Hello! Don't have much to say other than please tell me what you think and if you have any advice feel free to tell me! This will be a long story so look forward to many chapters. Also please check out the artist who made the cover, she runs an awesome pony blog on tumblr and has done requests for me before. Her blog name is PencilPony's Drawing! Now without further delay. Enjoy.
The sun rose over the mountains and shined brightly over Ponyville. As Celestia beamed down upon the small town, the sun's rays protruded into a certain tan colt's room and shone brightly onto his face. He groaned loudly and pulled his covers over his face. But a few seconds later his alarm clock went off; its brass bells ringing loud and clear.
"I get it! I get it!" Time Turner yelled, "It's time to get up."
After silencing the irritating time telling device, he hopped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and washed his face. Then Time Turner looked into the mirror and saw his ruffled and unkempt mane. He reached out for a comb but stopped. For the past four months, he combed his hair everyday in hopes of looking nice. But they ended up just making fun of him even more.
"Forget it." Turner huffed as he skipped the comb.
He made the daily procession of walking down the stairs and making his way to the entrance of his house. Then he put on his saddlebags and grabbed the lunch he packed the night before. Finally, he unlocked the door and stepped outside.
The sun glittered in the sky as the birds chirped their morning song. Flowers of all colors and shape were in full bloom. To any pony else it would look like the perfect day.
"Let's get this over with." Time Turner deadpanned.
As he closed the door behind him and walked down the steps, he heard another door open. Turner looked across the street and saw a grey pegasus filly with a blonde mane and wall eyes. He recognized her from his class, but knew little else about her.
As Ditzy closed the door to her house she looked up and her eyes met with Time Turner's. They gazed at each other for a few moments before she smiled and gave a small wave to Turner. He waved back with indifference. Ditzy had seen the tan colt in her class before, however that was all she remembered of him.
Please leave me alone, please leave me alone, Ditzy prayed as she started her way to school with her head down.
She observed that if she entered school like this no one would notice her. She could go to her desk at the back of the class and pass unnoticed for the morning. Of course they would still throw paper balls with insults written in them, but she could survive those. Once lunch time came around she would wait until everyone rushed out of class and into the school yard before going outside. She usually found a small table where to sit at and eat in peace. Finally when school was over she would again make sure everyone left before her; she then took the back exit out of school and galloped home lest they see her and start making fun of her, or worse. This has been her routine for the past month since she started going to school here in Ponyville.
The worst part was that she didn't have a single friend who could comfort her or maybe even stand up for her. She was all alone, rejected and abandoned. As Ditzy dwelled on this, tear began forming in her eyes. She fought them back; not wanting to cry in front of Time Turner. Instead she focused on the fact that at the end of the week she would get her allowance and treat herself to a muffin from SugarCube Corner.
As Ditzy approached school she became nervous and tense. She kept her head low and and her tail slumped. She passed by a couple groups of foals who didn't even take notice of her. She relaxed just a fraction as she neared the doorway. There was still one last last group consisting of three colts and two fillies. Ditzy was silently praying to Celestia as the colts were the ones who bullied her the most.
She walked up the steps and was right at the door. She began to smile as she thought she was home free.
"Hey reject!" A red colt with white spiky mane yelled.
Ditzy winced and stood frozen at the entrance.
"Hey reject! I'm talking to you!" The same colt said again.
Ditzy turned around to face the group. She learned that if she didn't turn around they would only call her worse names and start pushing her around until she fell on the ground.
"Good morning Crunch, how are you?" Ditzy said politely.
"Horrible now that I've had to look at you." Crunch sneered. The other foals laughed cruelly.
Ditzy's chest started to hurt but she ignored it.
"Great weather we're having aren't we?" She persisted nicely.
"Might as well start raining if the sun ever sees you." He said derisively.
Again, Ditzy's eyes started welling up with tears. But she refused to cry. It would only serve to encourage them. Instead she excused herself and walked into the classroom as Crunch yelled out one last insult.
Ditzy walked to the back of the room where her desk was. After setting down her saddlebags and taking her seat, she let her head collapse on the desk. She began crying silently, tears pooling on the surface of her hard wooden desk.
Time Turner arrived at school and glanced at the Ponyville clock tower. There was still fifteen minutes before class started. He decided to walk to the play yard so he could sit on the swings in peace until the bell rang.
As he walked around all the foal groups, he saw Ditzy with her head lowered and walking straight through the crowd. Time Turner could tell she was doing her best not to meet anyone's eyes.
Strange, doesn't she have any friends? He thought.
Had he stayed just a couple seconds longer, he would've gotten his answer. Just as he disappeared around the corner of the schoolhouse, Crunch began his cruel treatment of Ditzy. He approached the swing set and sat down on one of the swings. He pushed himself with his leg and began rocking back and forth.
All he did was stare at the ground. No particular thought running through his mind. Except for how long until today was over. He remembered when he used to wish the days would never end. He would love to go exploring in the EverFree Forest and look for all the strange bugs that lived there. Then at night he would stay up hours past his bedtime looking at the starlit sky from the telescope in his room.
Time Turner was excited to start school at first; the chance of making friends was uppermost in his mind. But in the first month those hopes were dashed. At first, he tried inviting some ponies to go adventuring with him in the EverFree Forest. But they only mocked him and called him a creep. He was downtrodden but he didn't give up. Then Turner tried hosting a slumber party, he said everyone was welcome and there would be games and snacks; he was positive it would work. He got everything ready that night; snacks were ready and the board games were stacked. He waited and waited… But no one ever came.
Crushed, he cried himself to sleep that night. All he could think was Why don't they like me?. From then on Time Turner was never the same. He used to be enthusiastic about everything; curious and fascinated by the world around him. Now the telescope in his room had collected dust and the EverFree Forest was deprived of Time Turner's company. Furthermore, he never said a word in school unless the teacher asked him a question.
However, this didn't cause his bullies to relent. In fact, it only became worse. But Time Turner was determined to not give them the satisfaction of seeing they hurt him. So, overtime he became tolerant to the level of pain they would cause him. Eventually, they found no fun in bullying Turner so they gave up for the most part.
Time Turner let out a long sigh. He then heard hoof steps coming from behind him. He could guess who was coming so started pulling down the shutters on his feelings.
"Well, well if it isn't the nerd. What's the matter the cowlick hairstyle not working for you?" Crunch taunted as he walked up to Turner with his gang.
Time Turner didn't respond.
"Hey dork I'm talking to you." Crunch said.
Still, the tan colt did nothing.
"Looks like no one's home in that empty head." The red colt said, after a waiting a few moments he added, "What a loser, let's go."
After Crunch and his cronies left, Time Turner went back to pushing himself with his leg; wondering when today would end.
Finally the school bell rang; Turner got up from the swings and headed to the classroom. Once inside he put his saddlebag and lunch next to his desk and took his seat at the front of the class. Then Miss Flowers, the teacher, came in and began roll call.
"Crunch." She called out.
"Here." He replied.
"Slick." Miss Flowers said.
"Present." A cyan colt answered.
"Ditzy." She went on.
"Here." The filly replied with a barely audible whisper.
"Turner."
"Here." The tan colt said mechanically.
After roll call was over, Miss Flowers began the days lesson, the multiplication table. Although the rest of the class had a hard time understanding it, Time Turner picked it up in a snap. So, he sat there bored while Miss Flowers restated that multiplication is simply addition of the same number a certain amount of times.
After two hours, the class managed to get up to number five on the multiplication table. However, by that time Time Turner was already up to ten. The school bell rang again, signaling recess. Immediately, every pony, except for Turner and Ditzy, rushed out in a mass stampede. The tan colt and grey filly waited until everyone was gone and took their time getting out.
Time Turner walked to a bench that was on the far side of the playground. He took his seat and got out his lunch: an apple, a daisy sandwich, and a bottle of apple juice.
He looked over to the play set where most of the foals were as he took a bite out of his apple. A group of fillies were taking turns on the swings while a group of colts were playing tag. Fillies and colts were running all over the playground, having a blast playing games with their friends. It made Time Turner feel miserable.
I envy them, I really do, He thought as he sighed and took another bite from his apple.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ditzy eating all by herself. But soon three colts arrived at her table, one of them was Crunch. Time Turner thought nothing of it at first. He was the only Crunch bullied. But his assumption was soon proved wrong as he saw the red colt grab a muffin Ditzy had made and threw it to the ground. The filly pegasus looked sadly to the ground.
Time Turner was frozen. At first he wanted to get up, but then they would home in on Turner and bully him even worse than before. What should he do?
Crunch and his goons then began to chant something while pointing and laughing at Ditzy. The grey filly was fighting to hold back tears.
Time Turner began to shake. He knew what they were doing; calling her some insulting name and laughing at her pain. Crunch did the same thing to Time Turner not long after his failed slumber party attempt.
Then Crunch got a real nasty look on his face. Suddenly, he shoved Ditzy out of her seat and she yelped out in pain as she landed on her back.
That was one step too far for Turner.
He jumped up from the bench and galloped faster than the Pony Express over to the four foals. Crunch and his gang's laughter was cut short as Time Turner thundered in between them and Ditzy.
"Leave her alone!" He shouted.
At first the three colts were speechless. But Crunch soon found his tongue.
"Well, well if it isn't the loser nerd. Sticking up for a fellow reject?" He said contemptuously.
"She never did anything to you. You jerk coward!" Turner flared.
"What did you just call me?" Crunch demanded.
"You deaf?! I called you a jerk coward! Bullying a filly! You must really have some self esteem issues." Time Turner snapped.
"Why you!-" The red colt fumed as he lifted his hoof.
"ENOUGH!" Miss Flowers shouted, "What is going on here?!"
"M-Miss Flowers!" Crunch exclaimed.
"He was bullying her! I saw the whole thing happen." Time Turner explained.
"I will absolutely not tolerate any bullying in my school!" Miss Flowers said furious, "You three inside now!"
As Miss Flowers walked back to the classroom with Crunch and his two buddies in tow, Time Turner felt his heart pounding in his chest. With the rush of the moment gone, he began to calm down. Then he turned to face a very awestruck Ditzy; he held out his hoof.
"Hey, are you alright?" He asked.
Ditzy wasn't able to answer. Never before had some pony stood up for her. Her mind was blank and she couldn't move.
"Um, hello? Are you okay?" Time Turner asked concerned as he waved his hoof in front of Ditzy.
Then without warning Ditzy tackled him to the ground with a hug.
"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" Ditzy cried as tears streamed down her face.
Now it was Time Turner's turn to be speechless. He was caught totally off guard by Ditzy sudden burst of emotion. He lay there awkwardly on the ground with a sobbing Ditzy on top of him. After a few wet moments he spoke up.
"Um, I'm glad I could help… But could I please get up?" He asked.
Ditzy blushed as she scrambled to her hooves.
"I-I'm s-s-sorry. It-It's just that-" She began stammering.
It's ok, I just wasn't expecting it was all." Turner assured as he dusted himself off, "Anyways, I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"Um, y-yeah… I'm fine." Ditzy replied, just then her stomach growled. She blushed in embarrassment and looked down, "Sorry."
Time Turner looked over to where Ditzy's muffinwas; covered in dirt and now inedible.
"Was that all you had for lunch?" He asked.
"Yeah." Ditzy answered glumly.
When Time Turner was bullied and left crying, he always wished for some pony to be there and comfort him and be his his friend. But it never happened. He didn't want Ditzy to go through the same thing.
"I still have my sandwich, wanna share that?" He offered.
Again, Ditzy was at a loss for words. However, this time, she managed to nod her head in affirmation. So, they both walked over to the bench on the far side of the playground and took their seats. Time Turner reached into his bag and pulled out the white petal sandwich. He broke it in two and gave one half to Ditzy.
"My name's Time Turner by the way. What's yours?" He asked.
"Ditzy Doo." She replied.
They ate their sandwich halves quietly, both wondering what will happen next. After a while Time Turner made a decision. He was about to ask Ditzy a question, and depending on her answer, that will either crush him or elate him. He took a deep breath and asked.
"Do you want to be my friend?"
There's a saying that goes, "It always comes in threes". For the thrice time today, Ditzy was shocked. She looked at Time Turner, who was tense with anticipation. After a moment she smiled wide and bright.
"I'd love to." She answered.