Darkness. That was all Constant remembered after finding out exactly when Spike landed in time. When he woke up, he found that he was no longer in Rockville. Luckily, no one was around him, considering his perception filter was not turned on. He turned it on at once in case someone was coming. Standing up and looking around, he picked up his scanner, which thankfully to him, had been thrown back with him. He found that he was in a time probably thousands of years before the time he was thrown back from. Taking a short walk around the area, he managed to get a picture of the landscape, which he recognized as the landscape where he and Jethrek would place a time probe moments before a dragon colony would settle. The flora and fauna gave him an idea of when he had landed, but he still could not guess the exact date and time. Looking up, he could not tell whether it was turning to dusk or dawn. Either way, he would have to make a temporary shelter for himself until he knew exactly when he was. Then he might get an idea of what he could do to correct the situation he was in.
“But not just me,” he thought to himself, “I put those three ponies and Spike in possibly imminent danger. Who knows if they’ve been thrown back in time by now? I should have been more careful.” He turned his scanner on and surveyed the area. “Darn it. These devices will run out of power if I use them too often. I’m going to have to make solar panels to keep them charged. But where to find the materials to do it with?”
As time passed, he started finding the materials he needed, but extracting them would be another story. He would have to hide the evidence that anyone was at the sites where he dug for them. Because of this, he had to use his sonic screwdriver a lot more often than he could use his laser screwdriver. Of course, that would not be the case when he started construction on the solar panels themselves.
Food and shelter were much more of a problem. He had no money that was useful in this world, so he had to look for edible plants and made ration packs with whatever he collected. Eventually it came to the point where he would have to make hand-driven tools such as knives for the purpose of collecting these plants. Thanks to this, he could save even more power in his sonic and laser screwdrivers, as well as his scanners.
A surprise came to him one day. As he walked along a grassy field, he heard a quick whooshing sound. He recognized it immediately as the sound of the Monitor arriving. Turning around and seeing it, he scrambled to hide behind a bush. He was not sure if it was his present Monitor being piloted by Jethrek to rescue him, or if it was their past selves on a probe run. After waiting for a few minutes, the Monitor’s doors opened, and Constant saw himself walking out with a probe, and Jethrek following. “Drat,” Constant thought as he watched himself dig the ground, “Well, at least I can link with that probe using my scanner to find out when I am.” He waited patiently until his past self and Jethrek went back into the Monitor and left, then he rushed to the deployment site and turned his scanner on to request a link up with the probe. The probe responded, and he requested the date and time. Now, he knew when and where he was, and with these, he could actually start his journey. Before he walked away, he commanded the probe to delete all traces of him accessing it.
First the days passed, then the weeks, then the months. After a long adventure of mere survival, as it felt to him, he felt that it was about time that he actually risk asking for help. But who to ask? He used his scanner to look for another probe. It took him about three hours to reach it, and once he did, he looked at what the probe had recorded so far. After looking through several hours of visual recordings in all directions, one pony of interest caught his attention: Starswirl the Bearded. “If I recall reading about him correctly,” Constant thought to himself, “he had a hand...or hoof...whatever...in temporal travel. Maybe I can ask him for help.” He accessed the probe’s visual feed to locate Starswirl. “There he is!” He cut the link, erased all traces of him accessing the probe, and went on his way.
The trip would take several days, so Constant made sure that he was prepared. If he had to, he would have shaved whatever hair formed a beard and mustache on his face and use it to light a campfire. Shaving in and of itself was a difficult task for him because he had to create a single-bladed tool for the job. One wrong move, and he would have cut himself. It did not help that he was not holding his reflective surface when he was thrown back in time. He would have to look at his reflection from the rivers.
All through the trip, he had to avoid being seen by anyone in this time zone. Some days he would walk out in the open with his perception filter active so he would not be exposed, but other days he would have to go into hiding while the batteries in said device charged up. At the same time, he wondered if it was worth it revealing his true form to Starswirl the Bearded. If he did, what would be the chances that he would be written in history after all? After considering his options, he decided it was a risk he was willing to take. He gathered what wooden sticks he could, and with them, was able to make several sheets of paper after grinding them. Having memorized the written language, he was able to write a letter by carefully burning the words on the paper.
Dear Starswirl the Bearded,
I am writing to you because I am in dire need of your assistance. What you will read in this letter must be kept secret, as I arrived in this time zone from the future. If this, or any of what I have to request of you is discovered by anyone else besides you and me, then the timeline will dramatically change.
My arrival in this world was accidental, and my own method of time travel has been compromised by some unusual circumstances. I need a way to travel back to the time I landed from, as well as a way to travel back to my own universe. I have read in history books that you have expertise in both subjects, which is why I am asking you for help in the first place. Also, someone else from my relative present was thrown back to a time between now and then, so I will need a way to send him back as well.
If you feel you can only use minimal resources to help me, I understand. I do not wish to ask too much of you. You can find me about a mile west of your home. I’ll set up camp there to make sure you find me.
Sincerely,
Constant
Constant wondered if it was a good idea mentioning his own name. It did have a chance of leaving a mark in history. After thinking about it for a while, he decided the risk was worth it. He rolled up the paper and tied it using a piece of vine he had collected some time earlier, and tied it to his belt before continuing his walk to Starswirl’s home. When he finally got there, he could hear no activity going on, which to him, meant that no one was home. He looked around, making sure that no one was watching, and then sneaked to a window, where he stuck his arm in and left the note. He looked around again, and then used his scanner to find an appropriate location in the direction he promised Starswirl he would be. Once he stopped, he collected wood and rocks and set up a campfire to keep warm.
The minutes passed, then the hours. He looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was already setting. He was about to set up a tent when he heard hoof steps approaching. Looking around, he stopped when he saw an elderly pony with a long beard and a blue hat and cape, both with moons and stars on them, approaching. Constant stood up and waved his arm, signaling to said pony where he was. The pony quickened his pace, and when he finally reached Constant, he raised his hat to show his face. “You are Constant?” he asked.
Constant nodded. “I am he,” he replied, “I’m guessing that makes you Starswirl the Bearded?”
Starswirl paused at that question. “...Yes,” he replied, “So, you are the one who left me that letter.” He took a seat near a tree. “I understand the severity of the situation you are in. You say that you are from the future and that you need to get back. That I believe. However, I need further proof that you are not from this universe. I have been able to open portals to other universes before, so if you are telling the truth, I can help you in that respect.”
“I figured you would ask that,” Constant replied, “Observe carefully.” He turned off his perception filter, enabling Starswirl to see his humanoid form. “I’m sure that there is no one like me on this world in this universe. Would I be correct in this assumption?”
Starswirl’s face was one of surprise at first, then he recovered. “No, you are right. I have not encountered anyone like you residing in this world.” He sighed. “Very well, I will assist you.”
“Thank you,” Constant said, and with that, he gave Starswirl the information he needed.
Some time had passed afterwards, and Constant and Starswirl would exchange information to help get closer to a solution. There would be days when Constant would have to let Starswirl take a break so that he could either rest or do something that Constant found was important to the timeline. Finally, after what seemed like weeks, Starswirl and Constant had a discussion about the final results.
“I am afraid that I cannot help you to the extent that you need, Constant,” Starswirl said, “The universe you come from is very difficult to focus on for an extended period of time.” He put down three jewels. “These are the mediums I can use to contain the spells you need, but unfortunately, I can only make them effective for one pony or other being.”
Constant looked at the jewels. “I see. Are you absolutely certain that this is the only way you can help me?”
Starswirl nodded. “This is all I can do without risking the loss of too many resources.”
Constant thought for a few moments and paced. After about twenty seconds, he looked to Starswirl with a determined look on his face. “Okay, I know what I need now. I want the first two jewels to contain spells that will take someone to the respective times I have spoken of. I will use the first one to travel to where my...friend is displaced in time. I will give him the other jewel so that he can return to the time we came from. As for the last jewel, I would like it to contain the universal displacement spell.”
Starswirl looked at Constant questionably. “Are you absolutely certain this is what you want? What of your companion who you said was trapped here with you?”
“I don’t plan to use it on myself,” Constant replied, “I need to use it so that I can send the monster who sent me back in time back to the universe I came from. It’s a sacrifice I will have to make to ensure that it doesn’t cause any more harm than it already has.”
Starswirl saw the determination in Constant’s eyes. “So be it,” he said, “I will prepare the jewels.”
Constant smiled. “Thank you. Also, sorry about using my sonic device on that mirror of yours. At least it is working the way it should again, right?”
Starswirl sighed and nodded in agreement.
“Also,” Constant went on, “if there’s anything I can do to compensate you for your troubles...”
Starswirl held up a hoof to Constant. “No, thank you. The materials you have found for me to replace what was already used are sufficient. Besides, once this is all over, I want to forget that any of this happened at all.”
Constant nodded. “I don’t blame you.”
The next day, Constant left with the three jewels which Starswirl had prepared for him. He traveled for about five hours until he reached a clearing. “Perfect,” he thought to himself. He walked a few more steps until he reached the center of the clearing, and then reached into a pocket in his jacket and pulled out the first jewel. “Here goes, Constant,” he said to himself, “Let’s do this.” He threw the jewel down against the hard ground, which made it shatter and in a bright flash of light, he was gone.
Spike landed on a grassy hill. He felt dizzy for a few seconds, but that went away quickly when he realized that he was no longer in Rockville. He stood up, looked around, and fell into a state of panic. “NO~!” he screamed before running in one direction a few meters before stopping to look for familiar landmarks, and then running in another direction the same distance. “WHERE AM I?! WHEN AM I?!”
Not far away, Constant, who had just landed in the time zone in question, heard Spike yelling and ran in the direction where he heard his voice. “SPIKE!” he called out, “I HEAR YOU! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!”
Hearing Constant call out to him, Spike stopped running around, looking in his direction, just about ready to burst into tears, but holding it in as much as he could. “C-CONSTANT!” he called out, “I’M OVER HERE!”
Within seconds, he saw Constant running up the hill to where he was. “I SEE YOU!” Constant called out, “I’M COMING!”
Spike ran to catch up to Constant and they stopped when they were about four feet away from each other. Both of them were panting, Constant in relief for having found Spike so quickly, and Spike half in panic, and half in relief to have been found. He looked to Constant carefully to see his condition. “Constant, what happened to you?” he asked, “Where’s the Monitor?”
“I’m afraid I was taken too, Spike,” Constant replied, looking down, “I was taken much further back than you. Luckily I was able to find out where and when you were before the weeping angel touched me.”
“So where are we?” Spike asked, looking around.
Constant looked around as well. “I’m not sure.” Then, after a few more turns left and right, he realized where they were. “Wait a minute, I recognize this landscape! I remember burying a probe...” He walked to the other side of the hill. “Over there!” He pointed to a flat area and paused for a few seconds. “This is Sweet Apple Acres! We’re seeing what it was like before the farm was built and the trees were planted!”
Spike, surprised, looked around. “This is Sweet Apple Acres?! Cool!” Then the current situation occurred to him. “But how are we going to get home?”
Constant sighed, looking to him. “I’m afraid YOU will be the one going home first, Spike,” he said. He took the last time-spell jewel out of his jacket pocket. “Throw this down on the ground, and it will take you to Ponyville in your present time. When you get there, go back to Golden Oaks library and wait next to the Monitor until Jethrek comes out and sees you. Okay?”
Spike was hesitant. “But...What about you?”
“I had to get help from someone further back, Spike,” Constant replied, “and I couldn’t get everything I needed. I will travel around the area and wait as long as is needed to get to Rockville again to save your friends.”
Spike took the jewel from Constant. “Are...are you sure about this, Constant?”
Constant nodded. “Absolutely. It’s my fault all of this happened in the first place, Spike, and I mean to correct it. Plus, I had to do this while the time and location of where you ended up were still fresh in my mind.”
“Oh,” Spike said, looking down sadly.
“Hey!” Constant said, “Don’t you pout, Spike. It’s my fault you ended up here in the first place.”
Spike looked up to him again. “I know, but...won’t you grow old?”
Constant could only laugh at that. “I understand your concern there, Spike. Don’t worry. We Gallifreyans have a long lifespan.. If I don’t have a fatal encounter, you’ll probably see me with only some of my hair turned grey or white.”
That lightened Spike’s mood a little. “Okay,” he said, “Well...see you in....how long now?”
Constant recalculated the time in his head. “About...one hundred and twenty-six years.”
Spike sighed. “Right. I’ll see you then.” He and Constant shook hands. “Good luck, Constant.”
“To the both of us,” Constant replied, and he watched as Spike threw the jewel on the ground and disappeared in a flash of light. “Okay....One hundred and twenty six years...” He checked his supplies and saw that his laser and sonic screwdrivers were still functional. “Hopefully they don’t wear out too soon,” he thought to himself.
Most of the years went by without trouble for Constant. There were times when he would have to defend himself, be it from a pack of timberwolves or some other creature that wanted a piece of him. Because of this, he would have to teach himself his own art of combat. As part of that self-training, he carved a staff out of the longest tree branch he could find. It was a very sturdy staff, and he used it not only for defensive combat, but also to help him carry multiple sacks of supplies.
Eventually, it came to the point where he found that he could no longer hide from civilization. He decided to use his perception filter more often and take on odd jobs so he could earn money to buy food and supplies. He took his skills to Cherry Hill Ranch, Appleloosa, Ponyville, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Manehattan, and on some occasions, Canterlot. For every one of these odd jobs, he made sure that he was not revealing too much about himself or how much he actually knew about engineering for the jobs that required an engineer that would have existed in whatever time he was in so he wouldn’t introduce anything new and advanced by his standards. On days whenever he was not doing an odd job, he would make sure to reteach himself everything he knew to stay caught up.
He would later witness critical moments in Equestria’s more recent history. Such events included Rainbow Dash’s first sonic rainboom which earned her and her friends their cutie marks, the return of Nightmare Moon, and Discord’s second imprisonment. One day, he went to Canterlot just to enjoy the view, when suddenly, he heard a spell being cast somewhere and a bright pink bubble formed around the city.
“What’s going on?” he asked himself. Making sure his perception filter was still active, he went to the nearest cliff side he could find. Looking around and assuring himself no one was watching, he scanned the bubble. "It's solid. Which means..." He picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the nearest section of the bubble. The rock hit it and then descended a few meters before rolling to the bottom of the bubble. "Nothing in, nothing out," he thought,"But why would the city need to be protected?" He checked his scanner to check the relative date and the answer came to him. "Oh! Oh dear. Well now that I'm here, I can't escape from what's about to come." The event which he realized would happen soon was one which he called "The Changeling Battle of Canterlot."
He rushed to another area to find a wingless Twilight Sparkle and her brother Shining Armor re-entering the castle. He had to consider his options carefully at this point. One was that he could warn them about what was going to happen, another was to hide somewhere and wait it out. Checking his supplies, he found that he had enough food that, should he choose the latter option, would last him that long. "Also," Constant thought to himself, "I can't change my perception filter image here and now without the Monitor's computers to help me. If I were to show myself, it would bring about a paradox the likes of which I don't want to calculate the severity of."
With his option chosen, he went and found a dark alleyway to hide in and hid there. He did not recall how long it would be before the changelings would come to begin their invasion, but he knew that he would have to be prepared if he was attacked. He made sure his staff was still sturdy enough, which it was, despite all the beatings it had taken in over a century. He also checked to make sure that all his equipment was still present. The knives he made were still there, and so were his sonic and laser screwdrivers. He was not sure if the knives were going to be as effective as they would have been back then, and he didn't want to risk ending a life in close range combat. Therefore, he decided that his staff, as well as his sonic and laser screwdrivers, would be enough for defensive measures.
He had fallen asleep at least three times as he waited. When he woke up after his last nap, he heard thudding noises, as well as the sound of cracking. Looking up toward the sky, he saw changelings in the process of breaking the protective barrier, and since there were so many working to do so at the same time, there was no indication that the process was going to slow down. He stood up, and braced himself for whatever would happen. When the barrier collapsed, the changelings descended into the city, Constant stood in the darkest part of the alleyway to avoid being spotted, but when he looked up, he found that they were not striking at random places.
Running to the block where the alleyway started, he saw them converge toward the castle, and there were Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack fighting them off as much as they could before storming into the castle. After a few minutes, the changelings started their spread of attacks. Constant made sure his perception filter was still on before backing down into the alleyway. It didn't seem that any of the changelings were heading in his direction at the moment. When he turned around, however, he found that assessment to be a mistake, as a single changeling was waiting for the right moment to attack him. The changeling changed his form to look like Constant's perception filter image before hissing at him.
"HEY, BACK OFF!" he yelled, swinging his staff down at the changeling. He almost missed, hitting him about two inches away from his horn. The changeling backed off from the pain it caused, and then snarled at Constant, spewing goo at him. In reflex, Constant held his staff up in order to block the goo. As a result, his left hand was now stuck to his staff. This did not stop him from being able to fight back, however. He charged at the changeling, pinning him against a wall with his staff, and pressing hard. The changeling felt the pain, yelping out for a moment, and then his horn glowed. Constant realized that this was a spell that the changeling was about to cast, so he let go of the staff with his right hand and hit the changeling in the head, making it hit the wall. The changeling got dizzy and Constant let go of him, letting him fall to the ground. Quickly, he got out his sonic screwdriver and started adjusting it. He heard the changeling groaning, which was indication enough that he needed to hurry. He was almost done when he felt a tug at his staff. He looked to it to find that the changeling had reverted to his true form and was tugging at the staff with his teeth. "No you don't!" He tugged back, but that only earned him a harder tug from the changeling, which made him fall in the direction of the tug. He gripped his sonic screwdriver tightly so he would not let go of it when he hit the ground. Hearing footsteps behind him, he looked back to see more changelings coming in his direction.
The changeling he was fighting laughed. "You're doomed," he said, and the other changelings joined him in his sinister laughter.
As the changelings surrounded him, he quickly looked to his sonic screwdriver and put in the final adjustments. One of the reinforcing changelings was about to cast a spell to take it from him, but Constant pressed the activate button on it just in time. It emitted a high-pitched sonic whine, which hurt the changelings' ears. They all backed away in whatever direction they could to get away, but it was not enough, so they retreated from the alleyway to get away from the sound. They were out looking for new targets before the sonic screwdriver let out a violent spark from the emitter.
Constant sighed, looking at the emitter. "Well, there's one loss of equipment I'll have to put up with for the time being," he grumbled. He got up and put the sonic screwdriver back in his pack before getting his laser screwdriver. After adjusting it, he carefully used it to melt away the goo from his left hand and staff, looking around every so often to make sure that he was not about to be attacked again. By the time he freed his hand from the staff, the alleyway had turned darker as several changelings stood on the roofs of the buildings the alleyway shared. He looked up, expecting the worst as a few of them smiled devilishly.
Suddenly, one of them looked up after seeing a slight change in lighting. "LOOK OUT!" he yelled. They all looked where he was looking, and it took that moment for a wave of magical pink energy to hit them, knocking them off the roofs and pushing them far away. Constant felt the wave make contact with him too, but it didn't affect him. In order to assure himself that there was no more danger, he walked back to the block again, and saw that there were no more changelings attacking the city.
"It's over," he said, "Thank goodness." He walked back into the alleyway to where his pack was, and slumped against the wall. After the Time War, he didn't think he would ever participate in a large-scale battle, whether or not anybody knew he did. He waited for about twenty minutes to catch his breath, and then repacked everything he had before walking out of the alleyway holding his staff and looking around. All around, ponies were cheering for the victory against the changelings. "I wonder how Princess Twilight and her friends fared out?" he asked himself.
One of the tools he managed to construct before he went to see Starswirl the Bearded was a handheld telescope. he walked to an area where he could look through the castle windows and used said tool to look in. He saw Twilight and her friends talking with Princess Celestia, and two other ponies who he recognized as Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza from temporal records. From what he saw, all was going to go as history recorded it, but in the back of his mind, he wondered how his unwanted participation would affect it. Either way, he decided to leave before he got himself involved in anything else.
The last few years of his travels would be uneventful, as he avoided areas where he remembered critical events taking place. It wasn't until a month before the weeping angel showed up that he started to plan out how he would finish what was started. It was obvious that he would have to show up a few moments after he disappeared. With that in mind, he used his scanner as a calculator to help him calculate where and when he would have to get to the area in Rockville where he and Spike disappeared. Once he made the calculations, he found that in the present time he would have to take a walking trip, and then on that day, he would have to make a run for it. He checked his pack to find that he still had the last crystal which Starswirl gave him, the one which he would use to send the weeping angel back to his universe. He remembered how much of a sacrifice it was going to be, given that he could have used it to get himself home, but he remembered his promise to Jethrek, and the responsibility he had for possibly bringing the angel to this universe in the first place.
After doing a final check of supplies, and setting an alarm on his scanner, he walked toward Rockville at an easy pace so that he could save the energy he needed to run. Time passed, and he was already noticing the residents of Rockville leaving to resettle. At that point he knew he was close, and when he heard the alarm on his scanner ringing, he knew it was time to make a run for it, turning off his perception filter. At this point he knew that one of several things was going to be happening at that moment. One was that he and his friends had already found the angel and Constant was scanning him. Two, Spike was about to be thrown back in time by the angel, and a few moments later, would appear in Ponyville. Three, Constant would be scanning the area to find where Spike was before getting taken himself. He wasn't going to take any chances at this point and just kept running.
When he was close enough to Rockville, he heard Pinkie scream "OH NO! CONSTANT!" That was enough for him to know that he got there just in time. At this point, all he could do was keep running. He was sweating, and he had to hold his staff with both hands, but that didn't stop him. He could feel both his hearts pounding as he reached the edge of Rockville, and he ran around several corners and alleyways before he found himself behind Twilight, looking directly at the angel who had thrown him back in time.
He touched Twilight's left wing as he stopped, which made her look to him. "Keep your eyes on him," he said, panting.
Twilight was shocked when she saw Constant. "But...how?"
"Never mind!" Constant said aggressively, "Just keep looking at him!" Twilight did so, and everypony else did so as well. Constant reached into his pack until he grabbed the last crystal. He then walked to the angel and put the crystal right under him. "You have done enough here!" he said to the angel as he backed up, still looking at him, "I may have brought you here, or not, when I entered this universe, but now you are going back!" He pulled out his laser screwdriver and aimed it at the crystal. "No longer will you feed in this universe! Go back where you belong!" He fired his laser screwdriver at the crystal, making it shatter, and there was a bright flash of light which lasted for about five seconds. As Constant watched it, he saw the angel reach out to him before it disappeared completely. "That's it," he said, "It's over. It's all over." He looked to Maud. "You and your family can move back here now, as well as all the residents."
Maud looked at him, trying to hide her shock. "How long did it take you to get back?"
Constant sighed. "One hundred and twenty-six years...give or take a few months."
"Jethrek to anypony who is listening! Please respond!"
Constant heard that, and walked to his radio, picking it up. "Hello again, Jethrek. It's been a while."
There was a momentary pause. "Constant?"
"Yes, it is me, Jethrek," Constant replied, "Listen carefully. Spike is outside the Monitor. Look outside and you will see him."
"Stand by," Jethrek replied. About a minute passed. "Confirmed! He is back! He is now in the library."
"You saved him?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Yes," Constant said, "and I had to make great sacrifices to do that and return here to save this world from that angel."
"Sacrifices?" Pinkie asked, a little worried.
"I had to work with a very specific pony in the beginning," Constant explained, "unfortunately, he had limited resources which he could not afford to lose, so I accepted what he could provide. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to travel to the point where Spike landed or send him back to the present."
Twilight looked to him with interest. "...Would this specific pony be....Starswirl the Bearded?"
"Yes," Constant said, "It was. However, I don't think you'll find records of him helping me in your books. He agreed to secrecy."
Twilight nodded. "I see....Although I will admit....I am a little envious. You actually got to meet him."
Constant nodded, "Yes. Anyway, Jethrek, please bring the Monitor here. It's time to return to Ponyville."
"Stand by," Jethrek replied, and he piloted the Monitor to Rockville. It took about three seconds to get there, and once the Monitor landed, the doors opened, and Jethrek came outside. "You have aged, Constant."
"One hundred and twenty-six years will do that to you, Jethrek," Constant laughed. He moved his hand through his hair. "I'm sure that by now I have a few grey hairs here and there, right?"
"Yes," Jethrek observed, "And you have grown a beard which is uneven."
"Raw materials," Constant replied, "Anyway, why don't we all head back now? I feel the need to rest after a long journey." He walked toward the Monitor. "Oh, and Twilight, I'm sure Spike will be anxious to see you."
"Can't argue with you about that," Twilight replied as she followed him inside, Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie following.
Once they were all inside, Pinkie looked to Constant. "You know...we never did have that party I promised you, did we?"
Constant looked to her and laughed. "You're right there. I almost forgot about that." He set course back to Golden Oaks Library and sighed. "Well, here we go." When he pressed the execute button, the trip went smoothly, with no quakes whatsoever. "We're here," Constant said.
Pinkie looked to him. "Now there's plenty of reason for me to throw you a party, private or not."
Constant laughed again. "After all I've been through, I think I need one. Just tell me when and where when you have it all planned out.
Pinkie beamed at that request. "YAY!"
Maud looked to Constant. "I have to agree with Pinkie. Now my family can get back to work. Tomorrow, I'll meet my family at Dodge Junction and tell them that we can move back to Rockville."
Constant nodded. "Good." He watched as the three ponies walked to the door to leave. "And Maud?"
Maud turned back to him as the doors opened. "Yes?"
"I apologize profusely for the trouble this has caused you," Constant said, "I should have seen it coming sooner."
Maud shook her head. "From the way things went, you didn't know any of it happened until I first reported it. Don't blame yourself."
Constant nodded. "Well...thank you for that assurance."
When the three ponies left, Jethrek turned to Constant. "How did you finally resolve the problem?" he asked.
Constant explained as much as he could. The years that went by made him forget some of what happened.
If Jethrek could actually sigh, he would have at that point. "were you able to save any data?"
"Yes," Constant said, "Thankfully. It's in my scanner." He brought the scanner out of his pack and connected it to a console, which downloaded the data from it. Soon, Constant found everything that related to his experiments with Starswirl the Bearded. "We can use this to try and recreate what was done for the universal travel spell in a larger scale. However, we may need some outside help because of the quantum signature."
"Understood," Jethrek said, "I shall start analyzing the data. In the meantime, I believe that you should rest, and get a proper meal afterwards before resuming work."
"I am in total agreement with you, Jethrek," Constant said. He looked to one of the surveillance screens to find Twilight and Spike hugging each other, and Pinkie joining into it. There was no doubt in Constant's mind that they were worried sick for each other. After a brief smile, Constant passed Jethrek as he approached the door leading to the corridors. He looked to him. "Thanks, Jethrek."
Jethrek looked to him. "Why?"
"For showing concern for me," Constant replied, giving Jethrek a smile before going to his quarters to sleep.