//------------------------------// // Chapter 70 - Angels and Pegasi // Story: My Family and Other Equestrians // by Blade Star //------------------------------// I was standing on my hind legs, on a stool in the hallway of the Apple family’s home. Just above me was the relatively large clock that had sat there for the better part of thirty years, ticking. Only problem was that the morning after my date with Applejack, it was found to have stopped; completely packed up, and no amount of tapping or shaking would get it going again. So, it had been decided that it ought to be taken to Time Turner’s shop to see if he could mend it. This of course, meant removing the large, and unexpectedly heavy clock, from the wall. I had decided to not use my magic on it for the moment. After all, one slight slip up and the results would be most unfortunate, for the clock and for me. It wasn’t that I wasn’t confident in my abilities, just that this was a very old and very delicate piece of clockwork. And, hooves do possess an uncanny ability to hold things that they ought not to be able to. After all, I routinely see AJ tie her mane up with her hooves. Anyway, I was struggling with this unwieldy old clock, both trying to steadily remove it from its mounting and keep my balance on my hind legs. Not an easy task, I can tell you. “Come on ya apple pickin’, son of a…” I seethed as the evil clock demon continued to outwit me. “Need a hoof there, Bones?” a voice called from behind. Instantly, I nearly lost my footing and wobbled on my precarious perch, with the clock and its’ mounting being the only thing holding me up. After I recovered myself, I turned around and looked down to see Applejack, looking as innocent as possible. I took a moment to catch my breath. “Hayseed, AJ, ya spooked me there,” I said as I resettled the clock. Rather than pushing my luck, I climbed back down the small step ladder I had been using. “Ah can’t get the dang thing off.” Applejack looked up at my nemesis and climbed up the step ladder. In one fluid motion, she lifted the clock off its mounting, balanced it on her back and brought it back down, setting it at my hooves. I was, needless to say, gobsmacked. “AJ, anytime Ah try to tell somepony how dexterous magic is, remind me of this will ya?” Applejack merely grinned, tucking both her right legs to the side a little in an unsuccessful attempt to look nonchalant. I carefully lifted the clock into the small box I’d gotten to transport it, having covered it in ‘fragile’ markings. The thing was covered by rolls of bubble wrap and padded with Styrofoam. I then hoisted the whole thing onto my back to transport it better. “Alright, Ah best be getting on into town then. Ya fancy joinin’ me, AJ? We can grab a bite to eat or somethin’ while we’re there.” Sadly, Applejack shook her head. “Sorry, Bones,” she said, disappointment evident in her voice. “Ah gotta stick around here today. But would ya mind takin’ AB with ya?” “This about what the Crusaders did to Time Turner’s erm, time turner?” I asked, having a good idea what was going on. Applejack nodded. “The darn thing was mighty expensive, but he says he happy with an apology, so if ya just let her tag along, then we can put this all to bed.” “Until their next crusading experiment,” I replied jokingly. To be fair, it’s a small minority of their attempts to find cutie marks that result in...incidents. But, they are the ones everypony remembers. I headed towards the door, turning at the bottom of the stairs. “Apple Bloom!” I called. “Come on down here will ya, you’re comin’ with me to Ponyville.” She appeared at the top of the stairs a moment later. All three of the Crusaders were quite embarrassed over what happened; they certainly don’t set out to cause trouble after all. Knowing Time Turner, he wouldn’t be mad at them either, but still, it was a five thousand bit, ornate, eight foot tall time measuring device. With her at my side, I called to Granny Smith, who was working in the kitchen. “Granny, me and AB are headin on out to get that clock of yours looked at!” Granny Smith hollered something back at me that once upon a time had been an affirmative, and then the two of us set out. The sun had only recently broken through the clouds when we set off. For the past day or so, the weather had been incredibly British; neither raining, nor turning sunny, just a continuous overcast making both the day and night quite miserable. Apple Bloom trotted alongside me, every now and then helping me to keep the heavy box centred on my back. She seemed relatively happy considering the circumstances of her visit. Back when I was a youngster, being taken to apologise to someone I’d wronged was like a march to the scaffold; damned inconvenient. However, in this case, I decided that AB had ‘figured out’ Time Turner. The Crusaders were sorry, and they had apologised profusely already, but Granny Smith and Rarity had insisted that they all go to Time Turner and apologise formally. You can’t make a foal be sorry, just say it. I think Time Turner appreciated this fact. And of course, he wasn’t that mad with them, at the time, he’d all but burst out laughing. Both parties saw the apology as being a little unnecessary, I’m fairly certain that Time Turner was content to merely move on and say no more about it. But societal norms had intervened and so you ended up with three fillies, making an apology to a pony who didn’t actually want one, due to pressure from others. At least it’s nice to see societal interference isn’t restricted to little things like love and personal relationships. The two of us chatted amicably as we made our way into town. Upon entering Ponyville, we found it to be a little quieter than usual. Not unexpected, after all school had been let out not two hours ago and most folks were thinking about heading on home. Of course, we still had plenty of time before Time Turner would be shutting up shop for the night. I decided that to take AB’s mind off this whole business, I’d treat her to a bit of stargazing later on. The Weather Patrol had promised clear skies tonight and the moon was only at a waxing crescent, so it would be easy enough to see most of the stars. “You know, Blade Star,” Apple Bloom was saying. “It’s been kinda weird at school this week, having your mom replacing Miss Cheerilee every now and again.” A thought occurred to me. “Say, AB, who do ya reckon is the better teacher; Miss Cheerilee or my mom?” Apple Bloom looked conflicted for a moment. “And don’t just say its Mom to stay in my good books,” I added smiling. “Well…Ah suppose Ah haven’t had anypony but Miss Cheerilee teach me since, well forever. But your mom is a mighty good teacher. She’s real good keeping Diamond Tiara in her place too. At the moment, Ah’d have to say they’re ‘bout even.” A prudent enough answer I suppose. “Ah was just wonderin’ is all,” I replied. “Ya see, back when Ah was a young’un, my mom used to come into my school every once in a while to help out.” I subconsciously shuddered at the memory. “It was mighty strange havin your own mom in school with ya; Ah thought ya might be pickin’ up that same sort of vibe.” I shook my head as we neared Time Turner’s shop. The door was open and the little sign was out front, so we were in good time. “Here we are, AB. Shouldn’t take more than a minute or so. Lookin’ at that old thing, Ah doubt Time Turner will be able to get it fixed tonight. How ‘bout we make a quick stop at Sugarcube Corner on the way back?” The little filly nodded eagerly at the prospect of sugary treats. Passing through the front door, my ears were assaulted with the usual cacophony of ticking clocks and occasional chimes. But other than that; it was quiet. Usually when somepony comes in, the old Timelord usually shouts something from wherever he is. “Hello? Doctor?” I called as we trotted inside. Heading up to the front desk, I set the clock down safely on the counter and tapped the small service bell with a hoof. “Time Turner, ya in here?” Again, I got no response. This was now slightly worrying, I knew for a fact that he’d never leave his store, and all the scientific equipment that Equestria shouldn’t have yet, without locking up first, so he had to be in here somewhere. I leaned over the counter slightly, putting my front hooves on it. Peering through the doorway, I could see the clear shadow of two ponies, one earth pony, presumably Time Turner, and a pegasus. Judging by the position of the shadows that were cast by the lamplight, the two were facing each other at very close quarters. Now I knew for sure something was seriously wrong. “Apple Bloom, why don’t you just stay back here for a minute okay? Ah’m just gonna take a quick snoop ‘round,” I said quietly, both to keep her calm and not alert any potential assailant. However, the filly saw clean through me. “Blade Star, what’s goin’ on?” she asked, worry creeping into her voice. “Nothin’ for ya to worry ‘bout, little lady,” I replied. “Just hold up here a minute, okay? Ah’ll be back in a second.” And so, leaving AB at the front of the store, and hopefully out of harm’s way, I moved into the rear part of the shop. I charged my horn with a stun spell as I edged my way forward. Whatever this pegasus was doing, I was fairly certain he’d back away from a unicorn with some practice in defensive magic. Celestia willing, he’d flee if I could surprise him. I continued to creep forward; neither of the two silhouettes seemed to be moving, except for some occasional breathing from Time Turner. No words were exchanged between the two of them. In fact, the pegasus didn’t even appear to be that threatening. Finally, I rounded the corner, coming up alongside Time Turner. “Alright, friend, just stay where ya are!” I warned the pegasus. Only it wasn’t a pegasus. It wasn’t even Equestrian. The realisation of what stood before me made my blood run cold. “Oh by the moon,” I muttered. “Don’t speak!” Time Turner hissed angrily. “Just don’t move and we’ll be okay,” I tried to avoid looking at the creature that stood before me in the eye, knowing that to do so for too long would be to lose my nerve. “Where in the name of Celestia did that thing come from?!” I demanded in a similar shouting whisper. “My guess would be Canterlot,” he replied eventually. “It may have followed me through when I found myself on this world. I guess I didn’t seal the tear fast enough. It probably blended in there for a while, gathering energy. Then it followed me here.” And then, just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse. “Hey, Blade Star, ya okay back there?” I heard the voice of Apple Bloom. Her call was promptly followed by the sound of small hooves on the wooden floor. While I didn’t dare turn my head, I felt her standing next to me. “Blade Star, what’s the matter?” she asked after observing the pair of us for a moment. In a vain effort to protect her from the thing that stood before us, I put a leg around her. “Apple Bloom, listen to me very carefully. Don’t run, don’t turn your back, don’t look away, and don’t blink. Blink and we’re done for. Whatever you do, don’t blink.” I felt a tear start to run down my cheek, so great was my terror. Quite ironic really. Before us stood a stone pegasus; a statue. Its’ wings covered its eyes, as if it was weeping in sorrow. But the look on its features told a different story. It was smiling. At that moment, I felt certain that we were all dead. The three of us had been standing in almost total silence for a good ten minutes now. The pegasus hadn’t moved an inch; it remained quantum locked, and given that there were three of us looking at it, it would remain so for the moment. However, we’d reached the shop just before five in the afternoon. Before long it would be dark. Then, it would simply be a matter of when the lamps went out. My first thought was for Apple Bloom, the very first thing I tried to get her to do after finding myself relatively safe, was to get out of the shop and fetch Twilight. If I was going to get caught, I was damned if I was going to let the same happen to that little filly. And there I go with those paternal ramblings again. Try as I might though, Apple Bloom refused to leave me and Time Turner. She can be just as stubborn as her sister sometimes. In the end, I managed to convince her to move further away from us, into the lamplight. At least then, she’d have a chance. The sun was going down quickly and for once I longed for Celestia’s day. “Isn’t there anything we can do?” I asked Time Turner at length. “It’s just the one after all. If we both slowly back around toward the front of the shop…” Time Turner cut me off “If we slowly back around to the front, we have to go around a corner, and whichever way you look at it, we’ll lose sight of it for a moment. And a moment is all it needs. The damn thing got in through the back door, look where we are now. Backing away won’t help,” he replied. Having been in a state of near continuous terror for the past ten minutes or so, my nerves began to fail me. It started with a giggle, but before long, I was laughing loudly, like a complete madpony. “Did anypony see this coming?” I all but shouted. “Ah mean really, what are the odds that Ah end up coming to a shop Ah’ve only visited a half dozen times, on the exact day an evil creature also finds its way here? It’s brilliant!” I began to laugh hysterically again. I knew any second, despite every other emotion, I was going to turn and bolt like a coward. Luckily, before that, Apple Bloom intervened. “Blade Star, snap out of it!” she ordered, before smacking me across the face with a hoof. I promptly recovered my head. “Sorry ‘bout that,” I muttered, rubbing my cheek, though infinitely grateful. I’d never have forgiven myself if I’d abandoned them. As I was rubbing my cheek, I took my eyes off the pegasus for a moment and found myself looking at the far wall. On the wall, was our saviour; a mirror. “Doctor, do ya see what Ah see?” I asked, gesturing towards the mirror, but keeping my eyes on the pegasus for when he looked. “I see it, too bad it’s facing the wrong way,” he replied bitterly. An idea began to form in my head. “Doc, these things have basic predatory instincts, right? So they’ll always attack whichever being they see as bein’ either the easiest kill, or the one that puts their survival at greatest risk.” “I don’t mean to rush you,” Time Turner replied. “But, erm, angel, about four feet away!” “If somepony was behind it, they could potentially injure it, right? If somepony’s still looking at it, it can’t move to escape, and it would take the first opportunity to dispatch that threat.” “And it would turn and face the mirror!” Time Turner finished, now sounding excited. “I love it!” “What are you two talkin’ ‘bout?” Apple Bloom asked. I did my best to summarise the basic ‘rules’ of stopping angels. “AB, whilst somepony’s lookin’ at this thing, it’s just a statue and it can’t hurt nopony. But we can’t keep lookin’ at it forever. But, if it looks at its own reflection, it’ll never be able to look away, so it’ll be stuck there forever and we can get away!” “Ah,” said Time Turner. I turned to him for a second. “What?” “The mirror isn’t that large. Whoever plays bait will have to get caught. There’s no way you could dodge it in time. Once it catches them, it’ll see the mirror and lock up.” Well that sucked. There were three of us here; an apple farmer, a small filly and a twelve hundred year old alien who had saved the universe multiple times. Applying the utilitarian principle, it was fairly obvious who would be playing bait. I didn’t want to of course; I had a family, a marefriend, far more friends than I’d had back on Earth. Hay, I’d taken out a being that was a few steps shy of being a deity out to dinner once! I was reminded of Luna’s advice from all those months ago. I wasn’t going to play hero; I was going to bring this incident to its logical conclusion. “Then Ah guess Ah’m playin’ bait,” I said, with an air of finality. Apple Bloom immediately objected and tried to dissuade me. But I was having none of it. “Apple Bloom, it won’t kill me; that ain’t what there varmints do. It’ll send me back in time, Ah don’t know when, but Ah ought to be okay.” By this point Apple Bloom was in tears. Whichever way you cut it, to her I might as well be dead. She would never see me again. Even when the Doctor found the TARDIS, he couldn’t retrieve me and just bring me back; it would be crossing my own timeline. With a final kiss to the filly’s head, I moved around the angel. I was terrified; I didn’t want to do this. Why the hay did we have to come here today? Why didn’t I just let the hero play hero instead of doing this? What in the name of Celestia and Luna was I thinking? On the other hand, Time Turner would be needed if this didn’t work, and was not going to stand by whilst Apple Bloom was in danger. If this thing wasn’t stopped here, it could easily get out into the town and cause havoc. Hay, who knew how many ponies it had already caught back in Canterlot and on its way here. It was the logical thing to do; that’s what I kept telling myself. Eventually, I got into position and charged my horn. Now, if the pegasus tried to grab the Doctor and AB, I could probably hit it with magic and hurt it. Assuming it followed the basic laws of nature, when we closed our eyes, it would go for me. “Alright you two,” I called. “When Ah say ‘now’, close your eyes for a second. That’s all it’ll need. Once it’s safe, find Twilight and get her down here. With any luck she might be able to help.” “Good luck, lad,” Time Turner called. I braced myself, closing my eyes and breathing deeply. “Now!” I didn’t feel anything; there was no sensation of the pegasus touching me. Nor did I feel anything when I was propelled back through time and all the potential temporal energy I had was taken from me. What I do remember is that the landing was rough. For whatever reason, when I rematerialized, or whatever you want to call it, I was about two and a half feet in the air, and I landed on the ground with a dull thud. Right. So, I have become the first human, from my universe at any rate to travel through time. Damn it. I had no idea when I was. Weeping angles aren’t particular about where they send you, but, as Time Turner said, they are the kindest psychopaths, at least I wasn’t dead. So, anyway, first order of business, determine roughly where I am in the timeline and my general location. It was rather dark where I was, but I could make out a few things. Underhoof there were cobblestones, so wherever I was, it had to be one of the major cities of Equestria. It was fairly quiet too; the noise of general hubbub was just about audible. As my vision cleared, I realised I was in a darkened alleyway of some sort. Odd little ramshackle shops sat unsteadily in the crowded real estate. It sort of reminded me of the place where Trixie had illegally obtained the Alicorn Amulet. Looking in both directions yielded no obvious exit, so I settled on heading to my right and followed the alley. It had to come out somewhere after all. If I just stuck with one direction, I was bound to come out onto a thoroughfare in the end. I spent the next ten minutes or so, pretty much lost. Of course, being a male, I knew exactly where I was going, and to be fair, there wasn’t anypony else to ask for directions even if I wanted to. In the end though, after turning at pretty much random intervals, I saw daylight and my way out onto one of the busier streets. With any luck, I could get my bearings and make a rough guess as to where I was. As soon as I walked out into the light, the answer became clear as the day in which I stood. The gleaming golden spires, the towering ramparts, and the unashamedly aristocratic ponies around me told me I was in Canterlot. I figured I would stick out like a sore thumb in my Stetson. But a hoof to my head quickly informed me that my hat had not joined me on my travels. Maybe I’d stolen a bit from the Langoliers; when I left, my hat had dropped to the floor. At least I would be relatively inconspicuous. I made a conscious effort to reassert my old British accent too. With my location worked out, all I had to worry about now was my temporal location. I could only guess on how far back I had been sent, so I decided to go hunting for a newspaper stand and see if I could check the date. My rough plan then, since I was in Canterlot, was to go and try to get an audience with Princess Celestia, I doubted Luna would be ‘back’ yet. With any luck, she might be able to help me. Assuming I wasn’t judged to be absolutely nuts and carted off to the Equestrian version of Bedlam. It was then though, I looked up at the sky. Just out of habit really, and to take a look at the castle. What I saw though, gave me pause. The sky was pink. Not actually pink, you could tell it was blue, but the whole thing, the sky and the valley below, where I could just about make out Ponyville was tinted pink. Furthermore, all across my vision Royal Guard pegasi were criss crossing the sky in patrol patterns. Heightened security. A check of a nearby newspaper stand confirmed my suspicions. The date was April 19th, the year was 1002 CR. By our calendar, that was 2012. The headline read the following: ‘CANTERLOT PREPARES FOR ROYAL WEDDING.’ Bugger.