Chapter 2: Meet Clockwork
Home of Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.
The Doctor followed Spike up the stairs as fast as possible. He was excited. As soon as he heard the words appeared out of thin air he knew exactly what had happened: another rift had opened. This was what the Doctor had been waiting for! What he saw once he got up to the library, however, was nowhere near what he was expecting.
Twilight was standing over a stallion in an overcoat who was lying on his back. Their lips were locked together like welded iron. Spike's jaw dropped and the Doctor felt his stomach do several back flips. The Doctor could only manage to say, "Well...this was unexpected."
Twilight was in shock. The strange stallion was kissing her as if they had known each other for years. For a few seconds she hesitated and let him proceed to kiss her. He looked so much like the Doctor. Then, reality came into play and she suddenly realized what she was happening: a stranger was making out with her from out of the blue. She pulled herself away from the stallion and gave him a firm slap with her hoof.
"What the hell are you doing?!" she snapped as she stepped away, rubbing her lips vigorously. The stallion sat up and looked at Twilight, a confused look was on his face.
"Kissing you. What's wrong with that?" he asked.
"What's wrong with that?! I don't even know you!"
"What are you talking about? How could you not know your own husband?"
"My...my HUSBAND?! Are you insane?! I don't have a husband! I don't even have a coltfriend!"
"Now, Twilight, stop this right now! I'm Clockwork, remember? Your husband!"
"I told you! I'm not married!" Twilight suddenly realized that the Doctor and Spike had returned. Everypony fell silent. Spike was still in shock and so was the Doctor, but the Doctor had been listening to the stallion's words with extreme care. The stallion named Clockwork turned towards the Doctor and Spike. His face became pale when his eyes fell upon the Doctor. The Doctor cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"Now I think it would be best if everypony just calmed down and took a breather," he said. Clockwork pointed at the Doctor with a shaky hoof.
"It's...it's you!" gasped Clockwork. "You're...the Doctor!"
"So you know me? That's a start." Clockwork looked back at Twilight with a saddened look on his face. "Clockwork, is it?" Clockwork turned back to the Doctor and nodded. "Would you mind standing up for me?"
"What? Oh...of course not." Clockwork stood up and dusted himself off. The Doctor pulled out a magnifying glass and began walking around the confused stallion.
"Let's see. Same coat, same mane, same cutie mark, same eyes, and even a resemblance to my old wardrobe. Interesting." Clockwork kept looking back at Twilight. Twilight avoided looking him straight in the eye. Spike moved over next to Twilight.
"I leave you alone for a few seconds and you make out with him?!" he whispered. Twilight was tempted to slap the dragon but she decided against it.
"I didn't kiss him! He kissed me!" she whispered back. She looked back at Clockwork. The stallion appeared to be in shock more than anything. It was as if he thought he was in a dream. The Doctor finished his observations and took a few steps back.
"Yes. Now would you be so kind and explain to me about why you were kissing my assistant?" the Doctor asked. Clockwork snapped out of his daze and turned to face the Doctor.
"Assistant?"
"Yes. That would be Twilight Sparkle, the mare you were kissing a few moments ago."
"I know who she is!" Clockwork's expression became darker and angrier.
"No need to get angry. It's just that I'd like the know why a complete stranger such as yourself decided to, for lack of a better statement, make out with my assistant, somepony who has never met you before." Clockwork's face became darker. It was apparent that the Doctor's words were not helping calm him down. He remained silent for a few seconds. "Well? Am I going to get a response?"
Not two seconds after that, a hoof came out of nowhere and punched the Doctor square in the nose. The Doctor fell on his back and quickly found himself pinned to the ground. Clockwork was standing over him. His eyes were dark and angry and his teeth gnashed together in furious confusion.
"WHAT IS THIS PLACE?! WHAT IS GOING ON?! AM I DEAD?! IF SO, THEN WHY CAN'T MY WIFE RECOGNIZE ME?! WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DO YOU RESEMBLE THE DOCTOR FROM MY DREAMS?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Tears were beginning to fall from Clockwork's eyes. Suddenly, an invisible force smashed into Clockwork and sent him flying through the air. The stallion then found himself trapped in a glowing purple ball of magic levitating a couple feet above the floor.
"Don't you dare lay another hoof on the Doctor!" Twilight snapped, her horn glowing furiously. Spike helped the Doctor back up. The Doctor clutched his nose in pain. Streams of blood were flowing out of his nostrils. The Doctor reached into one of his suit pockets and pulled out a handkerchief, quickly placing it over his wounded nose.
"Thank you, Twilight. But I can assure you that I had everything under control," he said. Twilight chuckled out the sound of his nasally voice.
"Yeah. The bloody nose is clear proof of this," Spike said sarcastically. The Doctor sighed with embarrassment. Twilight approached the side of the magical bubble. Her eyes locked with Clockwork's.
"Now I'm going to let you out now. Don't you even think about attacking the Doctor again or I will use magic on you again!" she snapped. "Are we clear?"
"Twilight," said Clockwork in a confused state. "I-"
"Are we clear?" Clockwork sighed in response.
"Yes, we're clear."
"Good." Twilight's horn stopped glowing and the magical prison disappeared. Clockwork fell to the ground with a loud thud.
"Now, can we all sort everything out with breaking each other's noses?" Spike asked.
"That sounds like a good idea, Spike," said the Doctor through his handkerchief. The Doctor approached Clockwork again. Clockwork had calmed down, for he didn't look angry this time. Now he just looked sad and confused. The Doctor looked at Clockwork and followed his gaze which, of course, led to Twilight. "You seem to care about Ms. Sparkle a lot, don't you Mr. Clockwork?" Clockwork turned towards the Doctor and nodded.
"I do...very much," Clockwork replied. Twilight was confused but she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty after hearing Clockwork's words. "I love her so much."
"Tell me, Mr. Clockwork-"
"Just call me Clockwork. I never liked formalities like that."
"Hmm...interesting."
"What is?"
"Nothing. Little matters. Anyway, please explain to us what you were doing prior to falling through the rift?" Clockwork's ears pricked up.
"Rift? What rift?"
"The dimensional rift that you fell through. I would assume that's how you ended up here."
"A dimensional rift? That's impossible."
"Oh, it's quite possible. How else would you have been able to end up here?" Clockwork sighed and looked towards the floor.
"When I opened my eyes and saw Twilight, I thought this was Heaven. I thought I was dead." Everypony fell silent again. The Doctor cleared his throat and eyed Clockwork closely.
"Clockwork, what were you doing right before you ended up in this library?"
"I...I was falling from the top level of the Ponyville clock tower." Twilight and Spike looked at each other and then looked back at Clockwork.
"How did you find yourself in such a situation? Did you fall or-"
"I jumped, okay?! I was trying to kill myself!" Clockwork's eyes had become angry again.
"Let's try to calm down, okay." The Doctor stared deep into Clockwork's eyes and Clockwork stared back. Clockwork could feel a sense of calm running throughout his body. He took a few deep breaths and sighed. "Would it be safe to assume that Twilight Sparkle has something to do with this?" Clockwork looked at Twilight and nodded sadly.
"This isn't the afterlife, is it? This is another dimension," Clockwork said as he looked at the Doctor. The Doctor nodded. Clockwork then turned to speak to Twilight. "Then...you're not my Twilight, are you? You're another Twilight Sparkle." Twilight nodded in response before taking a few steps forward. She had a question in mind though she already could figure out the answer.
"Clockwork. Did...did something happen to your Twilight that made you want to kill yourself?" she asked. Clockwork nodded.
Clockwork sighed again before stating with hardly any emotion, "She was my wife...and she was murdered."
Home of Derpy Hooves, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 1002 C.E.
Derpy sat at her table quietly. She stared through her window and cursed the snow. Because of it, she couldn't go to the library and visit Twilight, Spike, and the Doctor. Though, she figured that it didn't matter whether she visited them or not. The Doctor was so busy of late with his study of the rifts that he hardly paid attention to anypony anymore, not even Twilight. Derpy sighed sadly at the thought of the Doctor being alone with Twilight and couldn't help but feel jealous. She shook her head at the thought of being jealous. It was wrong to feel that way. Twilight was her friend. But...that still didn't hide the fact that both she and Twilight had feelings for the Doctor. And Derpy could only think that she stood no chance if the Doctor, one day, decided to choose between them. Twilight was smart, could pick up on most of what the Doctor was saying, and had been with him longer. Derpy was just...Derpy. How could she even compete with that intelligent mare in the library?
Derpy looked out the window again. The snowfall had become even thicker. It looked like it was the middle of the night rather than early in the afternoon. She then turned her attention to a basket of muffins that sat on the table before her. She had prepared them for the Doctor, Twilight, and Spike but, of course, hadn't expected the sudden snowstorm. She wondered if they had even received her message about not being able to visit. She had used a strong mail hawk that Fluttershy had been taking care of to deliver the message. They were known for flying through harsh weather so Derpy didn't worry.
"I hope this weather lets up soon," Derpy said to herself. She was about to get up from the table when there was a flash of light in the middle of her kitchen. Derpy was blinded for a moment. When she opened her eyes she saw that there was a gray pegasus mare with a blonde mane and inverted yellow eyes sitting in the middle of her kitchen. The mare was dressed in a blue mailpony outfit and a bag of letters was hanging over her shoulder. Derpy was in shock. "What's going on?!" Derpy managed to keep her commentary down to a whisper. "She just appeared out of nowhere! She...she looks almost exactly like me!" The mare stood up and shook her head. Upon seeing Derpy, she jumped with surprise. The two mares stared awkwardly at each other for a moment. The Derpy clone then cocked her head and stepped forward.
"Wow...you sure do look a lot like me. That's funny," she said. "Anyway, name's Bright Eyes! Have you happened to come across a stallion named Clockwork recently?"