As Time Turner prepares to celebrate the Ponyville summer sun celebration with his stalker/marefriend, Lucky Catch, he's cut short by a visit from Prince Blueblood, the second most powerful pony in Equestria.
The Prince is haunted by a spectral panther: the creature responsible for the death of one of his predecessors over a thousand years ago. When the Captain of the Royal Guard refuses to waste resources investigating a ghost story, Prince Blueblood takes his aunt's advice: to hire the Discordian Detective to discover why the panther has returned after so long.
Chapters (12)
Time Turner is such a great protagonist. His first-person view is one of the biggest draws of this story.
Good luck topping that marriage proposal gag.
Maybe someone put a curse on the blueblood line that every certain generation of bluebloods is hunted down by a panther demon? Interesting story so far.
So is his cutie mark story real, or did he just make that up so he wouldn't have to tell Lucky Catch about the "Reset" stuff?
1830990 The first story moreso than this one; this one feels more along the lines of a parody of "Hound of the Baskervilles" with some Adamsian humor added in for flavor.
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Time Turner paraphrased the story for brevity, but he firmly believes that his cutie mark is a paradox. This does bring up a few more questions about how it actually occurred.
Naturally Time Turner is very cagey about this sort of thing because at this point nopony else knows about his reset ability, if somepony did find out he would never be able to play cards in Las Pegasus again.
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And what good is a half-boiled detective who can't gamble?
"I hate chess. It’s been played for so long that almost every strategy has a known counter and all creativity has been lost in the game.” I snorted my disapproval. “It’s just too limited for me, like this party."
Hah! Arrogant much?
And it's interesting how Time Turner is giving Shining Armor such a hard time. He just might regret that a bit when he finds out that that's Twilight's brother, and doesn't really deserve all this grief.
Then again, I'm not certain Turner isn't too self-important to truly regret it...
I think, overall, you did well with Fabulator.
He was an interesting change from the usual villain stuff- both the over-the-top bad guy who does things "for the evulz", and the angsty (sometimes even whiny) would-be anti-villain. It's not often that the Big Bad turns to the person he's taken advantage of and claims that, while he did take advantage of them and betrayed their trust, he still considers them friends. Ballsy, certainly- but what's some bad memories when you can simply erase them via brainwashing?
If there is one thing I'd criticise, it'd be that it felt like we didn't know too much about Fabulator, making it a bit more difficult to invest in him- however, that is a minor point.
Wow...Luna's kind of a bitch...I love her to bits and all but her attitude of just forcing Turner to marry Catch just made me shudder at the idea of what her time period was like.
Write because it makes you happy. don't wait for others to tell you it was a worthwhile effort.
I can honestly say though, This was fantastic! I can't wait to see more and am going to do my damnedest to make sure it's gets more attention. The fact you have so few followers is a crime that cannot go uncorrected!
Wow, Turners lucky that Shining didn't flatten him right there.
Heh, wingboner.
Time Turner's plan for the audience was MAGNIFICENT. He wove in a Wonderbolt's crush, and I especially love the bit about the party going to go until sunrise. It took something worrisome and turned it into a reason to keep partying.
Ooh, I like how you're using shadow magic! It's an element from the Crystal Empire saga with a lot of potential, but one I've rarely seen mentioned outside of grimdark fics (which I don't particularly care for).
Wow, it's weird -- refreshing, too, I'd say -- to read Blueblood as something other than a complete jerkass waste of space. I've read 'Best of all possible worlds', in which the Blueblood office is there to be somepony to take the blame and be despised when necessary, I've read something called 'Batmane' I think where he's essentially Bruce Wayne, and I remember that in 'A slice of life' he was reasonable; other than that, can't think of any other stories. Not that he doesn't make for a good bad guy, like in 'Earth and sky' (where he's not so much a villain as, well, a bad guy), and not that I actually normally LIKE the character, but... yeah.
Yay, Luna!
As to what you asked, he seems like a pretty good villain thus far. Doing it for power is pretty common, although perfectly sensible; doing it for KNOWLEDGE (which leads to power) is less commonly seen, but also makes perfect sense. I enjoy reading villains who aren't complete puppy-kicking jerks with an acted-upon Oedipus complex (if you know what I mean); good people doing bad things for the right reasons make compelling villains, but my personal favourite would have to be nice guys who make no apologies for their actions.
You know, I think Catch HAS been growing on me, as well as on Turner. Her awesomeness with the Panther didn't hurt.
Oh, TURNER! Twilight's his sister!
This series was thoroughly enjoyable! I'm looking forward to hopefully reading more about him. I'm interested in the Discord connection, exactly what was up with getting his cutie mark, and a bunch of other things I can't remember at the moment.
yeaaaahhhh WIBBLY WOBBLY TIMEY WIMEY!!!! just a big ball of "stuff"
i love how you portray turner in a non doctor like way but still find ways to include "doctor" elements into the story
extremely confident and a touch arrogant
just gotta love that time turner
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I'm glad you're enjoying it.
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i agree the effects of twilights shadow spell during the crystal empire ep kinda built up my expectations too much cuz you saw how it was spreading right, i thought theyd have done something with that i mean it had a lot of unused potential even outside that episode.
i love almost everything about him......except his name
"fabulator" i mean it sounds weird to say in my head u can imagine wat it sounds lie out loud dontknow....it just sounds kinda like a fashion "fabulous" robot name
THAT......WAS.......BAWS! This whole story time turner has been using reset to worm his way out of hr proposals and now when he tries it luna just basically says "NO stop that! just marry the girl already" as if she knew that this wasent his first time doing that
Btw i loved his plan B: Punt the cup at shining then Bolt while blaming dark magic
priceless
ohhhh i smella prooooobblllleeemm!
just think even while hiding in ponyville press still travels and once rumors spread that turners married tavis whole coltfriend excuse will evaporate leaving her and vinyl defenceless (not to mention most ponies know about vinyls fillyfooling it wont be hard for nobles to put 2 and 2 together) and possible initiating some hard to answer questions
currently turners known as octavias coltfriend in canterlot thats no joke however a marriage is something different especially if officiated by luna herself ESPECIALLY since its her first since returning this means the press will be ALL OVER THAT
I remember reading some of this a long time ago and wound up forgetting about. Just now found it again and loved it.
I like the character lucky catch and love how you wrote every character.
Both of these stories were great. Spot on. One of the best I've read so far. I hope to see more of the Detective.
D'awwww at Turner getting married reluctantly with Lucky Catch. I didn't expect it to turn out that way.
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Thank you both. I find myself rather suprised to get two comments on this story in one day – I'd thought this doomed to the dusty archives of the back catalogue.
SliQster, I find it rather flattering that you included both of the Discordian Detective stories on your user page, thanks again.
3285370 Believe me, my friend, they deserve it.
3285370 Your welcomed and I'm suprised this doesn't have a hundred comments.I added this to my group"the good prince" because of your portrayal of prince blueblood.
Well, I enjoyed it.
On to the next one.
I finally got around to reading this story, and it was a nice little ride. I had a good bit of fun with this story. It had a solid mystery, some interesting characters, and some good humor. I think I'll check out the other story in this series and see what it is about someday.
Nice to see a non-useless Blueblood. Would be like Time Turner to not write down what his personal fear is. Also interesting to see that Time Turner doesn't always completely win. Luna certainly gave him a bit of a slapdown over the whole marriage thing. And an interesting complication with Octavia.
By which you hopefully mean "only mildly extortionate." Come to think of it, should he have to pay Celestia a referral fee for sending him the business?
You've been living in Ponyville for months now and haven't found out about Fluttershy?
... did Blueblood even notice when Sunset Shimmer left and Twilight became the new student?
Can you get bitten by a chocolate mousse moose?
1833136 Now, the real question is has older!Turner experienced the time travel back to cause young!Turner to get his cutie mark?
While I can actually see that working, a number of early elevators were powered by steam, which Equestria clearly has. I can't see a big fancy hotel passing up the bragging rights of having their own steam-powered elevator. And that's aside from the fact that they have electricity as well.
ba-dum-tish.
You just ate Poison Joke - surprise! (Also, the period should be inside the quote marks.)
Funny, I didn't think this fic was rated mature.
Shouldn't that be "Adore Alliteration?"
Oh Turner, I can't wait until you discover why this was a horrible, horrible suggestion to make.
2561493 I took it more as Luna yelling at him for abusing time travel to dodge the question, rather than give her a straight answer. She didn't order him to marry her, only to give her some kind of an answer.
I thought I had read this one when I read the first one, but the latest chapter of your Winningverse story reminded me I hadn't. Personally, I can't wait to see what happens to poor Turner when Discord actually breaks out ... and what the reaction of a certain librarian will be to his relationship with the god of chaos!
3515399 That's fair. I still feel like it wasn't her place to interfere like that. Absolutely tell him that's wrong but you force him to deal with it doesn't feel right. It just really felt like a gross abuse of power. ><
Still, I have to wonder how Turner's and Lucky's relationship will play out. It is obvious now how much she wants to tie him down and he knows it but wants to stay a bachelor. Oh, what will become of them?
I have enjoyed this one so much that I have forgotten to take the time to comment during my reading!
It is a real shame that this (and your other stories) have so few views. Your stories are just so much fun and your characters are a joy.
Your stories remind me of adventure novels I use to read as a kid. You know, 'cept with ponies.
I don't feel so good about this...
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That, is probably one of the reasons I've been so slack with continuing this series. Lucky Catch, people either like her, or detest her.
Probably what I get for taking a joke and making it such central part of the story (not to mention writing Turner into a corner with her).
This was a great read! Thank you very much for the story.
Quick question: Does this happen before or after the "Timekeeper" story with Golden Harvest? I don't remember any mention of Lucky Catch anywhere or are they not canon?
EDIT:
Oh wow! You answered my question before I could even type it. Thanks.
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Seperate universes and all that - Alcohol isn't banned in the other one.
The more recent Timekeeper Turner has become a rather different character, despite this one being his chief inspiration.
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Oh wow! You answered my question before I could even type it.
That really is a bummer though. I really do enjoy these Time Turner stories, and probably because I read "Timekeeper" before this, I was feeling really uneasy with Lucky Catch. To be honest, I thought she was adorable, but I still feel that things wouldn't work out between the two of them because of Turner's hesitant and uncertain stance on the subject. It kind of seems like he is giving himself up to her rather than giving himself wholeheartedly to her. In a passive-optimistic way rather than "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you" way.
It really stinks you've painted yourself into a bit of a corner, but perhaps things wouldn't just work out between them make an interesting story? He already has one furious ex and the experience could leave him with a more mature look on how he handles relationships (like he does in "Timekeeper").
Looking forward to your next work!
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Okey-Dokey-Lokey!
Haha, no. Unless we're counting Luna, Celestia, and (I hate to say it) Cadance all as one pony this isn't true. And even assuming this is before Cadance that still leaves Celestia and Luna as more powerful than him.
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In context it is, this is immediately before Luna's return, but I hadn't really accounted for Cadance either.
1797783 That would be the weirdest curse ever. Who the hell has a family curse skip generations?