In the morning, I checked the computer just to be sure what we had talked about, hadn’t transpired. Much to my curiosity, the computer’s clock had finally changed its date from August 27th, 2012 to November 10th, 2012. It struck me as a truly odd event since it displayed August 27th ever since my first week in Equestria. No sooner had I flipped through a few websites, to see what had passed in the missing “two weeks” than I noticed a link to a livestream of…
“Friendship is Magic Season 3 two-part premiere?”
“What,” screamed Rainbow as she rushed to my side. “Look at the title!”
“The Crystal Empire parts one and two,” I recited. “Well, so much for trying to prevent people from dealing with nightmare fuel, right Dashie?”
She rolled her eyes, “I doubt it’s gonna be scary.”
“Guys,” chirped Twilight as she joined us, “Spike’s done making waffles and-and Rainbow, you were right weren’t you?”
“I’ll say it again, I doubt it’s gonna be scary.”
*****
With Twilight’s assistance I dusted off the cables and hooked the computer up to the TV, all the while Spike and Rainbow brought breakfast to the table for us.
“I know I gotta get to work and everything but we need to know right,” Rainbow asked as she slumped onto the couch.
“But Alex has been in Equestria for more than a year,” Spike said as he helped himself to extra syrup. “How come it’s taken this long for the show to catch up to us?” As he waited for an answer, the train was pulling into the station out in the arctic wasteland on the TV.
“I’m willing to wager it’s some lag in the series to edit me out,” I answered. “See, look. Twi,” I began pointing everyone out when they got off the train, as if to emphasize my vanishing act in the show, “Pinkie, Dashie, AJ, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and cut away while Spike tries to collect scarves that are flying away. Just like magic, I’m mysteriously absent from the show.”
“So we’re seeing the events that just happened a little over a week ago but without Al or anything to do with him,” asked Rainbow, making sure to speak over the episode to keep even Spike’s focus.
“I suppose so,” mumbled Twilight. “It seems the show and Equestria are separated by more than the few changes we already noticed. I hypothesize that it isn’t limited to time and a safety bubble for worried parents. Whole events will be missing, just like how Alex probably won’t be in the series at all. Don’t you remember Rainbow, Alex was right next to me when the train left us at the station.”
“Yeah, I also remember that your brother showed up a lot later than he did in this thing.”
Through the rest of the stream, we continued to pick the episodes apart. It became a little like a game by the time everyone reached the library in the Empire. The thing we found the most entertaining though was the singing.
“Nopony sang at all did they,” asked Spike after the credits began to roll at the end of the second part. “I mean, I was with Twilight most of the time so I don’t know.”
“We didn’t sing about getting the Faire together,” I replied. “Any singing after I went under?”
“None,” replied Twilight, “everypony was too worried about what happened to you. Pinkie knew it was too serious to try to cheer anypony up in her usual way. She could’ve been losing a friend forever, we-we could have…” As she trailed off, Twilight leaned into me. I knew she was trying her hardest not to cry.
“I’m not going anywhere Twi,” I told her as I began to stroke her mane. With my free wing, I grabbed Rainbow and pulled her in tightly. Unfortunately, I caught Spike’s scowl. He seemed far from pleased that I would leave him out of this family bonding moment. At least until I gestured for him to come over with my head, trying to remain silent during this emotional moment but still try my best to remind him that he was part of this family and that I would never intentionally try to keep him from being there.
“You’ll always be part of this family,” I whispered to him after he managed to scramble between Twilight and me so he could wrap his arms around Twilight’s neck. “It would never be the same if you were ever gone Spike. Never forget that alright?”
“This is all well and good but I need to get to work,” Rainbow said with a sniffle. “Need more clouds in the sky.”
“And I have to strong hoof the copy of Fifty Shades of Neigh that Rarity has had checked out for the last,” Twilight paused for a moment, “six months so somepony else can read it.” Twilight sniffled and tried to focus on her plan, not how red and puffy her eyes were. “I just don’t want it to get violent,” she added bitterly.
Both Spike and I released the two so they could get to work. “The clock needs an overhaul so I have to go in and fix it,” I said before looking to Spike. “Spike, I’m sorry if I sound like a pain, but could you please handle the dishes? I mean, I don’t want you to feel like some sort of maid but if we don’t focus on what’s at hoof then we’ll lose track of time and nopony wants us to do that.”
“It’s fine,” he said proudly before hopping off the couch, “I know your job is a lot more important than it seems at first. If it wasn’t, then I know you’d help me out. I’ll meet you at the library when I’m done, ok Twi?”
She smiled and nodded. “Of course I’ll need my number one assistant to help me out today, even if we’ll just be spending the day reshelving and cleaning the library up.”
“Tidying up the library? I don’t see anything wrong there. I mean, after the last few days I’d consider it a welcome vacation. Nothing life changing to stress over or something that places the fate of Equestria in the hooves of seven ponies and this dragon’s claws to deal with is the definition of vacation right?”
We all, Spike included, laughed at his question. It was quite uplifting to hear something other than someone trying to avoid saying what would happen if one of us was no longer among the living for a change.
*****
By the time I was back in the clock tower I felt like everything we saw, everything that nearly ended my life, that it was all just a distant memory. In its own way, the turning of gears put me at ease rather than give me a migraine. If I was willing to make a pun, I would endure the groan-inducing bat in his belfry shtick in relative silence.
After reviewing the work done in my absence, much to my astonishment I found most of the mechanism working properly. “She must’ve gotten on his case enough,” I mumbled while rolling a disconnected gear out from the far side of my office. It was about time for me to get off my lazy rear and set some lofty perch in the tower. “If I want this to blend in but not get in anything’s way,” I trailed off to scan the mechanism carefully.
“-and I don’t care if you thought you saw Rainbow Dash eating hayfries back there,” screeched a very familiar irate mare. The mere notion of what will happen to me once she discovers that I’m here made me turn my spare gear to hide from view.
“I just wanted a bite to eat,” Thunderlane whined, “and I really mean it Blossomforth. I really did see Rainbow Dash; she was talking with Vinyl and Pinkie about something over a platter of hayfries with the works.”
I couldn’t see what was going on from the other side of my clockwork cover but the logical part of my mind and the irrational part were actually in agreement that staying put was the best bet. I was either in the eye of the storm or happy I would not actually see Thunderlane’s demise.
“Hey, was this gear out when you came to check on me Blossomforth?”
Crap.