The Time Thief

by Reading4HalfMyLife

Loop 65

Astral sat in her bedroom, cradling her scrapbook to her chest as she stared blankly ahead.

Could it be that Alchemy had a point? Was it possible she was becoming more and more coldhearted every loop?

She had, of course, been aware of her own cynicism, but she always thought of it as ‘losing her naivety’ not ‘becoming an absolute jackass.’

She swallowed nervously, before flipping open to the first few pages of her scrapbook. There were a couple of close ups of her cutie mark, and Astral had to smile at the memory, at the excitement and joy that she had felt. The next page was a picture of her in her new soft scarf, which looked a lot cleaner and sound in the past.

Then there were pictures of her armor, of her friends, Jam and Butterscotch-

Astral let out a small, muffled groan as her eyes began to water.

Her aunt Rarity had made her scarf and armor, just because she asked. Rarity hadn’t needed any second to start working for her niece, despite the fact she had a four year old at home.

And Jam and Butterscotch . . .

They must be so confused. One day their friend is completely normal, the next she’s actively avoiding them.

Astral wasn’t blind, she saw the hurt looks on her childhood best friends faces every time she went out of her way to not talk to them.

Gods Alchemy was right, she wasn’t treating anyone around her right.

Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she turned even more pages

The duel with Uncle Shining . . . I never thanked Pupa for helping me

The robbery at the bank . . . I could of have seriously hurt those ponies

Wait- wait! She froze, perking up slightly. She had given one of the jewels away to a homeless pony! That had to mean something at least!

Her mom’s voice rang through her head, wise and commanding Sweetie, if you’ve made a mistake, the best thing to do is not apologize but make up for it.

Astral jumped, throwing open the window and leaping out, teleporting away just before she could hit the ground.

She almost stumbled when she teleported just in front of a small rock, but she quickly righted herself and started for the Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse, where she knew Apple Jam and Butterscotch would be.

She liked to think she looked very dramatic; slamming the door open to the clubhouse, her horn sparking faintly and her mane blowing ever so slightly in the breeze. She bet she looked like an action hero, like she was about to deck a supervillian.

Instead, she threw herself at Jam and Butterscotch’s surprised hooves and started grovelling.

“Please, please, please forgive me!” She felt the tears well up in her eyes again as she saw Butterscotch’s confused expression and Jam’s closed off one.

“Oh, you’re here.” The filly’s muzzle crinkled slightly, in anger or distaste Astral couldn’t tell. But she did know her childhood bestie was about to walk away, so she quickly sunk her teeth into her tail, still not rising from the floor.

“Jam, I am so, so, so sorry!”

Butterscotch, who had looked like a cat that had just been sprayed with water, shook his large head. “But- why? Why were you ignoring us?”

Astral hesitated, excuses and half truths running through her head- my mom was teaching me magic, I was going through a hard time, I had a weird dream about you two- but stopped herself.

No, you’re telling the truth this time.

So, with a sigh, Astral levitated three plump cushions over and crawled onto one, gesturing for the others to do the same. They did so, reluctantly.

“That” Astral began “is a long story . . .”

It took a very long time to explain what had been happening to her, but when she was done, Jam let out a snort. “Yeah, right, that’s believable.”

Astral frowned slightly, but shrugged. “I can show you if you want.”

“Show us? How-”

The question died on Butterscotch’s lips as Astral’s horn glowed and she started to get noticeably bigger and more muscular. Her hair, once a short bob, grew to go just past her neck.

Astral awkwardly pawed the ground and looked through her now small friends through her fringe. “Eh, tada” she said, shooting out little fireworks.

Wide eyed, the other two Crusaders stood up and started circling Astral, making an especially big fuss about her cutie mark, which in turn led Astral to explaining that one.

“A tiger!” Jam enthused, clapping her hooves together. “That’s so cool! Wait” she looked suspicious once more “did we ever get a cutie mark in any of these ‘loops’?”

Let them figure it out for themselves

Don’t you dare

“Yup!” Astral said, rising to her hooves. “I can show you!”

Oh, you bitch.

Author's Note:

We interrupt Astral's travels for a brief character development.

This chapter is very important for Astral near the end of the story, you know, when she goes insane and starts killing everyone

Okay bye!