Aradia poked her head out from behind a large tree at the edge of the Forest. The first thing she saw was a farm - it seemed disappointingly average to her. Apple trees everywhere, a large red barn to the left, and more than a few animals in pens. She supposed the pigs were interesting- ponies were herbivores, at least the ones she was familiar with. Maybe these ones ate meat?
She could see the town proper in the distance - probably a 'village' of 'ponies', but she was in no rush. She flitted over to the pig pen, scaring half the pigs and confusing the other half.
"Hello, little pigs! No need to be scared, I'm just seeing the sights!" She grinned fully - the brilliant smile scaring the rest of the pigs away, all of them cowering in their sleeping area, squealing like crazy.
Aradia floated there, eyebrow raised. "I... I didn't even say anything creepy. Yet." She heard a back door open behind her, accompanied by what sounded like the grumblings of an old woman.
"Darnpigs, what's gotten them riled up this ti-" The aged green mare stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Aradia. Aradia just smiled and raised a hand in greeting.
"Hi!"
The mare groaned. "Not another talkin' one..."
Aradia cocked her head. "You've seen others like me?"
"Well, not exactly, but whenever somethin' talkin' comes out of the Everfree stuff starts happenin'. Like makin' my pigs start freakin' out."
Aradia made a mental note that the Forest must have been called the Everfree. "I was just looking at the adorable little things! I had just barely started talking!"
The mare chuckled. "That was your first mistake. Unusual things talkin' will drive just about anythin' bonkers."
"Perhaps I am pretty unusual for here..." Aradia pursed her lips, glancing at the hiding pigs before looking back at the mare. "...By the way, how old are you?"
"Uh... Hundred and sixty-two. ...Wait, that's a pretty odd question."
"It is, but I don't know anything about ponies, I have to start somewhere! I mean, I know how long of a time that is simply by the way this plane of existence ticks... nearly the same as an Earth year, though slightly less. But, I don't know how long that is for your kind - it could be super long, or it could be just a scratch on the impressive ages you can attain! How long do you ponies usually live?"
The mare backed away, giving Aradia a cautious look."...Ah know a mare who hit two-hundred. Not countin' the princesses of course."
"Wow! My caste would only live for... thirty of your years. Isn't that crazy?"
"...Yes?"
"Oh, how rude of me." She extended a hand. "I'm Aradia."
The mare hesitantly put out her hoof. "Ah'm Granny Smith."
Aradia shook the hoof, stooping down so not to stretch Granny's limbs. "it's a pleasure to meet you Granny! Oh - are you related to Applebloom by chance?"
"Yes! What'd she do this time?"
"Nothing! I just saw her in the forest at... Zecora's house, I think it was. Great taste in decorations there."
Granny raised an eyebrow. "If you say so. Why are you here, Aradia?"
"To explore a new place! Learn about the life here, the earth, the sun, the moon - if there is one - and I have all the time to do it!"
Granny shook her head. "Things don't come out of the Everfree Forest talkin' just to have a look-see."
"Oh of course not, I was called here for some reason, I just don't know what it is yet! Probably something to do with changing history, I doubt this place is causally related to where I just was. Maybe I'll even know what I'm doing soon!"
"...Yer sayin' a lot of weird stuff."
"Oh, am I going too fast? Sorry, I've just been around a long time, I forget sometimes."
"Ah thought you said you only lived to be thirty?"
"Oh, that's normally. My age can't even be measured with calendars anymore."
"Ah'm not gonna ask."
"Yeah, probably best. I don't think I could explain that one - sorry!"
Granny was about to say something else when one of the pigs decided enough was enough and rammed through a rickety piece of the fence.
"Snuffer!" Granny shouted. "Get back here!"
"I got him!" Aradia said, flapping her wings, launching over the pig. She landed in front of the squealing animal. She raised a hand and picked up the best with her telekinesis and plopped it back into the pen. She then rewound time around the fence, repairing it. "There you go!"
Granny let out a sigh. "Always with the magic... Shoulda known you had some, with the horns and all."
Aradia blinked. "Well, it's not magic. Or maybe it is? The definition gets muddled quite a bit depending. ...You associate horns with magic power?"
Granny rolled her eyes. "What are you, from the moon?"
"Might as well be," Aradia winked.
"...You really are just here to see the sights for now aren't you?"
"Yeah!"
"Well... Not much here besides pigs, chickens, and apples. Ponyville's out that way, though there's not much there either besides the Castle and Sugarcube Corner. And ponies."
"But ponies are exactly what I want to see! Their houses, their lives, their families, their graveyards..."
Granny shook her head. "Word of advice to ya' - ponies spook easily. Ah don't think it'd be a good idea to just skedaddle in there. They'll expect a rampaging monster.
Aradia took a moment to appreciate the idea of a rampaging monster in a pony town. "Oh, that'd be fun..."
"...You aren't goin' on a rampage are you?"
"Oh jegus, no! I'm going to sneak around! Stealth mission, gather intel! Like some kind of secret agent! Hey, I can't believe I've never been a secret agent before... Officially anyway..."
Granny decided she was done questioning. "Well, have fun. Try not to cause any heart attacks."
"I solemnly vow that I shall not cause any heart attacks, merely observe any that occur!"
"Mhm," Granny said, numb at this point.
Aradia spread her hands and slowed time down to a crawl - everything around her moved like a snail. She could even watch the wings on a nearby bee slowly rise and fall in a slow beat. No pony would see her like this - she was too fast to notice. She lazily flew to Ponyville proper, taken in by how colorful things were. Besides the ponies themselves, who came in every color imaginable in every combination, the buildings were the greatest example of vibrancy to be seen. Pink was a dominant color, but there wasn't so much that it dominated the scene. It was mostly an accent alongside the other colors. Most of the houses were simple, homey constructions that definitely gave off an inviting aura. There was a bakery - presumably Sugarcube Corner - that almost looked like it was made of sweets. There was a round town hall - and a crystal castle in the distance. Aradia looked at the castle in mild confusion - it looked like the Tree, but somehow it wasn't as... unified. It looked a bit gaudy if anything. A ruler probably lived there. Aradia supposed she could go there right now, but where'd the fun be in that? She still had to look closer at the ponies themselves!
Some of them had wings - pegasi, probably. Others were graceful unicorns, presumably imbued with 'magic' power if what Granny said was true. Aradia'd have to observe them in real-time to see about the powers. Aradia briefly wondered if there was much difference between the three kinds of ponies, or any class divisions.
What was most interesting about the was their rears - or, rather, the marks upon their rears that seemed to define the pony wearing it, like Aradia's own gear. Young ponies didn't have them, suggesting that the earning of such a mark was possibly a coming of age moment. She wondered what the marks were called, what they represented, and how such defining symbols were chosen...
Aradia flew to the top of the building that was probably Sugarcube Corner and hunched down. She let time resume, and she watched from above. She found herself mesmerized by the way the ponies trotted, how their four legs all moved in a flowing sequence. She watched them talk, play, and live. Almost all of them were smiling brilliantly. This was a place of joy and - dare she say it - magic.
Oh, she was sure the powers coming from the horns of the unicorns had an explanation, just like her own, but she didn't know now. At the moment, the telekinesis, the blue one's fireworks, and the pink one's teleportation - all of it was beautiful magic to her. She took it all in like a hungry child, giddy at the facets of this society. She had learned so much in just a few short minutes but already had so many questions!
"Hi!" A high and chipper voice made itself known. Aradia turned to her left and saw a pink normal pony sitting next to her. Aradia was certain the newcomer hadn't been there before, and there was no way she could have gotten up here in such short time without Aradia noticing. She would have felt a teleport spark...
Aradia shrugged the thought away. "Hi yourself! I'm Aradia!"
The pony giggled. "I'm Pinkie Pie! Like what you've seen of Ponyville so far?"
"Yes, I do, in fact!"
"Good! So now that you've seen it, what next?"
Aradia put a hand to her chin. "...Frankly, I think I'll look around some more, possibly even for a few years, see how lives begin and end..."
"YEARS!?" Pinkie shouted. "That's so... Boring! And LONG!" She pulled a calendar out of her mane stretched her neck towards Aradia at an impossible angle. "See this? This is time you could be doing things!"
"Like what?"
"Oh, I dunno, a party!?" She pulled out a party cannon out of... somewhere and blasted confetti all over Aradia.
Aradia laughed. "Interesting abilities you have there. Must make it really easy to throw parties!"
"That's my job! I am the party pony! It's what I do!"
"Does that mark on your rear signify that?" Aradia asked, pointing at Pinkie's symbol - three balloons.
"Yeah, it does! It's called a cutie mark!"
Aradia didn't even try to stifle the laugh. Pinkie joined in, realizing the name was rather silly. "You know, I wonder why we call it that... I mean I know there's a reason, but I'm talking about a reason, you know?"
Aradia raised an eyebrow. "I... Think I do actually. Though I suspect... ...Are you a First Guardian, by chance?"
Pinkie giggled in response.
Aradia smirked. "Thought not. Though you obviously know what one is..."
"The Tree of Harmony is probably as close as you'd get to one of those here, Aradia."
"I was just curious, is all."
"So am I! What are you really going to do next?"
Aradia raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you know that?"
Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Do I look like I have any control over what I do and don't know?"
"Huh," Aradia said, pondering this thought. "I hadn't thought of it that way before. I guess neither of us knows where I'm going."
"I could take you to a party!"
"Corpse party?"
Pinkie's smile faltered. "Uh... No. Let's not go there."
Aradia shrugged. "I mean, if you say so, it's just that I always like those kinds of parties, and I don't get to have them so often. Regular funerals always take the fun out of it."
"I said shush!" Pinkie said, shutting Aradia up with a cupcake. "Shushamusha!"
Aradia was about to continue anyway, but then she noticed the taste to the cupcake. "...What flavor is this?"
"Blue," Pinkie said with a completely straight face.
"It's the best thing I've ever tasted. And I've tasted a lot of things."
Pinkie shrugged. "I try."
"Can I have more?"
"Come now, we can't have you getting addicted! You have an adventure!"
"I do indeed."
Pinkie's ears perked up. "Huh. Looks like you'll be having a visitor soon."
Aradia put her hands on her hips and smiled coyly. "Hey, it's my job to know what's happening before it happens!"
"Oh come on, you already knew, I only knew because you knew!"
"You only know because I know because it would be funny in this particular instance!"
"Buuuuuut you only knew that I knew that you knew it'd be funny because you, by chance, decided to check nearby time!"
"Oh, but my dear little pony, it doesn't end there - clearly my future self is involved in this, possibly making information available to both of us subconsciously by way of knowing both parts of our minds in advance!"
"...Now you're just pulling random words out of your hood!"
"Ah, but you only know that because-"
Pinkie shot her hooves in the air. "Augh! Too much! I surrender!" She laid down on the roof, hooves still held high.
"Nice corpse impression. Eight out of ten."
Pinkie shivered. "You... Yeah, there's no way to tone down your obsession with... that, is there?"
"You mean death?"
"Don't say the D-word!"
Aradia blinked. "Wow, okay, that's a buzzkill. Can't even say it here..."
Pinkie realized the word 'buzzkill' had just been attributed to her. "Oh noooooooo...." She facehooved.
"Hey, hey, it's not a big deal, I'm weird-"
"So am I! I should be fine with this! I should grab a chainsaw and go nuts right now just to prove-"
"Ah, no, don't do that. Just... loosen up a little." Aradia looked into the distance wistfully. "You don't have to see the wonder in it, but you shouldn't hide from facts of life..."
Pinkie nodded slowly. "Yeah... You're right. But enough of that, you should prepare for your visitor!"
"Oh right!" Aradia slowed time back down to a crawl. She was unfazed when Pinkie's speed remained unchanged. "You going to watch?"
"Mmmmm - nah. I'm going to go back to regular pony-speed and go bake a cake. Adios, Aradia! It was nice to meet you!"
"See you around!" Aradia called as Pinkie vanished. Aradia took one look around, chuckled, and moved to the closest thing to an alley she could see. She saw her visitor long before he got close - he was a brown stallion with an hourglass cutie mark and a tie Aradia found herself describing to herself as clever. He was holding a device in his front hoof that went ding every few seconds - how the heck could ponies hold things in hooves anyway? He hit it a few times - apparently, it was acting up - and then rolled his eyes. It must have been working somewhat, since he turned down the alley Aradia was in.
The thing made a really loud ding, and Aaradia allowed time to return to normal.
The stallion raised an eyebrow. "Here? Really? Why I-" He looked up and froze.
Aradia waved. "Hi!"
"...You're the time disturbance?"
"Really? Calling me a disturbance?" She rolled her eyes "...But yeah that's definitely me."
"What... Are you? I've traveled the world over and never seen anything like you..." He narrowed his eyes. "...I think..."
"I'm Aradia. I'm a troll - though I don't think I'm the troll kind you're familiar with."
The stallion narrowed his eyes. "Where are you from?"
"Realllly far away."
"How far exactly?"
Aradia shrugged. "Can't really be measured in physical distance."
"...I'm trying to decide if I should feel threatened or not."
"Well, I don't think so, but I haven't been here long enough to figure out what your kind should find threatening... But I do want to be friends. Hey, you never told me your name!"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Hello Doctor!"
The Doctor paused. "...I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Welcome to Equis. What brings you here?"
"I'm just here to see the sights. Though that Tree of yours did call to me. So I'm here for another reason I don't know yet!"
"Great whickering stallions, you're excited about not knowing."
"Wouldn't you be if an amazing adventure was coming?"
The Doctor grinned. "Would I ever!"
"Great minds think alike! I take it from your hourglass mark that you are a pony of Time?"
The Doctor hesitated a moment before shrugging. "Oh, I dabble. After a particularly traumatic experience as a foal, I devoted myself to..." He looked right at Aradia's eyes for a moment, something haunting him and cutting off his thought process."...Uh... what was I saying?"
"Traumatic experience. I'm curious about it - please go on."
"Er... that's private. What you probably would find more appropriate and interesting is that I sought to understand the world around me and eventually uncovered the secrets of time, traveling to understand the universe around us! It's an absolutely fantastic place!"
"I can't wait to see more of it! Are there other time travelers?"
"Well, besides the occasional loose time travel spell that goes off, it's just me and the Handmaid, but I've never met them..."
Aradia squealed slightly. "Well, now you have! Probably!"
"Come again?"
"I'm the Maid of Time, and my Ancestor was known as the Handmaid! I mean, who else would it be?"
"...Great whickering stallions, you're right..." He said, jaw dropping.
"Awesome! How do I start?"
"I have no idea!" the Doctor blurted, taking a step back. "You're an ancient being that keeps time in check! You've been around longer than the sisters!"
"Future-me probably just went back to the dawn of time for this universe. It's a thing I like to do."
"You... Just arrived, didn't you?"
"I've maybe been here an hour my-time. I dunno. Wasn't always paying attention."
"I... I should stop talking, there are so many paradoxes I could make by just telling you things. There's a good reason you never cross paths with me directly!"
Aradia pursed her lips. "Are paradoxes bad in this world?"
"I'm not sure, I always avoid them! I steer clear of loops as well if I can help it!"
"Wise move, but I may have to test it... If you can't tell me anything, maybe I should just go ask myself."
"No, no, bad idea, meeting yourself could have all sorts of unforeseen consequences..."
Aradia reached into time and created a loop. She took a version of herself from five seconds in the future and fistbumped them, and then she became that future self and fistbumped her past self. She grinned. "No trouble here, Doctor!"
"...And I thought I was crazy..."
"So, where do you think I can find my future self? She'll know what she can and can't tell me!"
The Doctor shook his head. "Wibbly wobbly... go back precisely one local year and three days. There's an event that splits the main timeline. You should be in the castle to get the best feel for it."
"Thanks! See you around Doctor! Or maybe not, if I avoid you for whatever reason."
"...It's at least nice to have a face to the name now."
"I'll be sure to come to your funeral!" Aradia said, jumping back into the past. She quickly froze time again and drifted into the castle. It was still as gaudy in the past. She resumed the flow of time when she was inside. The room didn't change, there was just a table that felt a lot like the Tree of Harmony with seven seats surrounding it. Aradia drifted over to the one with the balloons on it and sat down - closing her eyes.
She could feel time branched off from here in seven different ways, not counting the timeline she was on. She smirked, grabbing ahold of one.
She was suddenly in a burning landscape being ravaged by a giant centaur. She saw pony bodies everywhere alongside wildlife of all kinds, magical and mundane. The centaur saw her - and launched a burst of energy towards her.
Aradia shifted to a new timeline, this one a world of pure desolation and death. Nothing here but a brown, irradiated Wasteland.
She smiled - first her sighting of how ponies could die, and now a dead timeline! She was already hitting the jackpot! She knew that such terrors and places existed only to be fixed later, reaffirmed to the alpha timeline - assuming that was how things worked here, anyway - but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate them. She wondered what had changed to alter history so drastically here.
It looked like she might get some answers. Five alternate versions of herself appeared to her left, all of them smiling and talking among themselves about a plan of some kind...
~~~
The Handmaid needed counsel upon arrival, and of course the Handmaid herself would provide it. She did not fear herself -what she was or what she'd become. She was one of those rare few who was comfortable with who they were. A gift needed for her very existence.
There are two conflicting stories about how she provided herself counsel - both possibly true, even if we cannot understand how. The first states that she met herself in a wasteland to solve a problem that involved our existence. The other says she met herself in the deep past to learn the ways of time.
It is unknown if the two different stories have any significance.