Time Traveling Kids of the Mane Six! Ch. 21

Chapter 21: What are you? (First draft. Will be re-edited)

Flora opened the bedroom door with a deep caution that she had not felt in a very long time. Zecora’s deflection of her questions were suspicious enough, but when she entered the room and her eyes connected with the twins’, her caution grew into fear.

Cherry’s bouncy magenta hair now looked gangly and worn. Berry looked like he hadn’t gotten enough rest, but his eyes remained fixated on Radiance, who was still asleep and recovering. She had been through a lot, but now she finally looked peaceful for the first time since she had arrived. Despite the despairing news they had heard not too long ago, both looked up and smiled lightly at the green pegasus mare as she closed the door behind her. Cherry motioned for Flora to speak quietly so that they did not disturb Radiance.

“Flora,” she whispered, genuinely happy to see her friend again, “you made it back.”

“Did you find the kids?” Berry asked.

“Yes,” Flora answered, “I found them. They’re in the kitchen with Zecora right now, getting something to eat.”

“How are they?” Cherry asked. “They’re not hurt or sick, are they?”

“No, they’re all fine. They found a place to stay for the night to hide from the storm.”

Flora’s aquamarine eyes scanned the expressions of her friends. They may have been trying to remain quiet so as to not wake their friend up, but she could tell that there was a lot less enthusiasm in their speech and actions. Whenever a Pie acted this way, something bad had just happened.

“What about you guys?” Flora asked worryingly. “Zecora wouldn’t tell me what’s going on and you two don’t seem to want to let me know either. Is everything okay? Did anypony else get hurt?”

The Twins glanced at each other reluctantly.

“Have you spoken to Andromeda at all?” Cherry inquired.

Flora shook her head.

“The last time I saw her was before I left to look for the children. She was gathering herbs for a color-changing potion that she was making to help with the search. Why? Did she finish it and leave to go look for them?”

“Yes,” Berry replied, “she did finish the potion, but she didn’t leave to find the kids. She knew you’d spot them eventually.”

“Then what?” Flora asked impatiently. “Why did she leave before I got here if she wasn’t looking for the kids too? I thought I was supposed to find them so we could go home! Radiance is here and it’s clear Bismarck was too because I saw his hat on the floor. Where is he? Where’s Tempest? Are they with Andromeda?”

“Shhhhh,” Cherry whispered, “you’ll wake Radiance.”

That reaction was the last straw. Flora didn’t know why the twins were stalling the way they were, but whatever the reason was, it was beginning to panic her.

“Just tell me what’s going on!” she pleaded. “The kids are here right now, waiting in that room, right now, waiting to end this nightmare of a trip. Why aren’t we going home?”

“Because we can’t go home!” Berry blurted out, unintentionally curt.

Flora’s eyes blinked once, twice, three times before she could even move anything else. Taking a second to process it, she finally mustered up the ability to speak.

“How…how is that possible? Andromeda created the spell. She said so herself! The plan was to find everypony and go home!”

“We know, Flora,” Cherry said, hoping to calm her down. “Things changed.”

“Something has gone wrong with the time travel spell,” Berry added solemnly, his attention now fully directed at Flora. “When Orion cast it, he forgot to use Andromeda’s safeguard to protect us. Now we only have maybe a few weeks to get back home, or else…we’ll all die.”

The twins watched with an eerie sense of déjà vu as the last bit of Flora’s demanding approach crumbled before them in sudden silence. As the concept slowly sank in, Radiance’s breathing became the loudest sound in the room, as if the rest of them were all holding their breath in unison. After what seemed like an eternity of nothing, tears began to flow through Flora’s eyes, causing her to sniff lightly.

“How?” she asked, horrified. “Why?”

Berry couldn’t stand it for a second longer. He had already consoled Andromeda and then helped her tell the rest of the group. He wasn’t ready to continue it a third time. Telling Flora, the most gentle and kind pony he had ever met, that she was going to die with barely a fighting chance was more than he could handle.

“I can’t do this again,” he said, getting up and storming his way to the bedroom door. “I can’t. Tell her, Cherry. I’m going to sneak out the back and get some fresh air. Watch over Radiance for me, please?”

Cherry didn’t like it, but she understood his reaction and did not try to stop him. With a long, drawn-out creak, he opened and closed the door behind him with a click. Flora sat across from her, still waiting for the answer to her question, but unable to speak up again. It didn’t matter, though. Cherry knew what she was thinking.

“Remember the injuries we got when we went back in time?” she asked, trying to explain it all the best she could. “Andromeda said that they were side effects of the spell that went wrong. She told us that we’re going to get sick, and that it will get worse the longer we’re in the past.”

“And then we’ll die,” Flora added, finishing the thought for her. “All of us.”

“Unless Andromeda can find a way to fix the spell, yes.”

Flora looked at the floor for a moment, nodded lightly, and stood up. It was hard for her to take, but all she could think about was not her own life, but her Peach Cobbler’s. With a sniff, she wiped her teary eyes and turned towards the door.

“I have to tell the children,” she said, her voice slowly regaining control.

Cherry was the only pony between Flora and the door and quickly jumped up and blocked her path. Wrapping her arms around her neck like in a hug, she stood on her hind legs and braced herself against her friend’s advance.

“No,” she cried, “you can’t! They can’t know that! It’ll devastate them!”

Flora shook her head hard from side to side.

“I am not going to let my sister think she’s okay when she’s really dying! I will not lie to her! If we don’t tell them, we’ll be killing them ourselves!”

As Flora spoke, Cherry could see something in her eyes that she had never seen before. Face-to-face with the green pegasi, she watched the once shimmering aquamarine color of her irises grow dark and dull. A glassy haze began to cover the eyes and a light growling vibration in Flora’s throat rumbled on Cherry’s hooves. Looking down, the pink-colored earth mare saw her friend’s teeth clenched angrily, and without a moment to react, the once-timid daughter of Fluttershy began to shove her back with uncharacteristic strength. Shock and fear shot through Cherry as her hind hooves began to slide backwards on the floor.

“Flora, stop it!” she cried in terror. “Flora, you’re scaring me!”

Flora continued to growl and push her closer to the door while Cherry braked as hard as she could. Something was very wrong.

“Flora?” she repeated desperately. “Flora, it’s me….Cherry! Flora, please listen to me!”

Nothing. Just as Cherry’s legs began to feel the door, she spotted an awakened Radiance sitting up in her bed, frightened at the sight.

“Flora!” Radiance cried out. “Stop! She’s your friend!”

At the very moment, Flora ended her advance. Her eyes grew bright once more and her growling ceased. The stood where she was for a moment, dazed and confused at what had just happened, but when she saw that she was pinning her best friend against the door, she stumbled back.

“Oh my gosh!” she cried, unable to remember anything other than a cold darkness creeping through her. “What’s happening to me?”

Cherry continued to stand where she was while Flora leaned her back against the side of the bed and sobbed. Radiance slowly lowered herself off of the mattress and sat next to her friend so she could comfort her, but Cherry was dazed by what had just happened, and was unable to move. Radiance began to soothe Flora, who buried her head into her friend’s chest.

“It was horrible,” Flora weeped. “I was so angry. I wanted to… I wanted…”

“Shhhhhhhh, it’s okay,” Radiance whispered reassuringly, holding her tight. “It’s okay, Flora. It’s over now… it’s over.”


* * * * *


Later, after Flora had told the kids what was going to happen to them, Cherry rounded up the children and took them outside, where she prepared to return them to Ponyville. They were sad, but more than anything else, they were confused.

“Okay kids,” Cherry explained, “I’m going to be walking you through the forest until you reach Ponyville. From there, you will need to find your way back to Fluttershy’s house. You’ll be staying there for a while.”

“Does this mean that we need to lay low again?” Orion asked.

“Yes, Orion, that is exactly what it means.”

“Why can’t we stay here?” Peach Cobbler asked. “Why do we have to go back to my mom’s house?”

Closing the front door behind her, a now-composed Flora exited Zecora’s hut and approached the children. Finding Peach, she kneeled down to her sister’s eye level and gave her a big hug.

“We may be here for a while, and we can’t keep you guys here because mom will be looking for you. You’ll just have to stay with her until Andromeda figures out how to fix the time travel spell. It’ll be like going home.”

“No,” Peach stubbornly retorted, “it won’t be. This mom doesn’t know who I am and I’m not allowed to tell her anything! I might as well be staying with a stranger!”

“There’s no other choice, sweetie,” Cherry added. “We don’t even have enough room here for the rest of us, and Zecora is being very generous already. Fluttershy will take good care of you, and I don’t need to promise you that.”

Peach groaned.

“Can’t you come with us, Flora?” she asked.

Flora glanced at Cherry and back at her little sister. There was more than one reason why she couldn’t go to Ponyville for a while, and one of them was now a sworn secret between her, Cherry, and Radiance.

“I’m sorry, Peach, but I can’t. I can’t risk getting discovered by our mom. You’re a little firecracker, but I look and act just like her. She might get suspicious. I’ll come visit you every day if you want, away from the town, okay?”

Peach raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“Whoa there, sis,” she giggled, “no need to get all mushy on me! I just don’t want to spend several weeks with these dumb boys!”

“Hey!” Orion and Bucky shouted.

The daughters of Fluttershy laughed together and hugged one last time. Seeing Cherry approaching, Flora let go of Peach and stood back up.

“Will you and Berry be okay watching Radiance?” Cherry asked.

“We’ll be fine. Since she’s awake right now, the difficult thing will be finding something to do. I sure hope Zecora has a deck of cards somewhere.”

Cherry smiled and began leading the crusaders into Everfree Forest, and before they disappeared into the thick, green foliage of the trees, Peach stopped and waved goodbye to her sister. The last thing she saw was Flora waving back before returning to the hut.

Though it was still daytime, sunset was approaching, and Cherry was more than happy to try to get them to Ponyville before the sun went down, as she hated the dark. Luckily for her, the trip was a short one, and once they reached the edge of the forest, she gave each one a hug and readied to set them on their way.

“I look too much like my own mother to go any further, so I won’t be able to join you guys. Don’t forget, though,” she reminded them, “if you’re in trouble and you can’t go to or find Fluttershy, you come back to Zecora’s, okay?”

“Okay, Cherry,” the kids said.

“I’ll see you guys again soon. Be careful.”

With their final goodbyes out of the way, the three foals began their trip back to Fluttershy’s house. No sooner did they reach the edge of the town did an unusual sight and sound catch their attention. Looking up at the sky, on the other side of Ponyville, two pegasi zoomed in the direction of the mountains, the soundwaves of their takeoff echoing through the town.

“Somepony’s in a hurry,” Orion said as he shaded his eyes to see better. “I wonder what that was about.”

“Those ponies were acceleratin’ awful fast, ah can tell you that,” Bucky pointed out. “Do you think that was Tempest?”

“It can’t be,” Peach replied, speaking on behalf of her hero. “There was obviously two of them, and the only other pony who could possibly keep up with Tempest is…”

Stopping in mid-sentence, she glanced at her friends with a look of epiphany, and she could tell that they were thinking the same thing.

“Rainbow Dash,” they all said together.

They continued to walk, still trying to process the possibility that the two pegasi were indeed Rainbow Dash and Tempest. If their guess was correct, they were all in a lot worse shape than they thought. Whatever plan their big brothers and sisters had come up with was no longer working, and the rabbit hole wasn’t getting any shallower.

“What if that really was Tempest and his mom?” Peach asked. “If he gets discovered, what’ll happen to us?”

She and Bucky both glanced at Orion, who seemed just as lost as they were.

“What are you looking at me for?” he asked defensively. “I’m not the scientist! That’s Andromeda’s thing.”

“To be perfectly honest,” Bucky added, trying to come up with a logical answer, “ah have no idea either. None of us have any idea just how much it takes to change history! Ah didn’t even know it was possible to time travel until Orion showed us.”

“Nopony did,” Orion sighed, “except my mom and sister. Now I see why they hid it from me all this time. They knew I would screw it all up, and I did.”

Bucky and Peach didn’t know what to say. As much as they wanted to let him know it was okay and that he wasn’t responsible for what was going to happen, they both knew he wouldn’t believe their words. In a way, they wouldn’t have believed it either, and with that, the remaining walk to Fluttershy’s became a silent one. As they finally reached the isolated yet cozy home, Peach Cobbler began to feel an odd chill as they approached. All around them, the shadows of the trees were just starting to grow longer and lighter as the sun finally began to dim, but something else caught her attention.

“I don’t think she’s home,” Orion noted. “Do you think she’s looki…”

“Shhhhhhhh,” Peach hissed, motioning for them to stop.

“Peach?”

Outstretching her ears, the pegasus filly crouched low and listened to every sound. They twitched with rapid motions, moving from side to side. Only the distant clucking from the chicken coops and the chirping songs of the crickets pierced the air. She knew every sight and sound there was in this place, and something did not feel right.

“What’s going on?” Orion whispered.

“Chickens,” she replied cautiously. “They’re awake. They shouldn’t be awake.”

“So what?” Bucky asked. “Mah family’s raised chickens fer years and they wake up in the middle of the night all the time.”

Peach Cobbler began to make her way around the house to inspect what was going on, leaving the boys little choice but to follow.

“Not our chickens,” she replied, still keeping her voice down as she slowly crept to the last corner. “They usually fall asleep at sunset, but something has them spooked. Get ready for whatever is on the other side.”

Orion and Bucky nodded. They were ready. Peach silently mouthed the countdown, one, two, three, before they all jumped out. Three hooded figures appeared as they turned the corner and shrieked in surprise, making the three crusaders scream in response. With a violent crash, they ran into all three strangers and tumbled to the ground.

“Quit doing that!” a shrill, familiar voice shouted from underneath one of the robes.

Peach, Bucky, and Orion all knew that voice, and as they all picked themselves off of the cloaked ponies, they were able to get a good look at one of them who had been de-hooded by the impact.

“Owww,” a sore Apple Bloom grumbled, still lying on the ground, “mah aching back.”

It was the original Cutie Mark Crusaders. Peach frowned heavily at the three foals in front of her.

“You again? What are you guys doing here?” she said.

“We should be asking you the same thing!” Scootaloo chided as she took off her hood. “Where’d you disappear to?”

“None of your business,” Orion retorted.

“It became our business when you lied to Fluttershy and my sister about who you were,” Sweetie Belle said with a more diplomatic tone than her pegasus friend.

“Fluttershy may be gullible, but we’re not buying your story. You’re going to tell us the truth,” Scootaloo demanded.

Peach Cobbler’s face burned a bright red. Nearly about to lunge at the magenta-haired filly, Peach felt a hoof grasp onto her wing. Unknown to the original crusaders, Orion had just prevented a brawl.

“Don’t you talk about her like that!” Peach shouted.

“Please, can’t we all just calm down?” Apple Bloom asked as she stood between the two fighting parties. “Y’all are bickerin’ worse than two roosters in a pen!”

Bucky remained quiet and assessed the situation. Somehow, as the argument broke down, he could feel his reaction time and observation increase. Peach was no longer in control, as her anger had compromised her. Orion was too busy making sure she wasn’t about to do something they would all regret. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom seemed to be the peacekeepers in this situation, but both were clearly following Scootaloo’s lead. Unfortunately for him, she appeared to be just as passionate in the moment as Peach.

“We only needed somewhere to stay for a while,” Bucky tried to explain. “It was an accident that we even ran into her, but she was nice enough to give us food and a place to sleep.”

“We still don’t like your keeping secrets from Fluttershy,” Sweetie Belle said. “Even if both of your stories are correct and you are orphans from Canterlot, that doesn’t explain your weird behavior.”

“We’ve been watching you three,” Scootaloo added. “Ever since we met you, you’ve have been acting very suspicious. First you kept disappearing without a trace, which, by the way, is exactly why Fluttershy isn’t here. She’s looking for you right now! Then, at the Field Day, you were obviously lying to us when we asked you who you were, and on top of that, we found you talking to a green pegasus that we’ve never seen before in our lives! Does the name Flora ring a bell? She sounds like she’s your sister, Peach!”

Peach’s eyes glared at her. Scootaloo may have been a good friend in the future, but the filly version of her was grating on her nerves.

“We think y’all are tryin’ to scam Fluttershy fer food and a place to stay, and that Flora is probably in charge,” Apple Bloom said.

“We’re not trying to scam anypony!” Orion pleaded. “Please, we’re just passing through!”

“Forget it, Orion, they don’t want to listen,” Peach said angrily before turning her attention back at the Scootaloo. “They don’t even have any proof anyway!”

“Oh yeah?” the orange filly said with a grin. “You were also wearing capes. They have the Cutie Mark Crusader symbol on them, and we want to know where you got them.”

“A friend gave them to us in Canterlot,” Orion lied, hoping to maintain some connection to their previous stories of being from the capital city.

Inside, however, the unicorn colt winced at his choice of words. From the moment he said it, he knew that it would backfire on him.

“There aren’t any crusaders in Canterlot,” Apple Bloom reported. “Mah cousin Babs would know.”

“I don’t care about that,” Scootaloo grunted. “I just want them to explain to us about my cape.”

Pulling off their hoods, the original crusaders revealed them to be Peach, Bucky, and Orion’s capes. Each one was more faded and used than the fresh and new capes that Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle wore. Scootaloo untied the one that she was currently wearing and held it up to Peach’s. The rips were an identical match while both had been sewn back together with the same thread and style.

“Why is your cape exactly like mine in every way?” Scootaloo asked.

“Coincidence,” Peach answered.

“You’ve lied to us before, so we have little reason to believe that,” Sweetie Belle said. “It’s not a coincidence that you have the same exact cape that looks even older than ours. I made these capes myself, and I recognize my own work. Where did you really get this?”

Bucky glanced to the side to see a wide-eyed Peach and Orion. They were in a difficult spot right now and their alibi was growing smaller by the minute.

“It’s complicated,” Bucky answered, unable to think of any other explanation on the spot. “Ah know that’s not the answer y’all were looking fer, but we just can’t tell you.”

Bucky spoke with a clear sincerity in his voice, but Scootaloo was not having it. She needed to get to the bottom of this mess.

“If you won’t tell us, then why don’t we wait for Fluttershy to come back so we can all figure it out together?” she asked. “I’m sure she’d love to hear this.”

Now the ball was in Bucky’s court. Seeing the confidence in Scootaloo’s eyes, he could see that she meant what she said, but he was not going to give her anything if he could help it.

‘Fluttershy is understandin’,’ he thought to himself. ‘Ah’d rather take my chances with her than tell.’

“Fine,” he said defiantly. “Y’all go ahead. We’ll wait here. We’re just a few orphans who lived in Canterlot and just so happened to come across these capes. We got nothin’ to hide.”

With a deep sigh of relief, Orion and Peach Cobbler both relaxed. Scootaloo’s legitimate threat had finally started to look like an empty one. Little did they realize that they had clearly underestimated her perseverance.

“Okay then,” she responded with a grin, “we will. And while we’re at it, I think I’ll take these capes over to Twilight Sparkle’s house. You may have heard of her. She was a pupil of the princess and she’s really smart. I’ll bet she can tell me if these are the same cape or not. While I’m at it, I might drop by Rarity’s and tell her the whole story as well. You can all come with if you want, since you’re all totally telling the truth!”

Bucky stared at her in both anger and surprise. Not only had she called his bluff, but she had also thrown a factor into the game that could not be predicted or afforded: Twilight. Turning his head back towards his friends, he searched for any indications of a plan from either of them, but both looked exhausted and out of ideas.

There was no escaping it. It was either tell the original Cutie Mark Crusaders their big secret and surely break their vow of secrecy or endanger the entire group by taking a chance on Twilight Sparkle. As hard as it was to do, they could only choose one.

“Alright,” Bucky said, his voice raspy from nerves. “Ah’ll tell.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle drew closer.

“Tell us what, exactly?” Scootaloo asked in curious anticipation.

With a deep breath, Bucky closed his eyes, exhaled, and stared straight into her purple eyes.

“The truth.”