//------------------------------// // Hourglass Prison // Story: A Timeless Classic: The Story of Klokwerk K. Millennia // by Psycho Shy //------------------------------// Almost as simultaneously as when they were preparing their attack, the girls' jaws fell open—save for Fluttershy, who was busy cowering again. The Elements had never failed them before; why weren't they good enough to beat him? Struggling to find words to express their distress, the Element-bearers just stood there gawking for a moment. "But I..." "But you..." "...But how?!" Klokwerk just stared back at them, using that odd apathetic gaze he'd used the entire time. "Oh, please. Like any other weapon, those trinkets are only as good as the opponent that decides to let it hit them. Granted, those tend to root the target in place, but still...first it has to hit." The girls might have attempted another attack with the Elements, but they knew their weapons probably weren't designed to be used in succession...not to mention it would likely end in the same results. Rainbow Dash, always the first to stop showing fear, finally spoke up to form a coherent sentence. "That's not the only thing! How did you know we would use them?" Klokwerk just smiled—the grim smile he always presented when he knew something his opponents didn't. "When I said I knew you, it was no lie. I know everyone and everything, really. After all, am I not the lord of time? I think it's my job to know all that occurs. Yes, my memories go far back...since the day I was created, I can recall exactly what happened with each passing second. Even now, I am being informed of the beings entering, roaming, and leaving this world. Thus, I know you—as I know all—and I know the Elements of Harmony—also because I know all. Figuring that you would use them was easy as putting two and two together." "Well, then, aren't we lucky that that's not the only trick we know," Twilight responded briefly. Though she was still shocked from Klokwerk nullifying their greatest attack, it wasn't the only thing they could do—and she needed to seize control of the situation, before he attacked. "Pinkie, Applejack, move in and hold him down! Rainbow Dash, charge him!" "Got it!" was the only reply she received. The two earth ponies of the group weaved their way towards Klokwerk, who made no effort to stop them. Rainbow took to the air yet again, warming up for a daring aerial assault. And yet, even as Pinkie and Applejack collided with him and held all four of his hooves in place, Klokwerk stood completely motionless. Only until Rainbow gave a shout and spiraled towards him did he finally react. In a flash, his horn was glowing, and his dusty shield wrapped itself around him in an instant. With a few quick jerks, he dislodged Pinkie Pie from his front-left hoof, then his front-right. She frantically tried to get a grip again, but he seemed much too fast—he swatted her aside with one quick blow. It was then that Rainbow collided with Klokwerk's shield. She sped on towards him, but something didn't seem quite right...though he was only a few feet away, the distance seemed much greater. Klokwerk stared at her advance with an amused expression, and briefly considered a counterattack, but he decided on something much less brutal than an attack of his own. He moved at a normal pace, but to Rainbow, he seemed like lightning—he spread his wings, took to the air above Rainbow Dash, and flipped once, sending Applejack hurtling into the ground. With neither able to stop in time, the allies crashed into each other, slamming Rainbow into the ground and leaving both dazed and confused. As Klokwerk stepped towards them, he released his powerful magic, and once again the dust-colored shield vanished. As he approached the tangled heap, he lowered his head to both of them, and spoke briefly. "Are you done?" With a yelp, the two jumped back up and ran back to Twilight's side. "We cain't touch him, Twilight!" Applejack reported, a worried tone in her voice. "It must have to do with that shield of his..." Rainbow nodded in agreement. "I crashed into that thing...it was like running into a wall of...of syrup or something! As long as he's got that on his side, there's no way we'll be able to hit him!" While the other five were brainstorming for some way to remove or pierce the shield, Twilight's mind was racing all on its own. With how fast Rainbow Dash—let alone, the attack from the Elements of Harmony—was moving, they should have hit Klokwerk in an instant. She recalled how she had seen the attack slowly going through the shield...but if it didn't stop them completely, what good could it do? She suddenly remembered how easily Klokwerk had slipped out of the earth ponies' grip, and her mind managed to put the rest of it together. "That's no shield," she suddenly announced, "it's a distortion of the field of time!" "How observant of you," Klokwerk interrupted, a sly smile crossing his face. "I'm touched by how much you're learning about me, but it seems that no amount of knowledge can help you here. Now, if you're done attacking, I'd like to take my turn now," and his horn began to glow once more. As Klokwerk began his own attack, Twilight frantically searched for what it was. As she scanned with her magic for any other magic, she picked up one signal—a shifting of particles, and it was right on top of them. She was about to scan further and look for what exactly it was going to do, until she was interrupted by a collective shout from her friends. "RUUUN!" She attempted to scatter with them, but it was all too late for her. Suddenly, the flitting particles all gathered together, forming a wooden base right under Twilight's hooves. She could only watch in horror as three great pillars of the same material sprang from the base, encircling and trapping her. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight spied Klokwerk smiling—his trap had succeeded. Twilight could only watch in horror as the pillars rose above her, producing another wooden base above her head. Twilight was caged, but the cage wasn't finished with her yet. Particles continued to fly into place, forming an intricate glass shape inside the trap. As it descended around Twilight, she identified its shape to be an hourglass—fitting, she supposed, but she couldn't help but question if Klokwerk had ego issues. It was then that Twilight suddenly remembered her situation; she was trapped, and she wanted—neigh, she needed—an escape plan, now! In a panicked effort, she summoned up her own magical energy, setting her horn alight in a bright purple-pink color. With a great deal of focus, she converted the energy into a beam, and fired it against the inside of her cell...to no avail. The glass absorbed the strike as if nothing had happened. Klokwerk threw back his head and laughed—an eerie, nerve-wracking laugh that belonged to a mad-mare—at Twilight's pathetic escape attempt. As soon as he regained control of himself, he added the finishing touches to his trap—he wrote his initials in gold on both bases. Klokwerk took a moment to stare at his handiwork, and he seemed rather pleased with himself. He was still a little irked he would still have to deal with Twilight's five equally annoying friends, but they would fall just as easily. With his prison fully constructed, his magical skills were freed up, and presently he performed another simple spell—picking up the giant hourglass in its entirety, he levitated it over to his side. Between shock, alertness, and whatever injuries they may have received, Twilight's friends only now managed to regroup to face Klokwerk—and they were shocked even further to see that Twilight had been caught in his attack. "Twilight!" Despite how badly she'd been hit when she rushed him the first time, Applejack ran at Klokwerk again. "Ugh, some ponies never learn." For a third time, Klokwerk slowed time around himself, and when Applejack leaped through the air at him, he calmly raised one hoof and stopped her in the air. Before he struck, he spoke to her: "What makes you think that will work when it clearly didn't to start?" Then, with the same hoof he used to stop her, he punched her squarely in the forehead, sending her flying back towards her friends. This time, however, the group was more ready, and the pegasi of the group sprang out to catch Applejack in the air. Muttering a quiet "thanks" to Fluttershy and Rainbow, she was carefully set on the ground again. She briefly considered another rush, but after reviewing Klokwerk's speech pattern, she decided it would hurt her more than him. Out of ideas herself, she turned to her friends, hoping one of them had a more brilliant plan than a desperate rush. A quick look showed that they were equally clueless—Fluttershy looked on nervously, Rainbow angrily. Pinkie gave a shrug with her two front hooves, and Rarity still hadn't recovered from shock at seeing Twilight had been caught. "Come on, everypony, we cain't leave her hangin' like this—somepony, think!" The responses she got were what she expected, but not what she wanted to hear at all. "How?! That time field can stop me! There's no way we can hit him fast enough!" "And even though those spells seem very difficult, he doesn't seem tired at all." "I don't think tiring him out is going to work..." "And to top it all off, he's got Twilight! Our best attack has been taken from us! The Princess warned us about this..." Despite the fact she was no longer standing alongside them, though, Twilight was thinking too. After the whole fiasco of being visited by her future self, Twilight had spent some of her spare time looking into the time spells. She may not be able to use it herself, but surely there was something that might help her out of this mess...That's it! "Everypony, go back to the library! Look for my guidebooks on Starswirl the Bearded! Don't worry, I'll be fine...and it may be your only hope of breaking his field!" Much to her surprise, and a little to her relief, Twilight's glass prison was not soundproof, and her friends could hear her advice. They nodded amongst themselves, exchanged a few words, and then galloped off towards the library together. That is, until they were locked in place by the sound of Klokwerk's voice. He had entered an odd silence when he heard Twilight mention the name of the old wizard, but the time had come for him to retake control of the situation. "Oh, yes, run along and get the book, by all means," he sneered, his sinister voice causing the five to swivel around and look back at him. "But first, I have a little speech prepared for you." Suddenly, Klokwerk drew in a sharp, deep breath. His casual demeanor melted away, and everyone present suddenly remembered just how old he was. He spoke loudly and clearly, without any hint of his sadistic attitude earlier. "Well, you may not know it, but you're about to embark on a very dangerous quest. You may be strong at first...but all things will decay with time. Life forms, buildings, societies...even your precious friendships." The pair of words hung in the air for a long time, long after he was finished, but Klokwerk went right ahead. "Your friend will be faced with a trial, too—I can't even say whose path will be the hardest. If you wish to save her...well, if you think you can save her, the clock is ticking!" As Klokwerk finished his last statement, he suddenly threw back his head and laughed—a sinister laugh with an undertone of insanity. He jumped up, then slammed down with his front hooves, scattering dust once again and flipping Twilight's glass prison upside-down. Now that she was imprisoned in the top half of the hourglass, its true function sprang forth—but all Twilight could feel was a sudden lightness in her tail. Bringing it into her field of vision, she carefully examined it—and dropped it in shock. Piece by miniscule piece, Twilight's tail was breaking off, and falling into the bottom half of the hourglass. It took both groups a very small amount of brainpower to realize that this was exactly what Klokwerk meant by "The clock is ticking." Setting her horn alight, she picked up the tiny pieces of her tail—she was unsure just what she could do with them, but she would imagine that nothing was worse than letting them fall into the bottom half "I'll hold myself together as long as I can," she shouted to her friends, "now, go!" Still, Klokwerk's mad laughter continued, even as the remaining five fled the scene. The last thing they saw was Klokwerk laughing beside Twilight's prison, calling down bolts of lightning with his magic.