Days of the Past

"You really should go after her, you know?" A familiar voice echoed throughout the Canterlot Department of Research and Development, causing Star Swirl to sigh and turn to face the newcomer.

"Princess Celestia, how lovely to see you," Star Swirl bowed his head respectfully at the Princess, barely able to restrain his annoyance at being interrupted in his work. Celestia smiled softly.

"Oh, we both know that you don't want me here. You're my student Star Swirl, I know you," Princess Celestia said, laughing gently when Star Swirl frowned. "I don't intend to interrupt you for long, I just wished to speak with this mare from the future. Do you know where she is?" Celestia asked, looking around the room.

Star Swirl shook his head. "Dust took her somewhere. Apparently I'm difficult to work with, if you can believe that," Star snorted while grabbing a flask with his magic.

"Star Swirl, suicide rates tripled when you arrived at Canterlot Castle. As your mentor, I can safely say that you are difficult to work with,"  Celestia laughed. "I suppose I shall have to wait here until she returns,"

"Oh joy," Star Swirl replied, unable to keep the venom out of his voice.

"Believe me, when Octavia arrived I shall be out of your mane. Am I to assume that she is not a particularly large fan of you?" Celestia walked around the room slowly, watching Star Swirl mix a few potions together absent-mindedly.

"She got rather angry at me for apparently making ridiculous requests, so I can make the assumption that she does not regard me in the best light,"

"Perhaps you should try apologising to her for your behaviour? I really feel that you two could get along from what little I know of her," Celestia suggested, which was followed by a the sound of breaking glass when Star Swirl dropped the flask full of dark purple liquid, which splashed all over the floor, and on him.

"Apologise? But that would imply that I'm wrong, and I'm never wrong! She is clearly just a bad judge of character!" Star Swirl shouted while jumping backwards to avoid the small puddle that was probably quite dangerous.

"No offense, my faithful student, but you are one of the most stuck up, obnoxious and downright rude ponies I've ever met. You're a genius, no doubt, and you treat your one friend with a lot of respect, I can see that, but everypony else hates you. And, um, what exactly was that potion you were making?" Celestia frowned as the small amount of purple liquid bubbled and hissed.

"No offense taken, and that was a love potion. I was experimenting to see whether you could get a potion to work through collision with a ponies fur, and a basic potion such as that felt like the best option to test it on," Star Swirl said as he grabbed the remnants of the broken flask in his magic.

"And how exactly does this 'love potion' work, exactly?" Celestia asked tentatively.

"It simply targets the mare, or colt, depending on gender preferences, that is consuming your thoughts the most at the time of ingesting the potion and makes you infatuated with them after a few minutes," He replied, now mopping up the last of the purple liquid.

"Did your experimtnes with contact potions prove successful?"

"Yes, and that potion should work on anypony that comes in to contact with it. This could be a major breakthrough for military weapons. Think about the applications, like an incendiary potion that can be thrown, or an aging potion that covers a large area!" Star Swirl grinned smugly. Apparently the only pony he was infatuated with was himself.

"You do understand that the potion went all over you, right?"

"Yes, of course I do, what do you think I am, stupid?"

"And you do understand it has been a few minutes?"

"Yes, I do. And now I see what you're hinting at. If you'll excuse me for a second, Princess, I appear to be madly in love with Octavia," Star Swirl grinned sheepishly, and ran off while blushing furiously.

Celestia raised an eyebrow, before making the decision to head after him. She didn't intend to stop the upcoming commotion. No, she merely wanted a front row seat. This was guaranteed to be entertaining.

"You're gonna love the Canterlot Gardens. There's a huge statue of a thing called Discord, and they say that he used to be an evil creature who terrorised Equestria before Celestia and Luna stopped him with the Elements of Harmony. It's just a legend, of course, but the statue is amazing! It's so lifelike!" Dust said as she and Octavia walked out of Canterlot Castle, heading towards the garden. A wry smile crossed Octavia's lips as she recalled her time with the Lord of Chaos. It was hard to believe that the draconequus that had once terrorised everypony had helped to save time. She wondered how that quest was going without her. Probably not too well, if Rainbow Dash was one of the last hopes for ponykind.

"What's with the smug grin? You look like Star after he's discovered something important, which, though I hate to say it, is a lot of the time," Dust asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I was just recalling something from the future,"

"And I guess you can't tell me about it?"

"Sorry, but no, I can't,"

"Oh, I understand. Star gave me the time travel lecture when you arrived here. Said he didn't want me destroying the timestreams, or something like that," Dust laughed, before stopping in front of a large hedge cut in to the shape of Princess Celestia. "I don't know how they make these things. I tried gardening once, but it just ended up with Star being covered in dirt and a half destroyed garden. It was worth it to see the look on his face though," Dust giggled.

"I'd imagine it would be quite the privilege to see him look humiliated," Octavia smiled, looking up at the topiary. This was still in the garden in her time, though she doubted it was the very same one.

"Heh, you know you speak a lot like Star, right? What's with that speech? You seem pretty down to Equus to me, and yet you speak like an upper class pony. I just don't get it," Dust shook her head, confused.

"I was born and raised in the higher echelons of Equestrian society, and so speaking like this became something of a necessity. I also play as the Canterlot Symphonic Orchestra's lead cellist, so I'm dragged along to stupid upper class events on a daily basis. Well, I was. Or would that be 'will be'? I hate time travel," Octavia sighed.

"I love you!"

"Um... what?" Octavia looked over at Dust, who's mouth was hanging open.

"That... wasn't me."

"Then who was it?" Octavia looked around, confused, before screaming when a blue blur jumped out of Celestia's bush - that sounded better in Octavia's head - pinning her to the floor. On closer inspection, her assailant was Star Swirl.

"I love you Octavia!" He shouted, while blushing furiously. Octavia's jaw flew open, leaving her completely speechless. Dust, meanwhile, helpfully decided to burst in to raucous laughter and roll around on the floor.

"I could do with some help over here, if it's convenient," Octavia glared at Dust.

"S...sorry...ha ha... you're on your own sweetheart!" Dust managed to say before returning to a mad fit of giggles. Octavia groaned and looked back up at Star Swirl who was grinning widely at her.

"May I ask why you have suddenly decided that I'm the greatest thing since the Elements of Harmony and are apparently in love with me despite the fact that we hate each other?"

"It's because I love you Tavi!"

"First of all, do not call me Tavi. Second of all, I understand you love me, but why?

"Because you are an amazing pony, a paragon of beauty and grace, the pinnacle of all that is right in Equestria! Your mane radiates the glow of the sun itself in such a way that Celestia would envy, and your eyes shine like the moon!" Star Swirl continued on for several minutes, after which Octavia heard Dust, now recovered from her hysterics, coughed quietly.

"You could make him stop at any time, you know," Dust said, and Octavia looked over at her with a small grin on her face.

"...I admire you above all else, sugar-nipples!" Star Swirl gushed.

"...And now you can stop. While I appreciate any and all complements directed at me, I would like to know why after your obnoxious and ridiculous hatred for me this morning, you suddenly adore me. Could I have a straight answer, without any complements please?"

Star Swirl's nose scrunched up, and he steadfastly remained silent. Octavia groaned loudly, and rolled out from under Star Swirl, standing next to Dust Shine.

"What in Equestria is it now?" Octavia asked exasperatedly.

"If I am not permitted to comment on your perfection, then there is no point in speaking at all!" Star Swirl smiled, but his face fell at the bemused looks on Octavia's and Dust's faces.

Dust was about to burst in to a rant when something Celestia shaped jumped out of the Celestia-shaped bush. It was, of course, Princess Celestia, who smiled warmly at the trio.

"I apologise for Star Swirl's behaviour. He was experimenting with love potions, and, needless to say, this one got out of hoof rather quickly. I should be able to reverse the effects quite easily, if you wish," A sly grin appeared on Celestia's face. "Alternatively, of course, we could simply leave him like this and wait for the effects to wear off naturally,"

Octavia looked to Dust, who shrugged. "Your choice. I think it would be pretty funny, to say the least," She laughed, with Octavia following swiftly after.

"I believe it would be a good lesson in humility. But, if I may ask, is there a way to change the target of his infatuation?" Octavia asked. Celestia paused for a moment, thinking, before nodding.

"There is. Anypony you had in mind?"

The Doctor stepped out, breathing in the air of Canterlot. A quick look around told him that this was approximately three years before his intended time of arrival, but, he supposed, it couldn't hurt to look around. He walked around the streets of Canterlot, taking in all the sights and sounds, when he heard a strange commotion coming from down the road.

"I love you Doctor!" The Doctor looked down the street to see a deranged Star Swirl running towards him, grinning madly. It took the Doctor about two seconds to start running away, desperate to avoid whatever madness had taken the great Star Swirl.

"Don't run from me, you cannot escape true love!"

The Doctor ran back in to the TARDIS, and locked the doors as quickly as he could. He could still hear the complements and constant adoration coming from outside, and he had to cover his ears to avoid the lines that had been ripped straight from romance novels.

He would not be returning to Canterlot for a while, that was for sure.