A breeze forced it's way into Time Turner's shop, billowing past the pony who had opened the door. The stallion looked up from his work to find Princess Twilight at the counter. He felt a smile form in the corner of his mouth. She reminded him so much of Her. The same spark in her eye. The same thirst for knowledge.
"Are you alright?"
Time Turner shook his head, clearing away the past. How long had he been staring? Evidently long enough to case an awkward moment for himself.
"Brilliant. How can I help you Twilight?"
The alicorn reached into her saddlebag and pulled out an old timepiece. An extremely old one by the looks of it. It was a series of hourglasses set within spinning rings.
"This was given to me, but it doesn't seem to work. I don't even know where to start with this particular piece. I've never seen one like it."
Time Turner took the timepiece from her hooves and set it on the counter. As soon as he set it down, his mind clicked. He knew this timepiece..
"Where did you get such a unique specimen?"
"Princess Celestia sent it to me. She thought I could use some decorations for the castle."
"Ah. Can't have empty shelves in your own home, right? So she thought a dusty old clock was the perfect addition."
"I think she thought I'd like it because it's historical."
Historical. That wasn't a kick to the gut at all.
"It must be the last one of its kind. The only one if I had to guess."
"It is! She said there was no other one like it in the world."
"Did she create it then?"
"No.. In fact she didn't say where she got it."
Time Turner picked the timepiece up, turning it over to look at the base. Time had had it's way with the old piece, the symbol on the base barely visible.
"I'm sure this emblem will give you a hint to the creator."
He turned the base towards twilight. She squinted, trying to make out the faded picture. Her eyes widened as the realization set in.
"No way! This was.. I mean he made.. Wow!"
Time Turner nodded, lowering the timepiece back to the counter.
"One timepiece ala Star Swirl. Around 1200 years old by my guess."
Twilight was still bugging out over the discovery. Time Turner chuckled and set about polishing the rings. He noticed that there was no sound coming from the base. Time had indeed had it's way and silenced the poor thing. He twisted the base a quarter turn and pulled out the innards. This halted Twilight's awe and replaced it with horror.
"What did you do?!"
"I'm just repairing it. These hourglasses should be turning with the timeframe they've been calibrated to. Hours, minutes, and seconds. Each one with it's own set of gears to control the turning."
"How do you know that? If this is the only one of it's kind then you couldn't know if what you're doing is fixing it. You could be breaking it!"
The stern look he gave her caused her to pause mid-argument. He pulled a piece of paper from between two gears and the timepiece came to life. The hourglasses began turning and the innards ticked into action. Time Turner placed the innards back into the base, tightening them back in place.
"Despite being one of a kind, I know my way around cogs and gears fairly well. This piece of paper was put in there to stop it from ticking. I can only imagine that would have been an annoyance for Canterlot if they had a mysterious ticking noise for a thousand years."
Twilight's gaze lowered, unable to meet Time Turner's eyes.
"I'm sorry. There are so few intact artifacts of Star Swirl's. I already hate there's so little of his left. I couldn't bare the thought of seeing his timepiece lost in front of me."
"Understandable. But have a little faith in my skills Twilight. You'd be surprised what knowledge a pony can hide."
"How did you know so much about it's function. I understand from an analytical perspective. You work with clocks and timepieces so you know their basic function. But you worked on it like you knew exactly what was wrong with it. Like you knew the timepiece itself."
"It's more on the analytical end like you said. I just got lucky. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Nope. Just this one piece for now."
"Just let me know if Celestia pulls anything else out of the mothballs. Let's hope she's kept all her artifacts in as good of condition as this."
He held out the timepiece and Twilight deposited it in her bag. She walked to the door and opened it, another breeze blowing in from the street. She paused with a hoof out of the doorway and looked over her shoulder.
"How did you know about the seal?"
"Pardon?"
"How did you know about Star Swirl's seal on the base?"
"Everypony wants to leave their mark Princess. Even old conjurers. I just happen to know a few of them."
"That emblem only covers a hoofful of items in Equestria aside from scrolls."
"What can I say? I'm a history buff."
Her eyes narrowed for a second before walking out the door. Time Turner walked around the counter to the back room. He let out a breath, happy to have the alicorn out of the shop.
"Just as nosy as She was at that age"
He picked up a notebook and returned to the front room. Scribbling away, he noted the message that was on the piece of paper from the timepiece. He thanked Equestria that Twilight hadn't given the scrap a second thought.
If you ever find this, please see me.
The paper was old. Judging by the decay and the ink it had to have been from close to a thousand years ago. Around the time when.. Time Turner put his quill down and sighed. He'd left on poor terms. And She had hoped to see him in Her darkest hour.
"I'm sorry my dear."
The door opened again to reveal Twilight.
"I'm so sorry! I think I dropped something from my bag. Do you mind if I look around?"
"Not at all."
He placed his hoof over the paper and dragged it off the counter.
"What is it you lost?"
"Um.. A book?"
"You don't sound very certain of that."
"Don't I? I mean.. Yes I'm certain."
"You're not very good at it."
"At what?"
"Lying."
That got her to freeze. She looked at the stallion, guilt all over her face.
"I.. I.. I just wanted to hear what you know about Star Swirl. I've never met many ponies that take the time to learn about him."
"I'm probably the foremost authority on Star Swirl."
Twilight didn't look convinced.
"Really? Have you studied all of his scrolls?"
"Indeed I have. And I'm sure you've studied every last one of his spells?"
"I have. But some are still a bit advanced for me."
"And how many of his artifacts do you know about?"
"Probably more than you."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Unfortunately I can't. Some things are best kept secret."
"I knew a mare who thought the same thing. Secrets are what tear ponies apart."
"I made a promise Time Turner."
"So it had nothing to do with the fact that two universes nearly collided together due to a faulty mirror?"
He had her. She was in shock. The princess' mouth hung open, unable to climb back up to her head. Time Turner came out from behind the counter and shook his head.
"Magic like that doesn't exist without giving off a very strong aura. And the magnitude of that particular magic was already fragile."
"How.. How do you know that?"
"Can you pass me my notebook?"
Twilight was obviously confused, but she summoned the notebook, passing it across her towards Time Turner. She paused as she saw the page it was open to.
"You.. found something?"
"It's impolite to read another's notes."
"Sorry."
She began moving the notebook again. Time Turner reached out for it only to have it yanked away.
"Your hoofwriting.. It looks so familiar."
"May I have my notebook Twilight?"
She pulled another notebook from her saddlebag. Time Turner recognized the notebook all too well. Twilight opened the second book and began looking between the notes. Time Turner sighed and walked into the back room. He looked around for a moment, finally spotting the box he was looking for. He pulled it down, forgetting how heavy the contents were. He stumbled for a moment before regaining himself. He stepped into the front room and set the box on the counter. Twilight looked up from the notebooks, her eyes filled with wonder.
"How?"
"Through great sacrifice."
He opened up the box and pulled out a cloak covered with stars. Dust flew off of it in a cloud. Both ponies coughed for a second as everything settled. Time Turner reached into the box again and pulled out his oldest possession. The bells jingled as he placed it on the counter. Twilight's eyes were growing bigger with every passing second. Time Turner stepped forward and held out a hoof.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Twilight."
She slowly raised her hoof until the two touched. He shook her hoof once and let go.
"Would you like a drink? Or would you prefer to just faint in my presence?"
She opted for the latter.
It took a few minutes before Twilight woke up. Time Turner sat waiting, dusting off his old hat. Perhaps he had done too much. It seemed the princess wasn't capable of the concept of his existence. It hardly mattered now. He stood up as she let out a moan.
"What happened?"
"You keeled over after connecting the dots. I guess the end result was a little much."
"Connecting the-"
She froze, her eyes opening all the way. Time Turner gave a small smile before she jumped to her hooves.
"You're Star Swirl the Bearded?!"
Time Turner nodded and put on his hat.
"Couldn't you tell?"
"But.. You don't look anything like the pictures! Or the stained glass mural! You don't even have a beard."
"Well sorry for wanting to change things up."
"How can this even be possible?"
"It's a long story."
"But I need to know!"
Time Turner rolled his eyes and walked to the door, flipping the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'.
"Follow me."
He moved into the back room, Twilight right on his heels. They made their way to a cabinet at the back of the room where Time Turner opened the doors. He motioned in as Twilight's eyes went wide again.
"Internal dimension magic! But you only theorized about it!"
"Solved the riddle just after Luna's banishment. A whole other dimension within the existing one."
He motioned again with his hoof and Twilight stepped inside. The first room was set up very much like a living room. Time Turner walked over to a couch and sat down with a sigh.
"Would you like anything to drink?"
Twilight shook her head. He nodded and whistled towards a door. A teapot came hopping through the door, revealing a kitchen. A cup came hopping after it, determined to catch up.
"Losing your hearing there? You've been trailing behind a lot lately."
Twilight knelt down to examine the two.
"How are you doing that?"
"Old spell. I packed enough magic in them to keep them going forever. I get lazy sometimes. Well.. A lot of the time."
The teapot poured into the cup and Time Turner picked it up. He sniffed the liquid and smiled.
"Hot cider. A perfect way to relax. So where shall we begin."
Twilight sat down on the couch, setting her bag on the ground.
"You died a few years after Luna's banishment, didn't you?"
"Twelve to be exact. You can't blame me. I was over two hundred years old."
"Two hundred years?!"
"Advanced age spells. Not to be trifled with by your everyday unicorn. Lot of magical energy put into that. And for what? To outlive every one of your friends?"
"Is that how you're still here?"
"No. Now hush."
Twilight looked surprised at the call for silence, but she obeyed without question. Time Turner smiled and continued.
"I performed a spell that, unfortunately for myself, is irreversible now. I can safely assume you're familiar with an alicorn transformation?"
"You mean the magic that made me an alicorn? You were able to use that power?"
"Use it? I created the spell. It became evident that there may be need for more alicorns one day, so I devised a spell to create them. After that I tinkered with it to the point that it only affected age. SO i guess in the end it was an age spell."
"So you gave yourself the agelessness of an alicorn."
"There was a lot I wanted to do with myself still. But I had been working on a theory that went even further than just extending life. It renewed it."
"How do you mean?"
"Do I look the same as the pictures?"
"No. You're a whole different.."
Time Turner nodded as she pieced the puzzle together.
"Exactly. I found a way to completely change the composition of my body while still retaining my mind."
"That's amazing!"
"Yes it is. But.. There was a side effect. As I'm sure you've noticed, I don't have a horn."
"Does that mean..your magic is gone?"
"For the most part. There is still some lingering energy, but it's dormant. I haven't performed a spell in nearly a thousand years."
"Do you miss it?"
"Of course I miss it! I was the greatest conjurer to ever live back then. To all of a sudden not have magic was unbearable."
"Then why did you do it?"
There was the question he had dreaded. And he had backed himself right into the corner with it. He closed his eyes and sighed, taking a sip of his cider.
"I'm an old fool who holds grudges for longer than deemed healthy."
"Are you talking about Celestia?"
"She's told you about our falling out?"
"Yes. She said things were never the same."
"They weren't. I regarded her as royalty and nothing more. She had been my closest friend and pupil at one time. But after the mirror fiasco, I refused to change my ways."
"Do you wish you had?"
"Not for one second. You know as well as I do that she couldn't keep going back. You saw what damage it did."
"I know but.. Weren't you sorry for how things ended?"
"...Every day."
They sat in silence for a moment, an awkward pause having inserted itself in the conversation. Twilight cleared her throat.
"Does Celestia know you're still alive?"
"No. As far as she knows, I'm dead. I left Canterlot pretending to be doing research. A month later I sent word that I had died."
"Have you ever wanted to see her again?"
"Countless times. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. We parted on bad terms. And for her to learn that I faked my death? She'd never forgive me. And I don't blame her for that. So I decided it best to keep away. I moved town to town until I found Ponyville. That was in it's early days of course. I remember when Granny Smith was still a filly."
"You've been here all this time?"
"All this time. And I haven't been idle. I still continue my studies. I have so many spells in the theoretical stages. And don't get me started on how many blueprints I've got stored in my draft room. I'm responsible for nearly half the technological advances we have today."
"How have you never been discovered?"
"Mostly spokesponies. They deliver the idea and I get to stay back."
"I meant how has nopony ever found out who you really are?"
"That's pretty easy when you change your face."
"You still never told me why you did it. It can't really just be because you were mad at Celestia."
"That's exactly why I did it. I decided to deprive her of my counsel. She didn't need an old unicorn frowning at her all the time."
"That's so cruel though!"
"That was the idea Princess. Hard to here that your idol wasn't the saint you thought he was?"
Twilight stood up, her brow furrowed from the glare she had.
"I could never do something like that to a friend! I'm beginning to understand what Celestia meant."
"And what's that?"
"You've never understood friendship like I've come to understand it. Now I see why. If that's how you treat friends, it's no wonder you're a sad, lonely pony now!"
She stormed out of the room, heading back into the shop. Time Turner watched her go, taking another sip of his cider.
"Then show me!"
That froze the alicorn in her tracks.
"What?"
"You think you know so much more than me? Show me this magic of friendship you speak so highly of. Teach on old pony a new trick."
She turned back to him. Judging by her look he guessed she was seeing if he was sincere in his challenge. His mouth curved into a smile.
"Alright. You want a lesson? Then it's going to be a crash course. We're going to Canterlot."
The smile disappeared instantly.
