Author's Notes:

Indentation came in wonky when I moved it from GDocs, and it doesn't want to come out right. So I apologize for this chapters weird indentation.

It had been almost a six months since the Corona Event. The big message that all CORE workers and the Princess learned. Never say never. Now there were all those prophecies about ponies that might allude to her. As well as other big bads. That mostly were ignored till now and had to be gone through. And never mind the fact that in about a month or two months, Tambelon was scheduled to make a return. Something that they would have no power over working on, and had to be the Princess herself and the Element Bearers who were going.

But the biggest problem was that could wait until his shift started. He sat in the employee lounge nursing a hot cocoa, secretly thinking if it would be worth it to sneak a shot of vodka. Between Luna’s horrible advice in his dreams, to a lack of movement on a rather startling series of temporal events, or more specifically the paperwork for said events. He wasn’t sure what would kill him first.

Trixie in real life through his dreams, or fact that the world he was supposed to keeping safe for his brother was now on a constant state of danger being in close proximity to that mare and he couldn’t hoof wave it away.

Glint Spark saddled to his left, while Time Saver yawned and sat to his right. They gave each other knowing glances, “Hey, we were talking,” Time Saver said in the same tone of voice one would use to talk a pony from not jumping off the edge of Mount Canterhorn.

“Hmmm?” Royal Pin hummed noncommittally.

“Well we haven’t officially been on a vacation in a few years. So me and Glinty here thought that someday soon, a few months at the latest. We’d take you over to Ponyville, you told us Pokey said it was a great town. We can be where it’s nice and quiet, and well you know. Vacationy stuff?”

“Listen I know you two are trying to get me to go over to Ponyville. Luna says the same things in my dreams, but I can’t yet. Pokey doesn’t want to listen to reason, and I haven’t saved the world yet. I want to live up to that image that he has of me you know? I can’t let him down,” Royal Pin said wearily. It would be nice to finally have some more personal time with Glint, but who am I kidding, a mare as wonderful and gorgeous as her is way out of my league. But it’d probably be ruined by Pokey, being head strong on putting himself in danger. He has even greater sensitivity than I do, but still says that the CORE isn’t for him. But on the third hoof, Glint Spark … Royal Pin let loose a dejected sigh.

Only for Glint Spark to smack him upside the head with a food tray, “Okay that’s it. We’re taking you, kicking and screaming to Ponyville after the mess the Grand Galloping Gala generates. And if you try to do that one thing where you say you’re swamped with work. Know that we know that trick, and we know who to go to, to make that magical extra work go away,” she huffed.

It turned out working 5 years with an ex-Royal Guard, on top of her two ‘friends’, had helped her know when to put her hoof down. Unfortunately for Royal Pin, she put hers down hard when she was helping those she cared about or thought they were being stupid.

“Alright, sheesh. Cut down on the beatings, I need my face for work.”

“Only parts of it,” she replied giving him a hug that Time Saver joined in on.

“We need to get to work soon. I’ll let my brother know I’ll be coming and I’ll let you two be a surprise, “Royal Pin said rubbing the sore spot on his head. A part of me wants to find a different way to avoid this. But I don’t know how to get past Time Saver … he’s a wily one, and I don’t want to risk angering Glint Spark. Besides that she’s hot and out of my league … she’d also knock me out and drag me there regardless.

Royal Pin couldn’t believe his string of bad luck. Other than his brother speaking to him now, even if he still wouldn’t listen to reason. At least he was close enough to Trixie for him to drop hints to try steering that walking temporal disaster in the right direction. As well as look out for her. Now that she was the Element of Magic, she was not just a boulder launching maniac in the timeline. But was verifiable hurricane. A maelstrom of probability along with her friends that filled his days with enough work that he dreamt of working when he slept.

At least he did for the first five months, before Luna thankfully intervened and let him know that he wasn’t the only ones dreaming of the paperwork Trixie generated. After that it was dreaming of Trixie, for some strange reason in a puppy costume, throwing boulders made of form requests upon him. And for an even stranger reason Pokey, his own flesh and blood, was helping her.

But alas even that soon faded into a tedious eventuality. And he was dead set against Luna’s advice of visiting his brother and Trixie. Not only did she not have clearance, to his knowledge, to know about CORE. But the farther he stayed away from her the better. Even if she was becoming more and more of an actual equine. And was developing into a mare that he could almost consider worthy of being his brother’s friend, rather than just a boss that his brother worked with because he thought he saw something salvageable in her if his letters were to be believed.