A Spell of Time

by YoshiFawful64

Chapter Two

"Awwww yeah!"

I swoop through a thin cloud and turn it into vapour, tightly circle another a few times, and then sculpt a third into a lightning bolt shape, all in quick succession. Finally, I do a loop while corkscrewing the whole time (which is even harder than it looks, by the way. Not to brag or anything).

Just as I'm straightening out from the last twist, though, a sudden and strong gust of wind comes out of nowhere and catches me by surprise. I'm thrown off course, and before I can react, I'm hurtling toward the forest beneath, spiraling and disoriented. I desperately wrench my wings into a level position and manage to pull up, but only now that I'm not spinning around do I realize that I'm flying right into the trunk of a big tree. I'm so close to it and moving so fast, there's no way I can avoid slamming directly into it, so I put my forehooves in front of me to try and protect my face and brace for the impa–

Suddenly, following an instinct I didn't know I had, I tug at something in the back of my head. I start moving backwards, away from the tree, just as quickly as I'd been moving toward it. I feel all of my body parts moving automatically, reversing every movement I'd made over the last second. Then, for about another second, I'm suspended in the air, frozen in place, at just the moment when I started righting myself from the plummet.

Then time resumes, and I once again have to attempt to correct my momentum and avoid a hospital trip. I know, somehow, that this is the exact same situation I was just in, down to every tiny detail, except for one key difference — this time, I know the tree is there, and I'm prepared.

I pull up just like before, but this time, I angle my wings slightly differently, making me go just a little bit more to the right. Then, before my brain can even take in the sight of the tree in front of me, I barrel roll further to the right. With that, I just barely skirt the tree's closest branches, my back hooves brushing past a leaf or two.

With the tree behind me now, I slow myself down and come to a stop, hovering in place.

A minute later, my breathing returns to normal and my heart retuns from my throat to its usual place. Now that I can think about other things than "how can I not get a permanent tree bark pattern on my face", I realize something. The tingly feeling, which I'd gotten used to ignoring, has suddenly disappeared. I suppose I must've just used that Second Chance thingy Twilight cast on me. I guess it really did work after all. Cool.

I guess I should go tell Twi the spell worked. And also thank her for saving me from a trip to the hospital with a faceful of tree. I prepare to rocket off toward the library–

Actually, you know what? After that close call, I don't really feel like flying fast. Just this once, I think I'm gonna take a slow, leisurely glide back instead. Don't tell anypony.

---

Note to self: if you ever need to tell Twilight something that could interest her scientifically, run before she can ask you any questions.

By the time I finally get to leave the library, the tingling has returned. Twi said that probably tells me when I can use the spell again, since time apparently needs an hour or so to stabilize, or something. I'm tired from the interview (more like an interrogation, really), so I stretch and yawn, trying to return some energy to my body. It helps a little, but my legs are still a bit tense, so I decide to go for a jog.

As I canter through town, though, my mind wanders back to the spell, and I can't help but wonder if it actually has any real practical use. For one, having one second to react isn't much (even for me), so that cuts down a lot on its usefulness. Besides, how much can you really impact things with that little time, let alone in day-to-day life? Maybe that's why this spell never saw the light of day until now — Star Swirl just figured out that the whole thing was useless. I mean, sure, it saved me from getting to know a tree way too intimately, but that was a special case where I actually needed the extra reaction time.

A sudden movement in the corner of my eye makes me look to my right and see a big falling flowerpot, quickly heading for a light green unicorn mare's head. I don't have nearly enough time to react before it collides with her skull and she winces in pain — so I give myself more time.

Activating Second Chance again is easier than I would've thought. Now that I know what to reach for, it comes naturally to me.

Once I'm done rewinding, I immediately pounce up and to the right. I only have a moment to actually spot and catch the flowers before they hit the unicorn, but I manage to do it (although with a bit of fumbling).

The unicorn — Lyra, I think her name is? — tilts her head up at the movement and notices me, holding the flowerpot. "Whoa! Hey, did… did you just stop that bowl of petunias from hitting me?"

I nod.

"Well, that was a close one. Good thing you were here. Thanks a bunch!"

"No problem," I reply.

I flap up to the second-story window the flowers seem to have fallen from. There's a colt on the other side, looking panicked. Once he sees the flowers, though, he sighs in relief, and I pass them over to him.

"Hey, you know what?" Lyra says as I float back down. "Here." She tosses a few bits to me. "Buy yourself a snack of something."

I catch the coins. "Oh, um, thanks."

"It's the least I could do. Thanks again!" She gives me a quick wave, then heads off.

I look at the bits she gave me, and I find myself thinking about the spell again. It's true that I managed to use it effectively again, so maybe I underestimated its usefulness. Then again, that was another quick-reaction-thing, which was complete coincidence, so I guess my point still sta–

"Why didn't you tell me you have Pinkie Sense too, Dashie?" asks Pinkie Pie from right in front of me, where she probably just appeared out of thin air.

"Gah!" I jerk back, scattering the coins. "Pinkie, you gotta stop sneaking up on me like that!"

"Oops, sorry." She looks apologetic for a moment, but then her face goes stern. "But since when have you had Pinkie Sense? And why haven't you told me? This is serious business, you know!"

"I don't have Pinkie Sense!" I answer as I start picking up the bits. "That doesn't even make sense! Don't you call it Pinkie Sense because only you have it?"

"Okay, Rainbow Sense then."

"What? No! I don't have anything like that anyway!"

"Well, how'd you catch those flowers, then? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you just looked into the future!" she says, sing-songing the last sentence.

"I– no, no, that was different."

"Different how?"

"It… it just is, okay?"

I fly away before she can say anything else. That's not a conversation I wanna be stuck having. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Pinkie, and her Pinkie Sense has been helpful to us multiple times, but the idea that I have it makes me… uncomfortable in a way I can't describe. I shudder a little.

Now I'm alone with my thoughts again, I go back to sorting out my feelings towards Second Chance.

…Hmmmm…

…You know what? I'm still not convinced this thing's gonna have any real use to me. But so far, it's saved me and another pony from injury, plus earned me a few bits. If that's all that's gonna come out of this spell, then I'm willing to count that as a win.

---

There's a nice evening chill in the air, and I'm chatting with Rarity on a park bench. She's drinking tea, and I'm enjoying the tasty donut I got with the money from Lyra.

"…I did have a little nasty surprise when I came home yesterday, though," Rarity says, sipping from her cup. "About two dozen of my bolts of cloth had fallen over and made a huge mess on the floor. They were so badly intertwined that it took me about an hour to untangle and reorganize them all. The door to my studio was slightly ajar, so I think Opal must've gotten in and rolled around there."

I gulp down the rest of my donut and say, "Wasn't that Sweetie Belle?"

The moment the words leave my mouth, I know it was a mistake to say them. I'm suddenly reminded that Sweetie explicitly told me not to tell her sis. Speaking of Rarity, her eyes immediately turn fiery in anger, and she bellows, "WHAT?"

Okay, reverse, reverse, reverse!

One second is just enough to bring me mid-sentence, to just the moment before I accidentally said Sweetie Belle's name (thank Celestia!). Trying to jump back into the conversation at a moment's notice throws me off a bit, but I manage to finish, "…awful?"

"Indeed," Rarity replies, thankfully unaware anything's wrong. In fact, once I return to the Boutique today, I'll still have to make sure none of the fabric got cat hairs on it."

"Good, uh… good luck with that," I stumble. Deciding to cut the conversation short before I blurt out anything else, I say, "Hey, uh, I'm done eating now, and I still need to do some flight practice today, so…"

"Oh, alright," Rare replies. "Well, I had a wonderful talk. I'll see you again soon, I expect!" She waves at me.

I wave back, then take to the skies.

I'll admit, I never would've figured out that the spell could let me change the course of a conversation like that. I wonder if I could use that ability to my advantage…

In the distance, I spot Sweet Apple Acres, and a thought dawns on me. A grin creeps across my face. Oh, I think I'm definitely going to have a use for this spell after all. I resist the urge to cackle as I fly back home to plan things out.