Prologue

Various items lay scattered around the green saddlebags on the bed. Twilight had spent all morning making preparations for the big day ahead. She had previously scheduled to visit the princess and take care of a few errands in Canterlot today, and she didn't want to miss the train. Rarity had asked her to pick up some special ice sapphires sold only in the capital, and Zecora had needed some herbs not found near the Everfree Forest or Ponyville. She put on her saddlebags and made her way downstairs to check off the triple check box on her checklist, trotting past the rusted double doors to her side.

Pause. Rusted double doors? Since when did she have those? And… "Where's the center bookshelf? It's disappeared!" Approaching the frame, Twilight's eyes scanned it in confusion. "Spike! Did you move the furniture without asking me again?" she called out. The absence of response reminded her that she had given the little dragon the day off while she was busy in Canterlot.

"This can't lead outside, it's in the middle of the building… Did the Ponyville Library have another room I didn't know about? Ooh, I wonder if there are any new books inside!" Leaving her belongings at the front entrance, Twilight used her horn and threw open the door excitedly. She would take a quick glance around the place for now and come investigate its reaches more thoroughly later.

Trotting into the unlit room, Twilight lit up her horn to serve as a light - but to no avail. She couldn't even see the floor. "Hmm," she mused confusedly, as she intensified the light. Sparks flying off her magic coated horn, Twilight still couldn't make out anything in the room. However, the light reflecting off her coat proved there was nothing wrong with her illumination spell.

"That's odd," said Twilight, "Is there a darkness enchantment on this place? I'll have to take a look at it later." Turning around to leave, the unicorn realized that the door she had entered through was no longer there. "Huh? What's going on?" Twilight exclaimed, confused. "Is anyone there!" she called out, hoping her voice would reach a passerby. She knew it was unlikely for somepony to visit the library at these hours, but she was desperate. "Hello? Can anypony hear me! I'm trapped inside, please open this door!"

Twilight tried waving her hooves around while moving slowly, trying to find the door. "Oh no, I'm going to be late… What am I going to do?" Even teleporting herself was futile, as she ended up in the darkness no matter which direction or destination she set for the spell. Eventually, she turned off her magic and plopped down onto the floor in exasperation. Her head lolled sideways on the ground, her mane falling over her eyes.

As Twilight moved a hoof to brush the hair out of the way, her senses picked up something unusual again. The floor felt strange… it wasn't made of wood, that was for sure. Twilight flipped over onto her stomach, feeling the material with her front hooves. Not stone, it wasn't hard enough. Then again, it couldn't be described as soft, either. It almost felt like… nothing at all?

"Aah!" As soon as the thought fleeted across her mind, Twilight tumbled through the floor, giving a yelp of surprise. Continuing to fall on and on, her descent eventually slowed down and stopped, leaving the unicorn disoriented and suspended in midair.

Twilight desperately flailed around for something, anything, that she could plant her hooves on. Out of nowhere, a voice echoed through the space, taking her by surprise. Twilight Sparkle. I've been expecting you.

"W-Who's there? How do you know my name?" Startled, Twilight considered lighting up her horn so that she could see the unknown speaker, until she was reminded of how her previous attempts had turned out.

Please, don't be nervous. I mean you no harm.

As her eyes started adjusting to the darkness, Twilight could make out faint streaks of blue in between the black. She stared silently, peering into the void. One of the ribbons brushed past her face, feeling light and almost liquid at the touch. Twilight used her hooves to gently lift it higher, letting her pupils scan over it.

When she looked inside, the world came back to view. After a few blinding blue seconds, Twilight was back in Canterlot. The place looked the same as it had in Twilight's memories; even her furniture and belongings were strewn across the floor in the same pattern. The only thing that was missing was… herself. Her body had disappeared, leaving only her consciousness in the otherwise uninhabited room.

Canterlot… Twilight thought, as her consciousness drifted over to the window. She saw two pegasi guards positioned on the balcony to the left wing, a golden chariot behind them. Her vision was drawn towards the double glass doors, where she saw a familiar sight - none other than herself and Spike, boarding the chariot and flying off into the distance.

The world faded back into darkness. The ethereal lace flew away, coiling past Twilight's hooves and face. Things were strange enough as they were. With what she had just witnessed, Twilight was at a loss for words. Raising a cautious hoof, she gently poked another blue strip before snapping her leg back, expecting something to happen. The object gave no other reaction than a slight ripple as it continued on its merry way.

In her focused state of exploration, Twilight failed to notice the figure to her side, barely visible in the dimly lit void. It didn't help that it remained silent, as it scared the daylights out of her when she finally saw it.

"Waah! Who's there?" she huffed, falling on her rear end. The floor had seemingly reappeared, but it was still made of that same, matter-less substance Twilight had trouble identifying. Perhaps it was only an idea. The figure gave a light-hearted chuckle.

"Enjoying yourself, I see." The creature had the voice of a stallion, and Twilight could see it more clearly now that he had stepped closer to her. The only real features she could distinguish were his deep emerald eyes, two patches of bright green wrapped up by the rest of his face. He was wrapped completely by the same strips of ether Twilight had just witnessed, which reminded Twilight of the ancient desert nomads' mummy corpses in Afterlife theories of ancient Equestria.

Even when she tried to pay close attention to the creature's appearance, Twilight wasn’t sure what he was exactly. He appeared to be shaped like a pony, but at the same time, there was more. Twilight could also see some kind of tall creature, with limbs that stretched out and digits like a dragon's claws, but rounder. She couldn't tell which was his real form. He switched back and forth between a multitude of shapes and sizes, yet there was no transformation. One moment he was a pony, and the next moment he was a bird, a faerie, a griffin. No morphing, no changes. He just was.

Twilight cautiously eyed the strange phenomenon. Deeming it to be a non-hostile, the sense of danger in her was replaced by absolute confusion. "What just happened?"

"What you just witnessed was a memory of your past."

"What's going on? Who are you? Why does my magic not work? And-"

"Patience, child. All will be explained if only you wait to hear the answer. I'm sure you're confused as to what is happening. You are no longer in your world, and you feel alien to this plane of existence."

Twilight's brain started working overtime, gears turning furiously in effort of making sense to his words. "What does that mean?"

"It means, Twilight Sparkle, that you are out of time."

Twilight froze in place. "I'm… dead? But that's impossible! I was perfectly fine this morning! I can't be dead! What's going to happen to Spike? How will my parents deal with this? I-"

Her hyperventilating was broken by the sound of laughter. "Hahaha… Sorry for the misunderstanding. Twilight Sparkle, you are most certainly alive. What I meant was that you are literally, outside of the plane of time."

"…Who are you?"

"I have been called many names in the past. Being the immortal embodiment of time tends to make everyone revere you as some sort of god, and stick on an endless amount of honorifics to your title. Now, though, I prefer to go by 'Clockwork'. And you are here to witness the truth."

It took a moment for the words to register in Twilight's shock-addled brain. "Wait wait wait… immortal embodiment of time? That's… that's amazing!" Twilight's eyes lit up in awe. "There's so much to be learned! With an understanding of time and its elements, Equestrian life and technology could advance so much!"

"I'm afraid I cannot give you the information you seek, dear Twilight," Clockwork stated. The unicorn looked crestfallen. "Your world will learn all of the secrets that I hold, in due time. But I cannot go against the laws of the ancients and interact with the mortal worlds. In fact, technically, I shouldn't even be speaking to you right now. There's always the pesky possibility that we may cause the implosion of the space time continuum, as you call it."

"Um… does that mean I should leave, then?" Twilight asked worriedly.

"No, I think it would be best for you to remain here for a while. Although there are some risks involved, there is something your world needs to be prepared for."

"How bad is it?"

"Very."

"Care to elaborate?"

"It's going to be like Discord's return, except without Discord, and the river of red flooding the streets won't come from strawberries this time."

"Raspberries, then…?" Twilight smiled in meek hopefulness, only to be met by a cold glare.

"Ok then, pretty bad. Fate of Ponyville. Maybe even Equestria." Twilight paused, reflecting on these words. "Why me, then?" she asked. "You could have called one of the princesses, or the high council, or anypony in the royal guard, for that matter. Why choose a unicorn filly like me?"

"You underestimate your ability, Twilight Sparkle. Celestia and Luna may be the rulers of Equestria, and the council and guard hold heavy responsibilities, but you are directly connected to Harmony herself. You wield the Element of Magic, and have used it on several occasions beforehand to save your world from destruction. The fact of the matter is, you can make a difference, Miss Sparkle." Clockwork continued, with Twilight listening attentively. "You are also pure. You are untouched by chaos, and you can understand what I am about to show you. You will be the key to change the future."

"But… you can't change the future! I tried to do the same thing a few weeks ago with the time travel spell I found in the Canterlot archives. All I ended up doing was creating a paradox loop, and nothing changed! How can you change the future?" Twilight objected, the scepticism subtle but clear.

"Remember Twilight, you don't know very much about timelines and time travel. When you cast that spell, you weren't coming from the future, into the present. You were coming from your present, into your past. You cannot change your past, as it has already happened, set in stone. The future, on the other hand, is a pile of thread that hasn't been woven yet, and you can choose to shape it any way you want. I will not explain any further than that due to complications with the laws of the ancients, but I assure you this will be different." Explaining calmly, Clockwork plucked one of the blue bandages covering his side, releasing it in front of him. Twilight took it gingerly in her hooves and looked up at Clockwork, hesitant that this tiny thing could change the future. "Go on," he encouraged. "Take a look inside."

Once again, Twilight brought the lace to her eyes. Once again, the blinding blue light covered everything. And once again, the world fell into view.

Author's Notes:

Well, there you have it. The first two chapters have been compressed into the prologue. Not much has changed, but I just thought I'd try and get a more attractive first chapter out there to try and interest more people. Also, Twilight's role and appearances have been diminished, for storytelling purposes. The characters remain the same, and the main story has not been changed.