//------------------------------//
// After Armageddon 
// Story: The Clock with Three Faces 
// by Sixes_And_Sevens 
//------------------------------//

Sitting on a bench on the sidewalk, Applejack gazed off into the horizon of the Parisian skyline. A shadow suddenly rolled across the ground to lie at her feet. “Mind if I join you?” Rarity asked.
Applejack shrugged and scooted over to one end of the seat. Her friend gracefully turned and reclined at the other. “It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?” Rarity commented, nodding at the skyline.
Applejack glanced up and nodded. “Very nice,” she agreed.
The duo sat in awkward silence for a moment. Then, Applejack rolled her eyes and sat back. “Alright, out with it.”
Rarity blinked in carefully prepared shock. “Why, I have no idea what you’re talking about, darling.”
Applejack gave her a thousand-yard stare. After a few seconds, Rarity let out a heavy sigh. “It’s just—we’re friends. I’m certain of that. You knew when I began dating Spikey-Wiley. I would like to know why you didn’t just tell us that you had a marefriend—”
Applejack interrupted. “Would it've changed anything?”
Rarity flinched back from the force in her friend’s voice. “Of course not!” she gasped. “As I said, we are friends, no matter how often we may differ.”
Applejack nodded. “So, it don’t matter if ya know or not. It never came up. Ya’ll don’t know everything about me. Ah ain’t never told ya that Ah can build card towers. Ah never said that Ah used ta like sailin’. Ah never told ya ‘bout that time Ah went ta Canterlot an’ met Minuette. That stuff, it ain’t who Ah am, It’s stuff Ah’ve done, sure, but Ah don’t reckon any of it defines me. Not like th’ farm, or mah family, or mah apple pie recipe. It ain’t that Ah didn’t tell ya t’ be dishonest—Ah just didn’t reckon it was all that important.”
“Not even a little?” Rarity asked, looking askance at her friend.
Applejack shrugged. “Who Ah’m attracted to don’t define me. Who Ah choose t’ date, maybe. But this ain’t nothin’ Ah got control of.”
Rarity sat back, staring off into the skyline. “I see. I do understand where you’re coming from, darling, and yet…”
“Ya still feel hurt. Yeah, Ah get it. Believe me, Ah wish Ah’d never let that li’l comment slip. Not exactly how Ah woulda liked t’ tell anypony. But, well, what’s done is done.”
Rarity hummed thoughtfully. “Pragmatic of you.”
“Par fer th’ course, then.”
“Well, quite. Now, tell me darling, may I at least guess at the lucky mare who has caught your eye?” An expression crossed her face that Applejack didn’t entirely like, something akin to a leer. Though, she doubted Rarity would ever do something quite so low-class as leering. “Colgate, perhaps? Carmel tells me he found her lying atop you.”
“Ah still say it’s Minuette, and no, it weren’t like that,” Applejack huffed. “All you need to know, Miss Nosy, is that Ah have got a marefriend, andshe ain’t ready t’ come out jes’ yet. Won’ even tell me why.”
“Mhm…” Rarity gave Applejack a searching look.
The farmer scowled. “It’s the truth!” she protested.
“Oh, I believe you, darling,” Rarity corrected lightly. “I just didn’t think you would stand for such things, being so enamored as you are with honesty…”
“Honesty’s important, eeyup,” Applejack said shortly. “But so’s patience. She’ll spill the beans when she’s good’n ready.”
Rarity sighed. “Fair enough. Will you introduce her to me once that occasion has come to pass?”
Applejack stifled a snicker. “Sure thing, Rares. Sure thing…” She paused, thinking. “Where are th’ fellas?”
Rarity waved a hand. “Oh, off in the lavatory, washing up. They’ll be back shortly.”
Applejack nodded. “Well, they best hurry up. Ah reckon it’s almost time to meet Minnie and th’ Doc.”


***

Twilight lit her horn, uncovering the prone form of Minuette that now lay in Starlight’s bed. “And what did she say before she collapsed?” the alicorn asked.
Starlight shrugged helplessly. “She was looking for a key, and she said something about meeting herself. Then she said that she was the key, or Astra was the key, or something. I don’t know! Is it important?”
Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But that’s all we have to go on right now, so we should probably start there.”
“What do you mean, ‘that’s all we have to go on’?” Starlight asked. “You mean you can’t tell what’s wrong with her?”
“Well, that’s the problem,” Twilight said, plopping down on the bed next to the unconscious unicorn. “All the diagnostic spells I’ve cast are turning up normal results. Physically, I can’t find a thing wrong with her, apart from a few bruises that probably came from falling to the floor.”
Starlight repeated that to herself, silently mouthing out the words. “Nothing… physically wrong,” she said slowly.
“Correct.”
“So there’s something else wrong here.”
Twilight hesitated. “Well, it’s certainly not normal,” she hedged. “I don’t know if it’s ‘wrong’, per se, but… well, take a look.”
Her horn glowed. “The spell I’m casting is a sort of… aura reader. It allows the caster to view the magical signature of the subject. Try to copy it.”
Starlight studied her mentor’s horn for a moment, and then, hesitatingly, she matched the spell. She blinked. “Whoa.”
“Weird, right?”
“Oh, sorry, I was looking at you. You’ve got… a whole lot of magic going on there.”
Twilight paused, then nodded slowly. “Um, thanks? Now, look at Minuette.”
“Right, right—” Starlight turned to look at her friend’s prone form. “Twilight.”
“Yes, Starlight?”
“What the Tartarus is that?”
Around the blue unicorn, gold and red sparks flew, battling a glow of dark blue that matched Minuette’s magic. Twilight shook her head. “Like I said. Weird. It’s like there’s two spirits in there, fighting for control.”
Starlight’s eyes bugged. “Is that even possible?” she asked, horrified.
Twilight sighed and slumped against the headboard of the bed. “I don’t know,” she sighed. “This is completely new, even to me. I’m going to write Trixie, maybe she or Sunset will have some ideas, or at least research some things for me.”
“How is she working out as your assistant?” Starlight asked.
Twilight shrugged. “Pretty well, actually. She’s training Sunset to be my other assistant. Or, I don’t know, maybe Trixie’s assistant.”
Starlight grinned halfheartedly. “Her lovely assistant?” she asked.
Twilight stared blankly for a second before the other horseshoe dropped. “Ah. No, just a personal assistant. No rabbits out of hats or disappearing mares.”
She lit her horn and nabbed a quill and parchment from Starlight’s desk. “Trixie,” she muttered, half to herself. “In Canterlot… strange illness… magical in nature… Come quickly. Yours, Twilight. PS: Bring Sunset.”
Her horn flashed, and the letter was gone. “Impressive,” said Starlight. “How do you make sure she receives it?”
“The spell links our auras to a degree,” Twilight replied. “No matter where she is, the scroll can reach her.”
“Clever,” Starlight nodded. “Might be dangerous, though. Have you considered—” The rest of whatever Starlight was going to say was drowned out by a sort of rising and falling wheezy groan. A blue box slowly faded into existence in the corner. Twilight and Starlight stared. The door to the box opened and a blue unicorn stumbled out. “Ha! See, Sunset? Trixie knew she could get us here eventually!” Trixie cried. “We’re right on top of that artron energy!”
The fiery-maned chaos spirit poked her head out. “Yep. And it only took you, what, six weeks to get back to Gaea?”
The unicorn stuck out her tongue. “Jealousy doesn’t become you, Sunny.”
“Jealous? Me?” Sunset asked. “Jealous of what? Certainly not your flight skills.”
Trixie smirked. “My personality perhaps? My mane? My good looks?”
Starlight blinked. “Did she just use a first pony pronoun to refer to herself?”
“Um, girls? Did you steal the Doctor’s TARDIS to get here?” Twilight asked.
Sunset waved a hoof. “We were looking for time travelers. Long story.”
“...Right. Okay, why not? Anyway, we need your help. Minuette started babbling, and she’s gone into some sort of magically induced coma.”
Trixie stared at Twilight. Sunset stared at Trixie. “Every time,” the draconequus said flatly. “Every time we step out of those doors, it’s a new problem. Is the TARDIS attracted to them, or what?”


***

In another universe, a Time Lord frowned briefly as a sudden moment of indignation rushed over him, but it was gone as quickly as it came, and he settled back to enjoy the sights.
The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower was magnificent. The Doctor leaned on the rail, dangling his hands over the edge, while Colgate merely stared in awe at the panorama. “Wow,” she whispered. “It’s so… vibrant. Much better than I remembered. She. She remembered.”
“Well, that’s Paris for you,” the Doctor said with an air of satisfaction. “Beautiful, crazy city. Last time I was here, I snogged the lover of the King of France and saved the nobles from an army of clockwork robots.”
Colgate looked at him. “You’re joking.”
“Nope, Celestia’s own truth. Swear it.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, look, it’s the others.”
“I don’t see why,” Rarity panted, “we couldn’t just take the elevator.”
“Aw, come on, sugarcube, it weren’t that many stairs.”
“One thousand. Six hundred. Sixty-five,” Rarity ground out. “I counted. I don’t believe we were meant to use them beyond the second floor.”
“Well, the lines for the elevators were very long,” Calco said.
“Longer than taking the stairs?” Rarity snapped.
“Well, we’re here now,” Caramel interrupted quickly. “Look, there they are, they’re waving!”
Rarity straightened. “Good. Let us hope that our next port of call will be somewhat closer to the ground, hm?”
Applejack’s ears suddenly pricked. “What’s that?” she asked, turning around only to see a large, red-faced man in a uniform rush out of the stairwell, pointing and shouting angrily. “Uh. Rares, Ah reckon ya mighta been right about not bein’ allowed ta take them stairs…” she said slowly.
“Run!” Caramel yelped, racing toward the Doctor and Colgate, the others close behind. The guard was right on their heels. The Doctor held up his screwdriver. There was a whirring noise. The Vortex Manipulator began to flash. The Doctor grabbed Caramel’s sleeve in one hand and Colgate’s arm in the other. Calco pulled Rarity and Applejack into the cluster. The security guard reached out a hand, but he clutched at empty air.


***

Caramel grunted in dismay as his cousin, Rarity, and Calco all fell on him at the same time. “My back!” he groaned. “You’ve crushed my spine!”
“Aw, quit yer bellyachin,” Applejack snapped. Calco had fallen across her legs, pinning her to the ground.
“What a ghastly design,” Rarity said, glancing around. “It’s rather like being down a mine, complete with the poor lighting.”
“Mm. I rather think we are down a mine, actually,” the Doctor said. “Yep. Definitely underground, and I rather suspect I know where.”
“Atrios,” Colgate said slowly. “Atrios, locked in constant war with… Zeos?”
“Mm, mhm,” the Doctor agreed. “Ruled by the Princess Astra, lovely girl.”
“And… the other planet…” Colgate said slowly. “With… the Guardian. And Drax. You rode on K-9, I remember. We had to make a false segment of the Key, didn’t we?”
“Colgate?” Caramel asked, concerned. “You okay?”
“Huh?” She snapped out of her reverie. “Oh. Yes. I’m fine.”
The Doctor looked at her sideways. “Well. No point in hanging round here, I suppose. Ancient history, now.”
“Astra…” Colgate said slowly. “Astra was the key.”
“Yes, that’s right,” the Doctor agreed. “The sixth segment of the Key to Time.”
“No, no,” Colgate said, waving a hand. “I mean— she’s the key to— to— to something else. I don’t know.”
“You feelin’ all right there, sugarcube?”
“No,” Colgate replied, miserable. “I remember too much. Or maybe I don’t remember enough. I need to see Astra.”
“Colgate—”
“I need to see Astra,” she repeated, pulling away from the group and running down the hallway.


***

“Need… Astra…” Minuette whispered. “Need… find me…”
“I don’t understand,” Starlight said, close to tears. “Who is she talking to? Who needs to find her? Astra?”
Sunset rolled her neck one way and the other. “Right. Let me at her.”
“What?” Twilight’s head shot up. “What are you planning?”
“I,” said Sunset, “am going to get into her head. Chaos powers plus mind-reading powers, amiright.”
“Define ‘get inside her head’, please?” Starlight said warily, moving to stand between her unconscious friend and the chaos goddess.
“Um. Trixie?”
“Yeah?”
“Give me a hoof here?”
“Sure.”
The showmare walked over, removing her hat. “Stay out of Trixie’s childhood memories,” she warned.
“Right. Gotcha. Bad juju.” So saying, the chaos goddess reached around and pulled open a zipper on the top of Trixie’s skull. There was the sound of crackling electricity and the smell of ozone. Blue light shone out of the showmare’s cranium as her mane and her entire scalp flopped over.
“Ta-dah,” Trixie said idly, waving a hoof around. Twilight and Starlight just stared, their faces a matched set of horrified bewilderment.
“So, can I try it?” Sunset asked, grinning broadly.


***

The door slammed in Sunset’s face. “Well,” said Trixie. “That went over better than expected.”
“Yeah. Hey, you wanna get a doughnut? There’s this great place downtown.”
“Pinkie Pie has told Trixie great things about a restaurant called ‘the Tasty Treat’,” Trixie suggested. “Very spicy, very nice…”
Sunset considered. “Fine. But then doughnuts. And you’re paying.”
“Deal,” Trixie agreed.


***

Starlight stared at Twilight. “Okay, we’ve both seen some crazy stuff,” she said slowly. “And we’ve both committed terrible crimes against nature in our respective quests for knowledge. But that…”
Twilight shrugged. “Eh. Remember the time with the equinculus made of gorgonzola?”
“I had been trying to wipe that from my memory,” Starlight grumbled.
Minuette twitched. “Doctor,” she hissed. “Find me…”


***

“Where is she?” the Doctor shouted, turning round to face the others. “I mean, she had maybe three seconds of a head start!”
“How. Can. You. Run. That. Fast,” Caramel wheezed, bent double at the waist.
Applejack rubbed her chin. “Ah reckon we ain’t goin’ about this right,” she said slowly.
“What do you mean?” Rarity asked, frowning.
“Well, we don’t know where Colgate is. But we do know where she’s tryin’ t’ get to: the Princess.” She paused. “Uh, Doc? Is this ‘Astra’ some kinda alicorn?”
“Hm? Oh! No, no, normal humanoid. She’s just got more political power, that’s all.”
“Right,” Applejack nodded. “Well, seems like she oughta be right in th’ middle o’ things, real easy t’ find.”
“So, if we find Astra, Colgate will probably be there too!” the Doctor concluded. “Brilliant! Applejack, I could kiss you if Rainbow Dash wouldn't have my head for it!” He ran off down the hall. No one followed.
Rarity gave Applejack a long look. “Rainbow Dash?” she repeated.
Applejack breathed out, long and slow. “Ah am gonna kill him,” she growled. “An’ when he regenerates, Ah am gonna kill him again, til he turns into somethin’ that don’t talk as much.”
“I’m not judging, darling,” Rarity said hastily. “It’s just— well. Don’t you two fight rather a lot?”
“Occasionally,” Applejack agreed, not taking her eyes off the Doctor's retreating tail.
“And doesn’t that make the relationship just a tad rocky?”
“Eh. All relationships have their fights. It’s small stuff, usually. Easy enough t’ get through.”
“Well, what about—”
“Rares. Focus. Find Colgate. Get home. Buck th’ Doctor’s face in.”
“I can see that dating Dash is having an absolutely wonderful influence on you,” Rarity said flatly.