Out of Time

by Onomonopia

Where It All Went Wrong

"I'm sorry, did you just say...Clockwork?" Starlight asked.

"Indeed I did my dear. Why, does my name mean something to you?" Clockwork asked with a smile. "Perhaps you've heard my son bragging about his old stallion and how much I mean to him."

"Of...of course, that's where I've heard of you," Starlight recovered, plastering a smile on her face. "You're the father of one of the greatest heroes in the world. It's a shame that I didn't recognize you sooner!"

"Well, it's clear that you are new around here and are not used to meeting a pony of such stature such as myself," he said, puffing out his chest a little bit as he did so, only to deflate a moment later with a laugh. "But I will be the first to admit that I am grateful to have met one as friendly as yourself. After all, friendly ponies seem to be in short supply these days."

"Yes, of course. Um, would you mind if I asked you some questions or-"

Starlight was cut off as an explosion rocked the skyline, tuning all heads towards where the explosion went off. The massive skyscraper that towered over the entire city was now a ball of fire, with a dark pony circling around the outskirts of the fire raining black death and destruction down upon all who were within his line of sight. Around him circled three more ponies, who were all using their skills to try to fight back against the dark pony.

"That's...that's my son," Clockwork whispered, his eyes glued to the battle. "But the pony he is fighting. That is Shadow Soul, his newest ally. Why are they fighting? What's going on?"

Right after Clockwork said this, a blast of shadow magic hurled by Shadow Soul caught Thundermane in the chest and sent him spiraling down out of the sky in a blaze of fire. Clockwork let out a cry of agony before he started to race towards where the battle was going on. Starlight took a couple of hoofsteps after him, before a hand on her shoulder halted her advancements. She glanced over her shoulder to see that the Maestro was standing behind her, his hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Do not bother. You will not be able to change anything," Maestro told her.

"You don't know that! Maybe if I go I can-"

"The metal Clockwork shows up and flies into the fire. He fails to change anything," Maestro stated. Starlight wondered what Maestro meant, but then he placed his hand on her head and turned her to look at the burning skyscraper. Just as he had said, a moment later the metal Clockwork flew into the fire and started to try to douse the flames with his power. It didn't seem to be working.

"How did you...?" Starlight began, but Maestro just shook his head.

"Trunks shows up to fight Clockwork. Straight down from above, right hook, sending him through the smoke and to the other side of the city," Maestro stated. Moments after he said that, Trunks came flying down from above the skyscraper, slamming his fist into the side of Clockworks face and rocketed him through the smoke and across to the other side of the city. Starlight watched with stunned eyes, before she slowly looked up at Maestro.

"How do I know all of this? Because I have watched it happen again, and again, and again, for what feels like an eternity," Maestro stated. "You want to know the real truth behind this world? The timelines and Clockwork. Then here it is. It is one big time loop. Stuck on repeat."

"What do you mean?" Starlight asked, glancing back and forth between Maestro and where Trunks had rocketed off to.

"Exactly what I said. Everything that happens here I have seen before. What you are watching is the origin story of how Clockwork came to be. In twenty minutes and twenty two seconds, he will kneel beside the body of his son and scream to the heavens for a chance to undo what has happened to his son as the world around him begins to fade. I will appear before him and offer him the chance to undo it. I have done this millions of times."

"He will then learn to master his powers as he awakens in generation one, as he called it, before learning all about the generations, the replacement of the timelines and, finally, his desire to shatter them and return this timeline to the forefront to save it from being erased. But he cannot."

"Why...?" was all Starlight could whisper.

"Because this is where the timeline ends. The destruction of a world of friendship because the divines above thought that adding darkness and death would make it more...interesting. They were wrong. And in doing so, they ended the world they created. It happens. All things come to an end. But Clockwork cannot accept that. So in vain he continues, time after time, to change the fate of his world and the timeline of all worlds. And he fails."

"But...Trunks is here now... and since he isn't affected by time..."

"Is that what he told you? No, Trunks is as much a prisoner to this loop as Clockwork is," Maestro replied. "Do you know why it was so easy to best Trunks? Because I have fought him so many times. I know all his moves, his skills, his strategies...hell, I know what he's going to say years before he even shows up in this world. He is...well, he is part of the reason all of this happens."

"What?"

"He will kill Clockwork. And in doing so, he will succeed in starting a reboot, restarting all of the timelines. The Clockwork you just met will continue to live on, moved onto the next timeline after this. But they will play out the exact same way they have before. Thundermane will die, Clockwork will be born, he'll tear apart the timeline, Trunks will be called in to stop him, Trunks will kill him, rinse and repeat."

"Then I will need to tell Trunks! If I can tell him about all this-"

"He won't believe you. You choose to try and talk him down in all the millions of timelines and it never works. But you will try again this time, because you believe that if you just try hard enough, you can solve all your problems by talking. I've seen how that ends. You can also help him in stopping Clockwork if you want, but that would just expedite the end of the timelines. At least it be different."

"Then you have the choice to stop this!" Starlight exclaimed. "If you don't choose to give Clockwork the power to start all of this, the timeline will be broken out of the loop!"

"You are right. But I will. Because I want to see if this time will be different. If this reality can break the loop itself. After all, it's no fun if I do it," Maestro said and for a moment Starlight was sure he was smiling. "I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. I've had this conversation with you millions of times. It doesn't change anything. A part of me just wants to kill the pair of you, but that's no fun. In the end you will be reset like the rest of them, trying to conquer Equestria, convert and then be there for Trunks when he showed up."

"Then why are you telling me any of this?" Starlight asked. "Because from what you've just told me, it doesn't make any difference in the long run. Trunks still kills to Clockwork, reality still gets reset and eventually we're just back here again, having this same conversation. Why say this to me? Nothing matters in all of this. We're...we're just prisoners to time. To fate."

"You fool." Starlight looked up to see Maestro had moved his face right in front of hers, getting her to yelp as she leapt back from him. "You truly believe that just because this has happened millions of times that it will happen again? Allow me to tell you the same thing that I told all of the other Starlight's. This place may be a repeat, this conversation may be a repeat, even the ending may be a repeat. But never underestimate the power of choice."

"Choice? But if we're on a loop-"

"We're on a loop because every single time, every single one of you made the same choices. But you still have the choice to do something different," Maestro instructed. "Do you want to know how I came to be?"

"I was the destined hero of my world. Chosen by the gods, born under the stars and blessed with the power to slay an ancient evil. I was destined to win the moment I was born into the world. All my life I was told how I was the savior, how I would free the world and banish the darkness once more. I gathered my allies, created weapons to fight the beast and met him in battle for the fate of the world. And do you know how I saved my world?"

"How...?"

"I didn't. At the last moment, I chose to let the darkness win. I chose. I defied a destiny set in stone for millennia by my choice, changed something that could not be changed. All with my choice. So let me tell you what I've told all the other Starlight's. No matter how destined or set something may seem, a single choice can shatter that destiny to pieces. Now it is up to you to choose. So choose wisely."

Starlight blinked and suddenly they were standing at the edge of the city, where she could see Trunks battling with Clockwork above a lake. Trunks was in his Rage form and Clockwork seemed to be glowing with a green energy that had numbers on a clock floating around him. The battle created by the two of them fighting was enough to shake the planet, but as Starlight looked around, she noticed that parts of the world were starting to fade away to white, telling her that the timeline was starting to fade away.

"It is now your turn, Starlight," Maestro told her as he turned to leave. "I must go meet with Clockwork and give him the power to change time. Of course, it won't work. But he doesn't know that. And do not worry if you fail to change this outcome, millions of you's have failed before. I am beyond being disappointed at this point."

"Tell me one last thing," Starlight asked, getting the Maestro to turn and look at her. "Everything you've told me, including your backstory...did you tell it to the other me's?"

"Yes. I haven't moved a toe differently than I had done the previous times. Even what I'm telling you now I told all the others," Maestro admitted. "But even though everything is the same, you still have the power to choose. But you will only have a moment to make that choice. Choose wisely."

Maestro vanished after he said this, leaving Starlight alone to watch Trunks and Clockwork battle it out as the world faded around them. She opened her mouth and prepared to call out to Trunks, but then she remembered how Maestro had said that trying to talk to him had failed plenty of times before. But she didn't know what else to do.

'Trunks will listen to me! He has to!' she thought to herself. 'He fought alongside me, across time and space! He will listen to what I say!'

Before she had the chance to speak, Clockwork and Trunks traded mighty blows with one another that shook the timeline to its core. Trunks's blue form faded and Clockworks green aura vanished before the both of them fell to the ground, Clockwork's metal body ripped apart and Trunks bleeding profusely. Both of them seemed low on power, with Trunks barely able to stand and Clockwork's body falling apart.

The two warriors raised their fists and charged towards each other, putting everything they had into their final attack. Starlight watched the two of them fly closer and closer, knowing how the battle will end. She then infused her horn with power and closed her eyes.

And then she made her choice.

Comments

[Onomonopia]

9036852
More along the lines of higher ups that thought darker=better, but pretty much.

[Onomonopia]

9036904
Darker stories, like every other stories, work if they're done well. Problem most of the time is, those that force the darker tones into their stories have no idea how to do it well.

[Kichi]

cliffhanger...

[badninja]

Well what is Starlight’s choice? Why do I think that Meastro is still up to his tricks and he is stuck here and cannot get out due to the nature of the time loop? Let's see what happens on Thursday.

[MJ]

Nice.

[AMuffinlover]

So is Starlight going to commit seppuku to stop this from happening? Also, what is maestros whole motive here? In not changing what he's doing and watching the outcome? I thought he was bored and just wanted entertainment? I can't figure out his damn motive

[ultrapoknee]

I got a pretty good idea of what Starlight's choice will be. I hope Trunks will understand. This chapter is pretty impressive. It covers the concept of free will vs. preordained. But if the answer to breaking a nigh continuous cycle is making a choice, then I agree with Starlight in saying that Maestro can choose to do things differently. Especially after a million times. He's just a douchebag. Even if he is a villain, a form of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again.

[Dream Seeker]

... Choice. I dislike its depiction here.
Given the same circumstances, the same result will always occur.
However, if Maestro makes a single different move at any point, a different result can arise. He is truely the only one capable of breaking the loop, and he did so here. How? I don’t know. Maybe he took a split second deeper of breath. Maybe a particle of dust drifted off of him that started a chain of particles bumping each other in just the right way to fire a different neuron in Starlight’s brain.
But choice is a construct of neurology, and ultimately, it comes down to pure physics.