Perhaps Death

by WritingSpirit

A Birthday He Had Always Remembered

"You could've told me..."

"I-I'm sorry, Turner! I just thought--"

"That it's really merry to hide secrets! Of course you did!" I yelled back indignantly, making her cringe into the couch she was settled upon. "There are times, Twilight Sparkle, where I can't tolerate, just, can't, TOLERATE, ponies lying to me. Especially when it was regarding something as serious as this!" Have you ever considered what might've happened if she knew of the technology I am currently possessing?"

"Princess Celestia would never do that!" Twilight proclaimed. Oh, the nerve! "You have saved Equestria for probably countless of times with this TARDIS of yours. I've only seen you do it once, but one time was enough."

"You don't understand..."

Oh yes she doesn't. Who could blame her, knowing my complicated duties as the Doctor and all. Rarely did any of my companions knew of my intentions in this world. Sometimes, I myself too encountered complications to find reasons for my existence in Equestria, though without living in this glorious nation, I would've had nothing to turn to. That is why Time Lords like me always have that tad, nitty bit of tendencies to travel around, being a restless group of species we were. Ah, those were the good days.

I do have to mention this: I don't save worlds and its inhabitants. Instead, I retain them, conserve them, watch them progress and such. Unlike many of my sworn enemies, I give races a second chance; a chance that never came to them in the most dire of times when they needed it. You could say I am frankly similar to those environmentalists who strive to protect many of Equestria's endangered animals. That's what the Doctor does best... I think...

"I'm not like your Princess, Twilight," I solemnly continued with a sigh. "There's more to it than being me, just like there's more to a pony than being an alicorn. Do you realize the consequences that might occur when she discovers that I possess the TARDIS?"

"You can trust her," Twilight assured me, albeit in vain. "She's...I dunno, almost thousands of years old? Somepony that old should know the right choices to make, especially when she's the ruler of the whole of Equestria itself!"

"I have my doubts," was my reply. Don't get me wrong, I do reserve my respects to a country's monarchies and its glorious line of leaders (despite my democratic preferences), yet there had been many times where I met kings and queens whom I deemed foolish for their abusive nature with their equally malicious ministers and legions, some of them even trying to get their greedy little hooves onto my lovely TARDIS! Really, who would have the faintest idea of doing that?

"Trust does not come easy to me, Twilight Sparkle. You and I both know that." I continued, turning away from her. "Why trust somepony high and mighty like her; somepony who has enough authority to hold me back when I can roam free through the waves of time, tending to those in need? I can't trust somepony like her."

"Then you can trust me."

I turned to Twilight, eyes larger than the double-stuffed, mozzarella cheese encrusted pizzas in Daisy's Delights. My heartbeat tensed to a halt when she said that, her purple eyes staring insistently into mine, yearning for the answer. She looked... worried, you could call it, almost as if she was afraid that I would say no. It's nonsensical! Who would say 'no' to a question like that? Especially when it comes from the Twilight Sparkle?

It has been awhile since she rekindled the issues of trust. Of course, we trusted each other all this time, although, I'll admit, there are situations that made us question our trust between each other and, in turn, our bond. The reaffirmation of trust she brought up was enough for me to respect her, as well as restore my faith and affections in my one and only companion. Suffice to say, it was one of the most important moments we ever had to go through. Wouldn't you say the same, my friend?

"I'll let you off this time," I sternly reminded her as I stuck out my hoof, voice turning lighter. "Though only this once, alright? No more secrets, promise?"

Twilight gave a little nod, bumping my hoof and grinning happily.

"Promise, Turner," she answered.

Great, I told myself, lips trying to match my companion's vibrant smile and heart crooning delightfully at her optimism. Never had there been anypony more capable of providing me with fruitful decisions; it is very hard to convince me to change my mind after that. She knows what to do best, while I merely know what to do. Notice her unfair advantage?

Of course, there were times where her decisions weren't really for the best. There was one time where she required me for an experiment concerning chemicals and fungi. Oh, don't worry, she succeeded, though I had to deal with athlete's hoof for a week after that. On the side note, however, athlete's hoof is just a sliver from a block of cheese compared to this.

"How is this even possible?" asked the amazed voice of Caramel, stepping out from beneath the stairway. Yes, the very same one that doesn't know the bladed end of a kitchen knife from the handle. Really, Twilight Sparkle? Is this the idea of having guests at your house, I wanted to scream. To invite such a poppycockish buffoon onto a ship where its mechanisms can render him senseless in only a matter of seconds! Think of the inconsiderable amount of damage he can do to my dear TARDIS! Don't even remind me on how he forgets his own birthday!

Apparently, to Twilight here, it seems that it is only morally right if we invited this oaf after he saw us flying out from the sky, blitzing through a field of maize and had tad enough of a curiosity to seek for my crash-landing spot with chances of him missing his bloody graduation. Yes, he remembered about his graduation. I myself am frankly quite surprised.

"Alright, time to explain the rules," I began, much to Twilight's shock. "Rule number one, never touch anything that you know you're not supposed to touch. Number two, do not ever question the actions that I make which, basically means, shut up. Number three--"

"Turner!" Twilight hissed, stopping me halfway. Oh, for Celestia's sake. "You didn't tell me there were any... you know... rules!"

"The rules weren't meant for you, Twilight Sparkle. It only applies to my dear friend Caramel here, you see?" I stopped to give him a nudge at the shoulder, despite his displeasure. "If these rules are set as they were meant to be," I continued, "nothing would go all rampant and vertigo, right?"

Bad choice of words, if I do say so myself. At once, Twilight shot me a venomous glare, questioning my blatant actions that she would call arrogant and impulsive. Let's be clear, they aren't exactly rules; they're more like precautions, actually, to make sure a certain caramel-colored pony doesn't go wandering about with his daft experiments and send the TARDIS (and us) spiraling out of control. Twilight Sparkle, however, obviously perceived the rules as ridiculous.

"Turner, can you just stop?" she asked me, irritated. "Caramel's just another guest in your TARDIS, not some threat!"

"I see him as one, however, and I would certainly stop yapping about it if you hadn't made the profound decision to invite this fellow up my ship!"

"You never even bothered to give him a chance!"

"If I gave him a chance, who knows what he would--"

"TIME TURNER!!"

Immediately I stopped in silence, staring quietly at the now enraged Twilight, huffing and panting erratically with her horn sparking dangerously. She stepped forward, almost as if she would use her magic to annihilate me, but we all know she has enough heart to let me go, right? Right?

"I swear, Turner, one more sentence like that," she growled, leaning towards me. "I'll make sure you would never see your TARDIS again."

It seemed like an empty threat at first, but when you know your only friend isn't one prone to giving such malicious threats, you would realize she would fulfill them as well. If ever Twilight Sparkle carried out that threat, you could say that the Doctor wouldn't have the freedom he had always turned to. Wouldn't you be afraid of her then?

Caramel was pretty dumbstruck by everything, to be honest, though I knew he wasn't that oblivious and was pretending not to care instead. I do believe he was a tad bit bright for not stepping in and interrupting our conversation; an angry Twilight Sparkle is a nasty one. Not that I minded, of course, but it's better to sail into calmer tides, oui? Of course, our new friend here doesn't seem to know that.

"Excuse me..." Caramel began once he was convinced Twilight's tantrum was over. "Is it alright if... you know... we head somewhere for a while?"

Before I could reply, Twilight shoved me aside, much to my shock. Does she realize who is the actual owner of this ship is? I would've cried foul if she hadn't shot me another glare, having apparently predicted my intentions. Sometimes, I sighed to myself, there are a few snags in the net when having Twilight Sparkle as a friend.

"Since Turner was being rude to you just now," she declared. "It would only be fair if you chose where we should go next."

"B-But..." I began to protest. "But you had classes with the Princ--"

"We're in a time machine!" she shot back. "We could always come back if we wanted to. You said so yourself, Turner."

I would've spoken up if I could, the prospect of Caramel choosing our next destination being a little too reckless for my taste, though I know Twilight would not want to hear any of it. All I could do was merely sigh, watching as the mare wrote down the whispered date onto a piece of paper, not bothering to even give me a second glance.

It was painful, knowing how the love of your life, much less your only friend, was extremely angry to the point where she doesn't want to even have a word with you. I tried to stifle a smile, laying the sheet of paper and tapping the date into a typewriter, sealing our fate when my TARDIS starts whirring. Normally, Twilight Sparkle would be jumping for joy around me, sometimes even holding my hoof out of excitement -- a feeling I was beginning to miss -- as we neared our destination. Biting my lip, I closed my eyes, preparing for the worst......
.
.
.

.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

TIMe
"But what is left for me in the future? A future..."
"It's all for naught, don't you see? It's all for naught..." tiME

"You're not worth the trouble, Turner..." tIme "What do you see...?"
"Let Tartarus take me, if they want to!!" TImE
"Consequences are dire..." "Nothing." tiME "What made you think they would do the same, Turner?"
"But oh, how merciful they are..." "Let the Princesses do what tIme they want with me!!" "Lifeless, arrogant..." tIMe
"YOU THINK MOM WANTED TO PUT UP WITH THIS?!!"
"Nothing you did was fruitful..." tiMe "Listen to me very closely..." TimE tIMe "Did you hear that?" TImE
timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE "Nothing mattered anymore... TiMe tIme TiMe tiME "Feel the silence..." tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe "Let go..." tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME "Sleep now..." TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe TiME TimE timE TiMe tIme TiMe tiME tIme tiMe tImE timE tiMe tIme TiMe tIMe tiME TiMe tiMe

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

"Almost there, you guys..."

I grumbled softly underneath my breath at Caramel's voice, clambering up with hooves sunken into a giant lake of dried leaves, all probably discolored by the cooling season into a mesmerizing spectrum of red, orange and yellow. It would've been a better view and a more comforting experience for my hooves if the sky wasn't so pitch black, being the cause of my frequent stumbles over rocks concealed in the darkness, though I'll admit it has been awhile since I went mountain trekking; all this studying really takes the free time off my hooves!

Twilight was a little more enthusiastic on her part. After all, we were in the middle of nowhere, yet she's being all giggly and excited again. Hopefully her mind was over the argument we had earlier. I'd blame female hormones and all, but I have to admit, I was a little overboard with my manners. Of course, that doesn't mean I wasn't expecting Caramel's detour here to be less than satisfactory.

For those of you wondering, yes, we are in High Horn Gulch, back in the year when the three of us were a mere seven years old. Summing things up, it was two years before I first spotted Twilight dancing in her room and a year after I met Mrs. Doo, which if some of you remembered, was Mrs. Hearthfire's (my caretaker) old friend. It was also three years before she was taken in as Princess Celestia's personal student -- a fact I'm still pondering over -- and two years of being babysat by an alicorn. I'm sure our young selves are truly enjoying their time up in the majestic capital, though there was one other thing bugging me in my head for a while since we landed just a few miles away from the cornfield.

Why here? No really, why here? He could've gone anywhere: to see a planet that he thought only once existed in his dreams, or to see whether he would flourish economically in the future, or maybe even see his future lifelong counterpart, if you know what I mean. Yet, for some reason, he chose to travel to the same place, twelve years back from his corresponding time stream.

"Just a little farther," he spoke softly, helping us up. "You'll see."

Reaching up the top of the hill, my eyes were immediately drawn towards a cluster of flickering lights in the horizon, traipsing and waltzing in place like wanderlust fireflies trapped in a glass jar. They beckoned us closer, our hooves trudging with a crackle on the leaf-filled forest floor with each curious step closer towards the single sign of civilization. At least, I hoped it was civilization; it's a tad filthy to sleep outdoors, if you think about it.

Immediately, my ears detected the giggling of children, the sight of foals running around as I peeked through a cluster of bushes making my heart stop in amazement. Everything in this hidden grove was filled with color: flags hanging between branches; lanterns flickering in various spectrum of magical flames; an array of balloons swaying gently from the ground; stacks of party hats and presents forming a small barricade at the corner, and a gramophone playing cheesy but groovy tunes in the corner. The forest floor was joined by a vibrant spectrum of streamers, trodden relentlessly upon by ponies of all ages, too caught up in the thrilling occasion to even bother.

"There's my friend from school!" Caramel pointed out to my companion. "And there's my two older brothers! And there's my little sister..."

Twilight's eyes sparkled in amazement and, shared with me, a sense of nostalgia. Both of us turned to the brown stallion, watching his warm, radiating grin grow wider at the ever merry sight. I could only stop and marvel along with them, the bright laughter and cheerful smiles of the playful children making my heart ping like a rowdy arcade game!

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Caramel remarked, softly sighing. "Here comes my favorite part..."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARAMEL!!"

Indeed, the partying ponies parted to make way for Caramel, reduced back to a youthful and joyful seven years old, unknowingly that his future self was watching him in secret. I'll have to admit, this was a party that was grand for somepony at such an age, and all I could do was stifle a smile, turning to the all-grown-up birthday boy crouching next to me as he relived his memories once again. Lucky for you, Caramel.

Out of the corner, a mare wheeled in, resting comfortably in her wheelchair. She had bright blue eyes, a blonde mane and Caramel's coat color, albeit a little paler, though I have a queer suspicion it has something to do with her being restricted to a utility saved only for the hooficapped. She bore a weak yet strong smile-- contradictory, I know! There's just no way to explain it! It was... small for a wide smile, yet somehow the aura it gives... it was radiating with a... a tremendous wave of joy right there! Darn, I am bad at this...

"What..." Twilight stammered, speechless at the sight. "What is this?"

Nineteen-year-old Caramel's eyes teared, only able to watch from afar. Wiping his eyes, he began to explain:
"It's my seventh birthday, and usually my mom gives me the best birthday parties. She always knew what I wanted every year, so when she... fell sick the year before, Father and I were naturally worried and scared even. She had to be hospitalized and at that point, I thought I never had the chance to see her again. Then this day came, and Mother brought me the best present ever...... she showed up..."

"Never had I been more happy in my life, and so was Father. When she passed the year after... my birthdays were never the same again. Father became more gloomy and I... I don't know...... I lost that spark in my life..." Caramel stopped to sniffle, straining a smile underneath his breaking visage as he continued: "On my eighth birthday, I told myself that I would never forget this day: the day when Mother prepared for me the best birthday ever. I always tried not to forget, even though sometimes it slipped off my mind. It's a curse, this memory loss, to the point where I sometimes couldn't even remember Mother's face. I promised myself one day that if I could travel back in time, this was the first place I'll visit, so that I could remember this. Remember her. Then, I met you guys......"

Twilight and I just hugged him, laughing quietly at such a coincidental visit. Who would've known, a little accident like that, where one has to risk his motion sickness and be tossed around his ship as it crashed into a cornfield, could fulfill the wishes of even the daftest pony. It made me realize who Caramel really was beyond his clumsy personality; a pony with a big heart, who yearns only for happiness. A pony whom I could count on in the future.

"I sincerely apologize," I began quietly, sticking out my hoof towards a very surprised Caramel, Twilight sharing the same expression. Everything I said about him; all those derogatory insults and foalish name-calling that I threw at him, echoed like a fair yet harsh reminder in my mind. Oh, for the Doctor to feel regret... "I have been but a ninny to you. Would you forgive me?"

Twilight couldn't help but guffaw: "Did... did you just call yourself a... what did you say... ninny?"

Immediately, Twilight and Caramel burst out in loud fits of laughter, merging in with the cheerful ones in the party before us. My face immediately turned beet-red at that point, making me really want to scream at them, but I deserved it. Time Lords are fair creatures, I dare say. We were the civilization that invented ethics, after all. Shame that our pride of this invention overcame our need of following them.

"A ninny was what I was, and a ninny I am," I answered calmly, despite their restrained spurts of laughter. "Would you be as kind to forgive me, despite all of my treacherous verbal acts?"

"What's with you and your words?" Caramel asked, evidently confused at all these words I'm using. "Anyhow, apology accepted, my friend."

At the last word, my head ticked into a frenzy. "Fr-friend?" I muttered, flabbergasted at him saying such a powerful word. You might be thinking, oh, it's another overly-used friendship cliche brought back from the dead, but seriously speaking, it is still a powerful word.

"You..." I tried to form my sentence. "Y-You... consider m-me as a friend? Even after what I said about you?"

"Well, your ship did bring me here, right?" he responded. "A million of your insults couldn't cover up the debt I owe you for giving me this chance, so I guess you could say we're even. In a way, that makes us friends right?"

"Yeah..." I muttered to myself. It has been awhile since I've gotten another friend who is not an incredibly talented lavender unicorn that I'm secretly fawning over. The prospect of having a new friend was exciting: he could be a possible companion in my travels! There's so much of the universe for him to see, and so much I want to share with him to make up all the insults I threw at him. I was beginning to look forward to it; somepony trustworthy! Somepony magnificent. "I guess that yes," I admitted with a grin, much to the absolute joy of Twilight and Caramel himself.

"I do consider you as a friend."

Brilliant, I told myself. A new companion! Just brilliant!
.
.
.
.
.
Now, if only I could somehow cure his memory loss...
.
.
.
.
.