Jethrek continued to struggle against the vines as Constant aimed his laser screwdriver. "What am I doing?!" Constant thought to himself, "Why am I just standing around doing nothing?! On one hand, I've got a good shot at the vines, but on the other, I could damage Jethrek's travel machine! Come on, Constant, pull it together!" He aimed carefully, and took his chance, firing a vine off of one of Jethrek's arms. It cut off nice and cleanly, but two new vines grew from the stub. "What is this?!" Constant thought. He fired at several more, but the vines continued to multiply with each cut. Finally, it came to him. "Jethrek, polarize the shell!"
After a few seconds, sparks and loops of electricity lit up the tangled mess. Jethrek brought the energy output to the maximum level, but the vines were barely affected. "The stress level on the shell is rising beyond safety limits!" Jethrek reported as his perception filter image finally disappeared, and even Constant could tell that he was panicking. One vine wrapped itself around Jethrek's eye stalk and broke it off. "Visual sensor compromised!" Constant cursed under his breath and ran around to where the canister was. He checked his laser screwdriver and fired at the vines there. He kept on firing as Jethrek's travel machine fell on it's side, the vines wrapped around it releasing their grip. "Elevate!" Jethrek exclaimed, and the propulsion system dragged him away from the vines moments before more of them grew out of the canister.
Constant's face turned to one of frustration as he continued to fire at the vines. "Are you alright, Jethrek?!"
"The shell plating needs to be replaced and I can no longer see," Jethrek replied.
"Okay, just wait a while, Jethrek," Constant said as he continued to cut vines, "Hopefully these vines will---"
"Oh STOP already!" called a voice. There was a flash of light around the vines, and they disappeared completely.
Constant looked around in disbelief at what he just saw. He looked around more to find who the voice belonged to. When he saw Jethrek's eye stalk, he picked it up to assess whether he could reinstall it or not. "Well, Jethrek," he said, "At least the mission is over...I'll come over and help you up, and then I'll---"
"That paradox was just too easy to figure out," the voice spoke again, and it sounded like it was coming from the eye stalk.
When Constant looked at it's lens, he saw what looked like a natural eye. He dropped it in surprise. "What in the name of all of space and time?!"
Swirls of energy emitted out of the lens and formed into a familiar creature. "I didn't think it would be that easy for you to track where I hid that seed. But at the same time, I didn't expect that you'd be putting devices under the ground to record history. Very clever."
Constant picked up Jethrek's eye stalk again. "I was really hoping not to run into you...Discord."
Discord gasped lightly. "And why ever not? You've probably encountered dangerous beings who would do far greater damage than I ever could. As far as I know, I'm nothing compared to them."
Constant ignored him as he walked up to Jethrek's travel machine and lifted him upright. He got out his laser screwdriver to weld the wires between the travel machine and the eye stalk back together, but in that moment, magical energy swirled around where he was about to repair it, and it was put in place. "Visual sensor functioning," Jethrek said.
"Tell me, would someone as...," Discord made quotation signs with his claw and lion paw, "'dangerous' as me voluntarily fix that for you?"
Constant sighed. "That was generous of you, Discord. Now, if you'll excuse---" he stopped for a moment. "Hold on. How did you know that I went back in time to correct a paradox?"
"Because I'm the one who caused it in the first place," Discord said, a devilish smile crossing his face.
Both Constant and Jethrek looked to him. "You?!" Constant exclaimed, "Why?! For what purpose?!"
There was a flash of light behind Constant and Jethrek, making them look back, and Discord appeared in the spot where the flash occurred. "I've been watching you," he said, "You didn't think you were really alone in that barn, did you?" He snickered a little, "No, I've been watching your every move, and I even followed you in when you reintroduced Fluttershy to this..." He pointed to Jethrek, "thing...this...Ledakanian---"
"DALEK!" Jethrek snapped.
"Oh whatever," Discord said, waving his lion paw as if it was no big deal. A moment later, he snapped two of the digits on that paw and light flashed around Jethrek, the body of his travel machine no longer mangled out of shape due to the squeezing force of the attacking vines. "There. I didn't expect that you would take the seed back here, though. You could have taken it to the future."
"I could have," Constant agreed, "But I would rather have not, because I don't want to bring information about the future to the present."
Discord scoffed. "What, you think you'll be interrogated in such a way that you actually might break and tell them?"
"If I've learned anything during my stay here," Constant replied, "It's that if anything is possible in my universe, then more than anything is possible here."
"And that's the only reason?" Discord said with an unimpressed face. "How dull. How boring. How...unadventurous."
"As much as I'd like to discuss my temporal surveillance methods with you, Discord," Constant said, Jethrek entering the Monitor behind him, "I don't have the patience. And I certainly don't have the patience to put up with the type of shenanigans you bring to the ponies."
"Shenanigans?" Discord snickered again, "Is that what Twilight and her friends are calling it?"
"No," Constant replied, "It's what I'm calling it. Now excuse me." He went inside the Monitor and let the doors close.
Inside, he set a course back to Golden Oaks Library. He was about to hit the execute button when Discord's face appeared among the holographic projections. "You know," he said, "I couldn't help but overhear that you're having problems with another...what do you call your---"
"Discord, get out of the computer system," Constant said, holding back his urge to yell.
"I was talking, thank you very much," Discord countered, "Now, as I was saying---"
"I don't care what you have to say," Constant interrupted again, and this time it was becoming more apparent that he was angry.
Discord raised an eyebrow with a clever smile, thinking he was going to change Constant's mind. "Then I guess you don't want my help dealing with that...'Doctor'...What is he a doctor of, anyway? Psychology? Biology? Physics? Is he a med---"
"Discord, you are getting on my last nerves," Constant said, "Get out of my TARDIS, or I swear, I will set the self-destruct and quite possibly damage the area around it within a radius of about one hundred miles!"
Discord disappeared from the holographic display. Constant harrumphed and was about to press the execute button when he was grabbed from behind by a claw. "Jethrek, you'd better---" But when he looked behind himself, he saw Discord. "I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT!" he shouted.
"Did you really mean it when you said you would destroy this...TARDIS?" Discord asked, a dull look in his eyes.
"Watch me," Constant said, slapping Discord's claw away. Discords face was now one of shock as Constant walked to another panel and started typing in the commands. He summoned his magical power, and Constant vanished from view near the console, and reappeared near another.
"If you destroy this ship, then what are the chances you'll make it home?" Discord asked.
At this point, Jethrek wondered to himself whether or not he should take action to prevent Constant from doing anything foolish. He turned off his perception filter and continued watching.
"That's a question I would least expect to come out of your mouth," Constant snapped.
"You offend me, Constant," Discord said as a random heart shape appeared out of nowhere and cracked down the center, "Deeply," he finished.
"I doubt even more that you'd actually be willing to help us get home," Constant said, "and even if you did, there'd be a heavy price. A price that I'm absolutely certain I wouldn't be willing to pay. Nor would Jethrek."
Jethrek was surprised at Constant's statement. He now realized he was probably dealing with two dangerous individuals. He remained silent.
Discord looked Constant in the eye for about half a minute. "Fine," he said, "All I was going to ask of you was that you leave Jethrek behind to watch the timeline in your place."
Jethrek looked to Discord. "No!" he exclaimed.
"And besides which," Constant said, agreeing with Jethrek, "Why would you want him to stay in the first place?"
"I would have changed him so that his nature is not so...militaristic," Discord replied.
"He is what he is, Discord," Constant replied, walking back to the console he used to set up the self destruct, "Even I don't know if he can put that...militaristic nature aside. Sometimes it's best to leave things as they are. Time is one of those things that should absolutely be left alone." He looked to Discord after he cancelled all commands. "Speaking of which, what you did was absolutely reckless. You changed time so you could test me? If we hadn't detected that change, what do you think would have happened to the friends you have made here? By my observations, they would never have existed in the first place!"
"Well, I would have gone back and changed it again," Discord countered, smiling.
"And what if you didn't?" Constant asked, "Chances are, you would have changed as well. You would never have---"
"Okay, okay!" Discord said, making the entrance doors vanish, "You've made your point, Constant." He was not smiling anymore as he left.
Constant watched him. "Put the doors---" The doors reappeared with a loud clunk. "---Back," he finished. He went back to a console to see how much power was lost during the mission. Surprisingly to him, it took less than he expected. "Looks like the Monitor is getting more and more used to this universe," he said, "There's enough power to take it somewhere where I can talk to the Warrior in private."
Jethrek rolled up to him. "Are you certain you do not wish for me to help you?"
Constant thought for a moment. "You know what?...Maybe you can help. I want to show him just how bad...our lives have become thanks to him."
"How?" Jethrek asked, confused.
"I have to rely on you for help, Jethrek," Constant replied, "and if there's anyone I hate more than Daleks, it's the Warrior. At the same time, you have to rely on me to get back to our universe. As ironic as it is, it's how things are going."
Jethrek saw where Constant was going with his reasoning. "I understand," he said.
Constant smiled, and set a course for another non-populated location near the Everfree Forest. When he pressed the execute button, the Monitor barely trembled as it reached it's target. "Wow. That was smoother than I expected," Constant said, "Now to send the signal." He typed in a code to send a signal to the Doctor's TARDIS. "All we need to do now is wait," he said, watching the main viewscreen.
The Doctor was talking with his companion in his TARDIS when he received Constant's message. When he read it, he sighed heavily. "It's time for me to face the music," he said quietly. He looked to his companion. "I'm sorry, I must leave you at home for a bit."
"Are you sure?" his companion asked.
"I'm sure," he said, "I promise, I will be back soon."
"O---okay," she replied. She left the TARDIS. "Doctor?" she said turning around, "Don't get careless out there. I know you don't most of the time, but even so, a little extra caution in this situation might be helpful."
"I know," the Doctor replied, "I promise, I'll return safely."
His companion nodded and closed the door. The Doctor set a course for the coordinates Constant provided him, and with that, his TARDIS disappeared from sight.
Constant paced around the main control room, waiting for the Doctor to respond. Jethrek watched the consoles, occasionally taking a quick look to Constant. Recently, his behavior and actions began to concern Jethrek. He began to wonder whether or not it was best to continue to follow Constant, despite the "no-choice" conditions he was living in.
Finally, a console beeped, and Jethrek looked to it. "The Doctor is here," he said.
Constant stopped pacing and looked to the main viewscreen. "So he is, Jethrek. So he is." He walked to the entrance door. "Watch carefully, Jethrek, and make sure that no one can overhear us."
"Affirmative," Jethrek said, moving to the appropriate console.
Constant opened the doors and left the Monitor, making sure the doors closed behind him. He turned to see the Doctor's TARDIS, still stuck in its disguise as a mid-20th century British police phone box. He leaned against the Monitor's shell, crossing his arms, waiting for the Doctor to come out. At the moment, the Monitor was disguised as a small boulder, meant to match in theme with the rock next to it. While waiting, Constant noticed this and looked to himself. He realized that he was not in disguise, but decided not to go back and get his perception filter after all, given that nobody was around to see him or the Doctor. He heard the squeak of metal hinges on a wooden door, and looked to see the Doctor coming out of his TARDIS. "So," Constant said, "We finally meet in person, Warrior. I never thought I'd actually catch up to you, especially in...these conditions."
The Doctor made sure that the door was closed behind him before speaking. "Your message was in Gallifreyan language. So you are a Time Lord."
"Yes," Constant replied, nodding, "You can call me...Constant."
"Well, greetings, Constant," the Doctor said, "I'm assuming that you arrived here under similar conditions as me. I assume further that you also saw double, and panicked to get your dimensional stabilizers online?"
"Yes," Constant replied, "As well as suffer a power loss to my ship due to the quantum variance of this universe."
"Did you try to find a way back?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes," Constant replied, "I did...I still am looking, in fact. What about you?"
The Doctor sighed. "I've stopped looking. Besides, my life in this universe has been...a little more adventurous than my life in ours."
"So that's it, then?" Constant asked, now standing out of his leaning position against the Monitor, "I expected better of you, Warrior. I expected that you'd keep trying to find a way back."
The Doctor paused..."Why are you calling me...'Warrior'?"
"It is what some started to call you when you started fighting in the Time War," Constant replied. The Doctor now fully faced Constant, a little surprised, and trying not to show it. "That's right," Constant went on, "I know you were there. But I know more. I know you took a weapon of mass destruction and used it to wipe Gallifrey out of existence, and for what?! To destroy the Daleks?!" Constant's tone was becoming more aggressive as he took another step toward the Doctor.
The Doctor lifted one hoof to back up, but stopped when he took in what Constant had said. "I---There was no other way to end the war," he said, looking down, "No other way to stop the killing."
"Wasn't there?!" Constant snapped.
The Doctor looked up to face Constant again, "I---I changed after that. I went back to protecting the universe from those who---"
"Save me your personal history for when it is relevant!" Constant snapped again, "Besides, do you really think any of your actions afterwards could truly make up for the loss of Gallifrey?! A world that was YOUR HOME, WARRIOR, AND MINE! What would your companions say if they knew what you had done?!"
The Doctor finally took a step back, beginning to see just how angry Constant was. "I..."
"What would Barbara Wright say?" Constant asked, "And what about Ian Chesterton? Ben Jackson? Victoria Waterfield?" Constant kept naming companions until he reached the more recent ones. "Does Rose Tyler know about it? What about her mother? And her boyfriend, Mickey Smith? Does Martha Jones know about it?!"
The Doctor had tried to cut in as Constant named all his companions, but never got the chance. Finally, he had the chance to speak. "Rose Tyler was not with me long enough to be affected by such information. Nor was Martha Jones."
"And that's your excuse?" Constant asked.
"No," the Doctor said, "You're right. Nothing can excuse what I did to Gallifrey."
"Do those words truly hold their meaning when you say them, Warrior?" Constant asked. Then he remembered one companion who he forgot to mention. "What would Susan say?"
That struck a nerve on the Doctor.
"Yes," Constant said, "Susan Foreman, your granddaughter. I can only guess that she would be absolutely heartbroken to know that you would do something like that. Tell me, Warrior, how would you explain what you did to Gallifrey if she asked what happened?"
The Doctor's eyes, despite his resistance, trembled lightly from what he was hearing. "I...I don't know."
"So it seems the Warrior has a conscience after all," Constant said, crossing his arms.
"Stop---stop calling me that!" the Doctor said, "I am the Doctor once again---"
"NO!" Constant cut him off, "Not to me, you're not! What you did was unforgivable at such a high level that you don't deserve to be known by that name anymore! To me, you are still the Warrior! The cowardly Time Lord who could not think of any other way to stop the war but to END OUR WORLD!"
The Doctor lost his balance and sat down, a miserable expression on his face.
"You may not know it, Warrior," Constant sad, "but after the Time War, everywhere and everywhen you went, I was always trailing behind, picking up the pieces to make sure that your actions did not interfere with the natural flow of time! I can see now just how negligent I was to do that in this universe! I always watch for you because there's no doubt in my mind that you'll do to another world what you did to Gallifrey!"
The Doctor looked up at constant, shocked and insulted. "How dare you?!" he snapped.
"No, Warrior," Constant snapped back, "How dare you? How dare you treat the universe like a playground? You've been running around our universe through all of space and time like a child playing wildly on a jungle gym! Well guess what, Warrior, your jungle gym has rusty old screws which you never took the time to watch out for! No wonder you ended up here before me! And most certainly, no wonder you regenerated into an equinoid with a silly mark on your flank! I'm not sure whether I should call that funny or a fitting punishment!"
"I didn't regenerate!" the Doctor corrected him, "It's the quantum variation in this universe! And furthermore, I tried to get back to our universe, but the quantum variance is so small that my TARDIS is compatible with it!"
"Hmph, I see," Constant huffed.
"So if you would just put your prejudice aside for a while, Constant," the Doctor went on, "maybe we can work together to---"
"'Work together'?" Constant echoed, interrupting the Doctor, "Ha! I'm not going to help you, and I'm most certainly not going to accept help from you either. Besides," he walked to the entrance to the Monitor and gestured for Jethrek to come out, "I've already got a companion of my own."
The Doctor heard the familiar whirring of navigational machinery moments before Jethrek rolled out of the Monitor. "What?! A Dalek?! How could you side with them?!"
"He is the only Dalek here, Warrior," Constant said as Jethrek rolled up alongside him, "and in case you haven't noticed, I made this travel machine for him. Me. I also agreed to return him to his people, despite the dangers."
The Doctor took time to take in what Constant had said. "Well, if you say so, Constant. But he will betray you when that happens, mark my words."
"I will not betray him!" Jethrek argued, "Constant has followed his end of the deal thus far."
"And what about after that?" the Doctor asked.
"Enough, "Constant said, "Jethrek get back inside, and keep watching the probe records."
"Yes, sir," Jethrek replied and went to do so.
The Doctor waited a few seconds before speaking again, "Do you really think he will help you get back home?" he asked.
"He has to," Constant replied, "that is if he expects to get back to his people at all. And speaking of which," he looked to the Doctor with a cold expression on his face, "let me remind you that I am not going to ask you for help. Ever. Once Jethrek and I find a way back to our universe, we are not going to share our solution with you. I'm going to leave you here so you cannot mess with time in our universe."
The Doctor looked up at Constant, shocked once again.
"Farewell, Warrior," Constant said, walking back to the Monitor's entrance, "I hope you don't do more damage here than you did in our universe. Oh, and one more thing. If you found yourself a companion here, let him or her be your last one, assuming there even comes a point where you decide to leave him or her behind. In other words, stop ruining people's lifetimes. If you're going to mess about with all of space and time, don't get anyone else pulled into it."
The Doctor was deeply hurt by Constant's statements as he watched him close the doors to the Monitor. He stood up and walked slowly to his own TARDIS. At the moment, he felt as if he was going to break down. He set a course back to his companion's home and Constant watched through his viewscreen as the Doctor's TARDIS fluctuated in and out of view before finally disappearing.
"Is that what you meant by 'dealing with the Doctor'?" Jethrek asked, sounding almost unimpressed.
"Yes," Constant replied, "That is exactly what I meant. You see Jethrek, he thought at first that he was truly the last of his kind, well, save for the Master, perhaps, but what hurt him the most is that I, another survivor, hate him to the point that I want nothing to do with him but to make sure he doesn't cause another disaster like wiping his own homeworld from existence. Imagine yourself in that position."
"If a Dalek were responsible for such an atrocity," Jethrek replied, "he would be exterminated by his own people."
"You see?" Constant said, "You do understand. Not exactly something the Time Lords would do...I don't think...but you get the idea."
"What is our next objective?" Jethrek asked after a few seconds of thinking.
"Our next objective," Constant said, "is to go back to the library and tell Twilight and whoever else is there that the danger is over. It would also be a good opportunity to see if we missed anything."
"I concur," Jethrek stated, turning to a console.
Constant set a course back to Golden Oaks Library, and executed it.
Back at the Library, Spike had woken up from his nap. He walked downstairs to find Twilight reading. "How long have I been napping?" he asked.
Twilight looked at the clock above her. "About three hours, Spike."
"Three? That's a new record," he yawned, "Did I miss anything?"
"Well," Twilight began, a little more hushed, "Constant left earlier to correct a problem in the timeline. Pinkie Pie and Maud were here when he told us about it. He also told us to watch out for anything that may have changed due to the changes in the timeline."
"Well, I certainly didn't hear anything change," Spike said, "So he probably fixed it." At that moment, the familiar quick whirring sound was heard, and Spike looked out a window to see the Monitor parked on the library disguised as a branch again. "Right on cue," Spike said, "He's back."
Seconds later, an isomorphic projection of Constant appeared next to Twilight, who dropped her book. "Too close, Constant," she said.
"Oh, sorry Miss Sparkle" Constant replied, "I just wanted to inform you that the timeline has been corrected. Did you see any changes while I was gone?"
"Actually, I didn't," Twilight replied, "Neither did Pinkie or Maud Pie."
"Did anyone else see anything?" Constant asked further.
"Not that I heard," Twilight replied.
"I didn't see or hear anything either," Spike added.
"Well that's good," Constant replied, "Now that I got that out of the way, we know that we d---" Constant yawned silently for about five seconds, "Didn't miss anything," he finished.
"Long day?" Twilight asked.
"Long days, actually," Constant replied, "I haven't slept since the incident at Sweet Apple Acres, but I'll be fine."
Applejack walked in to return a book to the library. She overheard what Constant had said. "Constant, I don't think you should take sleep so lightly. You should let yourself rest while you have the chance." She was, of course, speaking from experience.
"How can I?" Constant asked, "Especially when I have to fulfill a promise to---" he yawned again, "get my companion home."
"You can't do that if you can't think straight," Applejack said, "Now don't make me come in there and drag you to a bed.
"Just a few more hours is all I need," Constant said, groggy at this point. He walked to a console and typed in a command which set off an alarm in the main control room. Startled, he typed the code to deactivate the alarm. He sighed. "You know what, you're right. I do need some rest...Jethrek, I'm entrusting you to keep an eye on things." He started walking to his quarters. "And don't cause any trouble," he said. At this point, his isomorphic projection had disappeared from view in the library.
"I will not," Jethrek promised. He turned on his perception filter and rolled up to where Twilight, Spike, and Applejack would see his isomorphic projection. "You, with the fruit on your flank," he said, "It was wise for you to give him that advice. I have been observing him, and some of his recent actions have...concerned me."
"What actions?" Applejack asked, "Does he pose a danger to us or somethin'?"
"I am uncertain at the moment," Jethrek replied, "However, it is most likely that the answer is 'no'."
"Do you think that time travelling caused him to act that way?" Spike asked, recalling reading such things in science fiction comics.
"Again, I am uncertain," Jethrek replied, "I will observe him..."
"Should we ask Fluttershy to come over and help you?" Twilight suggested.
"Fluttershy?..." Jethrek thought for a moment. He recalled hearing how Fluttershy had helped him despite what he was."I will consider that option," he said, "For now, keep yourselves busy. When Constant wakes up, I will consider whether or not we need Fluttershy here."
"Okay," Twilight said.
"End transmission," Jethrek said, and the isomorphic projection disappeared.
"Well," Applejack said, "I learned another thing about that...Dalek. He certainly doesn't know how to say 'goodbye' properly. Perhaps we should ask Rarity to give him advice about that."
"Probably," Spike laughed.