Once the assembled party of two had made their way back aboard the TARDIS, leaving had been a simple enough matter. For the TARDIS, at least. Trixie asked if her friend was okay and he told her that he was with that colt's grin, like always. No regrets, no anxieties. Yeah, she thought, I wouldn't be either.
Even so, he set about his work quickly and gleefully enough, as was his way when there was an adventure on his mind and a TARDIS at his touch. That was when she noticed it again, draped off some of the controls as a constant reminder. The watch. The watch that wasn't a watch. What had he called it? “Chameleon Circuit.” A machine that let a pony forget who she was. A machine that let her lie to herself. Trixie did not want to forget. She did not want to keep the secret any longer. She did not want to feel like a liar anymore.
“Doctor,” she called, noticing that he had not stopped his work, “Trixie has something she'd like to tell you.”
“Nope.”
“Excuse me?” Oh, no, he didn't.
“I know what you're going to say. I don't want to hear it.”
“Now, see here,” Trixie fumed. “The mind of the Great and Powerful Trixie is not so easily guessed at by any common pony who thinks—"
“All this talk about the past and secrets has you thinking. Before, when we met, you said we had met before. You told me that I said you would be important. I remember.”
“You remember,” she repeated in astonishment. So much had happened, she thought that he must have forgotten completely. She had nearly forgotten herself. Well, that wasn't quite the truth. Still, it came as a surprise. Maybe even a pleasant one.
“I haven't stopped thinking about it. Mind like a train car, this is.” He gave his own head a knock. It caused the next word to drip out like sludge from a broken faucet. “Compartmentalized. Emphasis on the 'mental.'” That was a good sign, making jokes again. Assuming that was a joke. “Anyway, point is, no spoilers.”
“Sorry?”
“What you want to tell me has to do with my own personal future. I don't know what, but if you want to tell me, then that probably means it's something you want to change.”
Trixie remained silent. He eyes began to wander, looking for anything that was not him.
“I'm sorry, I am, but you need to listen to me when I say this: If you want me to have a chance to change anything, you can't tell me what it is. As soon as I know, I have to do it. That same way, that same time, every time. Anything else puts the universe in just as much danger as the Master has.”
His silence was only to facilitate his pointed waiting. Waiting for her. She knew what he wanted, but that did not mean she had to be in any hurry to give it to him. Maybe he was right. That did nothing to change the fact that he ruined her big earnest gesture of trust. Jerk.
“I need to hear that you understand.” Beat. “Trixie?”
“Alright already! Trixie understands! Goodness, you nag like an old nag!”
Her cheeks were glowing crimson, but he laughed all the same.
“I'm the Doctor!” he crowed. “I once nagged a Quorexian invasion force into submission, before winning the Two Millionth Annual Xythros Nag-Off in the same afternoon. And Xythroids have very long years.”
“And everypony is quite impressed, Mr. Modesty, but if you're quite done with the lecture, there is the small matter of saving Equestria from certain doom.”
“Oh, right, that.” Switches flipped. A lever was pulled. Everything shook. Then it stopped. “We're here.”
All Trixie could manage was an angry pout as she straightened her disheveled hat. Cheeky bastard.
Leaving in the TARDIS had been a simple enough matter, but leaving the TARDIS proved to be a fair deal more difficult. Things had somehow gotten even worse since they had left. When the doors of the TARDIS were flung open, Ponyville was nearly unrecognizable. Buildings stood in ruin, when they did not flicker in and out of sight. Enormous dragons and vast ships of metal fought one another with lasers and fire, the girth of their struggles blanketing the sky. Strange beings that resembled ponies, but with skittering spider legs where their hooves should be chased normal ponies and one another around the streets. That is, they did until an odd squirming monstrosity, thin but large, like a caliginous gash on the world itself, appeared and began plucking them up and dropping them into its waiting maw. Grey tubing was everywhere.
The instinct to slam the door shut and take off again was nearly overwhelming. Both ponies shared a look and swallowed their fears in unison, before stepping off the threshold. Of course, they totally expected it when an enormous brown sandworm emerged from the ground a few feet in front of them, gnashing its many rows of pointed teeth. It was like, who didn't see that coming?
“CHARGE!” It should have been impossible for any one voice at such a distance to be heard above the chaotic throng surrounding them, but the war cry was loud and clear. A blur of rainbow colors slammed into the sandworm. With a thud, its bulk slammed into the ground, dazed but alive, leaving the once intimidating creature to slither back into its hole.
“Boy, am I glad I spotted you guys in time,” the pony with the rainbow mane greeted, stepping forward from where she had landed after her attack. “My name's Rainbow Dash. You're Doctor Hooves, right?”
“That's what they seem to call me,” the stallion returned happily. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Rainbow Dash.” His mouth savored the words, before, after, and during the saying. “I'll assume your heroic rescue would make you one of Twilight Sparkle's friends?”
“That's right,” she said proudly, clearly impressed with herself for being given the responsibility. “Twilight asked me to keep an eye out for you. Said you would be coming back with help.” Her eyes narrowed as her head turned lazily towards his unicorn companion. “I didn't expect to see you here, Trixie.”
She snorted, her haughtiness honed to a fine edge. “And Trixie did not expect you would be so brazen as to show your face anywhere, pegasus that Trixie so effectively embarrassed.”
“Why you—!” Rainbow Dash nearly lunged at the disdainful unicorn, before Doctor Hooves stepped between them.
“Sorry, sorry. She's,” he gave Trixie a look out of the corner of her eyes, but received only an innocent shrug for his troubles, “she's just like that. Really sweet, once you get to know her. Ignore her. Please.”
Rainbow Dash backed off. For now. FOR NOW.
“Really though,” he continued, making sure to keep a watchful eye on the caliginous terror as it devoured spider pony after spider pony, “it is impressive you were able to spot us in . . . all this. You have our thanks.”
“Don't mention it,” Rainbow replied casually, despite clearly beaming at the praise. “It wasn't easy though. I didn't even see that big blue box of yours appear. Actually, I didn't see it until, like, just now. It's almost like I didn't want to notice it. Like—"
“It has a perception filter!” a high pitched voice giggled over the pounding of prevalent paradoxes. The poofy pink pony hopped over to them with powerful pleasantness. Preternaturally.
“Pinkie Pie! What are you doing here?” Rainbow asked, making no effort to mask her annoyance.
“My eyes were watery.”
“So?”
“That usually means, 'An all-powerful, interdimensional space box is about to appear.”
Everypony just blinked. Everypony. Like, even that squirming monster without eyes was kind of going “Wait, what?”
“Ri~ght,” Rainbow Dash finally said. Clearly, she had done this before. “Anyway, Doctor Hooves,” pleasant, “Trixie,” less so, “this is Pinkie Pie. Another one of our friends.”
“Hi!” the pink pony exclaimed. Her eyes blinked. Not at the same time.
“Um, yeah, she's just like that too.”
“Rainbow Dash. And Pinkie Pie.” Doctor Hooves exchanged looks with them both, studying them over. “Can I just say . . . how much fun those names are? I mean, 'Rainbow Dash' and 'Pinkie Pie?' One sounds like a band name and the other one is candy! I love it! It is, really, just a pleasure to meet you both. 'Rainbow Dash' and 'Pinkie Pie.' I've been stuck with this one all day. 'Trixie Lulamoon.' And she doesn't even use the 'Lulamoon!'”
Pinkie Pie giggled. Rainbow Dash smirked. “You're name is 'Lulamoon?'”
“TRIXIE PREFERS TRIXIE,” corrected the unicorn with the bulging eyes and the bright red cheeks. Pinkie Pie falling on top of her while she shrieked with laughter certainly did not help matters.
“Okay,” the brash pegasus started again, fighting against her own giggles. “This has been a blast and all, but we really need to get going. Ponyville isn't getting any better while we stand around here and I know Twilight is gonna want to talk to you.”
“I would love to! Pop off for a quick chat before saving the world; always good fun. Shame we don't have time for it.”
“What do you mean?” Even Rainbow Dash faltered. She didn't know what was happening to Ponyville, except that it was nothing good. Probably the worst crisis they'd seen. But this was the first time she'd heard there might be a clock on it. Apparently they had enough time to sit and chat, so it couldn't have been that bad.
“If we do not act now, then there may not be a Ponyville left to save.”
Okay, so, “that bad” would probably be a fair characterization of the scenario.
“Here,” he continued, holding out his hoof, “take this.” Rainbow Dash got . . . the psychic paper! “Make sure you get that to Twilight Sparkle, and do it fast as possible. That will explain everything. Trixie and I will meet you there. Go!”
“Got it, Doc! You picked the right pegasus!” Without another word, she took off, weaving through the bizarre and berserk that littered the streets of what was once Ponyville. If her friends were all able to keep that pace, then there would be no worries about making up for lost time. Indeed, time had become a precious commodity very quickly.
“I'd offer you a lift,” the Doctor said, addressing Pinkie Pie, “but it's actually very important that you and your friends are all together for this. Think you can catch up to her?”
“Oh, don't worry!” she affirmed cheerfully. “I shouldn't have too much trouble catching up to Rainbow Dash. As long as it's funny!”
That seemed to make as much sense as anything else. When nopony stopped to ask her about the comment, Pinkie took that as her cue to leave. Only then did one last thing occur to the Doctor.
“Pinkie Pie? Wow, still fun. One more thing before you go: Are you familiar with the Elements of Harmony?”
“Hm?” The grin that seemed to be permanently plastered on her face dropped off for only a second's curiosity. “Of course, I do! Why do you ask?”
“Just making sure,” he returned, inconspicuously as he could manage. The Elements existed in this time line again. That was good. But shouldn't that have meant reality would be more stable? Instead, the paradoxes had only grown. Both in number and magnitude. Doctor Hooves threw the thought back and forth in his mind, trying to decide whether to smile or stumble. “Just making sure.”