Walking through the future Equestria was very unnerving. Octavia found it nightmare-like and unnatural. Vinyl refused to leave her buddy's side while they both followed Whooves.

"Everything here is so..." Vinyl began, glancing around at the scenery, "...Dead."

"As soon as the Tower of Midnight collapsed, the loss of so much power wiped out a half of the Equestrian population," Whooves explained solemnly, "It disabled the Harmony Gears as well, allowing for many of Equestria's past enemies to attack and destroy the rest of the land. Those who were still alive took off to new lands across the sea until there was almost nopony left. The only ones who are left are probably a few who stay true to their original Equestrian roots."

"And you, Sombra, and the Shadowbolts." Octavia added.

"Shadowbolts aren't technically ponies," Whooves quickly replied, "They were created with Nightmare Moon's dark magic to assist Sombra in the capture of me and Octavia."

Vinyl gulped, "Does... Does Nightmare Moon live here too?"

Whooves nodded, "Sadly, she lives here as well. I've only seen her once though. She keeps herself well hidden so that no one can find and destroy her. She only shows herself to Sombra and his cronies."

"Who is this Nightmare Moon pony?" Octavia questioned.

"Princess Luna's evil counterpart that is locked deep in her spirit," Whooves explained, "Nightmare Moon only rears her ugly head whenever Luna becomes severely angry and bitter. She can take control and practical destroy everything of the light and goodness. Luna isn't too happy right now, so..."

Octavia looked down at the gray sand, "Are we... You know... Going to have to face her when we do collect all the Gears and head to the Tower of Midnight?"

"We're definitely going to have to hold her off," Replied Whooves, his own voice seeming to be racked with nervousness, "At least until we can get the Gears implanted into the tower's main power source."

"Which is?"

"A central hub powered by pure moonlight. It lies at the very peak of the tower, where Nightmare Moon used to stay until it collapsed."

"How are we going to convince the Guardians that we need their Gears in order to the save the world?" Vinyl asked, "I doubt they're going to trust you."

Whooves seemed stumped for a couple of seconds, "Don't worry. I have a plan."

They continued walking. Neither Octavia nor Vinyl could believe that their surroundings were future Equestria. Seeing the gray nothingness and hearing the dead silence made them uneasy.

"Why you and Octavia?" Vinyl broke silence.

Whooves turned and raised an eyebrow at the unicorn, "Why what?"

"Why does Nightmare Moon think you're responsible for the collapse of the Tower of Midnight? Just... Why you two? No offense, but what is your significance? Why not Celestia or one of the other Guardians?"

Whooves hesitated, "I told you, I don't know. Whoever deceived her into become Nightmare Moon again must have made her angry at somepony she could easily do away with. Of course, we aren't the type that is easy to do away with. As long as you have me to guide you, we should be fine."

Both Vinyl and Octavia were unsure. Even though Whooves proved to be clever and able to think in dangerous situations, neither were sure if they could still trust him fully. Despite their conflicted feelings, they continued to follow the stallion as they traversed through the gray land.

---

"Where are they?"

The Shadowbolts who had led the expedition team now stood fearfully in front of a now unamused King Sombra.

"Where are they?" The unicorn demanded, hearing no answer from the shameful Shadowbolt.

"We lost them." The pegasus said, refusing to meet the king's gaze.

Sombra wasn't happy. He looked as though he was going to blast the Shadowbolt on the spot. He fortunately took a deep breath, his scowl only softening a little.

"Fool!" He barked, "Do you realize how important it is that we make sure to destroy them? You have failed!"

The Shadowbolts hung their head in shame.

"I cannot deal with you right now," Sombra growled, turning away from his minions, "Go! Leave me to decide your punishment later!"

Reluctantly, the group of Shadowbolts walked away, leaving Sombra to himself. He turned to a patch of shadows and smiled sheepishly.

"Apologizes, my mistress," He said, "But don't you worry! They shall be history soon enough."

A growl reverberated through the shadowy land, as a powerful female voice spoke, "It is not the Shadowbolts who have failed; but it is you, Sombra."

Sombra seemed a little offended by the statement, "Whooves is a clever stallion. He and the other two escaped right under my nose. I thought I had them!"

The voice snarled, "You aren't careful enough! You must take every precaution to make sure they don't escape again!"

"The Shadowbolts aren't smart enough to outsmart them!" Sombra argued, his voice beginning to raise as he paced back and forth, "I need more help to capture them!"

The voice chuckled a little, "That I can solve easily, unlike you."

Sombra stepped back as a jet-black, armored hoof stepped foward out of the shadows. He seemed slightly surprised at this as the voice spoke again.

"For the Night will assist you."

---

Furious knocking was heard at Bonbon's door. The cream-colored mare moaned, checking the time. It was six thirty in the morning according to the clock on the wall.

"Go back to bed, Derpy!" Bonbon screamed, "I don't have any muffins!"

"It's the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" A country-accented voice yelled through the wooden door, "There's huge trouble!"

Sensing the urgency in Apple Bloom's voice, Bonbon rushed to the door. She unlocked it and allowed the three fillies to come into her chamber.

"The beach!" Sweetie Belle started to explain, "Vinyl! Octavia! Black Thunder! Big giant hole thingy!"

Apple Bloom pushed her friend out of the way, "We heard Octavia get up really early this morning and we decided to follow her. She went to the beach, and Black Thunder was there. I don't know what he said to her, but he made like this... This big black hole thing and was going to pull Octavia into it. Then Vinyl appeared and they started to run, but Black Thunder pulled them into the hole anyway!"

"Are you making up a story?" Bonbon questioned, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"No!" Scootaloo quickly answered, "We swear to Princess Celestia!"

"You got any proof?"

The three exchanged glances.

"No..." Bloom began, "But please! You have to take our word for it! We think the Musical Mares might be in trouble!"

Bonbon rolled her eyes, "Next time you try to tell me one of your crazy stories, do it when I'm awake!"

"But Bonbon!" Cried Sweetie as Bonbon gently pushed them to the exit.

"No buts!" The cream mare growled, "If you don't want to see my bad side, I suggest you go back to bed and leave me with the hour of sleep I have left."

"Geez," Scootaloo said, "If this is your good side, I'd hate to see what your bad side is!"

"Oh don't worry," Bonbon replied, "You will see it later today!"

Just as the mare was about to shove the fillies out the door, a familiar blue unicorn appeared in their path.

"Hold it," Trixie commanded, "They're right."

Bonbon sniffed, "Oh? How so?"

"Trixie was recently going through the chamber that Black Thunder was staying in, and she found this," Trixie held up a worn, black leather book, "He left this."

"So?" Bonbon questioned, "It just looks like his diary."

"But Trixie was reading through it," Trixie began, "Look at how far the first entry goes back."

Bonbon flipped to the first entry. She gasped upon seeing it.

"This one's dated right after Celestia and Luna's coronation!" She exclaimed.

"That's not all," Trixie added, "Read the entry dated a few days ago, when Black Thunder arrived at the Guild."

Bonbon flipped to the correct entry and quietly read it to herself. After she had read it, she gazed up at Trixie, her eyes as wide as frying pans.

"We've been housing an enemy of Equestria all this time."

---

"How much further?" Whined Vinyl.

"Not much further," Whooves pointed to a hill about a half a mile off, "She lives on that hill. She shouldn't attack if she sees me."

"Attack?" Octavia asked.

"Minuette can be pretty territorial," Whooves explained, "She's also old and can't see well, so she mistakes normal ponies for Shadowbolts or Sombra."

"Oh joy." Vinyl said sarcastically.

Whooves sped up to a gallop, forcing Vinyl and Octavia to sprint after him to keep up. The stallion easily bounded up the hill, but the two mares struggled to reach the top. Whooves stopped abruptedly when he reached the top, glancing around nervously.

"Minuette!" He called, "It's Whooves. Could you come out?"

For a moment, nothing happened. Suddenly, a cluster of bushes rustled to the right of the ponies, as an elderly blue mare emerged from the shadows. There was no mistaking her for Minuette, for she had the same hourglass cutie mark and blue eyes.

"Whooves?" She asked, her eyes narrowing, "Is that you?"

Whooves approached the mare and smiled kindly, "Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey!"

Minuette laughed, "Of course! Only you talk that nonsense!"

They hugged for a moment then split apart. Minuette turned to Octavia and Vinyl, her eyes widening.

"My Celestia..." She gasped, "You two haven't changed a bit! How... How is that?"

Whooves interrupted her. He quickly began to explain what had happened with the Musical Mares and how Sombra dragged them to the future through the past to kill them.

"Old Sombra's at it again?" Minuette questioned, "When will he ever learn his lesson?"

"That's not important," Whooves interrupted again, "We need you to use your powers in order to return to the past. We need to stop this from happening."

Minuette paused for a moment, "I'm going to give you a heads up... It will be extremely difficult for me to transfer three ponies back to the past."

Whooves placed a hoof on the mare's shoulder, "I believe you can do it. You can do it for the peace that Equestria needs so badly."

Minuette smiled, gently pushing Whooves' hoof away, "Alright, I suppose I will do it." She paused again, "Actually... I know a place where unicorn priests and priestess used to channel their full abilities. It's called the Magica Temple Ruins, and it lies north of here."

"Well we need to hurry," Whooves insisted, already dashing off to the northern direction, "Sombra and the Shadowbolts will waste no time catching up to us."

None of them argued. Minuette took the lead, galloping in front of the group as the other three followed. Vinyl and Octavia caught up to Whooves, as Octavia began chatting with Whooves.

"So why did Bla-... Sombra bring us to the future?" Octavia asked.

"Mainly because he didn't want anyone to see him kill you," Whooves explained, "But also because if he killed you in the past, he would create a paradox that could cause the universe to collapse in on itself."

"Er... Why?"

Whooves sighed, "Because you were born in the future, then sent to the past. If Sombra killed you in the past, it would throw everything out of wack and destroy everything. Time is strange like that. If everything doesn't happen in order, it just falls in on itself and implodes."

Octavia raised an eyebrow, "How come you know so much about time? You're constantly talking about it. Time this, time that... It's like you're an expert at it!"

Whooves harrumphed and pointed at his cutie mark, which was an hourglass similar to Minuette's.

"Oh," Octavia said stupidly, "Guess I don't know a thing about you.

Whooves glared at the mare, "There are many things you don't know about me. Many things that you will never find out."

Octavia looked deep into the stallion's crystal-blue eyes. She saw things so unbelievable, she thought she was having another vision. Though he appeared normal on the outside, Octavia somehow knew that the stallion had suffered through a lot of emotional pain. Those eyes... They seemed so old and wise that they didn't even match his face...

"Would you please stop that?" The stallion asked, snapping Octavia out of her trance.

"Doing what?" She replied.

"Staring at me," Whooves remarked, "It's freaking me out a small bit."

Octavia didn't even realize she was doing so. She dropped her gaze and concentrated on the gray ground instead. She didn't even realize that they had reached the ruins until she felt her hoof touch a cold marble floor. Octavia looked up, discovering the remains of the Magica Temple.

It was a medium-sized, square platform made of marble sitting in a small canyon. Four Corinthian pillars rose up at each of the corners of the platform. It looked as though the pillars had once held up a roof, but the roof had been ripped off or had collapsed. Intricate pictures were etched into the sides of the canyons, most of which Octavia couldn't make out.

For ruins, the place really wasn't that ruined. In fact, Octavia could sense a powerful presence here. It was as if all of Equestria's magic was being generated right here in this one paticular spot.

"This is it," Minuette began, "You need to stand back, because I'm not sure how safe this is."

The group obeyed, as Minuette stepped in the middle of the platform and began to focus her energy. Her horn lit up in a sea-blue shade, her eyes sliding shut. Unexpectedly, the pillars around her lit up in the same shade, the ground rumbling in the process. Vinyl hid behind Octavia as beams from the four pillars met in the middle where Minuette's horn was glowing. A large beam of energy shot foward from the unicorn onto the side of the mountain, creating a swirling black hole. She was forced to hold it, for the hole sputtered and spat as if it was about to close again.

"Don't just stand there!" Minuette screamed, struggling under all the magic she was channeling, "Go!"

Whooves, Octavia, and Vinyl obeyed, going around Minuette and towards the hole. However, the blue unicorn suddenly screamed in pain, causing them all to whip around and look at her. One of the pillars was now enveloped in purple and green magic, turning it completely black and shutting off the beam from that pillar. Minuette lurched foward, desperately trying to keep her balance and keep the wormhole going.

"Stop them!" A familiar, guttural voice commanded, "Stop them at once!"

About a half a dozen Shadowbolts shot foward from behind the platform and in front of the hole, preventing the trio from going into it. Octavia, Vinyl, and Whooves weren't intimidated though, for they each drew their weapons, preparing to fight. However, they were suddenly stopped when a gut-wrenching roar sounded through the area. Even the Shadowbolts stopped looking so frightening and looked frightened instead.

"You will not leave!" A powerful female voice bellowed, "You shall be destroyed!"

The trio glanced up at the top of the small canyon. What Octavia was seeing made her heart stop and her blood run cold. Standing there, in all her frightening glory was a jet-black Alicorn with a long, flowing mane of stars. She wore armor on her head, hooves, and chest, and her wings were currently outstretched. Her bright blue, reptilian eyes could be seen glowing even from Octavia's distance.

"Oh my freaking Celestia...!" Vinyl whimpered, hiding behind her friend once again.

"Nightmare Moon!" Whooves exclaimed. He too, looked quite fearful, "Hurry! Get to the portal!"

"Destroy them!" Nightmare's voice rang out over all the commotion.

Desperately, the trio began to fight through the Shadowbolts. Octavia slashed with her cello bow, Vinyl blasted with her bass cannon, and Whooves did his best with his powerful hind legs and punches.

Minuette cried out weakly, "Hurry! I can't hold it for much longer!"

Another pillar went down in Sombra's dark magic. Minuette was nearly thrown sideways, but kept her balance as the said evil king calmly walked up behind her. She turned and began fighting him as best as she could, all the while keeping the portal open.

"Octavia!" Whooves yelled, punching another Shadowbolt in the face, "Your cello! Use it!"

Octavia remembered the cello that Whooves had given her. She quickly took it out, expanded it, and rested it comfortable against her side. In a desperate attempt to clear out the rest of the Shadowbolts, she began playing a fast tune; so fast in fact, that her hooves were moving across the strings at light speed. The cello bow lit up with purple flames, flickering in the darkness. Octavia whipped the bow around, throwing a wave all around her that affected the Shadowbolts, but Vinyl and Whooves were unharmed. Each of the pegasi were thrown about twenty feet, their uniforms catching on fire with the purple flames.

Vinyl stood flabbergasted, "Wow."

"No time to stand in awe!" Whooves shouted, grabbing the two by their hooves, "Portal! Now!"

They rushed foward, Whooves shoving the two mares into the portal. The Alicorn above them roared in anger, attempting to use her magic to close the portal. At the last second, Whooves turned, seeing his good buddy Minuette pinned by Sombra. She managed to smile at him and mouth the words Good luck.

Whooves smiled and saluted at the mare before he jumped through the portal, the angry screams of Nightmare Moon ringing in his ears.

---

Sorry if this seems rushed (Good god, how many times have I said this?), but this was meant to be a fast-paced chapter. Well, enjoy this chapter, because I'm not sure when the next one will be up. I may, or may not take a small break from writing, I haven't decided for sure.

I thought Luna/Nightmare Moon was a perfect choice for Dialga/Primal Dialga because of the split personality thing... Maybe it's just my opinion, but I couldn't find another character to fit Dialga/Primal Dialga's role.