The Curse of the Time Twirler
The Curse of the Time Twirler
After the Changelings invaded and seized control of Canterlot City, the Equestria Girls had been lying low inside the Crystal Castle within the Castle Region. Although the group of friends had managed to successfully escape, they were uncertain about what they could do next to fight back against the alien invaders. As a result, they had been spending the last few days with very little to do while they waited for any news from the other regions of the Lego World.
One morning, after she had finished getting ready for the day, Sunset Shimmer walked through one of the castle’s hallways until she arrived at a large door within the main keep. She stopped in front of that door, took a deep breath and exhaled to calm her nerves, and finally knocked on that door a few times.
“Could you please wait a few minutes?” requested Princess Cadance Playwell from the other side of the door. “I just finished a video conference with a few other branches of the LEGO Team and I’m not yet dressed properly for castle duties.”
“That’s okay,” assured Sunset in response. “I was kinda hoping to speak privately with you, so I don’t care how you’re dressed at the moment.”
A few seconds later, Sunset heard the door unlock and then saw it partially open. “In that case, come on in,” agreed Cadance.
Sunset stepped through the opening into the room and saw Cadance was currently dressed in her dark turquoise business uniform rather than her lavender princess dress. She glanced past Cadance and also noticed the computer on the desk was currently displaying a split-screen of some various empty rooms. “I take it you were discussing the ongoing Changeling invasion?” asked Sunset.
“Unfortunately, yes,” confirmed Cadance as she shut the door. “The town of Appleloosa was easily infiltrated a couple days ago because they refused to take the threat seriously. Just yesterday, a train full of Changeling troopers rolled into town and seized complete control over it in only a matter of minutes, and now the rest of the Old West Region is also falling just as quickly.”
Sunset shook her head as she sighed in disappointment and muttered, “Why am I not surprised by that?”
“You said you wished to discuss something privately with me?” asked Cadance.
“Yeah, I did,” replied Sunset. “Since my friends and I can’t really do much lately, I was wondering if you might be able to help me solve a mystery that I’ve been thinking about for months. Have you read my report about the incident involving the Time Twirler?”
“Of course I did,” confirmed Cadance with a nod. “I’m grateful that you were able to destroy such a powerful magical artifact without any serious consequences, and that everything ultimately turned out well for you, your friends, and the members of PostCrush.”
“I’m also glad about how it all ended,” agreed Sunset with a smile, before she frowned and continued, “but what I’m concerned about is how it all began. When I looked into K-Lo’s memories, she had purchased that Equestrian artifact from someone in a village in the region of Pharaoh’s Kingdom. His face was obscured, and he claimed that not only was it supposedly plundered from the tomb of Somnambula, but also that it had some kind of curse. Princess Twilight and I still have no idea how the Time Twirler went from Equestria to being purchased by K-Lo, and I think this guy who sold it to her might give us some answers.”
“That does sound like an interesting mystery,” acknowledged Cadance. “I can confirm that the tomb of Somnambula was indeed robbed over a year ago, and that some of the treasure was recovered after a hut in the nearby village mysteriously burned down a few days later, but that’s all I really know on the subject of interest. I’m not sure if I could be of any further assistance.”
“But you do have something might help me,” Sunset pointed out. “Starswirl’s magical staff. Back when my friends and I fought against the Shadowbolt agents, you used it to find out where Twilight and her team was located so we could go after them. I was wondering if you could use it to learn more about that guy who sold the Time Twirler.”
“I’m not sure about that,” replied Cadance uneasily. “The spell I had used to locate Twilight was essentially a live observation, so even if I knew who to look for, it would show me only what he’s doing right now and not what he did in the past.”
“I was thinking I could use it in combination with my magical geode,” explained Sunset as she gestured at her necklace. “It allows me to see the memories of whoever I touch, so I’m kinda hoping that magical staff might give me remote access to the memories of some guy I likely never met.”
Cadance raised an eyebrow and asked with concern, “Are you sure you want to try that? Even with all of my experience with utilizing the staff, I can’t help but wonder about the risks of combining these magical abilities.”
“I’ve learned how to better control my magical power,” assured Sunset. “With your guidance on how to use the staff, I’m confident that I can use both forms of magic to find the one whose memories I’m interested in seeing.”
Cadance hesitated for a moment before she responded, “If you’ve really put that much thought into it, then I suppose it’s worth a try.” As she pulled a key out of her jacket pocket, she gestured at the round rug in the center of the room and added, “I’m sure you’re familiar with where it needs to be for this to work.”
Sunset nodded in acknowledgement before she reached down and pulled that rug away, exposing a small socket in the floor.
Meanwhile, Cadance used her key to unlock the chest at the other side of the room. She opened that chest and pulled out a white staff with a glowing blue crystal placed on the end of it. She brought that magical staff to the center of the room and inserted the bottom end of it into the socket on the floor. As she held that staff upright with one hand, she instructed, “Grab onto the staff with both hands.”
Sunset did as she was told and grasped the staff with both hands.
“Place your forehead against the magical crystal,” continued Cadance.
Sunset again did as she was instructed and rested her forehead against the glowing blue crystal.
“Now close your eyes and concentrate on the one who you wish to observe the world through their perspective,” finished Cadance.
Sunset again followed the princess’s directions and closed her eyes. She did not know the name or face of the minifig who had sold the Time Twirler, but his presence within K-Lo’s memories had been significant enough that she had something to focus on. After a few seconds, both the magical staff’s crystal and Sunset’s magical geode began to glow brighter, and soon she began to witness a vision of past events…
The desert region of Pharaoh’s Kingdom was home to pyramids, obelisks, hieroglyphs, sphinxes, and all other things based around the ancient Egyptian theme. Among the numerous settlements within that region was the village of Somnambula, named after the local heroine from a distant past. The village not only had statues of her and celebrated festivals in honor of her great deeds, but it also happened to be close to the tomb where that ancient heroine was buried. Although no one knew for sure what had been placed within the tomb alongside the late heroine, there were plenty of rumors of riches worthy of even the greatest of leaders throughout the region. But like any place known to hold lots of treasure, there were bound to be looters in the area, eager for an opportunity to take it all for themselves.
One night — approximately one year in the past — a group of four minifigs secretly opened the tomb of Somnambula with the goal of taking everything of value they could find so they could make a fortune selling it on the black market. These four men had been brought together by a shared curiosity for what lay inside that tomb, though not exactly for similar purposes. The one with messy auburn hair was Red Barren, a criminal genius who had already pulled off some successful heists across many desert settlements, and the opportunity to plunder what was believed to be one of the richest tombs in the entire Lego World was a challenge he accepted without any hesitation. The one with combed-back light blue hair was Blue Cool, a rather easy-going guy who had mastered the art of profiting from illegal trade with negotiation talents that would prove to be very useful after the heist was accomplished. The one with wild lime green hair was Green Envy, a rather notorious robber who had long been fascinated by the riches that were said to be held within this tomb, but was at least wise enough to understand that he would never be able to retrieve it without some assistance, which was why he had brought in only enough people to ensure every part of this operation would be a complete success. Finally, the one with smooth and short blond hair and wearing glasses was Professor Sandstone, a university professor from Fillydelphia and the only one in this group with no criminal record, who had offered to assist the group with locating the treasure and later evaluating each artifact to determine how much any potential buyers would be willing to pay up for them, all in exchange for allowing him a chance to study the tomb and its contents prior to the looting.
The four tomb robbers began by prying away the massive stone slab that sealed the tomb, using a system of pulleys anchored into the ground to provide additional leverage for some camels that pulled on the ropes. It would have been easier to hook some cables to a big truck, but such a heavy-duty engine would’ve been so noisy that it would alert many people in the nearby village, and the last thing they wanted was to draw any attention to themselves. After a few minutes of tugging, the stone slab finally toppled over and hit the ground with a dull thud.
With the tomb now opened, the four men quickly and quietly walked into the tomb’s entrance. As they set foot into the underground corridors, three of them were carrying not only ropes and crowbars, but also floodlights connected to vehicle Power Bricks, while the fourth guy, Professor Sandstone, was carrying a camera. As they began to pass by walls with writing and images carved into them, Sandstone silently instructed the robbers to set down the floodlights, switch them on, and aim them at the walls so that he could photograph the carvings, then they picked up the floodlights and followed him to the next location.
“Why are we wasting time with this?” grumbled Green impatiently as he set down and switched on his floodlight for the third time. “We’re not here to study some dusty old wall carvings. We’re here to loot all the riches inside!”
“Have some patience, Mister Envy,” insisted Professor Sandstone as he continued to take photographs of the etchings on the walls. “What we’re about to do will be highly destructive to this archeological site, and if I don’t fully record its original condition, the consequences could be very dire for us. A few extra minutes of proper documentation done now will save us years of potential time in prison.”
“Assuming we even get busted in the first place,” retorted Red as he switched off and picked up his floodlight.
“I prefer to hedge my bets in the event of even the most unlikely scenarios,” noted Sandstone. “Believe me, I’ve lost more than enough money in the stock market to have learned that lesson the hard way.”
“Is that why you agreed to help us?” asked Blue as he and the other two robbers set down and switched on the floodlights for the fourth time.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Sandstone shamefully confessed. “Desperate times have called for desperate measures…”
The four men continued the process several more times as they made their way deeper into the tomb. After nearly half an hour, they finally arrived at a large doorway that was sealed up by another massive stone slab. Once again, the robbers set up the floodlights and the professor photographed the site in its original condition.
“Okay, this is the entrance to the main chamber,” confirmed Sandstone. “Now let’s do this exactly like how we practiced. Remember, we only have one chance to pull this off properly.”
The original plan by the three robbers had been to use pickaxes to fracture the stone slab until it crumbled away, but Sandstone had insisted on keeping the slab intact in case if there were any potentially significant carvings on the inner side. Instead, the new plan they had practiced was to use a portable stone drill to bore a small hold through the slab, then insert a rope with a special grappling hook tied to it that would fit through the hole and expand to grip onto the inner side of the slab, and then all four of them would simply tug the rope until the slab toppled over to the ground and hopefully remain intact.
The four men quickly went through each step of the plan, their practice allowing them to proceed without any issues, even with the drill producing a louder than expected noise that echoed through the corridor. Finally, after a few tugs, they had managed to pull down the stone slab, which hit the ground with a dull thud. Although the slab ended up slitting in half on impact, the break was clean enough that the image carved into the surface could be fitted back together with no gaps.
Red and Green set up the floodlights while Blue removed the grappling hook so that Sandstone could photograph the image carved into that side of the slab. Blue noticed that the drill hole had gone through the middle of the face of a minifig depicted on that slab and quipped, “Boy, talk about a hole in the head.”
“Whatever,” grumbled Green as he rolled his eyes. “Can we get to the good stuff already?”
“Almost,” assured Sandstone. “I just need to record the initial condition of everything within the chamber, and then we can begin the process of extraction.”
Professor Sandstone led the group into the dark chamber and once again silently directed the others on where to set up the floodlights. As soon as they switched on the floodlights, the whole room was suddenly illuminated much brighter than anticipated. Once their eyes had adjusted to the light, they all gazed in wonder at the content of this chamber. Surrounding the golden sarcophagus in the center of the chamber were all kinds of spectacular treasures. There were piles of gold coins, golden idols and statues, precious jewels shaped and fitted in all kinds of artistic ways, and even pieces of furniture so bedazzled that only a royal palace was worthy of such luxury. And of course, there was plenty of glowpaz, the precious gemstone famously associated with Somnambula.
“Whoa…” muttered Red in astonishment. “Now this is a haul.”
“It’s beyond anything I’ve ever dreamed of,” noted Green in awe.
“We’re gonna be so rich…” declared Blue with a grin of excitement.
“Try not to disturb anything until after I’m finished,” reminded Sandstone as he immediately began taking photographs of practically everything inside the chamber.
It was agonizing for the three criminals to stand around and not touch any of the riches they were here for, but they knew the reward would be worth the wait. Once again, they followed Sandstone’s directions in setting up the floodlights so that he could properly photograph everything inside the chamber.
After several minutes, Professor Sandstone did a quick review of all the pictures he had taken, then finally noted, “I believe this documentation shall be satisfactory.” He packed away his camera and spoke up, “Alright, boys. Now we can proceed with gathering these artifacts.”
“Finally!” exclaimed Green in relief as he carelessly tossed aside the floodlight in his hands and pulled out one of the large sacks he had brought with him. “Now let’s load it all up and get going.”
The three thieves wasted no time as they gathered up all of the bits of treasure they could carry and stuffed them into the sacks, all while the professor wrote in his notepad a quick inventory of everything being collected. As much as they wished they could take everything around them, some of these treasures were simply too big and heavy to carry away without much difficulty. They were especially careful to avoid touching the sarcophagus in the middle of the chamber, as the last thing they wanted was a mummy’s curse to ruin everything for them.
By the time they had cleared out virtually everything of interest to them and prepared to start hauling it all outside, Red noticed one last artifact placed within a small alcove in the far wall of the chamber. It was a round golden object about the size of a coin with a closed eye on the face of it and a small protrusion on the edge.
Curious to see that singular object placed in a seemingly special location, Red walked over to that alcove and picked up the artifact. As he closely inspected it, he asked, “What’s this supposed to be?”
Blue set down the filled sack he was carrying and glanced over to see what Red was looking at. “I think it might be some kind of brooch,” suggested Blue.
“Well, whatever it is, it must be of immense significance to have been placed within such an unusual alcove,” noted Sandstone as he used his camera to take more pictures of the site where that artifact had been.
Red raised an eyebrow as he turned to Sandstone and asked, “What makes you so sure of that?”
“It’s not just the size and location of the alcove, but also the immense number of hieroglyphs carved into the wall surrounding it,” explained Sandstone. “It’s going to take me a while to translate all of this, but one word I’m seeing frequently on that wall is ‘time’. I’m not sure if this indicates that artifact is some kind of primitive timekeeping device or simply an idol to some god of time, but that’s why I insisted on documenting everything in here, so that I would have time later to properly study all of it.”
“Speaking of time, we’re wasting too much of it with that nonsense!” exclaimed Green impatiently. “We’ve got what we came here for, so let’s just haul it outta here before anyone finds us!”
Everyone in the group all muttered in agreement as Red stuffed the special artifact into a pocket in his vest, then they resumed hauling the looted treasure out of the tomb. It wasn’t much longer before all of the stolen treasure and artifacts had been loaded onto their camels, by which point the men unhitched them and began guiding them back to their hideout near the outskirts of the village.
The next day, the group of four thieves had unpacked all of the looted treasure and brought it into the large wooden hut that served as their hideout. Professor Sandstone wasted no time by setting up a desk in the corner of the hut and began studying the photographs he had taken and comparing the carved images to some reference material he had brought with him in an effort to understand what they meant. As the professor was busy with his studies, Blue Cool and Green Envy discussed options for how they would obtain as much profit as possible from the plundered treasure, while Red Barren examined the strange golden artifact that he had discovered shortly before they had left the tomb the previous night.
“You’ve been staring at that artifact for quite a while, Red,” noted Blue.
“Yeah, why are you so interested in that one little thing, anyway?” questioned Green. “It’s probably worth only twenty bucks.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” stated Red as he continued staring at the mysterious golden artifact in his hand. “If it was just another part of the treasure, we would've found it carelessly tossed into one of the piles, but this thing was apparently special enough to have been placed in an alcove all by itself. Why is that? What is it about this particular artifact that it was given such a special place within the tomb?”
“Eh, I still think it’s nothing more than just some piece of gold,” argued Green dismissively.
“I think I’ll reserve my judgment until the Professor has had a chance to take a look at it,” noted Blue.
Red continued staring at the strange artifact for a moment, then turned his attention to Professor Sandstone and asked, “What do you think, Professor? Is there anything in your research notes that says there's something special about this artifact?”
“I share your suspicion, Mister Barren,” acknowledged Sandstone as he continued comparing the photographs with his reference material, “which is why I have chosen to prioritize the carvings on the wall around that alcove as the first subject of my research. Give me a few hours and hopefully I’ll be able to provide you with some answers.”
While Sandstone continued his research, the three thieves further discussed ideas and plans on what to do with the treasure they had plundered from the tomb. By the end of the day, after the sun had set and night began to descend over the village, the thieves had come up with several ideas, but had not yet settled on any specific plans.
Red had remained especially curious about the mysterious golden artifact he still held in his possession, so once he was finished speaking with his fellow criminals, he turned to Sandstone still seated at his desk and asked, “Anything you can tell us about this artifact?”
“As a matter of fact, yes,” answered Sandstone as he rearranged the papers on his desk. “According to what I’ve been able to translate thus far, that artifact is a magical device known as the Time Twirler, said to have the power to manipulate time itself.”
Upon hearing that the artifact had magical powers, Blue and Green both started paying attention. Magical objects were not unheard of in certain regions of the Lego World, and Pharaoh’s Kingdom was definitely among them. Not to mention, with some of the widely known magical incidents that had been recently occurring in some of the City Regions, there was no telling what other sources of powerful magic could be out there to obtain. Like any group of criminals, they were eager to know what sort of power they now apparently possessed and how they could use it to their advantage.
“How so?” asked Red.
Sandstone continued looking down at his pages of notes on his desk as he explained, “To be more precise, the Time Twirler has the power to establish a time loop that lasts for only a single day, from one midnight to the next. Just press the button on the side of it, and you and everyone else within close proximity to the device shall repeat the current day from the beginning. You will fall asleep no later than midnight, then you will next awaken exactly as you did the previous morning, all while retaining your memories of your previous experiences of that same day. If you wish to repeat that particular day more than once, just press the button again at any point before the end of the day and only those initially affected — no more and no less, regardless of where they all are — shall repeat the time loop once more. Likewise, ending the time loop is simply a matter of not pressing that button at any point throughout the day.”
Red glanced back at the golden artifact he held and quietly noted, “So this magical object gives us the power to turn back time…”
“Right, and how exactly does this do us any good?” asked Green, his frown signifying how unimpressed he was.
“Don’t you get it?” explained Blue eagerly. “This gives us the perfect opportunity to not only try so many things in only a single day, but also learn from any mistakes we might make along the way. We can take huge risks and never have to fear any consequences, because everything around us will reset back to the way it was at the beginning, and no one will ever remember anything we did in any of the previous loops.”
“Oh, so you’re saying it’s like how you’re able to restart a video game, no matter how many times you lose?” asked Green as he began to smile with understanding.
“Something like that…” confirmed Blue with a shrug.
“Only in this case, it’s with reality itself that we now have such an ability to utilize,” muttered Red in astonishment as he continued staring at that magical device in his hand. He then glanced up at the others and suggested, “Wanna test it out?”
The other two thieves stared at Red for a moment, glanced at each other, then turned back to their fellow thief. Blue suddenly smiled and eagerly replied, “Sure! Let’s do it!”
Green shrugged and dismissively added, “Eh, not like we have anything better to do right now.”
Red turned to the study desk in the corner of the hut and asked, “What about you, Professor?”
Professor Sandstone stared down at his documentation and research notes scattered across the desk. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally stood up and declared, “Very well, then. I suppose like any scientific experiment, we won’t know for sure until we actually try it out.”
Red grinned and proudly stated, “Alright, then. Let’s go for it.”
“I should warn you, though,” cautioned Sandstone, “when in use, we must be very careful to not let that device get destroyed or damaged under any circumstances. Once the Time Twirler has been activated to reset the time loop, if that device somehow ends up broken, it will cause the time loop to continue perpetually for all of eternity, with no way to ever stop it.”
A consequence like that definitely caused the others to pause for a moment. It was no surprise that any form of time travel often came with serious risks, and the possibility they could end up trapped repeating the same day forever if they weren’t careful with that device was certainly a sign of what a huge gamble they were about to attempt.
“Anything else we should know about?” asked Green irritably, as if what he had just heard was no big deal.
“There is also mention about a curse of some sort,” added Sandstone, “though I have not yet been able to translate that part.”
“Once we get this time loop going, you’ll have plenty of time to keep studying until you figure it out,” assured Red. He then turned to the door out of the hut and added, “Come on. If we’re gonna do this, then we’d better do it far from the village so we don’t accidentally drag anyone else into this time loop with us.”
The rest of the group all muttered in agreement as they followed Red out of the hut and away from the village.
Once the four men were out in the empty desert and the village was now a distant sight, they all stopped and huddled together. Red held up the Time Twirler, glanced at his three associates as they all nodded in agreement, and finally pressed the button on top of that ancient artifact, causing the eye on its face to open and a pair of golden fins to flare out from the edge on opposite sides.
Whoosh!
A bright flash was suddenly unleashed along with a shockwave of energy that quickly spread out across a rather large distance. The intense effect lasted very briefly before everything had seemingly returned to normal.
Green glanced around and asked, “Did it work?”
“If Sandstone’s translation is accurate,” replied Blue, “we won’t know for sure until we wake up in the morning.”
“In that case,” stated Red, “let’s head back to the hideout and get some rest, seeing as there’s nothing else we can do about it for now.”
“Yes, I suppose that would be for the best,” agreed Sandstone with a nod.
With that decision settled, the four men began their return trip into the village, looking forward to the possibility of whether or not tomorrow would be a new day.
When the four men woke up in the morning, they noticed things like the looted treasure still packed away in those sacks and crates, the professor’s desk clear of any papers and none of his recent notes written down anywhere, and minor moments of interest in the village that were visible from the hut. All of those details was all they needed to see to confirm that they truly had begun to experience a time loop. Just to be safe, they decided to spend this very first loop by simply exploring the village to see what kind of notable events occurred that might be of any interest to them.
Once they repeated the loop a second time and they were now certain that they were definitely experiencing a time loop, they finally started taking advantage of the opportunities that such a power provided them with. While Professor Sandstone chose to stay in the hut and do further research on both the pieces of looted treasure and his documentation of the tomb’s interior, the three thieves spread out across the village and began searching for any potential buyers of plundered treasure. There were definitely times when the three of them — either on separate occasions or all on the same loop — pushed their luck too far and got either arrested or attacked with severe injuries, but none of them ever cared when it happened, thanks to the nature of the time loops.
However, after repeating the time loop dozens of times, the thieves soon began to realize there were astonishingly few chances to make a quick profit from the looted treasure within this village, despite the presence of an active black market. It seemed like no matter where they went or who they talked to, they were unable to find any promising leads that would make this effort with the time loop worthwhile.
At the end of yet another loop where the thieves had once again failed to find anyone interested in purchasing even a single small piece of plundered treasure, the four men had decided to gather in their hideout and discuss what they should do next.
“Let’s face it, guys,” declared Blue defeatedly, “there just aren’t any good enough opportunities in this village for us to make a fortune from this treasure we had plundered from the tomb.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised, to be honest,” admitted Red. “After all, this particular village practically worships the one who is buried in that tomb, so it was almost inevitable the people here would be more likely to turn us in than be interested in owning a piece of the tomb’s treasure.”
“But how are we gonna get rich if we can’t find any buyers here?” asked Green desperately.
“Then we’ll just have to look elsewhere,” concluded Red. “But since we always start every loop waking up inside this hut, that means we’ll have to end this loop and wait until after we arrive at a different town before we start a new time loop.”
“That stinks,” moaned Green in disappointment. “I was really enjoying all the crazy things this time loop allowed us to do.”
“Well, at least the Professor was able to complete his research so that we now have a better idea of what we can realistically earn from selling all of this treasure,” noted Blue in an effort to remain optimistic.
“As much as I wished that were true, I’m afraid it’s not,” admitted Professor Sandstone. “I’ve been able to translate and evaluate as much as I could with the reference materials I had brought with me, but some of what we have here is just so rare and poorly understood that if I am to make better sense of it, I’ll need to access to some more advanced catalogs that I had left behind at both my home and my office.”
“Then just hop on a plane and go get that extra study material,” Green pointed out. “As long as we keep this time loop going, you won’t have to worry about anyone suspecting you might be up to no good.”
“That’s just not possible,” explained Sandstone reluctantly. “The time loop lasts for only a single day, and the journey from here to the nearest airport that provides flights to Fillydelphia is at least half a week.” He then turned away and quietly muttered, “Not that it’ll do you much good by the time I get there…”
Blue raised an eyebrow and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“I’m tapping out,” confessed Sandstone. “I want no further involvement in this illegal activity. The guilt has just become too much for me to justify staying with the likes of you beyond this point.”
Red clenched his fists and furiously accuse, “So you’re gonna rat us out?!”
“Actually, no,” explained Sandstone, “because that would be just as bad for me as it would be for you. I volunteered for that heist, I provided you with information to aid in your objectives, and even with all of that proper documentation I had recorded, I’ll still be faced with significant time in prison just like the rest of you.”
“So what are you gonna do?” asked Blue with a shrug.
Professor Sandstone let out a sad sigh and explained, “I shall return home and discreetly continue studying my documentation of the tomb with the aid of that extended catalogue. And since I have chosen to walk away from this illicit endeavor, the three of you can keep my share of the profits.”
“No word to the authorities and more money for us?” noted Green. He then smiled and added, “I’m good with that.”
“What about your promise to study the loot so we have a good idea of what it’s worth?” asked Red, his fists still clenched in frustration.
“Then I shall return after I have completed a full assessment of the treasure’s value,” assured Sandstone. “I took pictures of everything, so there’s no need for me to stay here for further studies.”
“Hard to argue with that,” Blue pointed out as he turned to Red.
Red let out a sigh of frustration, then reluctantly declared, “Alright… If you want out, Professor, then I guess this is the best any of us can ask for.”
Sandstone responded with a nod of acknowledgment, then glanced between the three thieves and stated, “I suppose that settles that. I shall gather my things and begin my journey home first thing in the morning. With any luck, the authorities will have not yet found you by the time I return to deliver my final evaluation of this ancient treasure.”
The three other men all nodded in agreement and they all prepared to get some rest ahead of what would be their first new day after experiencing a time loop that had lasted for several weeks.
Three days had passed since Professor Sandstone left the village to return home, leaving the three tomb robbers left to decide amongst themselves what to do with all of their plundered treasure, with the magical Time Twirler of particular interest to them. Now that they were familiar with how it worked, there were so many possibilities for what they could do with it, so now it was simply a question of which option they should go with.
“I’m telling you, boys, this is a real game-changer,” stated Red Barren as he held up the magical device and stared thoughtfully at it while the three of them stood outside the hut that served as their hideout. “With the power to turn back time, we can afford to take bigger risks, which inevitably means bigger rewards for us.”
“I don’t know,” responded Blue Cool doubtfully as he grabbed the magical artifact and pulled it out of Red’s grasp. “You heard what the Professor said. If there’s really some kind of curse associated with this artifact, then simply using it might be too risky. I suggest we do nothing with it until we know for sure how much it could actually benefit us.”
“Come on, guys,” argued Green Envy with a smile and a smooth-talking tone in his voice as he gently took the Time Twirler out of Blue’s hand. “It’s obvious that what we have here is something very special that people are willing to pay big money to obtain. I say we should sell this artifact along with all the other stuff we got out of the tomb.”
“Forget it!” Red immediately shot back.
“Besides,” added Blue skeptically, “how much would you charge for it, anyway?”
Green took a moment to inspect the magical device and confidently replied, “I know I said it was worth twenty dollars before we knew what it could do, but now we know how its magic powers work, I think we can easily get over a thousand for it.”
The other two thieves stared at Green with blank expressions for a moment. Without saying a word, Red reached for the Time Twirler and yanked it out of Green’s hands.
“How hard is this for you to understand?” asked Red irritably. “Now that we can reset time itself, we no longer have to be concerned with failure on any level. If something goes wrong, we can just press the button and try again.”
“But what if setting a time loop would be even worse than traditional failure?” insisted Blue desperately. “Honestly, Red, have you given no thought to the potential consequences of utilizing a supposedly cursed artifact?”
“I always consider the consequences,” argued Red firmly. “No heist is ever without serious risk, and the fact that I’ve carefully planned several robberies and absolutely none of them ever ended in failure should say something about my success with risk management.”
Blue scoffed as he swiped the Time Twirler out of Red’s hand. “Please,” he responded scornfully. “What do you know about getting away with anything?”
“A lot more than you!” retorted Red furiously. “I’m the mastermind behind our heists! The only reason you guys haven’t been arrested by now is because I made sure none of you ever made any dumb mistakes!”
“Okay, we’re obviously getting nowhere with this,” interjected Green with a relaxed smile, “so let’s just sell that thing and we won’t have worry about it anymore.”
“NO!!” fiercely objected Red and Blue simultaneously.
“Look!” Green suddenly shouted with a fearful expression on his face as he pointed behind his two partners in crime. “The authorities are after us!”
Red and Blue immediately ceased their squabbling and glanced back, for no argument was worth the risk of being arrested and sent to prison. However, when they looked, they quickly realized there was no one coming towards them. In fact, there was no one to be seen around them at all.
With those two falling for the distraction, Green swiftly snatched the Time Twirler out of Blue’s hand and took off running away from them and the village.
The moment Blue felt that item yanked out his hand, he glanced back to see his greedy comrade now fleeing with the magical artifact. “What the—?” he quickly muttered in shock.
Red also turned to the traitorous thief and glared at him. “Oh, no you don’t…” he growled as he pulled out his revolver pistol, aimed it at his fleeing associate, and did not hesitate to fire a shot.
BANG!
At the instant of that gunshot, Green suddenly collapsed to the sandy ground and ceased moving without even a single twitch.
Blue stared in shock at the fallen fellow thief, then turned his horrified gaze towards the one who had just taken him out. Red held the fierce look on his face as he turned to Blue, as if to clearly show that he meant business. The two of them stared each other in the eyes for a few seconds, then Red suddenly took off running towards the source of their mutual interest.
“Hey!” cried out Blue as he chased after the armed thief.
Red stopped beside Green’s lifeless body and snatched the Time Twirler out his grasp, only to suddenly get tackled by Blue, dropping both his revolver and the magical artifact in the process. Red shoved Blue away and reached for the dropped artifact, but Blue managed to grab onto it at the exact same time as he did. They both immediately began tugging on the object of their desire, practically wrestling in the desert sand.
As the two thieves struggled to rip the Time Twirler out of each other’s grasp, Blue accidentally pressed the artifact’s activation button.
Whoosh!
Just like what happened when they had previously used that artifact, a bright flash and shockwave of energy quickly spread across a large distance and lasted very briefly. Both thieves immediately froze and glanced around. Although they were far enough outside the village to be the only living minifigs to have been caught within the effective range of that magical power, they were certainly close enough to have drawn some unwanted attention.
Blue reacted first by swiftly punching Red in the face. With his opponent stunned, Blue immediately shoved him off, stumbled to his feet, and began running away.
Red was quick to recover as he retrieved his revolver, aimed it at his fleeing associate, and fired a shot.
BANG!
Blue collapsed at the moment of that gunshot and grunted in pain. With labored breathing, he rolled over and watched Red slowly approach him. Despite the lethal weapon pointed right at him, Blue smiled and began to laugh. “Nice shot, Red,” he taunted weakly as he shakily held up the activated Time Twirler. “But it looks like I’m about to get another chance to take this from you.”
Red glared with contempt down at his fallen adversary for a moment before he threateningly responded, “We’ll see about that.” He then aimed his revolver at Blue’s head and fired another shot.
BANG!
Red then reached down and took back the magical artifact from the now lifeless minifig. Of course, he knew that would last only until the end of the day before everything would reset back to where they were this morning. Not to mention, the gunshots would almost certainly attract some unwanted attention from the villagers, so he knew he had to flee at once. Since the only thing that mattered now was keeping the Time Twirler intact until the end of the time loop, he decided to run further out into the empty desert, knowing that facing certain doom from the harsh elements would be negated once the time loop had reset.
The next morning, Red woke up not out in the empty desert where he had last fallen asleep, but on his cot back at the hideout hut. As further confirmation that he was now experiencing a time loop, he heard the obnoxiously loud snoring of Green sleeping in one of the other cots. Red sat up and looked to the two other cots inside the hut, but they were both empty.
Red mentally cursed, for he immediately realized that Blue likely woke up before either of his two fellow thieves this morning, which meant that guy was guaranteed a head-start at the beginning of this time loop. Despite this setback, Red remained determined to take that Time Twirler for himself, regardless of what happened to his criminal companions.
Red climbed out of his cot and reached over to pull open the desk drawer, where he distinctly remembered storing his revolver and the magical artifact overnight. Although his revolver pistol was still there, the Time Twirler wasn’t, which came as no surprise to him at this point. Not bothering to waste any time, he holstered his revolver, threw on his clothes, and headed out the door.
As Red began wandering around the village with a look of firm intent on his face, he mentally retraced his steps of this morning in an effort to determine where Blue had likely run off with the Time Twirler. On the previous loop, Red himself had been holding that artifact when he had called his two associates together to discuss what they should do with such a powerful device in their possession. Of course, now that Blue had undoubtedly stolen it, this morning was already playing out quite differently.
After a few minutes, Red eventually found Blue leaning against the well at the center of the village. Blue was apparently gazing down into the well, which meant his back was currently turned to Red. Understanding that both of them were well aware of the time loop, Red knew that his best chance to take back the magical device was to catch Blue completely by surprise, so after he glanced around to ensure none of the few nearby villagers were looking anywhere towards him, he silently pulled out his revolver, aimed it at Blue’s back, and fired a shot.
BANG!
Blue immediately slumped against the wall of the well as panicked villagers suddenly screamed and fled the scene. As Red began marching towards him, Blue rolled over to face the minifig who shot him and once he saw who it was, he grinned smugly. “Nice try, Red,” he taunted weakly as he held up the Time Twirler with its eye open and wings splayed out, indicating that he had hit the button to reset the time loop. “But as long as we keep trying this on the same day, I’ll always wake up ten minutes before you or Green. I’ll always be at least one step ahead of you.”
Red snatched the magical artifact out of Blue’s grasp and retorted, “That’s not gonna stop me from trying. You know how much I enjoy a good challenge to outsmart my opponent, and this one you’ve given me will be no different.”
It was at that moment when their third associate arrived on the scene and suddenly asked in shock, “What the brick is going on here?”
Without even bothering to glance back, Red quickly aimed his revolver towards Green and fired another shot.
And so it went. Loop after loop, Red and Blue ended up repeating the same day several times over, and every time would end up with essentially the same result: Red would take out Blue, but not before Blue was able to reactivate the Time Twirler to reset the time loop. More often than not, Green — who was not caught in the time loop with them and thus remained always unaware of their struggle — would end up losing his Creation Spark, usually as a result of Red’s frustration that the time loop had been reset yet again.
As Red faced failure after failure, he gradually began to grow increasingly desperate, and thus became less concerned about subtlety. On occasions when the authorities managed to apprehend him for murdering Blue and various other offenses, they simply placed the Time Twirler inside a safe to hold it as evidence, so at least he didn’t have to be concerned about it getting damaged before the end of the day. Even so, he remained absolutely determined to somehow find a way to get rid of Blue before he could have a chance to reset the time loop.
On the other side of the struggle, although Blue continued to smugly taunt Red every time he was able to reset the time loop, the fact that he never lived long enough to see the end of the day eventually began to take its toll on his sanity. Loop after loop, Blue’s attitude gradually shifted from amusement to paranoia as he grew increasingly desperate to just stay alive for the entire day.
Finally, after so many countless loops, Blue decided to take matters into his own hands and tried to get rid of Red before he had a chance to take him out. At first, he simply tried to take the revolver when he also took the Time Twirler, but for some strange reason, that pistol would always jam whenever he used it against Red, but never when Red used it against him. Several other attempts to take Red’s Creation Spark also failed due to extraordinary circumstances that Blue found to be increasingly ridiculous. Ultimately, he decided to set the hideout hut on fire right after he once again started the day by taking the Time Twirler, desperately hoping that it would finally allow him to escape with his life.
When Red woke up a couple minutes later, he immediately realized something very wrong was happening. He smelled smoke, felt heat significantly higher than he was familiar with, and heard the crackling of a fire. When he finally opened his eyes, he instantly bolted out of his cot when he saw the surrounding walls and ceiling were engulfed in flames. Knowing there was little time to lose, he swiftly grabbed his revolver and his pile of clothes — he didn’t like the idea of escaping from this inferno with nothing but his underpants — and prepared to jump through the nearest window.
Meanwhile, Green was still asleep in his cot, snoring loudly as usual before he muttered, “Hey, do I smell barbecue?”
CRASH!
Green was instantly awake when a flaming support beam from the ceiling suddenly collapsed right on top of him. He immediately screamed out in terror and desperately hollered, “HELP!! GET IT OFF!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!”
Red was now suddenly faced with a choice of whether to go back and help his associate in crime or to simply continue his own desperate escape. It took him a few seconds, but in the end, he did what any selfish thief did and decided to just save himself. He fired his pistol at the window to break the glass, then immediately jumped through the opening.
With his pile of clothes held under he left arm and his revolver in his right hand, Red quickly got up on his feet and fled from the burning building. Once he managed to reach a safe distance from the inferno, he heard something else besides the raging flames. It was the puttering of an engine speeding away, and when he glanced out towards the empty desert, he saw Blue riding on a small ATV, fleeing quickly from the scene of the incident.
Red instantly realized what was really going on, and he immediately felt nothing but absolute rage at what Blue had just done. “YOU RETCHED SCUM!!” he furiously shouted at the fleeing thief and aimed his revolver at that traitor.
“Fire!” screamed someone in the village. “Fire!”
Red instantly froze and glanced back towards the village. The burning building was already attracting attention from the villagers, and if he fired a shot from his pistol right now, it would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention. With no other option, he reluctantly lowered his revolver and ran off into a back alley into the village. He would deal with Blue later, but for now, his priority was to lay low and keep himself out of danger.
One week had now passed since the hideout had burned down, resulting in Green Envy losing his Creation Spark for good and the plundered treasure ending up either destroyed in the inferno or the scorched remnants recovered by the villagers. Red Barren remained furious at Blue Cool for practically throwing away everything they had worked hard to steal, all for the sake of one magical artifact. The only bright side in all of this was that with the time loop now over, that meant Blue likely believed he had successfully gotten away, which meant that wherever he went, he was likely letting his guard down. Now with nothing left to lose, Red had become obsessed with getting revenge on Blue.
Red had remained in hiding for three days to wait for things in the village to relax after that fire. Once he felt comfortable enough with being out in the open again, he decided to “borrow” a camel and some survival supplies before he headed out into the desert. The constantly shifting sands made it difficult to find any signs of a trail left behind by Blue, but Red was determined to find him.
After a few days of searching the empty desert, Red finally managed to find something at the bottom of a large sand dune. He guided the camel towards that rather shiny object and once he got close enough, he realized that it was the small ATV that Blue had escaped on, though now it was overturned and with several parts detached and scattered around nearby. Clearly, something happened out here that caused Blue to wreck the ATV, which would have forced him to continue his journey on foot, and this far away from any signs of life meant that his survival at that point became unlikely.
Red continued his search while riding on the back of the camel, and it wasn’t long before he came across exactly what he was now expecting to find. It was a minifig skeleton lying down in the desert sand, and clutched within its hand was a familiar golden artifact.
Red dismounted the camel and approached the skeleton. The tattered remnants of clothing on this skeleton closely resembled what he remembered Blue was wearing when he last saw him. He reached down and pulled the golden artifact out of the skeleton’s grasp, and sure enough, it was the Time Twirler that Blue had tried to keep for himself at the expense of just about everything else.
Red stared at the magical artifact for a moment, then glanced down at the skeletal remains of Blue Cool and let out a sigh of pity. “This is what you get for thinking you can cheat death by using time travel,” he muttered before he stuffed the Time Twirler into his vest pocket and then began walking back to the camel.
Seconds later, Red suddenly rushed back to the skeleton and swiftly kicked the skull like it was a soccer ball. He watched that skull soar through the air until it landed upon another sand dune in the distance, kicking up a burst of sand upon impact.
With his desire for vengeance now satisfied, Red climbed onto the camel’s back and began the long journey back to the village.
Just as he had promised to his criminal associates, Professor Sandstone had returned to the village of Somnambula two weeks after he left to access some of the more advanced study materials back at his home and office in the city of Fillydelphia. Now that he had finished translating all of the ancient carvings he had photographed, he was ready to meet up with the three thieves once more to share with them everything he had learned.
Sandstone walked along the narrow village streets, remembering very well where the hideout was located. However, once he arrived, he was shocked to discover that instead of a typical hut, the site of the hideout was now a pile of charred wreckage with some partially melted parts scattered throughout the debris. “What happened here?” he asked.
“Oh, I’ll tell you what happened…”
Sandstone turned around and saw Red step out from around the side of a nearby adobe hovel. The lone thief had a rather furious expression on his face as he aimed his revolver directly at Sandstone. The professor responded by immediately holding up his hands and not saying a word.
“You wanna know what happened?” Red spoke up before he reached his free hand into his vest pocket and pulled out the Time Twirler. “This happened to us! The three of us disagreed on what we could use this power for, so we turned against each other. I would’ve come out on top, if not for Blue activating this thing just before I could take his Creation Spark.”
Red's voice started to become unstable as he continued, “And so, loop after loop, we repeated the same day, and no matter what either of us tried to do differently, the result was always the same — I would successfully get rid of both Green and Blue, but Blue would always reset the time loop before I ever got a chance to finish him off. Eventually, Blue decided to burn down the hideout, destroying all the loot from the tomb, just so he could make his getaway out into the desert. Unlike Green, I escaped from the inferno, but then I had no way to chase after Blue, so that was the end of that time loop. A few days later, I found his remains out in the desert and took this thing back from him.”
The madness in Red’s voice gradually became more apparent and the revolver in his firm grip began to shake a little as he continued, “And today, you came back here to tell me that you finished studying that tomb, so now you plan to hand over all of your research to the authorities before turning yourself in. Of course, you should’ve known I wasn’t going to let you rat me out like that, so I tried to take your Creation Spark as well. You got away, so I decided to use the Time Twirler to try again. Again, you got away, so I reset the time loop and tried again… and again… and again… and again! But no matter how many times I’ve tried, something always happens to prevent me from getting rid of you — one of us stumbles and causes me to miss, something bumps into me and throws off my aim, some dumb animal or person suddenly walks right between us and ends up taking the bullet meant for you, an eagle snatches the gun right out of my hand, and even a space satellite comes crashing down right beside me to provide that one split second distraction that allows you to escape!”
Now visibly on the brink of insanity, Red bared his teeth and aggressively demanded, “So tell me, Professor… WHY… CAN’T I… KILL YOU!?!”
Sandstone knew he was being confronted by someone who had become completely unstable and had a lethal weapon pointed right at him, so he was initially reluctant to say or do anything, but since he was now being told to respond, he had to choose his next words carefully. Finally, he cautiously asked, “Did I ever get a chance to explain everything to you on those previous loops?”
Red was visibly shaking in agitation, but he soon managed to respond by shaking his head left and right.
“Then perhaps it’s time to hear me out,” suggested Sandstone. “You might get some answers to your questions.”
Red continued to glare at Sandstone, as if even the most minor of distractions would cause him to suddenly pull the trigger on that revolver in his hand. He shut his eyes and clenched his whole body for a moment, then relaxed and finally responded, “Okay… then talk. Tell me something I don’t already know.”
Sandstone lowered his hands and let out a sigh before he explained, “When I first told you about that artifact, I mentioned there was a curse associated with it, but had not yet translated enough of the carvings to say for sure what it was. Now that my research is complete, I am convinced that everything you have just told me actually makes sense. You see, anyone who would wish to use the Time Twirler must have a reason for why they intend to create a time loop, but the curse placed upon that artifact causes that desire to forever be unobtainable for however long that device continues to be utilized.”
Red’s facial expression began to soften as he began to realize what Sandstone was indicating based upon this new information.
“Think about it, Mister Barren,” continued Sandstone. “Your efforts to find buyers for the plundered treasure, my efforts to fully translate my documentation, Mister Cool’s efforts to survive your wrath, your efforts to stop him before he had a chance to reset the loop, and now your efforts to get rid of me. For as long as you continue to use that Time Twirler, you will never be able to achieve whatever it is you hope to accomplish with the aid of a time loop.”
Although Red kept his revolver aimed at the professor, he became increasingly conflicted over whether or not such a rather petty goal was really worth a practically endless level of effort. “Then how do I stop it?” he asked desperately. “How do I break this curse?!”
“The curse can’t be broken,” explained Sandstone. “It is as much a part of that artifact as its magical power to manipulate time. There is only one way to free yourself from such a vicious cycle… Just stop trying. Do not reset the time loop and simply cease pursuit of whatever it was you had hoped to accomplish.”
Red stared blankly at Sandstone for a moment, then skeptically asked, “Really? It’s that easy?”
“Yes,” confirmed Sandstone with a nod as he spoke gently. “You can do it, Mister Barren. Just put down that gun and let me walk away. That’s all you need to do to end this madness.”
Red hesitated for a while. He knew Sandstone’s plan and he knew what had to be done to avoid being sent to prison, but now he was forced to question if it was really his best option. After all, what was the point of fighting for his freedom if it would just leave him trapped on the same day over and over?
After a lengthy mental struggle, Red ultimately submitted to the reality of his situation. He reluctantly lowered his revolver and placed it back within the holster on his belt. “Sooner or later, you have to realize that you just can’t win when the universe itself seems to have turned against you,” he grumbled defeatedly.
Sandstone nodded in acknowledgement and added, “I have also since discovered in my research that the Time Twirler has a range of effect not only for who gets to experience the time loop, but also a maximum distance that those affected are permitted to travel. Those who are caught within the influence of the time loop cannot simply run away to escape its effects, so the curse essentially rigs the odds to ensure that — even under the most improbable of circumstances — none of those experiencing the time loop will ever be able to get too far away from the Time Twirler.”
With that revelation, Red’s eyes widened and he remained silent for a moment before he glanced away and muttered in shock, “The wrecked ATV…”
“Pardon?” asked Sandstone.
Red turned his attention back to Sandstone and explained, “On that final cycle of the time loop, Blue escaped on an ATV, no doubt to get as far away from me as quickly as possible. But because he set the hideout on fire before he left, I had no choice but to lay low within the village to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. There was nothing that could compel me to follow him out into the desert — I’m too smart for that — so instead, something must’ve happened to prevent him and that Time Twirler from getting too far away from me. I found his remains far enough away from the wreck that he must’ve survived the incident, so he should’ve been capable of reactivating that device when he realized there was no other way to get out of there alive… but he didn’t.” He paused for a moment before he concluded, “I guess he thought it would be better to let the desert take his Creation Spark than to have it taken by my hands.”
“It seems that, in his final moments, Mister Cool realized the true nature of the curse,” noted Sandstone solemnly.
Red still held that magical device in his other hand, so he stared down at it for a moment before he turned his attention back to Sandstone and asked, “What should I do with this thing?”
“You could either pass it along to someone else, or you could simply destroy it,” answered Sandstone. “Personally, I would suggest destroying it to prevent anyone from experiencing the mental torture you have undoubtedly endured.”
Red raised an eyebrow and suspiciously pointed out, “I thought you said destroying the Time Twirler would cause the time loop to keep repeating forever with no way to ever stop it.”
“Only after it has been reactivated to reset the time loop,” reminded Sandstone. “If it has not been activated, then the only consequence of destroying it is that you would no longer be able to use it to start a new time loop.”
Red once again stared at the magical device in his hand for a moment before he muttered, “With all the trouble this cursed item has brought me, I’d rather not take my chances.” He then shoved the artifact back into his vest pocket. “I’ll let someone else deal with it. I’ve been through too much to let all this effort end up being all for nothing.”
“If that is what you have decided upon, then I shall not try to convince you otherwise,” conceded Sandstone.
Red hesitated for a moment before he asked, “What about you, Professor? What do you plan to do next?”
“I believe you already know the answer from your experiences in the previous loops,” replied Sandstone. “I intend to turn in my completed research on the contents of that tomb.” He glanced over at the charred debris of what used to be their group’s hideout. “Seeing as the spoils of that robbery are now forever lost, the documentation I have left properly organized within the desk in my office is now the only surviving record of the tomb of Somnambula in its original condition. Such valuable archaeological knowledge deserves to be made public.”
“And since that darn Time Twirler won’t allow me to stop you, I guess I have no choice but to spend the rest of my life as one of the most wanted fugitives in the whole Lego World,” Red reluctantly conceded.
Sandstone continued staring at the remnants of the old hut as he considered Red’s fate as a result of his decision. He thought it over for a few seconds, then turned his attention back to Red and declared, “I suppose I’ll wait a few days before I turn in my research. That should provide you with enough time to flee this village and dispose of that magical artifact in whatever way you ultimately decide upon.”
Red gazed at Sandstone with a look of stunned disbelief on his face. “You’d do that for me?” he asked in confusion. “Even after what I’ve been spending the latest time loop trying to do?”
“After the cruel insanity you’ve had to endure, it is the least I can do,” assured Sandstone. “Farewell, Mister Barren. Farewell…” And with that, Professor Sandstone turned away and began to walk off back into the village.
Red couldn’t believe his luck as he watched Sandstone depart. He had spent the previous countless time loops trying desperately to eliminate what he had perceived to be the last remaining threat to him, with all efforts ending in failure. Yet, now that he finally understood the full nature of the cursed artifact and thus decided to simply give up and stop trying, he was presented with a rather favorable outcome for both himself and the professor.
Red began to smile as he turned his gaze out to the empty desert beyond the village. Perhaps things would turn out just fine for both of them.
“Whoa! Look out!”
CRASH!!
Red immediately turned his attention to the source of that sudden noise, which sounded like it came from the same direction he had just seen Sandstone leave. He quickly rushed over to the scene of the incident and arrived at a relatively large building surrounded by scaffolding, except some of that scaffolding had suddenly collapsed, and sticking out from that pile of debris at awkward angles were an arm and a leg with rather familiar clothing on them.
“Is he okay?” asked one of the construction workers with concern as he and a few others gathered around the collapsed pile of debris.
Two of the construction workers climbed onto the pile of debris and began quickly tossing aside pieces of junk and rubble. As soon as they had cleared away enough debris to reveal the minifig trapped underneath, they inspected the body, then turned to their coworkers and solemnly shook their heads. “I’m afraid not,” one of them reported. “He’s a goner…”
“Poor guy,” muttered another construction worker in pity. “Just an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Further away, Red continued to stare in disbelief at the scene of devastation. Professor Sandstone, the one person he had tried and failed so many times to eliminate, was now gone. His Creation Spark had been taken not by Red’s revolver, but by a simple construction accident.
Red swiftly went through a wide range of emotions in response to what he had just witnessed. He sputtered in shock, waved his arms around in confusion, giggled in bemusement, gritted his teeth in anger, and shuddered in horror. It took him a while to find his voice, and once he did, he exclaimed, “Really? Seriously?! I mean… that’s it?! I finally let it go, and now it actually happens?!”
Red turned and walked away as he continued shifting swiftly between his wide range of emotional responses. He no longer cared if anyone was watching his wild theatrics, for he no longer cared about practically anything at all. His complete mental breakdown was finally unleashed as he turned to the heavens and desperately shouted, “Why? Why?! WHHHYYYYYY!?!”
Red Barren was done with the Time Twirler. That cursed artifact had taken everything from him. Not only was all of the plundered treasure from the tomb now gone with nothing to show for it, but also all of his associates had pointlessly lost their Creation Sparks. There was now only him and that stupid cursed magical object. He really wanted to just destroy that Time Twirler, but after how much misery it had brought upon him and his late associates, he didn’t want to risk making things even worse than they already were.
No, this time, Red was actually going to heed the late professor’s advice. The only way he could guarantee an end to the curse was to simply give up trying to use the Time Twirler for any purpose. More than that, he wanted to completely give up possession of that artifact, which was why he now stood behind the counter of an empty shop within the village’s bazaar. For this to work, he couldn’t risk allowing just anyone — especially any members of law enforcement — be aware of his intentions today, so he disguised himself with a dark robe and headwear that obscured every part of his body except his eyes, and a simple cloth covered up the magical artifact he hoped to soon be rid of.
Everything was in place and Red had prepared his speech, so now all he had to do was attract the right buyer to take that cursed artifact off his hands. He carefully scanned the wandering crowd of shoppers, but many of them were locals who might easily recognize the artifact and refuse to take it from him. For this to work, he needed someone who was an outsider.
Eventually, Red spotted someone rather unusual. Although this woman wore a white hooded cloak that fit in with the locals, the makeup on her light blue face and her partially exposed curly magenta hair definitely stood out. If anything, she looked like she would fit in most likely with one of those advanced and far away City Regions. Illegally obtained items can easily be passed around in a big city, so he was convinced this woman would be the perfect target for his act of desperation.
As this foreign woman walked close by, Red decided it was time to act, so he softly spoke up, “Hey! You there!”
The woman with blue skin turned her attention towards Red.
“Would you like to purchase a forbidden accessory?” offered Red quietly.
The foreign woman glanced left and right, then approached the stall and asked, “Depends on what you mean by ‘forbidden’.”
Excellent. Red had her attention. Now he felt comfortable enough to remove the cloth on the counter to reveal the Time Twirler. “This piece is said to have been plundered from the tomb of Somnambula,” he quietly explained.
This potential buyer picked up the cursed artifact and closely inspected it. She raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is that all there is to it?”
This was the part where Red had to choose his words carefully. He wanted the foreign buyer to know the tempting truth, but not the scary truth, so he continued, “According to legend, this artifact has the power to manipulate time itself. One press of that button on top, and you and everyone else nearby will next awaken back on the previous morning. You will have the opportunity to avoid whatever mistakes you had previously made that day, and if a single repeat doesn’t cut it, just press the button again anywhere at any time on that same day, and you and everyone else affected the first time will repeat that day a third time. There’s no limit to how many more times you can then repeat the day, so long as you keep hitting that button before the end of that day.”
The unknown girl continued to stare at the artifact in her hand. Red didn’t feel bad about leaving out the part about the curse that prevented those who used it from ever achieving their desired goal. He failed to take it seriously and paid the price for it, so he was convinced there was no point in warning her and instead decided to let her learn her lesson the hard way. In fact, there was a chance she might not even believe in it’s supposed power to control time, and thus would be interested in the artifact as little more than a pretty accessory. Even so, the deal was still not yet officially done, so he waited anxiously for a response from the potential buyer.
Finally, the foreign woman turned her attention back to Red and asked, “What’s your asking price?”
Red would’ve happily given it to her for free, but he didn’t want her to suspect how undesirable he now considered that magical artifact, so he replied, “I’ll accept any form of payment, but if you want the value in dollars, all I’m asking for is twenty.”
Without a word, the foreigner pulled out a green 1x2 tile piece with the number “20” printed on it in white, handed it over to Red, and then began to walk away with her newly purchased item.
The deed was done. The Time Twirler was now officially in the possession of someone else, taking its associated curse with it. Red waited a few seconds to watch the foreign girl leave with the cursed artifact, and once he was sure it would never be coming back, he finally loosened his mental restraints. He giggled hysterically and excitedly cried out, “It worked! She took it! It’s no longer mine! The curse has been lifted! I’m free!”
Red didn’t care he was making a scene as he whooped uncontrollably and did all kinds of crazy dance moves atop the counter of his makeshift shop. As far as he was concerned, the worst was finally over and he had good reason to celebrate as much as he wanted to.
Red Barren could not remember the last time he had felt so elated. After seemingly months or possibly even years of struggle and misery and tragedy over what was in fact probably only a couple weeks, his ordeal was finally over. There was now nothing left for him to be concerned about.
As Red wandered through the narrow streets of the village, the gaping withdrawal was finally starting to hit him. The Time Twirler was gone. The treasure that had been plundered from Somnambula’s tomb had been destroyed. The hideout he had called home for years had burned down. All three of the men he had partnered up with for illegal treasure hunting were now gone. He was now absolutely all alone and with absolutely nothing in his possession.
Well, there was still one item that Red had with him. As he felt the revolver in his pocket, he stopped in front of a dark alleyway. He stared into the foreboding darkness, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then walked into that alleyway.
Red allowed his thoughts to wander. There was nothing left in his life and no one left around to care about him. He was well and truly at rock bottom, and while some might say he could only go up from here, his recent experiences told him otherwise. The thought that made him decide to pull out his revolver was the remote possibility that the Time Twirler might somehow find its way back to him. No matter how bad things ever got, that gosh darn thing always seemed to find a way to make everything even worse. His recent experiences had left his mind so deranged that he felt there was only one way to ensure that terrible Time Twirler curse would never harm him ever again.
As Red stared down at that revolver pistol in his hand, he thought back to that foreign girl who had bought the Time Twirler from him as he muttered in a resigned tone, “Well, missy… whoever you are…” He then giggled as a crazy grin spread on his face, then he aimed the pistol against the side of his head as he gleefully declared, “No givebacksies!”
BANG!
Sunset Shimmer suddenly gasped in shock as she immediately released her grip on the magical staff and backed away from it the moment the vision concluded.
“Sunset?” asked Princess Cadance worriedly. “Are you alright?”
Sunset continued breathing heavily, struggling to catch her breath as she recovered from the terrible vision she had just witnessed. “So much tragedy…” she muttered with a distant look on her face.
Cadance hesitated before she cautiously asked, “What did you see?”
With her jaw hanging and her eyes wide, Sunset slowly turned the Cadance and shakily replied, “The men who robbed the tomb of Somnambula… none of them are alive anymore…”
Cadance covered her mouth and faintly gasped in shock.
Sunset slowly turned away and began trudging towards the door as she continued, “It didn’t take them long to discover what the Time Twirler could do, but every time they used it, they found themselves incapable of accomplishing the tasks for which they created those time loops. Finding buyers for the looted treasure, learning more about the magical item they possessed, and even trying to murder each other, no matter how hard they tried, they always ended in failure every time they reset the time loop. It was only when they stopped using that magical power that they finally found success.” Once she finally reached the door, she stopped and turned to look back at Cadance. “It really was a cursed item…”
Cadance remained speechless as she tried to comprehend the horrors of what Sunset had just witnessed.
Sunset sighed before she turned her distant gaze upwards and muttered, “Could PostCrush have suffered a similar fate if not for my interference? When I finally broke that time loop, Su-Z confessed that she had been reaching her breaking point with K-Lo. If I hadn’t been there to stop it, how much longer could they have kept going? How many more times would they have kept trying before Su-Z decided she’d had enough and tried to put an end to it… even if it would mean putting an end to K-Lo? Is it possible that I saved not only their career and friendship, but also their very lives?”
Both girls in the room remained silent for a while before Cadance softly spoke up, “I don’t know the answers to those questions… And personally, I think it might be for the best that we’ll never know about those particular answers.”
Sunset let out a sigh and admitted, “You’re right…” She turned to Cadance and added, “No point in speculating on what could’ve been. Let’s just be glad that what actually happened is what really happened.”
Cadance responded with a grateful smile.
Sunset took a deep breath and exhaled before she stated, “Well, that pretty much answers all the questions I came here for, so I guess I’ll just… get going now.”
Cadance removed the magical staff from the socket in the floor and contently responded, “Even if it wasn’t what you were expecting, I’m always happy to help.”
Sunset smiled and softly replied, “Thank you, Princess Cadance.” She then opened the door and prepared to step outside, but then paused and glanced back as she added, “By the way, Professor Sandstone from Fillydelphia had left within the desk in his office some extensive documentation of the tomb of Somnambula in its original condition. He was planning to release that information to the public when he suffered from that fatal accident. I think we should respect his wishes and ask someone to do that on his behalf.”
Cadance remained smiling as she gave a nod of acknowledgment, then turned away and walked back towards the open chest. As Cadance placed the magical staff back inside that chest and locked it shut, Sunset stepped out of the room and closed the door on her way out.
As Sunset walked along the castle corridors back to the hidden rooms where she and her friends had been hiding, she reflected on everything she had witnessed in that vision. It truly was a horrific tragedy, to say the least, but at least now she knew for certain how the Time Twirler went from the tomb of Somnambula to ending up in K-Lo’s possession. It wasn’t the complete story of how that Equestrian artifact ended up in the Lego World, but it did fill in a gap in the chain of events.
As Sunset arrived at the small room that served as her temporary bedroom, she considered writing a message in her magic journal to share her discovery with Princess Twilight Sparkle in Equestria. However, as soon as she entered the room, she noticed her journal was vibrating and glowing, indicating that Princess Twilight had just sent her a message. She opened the journal and read the message. As soon as she finished reading that new message — a response to her desperate call for help after the Changeling invasion only a week ago — she smiled for only the second time since witnessing that vision and remarked, “Alright, maybe now we can actually get somewhere.”
Sunset decided she would reflect on past events later. For now, she had more immediate concerns that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.
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Honestly, this was worth the small wait. It gives a very understandable yet interesting back story to the Time Twirler, and how it got in the hands of the Post Crush band in the first place. 9/10 from me, the clichés were a bit abundant, but honestly that didn't matter much. Great job on the side story.
10900611 Thanks for the comment. After how long it took for me to finally complete this (especially compared to how quickly I had previously been able to get my writing done), I'm glad to hear some appreciation. It makes me feel like all those months of struggling to make any progress was worth the effort. I just hope the same will be true once I can finally complete the next chapter of the main story.
This is surprisingly dark for a story set in this universe, but it does explain a lot.