Chapter One: The Time Hourglass
Rowan Ex presents
The Hourglass Loops - The Time Hourglass
Chapter One: The Time Hourglass
On a regular day on Canterlot, Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle spent their fine afternoon staring at an hourglass which had runic carvings. It also had a bell connected on both sides, which was quite peculiar as they can't move the bells.
*fwoosh*
They looked around as the windows and the doors closed on them. Twilight quickly tried to open the exit, but to her avail, it didn't budge. She then looked at the hourglass which was on a table and saw it fall to the floor.
*smash*
They quickly went closer to each other as they saw the bells began to move, scared out of their wits. Twilight couldn't even believe she was just as scared as her mentor, but she ignored Celestia's reaction as the bells struck one tone very loud.
*ding*
And they were back, staring the hourglass. Wait, what? Twilight looked around. She was now confused. What was going on? She asked the same thing to Celestia which was also as confused as well. Twilight quickly dismissed the situation and tried to walk out, and the door automatically closed on its own. The lavender unicorn quickly stared back at the hourglass where it bells began to move.
Twilight groaned, "Not again—"
*fwoosh* *smash* *ding*
"—Again. What is going on around here?" Twilight complained.
Celestia was still confused. "I don't know, my student. We cannot escape as it seems."
"But we must escape! I'll try to get out of here," said Twilight, grinning.
"Are you sure?" asked Celestia who was more of less worried, "we need to learn what happened to us. Twilight, you might not know what this artifact can do!"
But Twilight wasn't listening, for she was trying to buck the door. She was sure they weren't going insane, but she has to prove it. She had to. And as the door loosened, she thought she was about to be free, so she gave it a very powerful kick–
"Gaaah!"
–Only to fly towards the other side of the room. Celestia facehooved, and went closer.
"What did I do wrong?" Twilight muttered as ceramic shards that was stuck between her hooves were being pulled out by Celestia slowly. "Are we going to be like this?"
"I hope not, Twilight." She looked at the hourglass which was about to tip and fall. "I will protect you until the last of my breath, my faithful student."
Twilight smiled as she struggled to stand. "Me too, Princess."
*fwoosh* *smash* *ding*
"Ouch... this is far worse than we thought, Twilight..."
Twilight looked at Celestia to see her princess badly wounded.
As bad as I was... Twilight noticed. "Princess! Are you alright?" She temporarily backed off as she fired a healing spell on herself, then went closer again. "Are you alright princess?"
"I'm fine, do not worry me," replied Celestia.
It took a few seconds before Twilight looked at the room and shifted all the items, excluding the hourglass, to different positions. Celestia looked at Twilight and tilted her head.
"What are you doing?"
"I think we're time looping," Twilight replied, "and if the room goes back the way when we investigated the hourglass, my theory could be right?"
"Might be." Celestia fixed herself after she finished healing. "Now, what will happen if your theory is right?"
"Stop the loop." Twilight pointed to the hourglass. "Stop that."
*fwoosh* *smash* *ding*
"–That was unexpected," Celestia commented as Twilight got her hoof cut off, the room back from the very start.
"Ow. Ow ow ow. Ow." Twilight tried to calm herself down with her foalsitter's breathing lessons. "How did I lost my hoof?"
"I think it's because you tried to delay the hourglass and its shards had cut your hoof off," Celestia replied, firing up an regeneration spell. "Luckily it didn't kill you, or..."
"I'd rather not talk about death at the moment." Twilight looked at the missing hoof and quickly looked away. "Okay that was horrible, I shouldn't have looked at it..."
After a few seconds, the hoof is back to normal while all of a sudden, they heard a crack from the window and the hourglass.
"Oh." Twilight looked at Celestia, "um... Princess?"
"Yes dear?" Celestia asked.
"Can I call you Celestia?"
Celestia took a few seconds to react. She then nodded, "yes, you may my faithful student."
They then hugged as the wind blew and the hourglass fell.
*fwoosh* *smash* ding*
"You know, Pri- Celestia, I noticed something..."
"What is it, Twilight?"
"Why does the hourglass go smash instead of shatter?"
They looked at the hourglass before she realized it as well.
"I never honestly realized that until now," Celestia admitted.
*fwoosh* *smash* ding*
Twilight looked at Celestia who was thinking for a question she could ask back.
"What do you think is the friendship report after this, my faithful student?" She asked.
Twilight shook her head. "Maybe the answer lies after we get through this?"
Celestia and Twilight then stared at each other's smiles as they began to thought of plans of escape which they could try while the hourglass continued to do its thing; making them time loop. At obvious reasons, however, it would be nice to try if one of them died. And Twilight just did by jumping straight into a window, stabbing herself with the shards, much to Celestia's horror.
*fwoosh* *smash* *ding*
*fwoosh* *smash* *ding*
They then decided dying is not an option since it caused both of them to die. Celestia wasn't amused at all as they agreed not to do such thing again. Twilight also knew it was a bad idea, and there isn't really much to do in the room. Celestia however...
"Twilight, did you know that this room is where me and Luna played a few board games?"
"I didn't know that," Twilight replied, "what does that have to do with our situation?"
Celestia pulled out a chessboard and began to set up. "We can entertain ourselves while solving how to get out of this mess."
"Oh." Twilight then began to play chess with Celestia while she tried to delay the hourglass's fall.
As the game progressed, they also took turns holding the hourglass, until Celestia won.
*fwoosh* *smash* *ding*
"Celestia, can I ask something?" said Twilight.
"What is it, my student?"
Twilight immediately have forgotten her question. "Nevermind." She then looked outside and looked at the windows, which were just closed. "They're just... closed."
Twilight then locked the window and heard the hourglass shatter. "Okay..."
Celestia looked at the other windows and used her magic to locked all at once, which caused the bell to ring twice.
"Okay..." Celestia then unlocked all of the windows she locked, and they heard a glass shatter. Or not.
*fwoosh* *smash* *ding*
"Okay, I cannot believe I just made the hourglass break a bit by just locking a window," Twilight confessed. "Celestia, do you know anyone that had made contact of the hourglass before?"
"Well, I think Lulu has," Celestia replied, "along with Star Swirl the Bearded, I guess. Or was it your great great great grandmother Twilight the Generous?"
"I had a descendant that was entitled like that?" Twilight then mimicked a deep voice. "Must've been a conspiracy."
Celestia titled her head as Twilight chuckled a bit. She then stopped after realising how lonely they were, even though she and Celestia were in this situation. "Pinkie usually gave it a dark tune to add a creepy effect, I'll say."
"What would they react if they were in this situation?" Celestia asked.
"I... honestly don't know," Twilight confessed, "they probably would've snapped insane before we could even interfere..."
"Glad you're still holding up though," Celestia commented, smiling.
*fwoosh*
Twilight noticed a surge of magic flowing from the hourglass. What was going on? Are they breaking free from the loops?
*ding*
Well, apparently not. The slightly distressed unicorn whimpered in frustration as she looked at the hourglass.
*fwoosh* *smash* *ding*
"I think we can break out of this loop," Twilight declared, "if only we can break the hourglass without touching it."
"Without magic as well," Celestia added, "it resets the loop once we tried to break it using our magic."
"Nice observation, Princess." Celestia grinned as she helped along. "So, Twilight, the last time we saw it break is by locking a window, which I tell you my faithful student, hasn't been moved for a long time."
"Hasn't been moved... by Starswirl's beard, that's it!"
"Huh?" Celestia had noticed Twilight moving every object, including the hourglass wildly around. "What are you doing?"
"You said that window was never moved, right?" Celestia nodded, "then Princess, if we shifted the whole room until every item has been moved, then it might be the key!"
"Huh." Celestia then looked at the drawers and shifted each position, and a louder crack was heard from the hourglass.
Twilight stopped and placed all of the items back in their right position, and looked at the curtains. She then all tied all in a fashion where the light shined into the room.
Celestia then looked at the table and decided to flip it, while Twilight held the hourglass close to her. The flipped table had one of the runic markings of the hourglass, in their surprise. "How come I never noticed this before?"
"I don't know, Princ- Celestia," Twilight answered, "you said this room was used by Luna and Starswirl the Bearded before."
"Hmm..." Celestia thought about it. "And to think most of the items were moved after they came out..."
*rumble* *shatter* *boing*
Wait, what? Twilight and Celestia looked at the hourglass who had its runic marking circling it. The clock near them was moving fast. It's a chance of escape. They quickly ran to the door and entered it, and quickly locked the door from the outside. The nobles that was around them were confused until the glass in the room shattered outwards, causing Twilight and Celestia to sigh in relief.
"Freedom! At last..." Twilight said with glee.
Princess Luna then came and investigated the room. She seemed... furious.
"Did you break my toy?" Luna asked, and they nodded. "Goodness, that thing has messed up my life!"
Celestia then chuckled. "Explains the mess you made once, my dear sister."
"It does explain everything," Luna added.
The end?
