Book II: Wings of Time
One
Preface, added to this journal after near-completion for chronology
The earliest memory I can recall, in terms of my own life, is eating ice cream.
Of course, the earliest memory I have chronologically is the birth of the planet as we know it, but I feel that is rather beside the point.
To elaborate, I remember eating ice cream on a peak overlooking a wide ravine, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Equestria. Doc and Tavi were both there with me, both with a frozen treat of their own. It wasn't like it was a particularly memorable moment in time; eating ice cream was literally all that happened that day. But for whatever reason, that one moment in time always stuck with me. I think I was around seven at the time.
Perhaps, before I go any further, I should make one thing clear: I can travel through time. How I can do this I will explain in due time, but the point is I can. For the longest time I wasn't really in control of it; Doc was the one doing the traveling, and I was just along for the ride.
Doc. Where do I begin with describing him? In terms of appearance, that at least is easy. Fairly tall, brown hair and eyes, always with stylish but not overly-expensive clothing. Explaining his relationship to me is the hard part.
All my life it had been me and him against the world, and he was the only one I could call a father; but I wouldn't really call what we had a typical 'father-son' relationship. I guess he was more like that super-cool uncle who shows up at your birthday and plays guitar for everyone, or takes you out to wrestle bears for the weekend. Of course, this is only based on what I had heard about fathers and super-cool uncles, as I couldn't really talk from experience. I didn’t really have any reason to think he wasn’t my blood father, but it always seemed too good to be true. Doc was just... what he was.
Like I said, it was Doc that took me through time. We went for all the obvious joyride stops, of course- the birth of the world, the Goddess War in Tellius, the great Civil War of Equestria, the rise and fall of the demon Sulphur in Ivoire, even several trips into the future. I have seen all kinds of heroes and evil in action, and know things about this world that normal people were probably never meant to know.
One might ask what Doc did to support himself and a young child as they traveled through time- and the answer is both incredibly simple and stupid, and widely frowned upon/high five-d. By traveling back in time a decade or two and depositing some money, then retrieving it a decade or two later (a process taking maybe an hour), interest would have compound nicely and give a sizable turnout. The only trick was to use older money at the first part. Kind of a cheap trick, I'll admit, but hey, whatever works.
Thing was, I didn't really have a specific time I could call my own time. Like a family living indefinitely as a caravan, always on the road from one place to another, Doc and I were always on the move from one time to another. We had a few small home bases set up here and there, but there wasn't much in them; they basically just served as a place to eat and sleep. What few precious belongings we owned, we kept with us.
But while we didn't have one true 'home time', there were two specific locations that I can look back fondly upon: I refer to them simply as 'Octavia's Time' (which currently is on year 490 Equestrian calendar by my count) and 'Raphael's Time' (Year 930 Ivoirian calendar, or 504 Equestrian. As a side note, it would have been around 1471 Tellian. Sooner or later the three worldly calendars are going to have to agree on a universal number, but it just hasn't happened yet). They had a general location on the map as well as the clock: Octavia's was centered at a small but lively town in Old Dawn, Equestria, and Raphael's was the training grounds in Forestia, Ivoire. They were of course named after my two best (and perhaps only true) friends in the world.
Raphael, in addition, was named after the great hero of Ivoire: one of many who fought to stop the demon Sulfur and save their homeland, and who nearly died in the process. The original was the perfect picture of a valiant, selfless knight in shining armor: one of the strongest fighters ever known, extremely charming (as I've been told), and leader of the prestigious White-Wolf Army. Some say he still roams the earth, perfecting his swordsmanship, but I had never seen him. My Raphael took pride in his name and fought hard to live up to it, but there were definite differences between the two. He was a few inches taller than the original, and objectively looked nothing like him: whereas the original had long, straight, golden hair and always wore a taciturn expression, mine had caramel-brown hair that he always wore in kind of a messy-on-purpose style, and usually had a smile on his face.
I knew Raphael as a friend, a confidant, and in many ways a partner in the same boat as me. Doc brought me to this time in order to help teach me about combat: Doc was a pacifist himself, and could do nothing for me when I told him I wanted to learn how to fight. So, after enough pestering, he brought me to this time to learn what I could, and I found myself learning right alongside Raphael.
Our training varied greatly, though. I won't lie, I've always been kind of a scrawny kid, and no doubt would never have made it through basic training. I received private tutelage from a warrior staying at an island nearby called Tempest Isle, an Owl-man loner called Persimmon. He taught me to unleash my above-average magical energy through physical objects, namely a set of twin battle discs. They were basically two steel circles, a meter in diameter and an inch thick, with cross-pieces forming an X in the center, and spear-tip blades at the ends on the outside. A silly and cumbersome weapon choice for many, perhaps, but I feel confident I could tear someone apart with them. I wasn’t sure about much of anything when it came to Persimmon himself. He was never one to share details of his past; though I got the feeling he was involved in some way with the Final Purge against Sulphur. All I knew was that he had a strong desire to see Raphael and I grow stronger.
Then there was Octavia. She came from some serious money, but while she looked the part, you wouldn't have guessed just by talking to her. Octavia wasn't like a lot other people who had money: she was very caring, empathetic towards other people, and would give all she had to someone in need. She learned archery as part of her noble training, and while she wasn't a fan of unnecessary violence, she got into a rough spot every now and then, and only needed to be bailed out once or twice.
But I was always more than happy to help her in these situations, or any other. Because- I'm far from ashamed to admit it- the two of us were completely and totally in love.
Doc brought me to this time and location for the rest of my schooling, though I probably couldn't have cared less about most of the stuff I was supposed to be learning. History was laughably easy for me, as I had seen much of it firsthand, and 'language arts' was little more than a waste of time in my opinion. I suppose I was pretty good at math and science, though that didn't make it any more enjoyable. No, the only subject that kept my interest was music.
I was taught alongside Octavia by the private tutors hired by her family. I'm not sure how Doc got that kind of connection; he probably helped pay for it or something. Like I said earlier, money was no issue for a couple of time travelers. So it went- a class of two- both Octavia and I wading through our other classes dutifully until we reached music class on Friday. This was her favorite class as well as mine, and it didn't hurt that Doc often would help teach.
This is, I believe, the point at which I should describe what I left on the table before: the source of mine and Doc's time-travel abilities. It all comes from a single, utterly remarkable device, whose origin is as mysterious as its capabilities: the Time Tables. They act as a single cohesive device, but are in the form of two disconnected discs that communicate wirelessly. By adjusting a set of vinyl discs on their surface, you set your destination: one disc determined the place, the other the time. After inputting this information, a runic symbol appears between the two, reading in an ancient language the information as it is presented, and touching the symbol sends you on your way.
The trip through time and space is the hardest part to grasp (like the rest of this isn't to someone new to the concept). After activating the symbol, a pillar of light envelops the user and anyone within his/her very direct vicinity. This light completely obscures the view beyond its wall, and the user will become weightless for a few moments- then the experience is over as soon as it began. The light clears, and poof! you're where and when you wanted to be.
But, coming back to music class, this was not the only function of the Time Tables. The discs that had to be in place for travel were not the only ones that could be used. Doc always described the base device as a gateway to the rest of the world, and the two vinyl discs acted as the key. But in Ivoire, discs quite similar to these had been mass produced, and music imprinted on their surfaces. Coincidence or not, the Time Tables were capable of playing these music discs, giving it a second function as a musical instrument.
But, as I am told is my nature, I wasn't satisfied with letting the music play out as it was. By copying a technique used by some musicians in the future, I messed around with the records as they played, gave birth to entirely new music and became history's first disc jockey by about fifty years. More advanced music players would be invented later on and my discovery re-discovered, but in my own times I am a musical god. Doc allowed me to borrow the Tables for this purpose, and Octavia joined me with her cello to create some real kick-ass music.
This is a pretty good summary of my childhood life, I think. I would alternate between the two places once every two weeks, giving me a break from combat with academic work, and vice-versa. Time was not relative, of course, and I returned after only a weekend had passed for both time periods. You'd think this would cause me to grow older than them much more rapidly in comparison, but... No. I'm ashamed to admit that's the best answer I can give, as I really don't know myself. It seems like I might grow slower while traveling regularly, but this last year has proven this isn't true when I'm stationary in the universe. I wish I had an explanation for it, but I'm still looking for it myself.
But enough of this summary nonsense. You've heard enough to get you going. Now I aim to describe to you why you should care, whoever ends up reading this. My life took a violent turn recently, and I've only just pieced together what it all means. This document may be the only record any of this ever existed, and I need to make sure there's something left if anything goes wrong. But now, I'm not sure that will even matter anymore.
My name is Scratch. And if I fail to make things right, there is a good chance that you will die.