Lunar Cabinet #55

Interlocked
By Flare

Chapter 1
The beginning of a painful journey

It was an early morning, and it was neither warm or cold. The mist gave the the surrounding area a chilly appearance, and brought out the gloom. Faint hooves could be heard
as a slight breeze entered the area, and an appearance of a unicorn appeared. He had a white yellow-ish coat and had a black mane. His brown eyes, which was set upon the bag he carried further drifted along to his cutie mark, a treble clef. His tail swished along with the rythm of his hooves as he silently followed a trail only known to him.
"Cutting life shorter... Ridiculous! The most absurd thing I ever heard of!" The unicorn mumbled to himself.
"They probably don't even care, they hate me, and I know it."
Suddenly the unicorn stopped. There in front of him was a huge boulder ten times bigger than his size. He stared at it intently for a second, and smiled. He muttered a word silently, and placed a hoof on a certain part. The rock glowed once, then a light appeared pulsing across the rock. A big sound was heard and the unicorn walked back slowly expecting a creature to appear. None appeared and he let himself relax.
"Have to be careful though, can't trust anypony around here." He mused to himself. After waiting for a few minutes and seeing that the coast was clear, he set off into the rock. What appeared to others was that it looked like he was about to hit the rock, but he knew better. As he got nearer, the rock shimmered and he disappeared within.

Chapter 2
Shimmer

The unicorn squinted as he allowed his eyes to adjust to the dim surrounding. He walked forward, but then stopped. As if expecting something, his horn glowed and he casted a spell to bring light. The normally dark room flourished before his eyes as the light took effect. He was standing in the middle of the room. The room had lavish red carpets and the walls were decorated with style and a feel of wealth. But what the unicorn was interested in the most was the desk that stood upon the front. It looked like an ordinary desk, except tons of parchment was scattered everywhere. The unicorn got closer and examined some of them.
"The time travel spell, the no gravity spell, and the sparktrota spell..." The unicorn read. He smiled. He was at the right place. As he continued to read the parchments, he did not notice that another figure had appeared out of the shadow. The figure slowly came toward him.
"Well, hello there." The figure replied with an air of authority. "Long time no see my friend, I take it you come here for me, yes?
The unicorn swung around.
"Shimmer."
"Flare."
The two stared at each other for a long time, neither moving or flinching. Then suddenly they both started to laugh.
"I missed you!" Flare replied, giving him a hug.
"I can say the same! It has been indeed a long time since our last communiction. How do you fare?"
Shimmer replied.
"That's what I wanted to see you for." Flare said. He turn his back on his friend, then looked back at him.
He examined his eyes, one hazel and one blue, due to an event in a time paradox.
"The only one I trust..."

Chapter 3
Back to the past

"What's wrong?" Shimmer asked. His friend was usually bright and happy, but not today. He could sense something was wrong.
"Nothing, nothing at all..." Flare replied hasily, trying to change the subject. He walked forward and said
"Tell me, how are things going for you?"
"It's quite alright, business is smooth,
and luck and logic seems to be on my side, which is a good sign. Now answer the question. How are you with Twilight?"
"Wonderful, it's really great!" Flare said, in high spirits. But he knew he couldn't fool his friend anymore. Shimmer was a genuis, very smart, formidable, and had a habit in getting to impossible trouble but solving it with twice the impossibleness. He wasn't a pony to mess with. You could trust him in dire situations, he loved solving impossible problems. Flare smiled to himself. At least he knew where he got his foolishness from.
"Alright, I admit it." Flare gasped. He turned around and looked his friend straight at the eyes, ignoring the fact they were two colors.
"It was... " Flare stammered, but then he took a deep breath, and told him everything.

"So as a result your life has been cut shorter? Hmm, interesting..." Shimmer said, as he paced back and forth. " I find that hard to believe."
"I said that too, but it looked like Princess Luna meant it." Flare said, following his friend's pace.
"It's too absurd, and is basically impossible. Why, I can think of perhaps fifty-five reasons why that's just a brink of imagination and not a fact of logic. Shortening life? Impossible. He looked at Flare, then continued pacing back and forth. He knew Flare, he only turned to him for help if it was really urgent and bad. By the sound of it, he looked like he belived it too.
"Very well then Flare." sighed Shimmer. " I will help you to the best of my abilities, but do not be disappointed if this turns out to be fake. Give me a moment to pack, an we'll set off."
Flare nodded, grateful for his help, and turned to walk out.

Flare was sitting staring up at the sky which finanlly cleared up when Shimmer came out with his pack ready. He looked calm, and Flare saw the usual cockiness behind the smirk lines. He smiled, it was usual for Shimmer to wear that kind of smile, it meant he was ready for some planning and action.
"Shall we go?" Shimmer asked.
Flare nodded. "Where to?"
"You leave that to me." Shimmer answered. He walked along and Flare followed him.

The sun was set high as the two ponies walked along the trail, with Shimmer in the lead and Flare following behind. They didn't talk, but rather just walk and think to themselves. Shimmer gave his a fried a quick look. He knew that as of right now he was sorting through his spells, and checking to see what time it was. Being with his friend for a long time had taught him his personality. On the other hoof, Shimmer was full of thoughts. He was still skeptical about this whole incident, but he could not face away from the fact that magic does exist. He was a unicorn, after all. He knew the power the Royal Sisters had, but being able to control life? He shook his head. He remembered reading about magic that could control one's age growth and age regression, but he was pretty sure that it didn't fit in. He thought of all possibilities, and it must have been apparent on his face because Flare replied
"You okay?"
Shimmer gave him a nod,
"Yes, I'm quite alright."
Shimmer turned back to the trail ahead and sighed. He was a master at concealing his emotions, especially on his face, but Flare always somehow knew how he felt.
"Perhaps by switching around some of your genes, or reversing the magic effect..." he muttered. Suddenly, he stopped.
"You ready?"
"Yup!" Flare replied.
"Well then, Shimmer declared, to the past!"