Chapter 51: Service with a Smile

Hailstorm readily opened the door to his high-altitude cloud house, breathing in the comforting cool air from within. It had been a long time since he had last set foot inside his own modest residence, and feeling his carefully-constructed cloud-based cooling system at work brought back a wave of confidence and vigor. Hail was prepared to finally accomplish something meaningful.

Swift Star, on the other hand, shivered, his wings contracting for warmth. "Jeez, Hail," he complained, "I know you're a winter pegasus, but I always thought houses were for escaping the elements, not embracing them..."

"I like it cold, okay?" Hail defended. "It's... calming. Purifying, even. Anyway, I'm sorry, but you'll just have to deal with it... Sir."

"Argh, forget the 'sir'," Swift sighed, hopping onto a sofa and curling up. "Just hurry up and do... whatever it is you gotta do."

Hail booted up the client program on his device, and no sooner had he done so than he had received a message indicating a server connection. 'Wow, he's really on the ball with this...' thought Hail. His Pesterchum pinged at him while the loading sequence was playing.

DM: go ahead and find something to prototype, I don't really care what it is
DM: as long as it's not something stupid like yourself or swift

"That's right, I completely forgot about that..." Hail muttered as he looked around the room frantically. "What do I even have..." Living alone, he had never really thought about collecting things with which to decorate his house, so his front room was mostly bare save for the furniture and a few candles.

"What are you looking for?" Swift asked impatiently.

"An object to prototype the kernelsprite with..." Hail answered, though Swift's inquisitive glare reminded him that he probably had no idea what that meant. "Er, there's this... ball thing that needs to be given one, uh, item. I don't quite get it myself, but apparently it's a very important step, and doing it wrong can screw everything up."

The cursor dropped the Cruxtruder behind him as he spoke, causing Swift to perform a double take. Hail followed his gaze to the machine, quickly getting over the size of it, and hovered to the same level as the lid. He gave it a solid kick, popping it open and releasing the purple kernelsprite from within. "This ball," Hail indicated.

"O... kay," Swift acknowledged, staring at the sprite. The sprite stared back.

Hail searched his saddlebags for something to use. At this point, it was mostly filled with his old crossbows and various bolts, but at the very bottom, he found a clump of blue slime gel.

"Huh, I must've picked this up a long time ago and forgot about it..." commented Hail. "I think this'll work..." He tossed the gel into the sprite, where it took on the semi-spherical shape of a slime. Swift continued to stare at the slime sprite, confused about its new shape.

DM: interesting choice
DM: I've already put the other two machines upstairs, and the card
DM: so you should probably get on that
DM: and don't forget the totem from the cruxtruder
HS: got it

Carefully turning the wheel as he had seen Beats do, a smooth purple cylinder slid out of the top of the Cruxtruder. He carried it upstairs, leaving Swift and the sprite to their staring contest. A few moments passed, and the sprite decided that it should probably be watching Hail finish the entry process. Swift followed it upstairs to see what all the fuss was about.

Hailstorm proceeded to go through the motions, carving his totem and placing it on the alchemiter. In a flash, a sparkling magenta cloud formed above the device, showering crystalized snow over the center, which accumulated into the shape of an earth pony.

"That's... actually kind of neat," Hail commented, admiring the glittering snow sculpture. "Too bad I have to wreck it."

Swift was on the verge of questioning why that was necessary, but he saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Craning his head, he saw the cursor dragging something towards the unwary sprite. It was a human corpse! Nobody he recognized, but combined with the fact that this was happening behind Hail's back, Swift could sense that something very wrong was going on.

Rather than sitting back, or even warning Hail verbally, his instinct kicked in and he dove for the corpse, kicking it out of the cursor's hold.

The noise caught Hail's attention, but only after he had initiated a kick to the snowpony's head. Separating the head from the body, a bright light began to shine...

...and faded. The results of his endeavor were not immediately obvious, but Hail was more interested in the strange noises behind him. Turning around, he saw someone he certainly didn't expect to see again. Mefirst, in exactly the same condition he last witnessed the mailman. Dead, and full of bolts. Swift stood over the corpse, panting heavily.

"What the..." Hail uttered.

The other pegasus glanced at him. "Your so-called partner tried to proto-whatever the sprite thing with this dead human behind your back," he explained. "Something told me letting that happen would have been a bad idea."

"Y-you're probably right..." Hail slowly agreed, still staring at the cold afterimage of his handiwork. He barely managed to pull away, shakily bringing out his computer.

HS: blah whats going on why is mefirst here
DM: I brought him here
HS: why
DM: well, the original plan was to prototype him.
HS: why in celestias name would you want to do that
DM: I didn't think a slime sprite alone would be very helpful
DM: so I thought you'd appreciate if I added a sentient being to the mix.
DM: mefirst only seemed fitting and he was just kinda laying around, so
HS: do you not remember anything from that fight
HS: mefirst would be a terrible guide and id hate every second of it
DM: hey man, I don't see any other corpses around here
DM: or ANYTHING, really. unless you want to prototype swift, and I highly doubt either of you would be ok with that.
DM: just look at your sprite. it's basically just a hunk of mindless ectoplasmic ooze.

Hail turned to the sprite. It was exactly what his server player described - an amorphous, translucent bubble, hovering around Hail with primitive curiosity and making occasional sloshing noises.

After a few moments of thought, Hail decidedly returned to his computer to stamp out another message.

HS: still not as annoying as mefirst
DM: lol.
HS: and i dont think i even need a competent sprite guide
HS: i have you dont i
DM: true, true
DM: ok, fine, we don't have to prototype him
DM: you can just talk to me for everything, I guess.
HS: if i ever need you theres a good chance at least one of you will be around right
DM: shrug.
DM: I wouldn't count on it, but you might be able to get by.
HS: ok and now that all of that is over
HS: i promised swift youd be able to talk to him
DM: eh, fine, put him on

Hail handed the computer to Swift. "He's ready to talk to you now."

Swift stared at the tablet apprehensively. "Do I really have to touch every letter one-by-one on that thing just to talk to him? Seems counter-productive if you ask me."

"Yeah, typing is a pain..." sympathized Hail. "I think we can do a video chat, though. To be honest, I'm not sure why we don't just do that all the time anyway."

"Anything's better than tap dancing each sentence," Swift accepted.

HS: hed rather do a video chat instead is that ok
DM: unfortunately I'm a bit too busy for that at the moment
HS: you seem to be pretty focused on this conversation what could you possibly be doing
DM: important future stuff, you wouldn't understand.
DM: not until you're older, that is.
HS: wouldnt a video call leave your hands free to do whatever it is youre doing
DM: believe me when I say that typing is more convenient for what I'm doing than hosting a video call.

"Doesn't look like that's going to happen," Hail announced glumly to Swift. "If it'll be any easier, you can just dictate to me what you wa-"

"I want this to just be between family," Swift interrupted impatiently. "I hate to break it to you, but you're not family." He took another look at the computer and scowled. "And furthermore, I want this to be face-to-face! How am I supposed to know this is really my son I'm talking to here? Right now, he's just... words! And if that's really your trusted friend, why did he try to mess up your little process, and behind your back, I might add?"

"He was only looking out for me!" Hail violently defended in a tone that caught Swift off-guard. "I've known Blah for quite a while now, and he might act out of place or do some stuff that seems sketchy at first, but his number one priority is making sure everyone is safe and comfortable in the end. Sure, his methods are sometimes questionable, but nobody's perfect. The only thing that matters is that he's doing them for us."

Although Swift understood that Hail was standing up for his friend, something still felt off about the situation and he wasn't about to let that slide either. "That does sound like Light, what you just said," Swift acknowledged, "but that doesn't explain why he's so reluctant to talk to me. There's a clear contradiction here. If he's so interested in keeping everyone 'safe and comfortable', why was he so harsh on me earlier? 'Cause if my son secretly hated me, then he would've gotten his cutie mark a long time ago. For acting."

Hail looked away, the repercussions of aggressing his boss suddenly making themselves known. But, more prominently, the thought that his current server player might not really be the Blah he knew disturbed him greatly. Swift had a point. Blah's behavior was clearly different. Does something happen in the future that causes a severe change in Blah's attitude? Or was someone impersonating him? Was Hailstorm's life in the hands of an enemy?

Hail turned to his computer again. He had to make sure whether this was Blah or someone completely different, and he had a good idea of how to do that.

HS: can you at least answer a question
DM: what kind of question?
HS: regarding the murder of pinkie pie
HS: youre from the future you must know by now who did it
DM: well, what did you expect? it was discord, obviously.
DM: there really was no way it couldn't have been him.
HS: oh
HS: that must have been a shock to find out the best pony is actually a murderer
DM: I know right? and to think I was willing to defend him to the end.
HS: after he turned you back into a human even i was willing to give him a chance
DM: I have to admit, I didn't expect him to cooperate so unconditionally
DM: too bad it was only an act to earn our trust.
HS: yeah that was so unlike him it really should have tipped me off sooner
HS: maybe this whole thing could have been avoided if i caught on
HS: man im really sorry
DM: don't worry about it, he made fools of us all, myself included
DM: if I hadn't missed my old human self so much, I might have noticed something was fishy
DM: but whatever, that much has happened already
DM: if there's one important piece of future advice I can pass along, it's to detain discord as soon as possible.

Just as Hail suspected, this "DM" had not even witnessed their first meeting with Discord, let alone experienced it. He was fairly sure that Blah would not have called an involuntary sex change "unconditional cooperation". Or his "old human self".

"Yep," sighed Hail. "It's not him. It can't be."

"You see what I mean?" Swift replied without skipping a beat, both relieved and triumphant. "No son of mine would talk to me like that."

Hail considered continuing to play along with whoever it was, as getting on the bad side of someone with control over his surroundings was not a very good idea, but a ping from his tablet informed him that the imposter was already one step ahead. Gulping, he looked down at the screen again, suddenly regretting all of his choices up to this point.

DM: So you figured it out, huh.
DM: You're more clever than I gave you credit for, Hailstorm.
HS: who are you
DM: I suppose there's no point in keeping my identity a secret, since I'm already your server player.
DM: I'm Charge. Not that you couldn't have come to that conclusion on your own.
DM: And no point in using Blah's account anymore either.

Hail began to feel nausious. Charge had managed to worm his way into influencing the session after all, and the pegasus had been an unwilling accomplice. They could very well have lost the game already, all because he fell for it.

A second window popped up on his computer - a pester from moderatingDischarge.

MD: This is the part where I'd kill you if I could.
MD: Unfortunately, you've already entered the medium and killing you now would lead to a doomed timeline.
MD: As for the other pegasus, however, he will only prove to be an annoyance. Say your goodbyes.
HS: dont hurt him he has nothing to do with this
MD: Hey, you should be grateful. Most employees would jump at the idea of having their boss killed.
MD: But you're too good for that. I'll just have to prevent you from stopping me.

By the time Hail unfurled his wings to spring into action, a pitch darkness enveloped him, barely illuminated by the light of his computer screen. Charge had trapped him inside a hollow box.

'This can't be happening,' thought Hail as he heard muffled shouting and scuffling from outside. He backed up against one of the sides, leaping off of it and ramming the opposite side as hard as he could. Whatever this material was, it was fairly rigid, and he couldn't tell if he was making any progress through it, but he had to keep trying. He couldn't let Charge take anything else from him.

He rammed the wall a second time. A third time. His muscles and joints ached, and the wall remained as solid as ever. As he wound back for attempt number four, he stopped as he noticed how silent it had gotten. 'Oh no... I hope I'm not too late...'

An electronic noise broke the silence, causing Hail to bump his head against the ceiling. Charge had messaged him again.

MD: Hm, it seems none of your friends lack determination.
MD: Whatever, I can live with it. No good scheme is without a plan B.
HS: what happened
MD: See for yourself.

The box disappeared, and the sudden surge of light forced Hail to shield his eyes. As he re-adjusted, the world coming back into focus, he saw a solitary shape hovering in front of him. This shape failed to focus with the rest of the environment, but upon closer inspection, that turned out to be because the shape was not entirely consistent. Or opaque.

Hail finally recognized the shape as Swift Star, whose back half had been replaced with a ghostly tail. The rest of him wobbled lightly.

"I had no choice," Swiftsprite justified, crossing his ethereal, slimy forelegs. "It was either this or let him kill me and prototype that other guy." He sighed. "But whatever. At least I understand everything that's going on now... more or less."

The doors of the TARDIS opened once again. After their last encounter, neither Broshi nor Spike were too excited to see what this last stop could be, but the vast, open starry sky before them piqued their curiosity just enough for them to approach the doorway and take a look.

The blue box was situated within a lush, grassy field, though there was a distinct edge, beyond which was outer space in all its light-spotted glory. The Yoshi and dragon stepped onto the grass, where they were met with the sight of a towering spire, and a massive pulsating bright blue sphere in the center. This space station of sorts had steps leading to various facilities, the most obvious of which was a library. But perhaps the most interesting part of this new environment were the brightly-colored star-shaped creatures, hovering happily here and there. A small group of them had gathered around the TARDIS and were examining it and its inhabitants with curiosity rivaling that of the newcomers themselves.

"Whoa..." was all Spike could manage to say, overwhelmed by all of the outlandish scenery and fauna. He had never seen anything like it before.

"No way..." Broshi was practically in the same boat as Spike. "I'd heard rumors about this place, but it sounded too strange to be real..."

"Oh, it is most definitely very real," assured Tom Nook, stepping out of the machine as casually as if he were walking into his own house. "A good friend of mine lives here."

"Ah, Tom, welcome back!" As if on cue, a warm motherly voice greeted the raccoon. The three of them looked up to see a tall, blonde-haired woman in a flowing teal dress stepping softly off of a circular platform. The curious star creatures flocked near her as she approached, adding to her majestic presence. "I see you've brought some friends. Hello to you as well. I am Rosalina, curator of the Comet Observatory. And these little ones are the Lumas, who also call this place their home."

"Hi, I'm Spike," introduced the purple dragon with a wave, his anxiety vanishing instantaneously.

"Everyone calls me Broshi," the orange Yoshi followed, feeling calmer than usual himself.

"Nice to meet you, Spike, and Broshi," Rosalina politely addressed with a smile. "We don't have visitors very often, so it's always nice to see new faces."

"I can see why," commented Broshi, looking out into the surrounding vastness of space.

"Hello again, Rosalina," Tom Nook cheerfully spoke, once the introductions were out of the way. "I've done everything you asked of me since we came to this universe. Broshi is the player who was sent to the future, and Spike was also stranded there, so I picked him up as well."

"Excellent job," commended Rosalina. "So there may be hope for this universe yet."

"Anything noteworthy to report from your end?" Nook asked.

"This universe's session seems to be rapidly getting back on track," the woman explained. "However, Blahsadfeguie is having some trouble."

"You know what Blah's up to?" Broshi inquired.

Rosalina nodded. "Not much happens in the universe that passes me by. This is an observatory, after all." She gazed out into the horizon. "Blah is still recovering from a recent battle, and circumstances have not been in his favor. He is currently sharing a body with Tails."

"Tails?!" Tom Nook echoed with genuine shock before either Broshi or Spike could question what Rosalina was talking about. "He's here...? He's ALIVE...?"

"Indeed he is," confirmed Rosalina. "All of our original teammates have alternate selves in this universe, and they are all alive and well..." She looked away for a moment. "Er... MOST of them are alive."

Spike didn't like the sound of that, and Broshi was rather disturbed as well, but they weren't about to interrupt this exchange. "Oh... oh no." The raccoon shook visibly, as if he knew exactly who she was talking about. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"I was afraid you would break away and try to contact them, putting the timeline at risk. We only have one chance at this, remember?"

"I... I know, but..." Nook looked up at her, his eyes glistening. "I miss them..."

Rosalina's gaze mirrored Nook's. "I do too, Tom," she consoled, "but the time is not right. We have to stick to the plan, or else more innocent lives may be in peril. Right now, Blah needs your help more than ever, and Broshi needs to prepare to enter the game. And I'm sure Spike would appreciate being brought home."

Nook glanced at the concerned Spike and the anxious Broshi. "You're right, Rosalina..." he accepted. "I have a duty to my world... to my friends' worlds..."

"Good to hear it," Broshi said, somewhat impatiently. "Sounds like our next destination should be wherever Blah is."

"Blah's currently in the Equestrian capital of Canterlot," Rosalina informed them.

"Great, so we'll get to kill three birds with one stone. C'mon, Spike." Broshi picked up Spike and placed him on his back. The dragon struggled slightly at first, but stopped when he realized just how much he wanted to return home as well.

"You sure are eager to leave, hm?" observed Tom Nook, as Broshi started for the TARDIS. "I suppose there's no sense in loitering."

"Yes, we should make the most of the time we have," Rosalina agreed understandingly. "Oh, and Tom, one more thing before you go..."

Broshi turned around to witness this last distraction, hoping that it would be quick. The curator beckoned the raccoon, who approached eagerly. She whispered something in his ear, and there was a pause as Nook registered whatever it was that she told him. He nodded. "I can do that." Broshi's curiosity was piqued, but he figured it was too personal to ask about.

"Goodbye, Tom, Broshi, Spike," waved Rosalina as Tom Nook rejoined his passengers. "Good luck, and try to stay focused!"

"...so I don't suppose any of you want to come with us?" Knight asked the three ponies. Blah and Tails shared the sentiment that simply leaving them there in the garden didn't feel right.

"I don't see why not," Twilight replied. "I think Celestia can handle Discord for now, and it's not like there's much else we can do from here."

"Preposterous!" scoffed Rarity. "There's always plenty to do in Canterlot. I think I'll stay a while longer, if you don't mind."

"Sorry, but I probably oughta get back to Sweet Apple Acres, myself," Applejack denied. "I'm worryin' the place might fall apart without me."

"Just me, huh," Twilight glumly summarized. "Oh well. To each her own."

"Yeah, that's fine with me," Knight nodded. "I'm not the center of the universe, after all. Though I'm pretty close. Oh, come off it, Blah. Heheh."

"So, how do we find this professor?" asked Twilight, ignoring Blah's so-called joke.

"Well, he has an affinity for ghosts," Knight responded. "Know of any haunted mansions?"

"Beats me," shrugged Applejack. "I'd say there ain't no such things as ghosts."

Silence followed, as everyone present was clueless. Knight's ears perked up. He thought he could make out a familiar grinding sound. Sure enough, behind Applejack, a blue box began to fade into view.

Knight smirked. "Hey Applejack, don't look now, but I think there's a ghost behind you..."

"Hah, y'all think a silly trick like that would work on me?" the earth pony remarked stubbornly.

The noise increased in volume. Twilight noticed the box as well. "Uh, he might be onto something... You may want to step away..."

"I ain't movin' anywhere," she refused. "And I don't know what kind of ghost makes a noise like that, but it sure ain't scarin' me, so cut it out already."

"Boo."

Applejack jumped at the sudden sound from behind, her heart skipping a beat. Only Knight laughed at her expense, mostly because everyone else was busy being perplexed at the sight of a well-dressed raccoon stepping out of a blue phone box that had materialized in a matter of seconds. Knight's laughter ceased as he fully registered the scene as well. Applejack turned around to get a good look at what had startled her, and she was equally bemused. "What the hay..."

"Hoho," the raccoon laughed tersely. "Sorry, I couldn't help but play along."

"Is that Tom Nook?!" gasped Knight. "Coming out of the TARDIS?!" His voice lowered into a whisper. "Are you the Doctor...?"

Seeing and hearing Tails produced a subtle twinge in Nook's eye, but he kept his cool. "I'm not sure who is this 'Doctor' that everyone keeps referring to," he stated, "but you are correct in that Tom Nook is my name, and this is indeed the TARDIS, my time-traveling phone box. Hello!"

"Sounds about right," Twilight dismissed.

"Twilight?" A younger voice called from inside the box. A small purple dragon peeked his head out of it.

"Spike!" Overjoyed at the sight of her long lost friend, the unicorn rushed over to him. Spike did the same, Nook kindly stepping aside, and the two embraced in the middle of the crowd. "Oh Spike, you have no idea how glad I am to see you..."

"Me too, Twilight," Spike relayed, thoroughly enjoying their reunion. Seeing the dragon returned safe and sound lifted a huge weight off of everyone's collective backs.

"Don't forget about me," came a third voice, belonging to an orange Yoshi leaning nonchalantly against the doorway of the TARDIS.

"Oh my god it's Broshi," Knight breathed. "How've you been?"

"Eh, I've just been stranded in a wasteland in the future for a couple of weeks," Broshi casually responded, looking away. "No big deal." He turned back to Knight. "I take it you've seen better days as well, Blah."

Knight chuckled nervously. "It's been a rough day. I dunno how you know it's me already, but I'm just glad you're back." Broshi nodded slightly. "Also, we're going by Knight for the time being, until we figure out how to fix this."

"How fitting," muttered Tom.

"...So, uh," Spike began, after Twilight released him, "where's Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie?"

Twilight's face contorted in horror as she realized that Spike still had no idea of the events that transpired during his absence. "W-well, er..." she stammered, not at all prepared to explain. "Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are back at the castle with Princess Celestia and Discord..."

"And Pinkie?" Spike asked again.

Twilight frowned, knowing that she couldn't avoid the subject for very long. "She's, uh..." The mortified bookworm looked back at Applejack and Rarity for support, both of whom looked at each other expectantly.

"Well, dear," Rarity pitched in, biting the bullet, "I'm afraid Pinkie has moved on to a better place."

Spike flinched, his spirits visibly crushed at the implication of Rarity's explanation. "You mean she's..."

"Discord managed to get her by herself," Applejack added. "And by then, nobody could stop him from..."

"Murder," finished Knight sadly, to the chagrin of the ponies, but the word was out.

"Not again..." lamented Nook quietly.

Spike was hit with a tidal wave of emotions, sending him to his knees. "S-so Discord... and P-Pinkie is... And we were... N-no, this is impossible..."

"Honestly though, we're not completely sure that it was really Discord yet," Knight tried, but Spike had stopped listening. He had doubled over, tears trickling, and mumbled to himself in disbelief.

"Shh, Spike, it's okay," Twilight kneeled next to him, holding him and trying her hardest to calm him down. "We'll get to see her again pretty soon. Blah has a plan..."

Knight's feelings of pity and sympathy for the poor guy were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. Broshi, somewhat indifferent to the scene playing out behind him, had brought Blah's backpack and was handing it to him. "Here, we also found this," he said.

"Is that my backpack?!" Blah forgot all about Spike for a moment as he snatched the pack from the Yoshi and dug through it. All of his old equipment was still there. He pulled out the Pwnhammer, ignoring the difficulty of such a task for someone of Tails's strength, and clutching its handle tightly.

"Spike found it half-buried in the sand," Broshi recalled. "I figured you'd be happy to see it back."

"You bet!" Blah tried lifting the hammer over his head for a nostalgic swing, but he could barely move the massive weapon with his borrowed muscles. He ended up dropping it. "Argh, Tails, do you even lift? Hey, I don't carry around giant hammers on a regular basis. That's Amy's thing. Would you rather be her instead? Point taken."

"Uh, you okay?" Broshi raised his eyebrow quizzically.

"Yeah, it's just we both talk to each other out loud sometimes," Knight sighed. "You'll get used to it... I hope."

"Ok, change of plans," Twilight announced, having helped Spike to a stable state. "I'm going to stay here and look after Spike. I don't want to leave him behind, and I certainly don't want to risk something happening to him on a trip like this to unknown territory."

"Where are you going?" Spike asked, his voice still slightly wavering.

"We're going to find a certain professor who specializes in ghosts," Knight explained. "Hopefully, with his expertise, me and Tails can finally go our separate ways again. Blah and I. Shut up, I can grammar." Spike chuckled softly, his mood improving slowly but surely, to everyone's relief.

"You wouldn't be talking about E. Gadd, would you?" Nook chimed in.

Both of Knight's personas were surprised. "You know who he is?" Knight excitedly asked. "And where to find him? And can probably take us there like right now?"

The raccoon nodded cheerfully. "Yes to all. No sense beating around the bush, hm?"

"Good, I was afraid we would risk having another fateful encounter while traveling," Sera spoke, causing Tom Nook to jump.

"My, I didn't see you there..." he uttered, clutching his chest. "You've certainly been quiet up until now... Seraphina, was it?"

"Correct," confirmed the Kadabra. "And I had nothing to say up until now."

"Heh. She has a knack for sneaking up on people and scaring the crap out of them," joked Knight.

"So, we ready to go?" Broshi requested. He was already leaning on the TARDIS again, tapping his foot.

"Yeah yeah, keep your pants on," Knight groaned as he stepped towards the time machine. "Or your... shoes," he corrected himself. "Sunglasses?"

"Bye!" Twilight called as Broshi disappeared into the vessel. "I hope it goes well for you!"

"Please come back soon..." Spike pleaded.

"Oh, we'll be back, trust me," Knight promised. "Later!" He walked into the TARDIS, followed by Sera, and finally, Tom Nook.

The light came on, and the engine started up. The ponies and Spike watched in awe as the thing faded out of the physical plane, leaving the yard in calm silence.

"Remind me to ask him how that time machine works," said the envious Twilight.

Ok, so it wasn't me (big surprise), but that doesn't mean I don't want to punch him in the face.