//------------------------------// // "There is no window?" // Story: The Hourglass Always Stays // by Elusive Phoenix //------------------------------// INTRO SONG Dinky Doo trotted out of her boyfriend’s front door with an annoyed look on her face, then was followed by another unicorn with a mane the color of toothpaste, and a white earth pony stallion with large brown spots on his head and back. The unicorn spoke, “Oh, we’re in Ponyville!” She said as she scanned the area, “It hasn’t changed a bit!” She said in excitement. Dinky talked over her shoulder, “Is it really that hard to say, ‘I’m sorry’?” She said angrily, “It’s been ten years! Going on an adventure, then just leaving her to rot really damages a pony!” “I panicked!” The Unicorn mare stated, “Which is odd, because I usually don’t…” She paused for a moment, the stallion bumping into her, and rubbed her chin with a hoof, “Which is quite odd, because I don’t usually panic!” She looked at her flank, “Or regenerate as a mare. Whatever made me regenerate must have been controlling my personality for the moment!” Dinky turned her body to face her, but found that the Unicorn and her boyfriend had lagged behind. “Hey! I’m over here! Not back there in ‘la la’ land!” The blue unicorn looked back at Dinky, taking her eyes away from her flank, “Ah, yes, sorry. I’m just thinking.” She trotted back to Dinky, and they continued their journey to the ‘Doo’ household. “Doctor?” The stallion trotted up next to the toothpaste unicorn, “I have to agree with Dinky. Why can’t you just tell her you’re sorry?” He said confusedly. “It would be too complicated. She’d ask me to take her back with me, or she’d end up turning against us and trying to kill me, or if I told her I couldn’t take her with me, she could hurt herself, or worse.” Dinky stopped, “What?” She turned to face the Doctor, her expression changed to surprise instead of anger, “She could end up KILLING herself out of knowing she can’t travel through time?” “It’s never happened before! But I’ve never just stopped and left them on the street. Except that once, but she didn’t go INSANE about it!” Dinky’s expression changed from surprise to sorrow. “Oh… well… maybe it is best we don’t tell her.” Dinky continued forward, and into the streets of Ponyville with her head hanging. “So how far away is your home, Dinky?” The Doctor asked. “A few minutes away.” She said quietly, as if she had just been told her mother was dead NOW. “Well, I’m sort of excited to see what your window has in store for us!” The stallion said. “Pipsqueak, I’m not completely sure if there’s anything wrong with her window. But even if there isn’t, my assistants are usually hunted down or kidnapped. USUALLY. But this also puts Dinky in danger.” She said the last part under her breath. “What?” Pip asked in surprise, also whispering, and leaned his head toward the Doctor. “My assistants know who I am, and may know where I am,” The Doctor whispered, “therefore proving useful to the forces of evil... and… other things…” The Doctor looked around Ponyville, as if saying, “Don’t ask what I mean by ‘other things’.” Pip slowed to the back once more, keeping his face straight, but signs of fear showed in his face, thinking of the possible dangers of Dinky being kidnapped. The trio trotted through Ponyville, one hanging their head, another looking straight ahead with a slightly fearful look, and an over-joyful blue unicorn. “Are you sure you can’t tell her who you are?” Dinky said, disappointment and sadness across her face as she stood at the door to her house. “I’m sorry, Dinky,” The Doctor said quietly, “But I just can’t. The only way I’ll tell her is if she’s in danger, and I have to save her. She’d figure it out before I’d say it, though.” The Doctor looked along the walls of the three story building. The last time he had seen it, it had been a wood brown. It was now a vibrant yellow, and the roof seemed to be raised a floor. ‘Things change in time.’ She thought to herself. Dinky turned the doorknob with her magic, and opened the door to the edited house. The trio walked into the house. A kitchen, just a fridge, a counter desktop, and an oven, was on the immediate left. Straight ahead was a circle of chairs and couches, and a staircase on the far left of them. A hallway was to the immediate right. There was one door, and the Doctor could clearly pay attention to it. “Dinky,” She began, “What’s down there?” She pointed down the hallway. “Bathroom.” She said bluntly, and trotted over to a couch in the center of the room. ‘Of course,’ The Doctor thought, embarrassed, ‘I can clearly see it, and everyone knows it’s there. Nothing weird at all!’ “Mom! I’m home!” Dinky yelled up the staircase. “Hold on!” The Doctor heard the unmistakable voice of Ditzy Doo. Suddenly, a loud crash was heard, and a grey Pegasus stumbled down the stairs, and looked at her daughter with crossed eyes, “The chairs do not want to cooperate with me!” She said angrily, spread her wings, and shook some dust that had gathered off of her. “That’s why you let me know if you need help moving things!” Dinky began to trot up the stairs, “I can easily help with my magic!” She said over her shoulder, smiling at her clumsy mother. “Yeah, well- OH! You didn’t tell me we had guests!” She turned and looked at he Doctor and Pip. “Hello, miss Doo!” Pip cheered happily. “Hello, Pipsqueak! How was the party last night?” Ditzy asked the stallion politely. “It was great!” He said, then blushed slightly as he remembered how it ended. “Good,” Ditzy turned to the Doctor. A lump caught in the Doctor’s throat, ‘Uh oh.’ “Hi, Colgate. It’s nice to see you again! I didn’t know you’d be back this early! How was Appaloosa?” She asked her. Pip gasped in realization, while the Doctor stood confused. Then she understood, “It was great! The ponies there are amazing! Absolutely brilliant!” She said smiling. “Great! Now you can help Dinky load these chairs upstairs in the new family room!” The Doctor swallowed, “Umm, okay! I’ll just, uh, take these then.” The Doctor grabbed a chair by the teeth, and began to drag it. “Why don’t you just use magic?” Ditzy asked. ‘Oh, crap!’ The Doctor began to panic. Then she had an idea, and let go of the chair, “Being with Earth ponies for so long makes me just want to work like they do! You know, get the feeling that they do from manual labor!” Ditzy smiled, “That’s what I like about you, Cole! Always trying new things!” The Doctor smiled back, “I like me too!” Ditzy laughed, and then had a straight face, “Now get to work.” "Yes, ma'am!" The Doctor grabbed the chair once more and began to drag it up the stairs… “Why did I agree to this?” The Doctor complained to Dinky as she dragged the third chair up the stairs. “Why don’t you just use your magic!” Dinky retorted. “Because I’m new to being a unicorn!” She whispered in reply, trying not to alarm Ditzy. “Oh, right.” Dinky said, and levitated another chair into position. “Why are we here again?” Pip asked as he sat on a couch and took a drink from a juice box. The Doctor lay on the ground, panting. Dinky replied in her place, “To look at my bedroom window, and will you please stop rubbing it in! And where's Mom?” Pip stopped drinking, “Rubbing what in? Bow chicka bow wow. And she's over at Carrot's. Something about she needed help with something. I didn't pay much attention to the details.” “I hate you,” Dinky said, smiling anyway at his dirty joke, "Rubbing in the fact that my Mom didn't make you work!” Pip turned on his side, “Well, maybe I’m just too sexy to work.” “Shut up!” Dinky laughed and threw a nearby pillow at him, which he blocked with a hoof. “Alright!” The Doctor was suddenly standing and bounced around the room until she stood in front of Dinky, “Where is your bedroom?” “Bow chicka bow wow.” Pip said quietly. “Shut up!” Dinky threw another pillow at him, “It’s on the third floor. Follow me.” She waved her hoof to follow as she trotted up the second flight of stairs. “Stairs will be my next greatest nemesis!” The Doctor said as she ascended the devil’s creation, and Pipsqueak followed. They entered the room, Dinky in front. She gasped as she stood in the doorway. “What?” The Doctor asked, and tried to look over Dinky’s shoulder. “My window is gone!” Dinky ran across the room, which was littered with papers and other trash, and looked along the far wall, rubbing it with her hooves. “There is no window?” The Doctor said disappointed, “Now I’ll never get an adventure to test this body out first!” She turned to look at her flank. “I don’t understand!” Dinky frantically scratched at the wall with her hooves, “It can’t just disappear! I know Mom didn’t do it! She would have cleaned my room, or asked me to do it when I got home!” She thought out loud. “Aliens?” Pip suggested. “No! It can’t be! Aliens don’t exist!” She continued to search the wall, as if hoping she was just hallucinating. “Well, you have a pony who claims to be an alien in your room right now.” He pointed to the Doctor. “We don’t even know if that’s true! For all we know, she’s just as insane as my mother!” Dinky turned to face Pip. “Well, she literally appeared in my living room, along with a giant blue box, which in no way could have been carried in there! All evidence points to her being an alien!” Pip pointed once again, “Right, Doctor?” … “Doctor?” Pip turned to the mare. She stood there looking her body over, and taking long glances at her flank. “Doctor?” She continued to examine herself. “Doctor!” “What?” The blue mare looked away from herself, her expression blank, showing absolutely no emotion what-so-ever. “Where is her window?” Pip asked simply. “Oh, uh,” the Doctor turned back to herself and murmured, loud enough so they could hear, “Dimensional change. Someone took your window because they knew we were coming.” She continued to stare blankly. “Wait, somepony just pulled my window out, and a wall grew?” Dinky asked surprised. The Doctor nodded. “What are you doing?” Pip asked, curious as to why the Doctor had suddenly stopped caring about the window. “My body.” “What about it.” ”I’m a girl.” “Yeah, what about it?” Dinky asked. “I’m hot.” Dinky scrunched her face in a sort of disgust, “What?” “I’m a girl. I am a hot girl.” She continued to examine herself with a blank expression. She then started to spin, as if chasing her tail, slowly. “What about my window?” Dinky asked, tilting her head to the side, though her face was still riddled with disgust. The Doctor’s eyes grew wide, and she looked back to Dinky, “What am I doing! I should be figuring out what happened to your window!” “You did.” Pip stated blankly. “I did?” “You already did. You said that the dimension changed, and that something took her window because it knew we were coming.” Pip replied, motioning his head toward the 'window'. “Did I?” The Doctor said, surprised, “Well, I need to remember what I figure out more often!” She trotted to the wall that was once apparently a window, and began to examine it, “Yes, there was definitely a window here, the hole is still there, but a wall is slid into place,” The Doctor pushed on the wall, and a small chunk, though large enough for a pony to fit through, fell to the ground on the other side. But the ground was a meter down, “Ah, a portal! I love portals! They’re so… moving!” The unicorn dove through the hole in the wall, leaving the other two ponies with their jaws on the floor. She peeked her head back in a moment later, “Come on! What are you waiting for? Jump in!” She said excitedly. “The-” Dinky began, “The ground is right there!” “Yes?” the Doctor said, smiling widely. “...We’re on the third floor!” Pip replied after Dinky did not answer. “Correction! You’re on the third floor. I’m somewhere completely different!” She smiled widely, “Brilliant, isn't it?” Dinky continued to stare, while Pip asked a question, “You want us to go through a portal to another part of Equestria?” “It could be a different world, mind you.” She stated matter-of-fact-ly. “Are you insane?!” Dinky yelled, “We don’t even know where it is!” She stood on her front legs, lifting her flank into the air, her eyes bulging. “That’s the best part of it!” the Doctor replied, turning her head to the side, keeping one eye on Dinky, the walked out of the feild of view from the window. Dinky turned to her boyfriend, “Come on! You agree with me, right?” “Dinky,” Pip said, “Life is short, and dull,” He turned to look at Dinky, “Why not make the most of it?” Pip galloped and jumped through the hole. “Pip!” Dinky called after her boyfriend, “Don’t leave me here alone!” There was no reply, as the Doctor and Pip had run off. “You are so going to get it!” Dinky jumped through the hole in her wall, embracing the danger and possibilities of this new world. “Welcome, Dinky, my dear, to the world of adventure!” The Doctor proclaimed as Dinky stared off at the distant land. She stared at the trees, plants, and animals she could never have even dreamed about. And some part of her loved it… The other part wanted to scream in terror...