The Time Thief

by Reading4HalfMyLife

Loop 9 part 1

Giddy with excitement, Astral trotted through the halls of the castle until she reached her mom. Just like the last loop, Twilight was surprised to see her daughter up and about this late.

"Mom, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course, sweetie, what's wrong?"

The conversation was going much the same way as it did last time, but it was important for Astral to let this all play out. Any slight deviations could mean a different note.

"I'm stuck in a time loop, endlessly repeating the same four days over and over again." She waited for her mom to get annoyed at her for 'playing make believe,' before saying "but I really am in a time loop!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her. "Can you prove it?" Astral almost showed her the note, before realising she would have to wait for her mom to write the note itself, and kept silent.

"Tell you what, I'll write out a note, and give it to you. And, if you are looping, you can give that note to me as proof-"

Before she had even finished her sentence, Astral pulled out her note, and passed it to her.

Twilight gasped, face draining of color, before shoving some glasses onto her nose and carefully inspecting the note. There was no doubt about it, she had written it. And that meant-

Her legs gave out, and the alicorn stumbled sideways to lean against the wall, eyes wide as she stared at Astral is disbelief. Oh, her poor,poor little filly. She leaned forwards, making grabby motions with her hooves, and Astral obediently trotted up to be enveloped in her moms wings. She squirmed uncomfortably as she felt tears land on her neck.

After a few minutes of this, and Twilight still showed no signs of letting go anytime soon, Astral carefully placed her hooves on her moms chest and pulled away, staring up into watery purple eyes.

"Uh . . mom?" She asked gently, and her mom stifled a sob, before pulling herself together.

"Right . . I'm just . . so sorry," she sniffled, before a decisive look came upon her face, and she said "we need to tell Starlight; she knows more about time magic than any other pony I know."

Starlight was a little surprised to see her wife at the door, considering she was supposed to be on her way to the train station, but that was almost immediately blown away by the concern she felt by her bloodshot eyes and tear stains on her face. Something was wrong.

As if to confirm that, Astral shouldered her way into her room, and took out one of Starlight's many kites. After a few beats, she also levitated a very similar kite out of the living room, and handed them both over to the confused mare.

"I am trapped in a time loop, reliving the same four days over and over again. In the last loop you gave me proof so I could show you I was being honest, and here it is."

Starlight levitated the two kites closer to her, and felt her jaw drop and eyes widen. They were exactly the same! She looked at Twilight, and saw the somber look on her face. This was no joke.

She spun on her hocks so she was directly facing Astral, and summoned some parchment and paper. A voice in her head mocked her for acting so much like Twilight, but that was quickly overshadowed by the genuine terror that exploded from her chest and made her vision blur for a moment.

She closed her eyes, and teleported the three into the castle's library, where they all sat on a plush purple couch. She took a deep breath in to collect herself, before smiling at her daughter.

"Tell us everything."

---

It took Astral a good two hours to explain what was happening, not because her summary was particularly long, but because both her moms would interject with questions or condolences. It all became rather tiresome. At some point, the elements of harmony had been called in, and then she had to start all over again.

But, finally, they were all caught up, and Twilight leaned back in the seat. "Alright, while you've been explaining, I've taken some measures myself. The first thing is this note, from me, explaining that you are in fact in a time loop. You can use them for future loops." Astral took the note and carefully folded it up, wincing slightly at the pain blossoming in her joints once more.

"Secondly, I will also be giving you notes to give to me in other loops explaining any and all solutions we have tested, and their outcomes. These will have to be carefully looked after, as to be sure you won't lose anything.

Finally, I am lending you a book called Memory; Recollection and Remembrance. There's spells in there for enhancing memory and whatnot, so it would be interesting to try and see if we could remember past loops. While you try and learn that spell, I am going to spend the day setting up a proper research station. Oh! And don't worry, you don't have to go into school today."

"Ok, thanks! See you later everypony!" Astral smiled at the older ponies before trotting out of the room. She was already planning to try out the memory spells in the book, and so missed the worried glances being sent her way. The second she was out of earshot, the conversation took a somber tone.

"Okay, girls, how do we stop her from losing her mind? Studies have shown that repeating the same things over and over again can have hazardous effects on your mental health." Twilight looked around at her friends, serious. This was her daughter's sanity on the line, who knows how badly this may turn out?

"Maybe she could have something, like a, like a" Rarity gasped, pressing her hooves to her cheeks. "Like a scarf! She loves scarves! And it can be made of the softest material I have and-"

As the unicorn rambled on about color, the other six all shrugged. It was better than nothing. "Oh! Inspiration! I need to get started right away!" Rarity galloped out of the room, mane and tail flying straight behind her in her haste.

The others stared after her for a moment, before Twilight shrugged. "Alright then, I'll start setting up the lab. Starlight?" Her wife nodded, and the two trotted out to find an empty, unused room to turn into a lab. The rest of the elements of harmony dispersed.

"Hey Twi?"

"Yeah Star?"

"Do you . . do you think Astral's going to be alright?"

" . . I hope so Star."

Author's Note:

Okay, I can explain.

Me and my family went on vacation, and the car journey alone took three hours. My laptop ran out of charge, and the others wanted to go sightseeing, and I was dragged along.

However, on the way I managed to type up this chapter on my phone. I couldn't sign into my account, however, so I had to wait to get home and check the password on the laptop, before posting this.

Considering I wrote this in the car, on my phone, without my glasses, it's a miracle it's even legible.

Comments

[Viper Pit]

well I can see the light at the end of the tunnel oh wait nope I got set back to the begining damn it

[RandomGuy101]

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