Thirty Minute Ponies

by Arcainum


That Time Of Day Again

Prompt #88: Twilight Sparkle builds a time machine

The door opened to reveal Twilight Sparkle, smiling broadly and twitching in that special way she had when truly excited. “Rarity! You’re here! Come in, please!”

Rarity smiled and nodded, stepping through the door into the library as Twilight practically leapt out of her way. “Of course I’m here, darling, it’s that time of day again, isn’t it? I can’t very well teach you to dance if I’m not here, can I?”

Twilight laughed nervously. “Uh, no, I guess not. But I have something more important to show you today!”

Rarity blinked in surprise. More important than their lessons? This was unusual. Since the debacle at the Sweet Apple Acres All-Comers Hoedown, Twilight had been intent on learning to dance, and had been focused on their sessions with an almost worrying fervour. What could possibly be-

“Quick, it’s downstairs!”

Ah. The lab. Of course. Twilight had some new invention, and Rarity was in the right place at the right time. She sighed. She had been enjoying her time with Twilight thoroughly these past few weeks, but it looked like their usual schedule was to be interrupted by gadgetry and… ugh… science.

The musty cosyness of the library gave way to the acrid heat of the lab as they descended into the basement, and Rarity wrinkled her nose in distaste. She was all for progress, but did it have to be so… unpleasant in development?

Twilight was ahead of her, almost cantering in her excitement. She moved quickly to a desk covered in papers and a strange-looking box, prancing on the spot with barely-contained glee. “Look, Rarity, look! It’s finished! My time machine!

Rarity’s mouth dropped open. Had she heard correctly? “A… You’ve built a time machine?

Twilight’s grin intensified. “I have. Look at it!”

Rarity stepped closer and leaned over the box. She gazed into the crystal face of the stubby wooden device, ready to witness things she could never have imagined… then stopped.

“Twilight.”

Twilight’s smile widened. “Yes?”

“… This is a clock.”

Twilight froze. “I… no. It’s a time machine. You get it? Because…”

“Because it’s a machine that tells the time?”

“I… yes. I mean, strictly, it’s an Incremental Passionate Chronometer, but I thought it would be… Just look closer!”

Rarity returned her gaze from Twilight’s rapidly falling expression to the clock, trying to find something that would make everything make sense. The box itself was crudely nailed together - Twilight had never been one for fine craftsmanship. There were buttons arranged along its edge, and the face seemed to include a tiny calendar. While it seemed like a particularly useful clock, it was also… just a clock.

“I’m sorry, darling, but I just can’t see why you thought this was worth…” She trailed off as she realised tears were welling in her friend’s eyes, and she put the IPC down. “Twilight, whatever is the-”

“It doesn’t matter! I knew it. I knew this was a stupid idea!”

Without warning, Twilight turned and galloped back upstairs, leaving Rarity standing alone and stunned. After a moment’s silence, Rarity glanced about the lab. Had she missed something? Had Twilight been trying to pass along some far-too-subtle message? The poor dear still had trouble interacting, sometimes…

Idly, her eyes landed on the clock’s face again. Then they widened in realisation, and she lifted a hoof to her heart.

“Oh, Twilight…”

The clock had no numbers. Where the hours of the day would normally be laid out, Twilight had instead laid out her personal schedule. The two hours they spent each day on dancing lessons were clearly marked Rarity Time. The entire rest of the day was denoted by Not Rarity Time.

Tentatively, Rarity reached toward the clock and pressed a button. The tiny calendar flipped, changing to tomorrow’s date. Again, Rarity Time and Not Rarity Time. She pushed the button again and again, and every day the same thing. She felt the tears coming and blinked them back furiously.

If Twilight only knew…

~

Twilight threw herself onto her bed, burying her head into the pillow. It was trite and puerile, but she just didn’t care. She’d ruined everything, all because she was trying to be funny with some dumb joke.

There was a knock on the door.

“Go away, Spike. Not now.”

Another knock.

“Spike, just… leave me alone for now, okay?”

Silence. Good. She felt bad for sending him away, but right… she needed to be alone. Alone with her stupid bad-joke-making chances-ruining idiot self.

She heard the door click open, and the creaking of her floorboards. She buried her head deeper in the pillow, trying to ignore it. If Spike wanted her that badly, he’d have to fight for it.

Something touched her gently on the shoulder, and she shrugged it away. Not that easy, little dragon. The something touched her again, and she gritted her teeth, lifting her head from the pillow and sitting up angrily.

“I told you, Spike, I’m busy… right… now…” Her anger faded as she realised that it had been a hoof, not a claw, that had interrupted her self-pity.

Their lips met, and Twilight was gripped with sudden fear. Was this real? This couldn’t be real. But as the moment didn’t end and their tongues entwined, she shivered in unexpected delight. This was actually happening. She lost herself in the kiss, almost crying with relief that at last, just this once, she’d gotten it right.

At last they broke apart, and Twilight struggled to speak.

“Rarity, I-”

A hoof tenderly touched her lips, silencing her, before gently pushing her onto her back. Rarity stood over her and smiled.

“Shh, now. It’s me o’clock, remember?”

Note: Oh snap, I just shipped Twilight and Rarity. AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME. But no, I enjoyed this one. I say that for all of them. I enjoy all of them. Anyway. This is, in fact, the first straight-up actual shipping I've ever written, would you believe it? Bearded Lust doesn't count because... yknow. Anyway, it was interesting crossing that line, because I had to think about character and stuff in a way I hadn't before. It hasn't come out that well because I still haven't learned how to establish, complicate and develop an arc in 1k words, and I think everyone who's read Forced Introspection know how bad my grip on emotional writing is. But I think it's kinda sweet, at least.