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Time Traveling Kids of the Mane Six! Ch. 27

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Chapter 27: Time to Panic    (first draft)

“What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked Rainbow Dash, who was pacing back and forth.

“Why don’t you ask Twilight?” the blue pegasus mare replied. “I’m sure she’s got a lot more to say about all this than I do.”

Twilight smirked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded. “What is this about?”

“The past few days I’ve been noticing some very suspicious ponies that I have never met before,” Rainbow Dash said. “At first I thought they were just visitors from Canterlot or something like that, but I recently found out that they’re actually time travelers!”

All five of the other mares stared at her.

“Time travelers?” Applejack repeated. “Puh-lease. There’s no such thing as time travel. That’s just one of those hocus-pocus mare’s tale spells.”

“Oh, it exists!” Pinkie interjected. “Twilight has used it before. Isn’t that right, Twilight? You see, it’s a long story. First she went to the past, to warn her past self, but she was from the future and all end-of-the-world looking, which really confused past Twilight, but before future Twilight could tell past Twilight what she needed to tell her past self…”

“The point is,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, clearly impatient and not in the mood,“ that I know Twilight has time traveled and now she’s actually been talking to these time travelers! From what I heard, they’re all working on some kind of project together!”

“Now Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said gently, “let’s hear what Twilight has to say before we make any rash judgements.”

Shifting her aquamarine eyes towards her unicorn friend, she cleared her throat.

“Is this true?” she asked. “Are these new ponies actually time travelers?”

Twilight didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t just jeopardize the anonymity and safety of those who had put their trust in her.

“I don’t know!” she said, panicked. “I don’t even know who we’re talking about!”
The group watched as Rainbow Dash’s teeth ground.

“You have got to be kidding me!” she exclaimed. “I saw Andromeda, Tempest, and what’s his name… Bismarck…  all making their way to your place! I even heard two of them talking about Radiance and Flora!”

“Radiance and Flora?” Rarity exclaimed. “You know about Radiance and Flora?”

“Well, kinda,” Rainbow Dash said with a raised eyebrow. “I’ve heard them about Radiance at least. Why? Do you know them?”

“I had breakfast with them,” Rarity replied. “They said that they had traveled together from Canterlot. They were quite nice.”

“And that’s all they told you? No other major details about where they were from?”

Rarity did not like the tone Rainbow Dash was using, but when she thought about it, she did make a good point.

“No,” she said, surprising herself, “they didn’t. They were very secretive, to be honest.”
Rainbow turned to Fluttershy next to her.

“And those kids who I saw at your house. Did they tell you who they were?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied, “they did. They said their names were Peach Cobbler, Orion, and Bucky.”

“And they were so cuuuuute!” Pinkie exclaimed gleefully. “I just wanted to hug each one of them! They’re orphans from Canterlot and…”

A sparkle glimmered in the blue pegasus’ eye as she said Canterlot.

“Aha! Another group of strangers from Canterlot! That’s pretty convenient. It’s almost like they all traveled together and got separated.”

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“That’s making a really big assumption. Do you even have proof?”

“Oh I’ve got proof all right. Rarity, you met Flora earlier, right?”

“Yes, that is correct. Why?”

“I saw her the day before you did, when I was flying around Ponyville. I saw her having some sort of nightmare and I woke her up. She was very sketchy and wouldn’t say who she was or where she was from and just took off. I was curious, so I followed her. She went to Fluttershy’s house.”

“My house?” Fluttershy asked. “I’ve never met anypony named Flora.”

“That’s because she wasn’t there to visit you,” RD explained. “She was there to find the foals. Those kids you’ve been looking after are with the others!”

“And how do you know she was looking for them?” an increasingly interested Twilight inquired.

“As soon as she found out that the foals were in the park, she raced to meet them. I saw Flora hug the filly but not the others. They might be sisters!”

“Wow Dashie!” Pinkie said. “You’re really good at detective work!”

“Sounds a bit obsessive to me,” Applejack snorted. “Why have you been spyin’ on these ponies like this? And how exactly does this prove that they’re all time travelers? They could just be a group from Canterlot who are just secretive ponies.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“Come on! Really? Do you really think that there’s nothing suspicious about that? I know what I heard and these ponies are time travelers! Even more, I know that one of them has been lying to Twilight this whole time!”

Rainbow Dash turned her attention to her friend and looked her in the eye. Her gaze looked both concerned and secretive.

“Andromeda isn’t who you think she is.”

Twilight shifted her weight as RD spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“She’s been disguised this whole time. Everything she’s told you has probably been a cover. I’ve seen her with my own eyes and she is not the red and black mare you think you know.”

“I don’t believe you,” Twilight said, not really believing herself.

Three knocks sounded from the door, drawing the attention of the six mares. Rainbow Dash glanced at Twilight.

“You don’t? Then why don’t you find out for yourself? Do you have a spell that can block another unicorn’s magic?”

“Kind of,” Twilight answered. “A sleep spell could prevent any magic for a few minutes. Why? What do you want from me?”

Rainbow Dash approached the door.

“Do you trust me?”

“What?”

“I said,” RD repeated, “do you trust me?”

Twilight hesitated a bit longer before giving a nod. Rainbow Dash opened the door to see a shocked Andromeda.

“Hey there, Andromeda!” she said with a wide grin. “Come on in. We were just talking about you.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


Peach Cobbler and Bucky paced back and forth as Orion stared at the ground. In one moment, all three were thinking the same thing.
“Rainbow Dash figured out who we are!” Bucky exclaimed.

“But how?” Peach asked. “How could she have?”

Glancing at Scootaloo, she marched towards the orange pegasus filly.

“You’ve been suspicious for a while now,” she snorted. “You told her about us, didn’t you?” \

“What?!?” Scootaloo shouted, her voice cracking. “I did not!”

“I’ll bet you did! RD is your idol. You’d tell her anything!”

Scootaloo and Peach were nose-to-nose in each other’s faces, their faces both burning a bright red.

“Quit it you guys,” Apple Bloom yelled, shoving Scootaloo away as Bucky did the same. “If Scootaloo said she didn’t tell anypony, then ah believe her.”

Orion rubbed his eyes. This was becoming a living nightmare.

“Sweetie Belle, did Rarity say anything about us this morning? Any hints at if she knew who we are?”

The unicorn filly shook her head.

“No. Nothing. There’s no way she could have figured it out.”

“And ah don’t think it was Pinkie Pie, either,” Bucky said. “She may have seen us, but there was no way she could have picked up anything.”

“Then who?” Orion asked impatiently. “Who could have tipped RD off about us?”

The six foals began to think a moment until a thought struck Peach.

“My sister!” she exclaimed. “Rainbow Dash must have discovered her and then found us! Like how Sweetie Belle did!”

“So what do we do?” Bucky asked.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _



Andromeda didn’t know what to do as her heart began to race faster than she had ever felt before. Scanning the room, she could see that it was not just her and her mother together, but the entire group of friends. Rainbow Dash stood close to Twilight as Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity all watched from behind.

“What’s going on Twilight?” Andromeda asked nervously. “Are you throwing some kind of party.”

“Just getting some friends together,” Twilight replied softly. “Have you met them before?”

A loaded question.

“I’ve met Rainbow Dash,” Andromeda answered, “but not the others.”

“Allow me to introduce them,” Rainbow Dash added, not taking her eyes off of Andromeda. “This is Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy, but then you know them already, don’t you?”

Andromeda’s head spun towards Rainbow Dash.

“Excuse me?” she said.

“Don’t play dumb, Andromeda,” RD said. “I know that you’re a time traveler.

Twilight won’t admit it, but I saw you and your friends talking. I heard everything.”

Andromeda’s yellow eyes beamed back at her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied calmly.

“Of course you don’t.  But you’re going to tell us anyway. I know your real secret, Andi, but I’ll give you the chance to explain it yourself.”

Andromeda glanced at Twilight, who didn’t seem to be stopping Rainbow Dash. What had she been telling her?

“And why should I tell you anything?” she said through clenched teeth.

RD looked at Twilight and nodded. Charging her horn, Twilight shot a bolt of magic into the unsuspecting unicorn mare. Its power coursed through her quickly but its effects showed gradually, first shaking her into a short state of paralysis. As she stood, unable to move, the magic began to do its job. Andromeda’s red coat and black hair began to show their true colors of purple little by little in a growing splotch across her body until her original form was all that was left. The others only stared, dumbfounded by what they had seen. Twilight approached the now purple unicorn.

“Who are you,” she asked in a near whisper, “really? You told me that you found my time travel spell… but how exactly did you find it?”

Andromeda could feel unconsciousness descend upon her with every passing second.

“I told you everything you need to know already,” she said bitterly as her eyes began to grow heavy. “That’s…. all I have… to say.”

Her body collapsed on the floor, falling at the feet of Rainbow Dash. A horrified Fluttershy and Rarity rushed to her aid.

“Was that really necessary?!?” Rarity exclaimed.

Twilight didn’t seem to be in the same world as the others as she looked at her colleagues sleeping face. Her features looked eerily familiar, like the way her bangs curled slightly and the color of her skin and mane. And she was a time traveler as well! As she contemplated who this stranger actually was, reality began to return as she caught the mumbled speech of Fluttershy.

“Please tell me you didn’t hurt her,” she cried.

“What?” Twilight said suddenly. “ No… no… no…. I…”

It couldn’t be.

“She’s just fast asleep. I only put her out for a little bit. She’ll be fine.”

“Then can we please know what in tarnation is goin’ on?” Applejack inquired. “Who is she? Why is she a time traveler? Is she actually a real time traveler?”

Twilight ignored her country friend and yanked Rainbow Dash’s wing as she opened the door.
“I need to talk to RD in private,” she said. “You guys stay here and look after Andromeda.”
Before any of her friends could interject, she closed the door behind her, leaving them all confused and bewildered.

“Is it just me,” Pinkie added, “or is Twilight acting really funny?”

“They both are,“ Fluttershy answered as she and Rarity carried Andromeda towards Twilight’s bed.

Once she and Rainbow Dash had put enough distance between them and the house to have a private conversation, Twilight seemed to change in an instant, her aloof and confused nature replaced by a frantic and interrogational one.

“Where did you find her friends?” she nearly shouted, taking Rainbow Dash aback. “How did you find them?”

A crazed look gleamed in her eye, similar to the one she had seen in Andromeda’s earlier.

“Don’t… lie to me, Rainbow!” she continued. “What do you know that I don’t?”

For a moment, Rainbow Dash seemed to look afraid of her book-nerd friend and appeared unsettled.

“They’re at Zecora’s house!” she admitted. “I followed them home and I saw them! All of them! They’ve been staying the nights with her this whole time! I overheard them talking about us, saying how we’re their mothers!”

Twilight’s breathing stopped as she backed away from her friend. Rainbow Dash continued.

“Twi,” she answered in complete astonishment, “they’re our kids!  Like, our actual kids from the future!”

Realization struck Twilight as she spoke. It all began to piece together in a conversation she had with Andromeda the first night she met her. She had said that she had found Twilight’s old spells, but she never said how.

“I need to know… is Andromeda my daughter?”

Rainbow Dash glanced back at the door, half expecting to look at Andromeda, and shrugged her shoulders.

“Is she or is she not?”

“I’m not sure,” RD said timidly. “I left Zecora’s before I could find out whose daughter she is. She did say something about trying to avoid their moms, but…”

She didn’t need to finish. The resemblance was uncanny, but it still was not enough proof to go on. Forgetting about it quickly, Twilight’s muscles tightened as her body and reflexes sprung into action.

“Okay, who else knows about this, Rainbow Dash?” she exclaimed.

“Nopony!” RD cried. “I haven’t told anypony else yet!”

Twilight leaned close to her friend, pulling her towards her head in a huddle.

“Good! Now promise me something, okay?” she whispered. “I need you to keep this a secret! Can you keep this a secret for me?”

“Yeah, but why do I have to…”

Rainbow Dash stopped. Twilight was glaring at her.

“RD, I need you to trust me like I trusted you. Do you trust me?”

The blue pegasus sighed with a deep breath.

“Fine,” she muttered. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Good. Now I have one last thing I need you to do. I need to go to Zecora’s right now to talk to her. Hopefully we can fix this mess without things getting even more out of hoof. I need you to stay with the others and look after Andromeda. Don’t let her leave the house. Understand?”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


“No! I don’t get your logic!” an exhausted Bucky exclaimed as he and his friends raced towards Zecora’s. “How does warning Zecora about Rainbow Dash fix anything? In fact, wouldn’t that make things worse?”

“We can’t… just let them think they’re… safe when they’re not!” Orion said in shallow breaths.

“If we don’t tell them, they’ll get caught,” Peach added. “I’m sure of it!”

Bucky shook his head, pushing himself to run as fast as he could. Though his thoughts rested primarily on breathing and running, a deep feeling could be felt inside him, beyond his burning lungs and weary legs.

Something felt very wrong.
After a half-dozen rewrites and holiday delays, ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL CHAPTERS SO FAR is upon us! 

This is it! All this hype, all these chapters, all this development has been leading to these moments!!! ENJOY!


**** These characters were created by me. To know more about the characters' personality profiles and designs, check out my artwork below! ****  

shrapnelleader.deviantart.com/…

Cover art by LinaPrime: linaprime.deviantart.com/art/F…


Chapter 1: Andromeda's Discovery
Chapter 2: Orion's Big Day
Chapter 3: Country as Apple Pie
Chapter 4: High Fliers
Chapter 5: A Day at the Spa
Chapter 6: Swords and Spells
Chapter 7: Birthday Cake and Best Friends
Chapter 8: Take Me Back
Chapter 9: Welcome to the Past
Chapter 10: Cutie Mark Criss-Cross
Chapter 11: Shelter
Chapter 12: Field Day Fiasco
Chapter 13: Twins in Time
Chapter 14: Things Get Complicated
Chapter 15: Saviors and Secrets
Chapter 16: I Know Whose Tears
Chapter 17: Dejection and Darkness
Chapter 18: Who Are You?
Chapter 19: Apologies and Potions
Chapter 20: Meet Your Maker
Chapter 21: What Are You?
Chapter 22: Is there a Doctor in the House?
Chapter 23: One Thing After Another
Chapter 24: The Most Important Meal of the Day
Chapter 25: Crumbling Lies
Chapter 26: Raising More Questions
Chapter 27:
Chapter 28: Ya Dun Goofed


***THESE ARE NOT SHIPPING CHILDREN. No fathers will be implied, revealed, named, or described in any way. This is not a shipping story and I would like to stay neutral on that battleground. Thank you.*** ;) 


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juneopal10's avatar
Twilight betrayed her own dang daughter what shame