//------------------------------// // 2 - The Background of a Drummer // Story: Drummer Out of Time // by MrPip42 //------------------------------//    Today was the day for a small picnic Twilight and her friends had prepared. Their group would always set up these gatherings at least once or twice a week. To relax and enjoy each other's company. Twilight herself was running late, unfortunately. Trotting at a brisk pace to try and find her friends in the park. Spike, the baby dragon and #1 assistant was running behind her. Quickly growing tired trying to keep up with a pony. “Could we…go a bit slower Twilight?” Spike said in between hard breaths.  “Don’t worry, we’re almost there,” She responded. A grin formed on her face when she spotted 4 mares just a short distance away.  “Howdy Twilight!” Applejack called out to her and waved while she approached.  “You’re late!” Rainbow Dash said when she made it to the picnic. “You’re like, never late Twi. What happened?” “I’m sorry girls, I still had some clean up to do after the whole time travel mess I made,” She explained, followed by Spike’s exhausted huffs. “I gave back the telescopes I borrowed, as well as the seismometer, the geiger-counter, and the Thaumic Sensor, the M-“ “That’s quite alright darling,” A white maned mare with an immaculate purple mane said. “It was no trouble at all to wait.”  “My stomach says otherwise…” “Oh hush, Rainbow Dash, it was merely ten minutes.” “Thank you, Rarity.” Twilight smiled towards the white mare named Rarity. Who brought to bear a pearlescent white smile in return. Rainbow Dash nearly barfed at the display, which was met with a stern hoof to the shoulder from Applejack. The final pony in the group, the yellow and pink pegasus Fluttershy, watched all of the events unfold. The quiet mare giggled while Spike went to sit next to her.  “Where’s Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked, noting a missing member from their group. “She had ta’ help out at Sugarcube Corner, big caterin’ job came up. Pinkie still made sure we got some cupcakes.” “And now that we’re all here, no more waiting, let’s eat!    The six of them opened up and spread out the contents between them. Sure enough, among the contents were cupcakes emblazoned with special artwork on each. One cupcake for each pony, with their own cutie mark on the top of it. Apples for Applejack, a starburst for Twilight, a rainbow lightning bolt for Dash, a trio of butterflies for Fluttershy, and three gemstones for Rarity. Included as well as another cupcake with green fins on the top, which was given to Spike, to his own glee.  “We shouldn’t be expectin’ anymore time travelin shenanigans now should we Twi?” Applejack said as they began to eat. “Ah don’t know if ponies around here will take ya seriously for a second time.”    The sheepish laughter Twilight gave her answered the question before her words did. “No more time travel magic for me. At least for a while. That ordeal has taught me that it’s important not to worry so much about the future, I've even left more space on my schedule because of it.” “What she really means is that she opened up thirty minutes on her schedule for ‘stop worrying about the schedule’ time,” Spike chimed in. “Spike!”    Laughter erupted from the group. From loud guffaws to light giggles. Twilight couldn’t stay angry at Spike for long, and joined in on the giggle end of the moment.  “I even went to bed at a more reasonable time!” She added at the very end. “Yeah right.” Rainbow gave the unicorn a smug grin. “Is your ‘reasonable’ time 2 am?” “No! It was a little after midnight, and I would have gotten to bed earlier if I hadn’t had a visitor at that time.”    The four other mares in the group collectively blinked their eyes towards Twilight Sparkle. “You had a visitor…at midnight?” Rarity asked. “Is there somepony we should know about Twilight?” “Well, I don’t believe it was somepony you would know, why do you ask?” Twilight cocked her head back in return, and was left confused as to why Rainbow was stifling another laugh. “Awright, Twi ain’t gonna know what you mean by that, Rarity. Ah don’t think she’s ready for that yet.” “Applejack, one should always be ready for it! You never know when a colt will come to sweep you off your hooves.” “Oh, he was a stallion.” Twilight noted, Rainbow was barely holding on. Fluttershy’s cheeks had grown bright red.  “And was he a strapping gentlecolt? Did he come with a rose in his grasp, and offered it to you with his devotion?” “Well, nothing like that, he said he knocked on the wrong door and then ran off.” The entire meaning of the conversation was lost to Twilight. Her comments had deflated any hope of continuing that train of thought anyways. “He knocked on the wrong door?” Rainbow raised a brow, hovering above the picnic as she did so. “How could he have done that? Is there another giant tree library in town?” “It was dark out, maybe he couldn’t tell.” “Well, sounds fishy to me. Probably some creepo who chickened out when you opened the door.”    Twilight looked up to glare at the floating pegasus. “I’d never assume something like that about somepony! Even if he was a little odd.”    A new voice entered into the conversation. Fluttershy finally spoke up to join in. She looked on towards Twilight as she did so. “I actually saw somepony who was a little odd this morning too.”    Now the entire group looked towards Fluttershy. The extra attention made her bring her voice down a bit. “He was sleeping in the flower fields near my cottage. I didn’t want to disturb him, but his body was right in front of one of the rabbit burrows. The poor dears couldn’t get out. When I woke him up, he said something really fast about having to go and ran away.” “Huh…two odd ponies runnin off at a moment’s notice. There was somepony like that at the farm earlier today too.”    All eyes turned to Applejack, but Rainbow Dash was the one to continue. “Yeah! This weirdo comes up to my napping spot and starts tapping on the tree. The dude looked freaked out and ran off towards the Whitetail Woods the moment he heard Applejack.” “So…” Rarity began, “All of you saw an odd stallion at different points during the day, and each time one of you encountered them, they quickly ran off. Is that correct?”    They all nodded, and Rarity did not need to spell out how to connect the dots. The group looked between each other and knew exactly what the others were thinking. “Light brown fur, dark brown mane, goggles on his head, drum and drumsticks for a cutie mark?” Twilight asked.    Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash nodded towards Twilight Sparkle. Who furrowed her brow in thought. “I wonder why we’ve all run into him… and why he keeps running away?”  “Well we all know what he looks like now, it sounds like this fella has some sorta problem. If we ever see him again, we can see what it is.” “Exactly, Applejack, but I also wonder… Does Pinkie Pie know who he is?”    In an unassuming house in the middle of Ponyville, the resident inventor and horologist Time Turner had brought a peculiar stallion into the depths of his home. Where machines of all shapes and sizes lined the walls. Steam powered engines constantly breathed out billows of air, released into vents in the ceiling.     Here, Time Turner had brought High Rise from the Whitetail Woods. Where he sat him down in a chair with a table in front of it, and began to rummage through the many drawers of the basement room. The sound of heavy metal clanging together could be heard as he did. “Hold on one moment!” He called out to High Rise. “I just need- aha! There it is, heeurgh!”    With a powerful heave, Time Turner brought a large device out from the drawer and slammed it down on the table in front of High Rise. A record player, but without the speaker and a lot of extra machinery added on. “Ha…whew! This will keep a recording of our conversation. You’ll have to forgive me for being so excited. I have never met a living, breathing temporal anomaly! Most times my anomaly detector only finds random nick nacks, it’s especially fond of snow globes.” “I-It’s alright.” High Rise said, growing wearier the more he sat in front of this clunky recorder. “Are you sure we should be… recording this?” “Oh but we must, dear boy! This is history in the making! Well, for you perhaps this is already history. Anyways, it will not be shared with anypony until I have done all I can to assist you.”    Before coming here, after High Rise’s panicked request for help. Time Turner had promised him that he would assist him. He was apparently a time travel enthusiast, who frequently searched for objects and markings misplaced in time.     Time Turner pressed a button and the machine whirred to life. The record spinning on top at such a speed that High Rise wondered how anything could be recorded onto it.  “Now! Let us start from the beginning. My name is Dr. Hooves, more commonly referred to by the name Time Turner.” He began by speaking out loud the exact date and current time, before describing the circumstances of his discovery of High Rise. Around midnight last night, his temporal anomaly detector had begun to pick up a reading in Ponyville. Time Turner had decided to wait until morning to search for the reading, because he was tired and wanted 15 more minutes each time he woke up.    When he got out of bed, he searched Ponyville with the Anomaly Detector to find it. First searching Fluttershy’s animal sanctuary on the outskirts of town, then the Sweet Apple Acres Orchard, and finally the Whitetail Woods. Where he came across High Rise laying against a tree trunk. Tap Tap Tap-Tap “-I then- Apologies but could we refrain from tapping on the chair? The sound will end up in the recording.” “I’m sorry, it helps calm my nerves…” “Oh! Then please, continue. It is better for you to stay calm in this situation, so I will ignore it.” Time Turner then continued from where he left off. “-I then brought the anomaly stallion back to the lab to further detail his circumstances. Now, if you would please state your name.” “…High Rise.” “Would that be an alias you are using to hide your real name, or your real name?” “It’s my real name, why would I use a fake one?” “It’s very much possible to run into relatives or ancestors while one is in the past, it is why I use Dr. Hooves. A simple name for a simple scientist!” “…Ah, I see.” High Rise scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t feel comfortable not using my name, if that’s alright.” “Perfectly alright! Given the distance you have traveled, I doubt your name will bring up any concerns. Now, can you detail to me the circumstances of your time travel?” “Well, I am-… was friends with the personal student to the Princess, Crescent S-“ “Ah-ah-ah!” Time Turner cut him off. “While I understand that I have asked for details. I must ask you to refrain from giving me or this recording specific details. Such as future events, individual names, and the like. Knowledge of future events and circumstances can be dangerous to have left in the past.” “But doesn’t me being here at all already make things dangerous?”  “It does, yes, but not in the same way. An individual such as yourself can pass off as another face in the crowd, blend into the background. However, any knowledge you share of the future is not quite as easily forgotten. I do not plan on sharing this recording openly, but that does not mean somepony couldn’t get their hands on it, and learn knowledge that they or I should not possess.” “Uuuh.. Yeah, I think I understand.” All High Rise understood was that time travel was convoluted. “Good! Now please, go ahead.” “A friend of mine was in the process of researching a way to travel through time, and when I was visiting him after my-… no that’d be too much detail. I was visiting him when he tried a time travel spell. Some freaky magic stuff happened when he tried it, and the spell affected me instead of him. The next thing I know, I found myself on the streets of Canterlot alone. One hundred years in the past.”    Time Turner had to use every bit of willpower in his body to refrain from trying to learn more of the future. His immediate thoughts went to how different Canterlot looked in one hundred years, if any new technology had been implemented into the structure of the city as a whole. Unfortunately, it was knowledge he knew he could not ask for while a recording device was in front of him. “And when you appeared in Canterlot, did you not return back to your time at any point?” “I mean, I wouldn’t be here if I had, right?” “Quite, however I wished to make sure of it. I have discovered in the past items that had traveled through time, and all of the items of that type eventually returned to their original point in time, disappearing as if they were never here. I theorized that time travel done through the form of magic, of which I cannot use, is only temporary, and can only stay in the past or future for a limited time before returning back to its original place in time. This theory proved accurate for another case just last week, actually!” “Another case of time travel? Really?!”  “Why yes! Our resident librarian, Twilight Sparkle, believed that a terrible calamity would befall Equestria this last tuesday. She believed this because a Twilight Sparkle from the future had appeared before her, and told her to be wary of that day. I don’t quite know what ended up happening with that whole situation, but the fact that the future Twilight could only stay in the past for a small amount of time is the exact same as the items I have found!”  “…Wow, does that mean that, eventually, my time here will run out, and I'll go back home too? That’s perfect!” “Well… not quite. How long have you been in our time for, High Rise?” “A week as of today, it should be over soon then yeah? I’ll get to go home!” “Hrm…without a clear frame of reference, I don’t know if we can say that. It’s possible that it will happen, but who knows how long you would have to wait? Twilight’s future self stayed for a minute after traveling back one week, while you traveled back a hundred years! Who knows how much time you have to wait after such a distance. I am afraid we cannot rely on that to be our answer.” “…Oh, well, that’s great.” TapTapTapTapTapTap “But do not fret! We are not without options! Let’s first finish our discussion. What have you done so far this past week?” Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap    Then High Rise began his story.    When I appeared in Canterlot, I didn’t know yet what happened to me or what to do. I didn’t have a bit to my name, so I did what anypony in my situation would have done. I tried to find something familiar. I eventually came across this small music club closer to the edge of town. The music drew me in and helped me feel more comfortable. It gave me time to think over what had happened to me. I knew that my friend had sent me back in time, and when I checked the dates, I soon figured out it was one hundred years in the past. The only thing that was keeping me from panicking then and there was the rock music I could get lost in.     While listening to the music I thought about what I could do. If I wasn’t careful, I could change parts of the past that could have serious side effects one hundred years from now. I had to find somepony who had the power to help me, and I knew that there was at least one pony that could help me at this time. Pr-… The Unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. I knew she lived in the library in Ponyville at around this time in history. All I had to do was get there.   Then I saw who was playing next that night, The Night-Mares. Playing one of their old singles to a sparsely populated, uninterested crowd. I couldn’t help myself, I've loved their music since I was a kid, so when I heard them playing I couldn’t help but play along from the crowd. They had no drummer at the time, and the bassist, Low Tempo, saw me in the crowd doing the exact motions needed for the drums of their song. After the show they asked if I could play the drums, I said yes, and showed them I could perform some of their music. They asked me if I would be their drummer until they could find a mare to fill in. I said I couldn’t, and that I had to get to Ponyville. They said their next gig was in Ponyville…  “…You took a very big risk, High Rise!” Time Turner said with surprise. “Who knows what changes you made by being their drummer.” “I know! I know!” The exasperated drummer sighed. “I wasn’t thinking, I just got so excited and…and I couldn’t make myself say no. Plus, they paid for the train ticket.” “So you went and performed with them last night?” “Yes, and it was easily the best day of my life. They asked me if I wanted to stay with them, but I refused! I know for a fact that they’ll find the best, most amazing, perfect mare in Manehattan to take up the dr-“ “Ah! Ah! Stop! No more.”  “Right, sorry, no future details.” “It’s alright, continue.”    After the performance ended at midnight, I went straight to the Golden Oak Library. I didn’t want to wait another night and risk changing the future anymore. I knocked on her door, and she opened it, and… “I ran.” “You what?!” “I got caught up in my own head! Twilight Sparkle is the mos-… she is the-… aaargh! There’s a future with Twilight Sparkle and I was scared I was going to destroy it. So I told her I had the wrong door and I ran. I slept outside in the grass, ran some more, and then you found me.”    More tapping was recorded, only this time it came from Time Turner. His hoof idly hitting his chin while he thought.  “One final thing before we end the recording, High Rise.” He said. “I know I said no details, but of this magical time travel spell, I would like you to give me that information. Whatever you know.”  “Wait, but you aren’t supposed to-“ “I understand what I said, but the only way I shall be able to assist you is if I know what we are dealing with. So please, every detail you know.    High rise hesitated, a hoof reached up to touch the bronze plated goggles he had on his head the entire time. A new form of comfort, instead of tapping a beat. “…My friend said it was a really old spell, made by the Unicorn Star Swirl the Bearded.” The drummer tried his best to recall the lecture he was given by his best friend, trying to repeat the lecture he was given to Dr. Hooves.    While originally this spell only allowed one to travel back a short distance in time, and return shortly after. The spell itself has many moddable pieces to retool and change. It’s already theoretically possible to go back much further in time, but it would require a significant source of magic and still be limited. In fact, a unicorn in the past had once done this. This time, however, I have made it so that we can choose when to return, as long as one has magical reserves to spare. A unicorn can hold the spell as long as possible while in the past, and when they want to return they can release the held spell and immediately be sent back.  “…This, apparently, required an incredibly large amount of magic, an amount that she couldn’t control. So when it broke loose in the middle of casting the spell, the magic lashed out and hit me.” “Hmm… So if this spell was modified with unicorn use in mind for its failsafe way to leave. The question we are left with is simple! How do we trigger the return effect to bring you back home? Since you are an earth pony. That may be difficult. You can’t merely release the spell yourself.”    A silence fell between them, High Rise’s gaze locked onto the ground. The only sounds that filled the air were his rhythmic taps. His only way to relax after what he heard, his relaxation wasn’t working. The tapping became less melodic, and more frantic the longer it went on. Time Turner’s expression grew more concerned as he watched this display.  “We have gathered the fundamental knowledge necessary to understand the circumstances of High Rise’s travel through time. In the following recordings, I will be taking note of all future research I have done. With one goal in mind, to bring High Rise home. End recording.”    Tap-TapTap-Tap    Click. As the machine’s machines came to a peaceful halt, Time Turner reached out to place a comforting hoof on the panicking stallion’s shoulder.  “High Rise, I promise you, on my name and my reputation as a colt of science, I will find a way to get you home.”    TapTap-Tap… Tap… Tap “Thank you, Mr Turner.”  “Please, call me Doctor.”    The two stallions stood up and stretched after their long conversation. Time Turner placed his recording in a secure sleeve and tucked it away. “For now, until we find a way to take you back home, we will need to mitigate any changes in the timeline you may make!” “Like what I did with the Night-Mares?” High Rise asked. “Exactly, no matter what, your mere presence in this current Equestria will change history as you know it. There is no escaping that simple fact. The more important part to focus on is what you change!” “But…wouldn’t I be changing your future right now? The longer you help me, the more you don’t do what you would originally be doing at this moment in time. Which means… ack, my head hurts thinking about this!” “Do not worry, allow me to do the thinking! First off, time travel has been my field of study for decades, High Rise. Your appearance is an absolute breakthrough when it comes to my scientific study of time, and I would not want my future any other way! Rather, it is more important that we think about how you are influencing the lives of those… less inclined to temporal research such as myself.” “Like Twilight Sparkle?” “Indeed! You seem especially worried about her, so minimal contact with the librarian and her immediate friends may be for the best. As long as you haven’t done anything to catch their attention any further, that should be perfectly fine. Minimal contact with most of the Ponyville population is probably for the better, as the smallest of interactions could have untold ripples in the river of time…”    Time Turner paced back and forth in front of High Rise. His mutterings grew quieter, and quieter, until he suddenly burst forth a triumphant thought!… Then back to muttering. “Very well! If we must keep to minimal contact, you may stay here until we figure it out!”    His excited words came to meet a concerned High Rise’s ears. He looked around the room, at the various machines and doodads. Their sizes dwarfed a stallion like him. Quickly, he was becoming sure that maybe this wasn’t the best idea.  “Are you sure about this, Doctor? I mean…is it safe for me to be left in here?” “It will be perfectly safe, why I've slept here many times! It can be quite comfortable once you get used to the whistle of the steam.”    As if on queue, the whistle went off nearby, startling High Rise. “You can also sleep in the guest bedroom if you would like. “I think I'd like that, yeah I would much prefer that. “Very well, it’s all yours. I’ll get to work right away on how we may go about fixing your situation! Until then, my home is your home. Just do not let anyone find out that it is!”    The high energy scientist trotted up the stairs. A scarf wrapped around his neck for a trip into town. So encased by his own thoughts that he didn’t hear the voice of High Rise asking him to wait. The stallion shut the door behind him, leaving the drummer all alone in a basement full of potentially dangerous devices. He gulped, and looked around warily. “Everything will be fine… right?”    Sugarcube Corner was bustling with activity in the afternoon that day. Not from anypony coming to purchase, but because of all the work the Cake family has had to do to prepare for their latest catering gig. Mr. Cake was tasked with watching their twin baby foals, while Mrs. Cake worked with the pink blur in the kitchen to prepare all the sweets that they needed. The bell to the store rang as Twilight Sparkle and Spike entered, but only Mr. Cake was around to answer.  “Hey there Twilight and Spike!” Mr. Cake said. “Twenty more cinnamon rolls! Extra pecan!” Mrs. Cake could be heard calling out new orders in the back, with a different voice yelling out “Yes Ma’am!” Each time she did. “How can I help you two today?” “Good afternoon, Mr. Cake,” Twilight replied, eyeing the noise coming from the kitchen. “I was hoping to talk to Pinkie Pie for a minute, if it wouldn’t be too distracting.” “Sure! Go on ahead, I don’t think it will be a problem at all.”    Spike, upon seeing the mayhem in the kitchen, decides otherwise. “I think I'll wait here, Twilight. I don’t wanna get swept up in a Pinkie tornado.” “That’s alright, Spike. I’ll be right back.”    Twilight went off towards the kitchen, while Spike approached Mr. Cake and the two foals he had next to him. Holding a rattler in his hands in front of one of them. When the unicorn stepped into the kitchen, the volume of Mrs. Cake’s voice doubled. “We need orange frosting on fifteen, and strawberry on twenty!” “YES MA’AM!”  “Sprinkles on the don- Oh hi there Twilight! What can I do you for?” “Hi there Mrs. Cake! I was just hoping to speak to Pinkie Pie?” “Oh sure! I’m sorry for keeping her from your picnic earlier, dearie. We were given the catering to some big party Filthy Rich will be doing, and we wouldn’t have been able to get it done without her.” “I understand completely, Pinkie is really amazing at making sweets.”    As if on queue, the pink blur that has been zipping and zapping and bopping all over the kitchen came to a stop in front of Twilight. The pink on pink, cotton candy mare smiled brightly towards her friend and said. “Hi Twilight! How was the picnic?”    The moment she finished talking, she was off again. Zooming around the kitchen. Twilight knew she could still hear her. “It was great, I'm sorry you missed it. The cupcakes were amazing!” “Of course they are, silly! They were made for my friends! I would never make a cupcake for my friends that wasn’t the bestest, most amazing cupcakes ever!” “Why thank you Pinkie.” Twilight could see the wide grin on her pink friend’s face, even in the midst of her fast paced baking. In the time they talked, she had already prepared and packaged all of the cupcakes and donuts. “I actually wanted to ask you something.” “Oh really? What is it Twi?” She said while putting the cinnamon rolls in the oven. “You know everypony in Ponyville, right? Even ponies who are just visiting?” “Yup! Even all the ponies from that rock concert yesterday. Anypony who comes to Ponyville gets a certified welcome from yours truly!” “That’s perfect, Pinkie! I was hoping you could tell me about a pony that has appeared in town recently. Do you think you could identify them from a description?” “Abso-fully-lutely! What’d they look like?” “Well, he was a tall and thin stallion. An earth pony, with light brown fur and a curly, dark brown mane. His cutie mark was a drum and drumsticks, and he wore a pair of what looked like aviator goggles on his forehead. Could you tell me about him?”    The constant, buzzing action of a baking Pinkie Pie came to a screeching halt. All the activity in the kitchen was frozen in time. With the bubbly mare at the center as still as a statue. Over and over again, she repeated the description Twilight said under her breath. Trying to match what she said to the hundreds, nay, thousands of ponies and non ponies that she remembers. There isn’t a pony in Ponyville that she doesn’t know…    Pinkie Pie gasped. “I don’t know who that is!”