“To answer the first five questions; no, yes, yes, yes, and no those won’t help what you need to do is flip the mattress upside down. Next!” Sweetie smiled warmly as Dinky stepped up. Sweetie was prepared for Dinky this time, and she had her savings from the previous loop already gift wrapped and ready.
“Uhm, my mother has always had problems with losing her job. And she recently got fired again. I was wondering’, does she get a job today? Cause I dun wanna go hungry…” Dinky looked down, and Sweetie closed her eyes, and began to humm. After a moment, she stopped, opening her arms wide, and spoke.
“Your mother will unfortunately not find a job until Thursday when the weather team asks her to help move clouds. However I foresee a stranger leaving a package for you at 7:25 tonight that will prevent you from going hungry until then.” Sweetie shook her head, as if breaking out of a trance, and blinked curiously at Dinky.
“I’m sorry, I must have zoned out there. What was your question?” Sweetie noticed the confused gaze on Dinky, and smiled warmly as the filly explained what had happened. Putting a hoof to her chin, she shrugged.
“Must have been the spirits talking through me. Either way I wish you the best of luck. Here, take two bits for a snack on your way home.” Sweetie levitated two bits out and handed them to Dinky, who smiled in gratitude. Sweetie turned her attention to the next customer.
“Hi, I was wondering if it is time to break out my latest batch. Is it?” Berry Punch glanced awkwardly around, wondering if the greedy stares were directed at her, and the thought of her skill over alcoholic drinks. Discarding it, she turned her attention to Sweetie.
“Sorry, it won’t be ready for another week,” apologised Sweetie, shaking her head slowly. Berry pouted, and sighed, walking away mumbling about how brewing was boring work. Sweetie turned her attention to the next pony. A male Earth Pony with a light gray coat, dark gray mane, and light blue eyes. Sweetie reconised him by this three four-leaf-clovers Cutie Mark.
“Will I be able to do it today?” Lucky Clover glanced left and right, and Sweetie nodded. As the colt left, she remembered how she had said the same thing last loop, and had turned out to be right. Sweetie wondered what exactly it was, but discarded such thoughts. The next pony was a female Pegasus Pony with a light yellow-brown coat, a pink mane and tail with a light pink streak, rose-red eyes, and a Cutie Mark of three tornadoes.
“Will I be put on weather patrol on Thursday?” Orange Swirl was looking forward to her trip to Las Pegasus, however knew she wouldn’t be able to go if she was called in to work. Sweetie paused for a moment, and held her head, pretending to be ‘communing’ again.
“Sadly yes, and if you skip it you will be fired.” Sweetie saw the annoyance on the pony’s face as she skulked away, and turned toward the next pony. This stallion had a light brown body with dark brown hair and an hourglass Cutie Mark. Sweetie easily reconised the pony as Time Turner, a pony who was in charge of keeping time on events that required as such.
“Is the world going to end this week?” Time Turner wasn’t known as the sanest pony, but even Sweetie could see something strange about how he asked the question. Eye twitching, it was almost as if he was a bullet about to explode. Sweetie had answered yes last loop, and it hadn’t ended well. Stifling a shudder, she decided to give a more puzzling answer.
“The world will end when the clock has come full circle, and-uh-reversed to what it once was.” Sweetie silently cursed the fact she had slipped mid-sentence, but Time Turner hadn’t noticed. In fact, he seemed to almost relax slightly. Sweetie heard a quiet chuckle escape his lips as his eyes twitched once more, and he walked away.
‘Man, I’m going to need to find out what’s wrong with him one loop. However, Dinky is going to have to come first.’ Sweetie supposed under normal circumstances, the fact Time Turner was asking about the end of the world would make her want to know more, but such thoughts had quickly been discarded when Nurse Redheart turned out to be the next pony in line. She was a white pony with a pink mane and a medical red cross as a Cutie Mark.
“I’m sorry about Time Turner. He got a head injury on Sunday and won’t let me take him to the hospital. The idiot was reading Planet of the Sapiens too. No thanks to Lyra.” Nurse Redheart glared at the crowd. After a moment she sighed, deposited a bit into the jar.
“Do I catch him before he hurts himself?” Nurse Redheart looked in the direction Time Turner was stumbling, chuckling about flying ponies in the air, remarking how he must be dreaming. Sweetie shrugged in response.
“It’s not a question of if you catch him before he hurts himself, but if before he hurts others. I’d get the entire squad, when that bomb blows it won’t be pretty.” Sweetie nodded gravely as Nurse Redheart’s eyes widened, and she dashed away. Sweetie turned to the crowd.
“Alright! Last customer for today! Everypony else can wait until tomorrow!” Sweetie watched as the crowd began to part, and looked to the final pony. It was Fluttershy. Looking down, Fluttershy whimpered, and whispered words in a voice more fragile than silence.
“Uhm...Is-Is Angel-g-going to b-be okay a-after getting hurt by that mean Everfree monster?” Fluttershy shrunk back, and Sweetie smiled gently, and gave a small nod. Relieved, Fluttershy rose slightly, hiding a smile behind her hair.
“T-Thank you.” Fluttershy left, and Sweetie turned the open sign to closed, and glanced toward Twilight. Twilight stood up and nodded once.
“I’ll be off then, see you later Sweetie Belle.” Twilight turned and left, and Sweetie returned home as well. Watching the clock, she rose when it got close to 7, and quietly excused herself. Walking out, Sweetie held a neatly wrapped present covered in pink ribbons and poka-dot patterns. Hiding behind a corner, she waited.
At exactly 7:25, Sweetie concentrated, closing her eyes as she forced herself to not use more magic than needed. It was very important the package didn’t teleport half-singed on the other side. Sweetie cast the spell, and watched from her hiding spot. The door opened, and Dinky watched as a present appeared before her, completely unharmed. Sweetie silently cheered, glad she was right about objects being easier to teleport.
Dinky opened the present, revealing a large jar full of bits. Eyes brimming with tears, she breathed in sharply, and picked it up, calling out to her mother. Derpy walked over, and looked over the paper the jar had been in, looking for signs of who had given it. Finally, she too broke into tears and hugged Dinky, hovering in the air as both laughed and cried over their sudden good fortune.
Sweetie slowly left, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her chest.