//------------------------------// // Ch. 5 Chekhov's Gun Store // Story: Dash of Humanity 3: Live, Fly, Reboot. // by Kaidan //------------------------------// Come on everypony smile, smile, smile Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine I woke up with a groan to the sharp pains of sore muscles, and what I assume a few hundred broken bones felt like. The ache bit deep throughout my body, but was mercifully fading quickly. Raising up my forelegs I noticed a few things instantly. First, they weren’t flattened to the thickness of pancakes, which is always a good thing. Secondly, there weren’t any signs of an injury: bruising, scars, or jutting bones. The memory of a large musical instrument falling on me was something I could do without, but at least I was alive. My wings stretched open and I began to roll out of bed. The pain had finally faded. I checked my mouth with a hoof, half expecting to find piano keys instead of teeth, then slammed a hoof on the radio to shut off the song. “Well, that happened…” I hopped out of bed, taking a few steps to make sure everything was alright. I felt a little dizzy, but chalked it up to getting out of bed too fast. “Could certainly do without that happening again.” I went over and opened the door to my balcony, looking out at the neighbors starting their morning routines, and lost myself in thought. My attempt to fly to Canterlot had failed, and I’d received no response to Spike’s letter. Then I’d gone to see Pinkie, but before I was able to see if she had some magical solution, a freaking grand piano had squashed me. This was not gonna be my day. Spike could always send another letter. I could also do nothing and hope Twilight pulled some deus ex machina to save me. It would probably be better to be proactive, however, and finish my visit to Pinkie. If that failed, I could always check in with Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy to see if they had any ideas. I’m not sure how long I leaned on the railing lost in thought before screams and shouting from down the road caught my attention. I noticed some panicked ponies heading down the street from the direction of the construction site. “Oh, guess I forgot about the brown stallion.” I shrugged and headed inside, closing the door and going to eat some oatmeal. “Better luck tomorrow, I guess.” I got to Sugarcube Corner earlier today than I had yesterday. The line from the afternoon rush hadn’t formed yet, and I saw Mrs. Cake was in the kitchen baking. I crossed the room to ask her where Pinkie was, and noticed a massive cake sitting in the kitchen that caught my curiosity. “Hi Mrs. Cake, what’s that?” I pointed to the large desert. “Oh that’s one of Pinkie’s specialties, the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness,” Mrs. Cake replied. “It looks good. I was looking for her, where is she?” “In the living room, she had to take a break from baking.” I headed in the direction she pointed, entering the living room to find Pinkie having a series of twitches, ear flaps, shakes, and other muscle spasms. Apparently her Pinkie sense was going full tilt today. I’d never bothered to figure her Pinkie sense patterns out, but after yesterday, I should probably make the time. “You okay, Pinkie?” I asked. “Oh hey, Dawn, you here about the itchy fetlock and twitchy ear?” Pinkie asked. “Or the ear flap, eye twitch, itchy tooth?” “Uh, in English please?” I replied. “I don’t speak Pinkie sense, but I’d like to learn.” “Oh, somepony’s doing a powerful spell and it’s working its way up to a real doozy.” I nodded. “Yeah, that’s me. I’m pretty sure I’m trapped in a time loop, I was hoping you can help.” “Oh so that’s what that one means, I haven’t felt one like that since Twilight time traveled.” Pinkie smiled. “Of course I can help you! I’ve got something stashed in case of a time loop emergency!” “Crap, there goes the twenty bits I bet Spike,” I sighed. “Okay, where’s it at?” She led me upstairs to her room, and then down a slide into a room filled with party supplies and filing cabinets. There was almost as much paperwork in here as the mayor’s office. I picked up the nearest book and read the cover aloud. “Pinkie’s Party Canon: Unabridged Edition.” Opening it up to a random page, I saw a detailed account of Vinyl Scratch’s twenty-fifth birthday party. “Yep! It’s my complete record of every party I’ve ever thrown and how much the pony enjoyed it!” Pinkie continued digging through a pile of streamers before tossing them out of the way. “Oh there it is!” “You found a wardrobe?” I walked over to stand beside it with her “It’s what’s inside that matters.” She opened it up and gestured. “Tada!” “Uh, what is it?” I reached up and began rifling through a dozen skin tight black suits, made for the various races. “A bunch of black ponysuits?” “No, these are six black dangerous mission outfits, and six slightly darker black dangerous mission outfits!” Pinkie gestured to them, but I couldn’t see the difference. “Plus there’s this!” She pulled out a large wooden baseball bat that seemed to shimmer slightly. “A baseball bat? Really?” I shook my head in disbelief. I could accept that she had somehow stashed a bunch of useful items for an emergency away, she was Pinkie Pie after all. Unfortunately, all I saw here was a bat and some form fitting suits that would leave nothing to the imagination when worn. The best I could do with this was start a sexy all-mares baseball team called Dawn’s Angels. “Oh, Twilight swears by that bat, and made me promise to take good care of it after the library got blasted in case she ever needed it again.” I rummaged around in the wardrobe. “Got anything more useful in here, like a T.A.R.D.I.S. or keys to a DeLorean?” “Nope! But I’ve also got this.” Pinkie pulled out a bottle that looked like it was made of swirling rainbow liquid and handed it to me. “Made by Potion Nova? What does it do?” I shook the bottle and watched the colors as they broke apart and spiraled, but never mixed. “I don’t know, she’s not as popular as Zecora because she doesn’t visit Ponyville often. Oh, and there’s no telling what her potions do until you use them. They haven’t failed me yet!” I sighed. “And how many of them have you tried?” “Oh, none. Or maybe I tried one in a past loop and I don’t remember. I try not to think too hard about time travel,” Pinkie explained. “So you’ve tried none, and we’re only a few days into the loop so I doubt you went mission impossible on anypony yet.” I sighed and put the potion back into the wardrobe, beside the bat and suits. “Shouldn’t you be a little more freaked out by this?” Pinkie bounced over and gave me a quick hug. “Oh, I’m not worried at all. If anypony can fix this, it’s you. We’re the only two ponies in town that have been to other dimensions, a little time loop paradox is no biggie!” She let go and pulled a cupcake out of her mane. “Cupcake?” “Wait, another dimension?” I opened my mouth to ask for an explanation, but thought better of it. “Because Pinkie, of course.” I took the cupcake and ate it. It was chocolate with a hint of strawberry, and cheered me up. “Now, I bet you want to go get advice from our other friends, so I won’t hold you up any longer.” “Uh, actually yes. I’ll get going now. Thanks, Pinkie. If by some series of coincidences it turns out I actually need these objects to fix this time loop mess, I know where to find them now.” I started to walk away looking for the way out. “Where are the stairs?” “Oh there are none. Just do this!” Pinkie closed the wardrobe, ran over to the slide, and slid up it in reverse. Sighing, I spread my wings and flew myself up through the opening into her bedroom. I landed on the rug in the middle of her room while she closed the secret passage to her party planning basement. A headache started to form as I realized she lived on the top floor of Sugarcube Corner, and had a hidden basement in her room. In order to not lose my sanity, I decided to file it under “Because Pinkie Pie” in my brain. “Thanks for the help, Pinkie. I think I’ll go to the next pony on my checklist for help” Carousel Boutique was a short walk away from Pinkie’s place. The building was one of the fanciest ones in town, kept immaculately clean by Rarity. The plants were always trimmed neatly, and I had to wonder how much time she spent each week just to maintain the place. Though since it doubled as both her home and her store, it made sense that it always had to look perfect. There was an ‘open’ sign in the window next to the door, so I pushed it open and let myself inside. A small bell rang, alerting the fashionista to my presence. “Be right there, darling,” Rarity called from the other room. I wandered over to a small stool and took a seat. There were a variety of ponnequins around the room displaying some of the latest fashion trends. I couldn’t tell the difference between the dresses, though I did spot a summer dress that looked a bit shorter and tighter than the others. My mind wandered and I pictured Dash wearing the red summer dress. She’d fight me on it, refusing to wear the dress as soon as I suggested it. I’d probably have to make some concessions for her to agree to wear it. As soon as we got away from town I’d catch her checking herself out in a mirror or a window’s reflection. Then I’d call her girly, tease her a bit, and probably get hit by a disproportionate prank in response a few days later. I smiled at the thought. It’d only been a few days, but I already missed her. “See something you like?” Rarity asked. I realized I was grinning as I stared across at the dress. “Huh? Oh yeah, that dress is nice.” “Well, I’d be happy to give you a discount and tailor it for Dash. Unless…” She smirked as she trotted over. “You missed the time you were in that Prench maid’s outfit and the dress is for you?” I shook my head quickly. “What? No way, I’m too cool for that!” Rarity lifted up the red dress and took it off the display, hanging it onto a rack. “Sometimes you sound just like Dash. Well then, what brings you by today?” She shuffled through some more clothing before finding something that she liked, putting it onto the now bare ponnequin. “Oh, so I’m stuck in a time loop and I’m checking in with my friends to see if anyone has any bright ideas. I’ll also accept secret basement laboratories, emergency supplies, or some sort of counter-spell.” Rarity raised an eyebrow and shot a glance back at me. “Is this a prank? Because it seems rather low effort. I’m very busy today. I’ve got an entire line up to redesign. I’m afraid I’ll have to take a rain check.” “Really?” I groaned. “Look, Twilight’s time traveled and we’ve done way crazier stuff before. I’ve already had a grand piano fall on me out of nowhere, and I’m not sure how someone proves they’re trapped in a loop only they can remember.” She levitated a dress off the rack, adjusting it in mid-air. “Hmm, how about this one?” Rarity turned and showed me a dark short skirt and button up white shirt. “I’ve got a hunch Dash has been a naughty school filly who needs a little extra discipline.” My mind immediately pictured Dash in the outfit, sitting behind a school desk. “That’d be entertain—bah wait! I’m not here to spice up my love life. Time loop. Trapped. Fate of Equestria!” Rarity nodded. “Yes, I’m sure” She put the outfit back and headed into a walk-in closet to fish something else out. “Come on, would I lie to you?” I asked. “Like the time you stole control of Dash’s body, didn’t tell me, and then forced her into a maid’s outfit you knew would embarrass her?” Rarity called from inside the closet. I rolled my eyes and groaned. “Come on, that’s ancient history. I beat Discord, I gave Twilight a key for Tirek. Pinkie believed me as soon as I told her about the time loop!” She walked out carrying another outfit. “How about this for Dash when she gets back?” It was a pink ballerina outfit with tight white socks and a tiara. I shook my head. “They’d never find my body and you know it.” Rarity shrugged and floated it to a nearby hook, hanging it up. “Was worth a shot. So, darling, you’re really stuck in a time loop then? This isn’t some thought experiment like Spike is so fond of?” “Yes!” I shouted, a bit too enthusiastically. “Twilight’s out of town, and this is way above my pay-grade. I’m at a serious loss on how to solve an apocalypse by myself so I thought as a unicorn you’d have some valuable insight. I won’t prank you for a year if you just help me out.” She stopped working and began to tap a hoof on her chin, thinking it over. “I suppose the first problem would be having to constantly explain to ponies they were in a loop each time they forgot. If I were in a loop, I’d ask ponies for something only they would know.” Rarity worked on a dress that had been placed on a mannequin while she spoke. “Then in future loops, I could use that to prove I was time traveling and not taking part in some elaborate practical joke.” I sat up straight and smiled. “Good idea, if you’re this hard to convince every loop I might go insane. So this is the part where you tell me your deepest fillyhood secret so I don’t have to convince you it’s a time loop next time? I promise not to tell anypony.” I might have sounded more convincing if an idiotic grin weren’t spreading across my face. “Nice try.” Rarity began to carefully snip the thread at the seam of a dress and restitch it to adjust the size of the garment. “No, I suppose something you couldn’t have known is in order though. If you need to convince me again, just say kumquat.” “Is that even a real fruit? Nevermind. How about something more actionable. Do you know any time spells? How about a counterspell?” She shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t know anything like that. Furthermore, time magic is forbidden. Only ponies with proper clearance from Princess Celestia can study it, and fewer still are allowed to write books on it. The only pony I know with any experience in it is Twilight.” “Come on, they didn’t teach you anything about time magic? What’s the worst that could happen if every unicorn got to learn it?” “Hmm.” Rarity thought about it for a moment. “I mean, a unicorn who miscast a time spell could be trapped in a time loop, unable to escape or die, for all eternity. Seems like a good reason not to let just anypony play with it.” I slumped in the chair, deflating as the realization of my situation hit me. “Buck me. I didn’t think of that. I keep resetting to the morning, and yesterday a piano crushed me and I was good as new this morning. If I don’t fix it, I can never escape.” She hurried over and put a hoof on my shoulder. “Oh, but Dawn, dear, I’m sure we’ll get this sorted out for you in no time! I know you didn’t cast the spell, we just need to find the unicorn who did and have them reverse it.” “But I’m the only pony in town I’ve met, so far, that seems to know it’s a loop. How do I figure out who cast it? Can’t you just cast a counterspell?” Rarity shook her head. “I’d need to study for months to figure out the spell to know how to counter it. Even if I did, I’m afraid I lack the power and skill to fix such a powerful spell. If you can figure out the spell, and find a skilled unicorn in town, then it’s possible.” This hadn’t gone how I had hoped, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do about that. “So, I guess I’m doomed. I’m just going to keep reliving today, forever, plus Dash is out of town so I’ll be utterly alone.” “You’re hardly alone, Dawn. Have you visited all of our friends yet? You know we’ll always be here to help you. Have you reached out to other unicorns in town? Or tried reaching Princess Celestia?” Rarity asked. “No, no, and yes.” I got up and sighed, walking over to the door to leave. I’d suddenly given myself a lot to process, and wasn’t sure if Rarity’s penchant for drama would make things better or worse. “You’re right, it’s a little too early to abandon all hope. I, uh, need some air.” I tried the door but found it locked, and looked around in confusion. “That’s the door to my basement, Dawn, not the front door,” Rarity stated. I raised an eyebrow, forgetting about the problem for a minute and smirked. “I’ve heard rumors on the weather team about what’s down there. Cloud Kicker swore it was a secret sex dungeon. I bet that’d take my mind off my imminent doom.” Rarity used her magic to gently nudge my shoulder, pushing me towards the correct door. “Nothing of the sort, just a messy storeroom despite what any promiscuous pegasi professes. I hate to rush you out but I’m very busy, crisis or not." “Fine, I get the hint.” I opened the front door, but paused before leaving and grinned over my shoulder at her. “No entering the sex dungeon without signing the release of liability waivers.” She groaned, grabbing the door in her magic. “Don’t be a stranger, I’m happy to help you fix this time loop. Just let me know what plan you come up with, Dawn. If you need some stoic optimism I’d try Applejack. Let me know tomorrow what your plan is, or I guess today would be more accurate.” Rarity chuckled at her own joke. The door closed, pushing me out into the street. Now that Rarity had hurried me out to finish her work I could no longer deflect with humor, and the reality of my situation began to set back in. Why would she even care about getting her work done today, she’d just have to do it again next loop? I began to cross town and head towards Applejack’s farm to see if she had any ideas. Not even halfway there my hooves began to drag through the dirt and my wings slumped down a bit. I hadn’t considered the possibility of being trapped in the loop for any length of time. Heck, I hadn’t even realized it was a loop until yesterday. Ending apocalyptic threats with magical macguffins was just sort of how things worked around here. Even when my friends didn’t have any magical jewelry to help them, the strength of their friendship alone was enough to stop a magic stealing demigod from draining the souls of every pony in existence. I didn’t have much to brag about myself, other than the assist on Discord, or being in the right place at the right time with Tirek. Certainly nothing I could contribute would free me from this loop. I was alone without any powerful artifacts or princesses, and everything I knew about time travel was from fictional TV show reruns. I considered briefly that dimensional travel was also impossible, as was magic, until Discord got bored and proved it wasn’t. If he could do it, then there was a non-zero chance that somepony in town might be able to fix this. Still, the odds of that were too slim to counteract my sour mood. The sign to Sweet Apple Acres passed over me as I trudged down the path, lost in thought. I continued towards the farm house, almost stepping on the doors to an underground cellar on the way. The small sign next to it explained it was the Apple family’s reserves. I didn’t realize Applejack was trying to get my attention until she stepped out on the road in front of me. I ran right into her before looking up and realizing she was there. Along with the Earth pony, I noticed that there were a few scattered gray clouds in the air. It felt fitting my pegasi magic would summon rain clouds to follow me around while I moped. “Oh, hey AJ.” “What’s wrong, Sugarcube?” Applejack picked up her stetson that I’d knocked off her when we collided and put it back on. “Just stuck in a time loop,” I explained. “Then Rarity pointed out the very real possibility I could be stuck forever.” “So that’s why you nearly wore a rut in the dirt road all the way up to my house?” She gestured back, and I glanced over to see a trail of my hoofprints. “Yeah, I figured I’d ask my friends if they had any bright ideas, but what’s the point?” I lamented. “It’s not like we’ve got any skilled unicorns sitting around to fix it for me, and I can’t fix it myself. I doubt you’ve secretly become an expert in time magic between harvests. So what am I supposed to do?” Applejack thought my question over for a moment. Finally she pointed at the orchard. “Maybe you’ve gotta take it one tree at a time, just like when we’re harvesting. Break the problem into smaller pieces, then tackle each piece one at a time.” I nodded and looked at her. “If I’m the only pony who can remember the loops, what good will that do?” “I reckon that means you’ll have to put in the most hard work, day after day, until you finish solving the problem. Twilight’s got a library full of books, and you’ve got a sharp mind. Why don’t you use this abundance of time you’ve got now to become our expert on time magic?” Applejack walked over and put a hoof on my shoulder. “It ain’t gonna be easy, and there’s gonna be days you just wanna quit. But if you work hard and figure out what the spell is, then I’m sure we can find a unicorn, or maybe several working together, that can counter the spell.” For the first time since leaving Rarity’s shop, I smiled again. “That’s just crazy enough to work. If I study a little bit each day, and carry that knowledge forward, maybe I can figure this out. It’d sure beat moping around until I went insane.” “See? There’s no limit to what we can accomplish when we work hard. My Pa once told me it takes ten thousand hours to become a master at something. Now, whether that’s farming, or magic, or dressmaking, anypony can do anything they set their mind to. Problem is for most ponies, they just ain’t got the drive to make that commitment.” “Ten thousand hours? That’s over a year’s worth of time,” I mumbled, nodding. “I certainly hope I’m not trapped here that long. Everything was finally going right, I had my life together at last. I just hope my next leap is the leap home, so I can see Dash again.” “Was that an Earth reference? See, as long as you can joke it’s proof the Dawn we know who never gives up is in there.” Applejack hooked her foreleg behind my neck and brought me in for a quick hug. “I believe in you, Dawn. Maybe I can’t be of much help solving a time loop, but if you ever think of giving up for even a second, then you march your flank right back here so I can knock some sense into you. Deal?” “Deal.” I spit on my hoof, as did AJ, and we gave a quick hoof bump. “When did you become so wise?” “Try raisin’ a little sister on your own sometime while working a farm.” She chuckled and smiled at me. “It can really get your priorities in order and teach you the kinda things most ponies need decades to learn.” “Thanks, Applejack, for breaking me out of my funk.” “Well now that you are, it brings us to the problem at hoof. How bad is it? Is it affecting the whole town?” “Uh, yeah. Some kind of force field around the town kept me from reaching Celestia,” I explained. “Have you seen Apple Bloom? She went off crusadin’ and she could be trapped out there, or in trouble.” I shook my head. “No, not yet. If I come across her I’ll do what I can, however, as far as I can tell everyone’s safe. You just keep restarting the day blissfully unaware.” “Well, do me a favor, Dawn. If you see her, make sure she’s safe. And if it comes to the worst case scenario and you can’t save everypony, you make sure she gets out, even if you have to leave me and Mac behind.” “And I thought I was gloomy. I’ll look out for your sister, but I’m going to save everypony. I don’t know how, but all of Ponyville gets saved or I’ll just keep looping until I make it happen. Pinkie Promise.” I gave her a confident smile. I had absolutely no idea if I could fix this and save everypony, but I had an infinite amount of time to pull it off. “Thanks, Dawn.” Applejack tipped her stetson at me with a hoof. “Well, reckon I might as well get back to work, for what it’s worth. How about you?” “I’ve got one last stop, and after that a lot of work to do.” “Oh, what’s your last stop?” she asked. “Fluttershy’s cottage,” I answered. “I reckon she’s not going to know much about time travel either.” “Nope. But she gives an excellent massage.” Applejack chuckled. “Can’t argue with that. Just don’t go making any bad decisions in these loops. Just ask yourself, what would Applejack do?” I chuckled at that. “Come on, when have I ever acted rashly and made a stupid decision?” I had to quickly put my hoof up on her mouth to stop her from answering honestly. “Actually, that was rhetorical.” I lowered the hoof. The journey over to Fluttershy’s cottage was uneventful. The summer sun lingered longer during the day than it would in winter, and as it set, it cast a lovely orange glow over Ponyville. I almost thought I could see the odd dome shimmering in the distance as I approached Fluttershy’s home. Coming from Sweet Apple Acres brought me down a smaller side trail, passing by a shed behind Fluttershy’s hen house. The door was locked and curiosity got the better of me, so I tried to peer inside the window. There was a sheet of plywood inside the window with small perforated holes, the kind tools could be hung on. Whatever was in Fluttershy’s shed, I couldn’t see it from out here. I shrugged and headed back towards the cottage, knocking on the door once I got there. It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to answer. “Oh, hello Dawn. What brings you by?” “Well, I’m stuck in a time loop, and the town’s resident expert on breaking and fixing the laws of the universe is in Canterlot,” I quipped. “I figured I could stop by to get your help.” “I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said. “I’m not sure there’s much I can do to fix time travel problems. Angel’s also been acting weird lately, talking about being late and always checking the clocks. Plus, now I’ll have to check on all the other animals tonight to make sure they are okay.” “Don’t worry, I’m going to work on fixing it.” “Oh, thank you. I’m not worried, though. I know our friends are very talented and will do everything they can to fix this. If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.” “I don’t want to take up much of your time, even if you’ll have no memory of it once the sun sets. I was just hoping you could maybe give me a massage?” I asked. “I could really use a little time to relax and feel like things are normal.” She opened the door and gestured for me to come in. “I could do that. Just lay down on the couch.” “Thanks.” I trotted over to the couch and laid down. A moment later I felt Fluttershy sit on the couch next to me, and begin working two hooves just under my wing joints. The tension I hardly realized I’d been carrying began to melt instantly. It was a few minutes later as I let out a yawn that Fluttershy finally spoke up. “So, do you have a plan yet?” “I guess I can get some books to study. The only two unicorns I know in town are Lyra and Rarity. Maybe they can help me with the basics,” I explained. “I’ll learn as much as I can, and if I’m lucky, figure it out with their help.” “Oh, that sounds like a good plan. Rarity has a little more experience with magic than she lets on. Lyra was a student at Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns.” Fluttershy moved her hooves up to my shoulders and gently pushed down, locating and releasing another knot of tense muscles. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay awake at this rate. “Good to know. Do you mind if I stop by again if I get too stressed out?” “You know you’re always welcome here, Dawn. I’m always happy to help a friend, especially you and Dash.” “Thanks. If it weren’t for your advice, I might not have been ready to ask Dash to move in with me.” I sighed. “Wish I’d asked her before she left though, who knows how long it’ll be now. Could be a week or months before I get to see her again.” “A mare like her is worth waiting for.” There was a smile on her face as she said it. “You are too, and one day I’ll help you find the perfect mare, and that’s a Pinkie promise,” I said. She deserved just as much happiness as she brought to others, and I hoped it wouldn’t be too long before a mare swept the shy pegasus off her hooves. Fluttershy smiled. “I’ve always thought about that, you know. How it’d feel to have a special somepony kneel down in front of me. She’d pluck out and present me with her largest primary feather, in the old pegasi tradition, and ask me to marry her. I’d be so happy to say yes.” She had stopped massaging my back as she lost herself in thought. “What a beautiful thing the wedding would be...” She trailed off at the end of the sentence. I rolled over and sat up, giving her a firm hug. “Like I said, I’ll make that happen for you somehow. You deserve it; you’ve been such a wonderful friend to Dash and me.” She leaned against me for a few minutes, lost in her own thoughts, before noticing the time. “The sun’s about to set. Did you want to stay in my guest room, or are you heading home?” I glanced out the window and saw the sun just dipping below the horizon, and felt a faint tingling in my wingtips. “Why don’t we head outside and watch the sunset? I just realized I haven’t stayed up past dark these past few days.” Together we headed out of the cottage, and walked to the side facing the sun. Celestia must have been lowering it at this very moment, slowly sinking it past the horizon. We took a seat on the grass and watched. The sun looked larger and more red as it continued shifting down, and the tingling sensation built. In the distance I could make out Canterlot, clinging to the side of its mountain. There was a sparkling rainbow in the distance, almost like a perfect circle, and I noticed a contrail headed towards Ponyville. Before I could put too much thought into it, time seemed to slow down, and my weariness increased. I wondered if this was what it was like to be awake when the loop restarted, then lost consciousness.