By now, three of Sunny’s friends have had the merit of traveling backward through time in Clockwork’s simulation. Each of them has been able to form their own opinions on Ancient Equestria, and aid their friend Sunny in her goal to reunite all of ponykind. The adventures, while informative and somewhat leisurely, have left a mark on Sunny’s mind. She is distraught that a pony would be treated so poorly by his own family, and left to side with a demonic creature who only thought of himself. It really didn’t sit right with her.
As she lay in bed the night after showing Zipp and Pipp Clockwork’s journal, she reminisced on what could lie ahead. The very ideas she machinated were disturbing to the earth pony mare.
“What crazy antics could Clockwork get up to tomorrow? Is he going to hurt himself, his mother, his only friend? I just don’t see how Clockwork ended up getting to the place where he saved Equestria from beyond the grave. Something’s not right.” Sunny thinks to herself as she looks at the crystal emitting magic from her lighthouse. “Clockwork’s Gem”, she dubbed it upon learning of its origin. There’s definitely something in this equation that she doesn’t have yet, and she is yearning to discover it for herself.
“Sunny…Sunny” A gentle voice says, while she’s in her R.E.M. sleep. The consciousness of Sunny Starscout spawns into a vast spatial plane, and she looks around. The mare is somewhat terrified of where she is. She looks around, and accidentally hits herself in the face with her wings!
“Woah, the wings came back. Awesome!” Sunny says, steadying her center of gravity in this mysterious dream world. Trotting along a literal star-studded path, Sunny wonders where she is. “This doesn’t seem like somewhere in Equestria, both modern or ancient.” She thinks to herself. A quiet clipping sound is heard, which could only be the sound of horseshoes. Another pony is in this weird dream realm! With a hint of hesitation in her voice, Sunny whispers.
“...h-hello?” Sunny asks, slightly afraid of who might be coming. The trotting sounds gets louder and louder until the figure of a mulberry purple alicorn slowly visualizes. It was none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle! She looks much taller and regal than her figurine was, and resembled a literal deity!
“Ah, I knew I could get this dream thing to work. Luna, you taught me well!” Twilight says, snickering to herself. She spots Sunny, and waves. “You must be the pony who did the impossible, right? Hi!”
Sunny is elated. Her own idol is appearing in front of her? She doesn’t deserve the honors! What could Sunny have done to merit the personal audience of Twilight herself? “Ohmygosh! It’s you, it’s really you! What are you doing here, Your Majesty? Why did I-.”
Twilight trots in front of the partial alicorn and places a purple hoof, laden with a silver shoe over Sunny’s muzzle. “Ssssh. Don’t get overhyped. Also, Twilight is fine.” The alicorn says, removing her hoof and letting Sunny calm down. After a few awkward moments, Sunny finally introduces herself.
“Sorry about that. I’ve always wanted to meet you. My name is Sunny Starscout.” Sunny says, quite happy to finally meet her mentor.
“Oh, don’t worry. I used to be like that when I first met Princess Celestia. It’s totally normal!” Twilight reassures the young mare.
“I have so many questions for you, Miss Twilight. Here’s one. Why did Miss Luna show up on Equestria, but you and Princess Celestia didn’t come home yet?” Sunny inquires, unintentionally making Twilight upset. The Princess of Friendship knew that Sunny would ask this direct, compelling question, but still, the hesitation to reply lingers in her mind.
“It’s complicated, Sunny. Seriously. After Equestria fell, all of the alicorns lost their physical bodies. The very fabric of harmony that kept us alive was no longer viable, so we became entities of pure thought. Same with Princess Luna. She merged with the moon itself. Princess Celestia became one with the sun, and I…well I just became one with Equestria. I always existed, but the magic to keep me here wasn’t there.”
“Wait, you all become ghosts?!” Sunny asks, quite shocked by this seemingly uncanny revelation. Twilight laughs at the very idea. “No, I’m not a ghost. I just told you. I’m an entity of pure intelligence. No physical body. You still have work to do in Equestria before there is enough magic to bring me and Princess Celestia back to our corporeal bodies.” Twilight explains, quite lucid and calm.
“Hold up…so why did Miss Luna show up, then? What was it that reactivated her body, but not yours?” Sunny follows up. Twilight casts a spell and shows a visual diagram of the massive crystal that is perched atop Sunny’s lighthouse.
“This. This is why. Princess Luna was the only pony in our alicorn group who ever had a foal. What was that dolt’s name again?” Twilight says, not remembering who Clockwork Relativity is. If Princess Luna was here, she would probably slap Twilight across the face for her insolence; degrading her son’s memory!
“Clockwork Relativity,” Sunny says, quickly jogging Twilight’s memory.
“Oh yeah, that guy. Real pain in the neck. Still, Celestia went over the line with how she treated him.” Twilight says, trying to remember more about Clockwork and his adventures.
“Did you know that he wrote a journal that prognosticated the future with 100% accuracy?” Sunny asks Twilight, eager to hear if another alicorn knows about Clockwork’s journal. Twilight nods her head in affirmation. “That idiot always had that book with him, scribbling his predictions down whenever he had an idea. The pony sacred me. He might have been a mortal unicorn, but in a way, he was more powerful than any of us alicorns could ever fathom.” Twilight says, trying to explain her point of view.
Sunny doesn’t buy it. She’s more of an activist pony, and she doesn’t like it when anypony gets mistreated, especially because of how they were born. “Miss Twilight. That doesn’t change the fact that Clockwork never got to experience the Magic of Friendship for himself.” Sunny says, advocating for her ancestor’s behalf. “Why didn’t you intervene and make his life easier? You had the power to do so, alicorn notwithstanding!”
Twilight was aghast, but understanding at Sunny’s rage. She knows where these feelings come from, and doesn’t want to exacerbate the problem. “...You probably didn’t read the rest of the journal, did you?” Twilight says with a hidden smirk.
“No, I didn’t.” Sunny replies sheepishly. Twilight tries to act more maternal, and sits down on her haunches, trying to be more direct and personal with Sunny. “How far along in his life did you get. If you tell me more, it’ll help with my memory. Five thousand years is a long time, even for a pony like me!”
“Well, I just went back in time with Pipp and we saw that Clockwork absorbed some magic from Grogar’s Bell. He made a deal with “Tirek” because the creature claimed he could make Clockwork feel part of something bigger than himself.”
Twilight thinks about what the newly minted “alicorn” had just told her. She spends a good minute or two in pensive thought and then comes up with her response.
“Well, I can’t send you back in time, but I can show you what happened next. He got into a HUGE fight with Sunburst, and almost died. I know about this because my friends and I were fighting Tirek at the exact same time. He took all of the alicorn magic in Equestria and was almost too powerful to defeat! That pony’s mother taught me a thing or two about dreams. Hold still…”
And with that, Twilight Sparkle slowly disappears, and the cosmic scenery changes. What was once a beautiful cosmic mosaic turned into a volcanic, desolate landscape. Clockwork looks a few years older than the last time Sunny saw him. Clockwork looks like he’s in his late teens. He was in full battle armor and was in a confrontational argument with Sunburst. Sunny, in her partial alicorn form, was able to hover over the scene, and act as an impartial observer. This is what she saw:
“I’ve failed you, Clock. I’ve failed you.” Sunburst says, with tears in his eyes. “I tried to show you what Friendship could bring, and you didn’t listen. You listened to that crazy centaur!” He says, trying to hold back his emotions. His glasses are getting foggy with tears.
“I should have known the Elements of Harmony were planning to take over,” Clockwork says cynically, spitting into the ground with disgust. Sunny wonders what could have happened in between the last time travel trip and this dream sequence. “Nopony other than you ever offered me their hoof in Friendship, and my own mother was forced to cast me out. How can I believe in such an ideology?! Bastards like me aren't worth a second thought!”
“Clock, Lord Tirek is evil!” Sunburst pleads, trying to change his foster brother’s mind. All the while a battle is occuring overhead where Tirek is fighting Twilight, now with the power of four alicorns at her disposal.
“Well from my point of view, Friendship is evil!” Clockwork replies, trying not to cry even more. Sunburst takes a deep breath, and his orange horn ignites with magic.
“Well, then, you are lost!” Sunburst says while Clockwork’s own cyan horn lights up with magic. The two ponies immediately begin dueling, fighting over the war zone that surrounded them.
“What are you doing?!” Sunny screams, not able to communicate with either of them. She could only watch in horror as the two former friends duke it out, lobbing spell after spell at each other. Clockwork and Sunburst were in a battle for their lives.
“You’ve made a mistake,” Clockwork says, as everything comes to a grinding halt. Time itself froze to Clockwork’s will, and the unicorn was able to push Sunburst into a rock wall, shattering his ribs. Clockwork takes a deep breath, and time resumes.
“Hey, no fair!” Sunburst says, casting a healing spell which mends his broken ribs. Sunburst casts a massive solar flare spell, which Clockwork easily douses with an ice pulsar. Jumping from falling rock to falling rock, the two stallions are fighting neck in neck, and nopony seems to be winning over the other.
Meanwhile, Sunny’s attention is quickly brought to the other battle happening across Equestria. Tirek and Twilight both counter each other’s attacks, but the centaur has one trick up his sleeve. All of Twilight’s friends are confined in magical bubble cells, and nothing Twilight Sparkle can do will release them. “It appears we are at an impasse. How about a trade, Princess Twilight? Their release for all the Alicorn magic in Equestria.” Tirek proposes, scaring the living daylights out of the Princess of Friendship.
All of Twilight’s friends shout in protest, begging and crying for her not to do it. This goes on for several minutes. Sunny is very interested in seeing how this battle plays out, but she knows her main priority is following Clockwork’s story. She refocuses on the two stallions fighting for their lives.
“This is the end for you, Sunburst. I wish it were otherwise.” Clockwork says, quickly charging a final spell powerful enough to neutralize Sunburst. Sunburst acts quickly and zaps the rocky floor they are fighting on, splitting it in two. Clockwork is shunted downward, and Sunburst looks at his friend with pity.
“It’s over, Clockwork! I have the high ground!” Sunburst declares. Clockwork scoffs at the thought.
“You underestimate my power, Sunburst.” He says, charging a massive attack.
"D...don't try it!" Sunburst warns, trying to reason with his friend turned adversary. Clockwork didn't listen.
Slowly levitating into the air, Clockwork is about to deliver the final, deadly blow. However, he made a fatal mistake. Even with his temporal magic, Clockwork did not count on Sunburst’s tactical advantage. He misses the attack, and Sunburst grabs Clockwork telepathically, slamming him into the ground, shattering all of his bones to smithereens. He can’t feel any of his limbs, and he’s surrounded by magma.
Clockwork’s battle armor is mostly destroyed, and the young stallion’s blood and viscera are sprayed everywhere. Clockwork tries to move his body, but he can’t. He doesn’t have any feeling in his body at all!
“You were the chosen one, Clock! You were supposed to use your time magic to spread Harmony, not destroy it! It was you who was supposed to uphold Harmony, not leave it in darkness!”
Clockwork is an immense physical and emotional pain. “I HATE YOU! You told me three years ago that I was nothing more than a bastard, unworthy of Friendship. Lord Tirek told me I could be something more…”
Sunburst looks at Clockwork one last time. “You were my brother, Clockwork Relativity. I loved you.”
To make Clockwork’s situation even more precarious, the magma surrounding him slowly eats away at the unicorn’s body, burning him severely. Clockwork is screaming and crying for help, but Sunburst trots away, unwilling to provide him with the Friendship he so desperately needed at this time.
“...mommy! I need you!” Clockwork cries as the lava burns away at his body.
Sunny couldn’t help but cry. The poor unicorn was being abused by Tirek, and he wasn’t able to see the value of Friendship. However, in regard to the other battle, the sky begins to clear. Sunny refocuses, and sees Twilight.
“You're wrong, Tirek! I may have given you my Alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all!” Twilight says, with all of her friends now “rainbow-fied” and powered up.
Sunny always like seeing the good guys win, but why don’t the Mane Six use this Magic of Friendship to help the pony who needs it now, more then ever!
“Help Clockwork, you idiots!” Sunny screams across time and space.
Almost as if like magic, Discord, the eldritch avatar of chaos and entropy, hears the scream. He quickly flies away, much to Twilight Sparkle’s dismay.”
“Where the hay do you think you’re going?!” Princess Twilight asks Discord.
“I am going to help somepony who needs it. Somepony broken and damaged beyond repair.”
Sunny panics. Did she just break spacetime?
“Oh shit!” Sunny says, promptly waking up in her bed, now a regular earth pony once again.
“What. The. Fuck. Did. I. Just. Do?!”