//------------------------------// // Clockspinning // Story: My Little Planeswalker: Twilight's Spark // by Zennistrad //------------------------------// It hadn’t taken long for Ditzy Doo to find the laboratory. Sure, she had an absolutely appalling sense of direction at times, certainly not helped by the fact that she could barely fly above an altitude of 10 feet without swerving wildly out of control, but the location was so deeply embedded into her mind by this point that it was impossible for her to miss. Most of the time, anyway. With a loud whump and the sound of her face skidding across the dirt, she landed just outside of the building. Some would say “landed” was a generous term, but she had gotten to where she needed to go, and that’s what mattered. She didn’t know it, but many other pegasi deeply envied her nigh-invulnerability when it came to crashing. Shaking the dirt out of her mane, Ditzy trotted towards the entrance, and pushed the door open. It was a very boring house, brown and nondescript, so nondescript that most other ponies wouldn’t even realize it was there. She was certain there was some magic involved, but if there was she couldn’t quite say what. The interior of the laboratory was a familiar whirring of gadgets, whirligigs, whozits, and other assorted trinkets, as well as many large machines of indiscernible purpose. Most would recognize it as the workspace of a very talented and slightly bonkers artificer, but Ditzy knew that it was something much more than that. He was much more than slightly bonkers. “Ah, Miss Doo! Exactly who I wanted to see.” A familiar, strangely accented brown stallion turned away from one of the workbenches haphazardly placed about, balancing on his hoof a small cylindrical machine. It almost looked like the mechanical equivalent of a magic wand, but knowing Time Turner, it was probably something ten times weirder. He smiled gleefully as he approached, holding the machine close to her face. “See this? This is a fully-functioning replica of a very famous artifact that I so happen to have studied. Part of a collection of very famous artifacts I’ve been building for quite a long time now, actually. Take a look!” Time Turner pointed the rod at large, very tall, and pyramid-shaped machine sitting in the corner of the laboratory, and then flipped a switch on the rod with his other front hoof. A muted yet distinctly grating whirr emitted from the end of the device, alongside a slight yellow glow. Finally, with another flip of the switch, he turned the device off. Ditzy paused, trying to see if anything had changed about the pyramid, but even with her deceptively strong perceptions she came up short. “Um... it didn’t do anything.” Time Turner grinned. “No, it did nothing. Doesn’t seem like much of a difference, but it’s actually a very important distinction, linguistically speaking.” With a casual toss, he sent the rod flying over his shoulder, where it landed clattering on the surface of a desk. “So, what can I do for you today?” “Oh, right!” Once again, Ditzy’s attention had been so thoroughly captured by Time Turner’s eccentricities that she’d almost forgotten what she was going to say. “Doctor, I need your help! Princess Twilight’s a planeswalker, and she’s left Equestria for who-knows-where! We have to find her before something terrible happens!” Time Turner’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “She’s a what now?” “A planeswalker, Doctor!” said Ditzy. “I overheard Princess Celestia in a meeting at Twilight’s castle! She said Twilight fled the plane, and that she could be anywhere, and that anything could have happened to her by now! What do we do? We might never see her again!” A wrinkle appeared on Time Turner’s forehead as he placed a hoof to his chin. “Hmm... yes, that could be a problem, couldn’t it? Let’s see here...” He reached into his mane and pulled out an object that Ditzy had seen many times before. It was a very old, tattered, and yellowed scrap of parchment that he made sure to carry with him at all times. Time Turner had been especially stubborn in refusing to divulge its contents, and he never kept it out long enough for Ditzy to sneak a look at it. Finally, Time Turner put the parchment back into his mane. “Well, looks like our Princess Twilight is due for a rescue then, isn’t she? Did you find any more information about her possible whereabouts?” Ditzy shook her head. “No, I haven’t. I’d heard Princess Celestia tell Twilight’s closest friends that they should be prepared for the possibility she’ll never return.” She could literally feel her heart ache remembering the looks on their faces, which still remained fresh in her mind. “Oh, they’ll be so devastated if she doesn’t come back! And that’s not even getting into all of the bad guys that could threaten Equestria! We’ve got to find her before it’s too late!” Time Turner stepped forward, and his gaze intensified. Ditzy knew that look. It meant he wasn’t going to give up until he found an answer he was satisfied with. “And you’re absolutely, positively certain you have nothing else? No other facts to present, no information you could possibly deduce? You have to understand, I’ve not a lot to go on here.” Ditzy groaned. “Doctor, if I could figure it out all by myself, I wouldn’t have come to you! It’s not like it’s possible for me to just go walking the planes searching for Twilight myself!” Time Turner’s expression softened, and he let out a small chuckle. “Rule Number One of Planeswalking, Ditzy: nothing is impossible. There are as many time streams as there are worlds in the multiverse. I’m certain there’s at least one alternate timeline where you’re just as much a planeswalker as I am.” Ditzy performed a gesture that might have been an eye roll, had one of her eyes not veered into a wildly different direction. Time Turner had always managed to be an endless font of information that was exactly irrelevant to the current situation. “Celestia forbid. I have enough adventure in my life with you around, mister!” “Doctor mister,” Time Turner interjected. “I’ve a lot of degrees to my name, as I’m sure you know.” “Whatever!” said Ditzy. “That’s not important right now! What’s important is that you find some way of locating Twilight and bring her back here. She’s the Princess of Friendship and the Element of Magic, for crying out loud! Her fate is deeply connected to the fate of Equestria itself!” Time Turner paused. “Deeply connected...” A sudden glint appeared in his eye, and his entire body perked up in an instant. He suddenly reached forward and grabbed Ditzy Doo on her cheeks, grinning so widely that it looked like his face would split itself in two. “That’s it! Ditzy, you’re a genius!” Ditzy blinked. “I am?” “Of course you are!” said Time Turner, releasing his grip. Ditzy had never seemed to mind when he invaded her personal space. No matter how off his rocker the old pony seemed, his intentions had never been anything but pure. He was... well, chaste, something that couldn’t be said for some of the other stallions she’d met. “Come on, then, there’s no time to waste! To Twilight’s castle! Allons-y!” “Doctor, wait! Come back!” By the time she had called out, Time Turner had already bolted out the door. Her muscles moved almost by habit at this point, hurriedly chasing after him on hoof. “Don’t leave me behind! I still don’t understand Prench!” ———————— By the time she’d finally caught up with Time Turner, Ditzy’s lungs had felt like they had caught fire, then burned down to ash, then caught fire again. Time Turner could gallop at absolutely incredible speeds, to the point where Ditzy was almost sure he could perform a sonic rainboom on hoof if he tried hard enough. The good Doctor (or so he repeatedly insisted he be called) was standing on a small hill just before the thoroughfare leading directly into Twilight’s castle. The sun had begun to dip ever so slightly below the horizon, leaving a brilliant shimmering glow to cover the sky. As the light refracted off the crystal castle, it painted the entire neighborhood in shades of bright red, orange, and gold. It was a beautiful sight, and knowing Equestrian traditions, there was likely already at least one pony named after it. “So,” Ditzy spoke breathlessly as she approached, “what’s the plan?” “Easy,” Time Turner replied. His beaming face showed not a single drop of fatigue. “We head straight into the castle and harness the power of the Cutie Map to find Twilight.” “What?” said Ditzy. “Now hold on! You can’t be suggesting we just barge right in and take the Cutie Map’s magic for our own purposes! There’s no way anypony’s going to let us do that, especially not after that stunt Starlight Glimmer pulled!” “...Starlight Glimmer?” Time Turner spoke the name with a degree of familiarity, and his face almost immediately morphed into something Ditzy had rarely seen. Time Turner was not a pony who was easily angered. She’d only ever seen him angry once before, right after he’d become aware of Starlight’s time travel attempts. It had arguably come from a place of righteousness, and it was not in any way directed at herself, but Ditzy found it a terrifying sight to behold. Time Turner, despite his quirks and weird little habits, was still one of the kindest, downright friendliest ponies she’d ever met. Anger didn’t even seem to be in his vocabulary. And yet here he was, seething so much he was practically smoldering. “...Of course, I remember now,” Time Turner said darkly. “I’d been so caught up in my little project that I missed just what a mess she’d made with the time stream. I’ve been too busy to even bother speaking with her. I’ll have some words with her when I get the chance, oh yes...” “U-um, Doctor?” “Ah, right!” Time Turner snapped back to his chipper self immediately, and any trace of negative emotion written on him was suddenly erased. “The Cutie Map. Don’t you worry about that. I’ve got just the thing.” Time Turner stamped his front hoof against the ground, and Ditzy’s ears were assaulted by the most disgusting and unpleasant sound she had heard in her life. It had sounded like a DJ-P0N3 song, but instead of a speaker it was played through a particularly wet fart. Through the utterly repulsive noise she could barely make out the sound of a clock winding down. Then, in a flash of light, everything stopped. The entire plane became utterly silent. The air remained still, the few ponies left on the streets stopped moving, and even the sun ceased its slow descent into nightfall. She and Time Turner were the only things that moved in sight, and the only things that moved period. Ditzy’s jaw hung loose. “What in the world!?” “Time stop spell,” said Time Turner, teeth somehow managing to shine in the sunset’s glow, despite the fact that light itself probably wasn’t moving anymore. Come to think of it, how were they even breathing? “I learned it from my old mentor, Teferi. Wonderful fellow, taught me near everything I know. He’s actually still alive, believe it or not!” “I... Buh... Wha...” “Now, there’s only a bit of time left before time itself starts existing again,” said Time Turner. “I know that doesn’t sound possible, but you’ll have to take my word for it when I say that it makes sense when you examine it on a metaphysical level. And just for you, I’ll say it in Equestrian this time: let’s go!” “What? Doctor, wait!” ———————— Thankfully, this time it had been far easier to catch up to Time Turner, as the distance to be covered was substantially less. He had even been polite enough to wait by the door and open it for Ditzy. Despite his eccentricities, Time Turner was still a gentlecolt at heart. Her companion led her into the castle, where she came across a scene that looked like a photograph that was taken at one of the worst moments possible. Pinkie Pie’s still form was sobbing in a corner, with Rarity and Fluttershy both attempting to comfort her. Meanwhile, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were both frozen in place as they yelled at each other in what was presumably a heated argument. Finally, Spike and Starlight Glimmer were both embracing each other in a tight hug, with Spike’s tears leaving the hair on her chest soaked and matted. Ditzy’s ears pressed against the back of her head as she observed the scene. They were all struggling with the loss of someone very dear to their hearts, someone they loved so intensely they might as well have been family. At the very least though, they would be getting their loved one back. Some ponies were not so lucky. No. Now wasn’t the time to dredge that up. Ditzy inhaled sharply (seriously, how was she doing that?) and approached Time Turner, who was now leaning over the crystal table that would become the Cutie Map when its magic was active. “So, uh,” she said, “you still haven’t told me exactly what you’re doing.” “Nothing complicated,” said Time Turner. That meant it almost certainly was, but Ditzy couldn’t tell if Time Turner meant it as a boast, or if he just didn’t grasp what ordinary ponies considered complicated. “The Elements of Harmony aren’t around anymore, correct?” “Right,” said Ditzy. “Trick question. They are,” said Time Turner. Before Ditzy could raise an objection, he continued speaking, as if he were anticipating the response. “Oh sure, their physical anchors have been lost, but Harmony herself isn’t going anywhere. Her magic is deeply embedded within the very soul of this plane, and that magic just so happens to be able to manifest itself through her connection to her six chosen avatars.” Ditzy gave Time Turner a perplexed stare. It was difficult to pull off when only one eye went where she told it to go, but she’d mastered the art of doing more with less. “Why are you talking about harmony like it’s an intelligent being?” “Because that’s what she is, isn’t she?” said Time Turner. “We’re talking about capital-H Harmony here, and as it so happens, her connection to the six Element Bearers is currently maintained...” he thumped the crystal table with a hoof, and an assortment of blinking motes danced across its surface, before disappearing again. “...By this Cutie Map right here.” “Oh!” said Ditzy. “I get it! And you can use the Cutie Map to trace that connection to Twilight, and find out exactly where in the multiverse she is!” “Precisely!” said Time Turner. “And I owe this whole idea to you, my dear Ditzy. You really are quite the inspiration, you know that?” Ditzy could feel the blood rushing to her face. He had a knack for making her blush like that. “Well Miss Doo, I must be off!” said Time Turner. “Take care of the laboratory when I’m away, will you? I’ll be back before you know it!” He closed his eyes, and there was a sound not unlike a house key being dragged along a piano string as he planeswalked away, his body fading out of view. Ditzy let out a contented sigh. “I’ll see you soon, Doctor.” Wait. Something wasn’t right here. Ditzy could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as the last vestiges of Time Turner’s image disappeared from sight. Surely enough, her eye swiveled around as she stood in place, and she was greeted with the sight of... of... Oh. Oh, dear. The ponies that had previously been frozen in place were now moving again, and all of them had directed their gaze at Ditzy, staring with a mixture of confusion, exasperation, and anger. She could feel their eyes boring straight through her, piercing into her very soul. Ditzy turned towards her audience, smiled sheepishly, and made an effort to look as small as possible. “Um... Sorry, wrong address?” ———————— Time Turner, Ph.D. 2WU Legendary Planeswalker — Doctor +1: Draw a card at the beginning of your next upkeep. -2: Put target artifact or creature on top of its owner’s library. Its controller gains 2 life. -8: You get an emblem with “At the beginning each end step, if it’s not your turn, take an extra turn after this one.” 4