My Little Pony: The Element of Time

by Thunderwing250

Chapter 14: More Questions than Answers...

The Archivist gasped with horror.

“No. It can’t be…! The Element’s side effect,” she whispered.

Before anypony could do a thing, Twilight was fully turned to stone. Terrified, her friends rushed over to her, but sadly, it wasn’t fake. She was turned to stone, indicating the Element of Time saw her as unworthy to wield its power, and vanished without a trace. Spike walked over and touched the stone. All he could do is cry.

“TWILIGHT! WAKE UP, PLEASE!!” Spike wailed.

Pounding on Twilight's frozen body, Spike slid to his knees, losing all hope. Twilight’s friends mourned in tears, each one begging for her to wake up. Doctor Hooves and The Archivist stood beside each other and could shed a tear for the loss. The Archivist fell to her knees.

“This is my fault. I failed you, my master. I’m sorry,” she cried.

Timaeus heard her cry and landed on the ground to observe the scene. He winced. Knowing how much Twilight dedicated her time to save Equestria from destruction, walked over to the stone. The Archivist and Doctor Hooves looked up. Twilight's friends tried to block his way.

“This is your fault, Timaeus!” Rainbow Dash flew up in his face. “You knew this would happen! You guys all knew that stupid Element of Time could do this, and you made her do it anyway?! Turn her back! Fix her right now!”

“You must'nt speak to the master like that,” The Archivist said. “He's--”

“I don't care!” Rainbow Dash said. “I don't care how big, or how tough, or how strong, you mess with Twilight, you mess with all of us!!”

Glancing at her response, he realized Rainbow Dash's loyatly towards Twilight was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Noticing her teary eyes, along with her other friends, he stood calmly and smiled slightly. Walking past them like nothing, he approached the stone unicorn and bowed his head. By surprise, his unihorn glowed and then the stone began to glow. The Archivist and Doctor Hooves walked up.

“Master…” Doctor Hooves whispered. “But... it's forbidden.”

“The Element of Time may have judged her unworthy,” Timaeus said. “But I have not. She has sacrificed more than enough already, don't you agree?”

At that moment, Timaeus spoke an ancient language that made Twilight's body glow. As the stone’s light died down, Twilight laid on the ground, breathing heavily. Quickly, her friends rushed to assist her in disbelief.

“You alright, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Wha… what happened?” Twilight groaned.

Pinkie Pie was about to explain, but she was drowned out by the weeping mess of ponies and the small dragon that all piled onto Twilight to hug her close. Pinkie Pie laughed through her tears and joined them. Twilight smiled bashfully.

“Wow… Wait. Did we win?” Twilight asked.

Her friends pointed and saw Xenxus, turned to stone.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Twilight hugged all her friends but then got up and headed towards Princess Celestia. She shook her gently and then gave her a small bit of magic from her own horn. Celestia opened her eyes. She smiled.

“I know... I know that look. Congratulations, my dear Twilight.”

Twilight smiled with relief and the others ran over and helped Celestia up. There were many hugs all around.

Timaeus, The Archivist, and Doctor Hooves watched them from behind, and each broke a smile. Timaeus walked to the stoned Xenxus and stared deeply at it.

“If there’s one thing you underestimated, Xenxus, it’s the courage these group of friends showed and the will to sacrifice. Something you and your brothers lack,” he whispered.

Twilight noticed Timaeus by what remained of Xenxus. Curiously, she walked to him.

“What happens now? To Xenxus and the Element of Time?” she asked.

Timaeus turned to her.

“I will put Xenxus in a place where he can never return to Equestria. As for the Element of Time, it found itself a new resting place, where it will remain undisturbed,” Timaeus responded.

“But, what happened to me, exactly?” she asked. “Through all that crying, they said the Element turned me to stone. I thought that was permanent.”

“You forget I made the Element,” Timaeus said gently. “I alone can reverse its side effects.”

“Thank you. But what do we do now? So much has been destroyed? What will we do?” Twilight asked.

“As a matter of fact, you don't have to do a thing,” Timaeus replied, as his eyes glowed.

Twilight awoke suddenly, not even aware she had been asleep, and noticed she was in her bedroom the same place she was much earlier. Curious, she looked over to see Spike who was sound asleep. Confused at what had occurred ran outside and realized it was the next evening. Witnessing the streets empty and quiet, The Archivist walked into her room.

“You’re wondering what had happened?” she said.

Twilight turned.

“Yes. But how. How did--?” Twilight was interrupted.

“Timaeus is the Master of Time, and thus he has the capability of controlling time itself. In this case, he returned everything back to normal. If you went around and asked everypony what had occurred, they will not respond because they do not remember. Something Timaeus is known for,” The Archivist replied.

“But the Princesses? The Castle? Guards?” Twilight asked.

“They are all fine. The Castle was restored to the way it was before. It was never destroyed. As for Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and the guards, they are all okay. What you need is rest,” The Archivist responded.

Twilight could only become speechless. How could one single Alicorn return everything back to normal? That made her think, but then shook her head. All she wanted to know was if everypony was okay. Satisfied, she waved to the Archivist and returned to her castle. The Archivist, returning a wave, wasn’t all satisfied, however.

Xenxus’ appearance on Equestria deeply questioned her to a point of major concern. More specifically, how did he escape Tartarus? As night fell, she too felt exhausted from a long night and decided to return to her home to rest. Yet, at the same time, she still felt troubled by the recent incident. Then again, she continued to ignore it and could only think about sleep.

As all of Ponyville went to sleep, a ghostly figure walked through the town, as quiet as a predator, seeking its prey. Once it viewed Twilight’s castle, the ghostly figure grinned.

“You will pay… Twilight Sparkle…” the ghostly figure spoke as it vanished.

Hearing the voice echo in her mind, Twilight awoke. Thinking it was only a dream, she fell back to sleep. Doctor Hooves, who happened to been awake, heard the echo in his mind, which he realized, from the start of Xenxus’ appearance, the entire incident was orchestrated. The true mastermind behind this was the mystery. Tired from the incident, he decided to rest and recuperate.

“First Khaoios and now Xenxus...? Something is truly wrong and Ifear something far worse will reappear. Yet…are we ready?”