//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Time Flows at a Snail's Pace 
// by JesterOfDestiny 
//------------------------------//

I woke up thinking another time loop has began. I was in that state, where you are waking up, but your mind is still dreaming. I tried reassuring the patient, that I just remembered something important, the same way I have done four times already, but I realized he wasn’t there. Then the confusion set in, as I realized I was lying down and I could hear the beeping of a heart monitor. Suddenly, excruciating pain flashed through all of my skin. I could feel it folding and pulling with every tiny move I took. I tried screaming in pain, but every bit of air burned at my throat. Three doctors rushed up to me to try and calm me down and keep me from moving too much. 

Eventually, my mind cleared up and there was no doubt, time has stopped looping. This was, in fact, the present, after everything went down and time has not been reversed again. Finally I remembered what happened and why I was in the hospital. Although part of me wishes I didn’t.

I could hear Lyra’s voice in the distance somewhere. “Is she okay?” She kept repeating, with a doctor trying to reassure her after each time. I glanced to the side and could vaguely make out the colours of my friends, through my dried eyes; even blinking was painful, so I had to be mindful about that as well.

With time, I got used to the pain. I no longer needed to put effort into maintaining basic functions like blinking. Several hours must have gone by, because I could see the light of the sun turn red and fade away. At night, the doctors deemed me stable enough to visit, so I finally got to have some words with my friends.

I could see that Lyra had burn marks scattered all over herself. They did not wait at the cave’s entrance, like I told them to. They went in and followed the sound of my struggles with the Mogalon. When they found me, I was lying motionless, in the middle of a big puddle of acid, created by the creature’s blood, mixing with the salt and its powerful gastric acid. And Lyra, without hesitation, ran straight in to get me out. A decision she says she didn’t regret, because I could have gotten into a much worse condition if they waited for Lemon Hearts to get a rescue team.

The thing that made me the most happy, was Hooves confirming, that the Mogalon was, in fact, dead. The salt has drained all moisture from inside its body and all of its internal organs shrivelled up and mummified. He even showed me a piece of its body, which he preserved in a glass jar as a sort of harrowing souvenir. It looked like a piece of ancient driftwood.

The others took to cancelling all my appointments for the time being. They hung a message on the door of my clinic, notifying my patients, that I am in the hospital and unable to operate. I felt somewhat disappointed, but I allowed myself this small bit of “selfishness.”

Most importantly however, news of the incident spread far across all of Equestria, especially in the wizard community. For a long time, both the Mogalon and the fable of the chronomancers were considered nothing but legends. Tales with basis in reality, but distorted through exaggerations and the myth turned larger than the truth. But now there was proof of the Mogalon’s existence, which might mean that the tales of both the chronomancer order and Grogar could be true. Large-scale investigations began, finding the truth about Grogar’s creations and long forgotten wizard orders. And time magic has gained a huge following, of which Hooves have become an important figure.

Even the princesses got involved. Twilight Sparkle herself became a leader of the movement, which lead to ponies dubbing her as “the princess of science.” She and Moondancer ended up reuniting in the midst of it, as Twilight’s extensive knowledge of objective history paired well with Moondancer’s fascination with the obscure. Even Lyra’s anthropology got swept up in it, as ponies’ minds opened up to the mysteries of the very distant past.

My déjà vu has not gone away. In fact, it only got stronger. At least, now I know that it’s not just a miniature seizure. I decided to explore the capabilities of Twilight’s memory spell with the help of Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine, hoping that it would help in some way. No more spontaneous amnesia however and Dr. Hooves said that his condition has healed completely, which makes me happy.

However, I want to keep to my humble life as a dentist. I had one time related adventure and that was way enough for me. Saving all of Equestria is a kind of responsibility that I will save for those who can handle it. A waste of potential? Perhaps. But saving foals from a crippling fear of the dentist is enough adventure for me. 

But if chronomancer duty ever calls again, I must heed it.





I can’t believe it... Is it truly over? I haven’t had another déjà vu or spontaneous amnesia for months. I still can’t believe that Minuette managed to destroy my tormentor all by herself. I will continue my research into chronomancy, now knowing what forces not to mess with. Hopefully, I can give this responsibility back to those who were meant to deal with it... Because I’m clearly not one of them anymore. That is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

But most importantly: I am finally free!