Threads of Time

by Chrono Spark

Learning his Threads

Day one, Chrono thought. The first of several times that his encounters with his friends in Ponyville would be remembered, and on a rather beautiful day, despite his having seen the day three times already. The only thing he really counted as could be wrong with such a great morning was in fact nothing he found wrong at all, per se. Rather, his present company's disagreement with his opinion of the matter stood out farther than he found to appreciate.
"But you can't go to the Gala without something fabulous to wear!" Rarity protested, as she took several measurements of Chrono's body against his will. "And with an invitation from princess Luna herself, how could you even think without attire?"
Chrono had by this point given up on the debate; he knew there were certain times when his arguments not only held little to no chance of coming through, let alone being seriously considered. On top of that the simple fact was, he didn't quite mind being made an overcoat; he simply felt guilty after being both invited freely to the Grand Galloping Gala and being made an overcoat by Rarity in the same day.
Still after nearly half an hour of negotiation and compromise, he managed to sort out with the mare, a remarkable yet somewhat humble attire; black with light blue trim at all four sleeves, with a design on the back that in and of itself looked like a smaller coat's silhouette at first glance.
"There you are, darling." Rarity said, looking satisfied, "I do hope it is alright?"
Chrono nodded, trying the overcoat on and finding it surprisingly comfortable for the level of formality he knew he would be undertaking. "Alright hardly cuts it," he remarked, "this is a marvel. No wonder everypony here comes to you for dresses."
The mare beamed with pride. "Think nothing of it. Necessities only, Chrono."
"Regardless, thank you."

The remainder of the morning - as well as the train ride to Canterlot - was quite monotonous for the chronomancer, his thoughts resting on the night before - or what would have been, in any event as he realized. His encounters with Entropy and either princess had left the young stallion quite confused several times over, and he could hardly help but wonder if there was some connection with each of them that he was unaware of.
"Oh, there you are!" His thoughts were torn away by the sound of Pinkie's ever-enthusiastic voice from the doorway on his right. "I wanted to ask you something."
Chrono turned to regard the mare, his attention momentarily diverted by the incredibly bright and elaborately-decorated dress she wore. Still he quickly slid his eyes back to her own, with a curious glance in his face. "Yes, Pinkie?"
"This is your first Gala, isn't it?"
Chrono nodded.
"I had a little something special planned for a while in, but I can't tell you right now 'cause it's a surprise. I just wanted to know if you'd be interested in helping at all." She smiled, as blindly cheerful as could be.
"Well I can't quite say I'd be helping if it was something I couldn't do," Chrono remarked, "how come you can't tell?"
"Well I don't want to spoil it for everypony," Pinkie went on, "but I think between you and Rainbow Dash this could work really well!"
Chrono sighed. "You're sure it's something I can actually pull off? I don't want to wind up messing everything up for you."
"Oh, you'll be fine. You in?"
Chrono thought for several seconds, before nodding slightly.
"Yay!" The mare exclaimed. "I knew you could do it!"
As she turned to walk on out, her tail twitched oddly, and before anypony in the car even knew to react the overhead hatch swung open and none other than Fluttershy dropped down right on Chrono's head, dropping him to the floor immediately.
"Oh, s-sorry Chrono..." she whispered, standing to the side almost immediately.
"It's no trouble," Chrono remarked. "I can hardly say I didn't see it coming."
"Are you alright?" the pegasus asked, offering a hoof to help him up, which he took with a grateful nod.
"I think so anyway. It's you I'm worried about." Chrono remarked. Pinkie took a brief look around, before departing.
Any semblance of Chrono's unease with the mild ache in his head resulting from the collision faded from his mind in an instant though. As he looked briefly at Fluttershy's attire, the first thought he considered was that there was no better way to portray a sense of perpetual calm than the perfect flow of her dress. The second maintained that it probably wouldn't have come off so well if the familiarity Rarity had with all her friends was any less.
"I-I'm alright. Oh, have you seen Twilight?"
Chrono indicated the door ahead of him. "She was in her room last I heard. Can't say I've seen her much though."
"Oh, okay. Thank you." Fluttershy made to leave the hall shortly thereafter.

The Gala went about as well as Chrono's various overhearings led him to suspect. Incredibly formal and official, but altogether seemed rather lifeless. The dining and dance hall kept exclusively to formal music and dances; the selection of foods left for little surviving taste for sugar - which led poor Pinkie's hair to fall several times, despite how often it sprang right back up; princess Celestia seemed all but smothered by her hundreds of guests; altogether it lacked any sense of occasion, anything to stand out aside from the extraordinarily business-like approach the whole ordeal took. So in an effort not to drown himself in worry over the surrounding events, Chrono isolated himself in the dining room and contented himself with watching the musical performers while contemplating the potential possibilities of Pinkie's alleged surprise. A small series of taps on his shoulder caught his attention undeniably quickly, and as he turned he nearly fell over in surprise by who he saw.
Almost a perfect compliment to all things Chrono; white coat, bright yellow mane and tail, and with a well-grown pair of wings that altogether marked the appearance of one of Chrono's older friends, Aero Slide. "You really are easy to surprise, Chrono!" He said with a chuckle, "I haven't seen you in a while, where've you been?"
Chrono laughed for a moment, motioning his friend to the nearest stool for a seat. "Princess Luna has had me out and about lately. Judging by the look of things, I may be staying out in Ponyville for a while."
"Ponyville, huh?"
"Sure enough. I've actually been looking forward to the chance for a while now."
Aero raised an eyebrow. "You gonna be coming back?"
"Don't see why I wouldn't. It's not like princess Luna will be able to find an everyday chronomancer to investigate things beyond spatial dimensions."
"Yeah, good point. So what're the orders this time?"
Chrono smiled. "Nothing at all. I've had it requested I simply enjoy some time to my preference. Look where it landed me."
Aero smiled, prodding his friend lightly. "Lighten up Chrono. Relax a little, this is supposed to be a party remember?"
"Chrono!"
Chrono's gaze averted to the source of the unexpected voice, but when only a faint linear mirage caught his eye, he suspected well enough both who it was and some semblance of what it was about. "Yes, Rainbow Dash?" He asked, not bothering to turn around.
"Aww, you caught me!" Rainbow pouted, "Eh, whatever. Pinkie says we're up, come on!"
Aero nearly fell over backwards laughing. "Well who'd have thought it! Chrono Spark, friends with the infamous Rainbow Dash and the rest?"
"Who you callin' infamous?"
Chrono's face hit the desk. "It's a compliment, Rainbow," he remarked in what could only be heard as a mumble.
"Whatever, come on!" Rainbow insisted, "No need to be late to the dance floor!"
Chrono's blood stilled. What would he be doing on a dance floor in the first place? Even then he had no time to contemplate; he found himself dragged away forcibly by none other than the mare without much choice in the matter.
He was taken quickly behind a closed curtain, where to his immense surprise he caught sight of a DJ stand run by Vinyl Scratch, and Pinkie Pie waiting for his and Rainbow's return. "Okay," Pinkie began, "sorry I couldn't fill you in on the details earlier Chrono, but I didn't have anypony else to turn to and it was already kind of late for second thoughts."
"I've dealt with worse," Chrono said reassuredly. "I don't know if you'd remember or not, but believe me I have."
It was true enough. Suffering death could easily be considered worse than an elaborate party surprise. At least as far as the stallion knew.
"You might want to tell him exactly what you had in mind, Pinkie." Rainbow interjected.
"Oh, right!" Pinkie bounced, "You'll be dancing with us!"
"Dancing?" Chrono asked.
"Dancing!"
"Oh, you'll be fine," Rainbow said with a nudge on the stallion's shoulders, "just loosen up and let it go."
"All set up here," Vinyl said from her stand, "You all ready?"
Rainbow and Pinkie both looked to Chrono expectantly. He could only do what he could to suppress his sigh. "Ready as ever."
The classical music group reached their finale, and however slowly, the curtain around the DJ stand rose to reveal the four conspirants. With the sudden change of pace, style and intonation of Vinyl's music, Chrono had to struggle briefly to adjust to the flow through what differences he had to face. Foremost among them, he found it particularly easy to figure potential steps in the patterns to which he could accommodate what little practice he had in dancing. For the third time in two nights, he was under the firm belief that it would be a long night.

Each beat, each step. Pinkie started expanding upon it first, seeing as she was positioned virtually at the head of the conspiracy. One tap into the next, she worked her hooves with as much precision as she did spontaneity, creating a sort of counterbeat to the music's given tempo which furthered both the feel of the dance and the music. Despite his every belief in the matter, Chrono caught on before long at all.
Rainbow Dash followed suit only very shortly after Pinkie had begun, hooves tapping away at the floor below. Without much difference in timing, Chrono began to move in tandem with the others, slowly gaining a feel for moving in such a manner at all. In the distance as he set a fairly long pattern to his steps, he could see a familiar - if discreet - alicorn isolated from the crowd. If her crimson coat and black mane weren't enough to give her away, the black glow on her horn finished the job, and Chrono heard echoing in his mind, the voice of Entropy. "I'd like to speak with you once you're finished, if you don't mind. You look like you're enjoying yourself for now though."
The music finished, but was only the first round of such that he suspected would be coming. Most of the other ponies attending seemed lightly upset by the eruption of more spontaneous music and dancing, but none offered any complaints right away.
Again the music began, the introduction to a tune Chrono was in fact very familiar with and enjoyed quite a lot. The introduction built quickly, and almost by instinct Chrono found himself moving forward to match Pinkie's positioning before erupting into another dance. To this, even Pinkie seemed caught off guard for a moment, but she and Rainbow Dash very quickly followed up and recreated the entertainment for the others. It wasn't long however, before among the tapping of hooves at either side, Chrono heard syncronized taps behind and further around. It only held one indication; other ponies had joined in the activity, and one by one seemed to be enjoying themselves - of the ones who had yet to stand and dance with them, anyway.
"You're pretty good at this!" Pinkie said with a giggle. "We should have a contest!"
Chrono barely managed to fit his thoughts into audible words through his focus on each of his own movements, "A contest?"
"Yeah! A contest!"
"Aren't you going a bit far with this, Pinkie?"
"Nah, you'll do just fine!"

Ten minutes passed, Chrono slowly growing better-accustomed to improvising his moves in a manner that he noticed grew quickly on the others with him. Then, upon request, a pair of stands were set up - one for himself, and one for Pinkie.
Twilight Sparkle agreed to judge the two in their comparatively informal contest. The tune was mutually agreed on by both of the contestants, and Vinyl as well. With several moments' preparation, the dance began.
Both ponies took turns taking the dance floor, notified only by lighting provided by Twilight just prior to their turn. To say the least, while he had his pauses Chrono had to admit that Pinkie was a superb dancer. Beyond any shadow of a doubt in his mind, she was a natural party pony. Still, he did everything he could to keep up to her standards, and as the finale resolved, results were announced. Pinkie had risen victorious, and although Chrono felt slightly defeated by his loss in spite of Pinkie's earlier praise of his talent, he smiled warmly and bowed to the crowd anyway.
Spotting Entropy slowly leaving the floor though, he didn't take long in giving chase. She paused at the garden, taking a few moments to navigate a small bit of the labyrinth so as not to draw attention to herself. Again Chrono followed without any hesitation. "Something the matter?" He asked, concerned.
"Not really, no." Entropy said with a faint smile. "It just seems so strange to me still. You look like you get along so well with everypony else. So casual, so easy-going. Nothing like you were at would-be last night."
Would-be? The same exact term he often used to reference taken-back events across time caught him slightly off guard, as did the slight smile Entropy gave him just after he reacted.
"Don't be alarmed. Everypony has their talents, you know." Entropy shifted slightly to reveal her cutie mark; an ovular mirror. "Mine just so happens to be directly related to everypony else."
"I don't understand. A mirror?"
"My talent, Chrono Spark..." Again Chrono was caught off guard by the mention of the name he had not given, "Is to reflect the qualities of another's mind that they do not so much wish to acknowledge. You might remember the confrontation during would-be last night's events with princess Celestia?"
Chrono nodded.
"It's a second nature to me. I know most everypony else better than they themselves do, but it's as if they all fear me still."
"Well..." Chrono thought for a second, "I might know why."
Entropy raised an eyebrow.
"You reflect the negative qualities of those you encounter, yes?" Chrono asked, to which the mare nodded. "What about your own?"
"What do you mean?"
"Nopony should have to be negative all the time. The way you make it sound seems like you rely solely on your interactions to define who you are."
"Well, yes, but -"
Chrono shook his head. "But that's not who you are. There's more to me than my excessive guilt and low opinions of my capabilities and my knowledge. I'm sure you've figured that out by now."
"But how do you get along with everypony you hardly even know?"
Chrono chuckled. "What are you doing right now, Entropy?"
"What?"
"You're doing the same thing I usually do when I'm not just watching. Ask questions, let the ponies explain themselves to you."
Entropy tilted her head, just as Aero poked his head around the corner. "Ah, it seems you have a visitor." She said with an indicative nod of her head.
Chrono turned with a laugh once he saw who it was. "Perfect timing, Aero! Come here, could you?"
Aero gave a slight tilt of his head to Entropy, indicating his complete lack of knowledge as to who this pony was. But, as requested he sat down at his friend's side. "Hey there miss." He said simply, still curious as to why Chrono had requested.
"Oh, right..." Chrono caught himself. "Entropy, this is my friend Aero Slide. He and I met about four years ago, been friends for most of that time."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Aero Slide."
"Please," Aero chuckled, "call me Aero. No need to be formal, at least with me."
Chrono smiled. "Aero's not the best with questions either. Every now and then he can jump to conclusions but he doesn't really have much trouble getting along. I think maybe the two of you can relate on a few points. Anyway, I should probably be getting back. Do enjoy yourselves, please?"
After a moment, Chrono got up and trotted back to the Gala, rejoining the more semi-formal continuum of activity that had dominated in contrast to the explosive burst of activities that he had helped introduce for the evening. Long or not, it was quite the interesting evening for the young stallion. One he was almost tempted to relive a few times before calling it a night for his own rest...
Just as he was about to act on such thoughts however, Luna's hoof on his shoulder gave him pause.
"There will always be next year," she reminded him. "Not all things can be taken as a first again."
Chrono smiled, turning to look up at his mentor. "I suppose you're right." He said with a humble bow. "Thank you for the invitation, by the way."
"It is our pleasure, Chrono Spark. Although, we are curious. Hast thou learned anything of thine own through the evening?"
Chrono stifled a laugh. The familiar question that he had documented time and again now rang in his ears for him alone, and no subject of recording. "Well firstly, that unexpected occasions aren't necessarily all bad. Sometimes it's just easier to let the flow of events drive you, and not simply the course of duties."
Luna waited a moment before asking, "And secondly?"
Chrono's smile twisted slightly into a grin. "I need to start getting some writing materials."
For the first time in his life, the sight of princess Luna laughing with genuine mirth came to witness of her student.

"Chrono! Get up, will you?"
The voice was a familiar one to the black unicorn. After recent events he had nearly tired himself to a breaking point, and although he could hardly move, he didn't have to either. As he opened his eyes, the maroon eyes of his friend Deuce hovered right above him. Of course having expected his residence to be somewhat secure in practicality it was a surprise for him to be in any company, but all the same despite his sudden jumping out of his bed, he only tossed a more playful glare towards his friend. "There really is no stopping you, is there?" He asked.
"Not a chance!" Deuce replied, tossing a hoof forward through his red mane as if to show his confidence in his skill. "So what brought you all the way out here? I didn't even hear you left until after the Gala."
Chrono blinked, caught off guard by the sheer fact that after his visit from Aero Slide he had managed not to inform Deuce about his departure. He frowned at his own foolery as he looked away from the gray-coated earth pony and into his mirror and own reflection. "I didn't think I'd be staying as long as I have," he admitted, "I'm sorry I didn't let you know sooner."
In the reflection, he could see Deuce stepping up to him and felt the tap of his hoof on his shoulder. "Hey, no sweat. Now I know where you are, so at least I can find you when I need you, right?"
"Fair enough," Chrono submitted, "but why break in?"
"Well how else was I supposed to come and wake you up?"
"You don't usually wake somepony up, Deuce." Chrono said bluntly, looking back to him. "What's going on, really?"
The sound of his door flying wide caught his attention, and as quickly as could be, his question was answered. Aero, in his full bright appearance, stood in the open doorway, as proud as ever. "You didn't think he'd come alone now, did you?" He asked with a wink.
Chrono's face fell just short of the floor as he realized how simple it was. It made him recall his life in Canterlot while all three of them would enjoy a number of times together. Often enough it was rumored that where one of them was, the others were already there one way or the other. Usually by Aero's taking to the skies, Chrono watching from outside the logical timespace or Deuce's eptitude at not being seen. Any combination of two, rather. "I guess not." Chrono confessed, "Well you certainly got me. But that doesn't answer why you came."
"Are you kidding?" Aero's face flew forward for a moment in disbelief, "I get that you see a lot of things differently but this is something I'd expect you to know upside-down and backwards!"
"Care to share?"
Deuce laughed. "It's Hearth's Warming Eve, Chrono. You really have a hard time waking up, don't you?"
Chrono sighed. "I usually wake up and go back through the night to relive it wide awake."
Deuce raised an eyebrow. "Overkill, much?"
Aero blinked, and Chrono could see that the young stallion was already piecing the facts together by the sheer puzzlement on his face.
"Not at all," the unicorn explained, "I am not as bound to time as most might be. Anything that happens to me - in this particular case, sleep - will still have happened when I finish going back. So, I can make it seem like I never sleep at all. It's actually rather interesting to see some of the faces when I step out wide awake in the middle of the night."
Deuce nodded. Aero tilted his head, quite confused. Chrono chuckled as he watched the two.
"Did I ever tell you how confusing you make things sound?" Aero remarked.
"No, but I promise you I know somepony who does it better than I do."
"That's got to be difficult." Aero said simply, taking flight and hovering for a moment. "Anyway, come on! No point in being late now!" He was out the door before he was even finished.
Deuce watched with a raised eyebrow. "Did he just fly out... backwards?"
"I have no idea." Chrono said, before stepping out a moment later.

It was a marvelous day. Between the birds' chirping and the pleasant skies overhead, Chrono could take in what he felt as a perfect morning. Mayor Mare and several other ponies were busy setting up the performance stage as might have been expected, and in the distance a trio of little fillies could be seen running here and there with each other. The sight made him chuckle. For the three collectively immortalized as the "Cutie Mark Crusaders", he could feel more sympathy than he suspected most other ponies could. His own talent in time was a certainly interesting occurrence, and one that he would never want to relive.
In any event, he took to a pleasant stride as he went about to see how everypony was doing. Deuce of course tagged along, and while at first Chrono could spot no particular sign of Aero's pursuit, there were a number of clouds overhead. He was being followed, he was certain of it.
"So how long do you think you'll be staying?" Deuce asked, starting some semblance of conversation.
"Until called back, I imagine. Princess Luna has me under orders for vacation as it seems."
"Orders for vacation? You trying to tell me you're overworked?"
Chrono shook his head. "No, that's what the princesses have been telling me these past few weeks."
"Seriously?"
"They can see through my time-travels; they know what I've been doing better than anypony else. Not to mention Entropy..."
"Who?"
A cough from the side alerted Chrono to who ultimately would prove to be the answer to Deuce's question. As they both turned to see the crimson alicorn, Deuce immediately took a step back in surprise. Chrono on the other hand held a leg out to cut off his friend from backing away too much.
"What brings you here?" He asked rather simply.
"Nothing of consequence," Entropy replied, her indigo eyes boring into the two stallions. Deuce of course shrank slightly even though he masked it perfectly in his face.
Chrono glanced over and down at his friend. "Pardon him; he's a little timid when caught off guard."
"I know." Entropy said with a chuckle. "Remember Chrono, I know these things quite well."
Chrono's eyes shut briefly as he chided himself for having not thought of the most obvious of truths. "Apologies, then." he said simply, "but still, I can't help but wonder from time to time why you stick around here so much. Don't you have someplace you can stay?"
"Are you saying you'd rather I leave?" She asked.
A slight twitch of movement to Chrono's periphery was the only indication he had; even as he looked to the source, he realized that Deuce had taken to hiding. Timid, indeed... "Not at all," he remarked, "I'm just concerned, is all."
Entropy laughed, "Don't be worried about me. I can handle myself well enough."
Chrono's face betrayed how clearly that wasn't what he was trying to ask about, but he knew her response was true enough; he may as well have been worrying over nothing special. "If you say so." He said with a sigh. "Just take care, alright? I'd hate for anything bad to happen to you."
Entropy merely smiled and trotted away. Chrono watched her go, mildly puzzled by what she was off to do.

Preparations finished soon after, with help from all of Chrono's friends and himself. To his pleasant surprise it took significantly less long than expected, and a brief party courtesy of Pinkie Pie was thrown soon after. At the party itself Chrono elected to keep nearer to a wall and watch Aero and Deuce getting to know the other ponies from Ponyville. After all, he had much longer than either of them to get his bearings.
A resounding boom sounded from outside and shook the house after some time, alerting everyone within only seconds later. Chrono of course sped outside with everypony else, only to see an expanding ring of red from the stage area and several ponies sprawled about the area, evidently caught by surprise from the evident burst. As they got up though, his surprise amplified tenfold as each pony began taking a rather accusatory investigation into the matter.
Unnaturally accusatory, as he came to realize. The only evidence held was a ring of red and a sudden explosion of sound.
"Is that?" Rainbow Dash asked disbelievingly, "A red sonic rainboom? And right on the stand too! Who would do a thing like that?"
Chrono sighed. "Well the red's the only lead we've got. I can't say I know too many possibilities."
He took a brief survey of who all was around, but it seemed that Twilight was the only one to have not run off in any particular direction. "This doesn't make any sense. Who would want to ruin Hearth's Warming Eve?" She asked.
"I can't say I'm certain." Chrono said with a sigh. "But it looks as if we're on yet another case."
"There's no need to search." A voice from above and behind called down. "I'll confess, but I did it with a purpose."
"Entropy?" Chrono and Twilight asked together, turning and looking up to the crimson alicorn.
"But why?" Chrono asked, genuinely confused.
Entropy hopped down, causing both Chrono and Twilight to hop back a step reflexively. "Because Equestria's foundation, while clear, is not a stable one. Look at some of the cities and towns for example. Canterlot, with its undying population of almost exclusively unicorns. Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus, where no pony except for the pegasus ponies can even walk. And might I mention among other towns in the countryside, Ponyville's particular choice of the earth ponies? You call this unity? It's an outrage!"
Chrono and Twilight looked to each other, both in a mutual understanding of their roots in Canterlot, but all the same both also well aware that as residents of Ponyville - however temporary as it were - the alicorn's point was not entirely valid.
"But why ruin the celebration?" Twilight asked after a tense silence. "That just defeats the whole purpose!"
"I need proof." Entropy declared, "Proof that when things go poorly, not every pony will rush to blame. And as it appears, I was right. I will find no such proof."
Chrono shook his head. "I'm not about to say you're entirely wrong, but it seems a little selfish to be trampling Equestria's foundation like that, don't you think?"
"And it's not like everypony can be perfect," Twilight added, "it took all sorts of ponies to even get that stand put up."
"And now look at them." Entropy retorted, holding a hoof in the direction of the rabble still going on about the wrecked stand. "They prattle about, blaming every pony besides themselves and complaining of a ruined day."
"But in all fairness, they have the right to complain; you did just blast the entire stand to splinters." Chrono remarked.
"That I did," Entropy replied without losing a beat, "but even for as harmonized a town as Ponyville, every pony rushes to assume."
"Have we?" Twilight asked.
Entropy laughed, "What are two going to do to finish preparations for a day that doesn't even hold meaning for itself anymore?"
Twilight's horn began to shine in her anger, but Entropy vanished before she could even finish a spell and Chrono held a hoof in her way to prevent any further thought of the matter. "To be honest though, she's right in a way." He said quietly, turning to look at the rabble. "If every pony could put aside their differences and not blame each other, we'd be able to pick things up in time for the ceremony and re-enactment."
"You have a plan?"
"Hardly." Chrono confessed, "And I can't just go back and make Entropy not tear down the stand; she'd just go right around even with me cutting time off."
"Well then we'll just have to start from scratch." Twilight said proudly.
"You have a plan?"
Twilight smiled.

Entropy watched the two from the skies, perched on a cloud and laying with her head over the rim enough to see the progression of events from above. Although faint, she could hear the discussions between either of them and everypony else. Not once was she mentioned.
"But how are we supposed to find out who did it if we just ignore it?" One pony asked Twilight.
"Who cares who did it? It happened, but if we don't pull together and all work together to piece this whole thing back together the entire day is going to be ruined!" She responded.
"And what happens if it just happens again? We need to take this to whoever's responsible and bring them in!" Another pony mentioned to Chrono.
"If it happens again, I can take measures to be sure nopony's aware it would ever happen. Then you can put the blame on me for being wrong. But, it won't happen again, that much I can promise."
"Then why not just undo the last time?"
Chrono paused with a slight smile. "Because then it wouldn't have any sentimental value. Look at everypony; venting rage at culprits they don't even know with little to no evidence supporting their claims. Is this what Hearth's Warming Eve is supposed to be? I should think not."
Through this, Entropy managed a faint smile. Although she knew well enough her lessons were hard to learn, she always knew best how to teach them. As she sprung away from the cloud she had perched on, a resounding boom sounded as another red ring expanded on the horizon.
Chrono watched from the distance and frowned. "Come on everypony," he said calmly but upset all the same. "We should get to fixing things. Anypony mind helping before it's too late?"
The stand was put up for the second time that day, and in record time no less. As might have been expected as a result, the ceremony progressed with more devotion in its actresses than had been seen before in a good many years. Through it all however, one pony in the audience could not get past his ponderings about the reasoning behind the events of the day. So once the ceremony had finished, Chrono retired to his home and locked the door behind him. As he walked over to his journal by the mirror he noticed it was gone, replaced by a note written in vaguely familiar writing.

I've got to say Chrono. If every day is even near as eventful as today was I need to come by more often! Don't forget to send word every now and then, we'd both love to hear from you! Or if you want to drop by, you know that would be great too. On another note altogether, you might want to be careful of this Entropy mare. She seems a little over the top. I know I don't have much to go by but I can't help but notice her face here and there. She's good at hiding a lot of things, but I've got a bad feeling she's no good at all. Just don't want anything bad happening to you, to put it in your own words.

-Deuce
Chrono raised an eyebrow once he saw the name at the bottom. The letter was written in Aero's style of writing, but signed Deuce - and signed in the same way Aero would have signed otherwise. He sighed and glanced around. The stallion sure was talented in his works, even if not always for the most practical purposes. "It would help if I had my j-"
The sound of a book dropping to the floor beside him startled the unicorn, and once he got over his immediate fright at the situation he realized it was in fact his journal. Glancing up to the ceiling, he heard his door fly open but as he looked its way, whoever it had been was already gone. Again he raised an eyebrow. "Well," he said with a slight frown, "That's definitely been the most interesting good-bye I've ever seen."

As bright a day as ever, Chrono thought to himself as he glanced through his window at the morning activities going throughout Ponyville. And a day that he had plenty of reason to look forward to. As much as he could pride himself on his talents in the magic of time, it was almost the only thing he could use magic in, aside from the sheer basics - which even still he had rather low limits with.
But, he had a great deal of faith that today would change that. Even if planning had been somewhat rushed, his agreement with Twilight to swap notes on magic had been laid out plainly enough, and today was the day he could appreciate magic for what it was supposed to be in the first place.
A knocking on his door caught his attention and he shook his head to regain his focus. He quickly went to the door and opened it, not terribly surprised to see Twilight there waiting for him. "You really are a late sleeper, aren't you?" She asked with a quick laugh.
"Usually you wouldn't even know," Chrono answered with a smile, "taking back the time of sleep itself while you're still rested is a nice feat."
"I'm sure!" She responded, closing her eyes briefly in such a way that put a greater accent on her smile. "Come on, I was thinking you'd forgotten!"
"How could I?" Chrono chuckled, stepping out and closing the door behind him, "I've been looking forward to this for weeks!"
Twilight stopped in her tracks to give him an inquisitive look. "Well why didn't you say so?"
"I know you usually have something planned."
Twilight paused for several seconds. "Good point..."
Chrono chuckled, "Relax, it's not that hard to be patient when you've got something to do or can otherwise pass the time."
"True, I usually -" Twilight paused for a single moment, "Oh, you meant that literally didn't you."
They both shared a quick laugh as they reached Twilight's library. "So did you have anything in mind for what to do first or-?" Chrono asked.
"No, but I did want to talk about a few things while we were here."
"Such as?"
"Well I'm hoping it's nothing too serious." Twilight opened the door as they both stepped into the hollowed tree-library, "A few things in Predictions and Prophecies that looked a little suspicious with this Entropy floating around."
Chrono raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"Well it mentioned events that would never occur, and ever since we met and I found out about you knowing time magic, I've been looking back over my notes and well..."
"Yes?"
"I didn't come up with much yet, but I'll let you know if anything turns out."
Chrono sighed for a brief moment, but nodded. "Alright, so what's first on the list?"
Twilight giggled. "Well you of course. Do you have any idea how much I've wanted to figure time travel out?"
Chrono nodded. "I believe your exact words were; I have so many questions."
Twilight paused for a moment, not having remembered saying such while uninterrupted. "When did I say that?"
"You didn't. At least not in any timespace you'd remember."
"Right..."
"It was taken back."
"Oh yeah!"
Chrono raised an eyebrow again.
"Anyway, come on! How do you do it?"
"Well I can't exactly show you, but think of a moment in time real quick. Either by memory of an event or just sheer knowledge of what time you want. Let me know when you have one in mind - and tell me what it is so I can follow you back."
Twilight paused for a long moment before blinking with a smile. "Got it. The morning you arrived."
"Okay," Chrono shrugged. "Now, still holding that time in mind try and put your magic to it. Focus on the time itself, not necessarily the -"
His words were interrupted however by the sudden glow of Twilight's horn and an immediate light-headedness that quickly erupted through his entire body. Within seconds, he was no longer conscious.

After finally opening his eyes again, Chrono lifted himself to his feet and glanced around. His surroundings were not familiar to him; a simple, black void marked only by several connecting dull gray lines which as he approached and inspected, appeared to be intersections between walls. He glanced around at the area, determining distance only by visual measurement now, and leaned against the wall. Nopony else was around, but it didn't seem as if the area was as small as he could see. "Hello?" He called.
No answer, not even his own echo.
After several seconds of thought through his confusion he began wandering between what walls he could determine, each time putting a hoof through any openings to ensure it was an opening and not the spanning between two of such. The dull surroundings sent a constant shudder down his spine; something was definitely not right here.
As the thought occurred to him that he could simply revert back to the meeting with Twilight, his first effort at doing so caught him entirely off-guard as his magic burst into a small explosion that landed him against a nearby wall, crumbling to all fours.
"Okay..." he grumbled, thoroughly dissatisfied that his magic didn't seem to work at all, "That's a first."
"Hardly," A voice behind him sounded, "but for you yes, a first."
Chrono turned to see who had spoken, and as he realized just what he saw in front of him, he stumbled back again into the wall. Turquoise mane and tail, with slightly grayed-out eyes and the silhouette of a grown, black unicorn stallion. Himself, aged somewhat more than his own knowledge.
"I-I don't understand," he said, unsure of himself, "how's this possible? Temporal reversions replace, not double."
"That they do," his elder responded, "but I didn't use a reversion spell."
"Then...?"
"Listen closely, there is something you need to know that I would not want to have gone through."
Chrono blinked, again unsure of anything by this point but he nodded moments later.
"You are going to have to prepare yourself for the worst. All your friends are going to come and go, and for all eternity you're going to be left behind."
"What do you mean?"
The elder sighed. "You and you alone are by nature free from the threads of time. As it is, you therefore can't suffer by its passing. After a while, you'll probably notice you just don't age anymore, while everypony around you carries through their natural flow of their own lifespan."
Chrono blinked several times, having substantial difficulty believing what he was being told. Still, the matter made sense to him, even if he would rather it not be the case. "So, why tell me? Why not go back and relive your own life now that you know?"
"Because I would be too tempted to spend eternity reliving life with your friends."
"My, friends? They're your friends too, you know!"
The elder shook his head with a brief glare towards the younger Chrono. "You don't understand." He said sternly, "Princess Luna won't even last forever, and to be honest I'm tired of taking my life and chipping it away in the company of others who'll never manage to stay around with me."
Chrono stopped for several seconds, hardly able even to breathe through the rush of thoughts and emotions in his mind. After several seconds more he sat down with a sigh. "Why me then? Why you?"
"Why what? Give fair warning? You know as well as anyone that anything less than a fair warning isn't very accommodating."
"Then why not enjoy what comes?"
"Because there's no point in it!" The elder nearly shouted, and the younger Chrono sprang upright.
"Don't tell me you believe that." He breathed, "Don't tell me that the passing of time is going to bring me to this. I may have all time to my name and life, but how could you ever think that I would leave my friends behind just to accommodate that?"
"What would you do?"
"I'd move as it were!" Chrono rose to his hooves again. "My friends are just that; my friends. They aren't a means to an end, there doesn't need to be point or purpose in having them! How could you have forgotten that?"
The elder Chrono tilted his head back a moment and blinked in mild surprise. "Don't tell me you believe that."
Chrono stamped a hoof on the ground, surprised at the lack of sound in his doing so. "You'd better believe I do. Now if you'd be so kind as to let me go -"
"Let you go?" The elder chuckled, "I'm not holding you down. I'm not even holding you here, this was just convenient."
"What?" Chrono blinked in shock, "Then how'd I get here?"
A tap on his back caught his attention and he spun around immediately. As much to his dismay as anything else, a familiar crimson-maned alicorn stood quite tall over him, and he took a step back to give himself a measure of space.
"So, what was it you were after?" Entropy asked, her eyes meeting with the elder Chrono's.
"Passing a message back to relieve myself of idiocy." He replied, but suddenly there was nothing but silence.
Chrono looked back; there was no figure where he had stood either.
"It's probably not the best idea to stress over it," Entropy said with a sigh. "Besides, even if you turn out to be Equestria's timeless watcher, I've been t-"
"What?" Chrono asked, somewhat more loudly than he had expected - but still without an echo.
"Oh, he didn't tell you?" Entropy sighed again, "I guess I have a lot to tell you then, don't I?"
Chrono nodded, stepping back again.
"There's no reason to be afraid. I can only confer with you here, and it isn't as if I'd want to harm you anyway. After all, I was asked to keep an eye on your development."
"Development?" Chrono's confusion rose yet again.
Entropy sat down and raised a hoof to silence the young stallion. "Yes, development. As I'm guessing you figured out, Twilight and her friends aren't going to last forever, but contrary to all natural evidence, you are. As a result, well you already have a keen interest in documenting events throughout time, and believe it or not... Celestia has asked me to overlook your studies of all things related to Equestria's safekeeping."
"You can't be serious." Chrono said dryly, "Then why cause all the trouble lately?"
"Because only you can stand up to me." Entropy reasoned, "Only you can keep up with a time-keeper's pace, and only I can keep pace with a reversion."
"How can you do that, anyway?"
"The same way I can do everything else." The mare said simply, "When I say I can mirror other ponies, that doesn't exclude a whole lot. For instance, my manipulatin of time was originally yours alone, but once we'd met that all changed."
Chrono thought back to his first meeting with Entropy, and shook his head. "But you were already using time by the time we m-" His sudden silence betrayed that he in fact realized what had transpired.
"By the time you remember, of us meeting." Entropy corrected him. "But I shouldn't have to tell you that."
"But..."
Entropy shook her head. "It isn't quite that simple either. I wasn't asked to watch over you until about forty years from now, so the initial incident with Celestia and the dopplers was excluded from what I mentioned regarding your development."
"So then why did my older self come and lecture me on all that?"
"Because that's exactly what both Celestia and Luna were afraid to see happen. On its own and without you knowing, you'd have every reason to lose hope, like I had." Entropy shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment. "That's about where I came in."
"And his disappearance?"
"He no longer existed. I'm guessing between your defiance and you now knowing what you do, you're not going to turn out like he would have. But even so, going forward is something you'll have to do on your own. I can't make your decisions for you."
Chrono remained silent, lost in thought.
"Do you understand?"
Chrono nodded. For a brief moment, his entire vision blinked in white.

As his vision settled, he noticed Twilight standing over him, pacing back and forth in a fevered worry. That, and an unexplained ache in his back explained his face's proximity to her library floor.
"Chrono, you're awake!" Twilight exclaimed, "I didn't think I'd knock you out, I'm so-"
Her voice trailed off as she noticed the look in the stallion's eyes.
"You alright?"
"I will be, I think."
"Wanna talk about it?" Twilight tilted her head at him.
Chrono shook his head as he glanced around. "Not now. I've got one too many things to think about at this point."
"Okay." Twilight said faintly as she noted Chrono's approach to her door - which she promptly opened from afar.
"Oh, and by the way. There won't be any need to do any more research on the predictions revolving around time and Entropy. I just found out, and it's a little disconcerting." Chrono said, making his way slowly to a nearby hill.
He sat down with his head resting on his front hooves, staring blankly into the distance. He must have been unconscious for quite some time; it was already late afternoon.
He wasn't quite sure where to start, but he had a lot to think about...