Dusk grimaced as he slammed his hooves on the console. He had done all he could do. The megaspell could only expend so much power in a single burst, and what he had asked of it was momentous. Sending a pony’s consciousness back in time? Theoretical insanity.

The unicorn huffed and stood, looking back at the place that had become his home and prison over the past years. The time construct wasn’t very spacious, but it had its charms. Still, he needed to focus on the task at hoof.

“Gideon,” he called out.

“Yes, Master Dusk,” a feminine voice replied from out of nowhere.

“Can you please calculate again the odds of the Crystal Empire’s return to the timeline?” he asked.

“Sir… the odds of the Crystal Empire’s return have not changed since the last time you asked me,” Gideon said. Her voice sounded… concerned.

Dusk scowled. All of this, everything he had ever done and it was all for nothing. He had done the impossible, traveled through time itself, changed events for what he thought would be the better. In the end, he had only doomed the world. There was no stopping the war from coming. No stopping the end of everything.

“Dammit,” he muttered. “Thank you, Gideon. That is all I needed.”

“Of course,” the time construct computer replied.

Dusk turned to the window of the time ship and sighed. There was no more he was going to be able to do until Starry and her friends arrived to save him from his prison. Beyond the window, the throne room of the Crystal Empire loomed. He had been stuck here for too long, so long he couldn’t even remember how he had arrived back in the Empire.

One thing he did know, was that he couldn’t get out. The megaspell construct that he had used to travel through time was affixed to the Empire like glue, a by-product of the magical power that was held by its ruler. His only saving grace was that the Crystal Empire couldn’t access the time construct itself, some portion of its magic being devoted to protecting it and anypony unfortunate enough to be inside.

“Good morning, Dusk,” a silky smooth and altogether venomous voice said from beyond the barrier.

“Your Majesty,” Dusk said with a hiss.

The alicorn on the other side of the crystalline window sneered. Her eyes glowed a deep red, her skin rotting and sloughing away from the narcotizing muscle underneath. A crystal crown sat upon her brow. She spread her wings slightly, once majestic instruments tattered and despoiled of years of decay.

“After all of these years, you still believe you can stop us. What have you done?” the alicorn replied, her voice reaching into rasping levels of hatred. “Something changed within the timeline. I felt it.”

Dusk glowered. Of course she had felt it. An event of such massive power and temporal nature would obviously be felt by those who had felt time’s embrace. She wouldn’t know what had actually happened, just the temporal energy left behind from the event.

“Nothing that would be of concern to you, your Majesty,” he replied. “I may not be able to get away from your prison, but I can still do my part to save Equestria.”

The alicorn turned away, snarling loudly. “You may be able to hide your actions from me, Dusk, but they will not matter once all has been moved into place. Deathless Crystal shall have your precious Starry Night within his grasp, and then there will be nothing you can do to stop the Crystal Empire.”

“Don’t underestimate them, your Majesty,” Dusk replied casually. “Individually, they are weak, but together they are mighty.”

“Do not lecture me on the values of friendship,” the alicorn queen said, the final word dripping off of her tongue like icy venom. “I knew the very pillars of friendship.”

The alicorn turned away and snarled loudly. A flourish of her horn summoned a cutie mark of three gems floating in midair.

“Generosity! Was Equestria so generous when we needed their help?!”

Another flourish of her horn. A cutie mark of three apples.

“Honesty! A virtue that Equestria forgot in the search of power and military might!”

A cutie mark of three butterflies.

“Kindness! Did Equestria show kindness to the zebra when they needed help? Did they show kindness to me in my time of need?!”

A cutie mark of three balloons.

“Laughter! A virtue most certainly left to the side in bloody, unforgiveable war!”

A cutie mark of a cloud with a lightning bolt going through it.

“Loyalty! Was Equestria loyal to me when my husband died?! No!”

A cutie mark of the one and only Twilight Sparkle.

“And finally… Magic. The spark that ignites all of the virtues of Harmony. A quality Equestria lost in its vain attempts to take what did not belong to them!”

The alicorn turned back towards Dusk, a hunger brewing in her deep red eyes. “I know all about the virtues of the magic of friendship, Dusk. I was there as Equestria lost itself. I saw what it became. Self-absorbed. Greedy for power.”

“And look where it got them,” Dusk replied. “I know this is hard for you. But what you’re doing will not bring him back, Ca--”

“Do not dare speak that name!” the alicorn shrieked, her voice emitting a powerful magical wave of energy. “That name holds no significance for me any longer. I am the Queen now, and you shall address me as such!”

Dusk scowled. “Yes, your Majesty,” he said, his tone flat.

“You mock me,” the alicorn replied with a huff. “You mock, and yet I am the one in control here. The Empire is stabilizing in this timeline without your help. You did this. Your tampering with the timelines did all of this.”

Dusk looked down at his hooves. She was right, after all. He had splintered the timelines, fractured the continuum, and for what? To save Equestria? What was he really saving? He returned his gaze to the alicorn. Her hate for Equestria was grand. Left unchecked, she would slake her thirst for vengeance across a land that did not know she even existed.

It was not a fate he wanted for anyone. He had seen firsthand how the Empire had brought his world, his time, to the brink of extinction. He couldn’t have that happen again.

“I’m going to stop you, too,” Dusk finally said with a grim look on his face. “I won’t allow you to destroy my home. Not again. Not ever.”

The alicorn’s eyes and horn flared angrily as she began to cackle madly. “Won’t let me? You have no choice but to watch as everything you ever cared about burns to the ground,” she said. “I’ll leave you to dwell on that.”

The alicorn stalked away, leaving Dusk to his own thoughts. He sighed and returned into the time construct’s main bridge, taking a seat at the console.

“Gideon,” he said with a sigh. “ I need to see Starry Night and the others. Is that possible yet?”

“Energy reserves are still low, but I may be able to establish a connection,” Gideon replied succinctly. “It won’t be strong though. You will only be able to view.”

Dusk grimaced, but nodded. “That’s fine. I just need to see and make sure they’re alright. The timeline adjustment should have taken place,” he said.

The screen in front of him fizzled to life, static from all angles but slowly coming into focus. He could see Starry from the camera inside her PipBuck and the others. They were in chains, captive. Dusk scowled as he watched. If they had been captured, Deathless Crystal would be bringing them to the Empire. Or at least… where the Empire would be once it phased back into the timeline.

He watched intently as the caravan they were in halted. Two alicorns were challenging Deathless Crystal. Starry and the others escaped. He watched as Starry and Rock Thresher stared down Wrath. His eyes widened as Wrath killed Rocky. The image started to fizzle and fade.

“Gideon, can you get it back? Dammit, Gideon, I need to see it!” the unicorn shouted angrily.

“I’m sorry, Master Dusk. Power reserves on the timeline management devices are low. Estimated several hours before they can return to full strength,” Gideon said.

Dusk sighed loudly and glanced down at his hooves. It was happening again. This time, there was no way he would be able to save her. The unicorn scowled. A long time ago, he had given a solemn promise to help keep Starry Night safe from harm, and he had failed a close friend in that promise.

“Gideon, let me know as soon as the power reserves are back up,” he said with a loud yawn. “I am going to have to hope… hope that they make it through this.”

“I shall do that, Master Dusk,” Gideon replied.

“Good. I’m going to rest for a bit. I can’t think straight,” Dusk said as he stumbled towards his living quarters. He slumped into his bed and fell asleep.

Dusk awoke to the sound of alarms going off. He lurched out of bed, groaning loudly as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

“Gideon, what’s going on?” he called aloud. No response. “Gideon? Where are you?”

He shook off the grogginess of his sleep, heading towards the bridge. Consoles were ablaze with fire, the overhead alarms blaring as he tried to use his magic to contain it. His horn flared wildly, creating bubbles of vacuum around each fire to snuff it out.

“Gideon! I need an answer!” he shouted.

“H-H-H-Hull integrity at fifty percent,” Gideon replied suddenly, stuttering loudly. “Attacks are c-c-c-coming from a-a-a-all angles. Est-i-i-i-imated power failure in t-t-t-ten minutes.”

Dusk’s eyes widened. There was only one way that the Crystal Empire could attack the time construct. The timeline had solidified, letting the Empire into the chamber. The Empire had returned to Equestria.

“Gideon! I need to get in touch with Starry! Can you put me through? There’s no time!” Dusk shouted.

“P-p-p-power level is l-l-l-low but I b-b-b-believe I can place a connection,” Gideon replied.

The monitor in front of Dusk flared to life, a static filled screen showing Starry Night’s dirty face. She appeared unharmed for the most part, but looked… upset.

“Starry! Starry are you there? Listen… There isn’t much time to tell you what’s going on, but I have no time myself. You must listen to me. I’m sending you the coordinates of my location. The Empire is back. I repeat, the Empire is back. The coordinates will be on your PipBuck. Repeat, the coordinates will be on your PipBuck. Please… hurry,” he said as quickly as he could.

The communication shut off immediately. Dusk sighed.

“We can only hope she got the information. Gideon, transmit the coordinates, then prepare for boarding,” he said.

“It is done,” Gideon said.

“Good. Now… let’s face the music,” he said.

He turned towards the entrance to the time construct. Sparks flew everywhere as the door blew open. Dusk grimaced as the alicorn queen of the Crystal Empire stepped through the entrance. Her red eyes gleamed with malicious glee.

“Cadance,” Dusk said.

“You shall not use that name before me, Dusk,” the alicorn replied. “We have you now. The Empire has returned to glory, and you will see the fall of your world once again.”

Dusk scowled as several crystalline guards walked past, flanking the alicorn queen. Within seconds, he was in chains.

“Take him to my personal prison,” the alicorn instructed. “I want him to have a front row seat for the end of the world.”

Dusk shouted loudly as he was taken from the time construct. Cadance cackled maniacally, standing tall as he disappeared from view. Just beyond the throne room, a younger alicorn appeared. She walked up to the queen.

“Mother,” she said. “I bring news from beyond. Deathless Crystal… he is dead.”

Cadance growled under her breath. “Send out the patrols. We will find this Starry Night, and her friends. I will make them pay for this. And then… Equestria shall taste blood and balefire once more!”d balefire once more!”