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                    If Only I Had Time                     
                   -by FamousLastWords-                    
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                    Prelude to a Dream                     
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Prelude to a Dream
Celestia tossed and turned in bed, beads of sweat running down her face. The moonlight shined through the window, casting its glow on her mane, now drenched in sweat.
Inside her dream, she was standing on a road in downtown Canterlot. Buildings stood tall all around her. Ponies were going about their daily lives. Then, the scene in front of her eyes shattered into pieces.
The buildings collapsed around her, leaving nothing in their wake. The ponies that were going about their daily business a moment ago began running around in panic, before they burst into a thin cloud of dust. Foals watched their parents disappear, shocked and scared before become the same fate befell them. The concrete sidewalks beneath her crumbled into pieces, leaving nothing but a muddy path. Within a matter of seconds, nothing was left except for a barren, lifeless landscape. It was as if nothing had ever existed there in the first place.
Celestia looked around herself in horror. Her castle, her city, the ponies she ruled over. All gone. All had become nothing.
Then, the entire scene disappeared completely.
Celestia was alone. Everything around her was dark. No light, no sound, except for a low, menacing voice that began whispering inside her head.
“The end is near, little princess. Time is running out.”
The darkness behind her eyelids was complete, with the sole exception of a pair glowing eyes that manifested from the darkness, staring her down. She tried to look into them, tried to identify where they were coming from, who they belonged to.
“Who are you?”
“I am the beginning, I am the end. I always have been and I always will be.”
“What do you mean? What are you saying?”
“The life you know is coming to a close.”
"What do you want?”
“I will be your end.”
Celestia’s eyes shot open and her head flew off her pillow. “Ahh!”
She darted her eyes around the room, taking huge gulps of air, trying to keep up with the pounding heart inside her chest.
“H-Hello? Where are you? I know you’re there!” She looked around her room, expecting the eyes to meet with hers once again. The hum of chirping crickets and the whistling of the wind through the window was her only response.
She slammed her hoof on the bed frowned. She looked at her bedside clock. “Three o’clock in the morning?”
She slumped her head back into her pillows. The nightmare kept replaying through her head. The voice wouldn’t leave her ears. Those haunting eyes. Everytime she closed her eyes, they were the only thing she saw.
“I need my coffee.”
Celestia crawled out from her covers and threw on a bathrobe to cover up her messy appearance as much as possible. She wasn’t in the most professional appearance at the moment.
She made her way down to the kitchens where a server pony was dancing in place, humming a tune out loud...
“Hello, there,” Celestia said with a smile.
The pony leapt up in surprise and stood to attention.”Princess! I apologize! I wasn’t aware of your presence. I was, um, just wiping down these counters!”
Celestia chuckled. “It’s alright. The graveyard shifts don’t provide much entertainment, do they?”
“Um, no ma’am.” The pony looked around awkwardly, trying to think of the correct protocol in this situation. “Oh! Would you like me to get you anything? Early breakfast? Late dinner?”
“Coffee. Black, if you will. I can’t really sleep at the moment, so I may as well stay awake at this point.”
“Yes, ma’am. Right away.” The pony dashed off to obey the command.
Celestia strode off to the dining area and sat down. Three nightmares in the same week. She was going to get to the bottom of this.
*****
“Does it really take thirty minutes to make a cup of coffee?” Celestia shook her head and got up from her seat. It would appear she was just going to have to make it herself.
Celestia walked into the kitchens once again in search of her coffee. Sure enough, there was the server pony, humming her tune.
“Oh, um, Princess! I apologize, I was just, um, wiping down these counters!” The pony sunk back and quickly bowed.
Celestia shook her head and brought her hoof to her face. “Yes, I understand. But did you make my coffee I asked for?”
The pony gave her a puzzled look. “I apologize, Princess, but did you request me to make you coffee? I wasn’t aware—”
“Yes, the coffee I asked for thirty minutes ago when I stumbled down here at three o’clock in the morning!” Celestia pointed to the clock on the wall and her eyes widened in shock. “Wait. It says it’s only two-thirty.”
“Um, yes, ma’am. It’s two-thirty right now. Is something wrong? Did I do something wrong?”
Celestia’s eyes were glued to the clock. “Go ahead and get the coffee going. And make enough for two ponies. I have to go get my sister.”
Something was very wrong, indeed.
*****
Luna sat down at the table and took a sip of her coffee.
“My sister, I understand that you believe the situation is dire, but could it not have waited until morning? You know how I value my personal time at night.”
“I’m sorry, Luna, but it can’t wait. The situation is serious.”
Luna nodded and took another sip of her coffee. “Alright, tell me what is on your mind.”
“I’ll get right to the point. I’ve had another vision. You remember what I’ve told you, correct?”
“Yes. Is it the same as before?”
“Yes. The same eyes and voice. Except this time, he’s made good on his threat.”
Luna paused her hoof as it brought her drink to her mouth. “Explain.”
“Tell me sister, you spend a lot of time in the libraries. You know a lot about the past and theoretical possibilities, do you not?”
“I do.”
“What can you tell me about temporal incursions?”
Author's Note
It starts...

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                  Worlds End In Whispers                   
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Worlds End In Whispers
The trees whisked by on the other side of the window. The sun was just beginning to rise, its rays dappling their light over the horizon. The beams of light shone through the train car, reflecting their light onto the dragon slouching in his seat. And those bright beams in turn shone onto his eyes, bringing him out of his slumber.
Spike blinked trying to adjust to the sudden light and then let his eyes follow all the passing scenery in an attempt to keep them open. Even after his physical growth over the past few years, it still was not his custom to rise out of bed any earlier than ten o’clock in the morning, much less at this ungodly hour.
“Six o’clock in the morning... Six o’clock and here I am on a train, on my way to Canterlot without a single comfortable bed in sight. This better be a life or death situation.”
Spike groaned and stretched out his body. Arms first, then legs, followed by his wings. He was still getting used to the latter appendages, and they were rather stiff at this time of the morning.
“Erhm,” Spike growled, stretching out. “Right wing, check. Left wing, check. Alright, we’re good to go.”
Every instinct in his mind told him to collapse on the seat and go back to sleep, but as the sun continued to rise and the distance between himself and Canterlot began to close, it became less and less of an option. Maybe he’d be able to take a nap at the castle when he got to Canterlot, anyway. Celestia was usually pretty open with letting him have his freedom of traversing around the castle.
The exact reason why he was on his way to Canterlot castle at six in the morning was still beyond him, however.
Spike slouched back into his cushioned seat and searched through the satchel on the seat next to him. His claws rustled about within the bag until they stumbled upon the desired item: a small, rolled up letter he received a few days prior from Princess Celestia herself. It came by way of a ditzy mailmare the night before. Spike was grateful on one end considering the fact they agreed to stop using his magic breath as a mail service as he got older.It was also a rather depressing when he realized the time and place he was requested to meet the Princess.
Spike unrolled the letter and eyed its contents once more:
Dear Spike,
A matter of immediate concern has come to my attention. Please meet with my sister and I this Tuesday. Tell nopony of this for fear of starting a panic of any sort. Travel arrangements have already been made for a train leaving from Ponyville at 4 AM the morning of the aforementioned day.
Princess Celestia
Celestia had always been a ‘to the point’ kind of pony, but the urgency in this letter managed to pique Spike’s curiosity just a tad. What could the emergency be?
“I hope there’s not another archdemon or creature of lore rising up from the underworld. Or worse, maybe there’s another rampaging dragon she wants me to stop.” Spike chuckled lightly. “Or maybe she’s out of cake and her favorite bakery is closed.”
It wasn’t necessarily the idea of an emergency that really got Spike’s mind on the subject. Emergencies tended to happen quite frequently in Equestria, the particular circumstances of the letter had him worried. Normally, in any circumstance where Celestia needed assistance, she would call Twilight, or one of her friends. In this event, however, the letter was addressed specifically to him and he was instructed to not tell anypony. If that didn’t qualify as strange, he didn’t know what did.
The train rumbled down the tracks further and further until the steeping towers and crowded townhomes of Canterlot came fully into view. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and Spike was sure he’d appreciate it even further if the circumstances were different and he didn’t find himself waging war with his eyelids to keep them open every second.
“Alright, here we are,” Spike said, trying to stifle a yawn that was threatening to emerge. He glanced down at the mysterious letter that Celestia would hopefully clear up for him “Well, let’s go see what she wants.”
*****
Spike strode down the streets of Canterlot. The sun was still and ponies were just getting their shops set up and ready for the day. He strolled by a stand that was selling donuts and he picked one up for himself. If he was going to face the Princess with any kind of dignity, he needed to get some food in his belly.
After the brief stop and consumption of his donut, he pressed onward.
The morning chill ran up and down his scales making him severely miss the blankets awaiting him at home. But as the glorious sights of the Canterlot castle gates came within his view, life seemed to get just a little bit better.
Spike ran up to the gates where a guard pony was standing alert and ready.
“Hello, sir,” Spike said, flashing his summon. “I’m here to see Princess Celestia.”
“Spike the Dragon, I assume?” the guard pony said.
“Yes, sir, that’s me.” Spike grinned brightly, but the stern, no nonsense glare from the guard shut that down rather quickly.
“Any bags you may be carrying will be set aside and checked in. All weapons and scanning equipment on your person will not be allowed within the castle property. Move along, sir.”
“Um, thank you,” Spike said, shuffling through the gates as quickly as possible. And with that, he had finally reached his destination.
*****
Spike walked down the halls of the castle, eyeing the artwork and beautiful construction that laid about. By this point in his life he was rather familiar with the castle’s layout, but it never ceased to amaze him every time he entered inside its walls.
A left turn here, a right turn there and he found himself standing outside a large door with two ponies standing outside of it.
“Hey guys,” Spike said. “I’m just here to see Celestia if she’s available.”
“Oh, hey Spike,” one of the ponies said. “She’s waiting for you in the meeting room.”
“The meeting room? Must be important then. Also, is it just me or is the guard outside a little on the obnoxious side?”
“Yeah, he’s new. We’ve learned to tolerate him.”
Spike chuckled in unison with the ponies, briefly nodded and and walked past the guards and through the door.
There was a long table in the middle of the room with about ten chairs placed evenly about around the table. However, there were only two ponies seated at the far end: Celestia and Luna.
“Welcome, Spike,” Celestia said, a straight gaze locked onto Spike. “Please have a seat if you will. We must begin our discussion immediately.”
“Oh, man, am I in trouble?” Spike questioned, looking back and forth between the two princesses. “Because if I did something bad, I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding or something.”
“Spike, please have a seat,” Luna said, shaking her head. “You will not be facing punishment at this time. We need to have a serious discussion, however.”
Spike glanced at both of them, attempting to think of a comment to make light of the situation, but the serious gaze both of them had quickly kept his mouth shut.
“Alright,” Spike said, taking a seat. “What’s going on?”
Celestia waited until Spike was settled in and looked him right in the eyes. “Alright, Spike, I’m afraid there is no time for pleasantries, so we’ll cut right to the point. Equestria is in mortal danger.”
Spike blinked a few times in confusion. “Danger? What are you talking about?”
“An enemy we have never seen before has risen and will destroy Equestria very soon,” Luna said. “It is an absolute certainty.”
“Yes,” Celestia cut in. “At this point, our entire world will come crashing down before us in a matter of weeks, or sooner.”
Spike’s initial reaction was to start laughing. “Wait, you’re not being serious, are you? You’re kidding.”
The silent stares from the two ponies in front of him were all it took to settle the reality into his brain.
“So, what you’re saying is that we’re all going to die in a matter of weeks? What’s happening? Who’s doing this?”
“Unfortunately, we don’t know who’s behind it,” Celestia stated. “And we don’t know how exactly it’s happening, but we have an idea.”
“Spike,” Luna said. “Do you remember several years back when you and Twilight were bounced between different dimensions and times in your efforts to stop Starlight Glimmer?”
“Heh, yeah, how could I forget?”
“We believe the perpetrator is operating from a different time and using extremely powerful magic to do so. He’s creating changes and ripples in the time stream that are unraveling the world as we know it.”
Spike could feel a slight knot in his stomach forming as he digested the information he was being fed. It was one thing to say they were in danger, but an entirely different thing to say the world would be destroyed.
“Alright, I gotta ask though, how do you know all this? Like, how do you know there are changes going on and whatever?” Spike looked at both of them. “Isn’t there the slightest chance that it’s all just a misconception or misinterpretation of what’s going on? I mean, I haven’t noticed anything unusual at all.”
“Spike,” Luna responded. “Do you know what temporal incursions are?”
“I’ve heard Twilight mention the phrase a few times, but I couldn’t really explain it to you to be honest.”
Celestia answered next. “It’s when a small act in the timestream causes a reaction somewhere later in the stream. We’ve had several of those happen in the past week alone. In one instance, I made a request for some coffee, only to find out an hour later that time had gone backwards and I hadn’t made the request yet. Similar events are happening more and more as time goes on, and they will only get worse.”
“Yes, Spike. For all we know, Ponyville could be a completely different place by the time you return from it.” Luna gave Spike a sorrowful glance.
“And, if that isn't proof enough,” Celestia added on, “I’ve been experiencing nightmares with visions of this enemy. The fact that he’s made good on his threats is all the more alarming.”
Spike could feel his head on the verge of bursting with all the news he had just heard. On one end, he wasn’t sure what to think or if he should even take it seriously. On the other, it was readily apparent that the Princesses weren’t joking about all this.
“Alright,” Spike said. “Assuming this is all true, why are you telling me about this? When the world’s in danger, don’t you usually just call in Twilight or her friends to take care of it?”
“We would have, Spike, but this isn’t the average flesh and blood villain we’re dealing with. This is a villain that is abusing the past to change the future, and the only way to stop it is to go back in the past and eliminate the changes by preventing them from ever happening.”
“This is where the problem lies,” Luna said. “The damage done to the timestream has made time spells… precarious. A pony traveling back in time right now could be severely wounded and most likely killed during the process. Dragons have proven more resilient to magic than ponies, and thus we called you in. I am afraid this problem will have to be solved without our element bearers.”
“So, because I’m a dragon, I’m the best choice for this mission? And that’s why you called me?”
“Yes, Spike.” Celestia nodded and looked him directly in the eyes. “Now, we’d never force you to do something you didn’t want to, and this mission will be extremely dangerous. We can’t guarantee your safety or your safe return is all said and done. But, as it stands, you are the only one who can save the world this time. Will you help us?”
Spike felt like he was run over by a freight train. He has always wanted to be able to play the hero seeing as how he was normally nothing more than the towel colt, but something of this magnitude and seriousness never crossed his mind.
“If I say yes, will I have time to say goodbye to my friends and Twilight? Just in case I don’t ever get to see them again?”
“Yes, you may say goodbye as long as you don’t mention the specifics of the circumstances. But should you accept, we would urge you to hurry as much as possible. Time is, unfortunately, our greatest enemy in the here and now.”
A dangerous mission, a chance to be the hero… That’s what he’d always wanted. But now that the opportunity was glaring at him, he wasn’t sure what to do. However, if he truly was the only one who could stop what was going to happen, he had only one choice.
“I accept. I’ll do it.”