//------------------------------//
// 12: Repairing the Barn/Arrangements 
// Story: Constant: Time Guardian 
// by TimeSpawn 
//------------------------------//

	Constant was in a bad mood, but he made a point of not showing it when he reached Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac was waiting for him. "Welcome back, Constant," he said, "Are you ready to fix the barn wall?"

"As a matter of fact, I am, Big Mac," Constant replied, "I'm going to be honest with you, I hope it takes my mind off of what happened."

"Bad day?" the tall stallion asked. 

"Only because I was worried that news would spread about Jethrek," Constant replied as he followed Big Mac to get the materials to repair the barn. "Looks easy enough," Constant said, looking at the materials, "I'll just use the materials and tools you have."

"Why not use your own?" Big Mac asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I've been in too many situations where someone in a primitive culture saw me using such tools and tried to either steal them or duplicate them and use them carelessly," Constant replied.

"You wouldn't be talking about us now, would you?" Big Mac asked, looking sternly into Constant's eyes.

"I wasn't talking about you specifically, Big Mac," Constant replied, "I'm saying that I don't trust anyone to see or use my tools except myself. Now back off."

"Sorry," Big Mac apologized, backing off, "Are they really that dangerous?"

"When in the hands of the wrong people, yes," Constant replied, picking up some materials, "I'm sure that this planet has seen it's share of such occurrences."

"Yep," Big Mac agreed, "It has."

Constant walked outside with Big Mac once all tools and materials were collected. "Well, I'm glad that the section we need to repair isn't that big," he said, "That makes it a little easier than I anticipated it would be." He looked to the barn wall. "Although moving boards through the inside section will be a little tougher than I anticipated..."

Applejack popped her head out of the hole in the wall. "Well, surprisingly, the support beams didn't break," she observed, "So it looks like all you'll need to repair is the wall itself."

Constant nodded his agreement before he got a crowbar to pry off broken pieces of wood, making note of where each one was. "If I reassemble the broken pieces, I can get an idea of what I need to make to fix the wall."

"How long will that take?" Applejack asked.

"Not long," Constant replied.

"Think you'll need help?" Applejack asked.

"I'll ask if I do," Constant replied, and he started working at once.

"Alright," Applejack said, "well, just so you know, Maud Pie is in town, now, and she's not looking too happy..."

Constant stopped where he was..."Who?"

"The pony from the rock farm," Applejack replied.

Constant shuddered.

"She said that the disappearance of her new project was making her feel down," Applejack explained. 

Constant sighed. "Well, there's one thing I definitely have to correct...not that it'll do much good for the timeline..."

"I can bring her here if you want," Applejack offered.

"Might as well," Constant said, "but keep in mind, I don't want anything that I have revealed to you to end up in the newspapers."

"I won't let it," Applejack promised. Then she realized something..."Uh oh..."

"What's wrong?" Constant asked as he was cutting new boards for the walls.

"I just remembered, Maud's sister, Pinkie, can tell if a secret is being kept," Applejack explained, "If I start talking with Maud in secret, Pinkie will get...a little too curious for her own good."

"And you think that would jeopardize my cover?" Constant asked.

"I know it will," Applejack replied, worried.

Constant had just finished cutting the second-to-last board. "That is a problem...a big problem, especially because I already lied to Pinkie Pie and...Twilight, I think her name is."

"Wait...that was you?" Applejack asked, surprised.

Constant sighed as he finished cutting the last board. "So they told you about me, huh?"

"This puts all of us in a situation fifty times tighter than a lasso," Applejack said, her hoof on her forehead, "Pinkie Pie would flip out if she found out someone lied to her unless it was to cover up a party for her. I'm surprised you managed to convince her with the story you gave her."

"Yeah, I was just getting the lay of the land at the time," Constant said, "I wanted to see what the culture was like, so I thought I'd stop there first."

"Where else did you stop at?" Applejack asked.

"Uhm...a boutique," Constant replied, "but I didn't go inside."

Applejack looked to Constant. "Carousel Boutique?"

"That's what it's called?" Constant asked as he nailed in the first board, "It certainly fits, given the shape of the building. Also, whoever owns that building has great taste. I had a house like that once. Three times as big, too."

"Well, I didn't hear anything from Rarity about you," Applejack said, "That's probably a good sign."

"It certainly didn't look like she was in, either," Constant added as he nailed in another board. He got a ladder and prepared to set up the next one.

"That leaves Rainbow Dash," Applejack said..."Did you see her, by chance?"

"Let me make sure we're talking about the same pony," Constant said, "Blue fur, rainbow-patterned mane and tail, a mark on her flank shaped like a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt, and moves very fast?"

"That's her," Applejack confirmed. 

"I saw her fly out of the library," Constant said as he finished nailing in the third-to-last board, "But that's it, really."

"Well, perhaps you will have to tell all of us about it then," Applejack said, "or risk making it worse for you in the future."

"I know," Constant nodded, "and that's what's so scary about it. I meant to keep myself hidden from all of you the whole time I'm in this universe, and now look at me." He sighed. "I shouldn't have buried that probe here."

"It was an honest mistake, Constant," Applejack said as Constant pounded in the last nail on the last board. "Wait, couldn't you...go back in time and move it?"

"That's the thing," Constant explained as he climbed down the ladder to get some paint, "I already found it in your property before that night when your brother found me digging."

"So?" Applejack asked, an eyebrow raised.

"So," Constant went on, "If I went back in time and changed the position of that probe, there would be two different sets of events fighting each other. The universe would be asking 'Did Constant find the probe here or there? Did he get caught digging in this orchard or not?'."

"That's a time paradox?" Applejack asked.

"One type of time paradox," Constant confirmed.

"I see."

Time passed. After he finished painting the new wall, Constant put all the tools and remaining materials away. "Phew!" he said, "I haven't done that much work since my last surveillance mission."

"You worked hard," Big Mac said, "and the wall looks as good as new."

Constant smiled. "Oh, how's that bruise?"

"Not as painful as before," Big Mac replied, "Your time machine doesn't like being attacked, does it?"

Constant laughed a bit, "No it doesn't. Did Applejack return yet?"

"Not yet," Big Mac replied, "I think she's trying to discuss a meeting place, or something..."

"Well, let's hope it's a place nobody goes to that often," Constant said hopefully.

Groooaaaaaaaaaan

Big Mac looked to Constant. "When was the last time you ate?" he asked.

"I haven't eaten since before I arrived in your orchard," Constant replied.

"Well, after all that hard work which you did by yourself," Big Mac offered, "I'll let you have one of our freshest apples."

"That's alright," Constant said, "I don't want to trouble you...Actually, let me get something from the Monitor, hold on." He walked inside the Monitor and walked past the lab. "Progress, Jethrek?" he asked, inquiring about any results for solutions to getting back to their universe.

"Nothing," Jethrek replied.

Constant sighed, went to the mess hall, walked up to the food processor, and pressed a few buttons on the controls. It brought out two square packs and two cans of fluid. He walked outside and handed one of the fluid containers and one of the food packs to Big Mac. "Here, try these."

"Why, don't mind if I do," Big Mac replied, "What...are they?"

"Look," Constant replied, and showed how to open the food packs and fluid cans. He took a bite out of the square he had.

Big Mac observed, and then did the same with his food containers. He took a bite out of his square, and went nearly wide-eyed at the taste. "Tastes like a...pancake with maple syrup." He took another bite. "I taste blueberries in this next bite."

"Well, at least that came out right," Constant said, smiling, "It's been hard to collect real food travelling in my universe."

"Real?" Big Mac raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

"I mean fresh food," Constant explained, "Food that's grown. Food that you can make your own meals with."

"So what's this, then?" Big Mac asked.

"It's basically a combination of all the food components your body actually needs," Constant explained, "and it's flavored to taste like the food you choose."

"Ah," Big Mac pondered. 

At that Moment, Applejack ran up to them. "Constant, I talked with Twilight and some other ponies, and they're willing to meet you here tonight."

Constant looked to Applejack. "Here? In this barn?"

Applejack nodded. "It's the only secluded place I could think of."

Constant sighed. "Thanks, Applejack. I'll be honest with you, I'm not looking forward to this..."

"I know," Applejack said assuredly, "Don't worry though, I had them make a Pinkie Pie promise."

Constant looked up to her. "Based on what you told me about Pinkie Pie, and making a few assumptions about her myself, it's a solid deal?"

"You got it," Applejack agreed, nodding, "Actually, Rainbow Dash says that she can't make it. She's got cloud patrol tonight."

"I suppose I could explain the situation to her later, then," Constant said, "I assume...Maud Pie is coming too?"

"Yep," Applejack confirmed.

"Alright," Constant said, "I'll change the outer shell of the Monitor to look like the rock it was disguised as before I return."

"Wait, you're going somewhere?" Applejack asked.

"Back to the library," Constant replied. "I need to keep the power core charged."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. 

"I'll explain later," Constant promised, "Now...what time is everypony arriving?"

"They'll be here by 7:30 pm sharp," Applejack replied.

"I'll be here by then," Constant replied as he entered the Monitor, "I'm going to park in this exact spot again, so make sure no one is standing here. See you soon." After a moment, the undisguised timeship disappeared from view.	



At Golden Oaks Library, Spike was just finishing a gem muffin when he heard another slight whooshing sound. He dropped what he had left and ran outside to find out what it was, but the sound had stopped just as he opened the door. "For crying out loud, that's getting annoying!" he ranted as he looked around. After a few seconds, he went back inside with a hand over his eyes. Twilight was looking out a window. "I heard it too, Spike," she said, "and it was very close."

"How can you hear something that close if it's not there?" Spike asked as he walked upstairs

"My question exactly," Twilight agreed. 

Spike looked out another window. He looked left and right for anything out of place. Then he saw that part of his view was obstructed by a branch. "That's never happened before," he thought to himself as he turned to walk away from the window. Suddenly it came to him. "I missed something!" he started as he ran downstairs.

"What is it Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Follow me!" Spike replied as he ran outside.

Twilight followed Spike until he stopped to look at one of the branches. "What do you see, Spike?" she asked.

"That branch," Spike replied, pointing to said branch, "It wasn't there before."

Twilight looked to where Spike was pointing. "What makes you say that?"

"I was looking out that window," Spike replied, pointing to said window, "and I realized that there was a branch blocking my view from there." He pointed to a building nearby. "I can usually see that building  from that window, but now the branch is blocking it."

"So we have an extraneous branch, now," Twilight said.

"Yeah, but how did it grow out so quickly?" Spike asked.

Twilight hovered to examine the new branch. "You're right, this branch wasn't here before..."



Constant was looking over data from the probes. His bad mood had diminished, but he was still not happy. Several things were on his mind, one being that he made the mistake of burying a probe in the exact location where Sweet Apple Acres would be. He told himself that he should have looked around more before he started burying the probes. Another was that he probably should not have talked about astrological phenomena in the first place at the library. If he had been more careful in those two situations, he probably wouldn't have ended up in his current one. Thirdly, he thought that he should have left the rock farm sooner. Then again, that situation was unavoidable due to the power loss.

Then there was Jethrek. Constant sighed deeply. Jethrek did seem to be cooperating at the moment, even after he had been found by Fluttershy. "There's something I'll need to talk to him about," he said to himself, "I should probably teach him to appreciate things like that..." After a few moments, he shook his head, "Then again, it'll be that hard to convince him." He walked to the lab and saw Jethrek sleeping. Constant couldn't blame him for that. After all, he had been out of life support for nearly a full day. He checked the operation of the life support system via a nearby console, and saw that everything was working as it should have been. He looked back to Jethrek. Lessons from his early years started coming back to him about the Daleks, especially the Doctor's findings. Daleks were bred to be soldiers and nothing more. Only negative emotions were active in their minds. But what if there was some chance that he could be something...more? Constant let this question flow through his mind. Being in this universe seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore it. However, he decided to put it off until later. 

Constant walked to a nearby console. He typed in a command to show what was going on outside and jumped back in surprise when he saw Twilight's face taking over the screen. He sighed. "Looks like we've been exposed early."

Jethrek woke up. "Report," he said tiredly.

Constant looked to him. "I'm going to talk to a few ponies about the situation we're in. If they do decide to help, I'm going to tell them to take it easy. They have to live their destined lives, so I can't ask too much from them."

"You have exposed us," Jethrek said, still tired, but sounding angry.

"Again, Jethrek, don't put it all on me," Constant ranted, "Your little stunt amplified the situation."

"What do they know about me?" Jethrek asked.

"Nothing," Constant replied, "Those that do know about you thought you were some kind of animal. However, I may, or may not tell them about you, so be prepared to accept that."

Jethrek looked away from Constant. "I do not have a choice."

"It should turn out alright," Constant said, "So start thinking positively for once." When Jethrek looked back at Constant, it was obvious that they had different views on 'thinking positively'. Constant heard a scratching noise. He went to the console he was working at earlier, and saw that Twilight wasn't in view anymore. He changed view angles until he saw a claw scratching at the shell of the Monitor. It stopped.

"Tough branch," he heard Spike say. 

"Ah, "Constant said, "Looks like I'd better expose myself early."

Jethrek watched as Constant made sure his perception filter had enough charge and walked out of the lab.



Spike jumped off the extraneous branch. "It also feels cold...like metal."

Twilight was confused. "Like metal?"

Before Spike could answer, they both heard a loud CLUNK! They both looked to the branch to see a section of it open, and a pony stick his head out of that section. He looked to Twilight and Spike.

Twilight gasped. "You? But, you said---"

"Shh," the stallion whispered, "All will be explained at Sweet Apple Acres."

Spike was surprised. "Wait you---" He stopped himself and brought it down to a whisper, "you're Constant?"

Constant nodded. "I'm sorry about the earlier deception. I promise I'll explain everything at Sweet Apple Acres. For now, I must remain hidden." He looked around. "Act naturally," he said as he went back inside and sealed the door.

Spike and Twilight just looked at each other in confusion. "So he wasn't studying astrological phenomena," Twilight pondered, "So what is he really here for?"

"I hope he's not here to spy on us," Spike said, "but that does raise the question. If he is a spy...who is he working for?"

"Don't assume anything right now, Spike," Twilight said, "We don't have enough information."

Spike had to agree.