//------------------------------// // (Chapter 9) Turn Of Events // Story: Temporal Walker // by AcelJean //------------------------------// Turn of Events: Chapter 9 Feelings… Whenever somepony falls in love or feels something towards their fellow ponies, they usually have different approaches to confess or to tell the pony how they feel. Either by hiding their feelings or telling it directly, they still feel those emotions. Although it is sometimes quite hard to explain or comprehend, we follow it because we know it’s what we want. Who knows if our creator just had something planned for us? But enough about that rambling, back to the story. Seeing as how my best friend left me, I couldn’t keep my mind from over thinking. It’s as if I lost a friend or a sister… Or maybe, a lover? I never had any feelings for her or maybe I was simply unsure of how I felt towards her. The fact remains, she’s trying to avoid me today… I should set my mind to that fact and stop pretending to think that she’s coming with me. A little shocked but bearable, I tried to look for her. After a few minutes of looking, I gave up and sat beside the nearest wall, bowing my head. I felt like I was lifting the mountain Canterlot was on top of. Suddenly, there was a mare in front of me… Purity Spring. I didn’t notice but apparently she was calling out to me already before I even saw her. She was preparing for the festival and memorizing her lines for before the show starts. She noticed that I had a worried look and stopped for a moment to ask if I was alright. As you know, I wasn’t. “What happened, Walker?” She asked, showing her concern. She was like a fish net catching a grain of sand in a raging river. It was rather impossible to help me right now as you noticed. I was wallowing in sadness. I was mopping quietly on the corner, head down. I lifted my head and turned my gaze at her and then answered. “Nothing”, I said to her. I couldn’t answer more seriously because I felt like I was dead. She looked at me with disbelief. “If it’s nothing, then why are you crying there all alone, feeling sorry for yourself?” She pointed out. Trying to be considerate, I told everything. It took me a while to get my bearings but I think I explained all of it clearly enough. It was hard to think but I managed to do so just so I won’t come out as rude. Being down doesn’t necessarily mean you need to drag everypony down with you… (Several minutes later) She brought me at the auditorium’s backstage to talk things over. She wanted to assure me of my worries and frankly, I wanted somepony to talk to. While Prancer, Red Moon, and all the other cast prepared the stage, we talked inside the cast’s changing room where it wouldn’t be much of a bother to the others and no pony would disturb us. She told me to sit on one of the inflated cushions while she sat beside the mirror. “Are you comfortable enough?” She inquired. I nodded, and then tried to give her a smile. “This is good”. “It’s kind of hard to fake a smile. You’re a very considerate individual, Walker”, She commented. She opened the box beside her and took out a bottle of water. She then reached out and gave it to me. “Thanks”, I said in gratitude. She took another bottle for herself and took sip. After drinking, she sat it down and started to address me. “You know, Walker… Angel and I aren’t so different”, She muttered. She managed to catch my attention and I was all ears. “What do you mean?” I asked her. “It’s really obvious you know. She likes you, more than a friend even! I’m kind of like that myself”, she pointed out. “It’s a little hard to confess because you guys always make it hard for us”, She added. I knew where she was going with it, I wasn’t that oblivious. “You have a ‘thing’ for Fireheart?” I asked. Her head was down, she tried to look up and then nodded slightly. Like a puppy would. “I don’t want to get in too deep here, but I’ve felt that way since we were foals…” She said, a bit laid back. It’s exactly like the case with Angel! But how come Fireheart’s never noticed Purity Spring’s affections even though he knew Angel’s? Not to mention he just met her about a week ago. “Does he know?” I asked trying to make sure. She shook her head. “If he did, we’d be either far apart from each other or as close as the night is to the day”, she answered. Is he playing ignorant or maybe he doesn’t really know? Either way, it won’t change the fact of what we’ve been ignoring. These two mares have been feeling this way towards us for a very long time. But what would his reaction be if he also found out? (Several minutes later) After a few moments, the play had started. It wasn’t any different from your typical Canterlot play, but it was sure lacking on some props (I know I’m responsible for it too, but what else can I do? This is before my time for crying out loud!). The atmosphere was pleasant than our usual play and the quality of performance being given by the cast was quite high! I wanted to watch it more than anything else, but with current events being as they are, I couldn’t help but it ignore them. I’ll definitely regret missing out on this. I went through the back and tried to find Fireheart and Angel in the audience. And after a few minutes of eye scanning, I managed to find them. Well… more like ‘him’. Fireheart was alone (It looks like Angel wasn’t with him). I trotted to the side of the lane where he was sitting and made my way through the seated crowd. After a few seconds, I got through and to my luck, I found an empty seat just beside him. So I sat right beside him, he didn’t notice me so I tried getting his attention. “Fireheart!” I said, and then turned his gaze at me. As I was talking to him, I felt a dense aura of displeasure swirling around him. “What?” He said, annoyed. “We need to talk, now!” I told him. Luckily he didn’t say anything else and simply followed. Now, I know I should be glad about that, but whenever things go this smoothly, it usually ends up with additional work… True to every situation like this. Anyway, we went someplace with fewer ponies so that we can discuss the matter without any distractions. I found us a good, unused hallway just adjacent to the bar (And by unused, I meant abandoned. I don’t think any students use this place to meet or whatever). We started to mull things over. “Okay… first and foremost, where is Angel?” I said straight to the point. I just had to ask. He got pissed after I said that… I mean, who wouldn’t? If I remember correctly, we just fought about an hour ago! “What?! You took me all the way down here just to ask that?!” He barked. “Just answer the damn question!” I asserted. Fireheart was glaring at me. But he knew I wasn’t going to let him go easily so he was smart enough to answer. “Fine! She went out for a stroll in the labyrinth to get away from both of us… Happy? She’s probably trying to get herself lost…” He sarcastically answered. I gave him a disappointed look. “Take me seriously for a second please? Okay... Did you know that Purity Spring has feelings for you?” I asked without even thinking about it. I think I shouldn’t have done that… To this day, I still regret it (In a way that makes me cringe in some way…). He gave me a weird look for a few seconds. And then a minute later, he decided to give his response. “How long?” He asked calmly. It was as if they understood one another… Now that’s friendship! I answered him the same way he asked me. Straight-forward. “She said since you were foals”. “Did you know?” I then asked him, he shook his head in reply. “I felt occasional hints. But I never thought she really felt that way… My mind is like a mess right now!” He said and then collapsed on the floor. In fact, I could relate to him right now. I moved towards him and checked to see if he was okay. “You alright?” “No” I gave him an understanding look. “Now you know how you made me feel! Angel is like a sister to me, and I imagine Purity Spring is the same for you”, I pointed out. He shook his head after I gave that statement, now I’m a little confused… “Truth is, I’ve felt the same way for her the moment I laid eyes on her. I was an idiot back then so I missed a couple of opportunities, and when we grew up, I figured I probably have no chance on her at all so I just moved on. I wish I didn’t”, He moped. I didn’t want to be inconsiderate or rude at the time but I had to say it. “Forgive me for what I’m about to say but, if that’s the case then why would you ruin my life and Angel’s? I’m pretty sure she’s confused right now dude!” He started contemplating and quite frankly, he dragged me into it. “Sometimes you just can’t learn to appreciate things in life until you notice… I’m kind of selfish like that.” “Sorry Fireheart but, I didn’t understand a word you just said”, I replied, being honest. Sometimes, I can be a little self-absorbed. He started to hover around his saddlebags, I was a little shocked to see him take out the white ribbon I gave Angel this Hearts Warming Eve. He then said as he gave it to me, “Go find her. I’m sorry to butt-in on your relationship”. As I took it, there was a question in my head that just can’t seem to hold itself back. “Why is this in your saddlebag?” I asked. He levitated a note in front of me right after. “She left it there and left a note for me to keep it safe. I still don’t know how she knew I was there”, He commented. I can think of a few reasons… Anyway… “I pushed her too far into the matter and she ended up wallowing over it instead of forgetting she ever liked you. Just trying to warn you, before talking to her”, Fireheart told me. “I’ll be sure to find her and enjoy the rest of the festival!” I claimed. “One other thing before you head to her”, He said just when I was about to leave. “She’s just wallowing over her feelings. Truth is… I don’t think your relationship with her is wrong in anyway”. Says the guy who told me I was being selfish. I turned towards him one more time. “How so?” I asked. “She’s satisfied just being by your side. And I think after a while, she might confess her feelings for you in her own way… So don’t take everything I said to her too serious”, he explained. He’s a good friend when he’s supposed to be… But I’m quite certain I won’t forget about this fiasco for years to come. “Thanks for the advice”, I told him. He nodded and then I left. I just wish he won’t do anything rash right after I left him there. (Outside) When I got to the garden, I went straight for the palace labyrinth. By some silly coincidence, I managed to find Angel after getting lost several times myself. As I approached her, she was staring off in the distance. She must be contemplating… I noticed a troubled look on her face as I spoke to her. “Angel?” I called out. “Gah!” She was startled, stepping back a bit and had turned her attention towards me. “Wa- Walker? Wh- What are you doing here?” She asked. I tried to be gentle in using my words. Yet I also had to be straight with her. “I was looking for you! Why did you leave without telling me?!” I was overacting. Even though I knew what all the fuss is about, I couldn’t help myself. “I- I- I was… just…” She couldn’t find her words and kept stuttering for quite a while. After a few minutes, I put my hoof on her lowered head and patted it. “You can tell me”, While I said those lines, I found myself crying silently. I wasn’t sobbing like a baby, but I can’t deny that I was crying. “W- Walker? Why are you-?” I stopped her mid-sentence. I rubbed my hoof in my eyes and cleaned up my face. “No… It’s probably just the dust hurting my eyes”, I claimed. “So what’s wrong?” “I’m just wandering the grounds… I’ve never really had a chance to-” I cut her off short. “Angel”, I said afterwards I grabbed her whole and hugged her close. “I was so worried about you!” I started to tear up again. “W-Walker?” Angel was calling out to me. I kept on talking. “I tried looking for you everywhere! When you vanished all of a sudden I didn’t know what to do!” I was telling, worried. She hugged me back and said. “I’m sorry to make you worry. I didn’t know what I was thinking… I admit, I’m selfish sometimes but I always care about you”. “T-That’s supposed to be my line!” I pointed out, stuttering. I was sobbing like a baby now. And then she ended up tearing up while laughing as well. “I suppose, this means you’re okay now?” I asked. She nodded. “Again, Walker. I’m sorry for worrying you so much. I wish I could tell you why I left so suddenly, but judging by your reaction you already know…” “Of course I do! But let’s forget about that for now!” I said as I gave her bow back. “It’s… my… bow”, she said stopping on every word. She could barely stop herself from sobbing when she saw it. She managed to do so, though and wiped her eyes as she took it back by hoof. “Thank you”, she said. “Let’s go to auditorium…” I suggested. (On the way to the auditorium) I didn’t want to ruin the remainder of the day by wallowing in what happened. No… I had to take her around so she could enjoy the festival as well as myself. So, to start things off, I took her and headed towards the auditorium as I told her. I have a feeling it was halfway through, but not over! So we still had time to get there before their play finishes! As we galloped our way toward the seats, I could hear several of the cast’s voice whilst they performed on stage. Relieved, we began to slow down and started to walk. And then the strangest thing happened which anypony who read this whole novel can believe, we saw Fireheart waiting for us in front of the hall. Even though I know we were about to ran out of seats (Or we already had for reasons), I didn’t feel the need to make haste. It’s as if he waited for us like a waiter in a restaurant waiting to show us towards our seats (I know! That’s a lot of wait in one sentence!). He gave a scoff like giggle and was grinning. “You’re late for the show. Not to mention almost out of seats!” He mentioned. Yeah, don’t remind us… “Need I remind you that it was your fault why we arrived late?” I pointed out. He scratched his mane in shame while pointing us out to our seats. Thankfully, there were two chairs next to each other without anypony present. It only means that Angel and I need not split-up just to watch the play. The show was perfect! Purity Spring and the other students did an amazing job with everything from casting to lines! Knowing full well that they worked hard for this, it seems only logical that they would put on a great production. We sat their along with Fireheart to watch the remainder of the show. I know we just watched this about a week ago, but I still enjoyed seeing it again. After the show, the 3 of us went backstage to congratulate the performers for a job well done. We spent the remainder of the day celebrating and walking around the festival. The day ended as soon as it came, which would be like any other day. It was tiring and ‘very emotional’… Not gonna lie… After a brief time with Angel, I took her to her room and bid her a good night. I also went back, trotting towards my room. The campus ground was still littered with the festival decorations, but I think we’ll be able to clean this up by tomorrow. As I galloped towards my room, I saw Time Turner waiting for me in front of the door. “How’s your day?” He asked. “I know somepony ruined it but I also found out that you managed to deal with it and compromised”, He added. I backed away a bit from the door and Time Turner in the process. “How do you know that?” I asked him, curious. He shook his head sideways and closed his eyes and began to sigh. “I know everything, Walker! It’s not like you don’t always have problems. You have nothing BUT problems!” he explained. I’m not gonna lie, I seem to see myself with an awful lot of trouble lately. “Your point though?” I asked. “My day was fine… If you still want to know. I had a great time with Angel and the other students. Happy now?” I told him. “Very…” (The next day) I woke feeling like my head was stuck in a vice. Clover asked me to help clean up the mess from yesterday. It’s a Sunday so I really felt like crap when I woke up. It doesn’t help when you have an irritating roommate. The only thing good about this guy is his cooking! And probably because he acts like a maid in our room. I had to leave early so that we can finish cleaning up by the end of the day. I know it was only a request, but every request I’m given feels like a promise that I need to keep. As I finished eating breakfast, Time Turner chatted with me. “Do you really want to help out? You teach first thing tomorrow! You need to prepare your presentations or else you’ll like a laughing stock!” he reminded me. “Don’t compare me to you!” I snapped at him. “When somepony needs my help, I give my all and I never break a promise! I’m not gonna change my mind even if I’m gonna be teaching early tomorrow”, I pointed out. He took my plates and headed in the kitchen. “Suit yourself… Not my problem”, He said in a very concerned tone. Putting that in the ignore list, I went out and galloped to Snow Angel’s room. The sun was bright and it felt like summer that day. It was probably the hottest day of the week. I just woke up too. On my way towards her place, I noticed that some of the students weren’t so different from me. I bumped into Purity Spring while I was walking. She was barely awake and rather grumpy, Fireheart was trotting beside her. “Not gonna lie, today is the worst day of the year”, He said. I didn’t reply on because I probably felt worse than them and would just come off as rude. I just kept on trotting towards Angel’s and didn’t stop for a second. When I got there, I immediately knocked on her door. When she finally opened her door, cold air rushed out of her place quicker than I could get in. I stepped in quick so it wouldn’t go to waste and I immediately shut the door closed. I turned towards Snow Angel. “What’s with the cold room?” I asked. “You noticed how hot it is today? Celestia might be having some trouble or something…” She commented. “I casted a spell to make the air around my room cooler. I noticed that when the whole room was open, my spell wasn’t working. So I had to find some way to enclose the whole room”, She explained. Ahh… But why would she do a spell as petty as that? “That’s a very convenient yet petty spell”, I told her. “If you think it is, try stepping outside for more than an hour”, she dared. I shook my head in response. “I think I changed my mind all of sudden”, I said laughing in nervously. “We can come here whenever an hour passed to cool up. But don’t tell anypony else! My room will be filled with students if you do that!” She said. We went out a couple of times and came back to Angel’s room whenever we thought it was too hot. The next thing we knew it was night time. I was still in Snow Angel’s room preparing for my first class the next day. She was helping me with my presentations. “It’s still cold isn’t it?” I commented. “Of course it’s supposed to be!” She said. “How’s your presentation?” She asked. I was writing up some flash cards but so far, I’ve only made 5. “I haven’t been in front of class to teach the class yet. So I’m a bit nervous”, I told her. “Isn’t it supposed to be no different than teaching the Wonderbolts?” She said. I nodded. “Yes, but I really haven’t thought anypony anything! I’ve only experienced giving orders once or twice but that’s just it. I have no other experience whatsoever”, I complained. “Well, belly-aching about it won’t help you with anything! Give me some flash cards and I’ll help you think of what to say to your new class”, she suggested. I handed her some flash cards to write into and we ended finishing it overnight. I had to force myself to go back to my room in order to get some sleep. I know I could have slept in Angel’s place, but even I have some decency. (First Day) The next day, Time Turner was mysteriously missing from our room. I had to make my own breakfast with a combination of leftovers from our fridge. We had a depleting supply of batter so I could only make 1 pancake. After I made that, I took so cucumber sandwiches that was sitting in the middle of the fridge. I was about to eat when he came back. The door opened and Time Turner entered. “You seem to be awake. You might be late for your first class”, he commented. I blew out a breath of hot air from my nose and replied back. “Whose fault do you think that is?” I pointed out. He kept on walking towards the living room and sat on one of the couches. “I’ll clean up the plates, just hurry up and go!” He claimed. At least he’s helping now… I gobbled up the remainder of my food and drank some water from the faucet. After that, I left my plates near the sink and hurriedly dragged myself towards the door. As I walked out I heard Time Turner say something, “Be careful”. Minutes later, I suddenly bumped into Snow Angel who was carrying some of the flash cards we made the night before, which I left at her place. “Walker!” She called out while moving towards me. “It’s your first day teaching, do you feel nervous?” She asked. I snapped a bit when she asked me that. “What kind of question is that? Aren’t you supposed to be supporting me?” I pointed out. She lowered her head at the sentence. “Sorry…” I tried to ignore what just happened and hurriedly took my flash cards. “Are you coming with me?” I asked her. “I have classes today as well, sorry… I’ll meet you at magic class this afternoon though. Tell me all about how everything went!” She answered. I was rather disappointed. Usually I’d get some moral support from her, but I think I’ll just have to settle with myself. (At class) I was in front of the room, standing in anticipation. I knocked on it and opened up. I felt like I was hit by a sudden outburst of light. About 15 students were sitting on the room. I wasn’t surprised by the numbers… But I was surprised to find out the Clover was there. “Uhm… Mistress Clover? What are you doing here?” I asked from the door. She was sitting in the front seats but she wasn’t occupying the teacher’s desk. “I’m here to watch your first day, Walker. And to make sure you get some… Moral support, as some would put”, she pointed out. I walked towards the front, everypony looking at me with every step. I reached the front desk and addressed Clover nonchalantly. “Did some of my friends ask you to do this, Clover?” I asked. She swayed her head. “No. But I do know what it’s like for a first timer”, She explained. Okay… Back to the class. “I’m sorry for the rude entrance, everypony”, I addressed everyone in the room. I took a chalk with my mouth and wrote my name on the blackboard. “My name is Temporal Walker. I’ll be your alchemy teacher for quite a bit. So don’t be afraid to get to know me”, I started with the introductions. “Can you please all stand one by one, state your name, and tell me something about yourselves”, I asked the class. The first one was a black unicorn. I felt a really bad vibe from him. “My name is Sombra… I came from a village near the barrens. My parents weren’t any good with magic, so I wandered all over Equestria looking to improve my knowledge”, He said and sat down after. I never noticed that I was talking out loud. “Sombra? I think I heard that name before…” I muttered. “What’s that teach?” Sombra asked. I immediately came to my senses. “Oh! Nothing! Next please!” After about half an hour, everypony finished with their introductions. Clover stood up and said something to the students. “Listen everypony, Temporal Walker is not going to be a regular at this academy. He does not have any experience in teaching and is also a student here. So I wish that you all be considerate when he speaks and addresses any of you. Am I making myself clear?” “Yes, Mistress”, they all answered in different times. She sat back down and waved her hoof toward me. “Please continue, Walker”, she insisted. She didn’t seem to care if anypony disrespected me, considering she just claimed that I was a student here like everypony else. Although she did tell them to be considerate so I guess that counts as a sign of respect. “Can somepony tell me their thoughts about alchemy?” I asked the class. One of them stood up. “Alchemy is another term for ‘potion making’. It is used to incorporate earth ponies with unicorns on different fields and certain situations. In other terms, it is magic in a pocketed form to be used by non-magical creatures or to support magical users”, She said. “That’s a good explanation. Acceptable if I might add”, I commented. “Now, who has any experience with alchemy?” I asked. Nopony raised a hoof. “This is going to take a while”, I mumbled. The students looked at each other and wondered what I just said. (Several minutes later) After a bit more explanation and some picturing, I finally did some actual presentation. I tried to brew the potion I used to alter my being. It worked out well and I was about to show it to the class. Clover spoke up due to concern. “Walker, wouldn’t it be bad for you to drink that now? Here even!” “Don’t worry, Mistress! I can at least prevent my magic from leaking!” I assured her. Taking deep breaths, I chugged the potion down like it was alcohol. I felt my body surging with magic yet again. This time, it was a lot more painful to transform. But due to my getting used to it, I should be able to use it until we finish magic class. After a brief moment of resting after changing, I stood up and turned to the class. One of my students was a bit concerned. “Are you alright, Sir?” He asked. “Perfectly stable... If I hadn’t done that before and the pain was worse, I would have passed out! But I’m okay now”, I answered. The class sighed in relief. Meanwhile, Sombra’s jaw was dropped ever since I turned. After a few moments, he finally recovered to ask me about it. “What kind of potion was that, teach?” He asked. I raised the empty flask the potion was in mere moments ago. “A certain potion that I use to help me with my duties”, I explained circuitously. He simply nodded in answer. After that, I did some explaining to the class about it and gave them an assignment to brew a healing potion for tomorrow, to which I gave the recipe. When I finished, I headed directly to my next class. (At magic class) I saw Snow Angel at the front entrance waiting for me. “You sure are early. How’d it go?” She asked in anticipation. “Satisfactory, I’d say”, I answered. “I didn’t expect Clover to be there too. And I had some embarrassing stares towards me when I drank the potion”, I added. She handed me a book after I told her what happened. “That’s for magic class”, she explained. “And don’t feel bad about it! I feel like your first day went smoothly!” She added. “I’m just glad I don’t have stage fright!’ I commented. Most of the students in the academy have a certain skill which made it possible for them to be a student in the first place. If it weren’t for that, they wouldn’t obviously… As far as standard goes, I think they would prefer a better teacher than me. I just wish I live up to their expectations. The rest of the students went in the classroom while Angel and I were still standing outside the door. This reminds me of the time we were in front of the Canterlot Theater. “Shall we get inside?” She asked. I swayed my hoof towards the door. “You first”, I insisted. When I saw the teacher upfront, I wasn’t surprised to see who it was. It was Clover, academy mistress. Being the protégé of Starswirl himself, I think it’s only fitting that Clover should teach magic to the academy’s students. We immediately took our seats. We picked the seat on the second row and sat there. It was the perfect seat anypony can find in a classroom. It’s not too far from the front, as well as not too near it. It also enables a student to listen intently to the lecture without getting hoofpicked by the Professor upfront. We also spotted Purity Spring in one of the seats. I know she’s an earth pony, but knowledge of magic could really come in handy! There were about 40 students in the room if you count me and Angel along with them. It was the most jam-packed class and most attended one as well. “Why are there a couple of earth ponies here? I understand one of them is a special case and Purity Spring is an Academy protégé. But why are the rest studying this subject?” She asked. As you might have noticed, I already answered this question earlier in the other paragraph. So I knew what to answer her. “It’s not really something they need, Angel. Although, some insights about the subjects could really help you in some way. Even if you’re not a unicorn”, I answered. “Take me for example… I use my potions as magic even until now! But I could really benefit in learning a little bit about this stuff”, I explained. She had her head leaned on the desk while I was explaining. “I guess that’s an acceptable answer”, She said smiling as she lifted her head. After that question, class has started. So we really couldn’t talk as much as we wanted to. “Let’s start shall we?” Clover told the class. “Who can tell me the type of magic for each pony races?” She asked. I was surprised to see Angel raise a hoof. She was called immediately, quicker than she had raised it. “Ponies usually hold a good amount of magic within their body and it differs for each of the races. Unicorns uses magic through their horns. It’s amplified in a way that it can appear in a physical form and is the most obvious for of magic”, She said. “Remarkable… Please continue”, Clover insisted. “Pegasi have a natural ability of a unicorn to concentrate the magical energies of their body to their wings. This enables them to fly, fly faster, and even incredibly fast. Earth ponies have a subtle form of magic that depends on the type of talent they have. They usually manipulate the magic in their body to strengthen their physical abilities”, she continued to explain. Clove clapped her hooves 3 times after that answer. “A bit of a summarize answer. But considering how I haven’t taught you anything yet, that was a pretty impressive summarization”, she commented. “Tell me, how do you know the answer, Snow Angel?” She inquired. She was a bit laidback. “I’d rather not, Mistress Clover”, she answered. “I see. In that case let us move on”, she said letting it go. Of course, I didn’t let Angel of as easily as Clover did. “Since you won’t tell Clover. Would you mind if you told me why?” I asked after she just sat down again. “I learned from Celestia School as well, remember?” She reminded. Oh… I forgot. “That kind of sounds a little advance. Even for you…” I said. “It’s actually one of the basics she taught us”, She explained. Clover continued with her lecture until the class ended. Halfway through the class, my body went back to normal. But I had all eyes on me again though. Talk about humiliating! (Later that evening) After classes ended, Angel and I headed to the bar for dinner and to meet up with Time Turner, which had some kind of news apparently. On the way, we caught up with Purity Spring. “Purity Spring! How was your day?” I asked. She turned towards my direction. “Oh hey, Walker. It was a bit of a ride. Especially the assignments you gave us. It’s really giving me a headache”, she answered. I might have forgotten about it, but I remember Purity Spring was supposed to be one of my students. But I didn’t notice her earlier. “You were at my class? I didn’t see you there, Purity”, I said. She seemed to be angry after I said that. “Really?! I don’t like to participate in anything the class tries to do. But why would you ignore me? I even introduced myself after Sombra earlier, remember?” She reminded. I thought back a bit and I did remember I didn’t pay attention to anypony else after Sombra’s introduction. “Sorry, Purity. But I was so preoccupied earlier, I might have missed a couple of introductions. Speaking of which, what do you know about the pony that came before you?” I asked. “You mean Sombra?” She inquired, I nodded. “He said every bit of information about himself earlier, why?” She asked. I was poking my head with my hoof. “I’m getting a bad vibe around him”, I answered. She turned her gaze towards Angel, trying to ask her what I meant by that. Of course, she didn’t know. We proceeded to head inside the bar where Time Turner was waiting for us. Angel went to the counter to give our order while I went directly to my cousin. “What the hell took you so long? I practically saw you in front of the bar!” He complained. “Well excuse me, Cousin! Not everyone is a loner like you!” I pointed out. It was rather harsh but that’s how we usually talk, as you might have noticed by now. “Anyway, what kind of news were you talking about anyways?” I asked. He suddenly closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply. “I’m warning you not to get discouraged by this, okay?” He advised. “Present day Canterlot has apparently been attacked”, He said. If I was eating, I would have died by chocking or heart attack. “WHAT?! Couldn’t you have told us this news as soon as you heard of it?! Where did you even get this from? Who’s your source?!” I attacked him with a flurry of questions. “As I said, try not to be discourage! If I know your friend Twilight, she can handle whatever it is that disrupts the peace in Equestria. She did it more than twice already, right?” He told me. I couldn’t stop overacting… I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s not just my parents living there, there’s also Snow Angel’s! “Even so, Time Turner! This is something you tell us as soon hear of it!” I barked at him. All my shouting had attracted a couple more eyes towards me. If the stares from the ponies earlier wasn’t enough, here comes the bonus. I’m getting pretty tired of it! It’s pretty humiliating… Angel heard me shouting from the ground floor and asked me about it. “What’s with all the fuss, Walker? We can hear you all the way from the counter”, she asked with a comment in addition. I turned my gaze back at Time Turner, the one who gave me the news. “Should I tell her or should you?” I asked him. “I assume nopony likes the way I say these things. Your reaction is a valid proof, so it might as well be you”, he insisted. Wow… This egghead had to say all those things, when he could have just said ‘I should’ or ‘You should’! Or maybe that’s your fault, author. “Okay then… Angel” I turned towards her. “Canterlot was attacked. Present day Canterlot at least… But Time Turner’s thoughts about it was Twilight and her friends can handle it”, I explained. “Did you ask him about the attack itself?” She inquired. Nope… I have not. I turned towards Time Turner. “Changelings”, He answered vaguely. Angel and I turned towards each other. “Uhm, Cousin? You might want to explain your answer”, I told him. He gave a brief sigh and said. “Might as well tell you the whole report”. He then gave me a piece of paper. It didn’t look like a parchment, in fact, it looked a lot better than a blueprint! Of course I couldn’t describe. “-Canterlot- -Timeline 000, Day 78- A wedding is being held here today. During the whole week, patrols have increased and 3 days before the wedding, the captain of the guards casted a barrier around the city. -Timeline 000, Day 79- Wedding day. The whole city has been attacked. Attackers have been confirmed as Changelings (These creatures changes their appearance into somepony who is well loved and feed off that love). To my understanding, they appear to be hostile but not deadly at the least. They never kill. -Timeline 000, Day 80- Re-scheduled wedding. Failed to attend, going back to the destroyed time. End of report” “Where’d you get this?” I asked him. He was staring at me and turned his eyes somewhere else. “Don’t ask me, Walker. Let’s just say it’s how I get my info”, He answered. “Sometimes, I don’t even know if we could trust you anymore, Time Turner”, Angel commented. “He might be weird, Angel. And his past self is trying to kill us, but I think we can trust him”, I told her. She seemed to doubt me but I know she always trust what I say to her. “So… the ‘they never kill’ part got me thinking, why wouldn’t they kill?” She asked. It seemed like Time Turner was inclined to answer. “Changelings feed off of love from other creatures. If they kill their benefactor, it won’t benefit them. Think of it as some sort of ‘parasitic relationship’, it might answer your question more clearly”. “Seems like a stretch… Either way, I think there’s no need to be alarmed”, I told her. Right after our discussion, our food arrived and we started eating. Purity Spring sat with us and went back to her room after we finished. We went to Clover for my daily report. Well, I did at least. (At Clover’s Office) I knocked on the door, expecting the headmistress to say ‘yes?’ and reply. “Come in!” A stallion’s voice answered instead. I opened the door and saw Fireheart fixing the office. Clover wasn’t there so I asked him if he knows where she went. “Fireheart? Where’s the headmistress?” He was a bit grumpy. “She’s not feeling well, so I had to force her to go back to her room”, he explained. “I never thought her worked piled up though!” He complained. I examined the room and it looks like clover left an ass ton of stuff for him to do. “You’re forced to do her work, I assume?” I examined. He shook his head. “I’m just fixing her office. But there’s so many books, I don’t think I’ll finish before everypony’s asleep”, he answered. I feel bad for this guy. Clover doesn’t know how luck she is. “How about you? How was your day? I heard it was your first day in class”, He said. “Yeah… I was nervous but it wasn’t bad”, I answered modestly. He gave me a smile back as a reaction to my answer. “Well, I hope you do great!” I had to go back to my room and finish my report tomorrow along with my next report. It sucks that I have to do 2 reports for a day in addition to my other work. My magic class isn’t helping with my schedule either. I have to practice with my horn whenever I have time so I can practice the spells Clover is teaching. I also have some private session with the headmistress to better my use of magic the day after tomorrow. (Later that midnight) Time Turner wasn’t in our room. I was already tired so I don’t have enough motivation to look for him. The following day was uneventful, but apparently it was enough to be considered significant. “I’m at the point of my life where I feel like I have no control over it!” I spoke to myself. “I’m already a wonderbolt but I feel like I’m wasting my time here to achieve my dreams! What am I supposed to do?!” I shouted and buried my face at the sofa. I then heard a voice coming from my head which resembled Starswirl’s voice. “Keep in mind, none of us wanted to put you through this. But this is your destiny! Please help us!” the voice said. After that, the voice never spoke to me again. Time Turner came in the room after that but I was too tired to even greet him, so I forced myself to go to bed and go straight to sleep. To be continued… End of Chapter 9