//------------------------------// // CHAPTER TWO: Twilight Sparkle vs. the Exposition // Story: The What and Whatiful Who // by cosby7 //------------------------------// “But,” Twilight just couldn’t get the words out, “that’s imposiwhuh?” See? Couldn’t get them out. “Oh! That is just like this thing I do sometimes when I’m surprised!” the Doctor exclaimed excitedly. “Except mine is more like ‘What? What? WHAT?’” “Doctor! Please!” “Right,” he coughed to hide his embarrassment, “sorry. Get, you know, carried away.” “How can the Elements of Harmony not exist?” Twilight cried, blatant terror slipping into her voice. “They’re the most powerful magical artifacts in all of Equestria.” “Well, that is to say, they were. Or, rather they weren’t. Since they never were.” “I don’t understand.” “The thing is, unless I miss my guess,” uncomfortable shifts were all over the place, “the Elements of Harmony never existed in the first place. Or they could have just been destroyed very soon after their creation. Hard to say for certain. You know how it is.” No. No she did not. “No. No, I do not know how it is. How is it?” “Sorry, I forget not everyone, er, pony,” Doctor Hooves corrected himself, skeptically, “can see the passage of time the way I do.” “What do you mean?” “It’s sort of hard to explain,” he said, once again uncomfortable. Twilight thought it was almost as if she had asked him a rather personal question. “You know how a pony might watch a chess game and not have a single idea what's happening, besides the horsey piece moving to the black square, but, with years of practice, you know that the knight moves in two perpendicular lines to space E5 in order to take the opponent's rook and put him in check?” Twilight nodded. “It's nothing like that. Basically, I can see where time has changed. If you know what to look for, it’s really not that difficult.” “How do you learn?” “Years of practice.” “Well that’s just great, but for those of us without a lot of time on their hooves, maybe you can just give us the benefit of the doubt.” “Alright, alright. Here’s the short version: From the signs I’ve seen around you and your pink friend, I am reasonably certain that the Elements of Harmony, as you know them, have been erased from history.” “That’s impossible! I know the Elements exist. I’ve used them! With my friends. If they never existed I wouldn’t remember them. My friends wouldn’t remember. We might not even be friends without everything that’s happened with the Elements!” This fact scared Twilight Sparkle most of all. “I’m really very sorry,” her brown companion began somberly, “but if you ask your friends now, I’m afraid they may not remember the world quite as you do.” “That can’t be true! What about you, Spike? You still remember the Elements, right?” What the hell? Spike was still there? “Who?” Hooves asked. “Um, hello?” Spike finally piped up, vaguely annoyed that it had taken him this long to be noticed. “Oh. Hello there.” “Yeah. Hey. I’ve only been pushing you guys out of way of ever scary thing to show up while you’ve been having this little chat. No big deal or anything.” It’s not good to make a dragon angry. Unless he’s a cuddly-wuddly widdle Spikey-wikey. Then all is fair game. Look at him. With his widdle arms cwossed. “Sorry, I guess I just assumed we had gone back inside.” “Yeah, well, you didn't.” “Spike, you remember the Elements of Harmony, right?” “Honestly,” her scaley companion said with a pained expression, “I haven’t understood a thing you two have been talking about, including these ‘Elements.’” He grimaced at the crestfallen look in his friend’s eyes, but all he could do was offer a brief hug. “Sorry, Twi.” “But . . . no. Why me? Why do I still remember?” “You’ve traveled through time before,” he stated simply. “How do you know that?” Twilight asked, blushing at the memory of the week she spent on her own personal self-fulfilling prophecy. “I can see it on you. Time travelers aren’t effected by anomalies the same as others. It’s faint, but you have marks of the time vortex on you. That doesn’t go away.” The Doctor’s face then changed from one of solemnity to one of sheer fascination. “And may I just say that the ability to travel through time under your own power is truly,” he was almost giggling like a schoolpony, “truly remarkable. I mean, you couldn’t have gone far, of course, but performing actual time travel without the use of anything beyond your own physiology is practically unheard of and, even then only in legends. Most of them about me. When all this is done, actually, now that we’ve sort of broached the subject, if you wouldn’t mind me—” Even Doctor Hooves had to stop mid-sentence at the sight of a sobbing Twilight Sparkle. “So,” she tried to squeak out through her tears, “everything that my friends and I have done together . . . it just . . . it didn’t . . . .” She couldn’t finish for the pain of it. “No, no. Come on now,” Doctor Hooves shooshed soothingly, placing his front leg over Twilight’s shoulder. “I didn’t say that. Your friends are still your friends.” “But,” sniffle, “you said . . . .” “What I said was that the history of the Elements of Harmony has been changed. But you are a very powerful force in this world, Twilight Sparkle. Your mere presence here has a profound stabilizing influence, very likely due to the fact that you embody one of the Elements, as well as due to your own inborn ability. As a time traveler, you might even be able to sustain the paradox created by interacting with yourself.” “Heh, yeah, maybe,” Twilight blushed at the same memory. “I expect the same of your friends, as well. Each of them embodies one of those Elements. They may not remember the history of their existence, but something that powerful leaves very real traces.” “Okay,” Twilight finally replied with new found determination. “You’re right. My friends and I can do anything together, even challenge a time warping draconequus.” “That’s the spirit,” Doctor Hooves agreed, beaming. “So, what do we do?” Doctor Hooves shrugged. “No idea.” “WHAT?” “Whoa, there, sister.” He frowned. “Thought I’d try it. ‘Sister.’ No. Not with this mouth at least.” “Just sounds weird,” Spike added. “It does, doesn’t it? Why does this mouth sound so weird around that word? Be a shame if I actually had a sister.” “Doctor Hooves, for BUCK’S SAKE, focus!” Twilight Sparkle could scream when she wanted. It was like Royal Canterlot Voice all up in this. “Ahem. Right. What I mean to say is, I don’t have any idea, yet. Not to worry though. The truth is, I’ve been stranded here a while. Sort of a self-imposed exile slash research holiday. Now is the perfect time to bring,” he paused, giving careful consideration to the words he chose next, “some of my equipment out of retirement. Just need to find a reliable fuel source until I can get the old girl really going again.” “Okay,” Twilight returned in slow skepticism. What could he be trying to hide from her at this point? “What sort of fuel do you need to run . . . ‘her?’” The Doctor looked nonplussed. “Complicated biology.” She could only sigh. This pony was impossible. “Fine then, what are we waiting for? You already said how gifted I am in terms of the science of which we dare not speak.” At that moment, Twilight Sparkle made a silent vow to herself: She was going to get Doctor Hooves to say “magic.” She was going to get him to say “magic” so hard! “I’m sorry, Twilight,” he replied seriously, “but you can’t come.” “What? But why not?” “You need to stay here, in Ponyville. Now. It’s true that your abilities,” Damn you, say it, just say it! “would be more than adequate, but your presence as a stabilizing agent for your reality is far more important. As long as you and your friends are all here, together, the elements that hold this world together cannot be fully undone. Not yet, anyway.” “I see,” the unicorn acknowledged. She was disappointed, but she knew in her heart that the strange stallion spoke the truth. As long as Equestria was in peril, the most important place she could be was with her friends. “Then what are you going to do. You’re not a unicorn. I think.” “Heh. No, I’m not.” A look of severity crossed the Doctor’s face as he spoke these next words: “What I need is a unicorn of relatively powerful . . . unicornian ability. One who is otherwise completely unimportant and inconsequential to literally anything happening anywhere.” Knock! Knock! Knock! Door opening sound. “Hello, I’m the Doctor! And I have hooves, too! Would you look at that? Ahem, anyway, this may be a strange request, but I was wondering if you might be able to use your glowy horn thingy to help me restore the rightful balance of time and space to your world. What do you say?” The unicorn standing in the doorway took a step back in her proud stance and arched her back as her horn began to glow. In a flash of light, she had donned a pointed wizard hat and a totally sweet wizard cloak. “The Great and Powerful Trixie thought you would never ask!”