Radiance rubbed her tired eyes and lifted herself off of the relaxation bed. Her whole body felt fuzzy, like when a leg falls asleep. She had a small part of herself back now, but only her early childhood. The clouds in her mind had parted to reveal her own origins but nothing more. Originally a low-class child playing in the orange landscape granted the luxury of becoming the highest class through random selection. Oddly, the air always smelled like sharp cheddar on Gallophrey when she thought about it. There were two other figures in that room, likely projections of her other selves blurred by the memory block. Whatever happened to her long ago had really taken a toll on her mind. She felt like was responsible for something horrible, but it was pointless to worry now. Her past was still incomplete and still behind her.
“But what happened after I left the Zero Room?” she wondered to herself.
The mental block had softened some but not by much. Presumably, the more Radiance learned the easier and easier it would get for her to learn without any mental persuasion like this time. Memories would leak through and one by one the barriers will fall. Her head still slightly ached whenever she tried to push past the darkness. Still, there was another step to take and she had to move forwards. She hadn’t even thought about how she’d explain all of this to Twilight. The journal she touched, it was emitting a field of temporal distortion. Maybe Twilight knew something that she didn’t. It was important to tell her considering she knew she’d read the book or even traveled in a TARDIS since a similar distortion surrounding her. Most time lords have them based on their impression on the worlds they traveled to. She could sense it like a feeling of intuition, only touching the back of her mind.
Radiance trotted forwards and opened the door. It was brighter out in the hall than it was in the room, slightly straining her eyes as they adapted to the light. Lotus was surprised as she opened the door, seeing as she was about to open it herself. Thankfully the door opened inwards so it didn’t hit anypony.
“Ah, Mrs. Radiance. I was just about to come to get you. Did you enjoy your time?” asked Lotus.
“Yeah, I feel much better now. More like myself than before.”
Twilight was tapping her hooves back out in the waiting room, idly waiting for her. She didn’t really have much to do and Radiance was a pony in need. The door lightly creaked as Radiance stepped out, her eyes much more vibrant than they originally were. She seemed less tired and more alive than before; definitely a good sign.
“Oh, you’re back. How did it go?” asked Twilight.
Radiance paused, unsure of what to say or do.
“Well... I think I’m much more of myself. Now that I have a small portion of my memory back, I think we need to talk.”
Another pause as she carefully considered what she was about to say. Doing so could either mean nothing or change everything.
“Do you... know what a TARDIS is?”
Twilight and Radiance were now back at the castle carefully discussing over tea. Twilight was surprised by her even knowing the word let alone it’s meaning. All that was explained to her was a lot to take in. Radiance knew that she was a different race from her, a lord of time, but Twilight wasn’t so sure. Of course, nopony but herself knew of the Doctor’s race aside from the Doctor himself to her knowledge.
She’d heard of the time lords but rarely ever saw one. They always followed their strict nonintervention policy so seeing one in the open was quite the rarity. She wondered why she ever left Gallophrey. Everything just felt so impossible.
Then again with all of the things she’d experienced “impossible” could almost be “an average Tuesday”. But this was much more different, quite literally otherworldly.
“I-I didn’t scare you... did I?”
Twilight looked back, snapping out of her mental rant. It’d been mere minutes yet it felt like an eternity. Radiance’s demeanor had fallen back into the default shyness from when they first met.
“No, no. I’m fine, just a little shocked is all. You’re from another planet, from Gallophrey. Do you know the Doctor by any chance? I know that your memory is still incomplete and all, but I just wanted to know.”
Radiance chuckled and set down the teacup on the table next to her.
“We were friends at the academy. A little’s coming back actually... I was one of his only friends at the time. Other than the little stallion from his home village that is. They were pretty much foalhood friends. We’d get assignments together and find new ways to bend or break the rules. Maybe we broke the rules a bit too much, but it was so much fun.
He was really out there. They called us the Devilish Three in those days. Now that I think about it I almost agree with our teachers.”
“So you were close to him?”
“Oh very. Sometimes I was the ‘voice of reason’ for those two but it kinda fell on deaf ears. Though we went our separate ways. I went into TARDIS mechanics and he went into politics. I have no idea why though, he probably thought he could loosen up those stiff upper necks. “
“So, you know how to fly a TARDIS.”
“I know I should. But it’s all still too fuzzy. I used to work on TARDISes, in the old workshops. I might as well have worked in a museum considering all the old models just lying around. I can actually remember it so clearly, the dusty old capsule I kept working day and night. I found it in the back, a type thirty-eight. I begged my supervisor to let me keep it.
Thank the stars he said yes. It became my personal pet project I worked on in between assignments. You should’ve seen her in action.
It was gold with the usual round things all over the walls. Every panel was perfectly smooth but colored like rusted iron. It wasn’t very big, the square scanner pushed into the wall with a few wires sticking out the side of that wall and chipped off and cracked. It had certainly seen better days, but oh how it shimmers and sparkles when in flight.
It was like being inside of an aquarium, the area behind those round things shifted more into the vortex due to the dimension's age. The console glittered like the stars themselves. Reds, yellows, greens, and the floor was made of marble which is a typical staple of all type thirties. They all used to be regal show pieces made for comfort and style!
Then the officials decided nooooo, we have to be all chrome and sleek. Too cookie cutter and factory-built for my taste. I remember the very first test run, powering on and ready to- sorry if I started rambling. You can tell I’m quite the fanatic.”
“No, no, it’s alright. You’re getting more memory back and I’m learning more about you.”
“I am? I hadn’t even, oh. Ooooh, that’s why I can’t remember anything, I’m trying too hard.”
Twilight looked a little confused before watching her continue.
“Whenever I push against it, it gets harder, I have to remember by not thinking about it.”
“Might be a bit harder to remember now that you are. When you first traveled, do you think you can take me there in the Doctor’s TARDIS?”
“You really think I should? I mean, I don’t want to risk going off all willy nilly and landing us Celestia knows where.”
“I think you’ll be alright. Besides, I think it’s good to take my mind off of things.”
Radiance whistled while she looked up at the impressive coral ceiling. The TARDIS welcomed her joyfully, likely having not seen one of her kind other than the Doctor in centuries. She glittered with joy, bouncing around the grated floor.
“I’ve never seen the coral desktop initialized before. It’s a much older design utilizing organic components grown by the TARDIS herself!”
Radiance hugged one of the massive pillars that curved and stretched into the ceiling. She was in absolute heaven, having not seen any of the time ships for so long deprived her of her element.
“Anywho, back to business.” Radiance said as she happily hopped over to the console.
She experimentally moved a few controls to get used to the configuration before taking off, easily setting the ship into motion.
“This’s typically meant to be piloted by six, which is a stupid decision if there’s only two on board. So hold on!”
Radiance regained the childish glitter in her eyes that she so shared with her first incarnation. The console room jolted to one side, flinging Twilight back into one of the tan chairs near the railing. She still stood her ground at the light green console, slowly stabilizing their flight into a more docile state. Within minutes they’d arrived, the TARDIS making its iconic wheezing and groaning noise.
She pulled over the scanner before pausing, concerned with what she was looking at.
“N-no... this shouldn’t be it,” Radiance muttered to herself.
“What’s wrong, is everything alright?”
Radiance barely registered Twilight as she rushed out the door. The landscape was a deep grey and brown, covered in millions of dead flowers. The once healthy vines and trees were nothing more than a mere husk of what they used to be.
“Radiance... what is this place?”
“I called it my garden. The entire world of Provia was coated in pink and purple flowers. It was a forest world, a purely untouched garden until I came around. Some other race built viewing stations and paths, likely for a tourist attraction. That crumpled planet up there is the body this moon orbits.
I guess it wasn’t really my garden, but I just had to step outside. I was breaking the rule of nonintervention by doing so, but I didn’t care. For the first time in my life... I truly stopped to smell the roses.”
A tear gently rolled down her cheek as she stared out into the abyss of lifelessness. Her head shot up, sensing something else. Twilight felt it too, the presence of the dark mass. Radiance nearly collapsed, facing a heavy temporal disturbance as another form of herself was approaching. Then she saw it, a small lavender gazebo covered in ancient vines. It was her TARDIS, left here by herself ages ago. Radiance looked back at Twilight and the Doctor’s TARDIS, Twilight was already inside. In one move Radiance flicked the fast return switch and handbrake before bolting out the door.
“I’ll see you very soon.” Radiance said as she smiled and the interior doors closed with her on the outside.
“Radiance wait!”
It was too late, the TARDIS was already dematerializing into the vortex, on its way back to the castle. Staring straight ahead at the lavender pagoda, she bolted for it at high speed. The mass knew what she was doing and fired several inky black tendrils in her direction. They slammed and pierced the ground around her, kicking up dirt and petrified wood. She was nearly out of breath when she reached the gazebo’s door. It was locked and she didn’t have any keys. The TARDIS recognized her from her mind, clearly in distress. The door lock clicked and it opened right up for her. She said a brief thank you before rushing inside and closing the door.
The double doors whirred with an electronic buzz whenever they opened or closed. She nearly cried with joy upon seeing the console room again. She immediately began flicking switches and buttons left and right to take off before the black mass could do anything. She sighed in relief and brushed her now frazzled mane aside from her face. Her hearts were racing in her chest, tired from all the stress that had been put upon her. She swayed back and forth, her vision becoming a bit more blurry with every second. A wave of fatigue slammed against her mind and body.
With one final step, she tumbled to the ground and landed on the marble floor. She blinked over and over, eyes getting heavier. Then on the floor, she collapsed into unconsciousness.