Chapter 7: The Girl Who Stayed
Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 996 C.E.
The Doctor opened his eyes. He was standing on top of the hill where the TARDIS had originally arrived at. He looked and saw that everypony else was there with him: alive and well.
"Trixie!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. The cloaked unicorn rubbed her temple as the two mares hugged her.
"What just happened?" she asked. "One minute that thing was flying at me and the next minute I was standing on this hill again."
"A time monster ate you but you're okay now!" Pinkie said with a smile.
"Oh."
Spike ran to Twilight and hugged her. She hugged him back.
"I swear, Twilight, you're starting to develop a habit of giving me heart attacks!" he snapped.
"I know and I apologize. I think some R&R will help put a stop to that," she replied.
"Some R&R sounds pretty good right now!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Right, AJ?"
Everypony fell silent. Applejack was staring off towards the farm. A large storm cloud and a tower of smoke could be seen rising into the sky. Applejack took in a deep breath and exhaled silently.
"Applejack?" Rarity asked. Applejack let out a small chuckle.
"Hey, Doctor?" she asked. "Do you remember how ah told you how nopony ran to save my parents when the grain silo caught fire?"
"Yes," he replied with a curious tone.
"Well, ah think that particular detail just changed."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Derpy as she stretched her wings.
"Big Mac was holding me down, preventing me from running into the grain silo. Ah was screaming for my parents and that's when ah saw them. Two ponies, running straight for the grain silo. Ah couldn't make out who they were but ah could tell that one of them was a mare and one of them was a stallion. Both of them ran into the grain silo...but they never came out. After the fire, my parents' bodies were discovered but that other mare and stallion were never found. Ah always wondered what happened to them. Who they were. Why they ran to save my parents. If they survived or perished in the fire along with them. Ah think I just got my answer."
The Doctor walked up to Applejack and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
"Are you going to be all right?" he asked. Applejack looked out towards the burning grain silo in the distance.
"Ah don't feel so good right now, but ah will feel better in the future. Ah got to see my parents again. That's all ah really wanted to begin with."
She then gave a small smile and followed it with a chuckle.
"Come on, everypony," said Twilight. "I think it's time that we went home."
"Right!" said the Doctor. "So, Trixie, where would you like to be dropped off?"
"Canterlot in 1002 would be nice," she replied with a smirk.
"Canterlot it is!"
The Doctor and Trixie were the first to enter the TARDIS. The others followed suit. Applejack was still a bit down but Rainbow Dash placed a wing over her to help cheer her up a bit. Twilight and Derpy found themselves outside by themselves for a moment.
"Well, we better get going," said Twilight.
"Yeah," said Derpy. She looked at Twilight awkwardly. "I guess we're not the first ones to have feelings for the Doctor."
"I guess not."
"I wonder what happened between Rose and the Doctor. Has the Doctor ever mentioned to you about why he stopped traveling with her?"
"Yes, though he didn't tell me all of the details. He just said that some things happened and she ended up trapped in an alternate universe."
"How sad. I wonder why he hasn't gone to see her yet."
"Well the TARDIS couldn't travel through dimensions so it was practically impossible for him to ever see her again."
"But it can now. Do you think we might run into her again?"
"It's possible, I guess."
"What will happen then?"
"I don't think you or I have everything to worry about. The Doctor told me that Rose has a Doctor of her own now."
"She has her own Doctor?! Lucky!"
"We better go in before the Doctor leaves us."
"Right."
The two mares smiled and giggled as they walked into the TARDIS. The TARDIS then slowly dematerialized as the grain silo continued to burn in the distance.
Powell Estate, London, England, Earth, Autumn, 1992 A.D.
The six-year-old Rose sat next to her mother on the bed as a photo album was presented to her. A picture of her father, Pete Tyler, stared back at her. She listened as her mother talked about the day he died. She talked about him being late to the wedding and running out into the street where he was hit by an oncoming car.
"The driver was just a kid. He stopped and waited for the police. It wasn't his fault. For some reason, Pete just ran out," said Jackie. "People say there was this girl, and she sat with Pete while he was dying. She held his hand, and then she was gone. Never found out who she was."
"Where do you think she is today, Mummy?" Rose asked.
"I don't know, sweetheart. But I hope she went on to have a wonderful life. I really do."
To be continued...