//------------------------------// // Rad: Times Haven't Changed // Story: Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1) // by Barrobroadcaster //------------------------------// A few things were fortunately less crazy in Appleloosa. They traveled down the town's snow-covered main street and passed by a couple workshops that had been converted into soup and bread lines. A young zebra and a centaur offered them some blankets, which they politely accepted. They didn't particularly need soup or blankets, but they took some anyway. It was best to blend in as much as possible and rejecting those things would have been a bit suspicious. "YOU MUST TASTE MY DUMPLINGS! YOU MUST ALL TASTE MY DUMPLINGS!" A fat shirtless man, apparently another raider, grabbed fistfuls of hot dumplings and tossed them at the people in line for soup. Some scattered, most didn't know what to do and more than a few didn't care. "Hahaha! You love them, yes?!" "Not particularly, no." "LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The fat man jumped down, dropping the pot of dumplings to spill on the ground. Enraged by the apparent insult, he charged the bystander, a man in a furry brown coat with newspaper for shoes. The dumpling man ran at the food critic. *pchow! pchow!* A blue ring hit dumpling man in the back, then another. He fell face-first into the snow. People in line wasted no time relieving the large raider of his belongings, clothes, and two filthy females in rags took his hair and one of his teeth. Some people then flipped him over and took his chest and back hair as well. Oddly enough, most people left his dumplings. "Keep the line moving, please," a stern voice announced. "Norm?" Dan asked. The man who shot Liberty Dumpling was actually a stormtrooper. Knowing only one Imperial stormtrooper, Dan thought it was Norman. "Norm?" The trooper did not acknowledge him but waved him, Rarity and Whooves along. Like everywhere else, they had found more strangers, not familiar faces. They continued on to the clock tower. The clock tower also served as the town hall. The sheriff's office and the post office were on the east and west sides inversely. The post office was overflowing with letters and parcels, a sign it hadn't seen use in quite a while. "What's going to happen if we don't find Twilight and the others?" Doctor Whooves asked. "Why... why did I just ask that? Oh goodness feck, I've nearly lost it." "We do NOT focus on the negative. We don't even bring it up," Dan said. "I have to admit, this is much even for me," Rarity admitted, holding her disguise's collar over her muzzle. "This isn't Appleloosa. Is all of Equestria to become like... like this?" "That's NOT going to happen," Dan declared. "Focus, people. The townsfolk, remember? They're still nearby, we can rescue them." They were still not convinced. Dan could tell morale was dropping. Time for drastic measures. He grabbed them both by their faces and mushed them together. And it made the squee sound effect. "Look you two... I know the world's gone crazy. But hey, I'm from L.A! Do either of you know how crazy Earth is?" "Yes," Whooves said. "You don't want to get started with me." "Okay... but I'm saying, it's the people. I've lived in a crazy city before. The people we love- the ponies, our friends and neighbors and families. Sweetie Belle," he said, looking at Rarity. "They give us some stability. They're our foundation. We do it for them. Right?" Rarity nodded. To a lesser extent, Whooves also nodded in agreement. "Right. You're right, Dan. Let's go get our friends back. Again." "However many times it takes," Dan replied confidently. "How many times have you had to do this exactly?" Whooves asked. Dan did not answer. They had to sidestep another timberwolf as it came down the street. It was dragging its rear end through the snow, possibly because someone tried to set it on fire. Poor thing whimpered and scooted its way out of sight. A pair of minotaurs dueled in the street, a street artist tried to sell them a framed piece of pavement and a covered wagon full of disco balls rolled by being pulled by four afro-wearing zebras. The wheels of the wagon were also disco balls. They had apparently lost a battle against a punk rock band and their punk rocks. Finally, they reached the clock tower at the center of town. Usually, this is where Sheriff Silver Star could be found, always out patrolling. Rarity quietly wondered to herself where the good sheriff was, hoping he was okay. "Haven't seen anyone from Appleloosa so far. I mean, like, when the town isn't a loony bin," Dan remarked. "Braeburn and his band were with us at the old castle. I think." "Phillydelphia and Manehattan were like that, too," Rarity said. "I checked on them before coming to meet with the Doctor. There's no ponies there, but there were a few other creatures. Yaks and goats, mostly." "What about Trottingham or Las Pegas?" Dan asked. Rarity shook her head. "I wasn't able to get that far with the blizzard going on." "At least we're about to get out of the snow," Whooves said. They entered the clock tower, door creaking only slightly as they opened it. The clock tower also served as the town hall. A smaller community, Sheriff Silver Star acted as the mayor of Appleloosa and most town meetings took place in a small theater off to the side of the entrance. The tower was empty. A few gas lanterns were on, however, indication someone was living in the place. A bulletin board hung lopsided on the east wall in a little parlor area. Mostly, it was for official notices as most ponies in Appleloosa got their news from the saloon. A line of clocks hung on the wall, all displaying the times of different cities in Equestria. Trottingham, Detrot, Baltimare, Canterlot, even the new Crystal Empire city, Spurcon, was displayed on the different clock faces. All held the same time, however: midnight. And they were all broken. "That doesn't make any sense," Whooves said. "What doesn't?" "Those clocks," he said, trotting up to them. He reached up on the wall and pulled one off. "They're meant to show the times in different areas, yes? There's no reason they'd ever be the same exact time." Dan shrugged. "They're broken." "Yes, but they were all broken at different times," Whooves said, looking at the clock. "Whoever did this wanted it to appear that time has stopped." "I see what you're saying," Rarity said. "Someone took these clocks down and set them to display midnight, then broke them for whatever reason and hung them back on the wall." "Precisely. Precisely, Rarity, that's it," Whooves said, grinning his trademarked cunning smile. It was a smile that said "I'm onto it" when the Doctor was unraveling a mystery. Unfortunately- "Some crazy guy probably did it. There's raiders out there and other lunatics. For all we know, one of them did that just to screw with the other ones," Dan said. Doctor Whooves slumped. "I... yes, that's... entirely the probable case, yes." He slumped down to the floor. As he did, the cuckoo in the clock ejected, but did not utter its namesake. There was no reason, nor was there the energy to. "Chin up, Doctor," Rarity said. She knelt down next to him to comfort him, adjusting his little bow tie. "Just because there's no mystery doesn't mean there's nothing to solve." "Right... right... I'm just..." his gaze became miles-long. "I'm at a bit of a loss for one of those right now. Solutions, I mean." Dan and Rarity were both about to say something when the doors opened again. Before the new intruders could see them, the three scrambled to hide- Dan inside the amphitheater, Rarity and Whooves under a pair of tables. "-but we could make a lot of money this way." "Nuh-uh. No way. Besides, the paint would come off." "But that's the beauty of it," the Team Flair grunt said. "By the time they realize it's not a pony, we're already long gone." "They'd find us, idiot," the Cipher Peon berated him. "This isn't the only nexus and Kalos and Orre aren't exactly big places." The Flair grunt paused. "Fine. But I still think we could sell those zebras." "That's not how we do things. The buyers come to us, they leave with the product, we take the cash. That's how this stuff works," the Cipher Peon said. He walked past the broken clocks, the Flair grunt following. "I overheard Maxie talking with Lysandre." "Exchanging fashion tips?" "Ha ha. No, talking about interlopers. There's at least four trainers out there. Not to mention two ODSTs, two COGs, a SPECTRE and a Spartan." The Cipher looked back over his shoulder. "We've dealt with all of that before. Unless it's the space marines or the SPAYCE MOREENZ, they're not a problem." "No," the Team Flair grunt stopped. He brought out a Pokedex-like device. "THIS is the problem." Dan, Rarity and Whooves weren't in a position to see the image, but a holographic blue picture displayed in front of the two lackeys. "See? The gash running right through the side of the panel?" "I see it. So?" "A Jedi's blade did that." Both grunts paused. The Cipher Peon held a hand to his chin. He lifted up the V-shaped visor of his helmet to get a better look. "So we've got at least one Jedi here now. Great. Well, just keep with the non-lethals and we should be fine." The Team Flair grunt shook his head. "If the Jedi are here, that means THEY are here, too." "You don't know that." "I do know that." "How exactly is that?" the Cipher Peon asked, flipping down his visor and walking on. The Flair grunt shrugged. "We have the same sense of fashion." The two cronies departed the clock tower through the back. None of them even knew the building had a back exit, but apparently it did. Quietly, Dan, Rarity and Doctor Whooves assembled. "What exactly were they talking about?" "I heard one of them say something about a specter," Rarity said. "I don't think they were talking about ghosts, though." "If they're worried about them, it might be something good. Something on our side," Dan said. "I heard a couple of them talk about Jedi." Whooves nodded. "The star-faring knight-monks. I've met one." "I've met two. The first one nearly cut me in half but..." Dan pulled out Samule L. Jackson's taser-saber, "he did give me a nice consolation prize." "You actually have a lightsaber?" Whooves asked. "And when were you planning on using it?" "When I found more batteries for it, doc. This thing doesn't exactly take Double-As. Now come on," Dan said, heading out the back. "Let's follow those two clowns. Maybe they'll lead us to the others." They exited the clock tower discreetly, following the two cronies.