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// Chapter 8: Heading into Dusk 
// Story: More About Time 
// by SilverStar7 
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“Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting.” - Haruki Murakami


A blank stare was all Spike had in response to Twilight's revelation. He'd been missing his tail for a long time now and, while it was news to a lot of ponies at the time, he hadn't had someone be surprised about his condition for months. More perplexing still, Twilight had been the first of his friends to be informed about his injury.

This Twilight, however, had never been told. She had only discovered this a moment ago and was fighting to keep her face from contorting in strange ways. Shock was the best way to describe Twilight's feelings at the moment. The emotions ranged from spine-chilling fear to gut-wrenching sadness. It was only her lack of a large lunch that kept her from throwing up on the spot. She didn't want to distress Spike, but she was probably going to break down any time now. With each discovery of timeline differences, Twilight had needed a moment to adjust. The problem was, she wasn't adjusting at all. And she didn't want to have to adjust to this change.

"Please, Spike," she said. "Tell me what happened. How did you lose your tail?"

The dragon blinked twice. "Why don't you remember?"

Twilight galloped over to her assistant and put a hoof on each shoulder. "Please, you have to tell me!" She first looked Spike in the eye, but her head soon fell in shame. What am I doing? I did this to Spike. It's all my fault. And now I'm scaring and interrogating him.

Spike was growing concerned. He had always tried to be quick to respond to Twilight when he knew the answer. He did know the answer, but it wasn't one he should have needed to give. Nevertheless, the dragon put his claws on Twilight's face, holding up her head and making her face him again. "Twilight, I..."  The two stood holding one another for a moment while Spike composed himself. 

Twilight didn't use the time for anything quite so productive. Her mind could not relax, instead it was concocting twisted and terrible ways that her poor Spike could have been maimed. Was it another dragon? Did we not handle his trip on the dragon migration well? Did it somehow happen when he took care of our pets? Oh Celestia, was it something I did?! Some kind of lab experiment gone horribly wrong?

Finally, Spike spoke. "It was the timberwolves, remember? A few months ago I followed a run-away hot air balloon into the Everfree Forest. I got surrounded by a pack of timberwolves. I thought I wouldn't be able to escape, but I was able to run past them toward Ponyville. I tried everything I could to get away, but one of them caught me by the tail..." 

Twilight was mortified. She thought her own imaginings were bad, but hearing what actually happened somehow made the experience that much more real. And that much more appalling. "It bit your tail clean off like that?!"

The dragon shook his head. "I honestly don't know how I managed to pull myself free. I thought I was a goner for sure. The nurse said that it was the sharpness of my spikes that made it let go. It couldn't hang on to my tail through them." Then Spike looked away from Twilight and to the ground. "But, well, my tail was... too badly damaged."

The tears had been bristling, but now Twilight couldn't hold them back. She grabbed Spike and pulled him close as the drops fell from her eyes and onto the baby dragon's purple back. "I'm so sorry, Spike! I just..." First she drew in a shuddering breath and then there was nothing dignified about the waterworks that started. Twilight gasped for air between sobs and tried to convey all her emotions to Spike. She tried to tell him what she had done wrong. She tried to say that she would do anything to make it right. She tried to beg for his forgiveness. She couldn't muster any of it. Instead, after exasperated breaths and a stream of half-formed words, Twilight wept.

Spike returned his friend's hug, but his confusion only increased. Why was Twilight being so emotional about something that happened months ago? And why didn't she remember it? It was scary to see someone he loved so upset without knowing the cause. That terror didn't phase the young dragon, however. He continued to embrace Twilight and run his claw up and down her back, patting occasionally as she continued to cry. Whatever had happened, whatever was going to happen now, Spike would be there for Twilight.

Thoughts raced about in Twilight's mind. How had this happened? What could she have changed that would have put Spike in such danger? And she remembered: Spike had been put in that dangerous situation before her changes. She remembered him telling the story of being attacked by timberwolves and getting away safely... thanks to Applejack. Twilight gasped in the midst of the tears. Applejack didn't save him this time. Whatever I did changed Applejack's life enough that she didn't go and save him.

Spike noticed Twilight had suddenly stop crying. He looked up and saw her staring off at nothing, a look he had seen many times before, but never in this kind of a situation. "Twilight?" he asked. "What's going on?"

The alicorn didn't respond. She was lost in her thoughts. Applejack saved Spike, but now she couldn't do that. I can go back and not make that deal with the Flim Flam Brothers, but that would be like taking away Applejack's success. I have to think about this. I need more information so I don't mess something else up. She looked down at Spike, but upon seeing him again without his tail, Twilight could not ignore what she had done. I need to fix this. Twilight let go of the dragon and raced toward the library's exit. The situation couldn't wait--she couldn't wait.

"Twilight!" Spike yelled, reaching toward her as she left. "What's wrong?"

The mare paused for a moment after opening the door. Spike deserved answers. She began to come back inside, but stopped. No, Spike deserves to be whole again. I'm sorry, Spike," Twilight walked out. "There's just something I need to take care of."

"Where are you going?" shouted Spike, following after her.

There was no waiting for the dragon, however. Twilight took off the moment she got outside. She needed a place where she could be alone for a few hours while she slept, and she knew right where she could go. Banking left, she headed toward the Everfree Forest and the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. All she had to do was change history again.

The solution was obvious. She simply needed to prevent Spike from leaving the library that day. It was supposed to be a day off for him, but given that his safety was at stake, there were any number of chores and tasks she could preoccupy the dragon with. Twilight knew she had all the facts, but her analytical mind needed her to go through the details once more. Applejack was the one who saved Spike from the timberwolves months ago. Now that she's been so busy with her farmwork she couldn't be spared to follow that balloon into the forest with Spike. She probably never even saw it. Twilight tried to think about this cause and effect relationship. Was there a way Twilight could have known this would happen? Was there a way she could have predicted that this change would lead to this result? She started to work on that train of thought, but shook her head. I can worry about analyzing this later, she thought. After I fix all of this.

The castle appeared before her and she began her decent, aiming for one of the holes in the roof of the abandoned library. Once landed, Twilight moved to the lounge room, casting the time spell as she walked. By the time she said "To be a dream come true" she had laid down upon the couch and focused her attention on the day Spike was attacked. 

She couldn't wait for nightfall. This had to be taken care of at once. Besides, her day with Rainbow, the Princess, and Applejac had been long enough that she wouldn't even need to cast a sleeping spell. A yawn came to her and she rested her head upon one of the pillows. All she had to do was relax enough to fall asleep and remember that weekend Celestia gave her all those books to read.


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Twilight floated in her study above the main library. She saw herself reading and a large stack of books rested at her side. This is it, and she again descended into herself.

"Spike," she called out immediately. Placing a bookmark down on her book, she trotted down the steps into the main room of the library. "Spike!" she called again. There was no answer. He already left! But that didn't mean she was too late to save him. Hopefully she could catch him before he went after that balloon.

Twilight threw open the door and bolted from the tree into the streets of Ponyville. She tried to open her wings and get a bird's eye view of the town, but there were no wings to be opened. She was a unicorn in this part of the past. So from her spot on the ground, Twilight looked to the skies, hoping to see the hot air balloon hovering over Ponyville. To her horror, she saw that the purple balloon was already in the woods. I can't be too late. She couldn't fly, but running into the forest would take too long. Through the shear force of her will and magic Twilight teleported into Everfree. 

There was no sign of the balloon. She hadn't gotten the location right, but hopefully she was close enough. She felt a little strained from the large distance of the teleportation spell, but she couldn't worry about that now. If Spike's already in here, I will get him out. Moving through the trees, Twilight shouted "Spike!" Her heart pounded in her chest and she could feel blood growing hot under her face. The forest was fairly quiet and she strained for the faintest rustle of leaves in the hopes that it might be Spike wandering after the balloon.

Unfortunately, when she found evidence of Spike's location it was not that subtle. A high pitched scream met her waiting ears. Her pulse didn't slow down at all when she heard it, but her blood did go cold. 

Galloping in the direction of the scream, Twilight was fully focused in that moment. There was no over-thinking, no deep analyzing. Just running. Running and searching.

As Spike made his way through the forest he let out a scream. He pushed his way between branches and fallen logs, a pack of three timberwolves following close behind. The undergrowth didn't seem to phase the creatures. If anything it slowed him down more than them. The dragon managed to make his way into a clearing, but soon found himself face-to-face with a shear cliff. Turning, he saw the wolves beginning to bear down, moving closer and surrounding him to make sure he didn't run off again. It was unclear how he would escape, or even if he would. The timberwolves were close enough that he could smell their rank breath and he frantically searched for an out. 

Then a flash appeared in front of the dragon and a purple unicorn emerged from the burst of light. Spike could hardly believe it. How had Twilight known he was in trouble? Whatever the reason for her appearance, Spike had never been more relieved to see his best friend.

The timberwolves hesitated, startled by the sudden arrival of the unicorn, but soon the lead wolf was again preparing to jump. Twilight was having none of that. Her horn ignited sending a violent magenta stream at the wolf that sent it flying back into a nearby tree. The creature shattered on impact. 

Twilight had hoped that show of force would make the others back off. But its friends were unphased. They began to reposition themselves for another attack. If they charged together, Twilight wasn't sure she could stop both. "Run!" Twilight ordered Spike and he followed that command. 

When Spike had moved off a few feet the timberwolves made their move. The wolf on the left darted forward at Twilight, but she waited. She didn't move an inch until it was right on top of her, and then she teleported onto the top of the cliff. The wolf crashed headfirst into the rock face and broke apart. 

Two down, but where's the third? Twilight looked around from her new vantage point. The wolf on the right had run off somewhere. She assumed it had fled after seeing two of its companions destroyed. Twilight looked off in the direction Spike had gone, but saw that the timberwolf had gone after her dragon. The wolf had not caught Spike, but it was getting closer. Twilight considered how to handle the situation, running through her mental list of spells for a way to save him. 

But when she saw that the timberwolf was reaching for Spike's tail, Twilight lost it. "Not my dragon, you brute!" 

From that large distance she grabbed the wolf in her magic. The beast kept up its running motion for a moment, not realizing it had left the ground. By the time it knew what was happening, it was too late. The timberwolf was lifted higher and higher into the air and then sent sailing off into some unknown part of the forest. Twilight exhaled. She didn't need to see the wolf land to know it wasn't going to be giving them any more trouble. 

After allowing herself a moment to breathe, Twilight teleported in front of Spike. The dragon came to a halt at her side and quickly turned around, breathing heavily and looking in all directions for timberwolves. "Spike," Twilight said, putting a hoof on the dragon's shoulder. He looked back at her, panic still filling his face. "It's alright," she reassured him. "We're safe now."


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Entering the library, Spike was still talking about how epic Twilight's magic was. "The way you just shot a full blast of magic into the timberwolf's face like that! Kapow! It was more amazing than anything in any of the comic books I've ever read. The Masked Matter-Horn's got nothing on you!" Twilight paused for a moment at that comparison, remembering the events of their journey into Spike's enchanted comic book. Then again, maybe that never happened now. Would Rainbow and Applejack have been in town for it?

Twilight couldn't focus on that now. She could ask Spike when she woke up. She looked down at the dragon now at her side. On impulse, she gave him a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright, Spike. You have no idea how bad I would feel if anything ever happened to you."

Spike returned the hug and the two held each other for a few moments. When they separated Spike said, "You're the best Twilight, and I need to do something to repay you. Oh! How about I bake you a pie? Or maybe I could finish all my chores early today?"

Twilight shook her head. "How about you go rest for now? I think you've had enough excitement for one day."

Giving a light laugh, Spike replied, "Well, to be honest, nearly getting eaten by a timberwolf takes a lot out of you."

I'm just glad they didn't literally take something out of you... thought Twilight. "Then you should go take a nap. I'll be upstairs in a bit, I just need to get a couple more books from here."

Spike gave a salute and made his way across the room. Twilight heaved a sigh of relief as she watched Spike make his way up the stairs. He was whole again and this disaster had been narrowly avoided.

Next time I'll need to do a lot more planning. The changes for Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie will need to be considered for a few days at least before I jump into the past. This could have been so much worse... Then Twilight remembered what she had told herself about the timeline's integrity when she'd arrived. Nodding to herself she went over to the stairs to return to her studies. As long as she got right back to work, she would still be able to finish the books by the end of the weekend. 

There shouldn't be any negative side effects this time.