The Fantastic Adventures of Doctor Whooves: Hourglass

by The-Pony-Librarian

Chapter Five

In the next thirty seven seconds, the Doctor realized that he probably should have explained the concept of cars to Twilight before they crossed the street.
The Doctor, being city savvy, looked both ways and darted across during a gap between cars. Twilight however, just hopped causally off the curb, gazing up at the buildings with wide eyes and generally being completely oblivious to her surroundings, including the large automobile speeding in her direction.
"Watch out!" the Doctor shouted as a car barreled towards the unwitting unicorn.
Twilight looked up with a yelp, horn sparking underneath her fez as she teleported out of the way and stumbled onto the other side of the street, accidentally bumping into a light pink mare as she did so. She apologised, before turning to the Doctor in shock
"What the heck was that?" Twilight spluttered, flailing her hooves.
"That was a car. They had those where I come from. Are you alright?"
Before Twilight had the chance to answer, the Doctor burst out laughing, looking at something behind her.
"What?" Twilight asked curiously, turning around "What's so funny?"
"I think that pegasus pony who nearly ran you over just flipped us off....with his wing!" the Doctor giggled incredulously "I didn't even know ponies did that!
He paused "....In fact.... I didn't even know pony wings were capable of......oh! Wait a tick! You have wings!" the Doctor's eyes lit up "You should try it!"
Twilight rolled her eyes "Trust me" She grumbled "I'm tempted to"
The Doctor helped her to her hooves "Well, we better continue on our way. No time machine after all, ergo, no time to dally"
They trotted through the city, Twilight gazing with fascination at all the buildings and unfamiliar objects. The sky was overcast, looking like it wanted to rain, and there was a chilly breeze blowing through the streets. Twilight shifted her mechanical wings as they ruffled in the air current. They must have had a transformation spell worked into them somehow, because what had used to be pieces of light plastic adorning the wings felt and looked just like real feathers now they were attached to her sides.
From beside her, the Doctor exclaimed "Ooh! Subway system, perfect! Come along, Sparky!"
"Sub-what!?" was all Twilight had the chance to squawk out before she was grabbed by the hoof and dragged down the stairs into the Ponyville Underground.
The Doctor took half-a second to glance at the subway sign before rushing past it, exclaiming "Brilliant! There's a train leaving in two minutes, we can make it if we're fast!"
Still pulling Twilight along with him, he took out his Sonic Screwdriver and pointed it at the automated fare collection gate, which clicked open to allow them past. They descended another flight of stairs, and Twilight was greeted by a rush of ponies and sleek silver trains, all in constant motion.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" she asked the Doctor
"Please" he scoffed back, pulling her through the open door of a train "I'm from London. Therefore I posses a near-physic relationship with the Tube" he sat down on one of the seats
"Whatever you say" Twilight replied, a touch skeptically, before taking the seat beside him and placing her saddlebags next to her her. She pulled her pseudo wings tighter to her sides for warmth. The train was freezing!
Noticing her discomfort, Doctor opened his saddlebags and dug through them, before giving a little exclamation of triumph and pulling a folded brown coat from it's depths. He put it on the shivering unicorn's shoulders "Poor Sparky" he chuckled "first dunked in a river, then walking in the cold, then stuck on a freezing subway....bet you could use a cup of hot tea"
Twilight smiled, slipping her hooves through the sleeves of the offered jacket and bundling it around her "Tell be about it....or you know what sounds amazing?" she laughed "That soup. Where did you say you got it again?"
"A little Seapony town!" the Doctor said brightly " Seaponies are really fascinating actually....They all live in these underwater city domes that regulate the water pressure, and have special bubble-looking helmets to allow them to stay down there without coming up for air. They're mammals you know! Exactly like regular ponies except with fins. It's really quite a nice society, I'll have to take you to visit Aquestria sometime"
"Aquestria?" Twilight asked, eyebrows raising.
"I know, right? As if the puns couldn't get any more ridiculous...." He paused thoughtfully "I was originally going to bring you soup from a reindeer settlement in Siberia....but they got a mite bent out of shape when I made some suggestions on improving the flavor"
Twilight giggled
"I mean I was just trying to be helpful" the Doctor griped "Maybe if they weren't so uptight about their soup it might taste a bit better....."
He trailed off as he saw that Twilight had stopped laughing and was staring wide eyed over his shoulder
"Are you alright Sparky? What's-" he followed her gaze to see a very large Reindeer sitting a couple of seats over, looking unamused.
The Doctor gave a nervous laugh as the train pulled to a stop and the doors opened with a ding, then he grabbed Twilight's hoof, whispered "Run!", and bolted out the door.
Behind them, the Reindeer just shook her head and muttered in a high, cultured accent "Why do I always have to sit next to the strange ones?"
After making it a safe distance from the subway car, the Doctor took another brief glance at the wall map before walking in the direction of another train that would hopefully take them closer to the library.
Twilight followed behind, coat flapping as she walked. It was long, draping almost halfway down her hind legs, and flying out in a cape-like manner as she trotted along. The length must have been purposeful though, because the rest of the coat fit near-perfectly, the sleeves ending neatly just above her hooves. She peered at it curiously. It was a similar shade to the Doctor's mane, with a double row of buttons, a large collar, and pockets on the inside and outside.
"Where did you get this?" she asked inquisitively as they boarded the next train.
"I've had it for a long time" replied the Doctor "Since before I came to your world. When we went through the rift, everything was adapted to the pony universe, apparently including the TARDIS wardrobe. Thought it might come in handy"
"Well, it's certainty useful now- eep!" Twilight yelped as she put a hoof in one of the pockets "....it's bigger on the inside!"
The Doctor grinned "I modified most of my pockets like that for convenience sake."
Twilight looked thoughtful "You know, I'm surprised you don't wear it. It definitely seems your style, and then you wouldn't have to lug around saddlebags"
The grin faltered then, and the Doctor shook his head, looking distant "Oh no, too many memories in that old coat....Besides" he laughed, the familiar wry smile returning "Blue suits me better, brings out my eyes"
Twilight chuckled, and the Doctor said "Anyway, what did I miss while I was gone?"
Twilight looked thoughtful "Not too much....Luna visited for Nightmare Night, Pinkie threw some parties, and the Secretariat Comet passed through the Horse Head Nebula and over Equestria. That was about it."
"Secretariat Comet?"
Twilight nodded "One of the biggest Celestial events in over three thousand years. Unfortunately, I missed it. At the time I was busy saving my friends from Queen Chrysalis after she tried to drain me of my love" She gave a little exclaimation "Ooh! And I almost forgot! A little after that Rarity was possessed by the same evil beings that used to control Luna and subsequently tried to take over Equestria."
".....How do you almost forget that?!" the Doctor exclaimed incredulously.
Twilight shrugged "When you've been saving Equestria almost every other month for over two years, not to mention travelling around with you......."
"Point taken, but we are totally going back to those times as soon as I get my TARDIS back...." the Doctor gave a little snort of annoyance "I can''t believe I missed all the fun!"
"Yeah, saving the world from your evil possessed friends and or crazy queens is a real party" Twilight said sarcastically
"I know, right!" the Doctor chirped brightly
Twilight just rolled her eyes, shaking her head. The train slowed to a stop at the next station.
As the doors opened, she stood up, only to give a yelp of alarm "My saddlebags! They're not here! I must have left them on the other train!"
The Doctor laughed "Don't worry, I've got them"
Twilight looked confused, tilting her head to one side "Where?"
"In my saddlebags" the Doctor replied casually, lifting opening one to reveal her light blue bags resting comfortably in his saddlebag's much larger inside "Convenient, eh?"
Twilight gave a sigh of relief as the Doctor closed the flap back up and trotted out the door of the subway. She followed close behind through the crowded station until they finally emerged into the open air of the city once more.
The Doctor looked around, squinting "If I remember the map right, we need to head that way"
He set off in that direction, and Twilight followed behind as they walked the streets alongside the bustle of ponies going about their daily business. All nudging past the shoulders of two ponies they had no idea were out of the ordinary.
As they passed one of the greenery-cover buildings, Twilight reached out with a hoof and touched it, a smile coming to her face as she felt supple leaves spring back underneath her hooves.
"Brilliant isn't it!" the Doctor said, a bounce in his step as he trotted slightly ahead of her "Just brilliant! You ponies really do think of everything....I mean, the other day, you and your friends were talking about how a great deal of your transportation is done via hot air balloon. Hot air balloons! It's just fantastic!"
"Doctor..." Twilight hissed quietly "Ponies are staring"
The Doctor turned to her, blinking "So? Stare back. Like this, see?"
To give her an example, the Doctor turned to a passing stallion and looked at him so intently that the poor pony had no choice but to scurry away with his tail between his legs and an expression somewhere between confusion and fear on his face.
The Doctor smiled at her "It's easy really"
"Doctor, you don't just stare down random ponies!" Twilight said incredulously
The Doctor paused, a slow grin spreading on his face "I think someone's embarrassed of me" he sang
Seeing the mischievous glint in his eyes, Twilight quickly said "No. No of course not"
"Really?" the Doctor said, grin growing "Even if I did....this?"
He began to walk in the most ridiculous way possible, flailing his hooves in every direction.
Twilight blinked, eyes widening "Okay" she said slowly "It's official. I no longer know you."
"I beg to differ" the Doctor said, still walking in the most spastic way possible and holding back laughter "HEY EVERYPONY!" he said as loudly as he could "THIS MARE IS MY FRIEND!" He gave his hooves an extra little flail, almost falling onto his face in the process.
Twilight walked faster, head down, ears folded to her head, face beet red.
The Doctor followed after her, continuing to walk like Pinkie Pie after five RedPonies and a shot of espresso. Then, suddenly, he stopped, looking around. Slowly, he said "Do you remember what direction the library was"
Twilight facehoofed "I thought you said you knew where you were going!"
"I said I was good with the Tube. Big difference"
"Well we're asking for directions" Twilight snorted "And do try to act normal so we can actually talk to the pony before they run away."
The Doctor made a pouty face, grumbling "Okay, fine."
Twilight scanned the crowd, looking for someone walking nearby who looked like a suitable person to ask for directions. Walking slowly was preferable, that meant that had some time to spare, and cleanliness was also a plus"
"Ooh! Ooh! Pick that one!" the Doctor said excitedly "She's ginger!"
Twilight turned to see a pale pink unicorn with a peachy-orange mane and small glasses perched on her muzzle. She carried a one shouldered saddlebag and was walking at a casual pace, looking up at the buildings with dark brown eyes.
"What does it even matter?" Twilight asked back.
"Ginger. Now. Go"
With a resigned sigh, Twilight trotted up to the mare, putting on her best smile
"I'm sorry to bother you" she said "But my friend and I are new here, and a little lost...would you happen to know where the library is?"
The mare smiled "Sure thing!" she said kindly "I can show you if you want"
A look of relief crossed Twilight's face "Thank you so much" she said, glad to have found somepony willing to help "My name is.....Sparky"
"Frilly Frills" the mare replied, sticking out a hoof to shake.
From behind Twilight, The Doctor spoke up for the first time "F-Frilly Frills?" he squeaked, trying to hold back a laugh.
Twilight turned to give him an annoyed look before Frilly Frills stopped her.
"It's fine" Frilly said, a wry smile on her face "I'm used to it."
As they walked, the Doctor asked curiously "So why were you named that anyways?"
"Well...I got the last name from my dad, Fin Frills....He's a herpetologist, and my parents aren't exactly the most creative....." Frilly shrugged "Long story short, I got saddled with the full name of Frilly Frill Frills and built up a snarky exterior from years of childhood teasing" She paused, looking at the Doctor "and speaking of names....I never did learn yours."
"Oh!" the Doctor said "I'm the Doctor. Pleasure to meet you"
Frilly stopped mid trot, tilting her head to one side, inquisitively "Doctor Who?"
"Just the Doctor"
"Ookay then" Frilly Frills then stopped again, squinting at Twilight "Wait a second...You're that mare who almost got run over by the auto-carriage! I knew you looked familiar, you bumped into me"
Twilight winced "Yeah, that was me"
Frilly turned to look at them, sizing them up. Then, with a bemused laugh she said "Well you guys are quite the odd couple now aren't you?"
Twilight's eyes widened "Oh, no,no,no....we aren't-"
"Relax" Frilly cut her off, chuckling "I didn't mean a literal couple.... it's a figure of speech"
"Ohh..." Twilight said slowly, now looking thourally embarassed.
Frilly Frills smirked back at her, sniggering.
The Doctor meanwhile, looked confused "Wait what now? I zoned out"
"Nothing." Twilight said quickly, as Frilly gave a snort of laughter from behind her.
The Doctor blinked, slowly turning away "Alrighty then...." he said, before muttering under his breath "....All of time and space and I still don't understand females...."
"You know" Frilly said "I actually used to work at the library a couple of years back"
Twilight's eyes lit up "Really?"
They continued to trot along, the sky beginning to drizzle lightly, spattering their coats with little drops of water.
Frilly Frills smiled "Yeah! Then I had to quit when I got accepted into Pranceton... The only reason I'm back right now is because it's winter break"
"Pranceton?" the Doctor giggled "Seriously?"
"What, you from Pennsylmaneia State or something?" Frilly said, looking at him in confusion
"Pennsylmaneia State? Oh that's hilarious!"
The pink mare furrowed her brows, clearly wondering whether the stallion she was having a conversation with was very dumb, very drunk, very crazy, or some combination of all three.
"Just ignore him" Twilight deadpanned.
They continued to walk an the rain, the Doctor sniggering to himself behind them. Then Frilly Frills stopped, smiling proudly "Here we are!"
A smile slowly spread across Twilight's face. It was the library, her library. It was still a tree, and there was still a little sign outside with a book on it, and the door still had a carving of a candle on it, and there was still the little balcony up top, the one she had always sat on to stargaze.
It was exactly the same.
She ran to the door and pushed it open, half expecting to see her friends inside. Rainbow reading a Daring Do book, Fluttershy looking at one of Twilight's extensive nature books, Rarity dong research for her latest fashion project, Applejack taking a break from farm work to stop by and chat, and Pinkie Pie doing...well, whatever Pinkie usually did. The notion was quickly shattered as she stepped inside.
Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. The library might have looked the same on the outside, but on the inside, it was like a whole different world.
About twenty feet in front of her was a railing. Below the level she was standing on were five more stories of the library, all underground. There was another level of the library above her as well, covered in chairs and lamps and tables for reading, as well as doors to the balconies where ponies could presumably read as well. All around her, and below her, the walls were covered in books, more than twilight could ever hope to read in a lifetime.
"Nice isn't it?" Frilly chirped from behind her "Biggest collection of books in Equestria"
"Biggest?....but what about the Canterlot Archives?"
"Canterlot Archives is all digital now. The physical scrolls and books were all moved here."
Twilight sat down "Bu- Tha- I- Whaaaaaaaaaa?"
The Doctor entered then, looking in confusion from Frilly to the spluttering Twilight.
"I think I broke her." Frilly said slowly
"You don't say?" The Doctor said sarcastically, as Twilight continued to spout half words and flail her hooves.
"Well, I better get going" Frilly said "Wouldn't want to run into my ol' coworker Dewey" she winced.
"Dewey?" the Doctor asked curiously
Frilly Frills gave a wry smirk "Trust me, you'll get it when you meet him" then she gave a little wave goodbye and trotted out the door, wondering what her friends would think of her strange little adventure.
The Doctor trotted up to Twilight, poking her in the shoulder. "Hello? Earth to Sparky?"
Slowly, still looking out past the railing to the other floors Twilight said "Sweet Celestia the library is gigantic..."
The Doctor blinked, before shaking his head and muttering "Brilliant. She's in shock..."
He grabbed Twilight's hoof and pulled her upright, leading her along as she stared at everything in complete stultification.
According to the information map by the door, it appeared the front desk was on the bottom floor, where the main entrance of the library connected it to an underground network of shops, restaurants, and even what appeared to be a large housing complex.
Still guiding the stunned Twilight, the Doctor began trotting down the stairs, finally reaching the bottom floor. He walked up to the front desk, only to find nobody there.
Twilight meanwhile, was looking around her with wide eyes, all around her were ponies trotting around, browsing through the shelves, or sitting in front of things like the one Colgate had. What had she called it? A computer.
"Hello there!"
She glanced to the side to find a dark green face mere centimeters from hers, and yelped, leaping backwards.
The Doctor turned around to look at her curiously, only to see another pony there too,
"Sorry, sorry!" exclaimed the green pony, he was a Pegasus around her age, with a mustard yellow mane that was just a tad too long, and gigantic round glasses that made his violet look unsettlingly large. "My name is Dewey Decimal, library information head! Do you need help finding anything?"
"We're researching time travel spells" Twilight said quickly "Would you know where we could get information on those?"
Twilight noticed in the time in had taken to ask the question, Dewey had once again moved uncomfortably close to her. She shuffled a little to the right in an effort to maintain her personal space.
"Well..." Dewey said slowly, once again moving much to close for Twilight's liking "There are some books on it that might be helpful, but you'll probably have some better luck on the computer"
"Computer?" Twilight asked nervously. Books were good. She knew how to work books. Computers, not so much.
"Don't worry, the library has plenty of them free for the public to use, here let me show you"
They followed after him,Dewey diligently staying as close to Twilight as possible, despite her efforts against it. Her ear flicked in irritation, this pony was starting to creep her out. Plus he didn't smell too nice either.
They got to the computers, and Dewey trotted up to one, pulling out the chair for her and motioning for her to sit "Here you are!"
He then proceeded to grab another chair, sit in it, and scoot it as close to her as possible, never taking his eyes off her face.
Twilight glanced uneasily from him back to the computer screen. She didn't know how to work computers! She knew nothing about computers,and the library was huge, and- dear sweet Celestia his eyes were staring straight into her soul. Twilight had never considered staring to be a form of assault until that moment. She scrunched up her shoulders closer around her as if attempting to curl up into a little ball. There was a little squeak as Dewey scooted his chair even closer. Twilight's eye twitched. Another squeak. She was almost falling off her chair in an attempt to lean away from him.
"Has anyone over told you how hot you are?"
It was only thanks to the timely intervention of the Doctor that the poor, hapless stallion wasn't sent flying across the library by a levitation spell.
"Excuse me" the Doctor said smoothly "But if you could kindly distance yourself from my friend. You see, she has a phobia of male ponies. We've gotten her to the point to where she can be in the same room, but any sort of close proximity terrifies the poor thing. See?" he pointed to Twilight, who was looking as if she greatly wanted to punch the green pegasus, ears folded flat against her head and right eye twitching "Paralyzed with fear."
Dewey raised an eyebrow "Do you think I'm stupid?" he said.
The Doctor was very tempted to give him an answer (Yes), but let him continue anyway.
"I mean really..." Dewey scoffed "She was talking to me earlier just fine"
"Well she probably didn't recognize you were a stallion" the Doctor countered "Easy mistake to make really. Took me a few minutes to realize myself"
Dewey snorted, looking affronted "Bull! She's fine with you and you're a stalli-" he was quickly cut of by a hoof being pressed against his mouth
"Well don't go telling her that!" the Doctor hissed angrily to him "What are you trying to do, ruin years of therapy? As far as she's concerned, my name is Clockwork Blossom. Now shoo!"
".....Wait what?" Dewey said slowly
"Go on! Shoo!"
Looking startled and confused, Dewey trotted away in the direction of his desk, before stopping halfway to chat up and unfortunate unicorn mare.
The Doctor and Twilight exchanged glances. As soon as he was out of earshot they both burst out laughing
"Clockwork Blossom?" Twilight wheezed between laughs "Seriously?"
"Oi! You try lying on the spot! I had already dug myself in, so I had to roll with it" the Doctor defended, chuckling. "Good God the look on his face was hilarious..."
"You didn't have to be quite so mean" Twilight scolded.
The Doctor snorted "Please, that was much more merciful than anything you would have done to him if I hadn't stepped in"
"That is not true!" Twilight protested.
"Oh come on, Sparky. I saw that look in your eyes" the Doctor grinned "If it wasn't for me that stallion probably would have lost half his teeth today"
There was a pause, and then both Twilight and the Doctor burst out laughing once more.
"Here, I'll go see what books I can find." the Doctor said, after their giggles had finally subsided You stay here and see if you have any luck on the computer"
As he trotted off, Twilight turned to look a the screen. She still didn't know how to use a computer....but, how hard could it be? Suddenly, the monitor flickered out, going black. Twilight's eyes widened. She had broken it!
Running over, to where the Doctor was looking through shelves, she grabbed his hoof and dragged him over to the computer, looking panicked
"FIX IT! FIXITFIXITFIXITFIXITFIXIT!"
Slowly, the Doctor reached out a hoof and jiggled the mouse. The screen blinked back to life.
"Ohhhhh...." Twilight said slowly
The Doctor face hoofed "Why don't you let me handle the computer, Sparky"
A little more than an hour later, Twilight gave a little cry of triumph holding up a book into the air with her magic. "I Found something!"
She was in the middle of a self made book fort, surrounded by stacks of time-travel books all piled high around her. The Doctor got up from the computer and trotted over to her, weaving between the book piles.
"Here it is!" Twilight said happily "This spell allows you to travel forwards or backwards through time, and stay at that date for up to seventy two hours"
"Wow!" the Doctor blinked "That sounds perfect!"
"Well....almost perfect" Twilight said as she read further, ears drooping slightly "This takes an incredible amount of magic...Maybe one of the Princesses could do it on the spot, but I would need days of setting up spell stabilizing and power amplifying runes, and even then I wouldn't be able to get very far. Plus we have no idea where Colgate went anyways!"
The Doctor winced, sighing. Then his eyes brightened "Wait a tick!" he said a grin spreading on his face "Maybe not!"
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Colgate doesn't fly the TARDIS well!" the Doctor said jubilantly, as if that was the answer to everything.
"So?" Twilight asked "Plus, you don't exactly fly it well either, considering all the times you've accidentally crashed it into the library"
"Oi!" the Doctor exclaimed "I am an excellent driver, and not just with the TARDIS either. I parallel parked a train once!"
"A train?" Twilight exclaimed incredulously
"Not important right now" the Doctor said briskly "Back to the matter at hand. You see...unlike me....Colgate isn't experienced at flying the TARDIS. So instead of slipping through the time stream, she more....Punches her way right through. Now those "holes" in space-time would heal in a couple of days, but for now....."
"They're like open gateways..." Twilight said slowly "easy to go through"
"And they'll take us straight to Colgate" the Doctor grinned.
"That's great!" Twilight beamed and gave her mechanical wings an excited flap, making the coat she was wearing fly out like a cape before fluttering down back around her.
Something else fluttered down too from where it had been trapped between the wing's feathers, and Twilight bent down to pick it up.
It was a scrap of newspaper, just part of a picture and a name, with numbers scrawled on it in red pen. The picture was of a young unicorn around her age, with a light bulb cutie mark, smiling like he had just won the lottery. The name below the picture was Bright Idea.
She looked at the numbers. They appeared to be in the same hoofwriting she had seen on all the sticky-notes on Colgate's desk, so Colgate had probably written them. They read 2-22-1318, a date.
"Doctor..." She said slowly "Who's Bright Idea?"
The Doctor shrugged "I haven't the slightest." he glanced towards the computer "Although..."
Twilight watched curiously over his shoulder as he typed in the name, pressed search, and clicked the first article. She didn't think she would ever forget the picture that appeared as the page popped up. It was the same stallion, but older. His horn was shattered, run through with cracks as if it had been taken apart and glued back together again, and on his back were something similar to the mechanized wings Twilight wore. They seemed rougher though, a first design perhaps, and were half metal, half feather. Instead of a smile, he wore a crazed snarl on his face.
He was being dragged away in hoof-cuffs.
Slowly, Twilight began to read the article aloud in a hushed whisper.
"Bright Idea was the president of the Resurrect Program, and a pioneer in magic splicing and artificial magic technologies. His main project, Resurrect, was founded after a grant from Celestia received in the year 1318, on February 23. In it's early days, it went on to do ground breaking studies into the science and possible causes behind the dwindling of unicorn magic, achieving excellent results and becoming highly praised for it's innovative and informative work. However, as the years went on, the projects became more and more secretive, and with that, it's founder grew steadily more reclusive. The project and it's laboratory were shut down for good in the year 1346, after a mare that had been part of the project escaped. She was found terrified in the middle of the Everfree, and was taken straight to the Princess. Hours later, Bright Idea was arrested, and the laboratory was shut down forever. Nearly fifty workers, along with nine young foals were rescued from it. All had been altered in some way, and all were held against their will, with the exception of his accomplices, who had actually encouraged and helped with the awful experiments and were arrested alongside bright light"
After that there another picture, one of a cream colored unicorn mare with a light green mane. She was staring straight at the camera, and the small smile on her face looked like it was taking all her will to muster. Where her horn should have been, instead was a mass of metal and wires, all fused to her head. Her eyes looked haunted
"What follows" Twilight read softly "Is a quote from Green Leaf, the mare who first escaped:
I came there when I was eighteen, a young scientist, elated for the opportunity to work with the esteemed program. It was perfect then, rising ever higher and closer to accomplishing it's goal of bringing back unicorn magic. A roller coaster that only went up. Then, the cure, the thing that all the research had said could work, had to work, failed. Bright Idea.....Bright Idea was always so determined, he never gave up, and he didn't. He just kept working."
Twilight's voice wavered as she read the next part
"One day, a couple of months after the project's only, and biggest failure, he came to me. He told me that he found something, found something new, but he could only try it on a pony. He asked me if I would be willing to do it for him....I said yes. He was my friend, I trusted him. I woke up with my horn gone, and this in it's place. I screamed at him, I told him he was insane and that this was terrible and he couldn't do this. He just laughed, and said that he had done me a favor. I wasn't allowed to leave after that, I could only stay, watching as everything turned upside down. It got worse from there. He became obsessed with accomplishing his goal, going to even more extreme measures. He shattered his own horn to see how it worked and put it back together again, he took Pegasai and Earth Ponies and harvested their magic to refine into something unicorns could use, leaving them robbed of their abilities to fly and connect with the earth. He took foals and experimented with them, trying to engineer what he called a perfect unicorn. That laboratory was a place of nightmares, and I'm glad it's gone. For good."
Twilight stared at the screen sadly for a few moments after she finished reading, before turning to the Doctor. He too was looking at the screen, brows furrowed as he thought, then something flickered in the his eyes, the spark of a connection being made.
"February Twenty Second, Eighteen Thirteen...." he said slowly "That's the day before Bright Idea received the grant..."
Both Twilight and the Doctor were silent for a while, considering the implications.
"Do you think she's going to try to stop him from getting the grant?" Twilight asked
"No..." the Doctor said slowly, flipping the scrap of newspaper over so Twilight could see the words "HE WILL PAY" scrawled out in angry lettering on it's back "I think she's going to do much worse than that"