The Overworked Alicorn

by BreakDown


Plans

Plans


Mort typically prided himself in being hard to excite. Rare was the day that the Grim Galloper had reason to be excited. It was no fault of any pony really. It was just after nine millinea of living his cursed un-life, he'd pretty much seen and done everything worth note. Every now and again, when someone famous died, he'd meet them and collect their autograph. It wasn't exciting anymore, but he did enjoy doing it very much. He also got front row seats to every major battle and conflict Equestria was in. That was a part of his job and thus expected, thus it was also not exciting to him.

Right now however, something exciting had happened.

He had been speaking with an old friend, of sorts. Formerly a pilot, it turned out he'd recently taken a job as the royal courier. 'I really should keep better track of him,' Mort noted absently. However that was truly just an errant thought as he gazed at the sky. If he could smile, if he could do anything to show his level of jubilation, he would. Instead, his eyes softened as he gazed to the heavens. For at this moment, they were alight with thousands of shooting orbs of ivory light.

It had been night time mere moments ago, and now the sky was as bright as if it were day. The shooting orbs of light streaked across the sky and into the distance. They came from a distant pillar that rose into the very heavens and blotted out the stars and the night. Honestly though, the sun and the day would fair no better. They were the lights of thousands of freed souls, released from millinea of torment.

'Torment I placed them in...' Mort reminded himself and closed his flaming eyes.

"Whoa, what's with the light show?" a stallion questioned behind him. Mort glanced at his 'friend' the strange pony who seemed to wind up in more life and death situations than he had a right too. 'And yet he never seems to die from any of it,' the pale pony noted with a bit of a frown. Not that him staying alive was bad, it's just that he got annoyed following the fool around and waiting for him to actually keel over.

"IT WOULD SEEM THAT FAUST HAS SET RIGHT ONE OF MY ANCIENT MISTAKES," the grim galloper noted in reply. His friend arched a brow and then rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"'Kay... then who is Faust exactly?" the brown pegasus inquired. Mort sighed tiredly and shook his head. He'd explained this before, but his friend forgot easily. His short term memory was atrocious and his long term was even worse. There were oft times he'd forgotten what he'd done mere moments earlier. As if that weren't enough, the poor stallion often found himself in trouble. If it were rabid Timber Wolves chasing him, then it was the Sky-Pirates capturing him. If it wasn't that, then he'd accidentally land face first into a door... plainly put, the stallion had horrible luck. He really should have been dead by now.

And that was only back when he was just a pilot...

"I'VE ALREADY EXPLAINED THAT TO YOU, I WON'T REPEAT MYSELF," Mort grumbled. A sly smirk crossed the pegasus lips as he gaized at the grim galloper.

"Say what now?" he asked innocently.

"I SAID I WON'T REPEA..." Mort stopped as his friend fell to his side laughing. He narrowed his eyes and snorted, then brought a hoof to his face. "VERY MATURE," he groaned sarcastically. The pegasus merely wiped a stray tear from his eye and sighed in content.

"Yeah well you need to lighten up," the stallion responded. He then glanced at a clock and visibly grimaced. "In the meantime I've gotta be heading out. I've got a package to deliver to Saddle Arabia," the brown pegasus noted with a grunt. He got up and winced as his left hind leg gave a shudder. Mort frowned as the brown pony had to take a moment more than necessary to put a black brace over it.

Mort could remember why the pony needed the brace. Early in his career as a sky-ship pilot, he'd taken an adventurous rich pony to the jungle. Unfortunately they were attacked by Sky-Pirates on the way there. They managed to escape but his ship went down in the jungle, forcing them to literally hoof it. There situation got worse as time went on of course, though his employer loved every second of it.

Along their trip to find help, the brown pony ended up knocking his employer out of the way of stray log. He'd ended up with his own hind leg smashed and had to be carried to civilization. His employer had graciously seen to his health and purchased him a new air-ship to replace his downed one. However leg wounds really healed well for ponies and so the pegasus was even more handicapped than he had been.

'I need to stop thinking like that,' Mort noted with a frown, 'He wasn't handicapped by being raised by Earth-Ponies.' Though he told himself that, he couldn't help but think it a lie. He sighed and arched a brow when he noted the package in question. Strangely their was no destination nor recipient written on the package, only coordinates in latitude and longitude. 'Hmmm... I think that's actually supposed to go somewhere in the Crystal Empire, most likely to Shining Armor,' Mort noted.

However upon recalling his friend's earlier joke, decided not to correct him. 'Then again, do I really want another experience of him only nearly dying?' the pale pony wondered with a mental grimace. The last few times had him following the stallion for a month. He'd been a pilot at the time, but Sky-Pirates had seen fit to attack his vessel again. He'd escaped and landed in a jungle in the middle of nowhere, outran a hydra, then ended up nearly roasted by an angry dragon...

'Yeah, I need to circumvent this disaster waiting to happen,' the pale pony decided with a flat expression. It wasn't that it wasn't amusing to watch him nearly die, it was just kind of annoying after the first dozen or so times it'd happened.

"THOSE COORDINATES ACTUALLY LOOK CLOSER TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE," Mort casually noted. His friend blinked then stared at the package for a moment. He then trotted over to a map and looked it over. Unfortunately, he was not only unlucky, but also really bad at reading maps. Mort had to wonder who thought it would be a good idea to give him a job that technically required him to know how to use a map.

"Huh, yeah I guess that makes sense," the brown pegasus noted to himself. With a nod of his head the brown pony slipped on a pair of skid-guards and a light harness. His own 'guard-armor' was limited to light gear as he was merely a Courier, not a combatant. The light armor was practical as he was carrying valuable materials... or at least Mort thought he was. For all he knew, Celestia just wanted him to have a decent job. It'd certainly explain why he was a courier with his laundry list of faults and well known knack for getting into trouble.

"HAVE FUN," Mort offered casually. His friend rolled his eyes, pulled a pair of welders goggles on over his forehead and tossed his saddle bags on. After a quick check to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, the pegasi flapped his unusually large wings and rose into the air.

"Yeah yeah, I'll catch you later dude," the brown pegasus declared and shot up and landed on a cloud. The brown pony then yawned and flapped his wings to propel himself and the cloud away. This was one of the ponies tricks to delivering packages without notice. It was actually quite ingenious if Mort were honest with himself. The cloud acted as both cover and with it he flew long distances with only his wings. The cloud carried his weight allowing him to move far longer than normal.

He'd never been fast, every pony knew that, but he could go far longer than most other couriers. Mort could admit that his many near death experiences had gifted the stallion with stamina to spare. He wasn't strong, or smart, or fast, but he could keep going when others would have long since stopped. Mort could respect that about the stallion. No matter how annoying it was. 'I'm just glad I prevented another 'near Breakdown experience'...' the grim galloper noted with a sigh.


Faust found herself in a world of white light. She blinked and looked all around, but could see only the endless expanse of white. It seemed to stretch into infinity and completely surrounded her. A sudden itch at her hoof caused her to frown and raise it for a look. She was thus surprised by what she saw. Her hoof was wrapped in bandages, much as it had been in her youth. Back before her wings, back before her magic, back when she was barely any different than an Earth Pony.

Her hoof instantly raised to her horn, only to find it broken and splintered to a nub. It was thus rendered a mere fraction of its usual length. The ancient mare idly craned her neck back to see her wings were also gone, and her coat had taken a more ruddy and dirty hue of white. Her tail and mane however, were still as they had been for some time now, rather than short and choppy.

Regardless, she found it strange to look as she did. So familiar yet also so alien at the same time. She felt a phantom urge to fluff her wings yet it did not come. She felt an insatiable desire to make certain her magic worked, but it also did not come. For a moment the mare merely stood there, then she sighed and smiled ruefully. 'I've actually forgotten what it was like not having magic or wings,' she admitted to herself.

"You've come such a long long way, no?" a familiar voice whispered in her ear. The mare felt her body freeze and her breath hitch in her throat. She knew that voice, she knew it well even after so long. But it wasn't possible... right? She slowly turned and saw an ivory white mare with a long indigo mane with a single white streak at the side that was matched by her tail. Her purple eyes seemed to dance with merriment as Faust fell onto her haunches and stared at her.

"Pr-princess?" she whispered with tears at the corners of her eyes. The tall regal unicorn hummed lightly and tapped at her chin for a moment.

"I think that's your title dear," she noted, then smirked, "or maybe your daughters," she mused with a wink. An instant later, Faust lunged at the mare and wrapped her forelimbs around her neck in a hug. Tears fell and the long dead mare merely raised a limb to wrap around the smaller pony. "Shh shh, it's alright," she soothed gently. Faust let a few more choked sobs pass before struggling to regain control of herself. Wiping at her eyes with a forelimb she took a few steps back from the other mare.

"Why are you here?" Faust questioned. She felt a desire to wrap the mare in another hug and never let go, but fought with it. She needed to know what was going on. She just hoped she hadn't died from that wave of souls and spirits. The ivory unicorn in question looked to the heavens before she responded.

"Did you know," Majesty began with a smile, "that there is a place between life and death?" The larger pony rose up and trotted a distance away, followed closely by the broken unicorn. "A place where the living can still speak with those who have passed?" the former princess questioned. Faust merely shook her head, having never heard of such a place in all of her days.

"This is that place," Majesty stated with a smile. "When you freed those lost souls, it broke the barrier between life and death," she continued and sighed. "So, for a moment, this place was left open to you and all those within the tower," she explained and then waved a hoof to show a certain orange apple mare. She was crying and desperately hugging a pair of ponies.

"Her parents?" Faust questioned softly. Majesty merely nodded her head with a smile then waved her hoof again. Next she saw Pinkie talking excitedly with an older mare. "Her granny Pie?" Faust questioned with a smirk. Majesty merely nodded and waved her hoof once more. This time it showed Spike, younger like her though older than he was as a baby and hugging Surprise. "Why am I not surprised?" Faust wondered with a shake of her head. Majesty merely chuckled and the vision vanished.

"He always did have a soft spot for her," the regal unicorn noted kindly. Faust scoffed and flattened her ears against her head with a frown.

"He tried to get me to make a Simulacrum of her," the ancient mare grumbled irritably. She loved Spike like a brother, but sometimes he was just a bit too clingy for his own good. Majesty merely raised a brow, making no judgment on his actions before waving her hoof and closing the window.

"Don't judge him Faust, we all deal with loss in different ways," the regal mare ordered kindly. Faust blushed and scuffed a hoof against the ground. It was strange feeling as she did over ten thousand years ago, she wondered if it would be so hard to return to her real form.

"Will they remember this?" Faust wondered quietly.

"Not exactly," she began and smiled, "not consciously at least," she finished.

"So it'll be like a dream?" Faust proposed and the ivory unicorn nodded.

"A dream that will leave them all with a sense of peace and fulfillment," she replied. "And maybe they will carry that peace and fulfillment with them for years to come," the ivory unicorn offered mysteriously. Faust merely nodded and sighed as she felt a great weight lift from her shoulders. She finally knew and understood what this place was doing for her. Unlike Applejack or Spike or Pinkie she had no pony she needed to see here. She had said her goodbyes long ago.

No, what she needed was a bit less complicated. She needed to be able to rest, and in this place she was able to let go of tittles and power. She was able to rest and relax in a true sense. She wasn't Faust the immortal Alicorn of Creativity, Princess of Dream Valley, Mother of Celestia and Luna, or Keeper of The Grand Archives. She was just Faust, a skinny broken unicorn, mortal, and resting beside her oldest friend.

And she was perfectly fine with that.

"So how much longer do I have with you?" Faust questioned softly. Majesty merely smiled and nuzzled her former student fondly. Faust leaned into her former teacher, a smile on her own lips. Soon Majesty and Faust laid down, and the smaller mare yawned and moved into the warmth of her teacher. It'd been a great many years since she'd felt so relaxed, far too many if she were honest with herself.

"As long as you need dear," she finally replied.

"Then can we stay like this for a moment?" the little mare asked. Majesty merely nodded her head. Faust yawned and fell into a deep peaceful slumber. Majesty looked to the sky and watched as the white light began to dim. Soon her time would be up, but at least her student finally got a chance to rest. She had said her goodbyes long ago, this moment was more so she could rest without eternity weighing on her back more than anything else.

And for Faust, that single moment resting in the embrace of her oldest friend, seemed to last for an eternity.


Grogar watched with a slim grin. His dark evil eyes never left the scene in the crystal ball. He had been watching the ponies for some time. Watching silently as they did exactly as he planned. Umbra coming to him was unexpected, but it had proven fortuitous. 'Soon, soon it will all come to fruition,' the elder ram thought with a nod. He then tore his eyes from the orb and waved his cloven hoof. The orb went dark while the elder ram slowly approached three familiar objects.

One was Crunch the Rock Puppy. Once a fearsome evil being who despised the soft and kind. He had been the complete antithesis to that 'Fluttershy' pony. Wherever there was kindness, wherever a pony or animal was soft and gentle. Crunch would turn them to cold unfeeling stone. He would turn water, he would turn animals, he turned all to stone until only a wasteland was left in his wake. Now he was naught but a pathetic puppy. Changed by pony magic. He looked up at Grogar innocently enough, but a spark of his old hate was now visible in his eyes.

The next object was the crystal with lava within it. This was the remains of Lavan, a terrible monster who had once taken the power of the princess ponies for his own. He changed himself into a crystal being of absolute power. But much like Crunch he was bested by the ponies. He was split into shards of his former self, some kind, others dormant. The dormant ones had been collected and eventually placed into Faust's tower. One such shard now carried a remnant of what Lavan had been in his heyday, a horrible and cruel lava monster. Soon he would return.

The final object was, of course, the glass bottle holding Arabus. Arabus was a being of great and horrible power. He had been a storm demon capable of devouring the shadows of ponies, he had once devoured all the shadows of every pony. Had they not bested him he would still be in power, rather than trapped in a bottle like he was. His powers were control of storms, a power that had been passed on to the Pegasi as a result of their shadows touching his tainted magic. Another result was the Pegasi's increased aggression and war like nature. Grogar found it quite amusing to be honest.

Had he been able he would have recruited one more into this alliance. Squirk the squid, former overlord of Ponyland, much like he had been. Squirk had also been a powerful mage, though had required his 'Flashstone' amulet to be of use. That relic had been lost, now a part of the accursed 'Elements of Harmony'. Aside from that, Squirk had been imprisoned by the Sea-Ponies. Unlike Grogar, he had been subject to ten-thousand years. He had died long before now of course. He had already been old when imprisoned. He died in captivity, though the Sea-Ponies had made his death comfortable.

In the end, Squirk had gone off to the next life peacefully, lamenting his former evil ways... it disgusted Grogar.

Grogar suddenly stepped forward, his ancient body was withered and worn. His jaw set and he looked down upon his twisted gnarled body with fury. He had once been powerful in both body and mind. A keen intellect and powerful magics had allowed him to rule all of ponyland. He had taken the once proud city of Tambelon as his capital, he had enslaved all those who were beneath him. But he was still defeated and trapped in the Shadow Realm. More than once he had been cursed to exist in this forsaken realm. Years of imprisonment in this world had led to his sorry state, led to the decay of his body into a withered husk...

But soon that would change.

"We have each suffered at the hooves of those insufferable little ponies," Grogar growled. He could feel Arabus shift even within his glass prison. He could hear the screams of rage from Lavan. He knew the sound of Crunch growling, hidden beneath the surface. Grogar smiled cruelly and nodded his head to the three other beings. "I will free you from your bondage," Grogar declared. His horns suddenly darkened and absorbed the light. His magic was the polar opposite to that of Ponies. Where they used friendship, harmony, peace, love, and light he commanded evil, chaos, destruction, war, and the dark.

"And then all will be as it should," Grogar whispered. A dark beam shot from his horns and connected with Crunch. The beam then split and hit Arabus bottle and Lavan's crystal at once. The elder ram smiled cruelly as the prisons that contained each of the ancient evils began to give way. His body would remain weak true, but that was only going to be a temporary setback... until then,The Smooze could have its fun with them...


Twilight felt a strange sense of euphoria. Her entire being felt as if all the stress of her life had simply melted away. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. She noticed she was still in the tower's library and that the books were in ashes. Moments later those ashes began to turn towards the shelves. There they began to piece themselves together, reforming into the books they had once been.

Her mind addled by euphoria, Twilight could only think one thing. 'Pretty,' she noted with a goofy smile. The hundreds of streams of ashes and the sparks of crimson light coming from them entertaining her greatly. Addled though her mind was she soon found thought returning to her. As it did she realized what was happening. 'Oh right, Faust has a burn-away charm put on all her books,' the little lavender mare recalled absently.

She allowed herself to remain on the ground, laying on her side comfortably. Nocturne's armor was still covering her yet it didn't feel cold. 'Probably a charm of some kind,' she thought absently. However she shook that thought off, eyes closed as she remembered Nocturne and she were one and the same. 'No, not a charm, unless Faust cast it for her,' the purple pony decided with a nod. The idea was actually quite plausible to be honest.

A sudden yawn caught the addled mare's attention. Her sleepy mind protested but she managed to lift a hoof and press it against the floor. With a grunt of effort she turned herself over onto her back. With a yawn of her own Twilight looked up / back to see Rainbow Dash. The cyan speedster was yawning and slowly opening her eyes. Her wings were open and allowed to drag, unusual as she'd never seen Dash that lazy before.

"Wow, I feel really good," Rainbow muttered. The rainbow pony then giggled and a goofy smile crossed her lips. "And I don't mean just woke up good, I mean really good. I could make it into the Wonderbolts and not care right now," the prismatic pegasus stated with a firm nod. Twilight yawned but nodded her head in agreement. She could admit that she felt, well, amazing right now.

"It must have something to do with that light," the purple unicorn mumbled tiredly. Applejack merely rested on her side under a table, her hat askew and a look of content on her face. She inhaled deeply through her nose, then exhaled soft breaths as she allowed the feeling to wash over her. For once she didn't really want to get up or get to work. She wanted to rest and be lazy, if only for a moment. But she knew that she shouldn't, no matter how nice it might be.

"Don' know what 'at was, but it sure was nice," the cow pony noted aloud. Twilight idly nodded her head and stretched out her limbs. As she did she saw what had become of Nightmare and it gave her pause. She rolled onto her front and blinked her bleary eyes a few times. What she saw was not what she had expected. Nightmare lay on her side in a very weakened state. Much like daring her colors were dull, her cutie-mark fading, and she almost seemed to be rapidly aging.

While Twilight was not, in any way or form, a fan of the Nightmare. Not only had she been her first real enemy as an element of Harmony, but she also hadn't forgiven her for the whole 'Nightmare Rarity' incident either. It was only the fact that this wasn't that Nightmare that she found herself worried. More so as she saw the poor pony groan and struggle to move. Her present condition was enough for her to shake off her lethargy and rise back to her hooves.

The little lavender pony grunted as her muscles protested the sudden motion. She took several breaths and shook her body. A yelp and nearly falling back to the ground was her only reward for doing so. Her legs still felt shaky but she was at least more alert now. She looked to her friends and slowly approached them both. "Girls! Wake up, Nightmare is starting to fade," the little lavender mare cried. Rainbow blinked and then scratched at her mane for a moment.

"When did we start caring 'bout Nightmare Moon?" the rainbow pony questioned, "no seriously, I'm a little fuzzy on things right now, 'cause last I checked she was kind of our enemy." Applejack blinked and nodded her head. Her hat carelessly falling from her head as she looked up.

"Yeah, no offense meant Missy, but y'all ain't really our favorite pony," the orange apple mare slurred. Twilight raised a brow, then brought a hoof to her face. Her friends weren't normally this tactless, right? It was just whatever remained of the feeling of lethargy addling their cognitive functions... right?

"Girls snap out of it! Euphoric feelings aside, this is serious! This Nightmare Moon is the one from the stories, if she ceases to exist then Nightmare Night will cease to exist as well!" Twilight declared with a snort of air. Her friends blinked owlishly for a moment and considered that. After they had thought it over for a moment they then looked to one another.

"I guess that is a good reason, I like candy," Rainbow admitted absently. With a yawn the prismatic pegasus stretched like a cat. That done she smacked her lips and fluffed her wings before folding them at her sides.

"Yeah, Applebloom would be right peeved if'n her second favorite holiday just up an' disappeared," Applejack admitted as she brought her hat back onto her head. With a hoof raised to her mouth the orange apple-mare got back up as well. She stumbled for only a moment before shaking the fog from her mind. Together all three ponies looked to Nightmare and realized something important. She was rather... large...

"D-do not worry on our account," Nightmare muttered weakly, "w-we are fine," she insisted. However the fact she was unable to lift herself up ruined any validity to that statement. With a frown Twilight turned to her friends, who sheepishly grinned and looked anywhere but into the disappointed gaze of their friend.

"Okay okay, we get it egghead," Rainbow grumbled then trotted to the railing overlooking the library and glanced over it. The library was mostly repaired by this point. Only a scant few of the remaining ashes attempted to reform into their prior shape. That which remained primarily covered Spike, the enormous magenta giant asleep and snoring softly. "All things considered I thought things would look worse," the rainbow mare admitted to herself.

"Faust cast burn-away charms on her books and such," Twilight replied tersely. She looked over Nightmare with a frown, the significantly larger pony would prove difficult to move. 'Celestia had to carry Daring around after she started to fade like this, but no pony but Faust or Spike are big enough to carry her,' the lavender mare thought to herself.

"Uh Twilight, ah don' mean ta state the obvious, but I don' think we can move her," the orange cowpony noted with a frown. Twilight idly nodded her head in agreement. Then clicked her tongue and paced in place as she considered there options. 'We need some pony big to carry her, or some pony with a lot of magic. Spike has the sheer size to do so, and Faust should be able to life her with her magic...' the lavender mare mused. She turned to see Rainbow observing the lower levels of the library.

"What about Faust or Spike?" she asked the prismatic pegasus. The cyan mare merely grimaced and turned to her lavender friend.

"I can see Spike sleeping down there, but I don't see Faust anywhere," Rainbow replied. Twilight bit her lip and turned back to Nightmare worriedly. The dark mare was trying, but failing, to rise back to her hooves. She had clearly been left near powerless by her continued existence outside of the Land of Legend. 'I really want to study that place and its inhabitants, it must be fascinating. Every legendary hero or villain, every storybook character, every story given life,' the little lavender pony thought to herself.

"Maybe we can make something ta carry her," Appeljack offered. Twilight blinked and shook her head of her errant thoughts. The little lavender mare frowned and considered the idea for a moment. Making something to carry the larger mare was an option. However that would require materials that they didn't really have access too. She somehow doubted Faust would be too happy if they started to break her tables and such apart.

"Hey girls," Rainbow cried to her friends, "I think I see the princesses down there!" Twilight rushed to the railing with Applejack at her side. The two looked down and quickly spotted the ponies in question among the soot and ash covered ground. They also took note that Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were with them, as well as some pony else.

"I think you might be right," Twilight admitted. The rainbow mare shot her a look in response.

"Of course I'm right!" she declared with a nod of her head. "When have I ever been wrong?" she quipped with a smirk. She then noticed the looks her friends were giving her. "Don't answer that," she grumbled, ears drooped. Twilight smirked in response, while Applejack blew a breath into her bangs and stepped forward.

"C'mon now ponies, what are we waiting fer? Le's go get tha' princesses to help us carry her," Applejack crowed with a nudge in Nightmare's direction. The midnight mare seemed to bristle at the idea of being helped, especially by Princess Celestia. However given how weak she felt she could hardly protest.

"I agree, but some pony should stay with Nightmare," Twilight stated. Rainbow rolled her eyes and hopped onto the railing with a flap of her wings.

"Well obviously since I'm fastest I'll go get the others," the cyan pegasus stated with a smirk. Her friends merely rolled there eyes, used to the mare and her boasts by now. "So why don't you two stay here and watch black snooty," she stated and then zipped off without waiting for a reply. Twilight brought a hoof to her face while Applejack snorted a breath once she was gone. Nightmare merely watched them and groaned as her body continued to deteriorate at a rapid rate.

'We've never been mortal before,' she noted to herself. With a shudder she laid back and tried to preserve what little strength she had left. 'We have decided that we do not like being mortal, at all,' she decided tiredly and closed her eyes to rest. She knew that Celestia would be there soon. But she honestly hoped somepony else was going to be carrying her. She just couldn't stand that sunny pony and her obnoxious light...


Tree-Mane continued its silent journey through the tower. Its ears twitched from side to side every so often. The voice of the tower whispered directions into them. Unlike Faust or her ponies, Tree-Mane truly understood the tower. They spoke to one another when close. The spirit of the tower wanted to achieve one goal. To reach that goal it had been guiding the ponies within it. Tree-Mane found the Tower to be an entity of great knowledge and power.

The tower was now enlisting it into its plan. Tree-Mane didn't know what goal the tower had, just what its plan was. Its plan had apparently all gone accordingly thus far. Tree-Man didn't really care either way so long as its cargo was preserved. It also wanted to deal with the recently awakened disaster traipsing through the tower. The tower was of the same mind in that. However it wanted Tree-Mane to take a quick detour before it did.

That is why the faceless pony found himself in one of the forgotten corridors of the tower. In all honesty many of the rooms of the tower had been lost. They moved around seemingly at random, with only the tower itself privy to the truth. It had allowed Tree-Mane only the basics of what was going on. The tower changed based on need, it did not lead you where you wanted to go. Instead, it lead ponies where they needed to be.

In doing so it planned for the Necronomicons release. It led Luna and Celestia to the Golden Door and War-Helm for that reason. In doing so, War-Helm was available to fight the undead, Daring located the Golden Horseshoes and awakened Spike. And finally Umbra located the door and released Nightmare. All had went as planned by the tower. All for the sake of freeing the lost souls within that cursed book so that Faust could find a bit of peace. The smooze was an unfortunate circumstance, but it knew Faust could deal with it.

Truly, the tower had great faith in its mistress.

Tree-Mane was not so certain in her abilities. However it still trusted the ancient alicorn regardless. She had overcome far worse odds than what lay before her now. Underestimating the mare was the quickest way to find yourself bested by her. Tree-Mane had seen it happen again and again. While Faust didn't always physically best her enemies, nor did she beat them magically a majority of the time... it was her creativity and ability to adapt to almost any possible situation that allowed her to surpass her enemies.

Tree-Mane knew and respected Faust for this. Of course it respected her for many other reasons as well. However such thoughts were pointless. Tree-Mane was broken from his musings as he approached a large chamber. Unlike the previous ones this one was shielded with Iron. Tree-mane knew Faust only kept dangerous relics in such rooms. The tall wooden pony warily looked at the doorway. It wondered why the tower would bring it to one of these rooms.

However the tower didn't explain, instead merely urged him inside. Tree-Mane felt like it was foolish, but did as bade. Opening the door and looking around the room. It was a large room with what appeared like random objects and weapons. The Tower explained that they were enchanted weapons and armor. However, these specific relics were from ages long passed and tended to be detrimental to those who wore them.

Tree-Mane idly looked at the different pieces of armor. Some skid-boots it recognized as those of Fleet-Foot, the fastest pegasi of his age. A nearby set of silver armor appeared to have belonged to Iron-Back the sturdy, a Unicorn of mythic strength and power. A set of horse-shoes made from obsidian and bearing glowing markings, likely the horseshoes of Dark Brand, an Earth-Pony known for his ability to move the earth. There was more here or there, and weapons as well, but Tree-Mane looked away from them and towards what the Tower sent him to find.

It was an ornate silver helmet with a blade like horn with glowing runes along its length. A silver crest for the typical comb of a ponies helmet, and a series of segmented plates that would cover the back of the neck. Over the eye-holes of the helmet was a grilled visor as well as a pair of horns pointing back that looked almost draconic in nature. Tree-Mane idly approached the helmet. It knew this particular piece of armor well. What it didn't already know the tower told it.

It was once known as the Crown of the Griffon King. Later, it was known as the 'Crown of Madness'. The story of the helmet began with naught but an old hunk of metal. It supposedly fell from the heavens into griffon territory. The Griffon who found it brought it to the king. Soon after attempts to break the metal were made, only to end in failure. It was then taken to the Ram's, who were legendary for their craft.

The ram's smelted the metal with silver to make it easier to work with. It took on the color of silver but remained nigh impervious as they fashioned a helm. Once it was done it was taken to a shaman. The shaman was commissioned to enchant the Griffon Kings helmet. It was meant to make those who wore it invincible in battle. The Shaman had known that would be impossible, but did something unique. Rather than imbue the helmet with invincibility, he made it so that the instincts of the one wearing it were heightened.

He did so by placing the spirit of a great predator within the helmet. This predators spirit was able to see and hear all around the helmet. The instincts of that great beast were then added onto the wearer of the helmet. This allowed the wearer to know instinctively what was happening all around him. It didn't make the wearer invincible, but the enchantment allowed the Griffon King to win many battles.

Until he was killed in his sleep that is. The helmet changed claws for years afterwards. Eventually it was sold to a pegasus who had it altered to include the horn at the forehead. The horn was added by the rams as well, it was there to allow it to be used like a weapon as well as a helmet. The pegasus won a great many battles, however something was discovered about the helmet. Griffons had never had trouble with it, but they were predators. The preadtory spirit within the helmet twisted the pegasus mind.

He began to crave meat, he began to desire battle and conflict, and then the spirit within the helmet spoke to him. Soon enough he was a raving mad pony. No pony knew that it was the predatory spirit within the helmet that caused him to go mad. The pegasus was ultimately put down, but the helmet was allowed to survive. It had been no fault of the spirit. It was because of the predatory instincts given off by the helmet. A Prey's instincts is to run, a predators is to fight, a pony is prey first and foremost. As such, only predators could wear the helm without repercussion.

Tree-Mane stared at the helm for a moment. The tower urged him to pick it up. He did so, two of his branches reached out to lift the helmet from its perch. Tilting his head to either side, Tree-Mane heard a voice from the helmet. Much like the tower, it was alive. It even seemed to know what had happened. The tower had most likely informed it of its intent. Tree-Mane didn't know either way, he merely held the helm in one branch. The helmet in hoof, the faceless pony turned around and left the room. He made his way down the halls of the tower and made his way to the library...

It wasn't certain it understood the reasoning of the tower for this course. The Tower was old and wise, but Tree-Mane still worried. The Helmet seemed just as worried as he. In fact, Tree-Mane could agree with many of the helmets projected thoughts. Regardless, it didn't know what to make of the Tower's plan. As for Tree-Mane, all it knew were the words that echoed in its head. 'Violence, Destruction, and Fire will always exist, if left unchecked they equate to naught but madness. However, if given focus they can be used to our benefit,' whatever that meant...


Faust felt her mind slowly return to the waking world. The sense of peace and relaxation remained even as she did. The ancient alicorn blinked her eyes several times and yawned. With a smack of her lips the ivory mare looked around to take stock of her surroundings. She instantly noticed the Necronomicon was in her hooves. She quickly scanned it and smirked, the book was powerless now. 'Bout time,' she thought to herself.

She went back to her surroundings and found she was beneath a great mass of magenta and pink. 'Probably Spike's wings,' she mused to herself. She also noticed that Spike had gone back to sleep. 'I'll just wake him back up,' she decided with a smirk. Yawning once more the ancient alicorn stretched for a moment and got back to her hooves. Taking the Necronomicon in hoof, the ancient alicorn frowned deeply. 'I'm gonna need to put this somewhere more secure this time,' she decided with a nod of her head.

In all honesty she probably should've done that a long time ago. However at the time she'd thought putting the book somewhere more secure in her tower was a bit redundant. if only because no pony ever really came to the tower to begin with. However the ancient alicorn frowned as a sudden thought occurred to her. 'Who unleashed this thing?' she wondered with a deep frown. She knew Celestia and Luna weren't fool enough too. War-Helm was too crazed to be interested in books. Even Nightmare wouldn't unleash the forces of the undead.

'I'll have to look into that after I get everything fixed,' she decided with a sigh. She fluffed her wings at her sides and then trotted out from under the great dragon's wing. As she trotted out she stopped upon seeing a familiar black and red filly. The ancient alicorn blinked and stared at the filly / mare for a moment then shook her head. "Realm?" she questioned incredulously. The filly in question smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Sort of," she replied.

"Mother!" Luna cried out and wrapped the older mare in a hug. Faust yelped and nearly fell back as the younger alicorn nearly bowled her over. However she quickly regained her balance and wrapped a wing around the younger alicorn. "We are filled with joy to see that thee hath ended the undead swarm," the young lunar mare declared happily. Faust raised a brow and then sighed tiredly.

"Of course Luna, I've been in far worse situations than this before," the ivory alicorn stated. Luna blinked for a moment and then nodded her head in understanding. She'd hadn't forgotten that, but she still worried for the mare who had raised her. Faust however unwrapped her wing from Luna and approached the other ponies. Celestia smiled seeing that she was alright, but Rarity approached her far more quickly.

"Miss Faust, I'm so relieved to see..." the marshmallow unicorn began before she noticed the mare's armor / regalia. "You actually have regalia?" she questioned with wide eyes. Faust blinked and then chuckled nervously, had she forgotten to mention that before? 'Oh right I said we didn't wear regalia in my day,' the ancient alicorn recalled. It wasn't really a lie either, back when Majesty was Princess they hadn't. Now that she thought about it she wasn't really wearing regalia either.

It was forged back before Mort, true, but it'd been made as armor. Back then Faust still got into more trouble than she cared to admit. The guards who protected her ponies had decided she needed some kind of armor after a rather nasty fight with the northern griffon tribes. The 'regalia' she wore there on was actually that armor. It was made in her honor, presented to her in a ceremony and everything. But technically speaking it was all just fancy looking armor.

"Technically, this is armor my guards had forged for me," the ivory alicorn replied. Rarity didn't answer, instead tilting her head and rubbing at her chin.

"Seems to be missing something," she mumbled under her breath. Faust rolled her eyes and nodded, well aware of what was 'missing' from the ensemble.

"Yeah, I took off the cape since it's impractical for actually fighting," the ancient alicorn admitted. Luna nodded her head, she knew exactly what her mother meant.

"Aye, we never understood the purpose of the capes other royals would wear," the lunar mare admitted. Rarity continued to ignore her and instead began to examine her regalia with intense scrutiny. She first approached her Hoof-Boots and studied them before circling around to see more. Faust sighed then turned from the fashionista and back to the others. As Celestia approached the ivory alicorn frowned deeply, idly noticing Pinkie and Fluttershy were sticking close to her.

"So where did you find Realm?" Faust questioned with a nudge in the Portrait Pony's direction. Realm herself was staring at Spike with wide eyes and mouth left agape. She'd seen the dragon before, but he'd been a lot smaller when she had. Before Celestia could answer the question, Pinkie Pie jumped ahead of her with a smile.

"She was in one of the paintings in your gallery," the pink party pony responded merrily. The ivory mare raised a brow and then turned to Celestia with a curious expression. The pale pink mare sighed but nodded her head all the same. That question answered Faust turned and looked at the portrait pony with a glare.

"You mean to tell me that you've be in the gallery all these years and you've never once just said hi?" Faust demanded of the color swirled pegasus. Realm had the decency to look sheepish under the intense look from the ancient alicorn. She took a few steps back and then looked anywhere but at the angered mare.

"Well yeah I guess that wasn't one of my better ideas," the portrait pony admitted. Faust snorted and turned away from the portrait pony. With that bit of nastiness out of the way the ancient alicorn instead turned and looked at the slumbering Spike. 'Time to wake you up lazy bones.' That thought in mind, Faust focused her magic and then brought enough concussive force down on the slumbering dragon to shock him awake. Spike blinked and shook his head, then glared down at Faust. The slender alicorn merely smirked back at him.

"Do you have to do that?" the titanic beast demanded furiously. The mare nodded her head as if it should be obvious. Spike grunted and then stretched out his entire body.

"Whoa watch it!" Rainbow suddenly shouted. The shout drew the attention of the other ponies upwards as the prismatic pegasus landed with a snort.

"Wow, she really is a Rainbow Pony," Realm noted aloud. Rainbow blinked and turned to the pony with a raised brow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the cyan mare questioned.

"Nothing darling," Rarity quickly intervened, "just something from an earlier discussion we were having." Rainbow huffed and turned from the strange painted pony, instead zipping down to Faust and the princesses.

"Whatever, look Nightmare is looking really really bad and Twilight is afraid she's fading away," Rainbow stated quickly.

"What Nightmare?" Celestia questioned with a frown. Rainbow blinked and then backed away with a nervous chuckle. 'Apparently she actually can hold a grudge Twilight,' the rainbow pegasus thought with a shiver. She then noticed that Luna had her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Indeed, please enlighten us," the lunar mare bade darkly. Faust let out a breath and knocked both ponies upside their heads with a frown. The princesses yelped and hopped to either side as the older alicorn approached the cyan speedster.

"Both of you calm down, she's from the land of legends like Daring was," the ancient alicorn stated.

"So then she's the foal eating version from Nightmare Night?" Celestia questioned with a raised brow. Faust blinked for a moment and then groaned. She had a feeling this was going to be a very long day. With a shake of her head the mare looked over to Rainbow.

"So Nightmare is fading then?" the ancient alicorn asked the rainbow mare worriedly. Rainbow nodded her head quickly and hopped into the air.

"Yeah and she's already started to lose her cutie-mark and colors," the prismatic pegasus replied. A frown crossed Faust's lips at that. She sat back on her haunches for a moment to mentally calculate how long Nightmare would've had to have been out of the land of legends for it to be so far along. 'Roughly a day after Daring was let loose, but before we arrived, some pony had to have let her out but it wasn't Celestia or Luna,' the ancient alicorn thought to herself.

'Some pony besides the girls was wandering around my tower. They let out Nightmare only a day after Daring got out of the Land of Legends. They also unleashed The Necronomicon and its forces. Whoever it was knew where things in my tower were and how to get to them. My only question is who they were and where are they now?' the ivory mare noted with an ever deepening frown. She could deal with villains, but she hated the 'shadowy' kind who didn't show themselves.

"Faust we have to hurry!" Rainbow shouted while shaking the oldest alicorn. Faust blinked and then nodded her head in agreement. She turned to Spike and the great dragon huffed.

"Fine, I'll grab the ponies," he grumbled irritably. With a single motion the great beast reached to his side and grasped Twilight, Applejack, and Nightmare in one claw. Lowering his claw afterwards he allowed Faust to approach and check on the nocturnal mare. Luna glared at the mare of the moon silently. Celestia however kept her features mostly neutral, albeit with a deep frown. Nightmare herself grunted and gave a half glare back to the solar princess.

"Thou should know we hate thee as well, solar nag," the mare of the moon growled weakly. Celestia merely rolled her eyes and snorted a breath from her nose. She didn't dignify the barb with a response. Instead she looked to Faust as the ancient alicorn examined Nightmare.

"Spectra deficiency has caused decay of color," She whispered and noticed several wrinkles on Nightmare's face. "Rapid aging, likely a side effect of extended use of magic," the mare murmured and then closed her eyes and scanned the mare of the moon. "Strange, she should've had another day out at least," the ivory mare mumbled quietly. Twilight idly cantered up beside of the mare and looked at her curiously. Faust merely ignored the purple pony and instead turned to the others.

"Every pony get on the dragon," she ordered sternly then turned to Spike, "as for you, get us to the Golden Door so you and Drake can have your rematch." The great beast grinned darkly at the order and then watched as the ponies gathered onto his claw. Once all were ready Spike snorted out a bit of smoke and made his way out of the library and made his way to the Golden Door...


A relatively small world of sand within a great vortex. It was here that a certain old pony stood silently. His eyes gave off a steady glow as he gazed here and there. Behind him the sand was broken every once in a while by bits and pieces of different metals. Cogs and gears the most prevalent of them. A plunger and what looked somewhat like a pepperpod dotted the sand here or there. Rendered in pieces with a scorch or shattered bit of metal upon their sides. Yet the old pony merely ignored such trivialities and concentrated on a spinning mass of clockwork components shining before him.

"Yes, right there, that looks good," he murmured as he turned the sphere in his brass covered hooves. His voice was young despite his true age with an accent that denoted he was from Trottingham. His eyes turned here and there as the spinning lights tried to break apart here or there. "Oh no you don't," he murmured with a frown. The horn at his forehead gave a brief green glow, matched by the crystal at its tip. With a whirring chime several clockwork components were picked up and moved into the sphere. As soon as they touched the glowing shining components they too began to glow brightly.

"There we are, that should keep things stable," he mused with a smile. However he stopped when he saw another piece suddenly shift outwards. "Or maybe I spoke too soon," he grumbled and brought more pieces forward to fix the sphere. The strange pony trotted around the ever expanding sphere with a frown. He idly brought parts from here or there and fitted them into place where needed.

"I swear things never seem to stay fixed for more than a few seconds," he muttered quietly. Thought he complained from time to time he couldn't see himself doing anything else with his time. The truth of the mater was that he was too proficient at this to not continue doing it. Moving more clockwork components into the maze of twisting and turning machinery had become something of an art form for him.

In the beginning it'd been mere curiosity that got him working on the sphere. Over time he'd made more than one of them. They always came out differently though so he oft had to keep them separated. What they were for, now that was a question he was looking forward to answering. Far as he knew they were just enormous shifting masses of parts, but they could also be something far greater.

The curiosity of what was literally starting to drive him mad.

"Though in all honesty sanity is a bit over rater," he admitted to himself suddenly. It were almost as if someone had asked him a sudden question, or he'd just decided to enlighten someone. Either way he wasn't sure himself, he oft did things that didn't make a load of sense to anyone. Many of the odd things he did typically served only to confuse the ponies around him. The most notable of which were his fellows who also walked in eternity.

"Lovely ponies really, bit too high strung, but what can you do," the daft old pony noted to himself pleasantly. He spoke of course of the Alicorns. Mort the lord of death. Celestia lady of the day and the sun. War-Helm lord of violence and fire. Aquaria lady of the seas. Tree-Mane Lord of fear and shadows. Luna lady of the night and moon. Cadence lady of love. Faust lady of creativity and invention, his personal favorite among them all he might add. He was of course lord of time and machines. And finally, Twilight, lady of magic and... oh wait.

"That hasn't happened yet has it?" the brass and copper pony noted to himself. With a shrug of his shoulders he continued to work on the sphere of glowing pieces of machinery. His name is Clockwork Gears, lord of time and machinery of course. He was the Alicorn of Time, though he technically existed outside of its boundaries. As a result, Clockwork was allowed to view all of time and its intricacies. He could see past or future, he could watch history itself unfold, and even see into other possible worlds...

but he hadn't always had that power.

"Nope, used to be an earth pony," he noted with a fond smile. He closed his shutter like eyes and allowed the memories of who he had been to flow. His name had originally been 'Temporal Machina' born and raised in Trottingham before Luna's banishment to a less than proper family. His sire was a unicorn time keeper, his dam an earth pony baker. Not at all the makings of greatness really. But Temporal had a craft and a way of doing things that were amazing.

His first talent was of course time itself, he had an amazing sense of timing and was always punctual. That wasn't the case in this age, but he'd been young and quite irritable at the time. His second talent was towards machines and invention. Thus he was a bit of an inventor and always liked to keep everything in its proper place. For years in his youth Temporal worked on machines and time. Needless to say, his sire took interest in him with this discovery and his path as a time-keeper all but set in stone. Eventually he gained a cutie-mark that would become his calling card...

A simple hourglass.

His dam was a wonderful mare. She took care of him for years before his sire took interest in his rearing. She even made the most delectable sweets for him. Unique to her and her shop actual, somewhat popular actually. She had called them 'Jelly-Fillies' and to this day, no pony makes them quite as she had. He even recalled a strange pony that always seemed to come in for more of them. At the time he'd wondered who he was, with his ridiculously long scarf and wild hair. He would always smile and wink at Temporal, then be on his way with the largest bag of sweets one could imagine. All else he recalled about him was his cutie-mark...

An hourglass with turning cogs and gears within it.

Aside from that, he was raised around the time when hourglasses and sundials were still in use. Back when time was a bit more flexible dependent on Celestia or Luna's moods. As he grew up he'd often see day longer than night and vice-verse depending on whether or not Celestia or Luna was in a good mood. Temporal had found this quite inefficient and disliked it greatly when he was a child. He had meant no harm nor insult to the princesses, just wished they keep things a bit more tidy.

"Nowadays I wish I could keep things neat and orderly," the pony noted to himself with a fond smile. As time went on, Temporal went into his fathers business and did surprisingly well. He always had exactly the right amount of sand in an hourglass. He always had exactly the correct placement of sundials so that they showed precise time. Well, so long as the princesses didn't decide to extend or shorten the day that is.

When Luna was ultimately banished, Temporal had been living in a small village of Equestria. He'd decided to strike out on his own years before and was making a name for himself in the land of the princesses. Around his, what... twenty fifth? yes, that was it, his twenty fifth birthday Temporal heard a royal decree for all the time keepers in the land. Princess Celestia in her infinite wisdom, now without her sister, asked every one of them to work and create a more accurate measure of time...

Needless to say, Temporal jumped at the chance to fix time for good.

He worked tirelessly of course, his first few ideas were dashed as utter folly. He eventually turned to his second passion to change history. Machines. In doing so, Temporal created what would be known as the first fully functioning clock. It was a work of art in his own humble opinion. Far ahead of its time. It not only told minutes, hours, and seconds, but it also showed the sun and moon, telling when they should be switched over. It was presented to Celestia, and Temporal awaited judgment.

In the end, she loved it.

Temporal was awarded for his creation and made the 'royal time-keeper'. When told of his accomplishment, his parents could not be more proud. With his new tittle, Temporal went on to create a grand clock tower in the center of Canterlot. One that stands to this very day which he often returns to take care of himself. The first clock, it is still owned and used by Celestia, requiring a repair here or there.

But that was not the full story, now, Temporal Machina's tale continued. For he became not only a Royal Time-Keeper, but also a friend to Celestia. His inquisitive and often times insatiable curiosity drew the older mare in and she and he worked often on more inventions and studies of time itself. His study of time and its intricacies fascinated her as only one other had made similar discoveries. Her former student, Starswirl the Bearded, who was a legend all his own.

Celestia decided to work beside of the earth pony and together they made many discoveries. Temporal aged as time went by, as all mortal do. He went from an irritable young pony, to an even more irritable old pony. He had a family and a brilliant grand daughter who lived with him when allowed so she could attend Celestia's school. Temporal even 'abducted' two of her teachers once to have a few adventures with them in the far east.

His life was one big adventure really, always searching and exploring the vast reaches of time. Always a new discovery or a new invention. Then when he returned to Canterlot he had one final experiment. He'd worked on perhaps the most amazing adventure yet, if it worked it would allow him and others to view all of time itself. Celestia had been wary, his 'companions' even more so with his... reputation. But the preparations were made and the experiment commenced.

It failed, spectacularly. Temporal's machine exploded and his body hurled into what could only be referred to as a 'Time Vortex' of some kind. In that instant he was allowed to see it all. All of history and time itself in every world and universe. He was gifted with a sight no pony before or after could ever possibly imagine. Yet when all was said and done and he felt something once more. His first action was not to look in awe at what he had discovered. Nor was it to bask in its glory. No...

He ran, and he never stopped running.

Temporal's only thought was to get away from what he was seeing. It was too big, simply too much for a mortal pony to really comprehend it all. In the end he found his way back to Equestria mere moments after he'd been hurled into the Time Vortex. But the damage was already done. For no pony can enter the Time Vortex and merely come back out of it. No. Temporal lost his body within it, all that returned was his mind. That was when he ascended.

In a spectacular show, a golden light had filled the room where Temporal had been lost. Even the loss of his body wouldn't stop Temporal from escaping the Time Vortex. Oh no, he was far too clever for that. Celestia, his granddaughter, and his companions watched on in shocked silence. The mist of gold had filtered into each and every piece of what had been his greatest work. The mist lifted them and began to piece him back together.

It was a work of art before them, a clockwork pony. Cogs, gears, springs and the like. All of them were used in the creation of his 'second' body. Soon enough he took a form that was obviously a pony. But this time he had a horn, and his 'hourglass' cutie-mark had noticeable turning gears within it. In that moment Celestia was many things. Elated, for now she had a new friend for eternity. Amazed, for she had never seen such an ascension before it. And of course, frightened, for the haunted look in his then blue eyes.

But then he spoke, said that he was not Temporal, not anymore at least. He said that with what he had seen he could be no mere time-keeper. Said that with all that he knew he was beyond any mere inventor. Said that as such he would require a new name. A name that would never be known or recorded, for it would be a being who would never truly exist. Temporal Machina was a mortal pony, and so this new pony took a new name with his new form. Clockwork, Clockwork Gears.

The life that followed could only be described as 'Fantastic'. An amazing journey or adventure every-time he decided to go out. He crafted new bodies every now and again as well. A new one for a new occasion or when an old one was disabled beyond repair. Thus far he'd had 12 individual bodies aside from his first. He was on the '13th' body at the moment. The first and only one to truly be an alicorn. He'd been everything else, even took a new name every now and again, he'd been an Earth Pony, a Pegasus, a Unicorn, even a Sea-Pony once...

Celestia had seen his final form for centuries as if it were his most familiar to her. She even said she knew it well, as it tended to stay in one place unlike his adventurous early selves. The ones before him had scoffed, none had really believed that he would ever truly slow down. His other forms were always running around at different times though were rarely seen in history, merely keeping an eye on things.

It wasn't until the 12th that he finally started to slow down and understand. The adventure was still there, but it became so predictable by then. He lost his love for it, and finally decided it was time to try something new. When he decided for a new body, he decided that the 13th would be his last. And so Clockwork Gears went as far back as he could without disturbing any pony, and became the alicorn of time. The 'Artificial Alicorn' as some called him, though that was far from true.

He was as much a True Alicorn as Mort or War-Helm were. Even Tree-Mane was technically an Alicorn. In fact, Clockwork had it on good authority that all male Alicorns have a somewhat 'unique' body. Not all of them were made with metal, but all of them would seem unusual compared to Celestia or Luna or the females. They were physical and motherly to an extent, softer even. Male alicorns were harder more daunting and stern and far more practical. Physically sturdy as they were made from the elements.

Regardless, now Clockwork Gears was the Alicorn of Time. He was known and recognized by the court of Equestria as a Lord. Rather than a prince as he thought the tittle far too stuffy. Prince Blueblood treated him with respect though, though he did call him a 'Time Lord' rather jokingly. Clockwork had the strangest feeling that the name might stick in a few centuries, but didn't look too much into it.

At the moment he's watching over his latest time sphere. Idly he wonders what it'll grow into, it's the fortieth he's ever made and it's giving him the most trouble thus far. 'Wonder what all that's about, never had this much trouble before,' the alicorn of time noted to himself with a frown. His musings about his fortieth time-sphere and what it might turn into were put aside. The alicorn instead looked into the time-vortex with a frown.

In centuries since his first viewing he hadn't stopped running from it. But now he could at least glance into it without fear. He managed a few seconds before he had to turn away. What he saw was not at all pleasant. 'Things better left forgotten are starting to wake up, Faust is going to need some help,' the brass pony decided with a frown. With a click of his tongue he considered his options.

He could go grab a few guards of course. But he had the feeling Faust wouldn't appreciate it. She was kind of stubborn about doing things her way. 'I actually have to respect that about her,' the copper pony admitted to himself. That in mind the copper pony scuffed a hoof in the sands. 'Sands of time, heh, I should make an hourglass with this and see what happens,' the time pony mused to himself with a shake of his head.

However a strange sound suddenly drew his attention.

"What's this then?" the copper pony wondered. He turned to his fortieth time-sphere and raised a brow. It was giving off a strange sound. A warbling kind of noise he'd never heard from any of the others. He slowly approached the sphere and watched it shift and change, growing at an exponential rate. Soon enough the copper pony couldn't hide a grin and it nearly split his face open. "Oh you clever girl!"


TBC...