//------------------------------//
// 8. The Familiar Spring Festival 
// Story: Chasing Paradox 
// by Foreshadow 
//------------------------------//

	The high-tempo sound of jazzy horns followed abruptly by a record scratch jarred Time Turner awake, staring upright into the light of the rising sun bouncing from the pale ceiling. He looked around, confused, only to see Derpy smiling at him bashfully. She had a phonograph in her hooves on a small table near the window.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s… It’s new, I didn’t realize the volume was so loud.”

He stared back at her blankly for a moment and rubbed his eyes.

“Didn’t… Didn’t you get a new one yesterday?” he asked.

“Yesterday?” she repeated, tilting her head. “Uh… No, Time Turner, we were doing robot stuff all yesterday.”

“Oh…” 

He blinked and rubbed his head again, and then laughed to himself.

“Sorry. Must’ve been dreaming. Anyway! No worries,” he said. “What time is it?”

“Almost nine. Oh! Actually, before I forget…”

She steadied the phonograph and rushed off, only to return with a sheet of paper and a quill.

“Can you sign this? For that package. You know, for the weird green magic ring.”

Time Turner stared at the sheet. He could have sworn he had done this before. He did as she asked nonetheless, and she was just putting it away in her bag near the door when Sparks appeared in the threshold to the living room.

“I would like to report my progress. I have concluded that small birds are pleasant and that I am choosing to be excited for the upcoming festival,” she announced. 

She marched away, playing back a recording of twittering before either pony could say a word to her.

“That’s… That’s odd…” Time Turner muttered.

“Really? I think it’s nice,” Derpy said.

“Hmm? Oh! No, not that. Not what she said,” Time Turner said, and then snorted. “Well, actually it is what she said. I mean… I mean, I feel like I’ve heard that before.”

Derpy gave him a confused, concerned frown and moved in close.

“Are you feeling okay?” she asked.

“Physically, yes.”

“But…?” she asked.

“I’m having major déjà vu,” he admitted, and then paused, frowned, and said, “Wait, did Sparks just say she’s excited to go to the festival?”

“Well,  yeah. Aren’t you? Is something wrong?”

Time Turner’s mind was starting to race and he stood, pacing the floor, muttering quickly to himself.

“But I could have sworn… No, that can’t be right.”

“Did… Did you time travel backwards again?” she asked, ears drooping.

“But then I’d be overlapping myself,” he said, frowning. “I don’t think that’s it.”

Derpy bit her lip with worry, but after a few moments, Time Turner stood still and shot her an apologetic look.

“I’m sure it’s fine. It was probably just a dream,” he said.

It was clear by the look on her face that she didn’t quite believe him but she nodded.

“Well, let me know if I can do anything,” she said.

“Thanks,” he said.

Time Turner picked through a familiar breakfast with a troubled frown plastered across his brow. Sparks didn’t eat, but her hurried, monotone conversation with Derpy was as familiar as if he had it on a script. The stallion’s mind was tumbling: he couldn’t understand what had happened. 

But I was so sure…


---


The festival field under the midmorning sun was a frenetic, bouncing mess of ponies playing games, browsing a craft market, and eating at an abundance of colourful wooden stands. As Time Turner watched Derpy glide above them, riding a cool breeze in a relaxed circle, he couldn’t help but pick up on her joy despite his confusion, and his spirits lifted just until he came over the hill and the familiarity of the festival scene before him struck him like an anvil. Confusion furrowed his brow once more, but he tried to relax as Derpy came in to land beside him, stumbling just a little on a forehoof as she hit the grass. She recovered as if it were nothing, as she often did.

“You still feeling a bit weird, Time Turner?” she asked.

“Don’t mind me,” he assured her as Sparks leaned past them to look at the field below.  

“Much has changed since yesterday,” Sparks commented. “Shall we?”

Seeming excited, she began on her way and the others followed, though Derpy suddenly looked a little worried. 

“Just stay close, okay?” she said, and when Sparks looked at her curiously, she continued, “It’s just that I’m worried that other ponies might be just a tiny bit surprised seeing you.”

“Ah. I understand.”

“I wouldn’t worry,” Time Turner commented. “No one noticed last time.”

Sparks looked at him blankly and Derpy gave him a confused look. He smiled and laughed.

“I mean… Yesterday, in town. Anyway. Everyone’s so busy. Let’s go.”

He trotted ahead in a hurry, muttering, “Absolute rubbish, Time Turner,” to himself.

Time Turner’s mind was somewhat distant as Sparks and Derpy shared their pleasant discussion over the history of the festival that seemed all too familiar to him, and he decided to try to count down in his mind to the arrival of Rainbow Dash. His count was off by one second, but she joined them just as bombastically as the last time, almost knocking Derpy clean off her hooves.

“Derpy, I need your help!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her words in almost as much of a hurry as she seemed to be.

“Me? What? What for?” Derpy squeaked.

“She’d like you on her team for the race,” Time Turner said.

“Yep! Exactly!” Rainbow Dash said brightly, but then whirled on him with an eyebrow raised. “How’d you know?”

Derpy cut his answer off, perhaps seeing that the stallion didn’t have an answer other than the same one he had been giving all day.

“Are you sure you want me?” Derpy asked, “I’m not very good at—“

“You’ll do fine,” Time Turner assured her. “Don’t worry.”

“I will cheer vigorously on your behalf if you partake,” Sparks volunteered. 

Derpy looked unsure.

“Plleeeassse?” Rainbow Dash begged. “I have Thunderlane, but Fluttershy kinda wimped out on me.”

The grey pegasus’s gaze focused on Time Turner, and he shrugged and nodded. 

“Well… Okay, I’ll do it,” she said.

Rainbow’s face lit up and Sparks added, “How exciting,” and Derpy was about to take off, but Time Turner put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Just a moment,” he said. “Just want to tell you something.”

She nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll join you in a sec, Rainbow Dash.” 

“Fine, just hurry up, it’s starting soon!” she said.

The blue pegasus was off in a streak and Derpy turned to the stallion, tilting her head.

“What? Something wrong?” she asked.

“No, not really,” he said. “Just watch out for a bit of a tailwind up there. Might flip you.”

“Oh! Okay,” she said. “Did you check the weather this morning? I forgot.”

“No,” he said. “You know me, just a feeling.”

“I am confused,” Sparks said.

“Me too,” Time Turner laughed, but despite the general puzzlement, Derpy smiled. 

“Thanks. I’ll be careful.” 

She spread her wings and lifted off as Time Turner waved her off, though he let out a tired sigh. Sparks turned her attention on him.

“You seem perturbed,” she said.

“My friend, perturbed doesn’t even come close,” he laughed. “I’m going to watch the race. You should stay here.”

“Oh really? Why is that?” Sparks asked.

“Because Pinkie Pie will be along in a few minutes to take you to your party.”

“I see. Thank you.”

She dipped her head in a nod and Time Turner replied in kind before heading off to the viewing area, wondering what in Equestria was happening to his mind.

The area below the cloud race was littered with ponies staring upwards at the constants as they prepared. Derpy was quite far off now, he imagined. He thought he caught a glimpse of Rainbow Dash landing on a cloud a ways away, but it a little too distant for him to be sure.

“It’s a nice day for it, huh?”

Time Turner turned his gaze on Twilight Sparkle, who had just moved closer to join him. He was surprised, but then realized he shouldn’t have been. He was here earlier this time.

“The race,” she elaborated.

“I’m a bit worried about the wind,” Time Turner said.

“Is Derpy taking part?”

He nodded and Twilight smiled, saying, “That’s so nice to see her participating. You must’ve given her some confidence.”

“You know, I had a conversation like this with Applejack as well,” he said, smiling a bit. “Is the whole town concerned about her participation or something?”

“It’s just that everypony sees Derpy around,” Twilight said with a bashful smile, “and everypony knows she’s really sweet, but she’d just keep to herself for the most part.”

Time Turner nodded, but he shrugged. A sudden chill of wind made the fur on the back of his ears tingle and his eyes darted to follow the sight of the purple hot air balloon rising up. Beside him, Twilight raised a hoof to wave and Spike the dragon poked up from the basket to wave back.

“Watch out for wind!” Time Turner called.

“What?!” Spike yelled back, cupping a hand around his ear.

“The wind! It might get strong, be careful!”

“What?!”

Time Turner sighed and shook his head, and Twilight assured him, “He’ll be fine.” 

The stallion had to grit his teeth. 

Soon, they spotted several pegasus getting closer to a pony with a checkered flag on a nearby cloud. 

“Ooh, it’s starting!” Twilight said brightly. 

Time Turner wasn’t so excited, yet he felt the pounding in his chest double and the fur on his neck stood up. The starting whistle sounding made him jump a little, and the pegasi were off, speeding through the air to the sounds of cheering and whooping. The first round was quick, and Time Turner was anxious to see the metaphorical torch passed to Derpy, small as she was in the sky. However, his hackles were instantly up when that cool wind began to pick up, blowing hard enough to make some of the viewing ponies yelp with surprise. He grimaced and, trying not to draw attention, began down the field to watch, and was equal parts relieved and dismayed to see Derpy narrowly avoid tumbling into a cloud like he recalled as well as the track being driven out of place to conceal much of the race entirely. He had expected it— the same thing had already happened, in his mind— but it worried him nonetheless.

“Damn it,” he grumbled.

He picked up the pace, but was surprised to hear Twilight’s voice behind him, saying, “Oh, gosh, that doesn’t look good. What’s with this wind?”

“I don’t know,” Time Turner said, “I’m just worried about someone falling.”

His lifted his ears, though the wind stung them, and to his surprise, heard Derpy calling faintly through it. He took off at a gallop, eyes turning skyward as he unwittingly ignored the confused unicorn behind him as she asked, “What’s the rush?” 

The pond was still too far for him to reach in time: he knew from experience. He stopped in a rush, hooves tearing up the grass, and then stood ridged and grounded, trying to focus the energy inside him to take him straight there. He was a little early this time; he couldn’t see Spike falling yet. Teleporting to catch him had failed miserably, but perhaps if he were closer? He gritted his teeth and tried, locking his eyes straight ahead, and focussed. Heat rushed through his body and his vision went white for only an instant. He felt elation, but only for a second.

“You’ve got to be joking!” he yelled as he found himself standing in Twilight Sparkle’s bathtub.

It was a shade better than toppling onto a table of desserts in the bakery, but that was of little consolation.

“This is not what I needed, powers!!” he yelled, mostly at himself. “Water, yes, pond, no! Idiot! Absolute tosh!”

He hopped from the tub, but his eyes caught on something he knew he— or more accurately, Derpy and Spike— would be needing in just a minute. He grabbed a couple towels before barreling down the stairs and out the library’s front door.

Time Turner arrived back at the racing grounds just as Derpy was starting to make her way away from a group of ponies gathered around Spike and Twilight Sparkle. She looked exhausted and wet. Hurriedly, Time Turner flung a towel over her before she could even say a word, and gave her a light hug.

“Caught him?” he asked.

She nodded and smiled.

“You were right about that wind,” she said.

He nodded and then rushed to Twilight and Spike and passed the unicorn the other towel. She wrapped it around Spike, who said a quick, “Thanks,” before sneezing. Twilight seemed a little puzzled.

“That looks an awful lot like mine,” she said.

“It is yours. I accidentally jumped into your house,” Time Turner said.

“Is that what happened?” she asked, her brows raising. “I saw you glow and then vanish, but I guess I got a bit distracted by-“

“I totally understand. Spike, keep warm.”

He rushed back to Derpy before Twilight could ask more questions; the pegasus shot him a tired smile and he nudged her to move on.

“Something really is going on, isn’t it?” she asked. “You warned me.”

“Yeah. I think so,” he said.

“What do we do?”

He could do little but shake his head. 

“I’m not sure. I’m not even sure if you can help or not, if you don’t remember that we’ve done this before.”

“What if it’s not ‘we’? What if it’s just you?” she wondered, and then sighed and rubbed her mane. “Well… Whatever, just let me know if it happens again. Even if I don’t remember, I’m sure I’ll believe you.”

“I appreciate that,” he said, and then laughed a bit. “My teleport or whatever it is didn’t fail as miserably as the first time, though.”

“That’s good, at least,” she laughed. “Let’s go find Sparks.”

“She’s at the concert.”

“Good. I wanted to see it anyway.”

Just as he had said, Time Turner and Derpy found Sparks at the Ponytones performance with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. The stallion was a little confused to see Pinkie there from the offset, and she seemed in slightly higher spirits than the last time he had seen her. 

“Hey Sparks, how’s your day been?” Derpy asked.

“Very enjoyable,” Sparks said. “Derpy Hooves, you are injured.”

“You okay?!” Pinkie demanded.

Fluttershy asked, “Oh my, what happened?” as her eyes widened with worry. 

Derpy laughed and shook her head, smiling bashfully.

“I’m fine. Just a bit of trouble at the race. No big deal.”

Sparks looked like there was something more she wanted to say, but Time Turner asked, “Erm… So how was your party?”

“Enjoyable,” Sparks said again.

“Yeah, it was okay,” Pinkie Pie agreed. “Couldda been better. I should invite more ponies next time.”

Time Turner tilted his head. Not the answer he had been expecting. He sat down and Derpy gave him a puzzled look and sat down with him.

“I enjoyed myself,” Sparks repeated.

“I personally like quiet, personal parties,” Fluttershy said.

Sparks nodded and commented, “And the ponies I met were kind. I am excited to meet more. I have started a cutiemark database. I will learn to be a pony yet!”

“That’s great!” Derpy said brightly, ears lifting high. “I’m really glad to hear that.”

Time Turner was too, but he was confused; what had shifted on her end to change the party? 


---


The ponies returned home shortly after the musical performance ended, and as night closed in, Time Turner went to bed, confused as ever. He wondered, had he somehow sent himself backwards in his sleep? His powers activating while he slept seemed alarming common, but the fact that he hadn’t physically overlapped himself was troubling him. He still didn’t know what to make of it. 


---


The high-tempo sound of jazzy horns followed abruptly by a record scratch jarred Time Turner awake and sat bolt upright, barking out, “You must be joking!”  

Derpy stood near the table at the window, phonograph in hoof, seeming startled by the noise herself.

“Sorry!” she exclaimed, and though Time Turner was about to assure her it was okay, she hurriedly said, “I… I don’t know what came over me. Didn’t I just buy one of these? I… I could’ve sworn I—!”

“Wait a moment,” Time Turner said, eyes widening. “You remember?”

“Remember?” she repeated, and then frowned. “I… I’m confused…”

“What did we do yesterday?” he asked.

“The… The festival was yesterday,” she said, her brow furrowing more deeply. “Why?”

“And the day before?”

“Well, that was…” Her eyes widened; she looked like she didn’t believe what she was saying. “The festival.”

Time Turner laughed despite himself and jumped up to wrap his befuddled friend in a hug.

“Fantastic! What a relief,” he said.

“Wh… What? What’s going on?” she asked. “Why do I remember all that all of a sudden? I don’t understand.”

“This is my third day in a row doing the same thing,” he said, “and I suppose yours too, but your memory is only keeping it now.”

“Wait, so am I…? You’re saying the same day keeps happening over again? Is that what’s happening?” she asked.

“I guess so.”

“How? What do we—?”

Surprising her into silence, Sparks appeared in the threshold to the living room.

“I would like to report my progress. I have concluded that small birds are pleasant and that I am choosing to be excited for the upcoming festival,” she announced.

She marched away, playing back a recording of twittering before either pony could say a word to her. Derpy gulped and looked at Time Turner.

“She’s still doing that,” she said. “So, it’s just us?”

He nodded and sighed.

“Seems so,” he said.

“So we have to go do the festival again?”  she said.

“Do we have to?” he asked.

“Well, yeah.” Derpy nodded. “Or else Spike falls into the pond and nopony catches him.”

“Fair point,” Time Turner admitted. “It’s just that this’ll be the third time and I can’t tell if it’s making it better or worse, but it sure is muddling my brain.”

“Stay home if you want,” Derpy said with a laugh, “I need to go catch Spike. Can’t really tell somepony else to do it.”

“Or you could try to convince him not to go up in the balloon.”

“That seems a bit more involved than just pulling him out of the pond,” she said.

“But are you still bruised from yesterday, is what I’d like to know.”

Derpy frowned and then spread her wings; checked her body and then shook her head.

“No. Not at all,” she assured him.

Time Turner nodded and paced the length of the room before turning on her.

“If this is a time loop, it doesn’t seem to match with the ones we read about,” he said, “since we’re not physically overlapping ourselves.”

“So, what, did the time travel rules change?” She hmmed to herself. “Then again, we barely know anything about it to start with.”

Time Turner shrugged and  she laughed, rubbing her mane.

“Oh, my, this is confusing,” she said, “but I guess I’ll take Sparks to the festival, if you don’t want to go. I don’t mind.” 

“You sure are taking this well,” he said.

“Gotta keep going up,” she said, shrugging. “I don’t know how to fix this right now. I don’t even know what’s really going on.”

Time Turner nodded and then frowned to himself. 

“I’ll go check the library,” he said. “Maybe Twilight Sparkle knows something. I’ll meet you later. Watch out for that change in the wind, won’t you?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” she said. “Be careful.”

“It’s just a library,” he laughed.


---


Time Turner bumped into Twilight and Spike just as they were heading out the door.

“Hello there!” Twilight said brightly. “Heading to the festival?”

“I was actually wondering if I could barge into your library and take a look around for a book,” he said.

“Oh? On what?” the unicorn asked; her eyes lit up as Spike rolled his.

“Time travel,” he said.

She looked surprised, but now the dragon looked interested.

“Sounds cool, what for?” he asked.

“I’m not sure you’d know, but my ‘special talent’, or however you word it, has to do with it, and yet I understand very little about it,” he explained.

“What?” Spike asked blankly, but Twilight nodded.

“I understand. I’m not sure exactly that I have something that can help you, but maybe—“

Spike coughed purposefully and tugged on the fur of her shoulder, and she smiled, embarrassed.

“Oh right! We actually should get going now, but feel free to ask Owlowiscious for any help!”

He nodded and they went on their way as he ducked inside.

He was happy to find that Twilight kept her library in just as much order as the one in Canterlot, and her collection was extensive. He moved through the room, pulling down any book that looked even tangentially related. He noticed that brown bird with the large eyes, the same one he had seen at the library before. He was watching him curiously, but made Time Turner jump when he saw his head spin all the way around.

“Owlowiscious?” he asked.

The bird said, “Hoo!” and the stallion looked confused for a moment.

“Oh, you speak?”

Owlowiscious repeated himself and fluttered over, landing on Time Turner’s building pile of books.

“I’m sorry, are you saying who or hoo?”

“Hoo!”

“I understand.” He laughed and shook his head. “Sorry. Yes. I should have realized. I’m a bit new here, you know. Never know if a bird will start speaking aloud, right?” 

Owlowiscious hooed again and fluffed his feathers, much like Derpy might have. Time Turner smiled, and flipped the first of the books open, taking a deep breath and muttering, “Alright, time to get started.”


---


Derpy was happy to escort Sparks to the festival grounds once more, despite the nagging and absolutely baffling sense of déjà vu that rattled around inside her.

“Derpy Hooves,” Sparks said abruptly, “your pulse is elevated and your posture indicates apprehension. Are you well?”

“Me?” she yelped. “Uh… Well… I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“I am willing to listen to anything you have to discuss,” Sparks said.

“Ah, it’s just that Time Turner and I are having a weird day,” she said. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

“But—“

“Look, don’t worry!” Derpy laughed. “You should go find Pinkie Pie. She has a party waiting for you, remember?”

“You are not coming?”

She tilted her head and Derpy shook hers. 

“I need to talk to Rainbow Dash,” she said.

Sparks nodded and raised her head; her eyes flashed after a few moments. 

“I have located Pinkie Pie. I will speak with her. Shall we reconvene later?” 

“Yeah, absolutely,” Derpy said, smiling. “Have a good time!”

“Thank you.”

As Sparks left, Derpy took a deep breath and rubbed her mane, and then turned her eyes to the sky. When she didn’t see anything, she realized she must be running a bit early. Taking a breath, she took off, heading towards the racetrack until she noticed a spec of rainbow tinting the sky. She hovered and waved, and in an instant, Rainbow Dash was rushing to a stop in front of her, the wind from her wings blowing Derpy’s mane and ears back.

“Derpy, you busy?” she demanded.

“Nope.”

“I need—!”

“Me for your racing team?” she asked.

“Yes! Exactly!” she said, eyes widening. “Oh! Were you hoping I’d ask you?”

“Something like that,” Derpy said.

Rainbow Dash grinned wide.

“Awesome! I didn’t know you were into it,” she said. “C’mon, it’s starting soon.”

She flapped back towards the clouds and Derpy followed, secretly hoping that Rainbow wouldn’t recall this and ask her to race more in the future.

“You know, Fluttershy wouldn’t do it,” the blue pegasus commented. “You’d think if you can do it, she could do it, too. No offence.”

“None taken,” she assured her. “I know I’m not the strongest flyer.”

“Hey, you know, speed and agility are important and whatever, but you just do your thing and you’ll be fine,” the pegasus assured her. “You’re definitely not the worst flyer I’ve seen when you keep it straight. You’re more of a glider, like Fluttershy. I get that not everypony’s built the same as me.”

Derpy laughed and agreed, “I guess that’s fair.”

As she expected, they saw Thunderlane up on a cloud already. She joined him and shot him a bashful smile; he nodded at her in return.

“So!” Rainbow Dash said. “Since this is a relay, I was thinking, Thunderlane, you take the first bit, then pass to Derpy. The middle section is a bit more of a straight course with less obstacles, so I think you can handle that.”

“Right,” she agreed.

“Thunderlane, your speed will have put us a bit ahead right at the start,” Rainbow continued. “And Derpy is… Well, her speed will be fine for the middle, then I can make up the difference at the end.”

“Didn’t realize you were taking this so seriously,” Thunderlane joked. 

“I take every race seriously,” the blue pegasus said proudly. “But, I mean, it’ll still be fun. Plus when we finish this one, we’re all gonna totally win some pies, so that’ll be nice.”

Derpy was a little worried she was going to get sick of pie. 


---


As the race began, Derpy’s only nerves came from anticipating that strong wind that had knocked her out of place. She bounced on her hooves beside the other competitors, trying to ignore the rambunctious voices from below the clouds and focus all her attention on Thunderlane. He was quick on strong wings, and reached her swiftly. She tagged in and took off, though was unable to stop the trepidation that shook in her breath. 

It was just a few seconds before she felt the chill of the wind pick up on her flanks and the backs of her ears. Biting her lip, she turned backwards to face into the wind and unfurled her wings wide to catch it. Easier to manoeuvre with it, she rose up and turned back in the right direction, letting the strong, cold gust carry her forward so quickly that she rocketed past the other ponies in her section. Obstacles moved; she banked around a cloud formation a bit awkwardly, grazing it with her wing. The speed was making her head spin and her wandering eye focus anywhere but in front of her. She was getting dizzy, but she picked out Rainbow Dash and aimed towards her. Another pegasus passed her, but it didn’t concern her. She tagged Rainbow’s outstretched hoof and toppled onto the resting cloud as the other pegasus took off, leaving streaks of colour in her wake. Derpy took a moment to catch her breath and then whirled, focusing on where she knew the hot air balloon would rise.

“Hey, Derpy,” one of the other pegasi said to her, though she couldn’t concentrate on whom. “Nice use of that wind. It caught me by surprise.”

“Thanks,” Derpy said. 

She frowned into the clouds. Still nothing. She supposed she must be early. She bounced on her hooves, but as soon as she saw the clouds rise with the purple balloon beneath, she took off. As she expected, there was Spike, dangling from his ankle caught in a sandbag rope. She grimaced, fighting the wind

“Spike!! Hang on!”  she called.

The wind picked up and he fell as he had twice before— though her heart dropped anyway— and she folded her wings and fell into a sharp dive.

Spike was wailing, flailing in the air as he plummeted. Derpy squinted into the wind and outstretched her front limbs. She made contact a few dozen meters above pond below and grabbed him to her chest. She opened her wings, and breaking harshly, flapped to keep above water and sucked in a deep, relieved breath.

“Whoa,” Spike said, shocked; his body was shaking. “Th-Thanks! That was really scary.”

“I know, right?” Derpy said, and she grinned. “At least we didn’t end up in the water!”

“Yeah, I know, I’m not a very good swimmer,” he confessed.

“Good thing I was here, then,” she joked.

She flapped and then glided back over dry land just as Twilight, appearing in a flash of magic, and some other concerned onlookers reached the edge of the water.

“Spike, are you okay?!” Twilight demanded. 

Derpy placed him on the ground and landed, and Twilight hugged him close, asking, “What happened?”

“Ah, I got knocked out of the balloon,” the dragon grumbled.

“You need to be more careful.” Twilight sounded very concerned and motherly. “It’s lucky Derpy was there to catch you!”

“It’s not his fault,” Derpy said quickly. “The wind picked up and became really unpredictable.”

“Oh… Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Twilight said. “We felt it down here. I guess it must have been even worse in the sky, huh? Sorry Spike, I was just worried.”

“I know, I know,” he said; he laughed a little.

Derpy smiled, but was abruptly knocked off her hooves as Rainbow Dash slammed into her, grabbing her shoulders cordially as she heaved her back up.

“I saw the whole thing after I crossed the finish line! That was awesome!” she cawed. “You were like, woosh! I didn’t know you could fly so fast!”

“I… I’m just good at diving,” she said quickly. “Anyway! Spike, you’re okay, though, right?”

“Yeah. Thanks,” he said.

Derpy nodded, smiled and took a moment to catch her breath before she said, “I should go find Sparks.”

“Oh! Want me to bring your pie by your house later?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Thanks, that would be great.”


---


Time Turner was still mulling over books by the time the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. His pile of checked books was starting to look like a fortress, but he still had much more to go through. He hadn’t found a thing so far, and he was trying hard not to let the frustration get to him.

On what felt to be the hundredth book on advanced magical theory, his ears perked to the sound of the library door opening. Twilight and Spike walked in, laughing and chatting, and when the unicorn saw him, she smiled and said, “Look at you, still at it! Any luck?”

“Not quite.” He stood up to stretch his legs. “How was the festival?”

“Uh… Eventful,” she replied; she looked a bit embarrassed and he knew what had happened.

“Yeah, it was pretty great except for the part where I almost died,” Spike joked.

“Spike,” Twilight chided, but she laughed, “it wasn’t that bad. Dangerous, though. The wind really picked up in the sky race and Spike fell out of the balloon.”

“Oh really?” 

The stallion feigned surprise.

“Yup, but it was fine, Derpy Hooves caught me,” the dragon said with a shrug.

“Would you mind thanking her again for us when you see her?” Twilight asked.

“Not at all,” he said. “It’s getting late. I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Oh! Would you like to stay for dinner?” Twilight asked.

Time Turner shook his head.

“Thanks but I wouldn’t want to be a bother. I’ll just clean these books up and—“

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” the unicorn said, waving her hoof dismissively. “If you’re not finished, I can organize these if you want to come back tomorrow.”

“I would,” he said.

He felt a little guilty, though. He knew her work would be for nothing if the day repeated once again.


---


As Time Turner entered Derpy’s house, he was greeted by Sparks staring him dead in the face, her glowing eyes making his head hurt a little after staring at text all day.

“Hello, Sparks,” he said.

“Greetings,” she said, “I heard you from up the street. You are just in time for pie.”

She backed up and headed towards the kitchen. 

He followed and asked, “So how was your party?”

“Very nice. A little hectic. I met many new ponies today. I am making a cutiemark database, also.”

He tried to conceal his surprise.

“Fancy that! That’s great Sparks, I’m glad you had a good time.”

In the kitchen, they found Derpy cutting slices of pie; two regular and one just a small slice as a taste-test for Sparks. 

“Hey!” she said brightly. “How was the library?”

“Well, I learned all about turning flowers into oranges and reversing curses that make one walk backwards, but time travel? Nah. Time loops? Absolutely nothing.”

“Dang.” Derpy sighed. “Pie?”

“Thanks,” he said, and she slid him a plate and fork.

“I’m not sure I understand,” Sparks said, looking between them, “what is your inquiry about time loops?”

“Why? Do you know anything about them?” Time Turner asked as he put a bite of pie in his mouth. “Mmm, I really hope I don’t get sick of this pie, because it is delicious.”

“I don’t know much,” Sparks said. “My knowledge of time travel is limited to its existence.”

“Aw,” Derpy said, ears drooping. “Well… that’s okay.”

“I am still unsure as to what your concern with time loops is.”

“We’re stuck in one,” the pegasus said with a sigh.

“Who? All of us?” Sparks asked.

“We’re not sure,” Time Turner said. “At least Derpy and I are. If there’s anyone else, we either don’t know who, or they aren’t aware of it.”

“How curious,” Sparks said. “How long?”

“I think three days,” Derpy said. “Or does the first day not count? Two days?”

“Two days after the day that repeats,” Time Turner said.

“Very strange,” Sparks said, frowning ever so slightly. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not that I can think of,” Time Turner said. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

Sparks nodded and put the pie in her mouth, and then back on the plate again.

“Very nice.” 

Derpy laughed.


---


“I think I need one more day at the library.”

Time Turner stretched and settled down on the sofa; Derpy, in the armchair, nodded and rubbed her mane.

“Do you really think it’s worth it?” she wondered.

“If there’s even one book in there that can help us, it definitely is,” he said. 

“I hope I still remember all this tomorrow,” Derpy said; she sighed. “If I don’t, fill me in, okay?”

He nodded and assured her, “I will.”


---


The morning came with the sound of jazz once more and Time Turner blinked up at the ceiling, rubbing his eyes as Derpy shouted, “HORSEFEATHERS! I did it again!” 

The stallion smiled to himself.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her.


---


The day proceed much the same as the previous one, with the exception that Derpy had prepared a lunch for Time Turner to take to the library with him. He didn’t get through all the books as he had anticipated; it took half of the next day as well. He was getting exhausted. 


---


Slumping on the floor of the living room on the fifth night, he rubbed his brow and Derpy sat in the armchair, tired and uncertain.

“I didn’t find anything,” he said. “Three bloody days analyzing hundreds of books and not a thing.”

Derpy’s ears pinned back for a moment and she rested her chin on a hoof.

“Well…” she said. “Okay. That’s fine. I guess we can always just try looking somewhere else.”

“Guess we’ll have to,” he confessed, “because, honestly, I have no idea how this started, or how to end it.”

He sighed and shot the pegasus a sort of melancholy look. She tilted her head.

“What?”

“I’m sorry I brought you into this,” he said. “I was so relieved at first, because then I wasn’t doing this stupid thing alone, but now I just—“

“Nah. It’s fine,” she said. “It’s… I mean, it’s driving me a little nuts, but I think I’m much happier at least sort of being able to help.”

“You’re good,” he said. “Aren’t you getting sick of that festival?”

“Yes and no,” she said. “And Sparks is still having fun.”

“But it’s new to her every time,” Time Turner laughed.

“Which is nice,” Derpy said, “but you know what’s weird? Her party’s been slowly getting a little bigger every time. I’m not sure if it’s something I’m doing or what.”

“Weird. I noticed that as well,” he said. “Oh well. Have you thought about taking a break?”

“Hmm?”

“From the festival.”

“Oh! Well, not seriously.” Derpy shrugged. “If I do, I’m going to have to time that race exactly so I can still catch Spike.”

“So you really don’t think anyone else could catch him?” he wondered.

She shook her head.

“The first time, on the normal day, I guess? He dropped all the way to the bottom of the pond and got dazed hitting it. I’m worried about what might happen if I hadn’t been there.”

“I understand,” he said, nodding. “Okay. I just don’t want you to wear yourself out.”

“I won’t,” she assured him. 

He nodded and was quiet for a while, resting his eyes. Derpy yawned.

“I guess we need a plan,” she said quietly, “and I guess the library’s not it.”

Time Turner frowned.

“Not this library,” he said.


---


The train was a nice change of pace, and despite everything that had happened there, seeing Canterlot was a relief. Day six saw Derpy keeping to her normal routine, though Time Turner felt bad that she was the one having to go through most of the grind. She insisted, however. As she said, she had to be there to catch the falling dragon. After spending the morning taking a break to gather a few extra things for dinner to break up the monotony, Time Turner hopped the train. He arrived at the shining, affluent city a little after noon.

Time Turner made his way through the districts and up to the palace as quickly as he could without seeming suspicious. Guards stood at the doorways, but ponies in fancy dress passed in and out without any sort of resistance. Time Turner hurriedly tried to straighten his perpetually scruffy mane with a hoof and then stood tall, hoping that pretending he belonged would make him appear like he did. 

He entered the palace and was greeted by a long, meticulously kept red carpet marking pathways across a black-and-white checkered floor. The walls were a pale purple, inlaid with gold accents and trim, and decorated with banners of suns, moons, and stars. Directly before him was a grand set of stairs, crowned at the top by stained glass, the right panel the familiar, gold and shining sun motif, while the left was the calming blue moon and sky. On either side of this was yet more stairs and, since that way looked the most important, he proceeded up them. He found yet more guards there and, though hesitant, approached one closest to the moon panel.

“Excuse me, but I was wondering if I might get an audience with the Princess,” he asked.

“Which Princess? Because I’m afraid Princess Celestia is fully booked for today,” the guard replied.

“Ah. No. The moon princess. Luna, yes? Just a quick question, I won’t be long.”

The guard looked him up and down curiously and was silent for just long enough to make Time Turner uncomfortable. Finally, he nodded and pointed him down the closest hallway. 

“There is a stallion in silver armour up there. Ask him to let you through and hopefully you’ll get in.”

“Thanks,” Time Turner said, nodding; he hurried on his way. 

The next floor looked quite similar to the first, with the exception of being much quieter. There were few ponies there to begin with, and the vast majority were the armour-clad guards. He found the stallion in the silver armour rather quickly; his dark grey pelt stood out, as did his leathery wings.

“Hello!” Time Turner said as he drew closer to the guard. “I was told to come speak with you about seeing Princess Luna?”

“What exactly do you need?” he asked.

“A book.”

The stallion frowned slightly, his yellow eyes skimming Time Turner’s face as if searching for any trace of deception. He nodded and waved him forward with a wing. Time Turner trotted eagerly after the guard, who took him down a side hallway to a large blue door with gold and silver trim. He knocked in what seemed to be a pattern and, after just a moment, the door swung open to reveal the familiar Princess Luna.

“Hello, Chillwind,” she said. “What is it?”

He nodded at Time Turner and said, “This stallion requested to see you about a book.”

Luna took note of him quickly and stepped fully from the room.

“Very well, I will see him. Thank you.” 

The stallion dipped in a bow and headed back to his post,  and the Princess approached Time Turner.

“I am surprised to see you again so soon,” she said.

“I’m surprised to be back,” he admitted. “I was wondering if I might take a look at that time travel book again.”

“Has something happened?”

“Stuck in a time loop.”

Luna’s eyes widened.

“Can you elaborate?” she said.

Time Turner took a deep breath. 

“Can we sit down?”

The Princess nodded and beckoned him to follow her back into the room she had emerged from, a large, crowded, yet cozy study with seats of purple pillows next to a tall, arched window. 

Sipping a gratefully accepted cup of tea, Time Turner explained what had happened, and particularly what had happened over and over again.

“What a fascinating experience,” Luna commented. “So, tomorrow, I will recall none of this?”

“I think it will just not have happened for you,” he said. “I doubt the whole world is repeating. Just my friend and I. But, then again, I could be completely wrong.”

Luna nodded and sipped her tea, looking thoughtful. 

“I can lend you Star Swirl the Bearded’s book once more as long as you remain in the castle with it.”

“Not a problem,” he said. “Thank you very much.”

She nodded again, tilted her head, but stayed quiet as her brow furrowed.

“Princess?” Time Turner asked cautiously.

“Your circumstances sound rather familiar to me,” she admitted. “I feel as though I have read it before.”

“Read it?” Time Turner repeated. “What, as in a novel?”

“Indeed,” she said. “Now what was it…?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment longer and her eyes lit up. She got to her hooves quickly and, with a wing, beckoned him to follow. 

“Come,” she said.

Puzzled, Time Turner got up and followed her as she left the study. Luna made a beeline for the library, seeming rather serious, and once there, she headed down the rows of books,.

“There was a book. A novel. I remember, it was called, Winter Once More. It was about a pegasus with a sour attitude stuck reliving the day of Winter Wrap Up over and over until she mended her ways.”

“What caused it?” Time Turner asked.

The Princess smiled and shook her head.

“The author left it ambiguous. The journey was more important than the specifics. Anyway…” She came to a stop in front of a shelf and her eyes scanned the books; she frowned. “How odd…”

Time Turner shot her a worried look and her magic whisked a few books from the shelf as she checked between them.

“What? …It’s not there, is it?” he asked.

“Odd,” she repeated. 

She hurriedly replaced the books and turned, saying, “Come,” as she trotted from the library.

The stallion hurried to keep up as the Princess strode purposefully back through the castle and to a large set of double doors that swung back before her. They opened onto a long, spacious hallway lined with ornate stained glass windows. The red carpet leading to the end acted as a pathway, and was currently occupied by dozens of well-dressed ponies in a line. Nestled against the farthest wall was an intricate red and gold throne on a precipice of stairs, and sitting upon it was the ever-glowing Princess Celestia. Luna strode past all of it, straight up to the throne.

“Sister,” Luna said loudly as they approached, “a question, if you have a moment.”

“Of course,” Celestia replied.

Time Turner’s ears lifted. He had never heard her voice before. It was deeper than he had expected, but gentle and wise. 

“Have you taken the book Winter Once More from the library?”

Celestia’s gentle brow knitted for just a moment and she said, “No, I don’t think so. Why, are you looking to reread it?”

“Something like that,” Luna said. “It seems that it is missing.”

“Odd,” Celestia said.

Luna hmmed to herself.

“Thanks anyway,” she said, and she turned to head back down the hallway. 

Time Turner was about to follow when the large alicorn before him caught his eye. She looked surprised for a fraction of a section, her ears perking high. She smiled gently. 

“Good luck finding the book,” she said.

Time Turner bowed low and then turned in a hurry to see Luna waiting for him a few paces away. 

She lead him back out and, admitted, “Something is wrong. I suggest returning to Ponyville to find another copy.”

“Is it really that important?” he wondered.

“I feel there might be parallels that could help you,” she said. “It may be a work of fiction, but I find that sometimes the deepest wisdom comes in the form of tales and fantasy.”


---


The Princess was kind enough to bring him the ancient book he had read once before and set him up in her study as she left to attend to other things. Ignoring the complex magical equations, Time Turner focussed on historical accounts and theories confirmed by the ancient unicorn and his texts. Deep within the tome, there was a chapter outlining paradoxes such as the loops he and Derpy had read about initially. 

But what about this kind?

He pouted and flipped through the pages. It took just a few more minutes fore his spirits to lift and his ears with it. Listed under Unconventional Time Travel, he found a section that spoke of a loop: a day repeating over and over. Time Turner’s eyes lit up and he devoured the information. He was surprised to find that Star Swirl seemed to have quite a bit of disdain for it; described it as false time travel, usually inflicted upon someone else as an orchestrated spell. This hit Time Turner with a sense of relief as well as deep confusion. He was not causing the loop, but that left him at a loss for what was. According to the book, the most common way to free oneself would be to confront the spellcaster, or to complete a set event that the spellcaster was intent on happening. Time Turner frowned into the pages, his ears flattening, wondering what the event could be. He suspected that the only pony he knew strong enough to perform such a spell, aside from the Princesses, would be Twilight Sparkle.

But, surely it’s not her, he thought. She’s been nothing but helpful. Unless it was an accident. 

He grimaced. 


---


Time Turner spent a few more hours with the book, but came away with little else. The book was intended for unicorns, after all. Even though he knew he could time travel, somehow, it wasn’t meant for someone like him. He thanked Princess Luna for her help and headed home on the train.

He met Derpy and Sparks at the house, but was shocked to find the pegasus on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket with a tea, her left eye swollen with bruising and Sparks holding a baggie of ice against her head.

“Oh, my goodness, what happened?!” he yelped.

“Ah, I messed up in the wind today,” she said. “Crashed a bit.”

The stallion grimaced and gave her a worried hug. She laughed. 

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Everything was fine. How was Canterlot?”

He hopped up onto the sofa beside her. 

“Well... Good news and confusing news. It’s not me, at least. But it’s not typical time travel, it’s a spell.”

“What is?” Sparks said.

“Time loop,” Derpy said simply. “A spell? So how do we break it?”

“Find whoever cast it, basically,” he said, shrugging.

“What time loop?” Sparks asked. “Is something happening?”

“I’ll explain it to you tomorrow, Sparks,” Derpy laughed. “For now, I think I’ll go to bed.”

She grimaced as she stood up and Time Turner hurried to help.

“I’m okay. Don’t worry,” she assured him.

She was limping a little as she headed towards the stairs.  The stallion frowned to himself, only reassured by the fact that her injuries wouldn’t carry over into the next day. He got to his hooves and Sparks looked at him curiously. 

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Library,” he said.

“Were you not at a library all day?” she asked.

“Different library. Want to come?”

“I do, but I will stay with Derpy.” She paused and seemed slightly surprised. “What a strange sensation, to make a choice between two wants. Interesting.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Time Turner laughed.

He headed out into the night again, trotted to Twilight’s home and knocked on the door. She opened it after a moment, looking surprised to see him.

“Oh! Time Turner. I didn’t see you at the festival today,” she said.

“No, I had business in Canterlot,” he said. “I was wondering if I could borrow a book?”

“Well, this is a library,” Twilight laughed. “Come on in. What are you looking for?”

“Winter Once More, if you’ve got it.”

“Oh! That one’s a classic. Where did you hear about it?”

“From Princess Luna,” he said as she waved him in.

The unicorn looked surprised, but she didn’t say more as she hurried in and trotted to a far shelf. 

“Just a second.” She reached for the shelf but then paused, looked puzzled for a second. “I could have sworn…! Hang on!”

She ran upstairs and Time Turner felt a sudden sense of foreboding. He wasn’t surprised at all when she returned, an upset look on her face.

“I’m sorry! I guess I misplaced it. Or maybe I lent it to somepony? But usually I’d remember if I did. Hmm…” She seemed perturbed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “Thanks anyway.”

He turned for the door but then shot her a look, asking, “Strange question, but have you been practicing any strong spells recently. Anything unusual?”

“Mmm… No, I don’t think so,” she said. “Nothing I haven’t done before, anyway. Why?”

“I’ll let you know when I know,” he said. “Thanks again.”


---


The jazzy tune that woke Time Turner was unusually cut off by a loud smacking noise and a crash, and Derpy shouting, “Aw, feathers!” He smiled to himself and covered his eyes with a hoof for a moment before sitting up to see Derpy, ears drooping as she looked rather dismally at the broken phonograph on the floor. 

“I… I’m sorry,” she said, grimacing. “I just… I don’t know, I panicked for some reason.”

“It’s okay. Rough night,” he said, but he smiled as he got up and stretched. “No bruises.”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s true,” she said; she brushed her mane from her face shyly. “Sheesh, I’m just getting tired of this.”

“I know. I understand,” he said. “It’s been you whose had to do the bulk of the repetitive stuff. How about we take a break today?”

“What? But what about—?”

“Catch Spike and then you and I, we’ll go get some lunch. Far, far away from the festival. It’ll be good.”

Derpy stared at him blankly for a moment, but then wilted, smiled, and said, “That sounds nice.”

Time Turner grinned; Sparks appeared in the threshold to the living room.

“I would like to report my progress. I have concluded that small birds are pleasant and that I am choosing to be excited for the upcoming festival,” she announced.

She marched away, playing back a recording of twittering before either pony could say a word to her. Derpy couldn’t help a tired laugh.

“It’s weird,” she said. “The one carryover seems to be how well I sleep.”

Time Turner nodded.

“Same with me. Anyway! I have maybe a strange question. Ever heard of Winter Once More?” 

“Yeah, good book. One of my favourites, actually,” Derpy said, and she looked confused for a second and then her ears lifted, her eyes widening. “Oh! It’s about this! It’s about a time loop! Hang on!”

She took off up the stairs in a hurry, but for some reason, Time Turner didn’t have a good feeling about it. When she returned, frowning, he said, “Let me guess, it’s missing?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Every copy I’ve tried to find is missing,” he said. “Makes me think that something to do with that book is our way out of this.”

“Well, I’ve read it,” she said.

“Brilliant! So I guess the obvious question is how the protagonist got out of her situation in the story,” he said.

“She had an attitude problem. Really grumpy, really mean and arrogant, and selfish. Her time in the time loop sort of made her go a little crazy, but getting to know all the ponies around her helped her become a lot nicer and understand others better.” Derpy scratched her head. “Also, she had to realize that there were some bad things that were impossible to change, no matter how many times she tried.”

Time Turner had a sort of sinking feeling, and his mind automatically shot to Spike, but he tried to keep his concerns from his face.

“Hmm… I’m not sure how much that helps,” he said, “unless the purpose is for the both of us to go totally mental.”

Derpy shrugged.

“Could be,” she said. “For some reason this doesn’t really seem to me like an adventure of self-improvement.”


---


Derpy was getting much more proficient at diving. She had misjudged her timing on the wind the previous day— it was jarring to realize how one small slip-up could change the outcome— but day seven had her catch Spike, just skimming the pond, and land without a single incident. 

Before she could get caught up in the aftermath once again, Time Turner whisked her away. He brought her to the edge of town, on a hill close to the forest she had found him in and presented her with a paper bag. 

“When did you get this?” she asked.

“Well, see, I keep trying to teleport to the pond to meet you and for some reason I’m completely rubbish at it. I end up in the bakery half the time, so I thought I’d get you a little something,” he said.

Derpy raised an eyebrow and opened the bag; she pulled out a fresh banana muffin and her eyes lit up. 

“Oh! Thank you so much,” she said. “You want some?”

He shook his head. She dug in, and her face was all but glowing. It made him smile. He took a moment to relax, flopping backwards onto the grass and staring up at the bright sky above. She joined him when she finished her snack, fluffing her feathers up to take in the sunlight. 

“Nice and warm over here,” she said absently. 

Time Turner nodded and closed his eyes, relaxing into the grass. 

Derpy was happy to see it. She rolled onto her stomach and raised the feathers near her shoulders and spread her wings out and upwards to warm them in the light. It helped her relax. 

“Hey, Time Turner?” she asked.

“Hmm?”

He sounded like he was half asleep. She couldn’t blame him.

“I know this is all weird and stuff, but I’m happy you’re not stuck doing this alone.”

“Thanks, Miss Derpy, I appreciate it.”

“You don’t have to call me Miss, you know,” she said.

She heard him laugh a little and she smiled to herself and settled in comfortably, folding her wings in close. She didn’t realize she had dozed off until she woke to the sound of Sparks’s voice asking, “Derpy Hooves?”

She blinked her eyes open in the orange glow of the sunset light and looked up to see her metal friend.

“Oh, Sparks, hi,” she said groggily; she got up and stretched her wings. “How was your day? Good?”

“Very,” she said. “Though I was concerned I did not see you after your race.”

“Sorry about that,” she said. “Time Turner and I just wanted to take a bit of a break from the festival.”

“Ah, yes, fair,” Sparks said, nodding. “I must track him next.”

“Track him? What do you mean, he’s right…”

Derpy’s sentence trailed into startled silence as she turned to point out her friend, only to find him notably absent from where he had been laying. Her eyes widened and her mouth went dry.

“Oh, horsefeathers.”


---


Gentle humming and chirping filled Time Turner’s ears, like a comforting, digital lullaby. Something about it was familiar to him, but he couldn’t place it. His eyelids felt heavy, and when he opened them it was only a faint relief to not be woken by that same jazz song before he realized he ad no idea where he was. 

Instantly alert, the stallion jumped to his hooves, his eyes snapping back into focus. Blue lights tickled his peripherals and he spun, ears up and fur bristling, but his posture relaxed when he realized that he was inside the strange room within the cave in the woods. 

He let out a sigh of relief, looked around, and then worriedly called, “Derpy?” 

There was no reply, and his heart sunk. He took a few cautious steps around, but was pleasantly surprised when the little, glowing serpent, Ellie, appeared before him. Her reaction couldn’t be described as anything but relief. She circled Time Turner’s neck, her projected body tingling warm static, almost like tickling carbonation through his fur. 

“Good to see you, too!” he said.

She let out a melodic chirp and spun around in midair, and he wondered, “Did you bring me in here?”

She made a sound; somehow it sounded negative, and she flew around and then dove into a console; only then did the stallion realize that he was in that main control room with the windows and odd chairs. A series of information hovered out of the panels of buttons and screens, displaying an image of a blue shield and outline, and a yellow form transferring inside it. Strange text on the images were translated in his mind to read hull breach and recognized form. 

“So I just… I teleported in here,” he said, and then sighed and laughed at himself. “Of course I did. Fantastic.”

He rubbed his mane, trying to wake up his mind a bit more. 

“Better get back to Derpy,” he muttered.

However, as he headed for the door, a red light flashed and the stallion turned back to the screen. He was shocked to see that the whole front windows had lit up with frantic, flashing messages. It urged him to stay, that this was a safe place. He gulped.

“Ellie, what is this? What do you mean, what’s wrong?” 

The little serpent sprung from the console as the red light faded and she rushed around him; she seemed frantic. He frowned.	

“You know something about what’s going on, don’t you?” he concluded.

Her chirp was definitely affirmative this time. 

“What can you tell me?”

She chirped and buzzed and whizzed around his head. She was worried. She wanted him to stay.

“Well, I can’t just do nothing,” he said. “Staying in here won’t stop it, right?”

Reluctantly, Ellie sung a negative. Time Turner sighed, but he gave her a smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ll figure this out. I’ve got to—“

He jumped to the sound of heavy, metal banging outside, and though Ellie looked alarmed, he guessed, “Ah! That sounds like someone I might know. Shall we let them in?" 

He moved from the area of controls and windows into the room with the huge, circular counter of buttons and lights, and before him, that door he knew of slid upwards and Derpy rushed in.

“Time Turner?!” she called.

“Right here,” he said.

She cast around frantically and he realized she must not’ve been able to see him. He approached her and took her hoof, and her face broke into a relieved grin.

“Thank Celestia.” Derpy grabbed him into a tight hug. “We looked all over town.”

“What? Really? How long was I gone?”

“Two hours, thirteen minutes and forty four seconds,” Sparks volunteered; her eyes flashed and lit up a bit more of the room, “from when we began searching, at the very least.”

“Ellie, can we get some lights?” Time Turner called.

In an instant, the room was illuminated with lights tinted vaguely blue; Derpy blinked heavily and let the stallion go.

“Phew!” she said. “Ellie, that’s the… the little flying thing you mentioned, right?”

Before he could answer, Ellie, zoomed over to Derpy, spinning around her body and chirping a greeting.

“Oh! Hello!” she said with surprise.

“She lives in here,” Time Turner said.

As Ellie paused long enough in front of Derpy for her to get a good look, the pegasus smiled and said, “Oh! She’s like a tiny wyvern.”

“Is that what you’d call it?” Time Turner asked.

She nodded as Ellie took off again, weaving around Sparks and chirping in a distorted, sing-song way. 

“A wyvern is dragon with wings for arms,” she explained. “She’s cute.”

Ellie was still chirping around Sparks, whose eyes were flashing and her chest cavity began to buzz a little.

“Oh, I see,” Sparks said. “Very nice.”

“What is?” Derpy asked.

“Eltanin,” Sparks said. “She is an AI. More advanced than I am, even.”

“AI? That means… uh… artificial intelligence, right?” Time Turner asked.

Sparks nodded.

“Well, I’m glad somepony knows what’s going on,” Derpy joked.

“Think about it like this,” Time Turner said. “You and I… Well, at least you, for sure. I still have no idea what my deal is. You were born with a natural brain able to learn and grow. Sparks and Ellie weren’t born, but whatever serves as their brain is the same in most ways. Just… metal-y. Or energy-y. That’s what it means to be an AI. In this particular context anyway.”

“I guess I understand,” Derpy said with a nod. “But, anyway, Time Turner, you’re alright, right? What happened?”

“Just my average, totally normal sleep teleportation,” he said. “But, for some reason, I went here this time. And now Ellie doesn’t really want me to leave. I think she knows something about what’s going on.”

“What?! Really?”

The pegasus seemed excited and she asked, “Is that true, Ellie, can you help us with the time loop?” 

Ellie’s brow furrowed just a little and she floated in place, resting her chin on the claw of her wing. After a moment, she pointed at Sparks.

“Me?” the robot asked. “I don’t know what you—“

Ellie curled up around Sparks’s head and twittered into her ear. The ponies shot each other confused looks. Sparks stared blankly ahead as she listened and then said, “I understand,” before turning to her friends.

“Eltanin speculates that the spell occurs in the early morning hours. Tonight, we will wait until the exact moment the spell effects us. The next night, you will instruct me and I will wait up and record any energy interference around us and send it directly to Eltanin. I cannot record indefinitely, so this seems the most logical.” She nodded at Time Turner. “She explains that you should place that ring on your hoof against my head to activate the transference.”

The stallion looked at his hoof with surprise and then nodded.

“Okay, fine with me.”

“With this information, we should be able to track down the spellcaster,” Sparks said.

Derpy’s face lit up and she squeaked, “That’s great! That’s really good news! Anything I should do?”

“Help me stay up,” Time Turner laughed. “Seriously, I’ve been going to bed really early.”

“Ellie also would like to express regret,” Sparks continued as the glowing wyvern settled down on her mane. “She is having trouble communicating. Time Turner, her feelings suggest that if you had stayed here, the spell would not have been able to send you into this trouble.”

“What? Really?” he said, and his eyes widened. “Oh! Oh, my, so you meant that I should come back that night we met. Goodness, Ellie, I’m sorry. I didn’t understand. I’m really rubbish sometimes, I swear.”

Ellie rose and flew around his head; her chirps were reassuring. It felt like she was wishing him good luck. He smiled and tilted his head towards the door.

“Okay,” he said, “we’ll get started. Good night, Ellie.”


---


As the three made their way back from the forest, Derpy wondered, “So, what should we do, then?”

“Well,” Time Turner said, “I mean, honestly, we could bloody well do anything we please, couldn’t we?”

“If the day is repeating, it stands to reason that our actions have very little to zero consequences,” Sparks agreed.

“Ooh, we should make cheesecake. And then eat the whole thing,” Derpy said. “Wait! No, we could make three cheesecakes. We could each eat a whole cheesecake.”

Time Turner couldn’t help a laugh.

“That’s what I love about you, Derpy Hooves. Given free reign to do literally whatever you want without any repercussions, you decide you’d eat a lot of dessert.”

“Well, what would you rather do?” she asked. “I can’t think of much! I mean, maybe I’d tell that one mare that made fun of me in flight school to stuff it, but I think I’d probably apologize right after…”

The stallion snickered, but he shrugged. 

“Now that I think of it, I’m not really sure. Maybe I’d spend all day just teleporting around,” he said. “I guess you’re right. What did the mare in that book do?”

“Oh, everything. Horrible things sometimes. Stealing, kicking; fighting. She exploded the whole town one day.” The pegasus shook her head. “I couldn’t do anything like that. I’d feel too awful. Even if nopony else would ever know what I’d done, I’d know. Anyway! Sparks, what do you want to do?”

“My wants are quite limited,” she admitted, “since so, too, are my experiences.”

Time Turner smiled.

“Cheesecakes it is, then,” he said. “Though why one would make a cake of cheese is beyond me, Derpy.”

“Oh! Of course, you don’t know!” she said, and then giggled. “Don’t worry, you’ll love it!”

They hurried home and Derpy pulled out a huge recipe book to explain to both Equestrian newbies what, exactly, a cheesecake was. They spent much of the night preparing three large, rich cakes on graham cracker bases, flavoured with chocolate, berries, and caramel sauce. Despite her assertions earlier, however, of the three cakes, Derpy barely managed to put down a third of one before giving up. Time Turner had no such trouble: saying that he ate like a wolf was an understatement, while Sparks’s cake remained intact but for one assessment bite.

“I know I will probably not remember tomorrow,” Sparks said, “but I’ve very much enjoyed being involved and having cake as well.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t half bad,” Time Turner agreed. “Not the cake. The cake was fantastic. I could eat another.”

“We’re so bad at this no consequences thing,” Derpy laughed.

“Very much so. I think I’m okay with that.” He yawned; stretched. “What’s the time?”

“Three hours, twenty minutes and twenty three seconds into the new twenty four hour day cycle,” Sparks said.

“I’m getting a bit tired,” Time Turner admitted.

“You can’t go to sleep on a full stomach like that, you’ll feel super sick in the morning,” Derpy said; she tried to hold in a yawn, but couldn’t.

“No consequences,” Time Turner corrected with a laugh.

He yawned too and then blinked heavily, shaking his head.

“Suddenly very tired,” he said.

Derpy nodded. She wondered: would it really hurt to shut her eyes for a few seconds?

When she blinked them open again, she saw the glow of sunlight on her walls. She got up and stretched, feeling a sense of giddy excitement, and then rolled out of bed. She was a little surprised to see that Sparks wasn’t on the mattress laid out for her, and after a quick flex of her wings, the pegasus headed out of the room. 

Sparks stood at the end of the hallway near the stairs, staring at her, much to her surprise. She had to hold in a gasp.

“Sparks!” she said. “Good morning! Have you been up long?”

“No. Derpy, I remember,” she said.

Derpy tilted her head and her eyes widened.

“Remember? You mean remember who sent you?!” she asked.

“No,” she said. “I remember the festival.”

“Uh…”

The pegasus smiled awkwardly, unsure of what to say to her. Sparks’s irises flashed.

“You do not remember,” she said.

“Uh… I’m sorry, Sparks, I’m not sure what you mean,” she confessed.

The robot stared blankly for a little while and then said, “Very well. We will discuss this later.” 

She headed downstairs, leaving Derpy alone and confused, but she perked up nonetheless upon the thought of spending the day together at the festival with her new friends.

She headed downstairs as well and went into the bathroom to wash up. She combed her mane and tail out and and quickly preened her feathers before leaving to check on Time Turner. He was still asleep, cozy on the couch, and Derpy couldn’t help but feel relieved that nothing weird had happened overnight. It was nice not to have to get him down from the roof again. As she moved over to tug the curtains a little more tightly closed, her eyes caught on one of her tables that had been repaired after the front of the house had been smashed in. It made her a little sad to see it vacant; she had kept a record-playing phonograph on it for years. She had received it as a gift on her first year anniversary as a mail-mare. Though sad to lose it, she realized it would really be the music she missed the most.

She found Sparks in the kitchen, head out the window as she listened to the birds. 

“Hey,” she said, “I’m going out to a store for just a few minutes. You okay here alone?”

“Yes, do not worry,” Sparks said. “Do you remember the festival yet?”

“Yeah, we’re going later, don’t worry,” she said brightly.

Derpy headed out. Giving her wings a quick flap, she lifted off and flew towards the marketplace, taking it at a glide. The store she wanted was at the edge of where tents were normally set up: a moderately sized building with a gold and brown phonograph— much like her old one— on a sign above the door. She could see the owner, a middle-aged pale golden stallion, heading inside from a distance.

She slowly came in to land and then went into the store. The door didn’t jingle with bells like many normal stores did, but instead was rigged to a machine that strummed an old guitar hung up on the wall. The store was set up mostly as a record store, with long rows of display boxes on shelves organized alphabetically. The rest of the store held some instruments and, what Derpy was looking for, record players of all sorts.

The owner was adding new records to the shelves and he took a moment to look up at her to shoot her a smile as he brushed his apple-green mane from his eyes.

“Hey there, Derpy Hooves, got some new jazz albums in,” he said.

“Hi, Backbeat,” she said. “Actually, I’m looking for a new phonograph.”

“Ah, did the motor mess up again? I can repair it.”

“No, no,” she laughed. “It got smashed up when those rock monsters came to town.”

“Oh! Let me show you what I have, then.”

He took her to the other side of the store, pointing out record players, both modern and retro. Derpy picked out a phonograph that looked almost exactly like her old one, bought it, and flew it home with a smile on her face. As she entered the house, she saw that Time Turner was still asleep. She took her new phonograph to the kitchen, unboxed it and loaded in a jazz record for later. Checking the clock, it seemed like it might be a good time to wake her friend up. 

She brought her new phonograph into the living room, brushing the curtains back with a wing as she tried to set it safely down on the table. She stumbled, however, jarring the thing so that music blared loudly from the horn. She yelped and her mind suddenly tumbled over itself with confusion.

Why did I—? Oh, gosh, oh no.

“Sorry!” she yelped as Time Turner’s eyes shot open. “Sorry, I—! Dang it, every day I do this!”

“Good thing your bits are refunded every day,” the stallion joked; he sat up. “So what time did it end up being?”

“Uh… Three something, um…”

“Three hours, twenty three minutes and one second into the new twenty four hour day cycle,” Sparks put in. “Good morning, friends. I, too, am now stuck in the time loop.”

“Sparks!” Derpy said, relieved. “Oh. I’m sorry about this morning, I guess I don’t snap back into it until now-ish.”

“Do not be concerned,” Sparks assured her. “Now what shall we do?”

“Wait until the night.” Time Turner shrugged and stretched his forelegs high above his head. “I, for one, plan on doing absolutely nothing today.”

Derpy snorted out a laugh and then shot Sparks a smile.

“Well, I have to go catch Spike. Wanna come, Sparks?” 

“I will do this,” she said. “I have something I’d like to check out as well.”


---


When Derpy left Sparks at the festival for the race, the metal unicorn took a moment to assess the area, trying to decide what to do. She was unsure why, but with Time Turner at home she didn’t feel comfortable leaving Derpy alone. Something inside her toggled to defence, and she raised her ears high and cranked her analytical sound and energy receptors up. She caught a glimpse of the energy she recognized as Pinkie Pie and headed for it. 

She found the mare gathering boxes near a stand of baked goods and announced, “Pinkie Pie, I will not be attending the party today.”

“What?! Why?” Pinkie yelped, whirling on her with wide, worried eyes. “Is something wrong?!”

“No, absolutely not,” Sparks said. “But I am now stuck in a time loop and I do not wish to tire of your parties. I will take a break today.”

“Time what?” Pinkie Pie repeated.

“A time loop. Where one relives the same day over and over again,” Sparks explained.

“Ooh. Okay,” she said.

Sparks tilted her head.

“You do not seem perturbed,” she said.

“Perturbed? Nah! That’s okay,” Pinkie said. “A welcome party can change pretty easy into a party party. Don’t worry. Come by next time though, okay?”

“I will.”

“And, uh, what’s your favourite kind of party?” Pinkie asked.

“Of all the ones I’ve been too, my favourite is the one with few ponies so that I may converse with all of them.”

“Okay, gotcha, thanks!” Pinkie said.

She grabbed her boxes and skipped off, singing to herself.

Sparks was pleased that Pinkie Pie was not unhappy with her choice, though her reaction puzzled her. She supposed it wasn’t particularly important right now, however, and she made her way to the viewing area for the race. A few ponies gave her some stray looks, but no one approached her until Twilight Sparkle took note of her and headed over with a smile on her face.

“Hi,” she said brightly. “How’s being a pony working out for you? Are you liking it around town?”

“Everything is pleasant, thank you,” Sparks said. “I have learned much already.”

Twilight smiled and nodded.

“I like your mane,” she said. “Did Derpy do that for you?”

“No. A unicorn, Rarity,” she replied.

“Oh! Nice,” she said. “So, you excited for the race? It’s starting soon. Oh! I'm sorry, do robots get excited?”

“I am more interested in Derpy catching Spike as he falls, to be honest,” Sparks replied.

“What?! Spike falling, what are you talking about?” Twilight asked.

“A harsh wind will pick up and Spike the dragon will fall from the hot air balloon,” Sparks said. “But worry not, Derpy will catch him, as she has done for the last eight days.”

“Uh…”

Twilight stared at her blankly and then shot her a look as if questioning her sanity. When Sparks didn’t move her eyes from the sky, Twilight bit her lip.

“You can’t be serious, right?” she asked.

“Why would I not be serious?” Sparks wondered.

The race began and Twilight winced, whatever she had been about to say lost to her until the wind picked up, just as Sparks had said. Her eyes widened and she looked at the metal unicorn fearfully. 

“Omigosh, you…! How did you—?! I gotta go, I—“

“Do not worry. Go to the pond to meet them,” she said.

Twilight fumbled for a moment before sprinting off and Sparks lifted her head. Her internal sensors began firing and she detected a strange magical signal. It was very powerful and unusual; it stood out to her immediately. She focussed everything she could on it and took off running. Dodging through the crowd of spectators, switching her vision not to see images as normal, but to read the energy every creature gave off. She instantly saw something she couldn’t place; a small creature flying in the sky. The form wasn’t one she recognized and neither was the energy. Curious, determined to reach it, her horn lit up and she projected a magnetic field down and along the lower reaches of her body, scattering controlled, metallic and magnetic particles around herself; propelling herself upwards. She was unsteady at first, but used her energy to lift herself higher until she was standing in the sky and could reach the strange form.

“Hello,” she said, “why do you cause this wind?”

She received no response but a high-pitched giggling, and was suddenly assaulted by a barrage of cold, cutting wind. Her processors struggled to hold everything in place, but nonetheless, she toppled to the ground, hitting it hard. She quickly analyzed herself; her eyes flickered back to regular vision. Strangely, the spot in the sky seemed empty. 

Superficial exterior damage only.

Her mind switched quickly into offence, her vision resumed targeting energy, and, after lifting herself to her hooves, her horn lit up blue once more and she used her magnetic energy to soar into the sky. She heard the laughter again and shot, lightning searing the air and creating a resounding boom.


---


Derpy jumped as she heard the sound, almost dropping Spike into the water herself as she carried him back to land. He yelped, as did she, but she regained her grip as she wondered, “What was that?!”

“Sounds like thunder to me,” Spike said as she placed him down. “But there’s no way they would have scheduled that on a race day, would they?”

Derpy was about to answer, but was cut off as Twilight teleported on top of them with a loud zapping sound, shouting, “Spike!!” before she, too, toppled over.

“Oof, Twilight, be careful!” he said. “What?”

“Did you fall? Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I wasn’t sure where the pond was in relation to—! Oh, never mind.”

She pulled him into a hug, and Derpy as well, much to her surprise.

“Hey, Twilight, relax! Everyone’s okay,” he said. “Yeah, I fell, but only a couple feet. Derpy caught me just fine!”

The unicorn took a deep breath and released them, flinching at another loud crack of thunder before she smiled.

“Derpy, your robot friend was right,” she said.

“What? Did Sparks say something to you?”

“Sparks? Well, yes. She said something about Spike falling and I just freaked right out,” she said. “I’m glad everything’s okay. Thank you for catching—“

Twilight was cut off as Rainbow Dash careened into them.

“Derpy! Good catch! Did you hear anything about thunder today? What is up with this?”

“No, I…” 

Another boom made Derpy unable to finish her thought, and then another. A sudden sinking feeling caught her and she turned her gaze skywards. Her eyes widened.

“Sparks?!” she yelped.

She took off, flapping as hard as she could to get airborne quickly and rushed to follow the sound of thunder.

As she drew closer, it was clear that Sparks was doing something violent. Ignoring the fact that the robot seemed to be floating, she was shooting electric energy, concentrated and shining white-blue, stronger than anything she had shot when hunting Time Turner. She clearly had a target, but Derpy couldn’t see it.

“Sparks! What are you doing?!” she called. “How are you up here?”

The robot’s head whipped in her direction-- Derpy was taken aback by her eyes shining red.

“Derpy Hooves, get out of here!” she said loudly.

Derpy’s eyes widened, but before she could move, Sparks rushed to put her body between  Derpy and a powerful, freezing blast of air that knocked them both askew. Sparks fired again, striking through the air several times with blue light that dazed the pegasus as she flapped hard to try to regain her balance. She picked up a strange noise; it sounded like the giggle of a young filly. It chilled Derpy almost more than the wind did. She was sure she had heard it before. 

Sparks was having trouble in the air; Derpy wasn’t sure how she had gotten herself aloft, but she could only describe her movements as slippery, and not in a way that was beneficial. Something hit the robot from the side and sent her spinning towards the ground; she managed to aim up and fire off another lightning shot. This time, much to Derpy’s surprise, she connected with something. A shimmering, iridescent shell moved over a small, dark form, and whoever was inside laughed before vanishing completely. 

Derpy’s first instinct was to fly away as fast as possible, but she saw Sparks relax somewhat. She righted herself and slowly ascended to join Derpy.

“That creature was not in my database,” she stated.

“What creature?” Derpy asked nervously. “I… I couldn’t see anything. And how are you flying?”

“Magnetic fields,” she said. “Though it is taking up quite a bit of my power. And I suppose the creature was using a shield of some sort.”

Derpy bit her lip.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Damage is minimal,” she said. “Mostly external. Superficial. Though I will need to pop out a portion of my left rib-plate. It has been jammed inwards.”

“Right. Right, okay,” Derpy said.

She took a deep breath and was about to suggest they head home when she heard a familiar voice wailing, “Bloody hell!” 

She looked up, eyes wide, and was so shocked by the sight of Time Turner plummeting downwards she almost didn’t react in time to get out of the way. Instantly, she folded her wings and dropped, grabbing his forelimb. He was far too heavy, though, and she yelped as he dragged her down.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” he shouted.

Derpy unfurled her wings to slow them, her vision spinning as she tried to find something to cushion their fall. The green of a tree stood out and she aimed for it, and they both grunted as they flopped into the branches, only slightly cushioned by the leaves. On the upside, they had slowed down to the point where, when Time Turner flopped out of the tree onto his back, the most upset he could manage was, “Ow.” 

Derpy’s wandering eye was making her dizzy and she had to scrunch both eyes shut for a moment before she stuck her head out of the tree to look below.

“How in Equestria did you get up there?” she asked shrilly.

Time Turner rolled over, blowing his mane from his face.

“You know how I said I was staying home? Not entirely true. Didn’t intentionally lie, though, I just thought, maybe I’d go out and check other places for that Winter Once More book. Just in case.” He rubbed his eyes. “Well, I saw you and Sparks up there and I wanted to help and instead I end up falling from the sky like a total moron. Thanks for catching me, by the way.”

Derpy laughed tiredly and flopped from the tree, stumbling to the grass and plopping onto her rump. She rubbed her mane and Time Turner started laughing. He sounded exhausted.

“So what, exactly, were you doing up there?” he asked.

“Ask Sparks.”

“Alright. OI, SPARKS!”

The robot quickly reached them, lowering herself to the ground, the glow of her horn finally dimming, as did the red in her eyes.

“What happened up there?” Time Turner asked.

“There was a small laughing creature up there,” she said, “under a shield of some sort. She was causing the strong wind. I confronted her and she attacked me, so I retaliated.”

“What kind of creature?” he asked.

“Nothing I recognized,” she replied, “but I also did not get a good look. It was invisible.”

“Lovely.” Time Turner rolled his eyes and laughed dryly. “Oh, and by the way, there isn’t a single copy of that book left in town. In case anyone was wondering.”

“Ooh, yay, more mysteries,” Derpy joked; she rubbed her forehead and then waved Sparks over. “Let me help you with that rib plate. What do I do?”

“Ah. Thank you,” she said as she approached Derpy and turned her side to her, “Just place your hoof here.”

Derpy’s eyes widened when a spot lit up blue and she laughed.

“Right.” 

She placed her hoof so that it covered the light and the robot said, “Push hard and I can do the rest.” 

Derpy did as she was asked and, after a few seconds, there was a loud clicking noise.

“Thank you,” said Sparks.

“So what was that hovering?” Time Turner asked. “Extreme magnets or something? How did you manage that?”

“I am unsure what extreme magnets would be, but I did use magnetic fields below and around my body,” she said. “Though I’m not sure how I came up with it. I suppose it must have been in my programming to begin with.”

She turned her gaze skyward and the shadow of a frown appeared on her face.

“In any case, I do not trust that creature in the sky.”

“Think it’s connected?” Derpy wondered.

“I’m not ruling anything out at this point,” Time Turner said; he stood up and stretched, wincing and grumbling, “Rubbish,” at himself. 

“You are injured,” Sparks said; her eyes flashed. “Oh. Your body is repairing. Derpy, you, too, are injured. You should treat those bruises with ice and rest.”

“Don’t worry,” the pegasus assured her, “by tomorrow, they’ll be gone.”

“Hopefully the bruises won’t be the only thing that’s gone by tomorrow,” Time Turner said.

---

Staying up that night was an anxious affair. Derpy thought she would be fine at first, but the later it got, the more anxiety knotted her stomach and made her feel sick and chilly. She gnawed her hoof absently, sitting in the corner of the couch, curled in on herself, wings pulled tight. Sparks stood still as a statue between the chair and sofa, and Time Turner paced back and forth, asking the robot what time it was every ten minutes on the dot. 

Derpy took a break around two in the morning to make tea, a generic black mix from the market. It wasn’t as caffeine heavy as coffee, but she was pretty particular about what kind she drank and had run out a few days before Time Turner had come to stay. As she served up the tea with milk and sugar, Time Turner dumped both liberally into his cup.

“Maybe… Maybe some music would help,” she suggested quietly.

“You sound scared,” the stallion commented.

“Only scared? That’s good,” Derpy joked, though she couldn’t stop her voice from warbling. 

She sipped her tea a little too fast and choked, coughed for a little as Time Turner shot her a concerned look. She slumped on the sofa; the stallion moved to the phonograph.

“Just not the jazz thing,” he laughed.

“Just flip it over.”

Time Turner looked confused and lifted the whole phonograph and Derpy snickered, saying, “No, no, just the record.”

“Oh. That makes more sense.”

The music that played was slower jazz, relaxing and smooth. Derpy assured herself that it would help but she couldn’t trick her mind into believing it.

As the time closed in, Derpy felt her eyelids getting heavy in spite of her nerves and her greatest attempts to keep them open.

“I’m… I’m getting really tired,” she said.

It took a moment for Time Turner to reply. 

“Me too.” He shook his head quickly. “Very suddenly. Is it time yet, Sparks?”

“It’s a little early,” she said, “but perhaps the spell is early.”

Time Turner rubbed his eyes, but he felt almost like he was about to fall over.

“Y… Yes. Yes! Okay, look for the energy.”

Sparks nodded and her eyes lit up brightly. Derpy squinted, having trouble focussing; the light blurring as her left eye seemed fascinated with the back wall.

“Y… Yeah. Yep. I’m passing out,” she said, her voice quiet despite her best efforts.

Grimacing, Time Turner walked, lurching a little, towards her and grabbed her hoof. She dropped her tea onto the rug but she was too tired to protest. He pulled her over to Sparks and he asked, “You have it?”

“Detected,” she said, “but it is strange, because—“

“Hang on,” he said, he raised his hoof to her head, feeling like his knees were going to give out, but hurriedly, the robot lowered herself.

He pushed his hoof against her head, unsure exactly of what to do, but trying to keep his mind on Ellie. The glow of Sparks’s eyes shifted to vibrant green and Time Turner felt a strange, tingling heat run through his body. He recognized the feeling. Beside him, Derpy went limp and flopped to the ground. He yelped and pulled her close, but he felt his grip getting weak; his vision flashed over white before he could say a thing.

In an instant, all he could see was blue lights and he heard the thud of his own body on the ground. One more thud and a heavy, metallic thump followed, but he couldn’t get up. He was too tired. He couldn’t even make himself say a word, even as his mind demanded he ask if his friends were okay. His eyelids drooped.

A flash of blue light and a melodic, artificial chime woke him up as if he had been doused in cold water. He jumped to his hooves, eyes wide, to see Ellie before him, wings spread, eyes closed as if in concentration. He winced against another pulse of light only to realize that it was some sort of energy. He didn’t know why, but it reminded him of a shield— something protective, at the very least. He heard some shuffling and whirled to see Derpy on the ground, her eyelids fluttering open. Sparks was beside her, eyes lighting up turquoise from blank and black.

“Everyone okay?” Time Turner demanded.

“What happened?” Her expression suddenly shifted from half-asleep to worry and embarrassment. “Oh, gosh, how long was I out?”

“I was shut down for five minutes and thirty seven seconds,” Sparks said as she sat up. “I assume it was the same for you.”

“Shut down?” Time Turner repeated.

“Oh, no, but what about the recording?” the pegasus asked as she stumbled upright.

“I am sorry,” Sparks began, but hurriedly, Ellie chirped and spun around them. 

She seemed rather proud.

“Ellie,” Time Turner said, “thank you for whatever you did to wake us up. Did… Did the transfer work?”

The little wyvern spun in place and her body burst into particles of light, only to reform into what appeared to be a strange, coded message. Sparks’s eyes flashed and she said, “Thank you,” as Ellie returned to normal.

“Give me just a moment.” The robot’s eyes flashed once more and her body let out a low hum. “As I suspected, the creature responsible for the aggressive wind is also responsible for the spell.”

Derpy shot Time Turner a worried look, biting her lip.

“So what do we do? Find her?” she said.

“We have to,” Time Turner said. “Sparks? Can you track her?”

Sparks was silent for a few moments, and Ellie buzzed and chirped into her ears. 

“I can,” she said.

The stallion couldn’t help a grin and Derpy looked relieved despite the fear she felt.

“And what are we going to do?” she asked quietly. “Just ask her to stop?”

“We’ll figure it out once we get there,” Time Turner said. “Lead the way, Sparks.”

Sparks lead them outside, irises shifting to red as she cast her gaze over town. Her ears were up, swiveling, and, after only a few seconds worth of analysis, she took off at a sprint. Though Derpy had to glide to keep up at all, they were quickly on their way as Sparks lead them out of town and up to an overlooking hill. The pegasus knew it well; had recently watched a meteor shower from there. She went a little ahead, and then landed and turned, about to ask Sparks if she saw the creature anywhere. Sparks wasn’t there though. In fact, nothing was; the hill was gone. Looking down quickly, Derpy’s stomach dropped: her hooves felt solid and steady enough, but she stood suspended in the night sky as if walking on a glass stage. She gulped deeply and. when she looked up, she was met by a filly sized creature floating before her.

She had wings, but wasn’t flapping, and a unicorn’s horn, though it wasn’t glowing. Most of her body was dark grey and somewhat pony like, but her limbs were mismatched: one, a spotted cat’s paw, another, a bird’s talon, and the back leg that was not a hoof was a dragon’s claw. Her tail was long, purple, and serpentine and tufted and maned with black and turquoise fur that mimicked the tomboyish mane fell down past her neck, between two horns like that of a ram. She grinned her fangs, yellow eyes alight with amusement.

“So, you found me,” she said. “Congratulations.”

“H… How… How are you doing this?” Derpy asked.

“I’d like to ask you the same thing. Different context. How’d you get free of my spell?”

Derpy gulped.

“I… I’m not really sure,” she admitted. “But, who are you? Why did you cast a spell like that?”

“You don’t know me?” she asked, and then giggled. “Ooh, how funny! That must be so frustrating. Living day after day the same, not knowing what’s going on, and you don’t even know me yet, so you must’ve been so lost! Hah!”

Derpy bit her lip. 

“I… I don’t understand.”

“Figures.”

The creature rolled her eyes.

“Fine. I’m Paradox,” she snapped, “and that’s all you’re getting! Your boyfriend should know, ask him!”

“Wh… What? Okay,” Derpy said, her ears drooping. “I’m… sorry you’re so upset, but—?”

“But what?” she retorted. “Stop bothering you? Why should I? You never did what I wanted!”

“I don’t understand,” Derpy repeated.

“You read the book, right?”

Paradox was surrounded in the blink of an eye by books— hundreds of them, all the same, the title missing from all over town— circling her like the rings around a planet, spinning quickly enough to be instantly disorienting for Derpy. She winced and took an uneasy step backwards.

“Sometimes bad things happen and you just gotta let them,” she said. “That was one of the morals of this stupid story, right?”

“I don’t—“

“Of course you don’t! You’re so dim!” she said, and she laughed as Derpy’s ears drooped low. “All you had to do was let the dragon fall. Isn’t that simple?”

The pegasus was taken aback, eyes widening.

“But he could drown if I did that!” she said.

“Oh, yeah, totally. He could totally drown,” Paradox agreed.

Derpy felt suddenly sick to her stomach.


---


“Where is she?! Where’d she go?” 

Time Turner grabbed Sparks by the shoulders, and the robot’s red vision pulsed out a bright light that made him see spots.

“Up,” she said.

“Up?” Time Turner repeated. “Okay. Fine. Can you fly me?”

“Unfortunately not,” Sparks said. “My power levels are relatively low, I doubt I would be able to sustain both of us in flight for more than a minute or two.”

The stallion bit his lip. He looked around.

“Can you see her?” he asked.

“Somewhat.”

“So where do I go?”

“Straight up.”

Time Turner bit his lip. He ground his hooves into the dirt and concentrated all his thoughts on Derpy and tried to force the energy inside him to work properly for once. He felt the heat tingling through his body and a sort of connecting feeling, and, in a blink, his vision fogged over. It was barely for a second, though, and as soon as he could see again, he was eye-to-eye with a strange creature he recognized.

“Oh!! Cheater!” she barked, gliding backwards as he dropped onto what he could only describe as solid air. 

“Time Turner?” Derpy yelped.

“What’s the meaning of pulling Derpy up here, eh?” the stallion demanded. “You’re Paradox, right? 

“Oh, good, someone who isn’t totally clueless,” she said. “So, tell me. You figured it out, right?”

“I don’t know what you—“

“Of course you do! You knew how to break the spell, right?”

Time Turner winced as Derpy looked at him with shock.

“I suspected, but—-“	

“And you didn’t tell her?” Paradox laughed and said, “Coward!” in a sing-song voice. “But then again, what else is new?”

“I’ve heard enough,” Time Turner said, he backed up and grabbed Derpy, saying. “C’mon, I think I can brute-force this.”

Paradox laughed.

“What? You think you can just zap out of here? In your state? You really don’t know who I am, do you?”

Time Turner meant to ignore her; started to focus on moving himself and Derpy, but he was shocked from concentration when the world around them switched— they were no longer in the sky, but on top of a mountain in the blinding sun.

“Wh-What?” Derpy stammered.

Paradox giggled and everything changed again; they were standing underwater. Another shift, and they were in the middle of a bustling city. Derpy was shaking, moved in close to Time Turner fearfully, but found herself yanked away involuntarily as they stood in the sky once more. She yelped, floating in midair, and the stallion shouted, “Derpy!!” before whirling on Paradox. 

“What are you doing?!” he demanded.

She grinned. 

The area around them shifted again, and again, faster and faster until it was all a blur. Derpy looked like she was going to be sick. Time Turner tried to run to her, but found himself stuck still.

“Let her go!” Time Turner yelled. “You’re a time traveler, yeah? Then your issue must be with me, not her!”

“Wrong,” Paradox laughed, but she dropped the pegasus nonetheless, who crumpled, suspended on invisible ground. 

“Derpy!” he yelled. “Derpy, are you okay?!”

“I… I can’t… I can’t look,” she said weakly; she started trying to get up, but for some reason she couldn’t seem to get her legs under her.

Time Turner’s stomach sunk and he glowered at Paradox.

“Why are you doing this?” 

Paradox didn’t answer, but she looked amused nonetheless. Time Turner glared and braced his body, trying to force his energy out. This, finally, seemed to interest the floating creature. 

With a surge of white energy, Time Turner dropped to the ground and rushed her; she sent him away with a thought. He growled and jumped again, uncoordinated as he was. He didn’t get closer until the third try; by now, Paradox was starting to giggle again.

“You’re really bad at this,” she said. 

With a slight narrowing of her eyes, she flung him back and he flopped heavily against whatever surface was below, while around them, the worlds sped up farther to the point where Time Turner could barely even discern different colours. 

Derpy struggled upright again, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she yelped with pain and her legs gave out. Time Turner forced himself up, snorting, and cast a worried look at the pegasus. She was crying, clutching her head with both forehooves.

Time Turner’s vision tunnelled; rage pounded in his chest.

“STOP IT!” he roared.

Paradox laughed. Time Turner bared his teeth; felt his body go white-hot. His vision scrambled-- he jumped-- he saw nothing but Paradox, even until he rammed his head into her. Her giggles changed into a startled wail and she tumbled off and popped away, the world jerking to stop in a field of white. Hurriedly, the stallion dropped down beside Derpy and scooped her into his hooves, cooing gently into her ears, promising everything would be okay. Her small body was shaking but she opened her eyes-- her wandering eye was moving quickly and erratically, as if trying to follow a darting wasp. 

“My head is killing me,” she breathed.

“I know. I know. It’s over now,” he assured her. “I... I’ll get us back. Hang on to me.”

Derpy nodded and held him tight, clamping her eyes shut; Time Turner sucked in a deep breath and let the power within him swell. He focussed on Ponyville, home, everything that was familiar to him--something for whatever power he had to latch onto. He felt something catch and let it take him. 

He felt his stomach drop; his back hit something cushy, though it knocked the wind out of him nonetheless. Derpy slumped on top of him and he winced; opening his eyes. He blinked heavily, quickly realizing that he was in Derpy’s living room. He let out a deep sigh. 

“We’re safe,” he assured her. 

Derpy cringed; she blinked and looked around, still jumpy. She slumped, hugging onto Time Turner, shaking and muttering, “Dear Celestia.” The stallion clutched her closer.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You’re safe.”

“Y... Yeah.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She shook her head, but she buried her face against his neck. 

“Sorry,” she muttered. “I still can’t see. I’m too dizzy.”

“That’s alright. Take your time.”

She nodded, her ears drooping. The shaking soon subsided, and, to his surprise, she began to laugh a little. He looked down at her and she pulled back: though her eyes were closed and still watery, she was smiling a bit.

“That was so scary. Gosh.” 

“Then why are you laughing?”

He tilted his head. She sat back, rubbing her snout, giggling. 

“I’m so relieved,” she said. 

He couldn’t help but smile along with her; he sat up, wriggling his hooves from underneath her to ruffle her mane affectionately.

“You still have such a great attitude, Derpy,” he said, his ears perking a bit.

The sound of heavy hooves distracted them both and Sparks entered the room from the hallway. Derpy blinked her eyes open and squinted.

“Sparks! Hi!”

“Ah, good, you have returned,” she said. “The time loop was reset while you were gone, but the magic energy was dissipated seconds after the day repeated. It is over.”

Time Turner’s eyes widened and he and Derpy shared a look.

“You’re sure?” Time Turner asked.

“I asked Eltanin this morning. She assured me that creating a time loop is no easy feat. If you were not in bed as expected this morning, you would be free of it.”

Derpy smiled wide and began to snicker and Time Turner soon found himself laughing along with her.

“I’m not sure what is so humourous,” Sparks said.

Derpy couldn’t help it, she laughed harder— so hard it made her ribs hurt. When she finally settled, wiping tears from her eyes, Time Turner patted her shoulder.

“One more time?” he said.

She nodded.

“And then I am throwing that record right out the window.”