running down from them over the skies of Equestria which to me was something I knew about all too well.

It's Discord's version of Equestria now. I can see the draconequus himself straight ahead of us, riding around on a unicycle that is repeatedly chasing after my mother Celestia and aunt Luna who seem to be made up as clowns like this was all part of his enjoyment. Without the friendship either here, Discord was never able to be reformed by Fluttershy, which means eternal chaos to reign forever in the enchanted lands of Equestria. But hey, I did find an upside down Screwloose on one of the upside-down homes that had been scooped off of the town.

A couple of pies are sent towards us, covering up Twilight by her face much to her annoyance. Honestly, I didn't want to be affected by the influence of this reality's Discord as I know he is an ally in our timeline now. With a conjure of the scroll, we are sent back.

The portal we flew out from brought us back to the racetrack skies of Equestria, and the ethereal wings of mine in flight, looking around to see if Starlight was around, but yet to our own misery she is right there with her magic channelled.

She seems to be mocking us by having lifted Fluttershy off from the ground before even the bullies can begin teasing her. She goes looping her around and diving her straight into the cloud rings to show that she could 'fly' when the pegasus herself hasn't spread her wings. Starlight gives another smile, and back into the present we go.

The trees in this present seems to look a little bit 'cut-down' if you ask me. Twilight herself has fallen onto the crystalline map below. I can hear a bit of machinery behind me, so I had to turn quickly to see what was going on.

It was a different timeline where... the Flim Flam brothers rule? What the? How did something like this even become legit while we can see the two unicorns tearing apart the Everfree Forest with their movable crane, destroying the environment while there is a strong scent of industrial smoke taking over the beautiful land.

You know the drill, Twilight conjures the magic of the stroll sending us back. But things could have been different while Starlight dodges a bolt of magic that Twilight fires immediately out of the portal we descend from. With the power within supplied, I began gathering enough clouds to form a twister to try and encover and stop Starlight.

Stupid me though... the twister was already a bad idea. Instead of going straight for the mare trying to prevent Twilight's friendships, it goes for just about everypony within the vicinity of the twister, causing chaos and destruction through the cloudy airfield, sucking up a load of the little fillies, including Rainbow and Fluttershy. Yet another grin on Starlight's face while watching myself, Twilight and Spike flying back into the portal.

This next reality altered for the shape of Equestria rather horrified me instead, causing me great pain within my heart from even looking at these events before my own eyes. I can hear Twilight and Spike also gasping in horror as well as we look and smell the flames from afar.

It's the Mortem dragons themselves... they're flying all over in the skies, breathing flames of destruction onto the town of Ponyville. The clock tower itself is sounding in the distance until the flames have none other than burned its support for the great fall downward, which pains my heart further when I can sense somepony was killed in it. Distant screaming is also heard while the Mortem dragons are in pursue of the fleeing civilians as well as setting fire to Canterlot above...

In the red clouds above all the smoke and storm clouds, I can hear a woman laughing in the skies with her dragon wings. It seems... human herself. I can't see her, except the shadow in the cloud with the glow of the amulet below her neck hanging there. Already, I knew that we couldn't try to stop Starlight from doing this forever.

I turn and look at Twilight without saying anything, as she gets out the scroll to send us back into the past... finally now understanding what is at stake. The portal appears above us and we are able to go backwards in time again, still in this time loop...

We didn't want to fight anymore. Starlight stands there on the cloud with a determined smile upon her face while I am in flight next to Twilight with Spike riding on her back still. We land on the cloud across from Starlight who is within reach.

"Up for another race-ending fight you two?" Starlight asked us, knowing we would have to get exhausted and give up soon enough.

Twilight just lowers her head, no ears flopping this time as it usually gives off that she is sad from the perspective whenever I see her frown. "No," She responds back to her. "You were right. We can't stop you."

Starlight holds another victorious look on her face, and it looks like she won once again, but this time is rather successful for what she did to contribute in trapping us in the time loop. I knew Twilight has more to say though, and wasn't going to stop until she said it. "But you can't stop us from trying, and we could be stuck doing this for all eternity!"

"If that's what it takes to keep you and your friends from getting your cutie mark connection... or from ever meeting this human boy..." She says, a clever smile still drawn on her face. "Then I'm game!"

Starlight fires another blast of magic at us, but Twilight is quick to draw magic to her horn to create a shield to block her attack. The beam slams into the shield, disappearing when it has been hit.

"What you're doing goes way beyond cutie marks!" I shouted at her as the cloud with her moves closer towards us. Twilight channels magic to her horn gather a bit of cloud to demonstrate a snowball hitting a house as it's size grows. "Everything we do here in the past... even the smallest change can snowball into an avalanche of trouble for Equestria's future! Without the formation of Twilight's friendships, I would probably be dead right now!"

Starlight could only scoff and hold an annoyed look on her face after having dissipated that simulation by Twilight. "Oh, next I suppose you'll tell me that 'the fate of all Equestria hangs in the balance'!" She says, sounding annoyed.

"It does!" Twilight shouts at her.

"Spare me your overblown ego!" Starlight shouts at her, her horn conjuring up magic once again by the turquoise tone it took. "No group of friends, not even 'Princess' Twilight's, is that important!"

She fires it right at the sky, hitting the filly Rainbow Dash which brought pain to my heart once more and my hatred towards Starlight Glimmer growing further. The young filly screams as she is flown in a different direction in the race.

The portal opens up above us, and I can feel myself beginning to lift a bit along with Spike. Twilight, isn't done yet as she holds a look on her face that looks to display that she has had it with Starlight Glimmer not hearing her out of the truth on what is doing for all of Equestria. "I don't know how important other ponies' friendships are to the future..." She shouts at her, spreading open her feathered wings. "But I can show you what the world is like without mine or Brayden's!"

Twilight pounced forward and used the both of her hooves to grab onto Starlight herself. From there, the pull into the portal is rather strong on its grip on us. After both Twilight and Starlight have slipped past the entrance, the portal closed behind us as we are drawn into the light of, hopefully the last reality that we will see in this spell's case...

---

There's nothing... nothing at all. Just wind over rocky plains covered by grey skies above...

So this is what Starlight's spell has come to after that blast on the filly Rainbow Dash. There's no Ponyville here, nor any Canterlot at all. Only one tree is here, but it is dead itself and its leaves gone without the sun to guide light for all of life here. From the map's perspective, most of Equestria is already gone by now, leaving nothing but a wasteland where there is only nothing there too, not even the Crystal Empire... save for the Arimaspi Lands still standing there by the skull icon above its rock mountains.

Starlight herself looks really shocked to see that everything in Equestria has turned out like this, and looks really confused. "Where are we?!" She shouts with an annoyed anger in her tone.

"The future." Twilight herself claims as her mane blows in the wind like Starlight's as well. I can feel the heavy wind also blowing my hair, but I am not bothered by this especially when it seems to have grown a bit longer. "Or rather... the present."

Starlight just didn't know what to say. "But there's nothing here!" She shouts again, looking at the never-ending wastes.

"I wish I could say we were surprised..." I said to her. If my words can't convince Starlight right now, then it's all up to Twilight. I'm already angry at her as of right now. "But every world we come back to is worse than the last as Twilight said during one of them."

Twilight trots forward by a few steps. "I don't know why my friends and I are so important to Equestria, but we are." She finished what I seem to forgotten to say along those lines.

Starlight can only glare after Twilight has finished what she had said. "I- I don't believe you!" She shouts angrily at her. Guess it's all up to Twilight here to fix this, as I know she can do it.

Spike standing there on top of the map, commented to herself with a convincing tone. "Come on Starlight, look around!"

"Like we said, everything in the past affects the future... even the tiniest act." Twilight continues. "And what you're doing leads here. I know we can't stop you, but I thought showing this to you might change your mind."

"Change my mind?" She responded, trotting back to Twilight in anger. "You don't know anything about me! I was perfectly happy before you and your friends ruined everything I built! And that human was meant to be the perfect subject for myself in my own utopia, but guess who ruined that attempt? You too, because he sticks to your side too much!"

Twilight could only sigh before she opens her mouth to speak again. I sheathe the Song of Order behind my back, allowing only the power of the blade to keep the ethereal wings on me. "I don't know what happened that led you to make your village without cutie marks, and I'm sorry my friends and I had to take it away."

"You want to know what happened to me?!" Starlight sounds like she is on the verge of screaming when she channels magic to her horn to levitate into the air and fire a spell at the map. "I'LL SHOW YOU!" Geez, calm down...

Nevertheless, I can feel magic lift me from off of the rocky ground and I cannot feel the hard surface as my eyes are only covered in white with only the sounds of clocks ticking sounding off. Once the white has vanquished, I open my eyes again to let the blur out.

---

It's a town somewhere in Equestria that I was not aware of. It looks a bit similar to Canterlot, best described by its mountain smell, but the townhouses are different. Starlight is ahead of us, with Twilight right beside me. Right behind the mare I'm already starting to hate... Spike can only watch everything that was going on while waiting to say something.

"Where are we?" Twilight asked.

Starlight turns her head to look at her, not even turning her eyes to look at me. "That map of yours is connected to every part of Equestria and this part..." She only paused for a moment, as I can tell that this place is bringing back some memories to her perhaps. "...is my home."

Starlight begins trotting forward and we follow right behind her as we approach the nearest townhouse in this small village. I can't remember what this place is called... Trottingham? Fillydelphia? No... I'm not sure. I can hear Twilight's hooves right beside me as Starlight is not going straight for the front door of the house, but more rather the side of the house which has an open window for all of us to peek in.

There she is... a young version of Starlight Glimmer herself as a young filly, clapping the both of her hooves together at a large stack of books piled up upon one another. Starlight and Twilight both place their front hooves onto the sill of the window, watching the events that came to be in there. "Sunburst and I did everything together." The 'here & now' Starlight Glimmer stated in a sad tone. "In fact, I don't remember us ever being apart... until today."

I could only stand there and watch the events that unfolded within Starlight's childhood home. The filly version of herself was trying to get a book out which reminded me a lot of Jenga back on Earth where I grew up again... there's a bit of a rumble as the books begin swirling from left to right before making their descent towards the young Starlight who doesn't seem to have a cutie mark at this time. The books are stopped by Sunburst, and gather around him in a circle before the flash of him earning his cutie mark for his unique magical talent.

The colt whinnies and gallops on out of the room to tell his parents who look more than thrilled to learn that their son earned their cutie mark. The young version of Starlight on the other hand, or hoof looks rather surprised at first before a sad expression with tears in her eyes begins to form as she trots back in the house, knowing she lost a friend.

"And just like that, my friend was gone..." Starlight continued, her ears flopping downward to show that expression for remembering the sad times she went through. "His family recognized his magical talent and sent him off to Canterlot. I never saw him again..."

"Well, why not?" Spike asks.

Starlight grew angry once again, turning to yell at Twilight's assistant and friend to us. "Because of his cutie mark!" There she goes again on cutie marks. "He got his, and I didn't! He moved on, and I didn't! I stayed here and never made another friend because I was too afraid another cutie mark would take them away too!"

"Are you kidding me?" I commented to myself in a whisper, sounding a bit harsh if you ask me.

"That's ridiculous," Twilight says to her as Starlight returns her glare right towards her. "A cutie mark can't take your friends away."

"Not everypony's lucky enough to get her cutie mark at the same time as her friends!" Starlight shouts at her again, igniting magic to her horn once again as the portal appears right above our heads, sending us back to the past perhaps.

---

It's just as I have predicted when we land back on those same clouds when we were trying to convice that doing this was changing everything. There she is again, back on the same cloud as the two become entwined together as one. Starlight is rather pissed off and it looks like we blew it big time on trying to have her see this through our point of view.

"You don't know what it's like to lose a friend because of a cutie mark!" Starlight shouts at the three of us, sounding like she's had enough. I can see those tears in her eyes after that reflection we saw back there with her ears still flopped downwards. "But once I stop the rainboom, you both will!"

Her magic is conjured again, but this time she snatched Spike's backpack that he had the entire time, taking out the scroll that had been in use by us the entire time during this sequence. The tears were already starting to leak as her magic is used vigorously on the map, surrounding it with aggression by its state.

"And when I destroy this scroll, there'll be no way for you to change it! And you human boy, will be mine!" She screams at us.

My face was filled with horror as I can see that she was already producing a tear into the scroll, which could be very bad as this could no doubt prevent us from ever living in a stable Equestria if it is torn apart in half and destroyed. I wield the Song of Order from behind my back, holding it in both of my hands, ready to fight and attack if she wasn't standing down from this. Twilight and Spike also hold looks of fright on their faces. Even when I know nothing to say but to be angry and hate her as my mind is telling her, Twilight trots forward on the cloud, approaching her as she slowly is tearing the scroll.

"Starlight, you're right!" Twilight says, a bit desperation sounding off by the tone of her voice. "I don't know what you went through! But I do know you can't do this! I've seen where this leads, and so have you!"

"I only saw what you showed me!" Starlight shouts back, sobbing a bit of tears in her eyes as she continued to tear into the scroll. "Who knows what'll really happen?"

Twilight couldn't back down, but turns and signals me to stand down for it is something I do so. "I've seen it a dozen times! Things don't turn out well in Equestria without my friends!" She continued.

Starlight just groans in her sobs upon hearing the mention of her friends. "What's so special about your friends?! How can a group of ponies that are so different be so important?!"

"The differences between me and my friends are the very things that make our friendship strong!" Twilight said as the scroll looks to be half-ripped by now. Hurry up and stop her already please... for the sake of all my friends that I love in the original timeline...

"I thought Sunburst and I were the same!" Starlight shouts in return, tears flowing and her sobs accompanied each time she spoke. "But we turned out different and it tore our friendship apart!"

"So try again!" Twilight says, seeming to have stopped Starlight from ripping the scroll even further. "Make new friends! And if something that you can't control happens that changes things, work through it together! That's what friendship is! And it's not just my friendships that are important to Equestria! Everypony's are! It's how I was connected with eventually meeting good ones like Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Brayden here who is the most loyal special somepony. I was once broken and betrayed by him, but me and him worked through it together and our relationship is still strong!" I smiled when she she mentioned me. "But it is not the point! When your friendship with Sunburst ended, it led us here. But just imagine all the other that are out there waiting for you if you just give them a chance!"

"How do I know they won't all end the same way?" Starlight asked, a little more calm after Twilight has said those words, but still sobbing.

Twilight can only smile and reach for her hoof. "I guess it's up to you to make sure they don't." She could only respond to her question that simple.

Starlight's hoof is brought forward as well, pausing for a moment before her left front hoof finally touched the bottom of Twilight's right front hoof. A smile is brought onto her face while the tears were still flowing from her eyes, unable to control the tears in even this happy moment before us.

I can hear a boom in the distance as the young filly Rainbow Dash formed the Sonic Rainboom for the very first time and even it's bang was pretty loud but not too loud, so it won't damage my ear's hearing. The filly version flies over us, not having noticed us there in the first place while Twilight is still looking and comforting who is considered to be her 'new' friend that was trying to change the past.

That... I can't get over... When we get back to the original timeline, I'm telling Starlight Glimmer off in her face, as I should be doing right now.

The portal opens above our heads and we are sucked right into it with the half-torn scroll. As being last to enter the time-travelling portal, I can see the last of the past closing up behind me to my relief as we flow back through the wind tunnel back to the comfortable timeline that has the Nightmare Moon there that I have redeemed... no hostile activities... all peace flowing through all of Equestria as there always should have been.

---

We touch the event horizon and the speed began slowing us down from out of there and slowly my boots touch onto the crystalline floor. I deactivate the magic from the Song of Order, the ethereal wings disappearing from our sight. Twilight, Starlight and Spike have all landed as well, next to the crystalline map. Around us, we are back in Twilight's castle once again, as it doesn't seem to have been changed one bit.

The scroll was flown out from Spike's left claws, and above the middle of all the map. A magical force opens up the half-ripped scroll, igniting a power within that connects it with the portal that remains above and the map at the same time. Around the scroll seems to form a magic beacon that shield that spell from being used broken out from while a bright light surrounds all of the shield. The sealed scroll lifts into the portal, closing and illuminating power to the map.

There is another flash of light that blinds us only for a few moments. My right arm is lucky enough to block the light from too much damage in the eyes, as I wouldn't want to go blind from that. Once I felt that the light has lifted, I uncovered my eyes to look and see that there was no time alteration... it was back home where I was meant to be. The original Ponyville that I knew with everypony there that hasn't changed at all... I was back in good Equestria once again.

I turn only for a moment, seeing Spike get down on his dragon claws and feet, giving the floor of the castle a kiss in relief. "One Castle of Friendship... check!" He comments, having looked over what was already seen.

I turn right back towards Starlight Glimmer, already drawing my anger towards her once again. Even when everything looks peaceful between her and my special somepony Twilight, all the crimes that I have witnessed for herself, I have to verbally lash out at her. I don't even plan on attacking her there, as it is not in my blood to hurt somepony even after making that promise.

"How..." I started, with Starlight turning around to look at me. Her smile upon her face after her tears have gone fades away when she saw that furious look upon my face. "How dare you... showing me all of those realities where my friends never knew me!"

"Brayden, I didn't mean to do that. I'm so sorry." Starlight's voice sounds a bit hushed, taking steps back from each step I begin to take towards her.

"Sorry doesn't help out for this matter. You showed me one of my worst nightmares where my friend Nightmare Moon was never redeemed and Luna was still a part of her! It hurt me a lot inside for your spells causing these consequences!" I began to shout at her.

"It's not her fault! She's given friendship another chance!" I can hear Twilight shouting from the next few steps. "Can't you see that?"

"Twilight, stay out of this!" I shout at my special somepony, not even turning to look at her while my glare and fury is fixed still on Starlight, this mare who dare showed me my nightmares. "Not only did you show me the worst I would find from a dear friend to me, but you let alone brought yourself to show me my worst enemy that I have dealt with before, and even laying your lips upon mine!"

"I didn't know what I was-" Starlight tries to get out.

"You thought in the wrong possible way though, and for that I will never forgive you! Your crimes in this and what happened at your village... UNSPEAKABLE!" I shouted at her, giving her a bit of a jump when I raised my voice at her. "No matter how many times you try to apologize to me, I will never be your friend!"

Starlight trots backwards until she hit the wall behind her with a soft thud. Next to me is one of the glass vases, while my anger is burning like hellfire towards her. "I wasn't thinking straight and I knew I should have thought it over, but I never listened to my good side for once! Please, I really am sorry!"

"NO!" I shouted at her, taking the glass vase with my right hand and forcefully smashing it right in front of her with the loud sound of it shattering before us. "NO MORE APOLOGIES FROM YOU! YOU COMMITTED CRIMES TOWARDS ME I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR! AFTER SEEING THOSE EVENTS YOU FORCED UPON YOURSELF FOR ME TO SEE INCLUDING WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MORTEM'S DRAGONS BURNED EVERYPONY, I REALIZED RIGHT THERE THAT YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A BAD INFLUENCE!"

Starlight Glimmer looked like she had shattered into piece when the tears formed into her ears once again. My anger at this rate is close to snapping point where I would unleash havoc, but again I don't want to as of yet. Even then, I am going to give her the only warning that she needs to hear.

"You are staying the hell away from me and Twilight!" I found myself calming down, but still a harsh tone sounding off towards her, my right hand's index finger pointing at her while I back up. "If I catch you anywhere near me, Twilight or our friends... I will ensure that it is the last time you will ever see the light of day ever again!"

"Brayden!" I can hear Twilight shouting at me, sounding like she was cross with me now. I do not turn to look at her though as I make my way towards those double doors and pulling the both of them open forcefully with still rage. "Don't worry Starlight, I'll go talk to him!" I can hear her behind me while I tread into the hallways to get out of there before I snap on her.

I can hear hooves galloping behind me. I can tell that it was Twilight, and I was expecting her to be a bit angry at me for those choice of words I made towards her new friend. Instead I can see that she looks concerned after all of that she watched before her eyes. "I know that you were angry at her, but you should never act upon it like that..."

My anger subsides for now as I turn to look at her, looking much more calm with her in my presence to keep me calm. "I... I don't know why..." I said, letting out a bit of a sigh. "I just... I need some time to myself. I can't guarantee that I will ever talk to her again for what she did though..."

Twilight's right front hoof takes and holds onto my left hand. I get down on one knee to face her concerned face. "I know you might not, but it's your temper I just saw... I'm really worried about you. You're not usually this angry." She tells me.

My right hand moves forward, gently caressing her left cheek there as her face still holds a pose of worry. "I will never get angry at you," The tone of my voice drops down into a calm, gentle whisper to keep her comfortable. "I promised myself that I will never hurt anypony, and I never wanted to hurt her physically... only wanting to tell her verbally that this is how I felt."

Both myself and her remain silent after I have said that. My head moves forward, with my eyes closing while my left cheek gently nuzzles where I have caressed her cheek. I can feel her wings open up and cover me from around my back. Even if these times, a loving hug from her is one of those comfort options for me whenever I was this upset.

I move my head, placing my forehead softly onto hers, opening my brown eyes to look at her sparkling heavenly violet eyes. "I'll see you sometime later Twilight..." I whispered to her, moving my head again. My lips gently embrace with hers to share a gentle, touching kiss for a moment before we separated once again.

From there, I was able to say goodbye to my special somepony and begin making my way out from this floor of the castle, making my way down the stairs to leave. Even with Starlight Glimmer there, I didn't want to be there for even a second as my temptation to kill her would grow each chance it got... thanks to my anger...

---

Fluttershy's Cottage, 10:05pm

I could only sit there on the chair in my bedroom, watching over the late autumn night with Luna's moon out and shining brightly for all of Equestria to sleep under. I am in pyjamas and felt exhausted after that long day, trying not to even think of what happened in the time loop I was forced into.

The Song of Order is floating there in the same spot it would usually be, humming at a gentle tone to keep everything peaceful within the room. I knew that I didn't know what expressions it was displaying, but I'm pretty sure he was feeling bad for what I did to unleash a temper. Other than that, it doesn't say anything in contribution to the crickets and soft chilling wind outside that gives off that winter is coming soon in the next few days.

"Brayden..." I can hear his voice from right there. "I know that you're upset at Starlight Glimmer. You can't stay mad at her forever though, you'll have to forgive her eventually."

I could only sigh for a moment, with that image of Starlight popping up in my mind to try and influence the anger again. "Even if I forgive her, how will I know she won't turn on either me or Twilight again? That is my question."

"I can tell from the tone of her apology that she really meant it," The blade's voice continued. "The scroll will not be able to be used again as it is gone by the spell for that it won't fall into the hooves of anypony else who would think of trying to alter the past again."

"Good on the scroll being gone for nopony evil to put to use, but I am unsure about ever forgiving Starlight. I've already told her in her face she won't be able to see the light of day again if she was near me or Twilight-"

"Or your friends. I know." The Song of Order's voice told me. "But you can't burst like that at somepony. Even I have never seen you this angry before."

I turn from my seat, getting up to stand before my claymore itself, looking down upon it while it floats above the ground. "How would you know though? I've only been through some hard times when I was a child and teenager back on Earth... what am I supposed to say? Telling you would be the hardest thing for me, as it would bring me much pain from remembering them."

"But sometimes it is better to let them out and tell somepony." He responded to me.

"Look, I know you're concerned too..." I said to the Song of Order, my right hand reaching out and being placed on it's quillion. "But I am exhausted after all that time travel we all went through. I would honestly like to have some rest right about now."

"Of course," The Song of Order responded to me. "I won't keep you further then. We'll wait on the training for now."

I nod my head in understanding and agreement with what the blade has told me. I remove my hand from its quillion, turning around to walk towards my bed, pulling the sheets off from there to allow myself to lift my legs up onto the bed, sliding the rest of myself into bed nestling the covers around me, except for my head as I need to breathe.

I begin closing my eyes, hearing the almost-silent sound of the crickets chirping away outside for the last few days of autumn, as well as the wind blowing onto the windows without any disturbance as I try to sleep. My eyes close all the way, and I begin trying to rest to get to sleep.

"Pathetic... coward boy..."

The voices begin to sound off in my head as this anger is starting to remind me of the past, and the occurrances of all that happened today accompanied with those voices of all those in the past that gave me nothing but trouble.

"Human boy..."

"Little twerp... you don't deserve to be here..."

In a bit of a growl that I wasn't aware of, I can find myself struggling a bit in bed, almost like I was wrapped up in chains. No control over my body whatsoever. The sharp ringing was coming to me once again, coming in rather slowly over the bad memories of Earth popping up in my head. I knew all of them like being bullied... feeling and being left all alone without a friend there by my side...

"Worthless... Go die in a hole..."

My growls and groans sound to be a bit silent, like I was just about to have a nightmare itself that couldn't be penetrated at all in the darkness. Within the voices to torture, I could only hear a bit of deep laughing from within my mind like this was a way to torment me into becoming a violent, dangerous human in Equestria.

This was going to be a long night... and I know I'll be super grumpy in the morning...

---

Earth

7:23pm, The Swiss Alps

Within one of the caverns having been frozen over the time being from the inside by the snow and ice from the atmosphere there, there is a magic essence seen starting to shrink rapidly after what has happened with the anomalities of a human being in Equestria... for this location was where the supposed portal there could be found by none other than Rebecca herself.

There she was, seeing the closing portal before her own hateful eyes. Her pendant glows a blood red color to signal that it was enough time to do something about this portal before it closed again, as it would be another long while before the portal opened once again from the next episode. So far by reports, the Season 5 finale in the Switzerland news reported the same human friend of hers being in it like when she discovered the Season 4 incident.

"I finally found it..." She says to herself with a grin upon her face, placing the thumb and index finger of her left hand onto her pendant, maintaining that same glow from before when she was leaving her home to go to Europe in the first place.

A dark magic began spewing out from the fire ruby maintained with the pendant, firing straight at the closing and disappearing anomalty to keep it from sealing the portal completely. The dragon's magic began to expand the portal to a large size that could fit in many men by the looks of it. Tanks were possible, but it was also another way to get supplies in as well for setting up camps.

"It is a dream come true, my ancestors." Rebecca said to herself while the dragon's magic came right back into the pendant itself, keeping the red glow of the fire ruby once again. "The portal to Equestria is found... linked right into Mortem no doubt, where my dragon armies wait for me."

She paused there for a moment, thinking to herself. "I can't do this alone with only me and my dragons though... I'll need all of the help I can get here on Earth to aid me in the fight. I am already aware the anti-bronies as they call them can be a great use as they'd want to get their hands dirty for a long time... but who else..."

She placed her index finger and thumb onto the ends of her mouth. Who else? The military forces back in her country won't be able to do anything as they were already focused right on a war here on this side of the country with a dangerous group right now. Oh yes... that got her mind thinking straight with the cruel smile upon her mouth.

"Hmm... I could very well make an alliance with that group from the Middle East... they are very controversial and I would love to see how Equestria takes them as one of the first waves in the attack." She said, not laughing but sounding rather impressed by this plan she has, considering at this time even this group made some threats towards other countries from where they were located in the deserts of the Middle East.

She turns and begins walking away towards the cavern exit, already on mind of what she had to do now. "My ancestors before me... I am finishing what you started a long time ago..."