//------------------------------// // Loop 25 // Story: The Time Thief // by Reading4HalfMyLife //------------------------------// Hey Eclipse, Astral here. I'm bored as hell, so I wondering if you wanted to come over? I know you're probably super busy, pulling wigs off of unsuspecting snobs, but Misty Rose is missing Anarchy, so I thought you two could drop by. Unless you're too scared? ~ Astral Plane Astral sent the spell off to Luna and Discord's two children, and turned back around to continue reading her book. Before the loops, she wouldn't have even touched a book, let alone a horror, but, well, boredom was a strong motivator. She hadn't even finished reading the next sentence when the air became charged. She breathed in the familiar mango scent as she turned to face Anarchy and Eclipse. They were in their pony forms, but she would recognise them anywhere. Anarchy, the younger of Luna and Discord's two kids, was watching her impassively. Her pony form- a navy unicorn with a white mane that went by the name Night Light, towered over both her older brother and Astral easily. Eclipse's pony form was, oddly enough, a pegasus. He was still very tall and fluffy, with the same light blue coat and two toned grey mane. He grinned at Astral, and waved a very fluffy hoof. "Hey Sparkles! Long time no see!" Astral was cut off from replying by the door slamming open. Misty Rose flung herself into the room, and, in a single leap, crossed the room to tackle Anarchy into a hug. "Annie!" She all but squealed, a huge grin on her face. Anarchy smiled, which for her was giddy delight. "Misty!" She said, leaning down to nuzzle her best friend. "Did you two plan this?" "Uh, no, inviting you two was kind of a spur of the moment descision" Astral admitted sheepishly, before narrowing her eyes at the estatic Earth Pony "how did you know they were here?" "I sensed it!" Eclipse and Astral blinked at eachother, confused, while Anarchy just nodded. "That sounds about right." The four where hanging out in the town square when Astral filled them in as to what was happening. An intruiged Misty instantly demanded to see the note, which she handed over without a complaint. Maybe this version would see something the last version didn't? Misty dragged Anarchy off to the side for a discussion while Astral and Eclipse talked. She half expected the hybrid to make some sort of joke about her situation, or try and lift her spirits in one way or another, but instead Eclipse's pale blue eyes were solemn as he awkardly scratched his neck. "I- I'm not good at this" he admitted, and Astral's brow furrowed. "What?" "Empathising. Being nice. I'll do my best, though." "Yeah?" She felt distinctly amused at her friends hesitance. Eclipse took a shaky breath, before blurting out "I think you need to see a therapist." "What!?" Astral pulled away from him, affronted, not caring how she drew the attention of ponies nearby. "I think you need to see a therapist" he repeated, oddly patient. "I, you, uh" she spluttered, the down on her chest fluffing up indignantly. "I am not crazy!" She finally managed to get out, gritting her teeth. "I never said you were" Eclipse soothed, lowering his head so they were eye level "what I am saying is that this" he gestured around him vaguely "seems pretty damn traumatizing, and it might help to talk to somepony about it." "I can just talk to my moms!" "Have you though?" At her silence, Eclipse pushed on. "I know I'm not exactly the posterboy for mental health myself, but this seems pretty disturbing, so maybe it will help?" Astral's lip curled, and she was about to shoot it down . . until she remembered the worsening nightmares and hallucinations, as well as the paranoia following her everywhere, like somepony was always breathing down her neck. It was worth a shot. "Okay" she breathed, rolling her eyes. "I'll try it." Eclipse brightened and leaned against her, using one of his fluffy wings to pull her into a side hug. Their friendship wasn't a very physical one, but this seemed appropriate somehow. "A code!" Misty's exhilirated voice ruined the moment, as Astral broke up the hug, she saw the filly and Anarchy racing over, giant grins plastered over their faces. "It's a code!" She all but shoved the paper into Astral's face, still grinning. Astral almost fell off the bench. "A code?" She demanded, scanning the paper. "How do you know?" "What else could it be?" Misty was prancing with excitement. "After all, what do spies do when they don't want their code to be read?" "They use a code, yes, I've read spy books" Astral rolled her eyes, her lips curling up into a smile. "What does it say?" "No idea!" Misty said cheerfully, and Anarchy stepped in. "We need to go through certain code styles to see if one matches up" she said in her quiet voice. "It could take a while" she warned, and Astral jumped to her hooves, Eclipse behind her. "I am caught continiously repeating the same four days over and over again. I have time." Seeing Eclipse's face fall, she hurried to say "but it probably won't come to that. There are four of us, so we can split up all the codes between us. It can't be that long." "I may of underestimated this just a tad" Astral admitted three hours later when they weren't even halfway through the codes. "I thought Base 64 was going to be it" Anarchy said mournfully rolling a pencil between her hooves. But it led to nothing. Misty slammed her hoof down on the table. "There has to be one of these that works!" She said, determined. "Unless it's not a code." This came from Eclipse, who was resting his head on the table. "It has to be!" Misty insisted, sounding slightly desperate. "There's no other explanation!" "I can think of one; someone is messing with me" Astral pointed out the obvious, and Misty's expression dropped. "Fine! But I want copies of the note to see if I can't do something with them." "Deal." Misty was considered to be one of the smartest fillies of their generation, maybe she could figure this out. Astral wasn't holding her breath though. "So, you guys wanna blow up a watermelon?" "This is why we're friends."