Moments in Time

Outside, everything seemed so pristine and perfect, just like nearly every day in Ponyville. Birds flew by tweeting, foals played in the streets, giggling merrily, ignorant of the perils that life would one day present and adults milled about, trading words in exchange for kind smiles.

In fact, Rarity mused to herself, it was almost cliché how perfect everything appeared, and the mood she was in only made her feel worse.

Suddenly, a gentle prodding from her host’s hoof invaded the pleasant absent-mindedness that she had been revelling in.

“Rarity,” Twilight said, doing her best to mask the annoyance in her voice. “Are you even listening?”

“Hmm,” the white unicorn hummed in reply, gazing distractedly out of the library’s window.

Her eyes refocused immediately as her head turned to face the other mare that sat across the table from her. “Sorry darling, I have a lot on my mind right now. I can’t seem to focus on anything.”

Immediately, Twilight’s face softened. “Anything you want to talk about?” she offered gently.

For a moment a look of conflict played across Rarity’s features. On one hoof, she was tempted to keep it to herself; after all, Twilight was hardly unbiased in the matter, and her silence would undoubtedly save her friend a fair degree of anguish over the subject. However, on the other hoof, Twilight was one of the most level-headed ponies that she knew and would almost certainly assist her in organising her jumbled thoughts into some modicum of sense that would reveal to her the path that she should take.

To delay herself from the need to respond, she briefly rearranged herself so that she was no longer leaning herself up against the wall. At the same time, she also allowed the hoof that she had been resting her chin on to slide gently down to take up position next to its compatriot.

“It’s about Spike,” she eventually offered, her eyes firmly affixed to her tea cup that sat before her. “I don’t know what to do with him.”

A small displeased frown overtook Twilight’s features. “Has he been bothering you again? I’m so sorry Rarity, I keep telling him to not be so—.”

“No, no, darling, it’s nothing like that,” the alabaster unicorn quickly interrupted, hooves raised up in a placating gesture.

“Oh, sorry.” Twilight chuckled awkwardly, a tinge of pink invading her checks.

For several seconds nothing more was said, both mares twiddling their hooves awkwardly and taking small sips of tea, waiting for the other to break the silence.

After sipping from her cup for a third time to ensure that it was indeed empty, Rarity gave a sigh of resignation. “He came around earlier today with an absolutely enormous bouquet of roses and asked me on a date. Poor darling, he must have spent a small fortune on them.”

All that she received in reply was a small ‘oh’ of surprise. Slowly a look of revelation overtook the alicorn’s features.

“So that’s why he kept try to hide all those books from me,” she said, half to herself. “I thought that he was trying to...” For a second she trailed off, as no words came readily to mind. “Well I didn’t know what to think.”

Daintily, Rarity coughed into her hoof, eager to redirect the flow of a conversation to something that was less awkward. “That’s very interest darling, but I fear that it’s a bit off topic.”

“Oh, right,” Twilight replied, flashing a sheepish grin. “If I may ask, why is it worrying you so much?”

“Whatever do you mean, darling?” Rarity asked, a confused look gracing her face. “Why wouldn’t it worry me?”

“Well, and just hear me out here. Why don’t you just go on the date with him? It’s clear that he cares a lot about you. I’ve seen enough to assure you of that, and there’s every chance that a successful relationship could result from it.”

Rarity was slightly taken aback at the suggestion; just go along with it?

Spike’s feelings had always been known to her, she had certainly witnessed enough lovestruck expressions—and given enough of her own—to recognise one when she saw it. However, it had always been sort of in the background, something that had only represented a fraction of what Spike’s friendship meant to her. Really, up until that morning she had just thought of it as a crush that would eventually wear off in time and only leave behind the strong friendship that it had spawned.

“I’m not too sure about that, Twilight. Don’t you think that’s a tiny bit risky?”

“Well... yes,” Twilight admitted reluctantly, the tip of her hoof gently playing with the corner of one of the numerous tomes strew in her vicinity. “But isn’t that what all relationships involve? I mean, a certain modicum of risk is expected, after all, no matter with whom you commence a relationship.”

“I suppose. It’s just that I wish that I could know what would happen. I love you all so much, but I worry what would happen if a romantic dynamic was added to our group.” She gave a deep sigh. “Or even worse; what if we broke up? Then we’ll all never be able to meet without one of us being left out.”

While she was speaking, her eyes once again moved to stare aimlessly out the window. It seemed to be an unbreakable barrier that separated the carefree world from the turmoil that raged in her heart.

“Rarity! You’re drifting off again.”

Jumping slightly in her seat, the alabaster unicorn forced her eyes to meet those of her friend. “Oh, I’m sorry, darling.” She smiled apologetically. “You get me here to help you with your experiment and all I can do is talk about myself.”

“No, that’s okay, Rarity,” said Twilight, the concern evident in her voice. “If you want, we can just waylay this test for now and try to talk this out, if you like.”

Before the elegant mare could even reply, a schedule had materialised, though she could not tell if it was on account of magic or if Twilight was just so attached to it that it was always nearby.

“Now let’s see... If I move that appointment to next Tuesday and reschedule my manecut to tomorrow...” Twilight trailed off for a minute, gazing intently at the calendar in the hope that a new option would present itself. “No, no, no that wouldn’t work, then I w—.”

“Nonsense, Twilight,” replied Rarity, gently taking the schedule in her own magic and putting it to the side. She knew how religiously Twilight followed that thing. Even without that foreknowledge, the slightly deranged look in the alicorn’s eyes was motivation enough for Rarity. “There’s no need to go to such, err... extreme measures. We can go do this experiment of yours and then talk things out over lunch. The best of both worlds, as it were. Besides, perhaps a couple of hours not spent agonising over this will do me some good.”

For several moments, Twilight hesitated. The scientist in her argued that the quicker that the experiment was conducted, the quicker she could redirect her idle thoughts away from experimental design and onto a workable improvement for her latest spell. After a short pause, the friend within her conceded as well, content in the assurance that the crisis would be resolved as soon as possible, once her experiment had concluded, and that the friend in crisis also supported moving forward as normal.

“...Well, okay,” Twilight accepted, “but promise that we’ll sort this out by today. I know that this is a hard decision to make, but just think about what Spike must be going through.”

At her friend's words, Rarity couldn’t help but grimace. “Don’t remind me, darling. It pains me enough as is without you bringing it up.” She gave a quick shake of her head, as if to dislodge the thoughts that plagued her. “But now, enough about that! Why don’t you explain to me just what it is that you require of me today.”

Her friendship-half satisfied, the studious mare suppressed a small squeal of excitement. It was so rare that she received a sanction to deliver a lecture, which meant that it would be free of things such as rolled eyes—courtesy of Spike—or bored expressions—courtesy of everypony else.

“Well, it started after the Everfree Forest invaded Ponyville,” she began, immediately adopting a reserved tone and neutral expression, an exact imitation of her various tutors before she began her apprenticeship under Princess Celestia. “I’m sure that you remembered that I had to drink that potion a few times, which gave me a glimpse of the past.” Rarity nodded her head. “It got me thinking that maybe, if I could somehow combine the magical matrix with Star Swirl’s time travelling spell, I would be able to do the opposite: give a pony a glimpse of the future without the dangers and limitations associated with physical travel.”

A gasp escaped Rarity’s lips. “And you trust moi enough to test it?” She pointed a diminutive hoof at herself. “Just think about what I could see with this; next year’s fashions before they are even conceived, the juiciest of gossips before they occur or knowing exactly what would make the perfect gift for somepony even before they know themselves!”

A look of worry crossed Twilight’s face as her ears suddenly pressed themselves tight against her head. “You’re right, Rarity. I didn’t think about that.”

“What’s wrong, darling?” Rarity asked, cocking her head to the side, confused by the dissonance between her wonder and her friend’s worry.

“Well, I didn’t think about it like that until just now; all I could focus on was creating a new spell that I could contribute to academia. Maybe I should stop this now, before anything bad happens. It could be potentially disastrous if this type of thing fell into the wrong hooves.”

The true power of the spell hit home as Rarity’s lips pursed together into a hard line, and she quickly leaned across the table to give her friend a hug. “You’re right, Twilight, this could be dangerous, but just think of the good things that could be accomplished as well. Perhaps you will need to be careful about who you share it with, but this could have the potential to save thousands, if not millions of lives.”

Twilight gave a small, resolved nod. “And you’re right as well, Rarity. This spell just has so much chance to help ponies that I can’t let it go. I need to do this, for the lives it could save.”

“Quite right,” said Rarity, releasing Twilight and making her way over to the center of the room where it had been previously indicated she would need to stand. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

Finishing of her tea in a final swig, the alicorn princess made her way over to the spot that she had calculated was the optimum distance from the subject to allow for the most efficient energy transfer.

“So, I’m going to start by casting the spell on you,” Twilight explained, the rigid facts and schedule helping to calm the butterflies that had just started their flapping. “I’ve already tested it on a couple of animals that volunteered, so there shouldn’t be any major issues. I’m going to start by casting the spell for thirty seconds, which should allow you to see the future in much the same way as I saw the past. After that, I’ll cut off all power to the spell, which will cause its effect to dissipate pretty quickly. Then we’ll spend a brief time going over a questionnaire that I prepared in advance, which should give me enough information to adjust the spell accordingly if it turns out to be necessary.”

“Umm... darling; just out of curiosity, before we begin, why is it exactly that you wanted me instead of somepony else?” Rarity asked, her own slight dread over what she might witness prompting her to delay the inevitable as much as possible.

“Oh right, almost forgot. If at any point in the experiment after I have completed the initial spell you feel that you are in any danger, just send up a magical flare and I’ll end everything prematurely. Since you’ll only be witnessing the future, rather than actually being there, you should be able to manifest it normally, alerting me to shut the spell down immediately.”

Replying with a small nod, Rarity steeled herself for what was to come.

Calming the raging torrent that was her mind, Twilight prepared herself to cast the spell.

First, she sent her magic out to gently encase Rarity, cocooning her in a magic bubble that only Twilight was capable of seeing. Next, she began to form and twist the magic to fit into the matrix that she had partially adapted and designed. She could feel sweat dripping down her brow, the magic fighting her at every turn as she tried to force it into the complicated form that she required. None of this worried her too much, however; she had been performing all manner of spells since she was a filly, and the complicated ones always fought her to some degree. In fact, she was pleasantly surprised at how easy the magic settled down once all the pieces had been formed together, and the only thing further that was required of her was to continue to channel energy into it.

Just before the spell reached its peak, a small dragon rounded a corner. “Twilight, I’ve reorganised all the—.” His words quickly faded away as he caught sight of his beloved before him. His heart beat in his chest just as fast as when he saw her earlier that day and as it had the first time he had met her. Without any warning, he suddenly broke into a run, his legs pumping as fast as possible to close the distance between him and the mare that would give him the answer to his invitation and end his suffering.

Unfortunately, his eagerness made him blind to everything around him as his foot came into contact with a precariously stacked pile of books only a short distance from the mare of his affections. The resulting trip launched him into the air, arms flailing wildly in an attempt to grasp anything to prevent his fall.

Unfortunately,the only thing within his reach was his intended destination, Rarity. With a thud he collided with her side, bouncing backwards, only to have his head crack sharply against the wooden floor.

As soon as his scales came into contact with Rarity’s coat, the magical aura that had begun to surround her seemed to thrum angrily. The previously gold colouration that was apparent only to Twilight shifted into an almost purple shade that appeared to closely resemble that of Spike’s scales.

To Rarity, the spell suddenly took on a more electric sensation, sending shivers down her spine that set her coat on edge. The tingling that seemed to suddenly begin building in her heart sent a brief flash of panic through it, before she forced herself to remain calm. Twilight was a professional, and she was certain that any vocalisations of her fears would only make things worse, rather than better.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought valiantly to force back the tidal wave of fear that was threatening to engulf her. Without any warning, it felt like the floor had fallen out from under her as her stomach backflipped uncontrollably. Even though she tried her hardest to scream, no sound came out, and she was no longer sure if her eyes were shut or if, instead, her surroundings contained nothing but emptiness.

She did not know for how long she fell, only that it was an eternity.