//------------------------------//
// 6: Apology/Planning Ahead 
// Story: Constant: Time Guardian 
// by TimeSpawn 
//------------------------------//

Twilight Sparkle had just finished reading a book on the history of Equestria when the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the library. Spike, who was just coming downstairs from the bedroom, saw them come in and turned back immediately. Apple Bloom looked in Spike's direction, gasping. She looked down sadly as Sweetie belle and Scootaloo walked past her. 

Twilight looked to the Cutie Mark Crusaders first, then to the stairwell which Spike walked on earlier. She looked back to the three fillies. "You three take a seat at that table and I'll be with you shortly for Twilght time," she said. 

This caught Apple Bloom's attention, and she went to join her two friends at said table. When they finally did sit down, Sweetie Belle noticed that Apple Bloom was pouting. Scootaloo noticed too, and for about thirty seconds, the only sound that was heard was the whispered speech between Twilight and Spike. 

Finally, Sweetie Belle broke the silence. "Cheer up, Apple Bloom! This is the perfect opportunity for us to apologize to Spike."

"I know," Apple Bloom replied, "But...What will I say? That's what I'm afraid of."

"Well, we can start it off with a simple apology," Scootaloo suggested, "and then take it from there."

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle agreed, "Just say what comes to mind. We'll do the same."

Apple Bloom smiled a little, nodded, and dug through her saddle pack to get a notebook. "Right afterwards, we can discuss that comet we saw last night."

At that moment, Twilight came down, leading a reluctant Spike. "Don't forget," she whispered, "Listen to what they have to say before you make your next move."

Spike, almost dull-faced, looked to her, and nodded lightly. He walked slowly to the three waiting fillies and took a seat. "Hey," he said simply.

"Howdy," Apple Bloom said weakly. Now she was even more nervous. 

"Hello, Spike," Sweetie Belle said, "Listen...we're sorry about what happened last night. We weren't thinking carefully then."

"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed, "We were so into it last night that we didn't think to ask you what you wanted to do."

Apple Bloom gulped. "And we didn't consider that perhaps y'all would have your own ideas."

There was a ten second pause. Spike sat up straight and surveyed the three-filly crowd around him. Finally, he nodded. "Okay. I forgive you."

Apple Bloom looked up, surprised. She half-expected Spike not to forgive them. "You do?"

"Mm-hmm," Spike replied, "Twilight told me that it's not good to hold on to grudges. She said that if somepony did, it would be a problem that they couldn't solve."

"Yeah, she's right," Sweetie Belle said, recalling such a time, "I had a grudge against my sister once...but I let it go when she decided to surprise me. Remember that, Apple Bloom?"

"Huh?" Apple Bloom asked, and suddenly, she remembered. "Oh right! I remember!" 

"Anyway," Scootaloo said, "Spike...uhm...first off, if you don't want to help us out, that's fine, but...after you left, we saw a comet."

"A comet?" Spike asked, "That's weird...Comet season hasn't arrived yet."

"He's right," Twilight spoke up, "It won't be here for a while. Are you sure it was a comet?"

The three fillies looked to each other. "Well, it was definitely moving fast," Scootaloo said.

"It was bright," Sweetie Belle added.

"And we got a pretty good look at it," Apple Bloom finished, "But some time later, it vanished."

"How long is 'some time?'" Spike asked. "Between ten and twenty seconds?" 

"Longer, actually," Scootaloo said, "It was in the sky for about a minute."

Just then, the front door opened, and Rainbow Dash walked in. "Hey, Twilight, you'll never believe what I saw last night! It just appeared out if nowhere. I mean, there I was on cloud patrol, finishing my round, when I saw it glowing in the sky!"

"Let me guess," Twilight cut in, "It looked like a comet, right?"

Rainbow Dash gasped. "Y---yeah, it did, how did you know?"

"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo caught a glimpse of it too," Twilight answered, pointing to them. 

Rainbow Dash looked to the three fillies and dragon sitting at the reading table. "You did?"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo chimed, "We're about to discuss it now."

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Well, maybe we can discuss it together? After all it was seen by all five of us."

"Four, actually," Spike said, "I never looked at the sky on my way back home last night, so it didn't catch my attention."

"Oh," Rainbow Dash stood corrected, "Well, it seems to have caught your attention now."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, Twilight, didn't we get a set of books on astrology recently?"

"Yes, we did, Spike," Twilight said, beaming, "Good memory. Hold on, I'll get them." Unfolding her wings, she hovered to the section where she put the new set and retrieved them.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked up to retrieve the books and they brought them to the table to look through. "This will be fun!" Apple Bloom stated.

"It should be," Rainbow Dash said, "I'll bet not many ponies saw what happened up there besides us, so it may not hit the news yet."



Jethrek was startled awake by Constant opening the door to the lab he was in on board the Monitor. "I request a status report," Jethrek demanded.

Constant was not paying attention. He banged his head against a wall and held it there.

Jethrek was impatient. "Answer!"

"I heard you the first time, Jethrek," Constant replied through clenched teeth, "I'm having problems of my own right now."

"Explain," Jethrek said more calmly. 

"First, the quantum signature of this universe is very close to that of our own. That's why the Monitor slipped in so easily after it hit whatever caused it to shift here in the first place. It's also why we still have power. Secondly, remember that Equine we saw working in the rock farm we're hiding in right now?"

"Affirmative," Jethrek replied. Constant could tell that if Jethrek had an eyebrow, it would have been raised.

"I did as much of a scan as I could of the planet without wasting too much power, and I found no human life," Constant replied, "As a matter of fact, the population in this world seems to include several species that are mythical in our universe.  Also, I managed to catch a few...conversations. The equine population are ponies, and there are three varieties." Constant called up information on the screen behind him and showed Jethrek what he was talking about. "There are earth ponies, like the one we saw earlier, pegasi, who have wings enabling them to fly, and unicorns, who have horns on their head which work like...magic wands."

"Such creatures exist in this universe?" Jethrek asked. 

"I'm as surprised as you probably are," Constant replied. "But the population isn't limited to ponies. Dragons, griffins, I could go on. Furthermore, a lot of these beings are capable of verbal communication."

"If such creatures exist," Jethrek observed, "Then we should demand their assistance."

"Excuse me?" Constant replied, "I don't know how Daleks handle things in this kind of situation, but let me tell you, we are only two people among a whole planet of unknown beings! If we were to go up to someone and start asking questions, chances are that word might spread and soon after, we would be questioned as well. Too many questions, answered or not, and the consequences would be severe on both sides! Imagine what would happen if someone tried to take the Monitor for themselves!" Before Jethrek had a chance to speak up, Constant went on, "Let me also remind you that you rendered your own travel machine useless by attempting to displace yourself in time in a universe that isn't compatible! I tried to warn you about it, but you didn't listen!"

"Then what is your plan?" Jethrek asked. 

"I don't have one yet," Constant replied, "Although you are right in one respect. We can't just stand around and do nothing..." Constant felt another quake. "Especially with that grey earth pony trying to turn the Monitor into raw materials."

"Then I recommend that you start by getting us away from the rock farm at the earliest opportunity!" Jethrek grumbled.

At that moment, a beeping sound was heard from the console, so Constant went to see what the trouble might have been. It turned out not to be trouble at all. "Minor temporal disturbance," Constant observed, "Looks like someone tried to tamper with time here..." He checked to see where else the temporal disturbance would be. "Hmm...There's another anomaly much farther away, but the temporal fragments seem to be only a few hours apart...it's probably the result of a causality loop."

"How does that help us?" Jethrek demanded.

"It helps us because it's a source of temporal energy," Constant said, getting irritated by Jethrek's demanding attitude. "So that means we at least have a chance to extend our sensor range if we can move there. Satisfied?"

Jethrek took time to take in what Constant had told him. "For the moment," he said at last.

"Good!" Constant said. "In the meantime, I'll get some time probes ready to record events here."

"What purpose would that serve?" Jethrek asked, more calmly.

"If we can record all events over the past thousand years or so, we can see if anyone found a way to shift universes." He turned to Jethrek. "I'm not going to demand help from anyone, Jethrek. I'll kindly ask once I find someone who can help us once I find him or her. So there, I'm taking your idea into account as well. Got it?"

Jethrek hesitated to answer for a few seconds as he looked to Constant. "I...understand."

"Good," Constant said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some probes to program." With that, he left the lab once again. Jethrek watched him leave before going back to sleep.