Chapter 2: An Unexplainable Dilemma
Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.
The Doctor and Donna entered Sugarcube Corner to find a collection of Ponyville citizens sitting down and enjoying a wide variety of goodies. Donna had grown accustomed to the strange stares by now so she didn't react much to the odd expressions that the ponies gave upon seeing her. "What's this place again?" Donna asked as the Doctor led her to a table towards the back of the bakery.
"Sugarcube Corner. It's a bakery as well as a popular meeting spot for the ponies in town," the Doctor replied.
"Fitting name, I should say."
"Pinkie Pie actually works here and lives in the apartment upstairs."
"That doesn't surprise me. She should be right at home here. Anyway, Doctor, why are we here again?"
"To see if this Colgate will show up."
"So we're just going to wait here and hope that, by chance, she'll show up?"
"This is a popular meeting spot in town. If my hunch is right, Colgate will eventually end up here. Safety in numbers is what they say."
"Speaking of Colgate, you think somepony's following her?"
"That's what I'm assuming, based on what we saw in her hotel room."
"But why wouldn't she go to the police? There are police in Equestria, aren't there?"
"Yes and no. The 'police' here are usually soldiers and guards. There usually isn't a high crime rate so there isn't that much of a need for a police force. Twilight and her friends normally end up being the police force here in Ponyville."
"So, basically, Equestria mostly works with volunteer police."
"You could say that, sure."
"But, if that's the case, why wouldn't she go to any of these volunteer police? Why go searching for you for something as simple, albeit terrible and unnerving, as being stalked?"
"I'm going to take a guess and assume that this isn't any ordinary case of stalking."
"Howdy, Doctor!" said a familiar voice. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity were approaching them.
"Ah! Well this is a nice surprise!" exclaimed the Doctor with a smile.
"Nice to see that you're finally back in town," said Rainbow Dash.
"I'm very happy that you're back," said Fluttershy.
"You simply must tell us where you went this time!" said Rarity with a wave of her hoof.
"But, first, could you explain as to why there's a human with ya?" asked Applejack.
"Oh! Yes! This is my friend Donna Noble," said the Doctor.
"Hold up there! Donna Noble? As in-"
"As in the Donna Noble who lost her memory and had to stay that way at the risk of her mind burning up," said Donna with a smile. "Yeah, that's me."
"But how-"
"Long story. Twilight fixed it. She can tell you about it later. Now let's see if I've got this right." Donna pointed her finger at Applejack. "Applejack!" She then brought the finger over to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash." She turned to Rarity. "Rarity." Finally, she came to Fluttershy. "And...Fluttershy!" The four ponies looked at each other before turning back to Donna. "I've heard plenty about you from the Doctor, Twilight, and Derpy. To be honest, it wasn't that hard to guess who was who."
"That's odd," the Doctor stated suddenly as he scratched his chin.
"What's odd?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Donna and I ran into Pinkie Pie a little while ago. I expected her to go and tell all of you about me returning as quickly as possible."
"We haven't seen Pinkie Pie all morning," said Applejack.
"You haven't?"
"That's actually why we came here," said Rainbow Dash. "Pinkie Pie agreed to meet me earlier to hang out but she never showed up. It's not like Pinkie Pie to miss hanging out with a friend so I came to see if she was here. I ran into Fluttershy, AJ, and Rarity on the way and they decided to come along."
The Doctor looked around the bakery. Strangely enough, there was no sign of the pink party pony. "Well she's not here from the look of things," he said.
"It's not like Pinkie Pie to just go up and vanish like this, especially when there's big news to tell to everypony," said Rarity.
"Maybe she's at the library with Twilight and Derpy," Donna suggested.
"That might be it," said Rainbow Dash. "Pinkie Pie would want to know every detail about what you guys did."
"Well, I'd be happy to tell you but now's not a good time," said the Doctor.
"Oh! It isn't? I'm sorry," said Fluttershy as she took a few steps back.
"What's going on? You've got that something's going down look on your face, Doc," said Rainbow Dash.
"I'm looking for somepony who's looking for me," the Doctor replied.
Applejack's eyes seemed to grow a bit wider. "Is this somepony who's looking for you happen to be a mare named Colgate?" she asked.
"Yeah! How'd you know?"
"I was at the library with Spike when she came by. Was she not at the hotel?"
The Doctor beckoned the four mares to sit down and lean in close. They proceeded to do so. "Donna and I visited her room and found the door kicked in," he whispered.
"Smashed in is more like it," Donna corrected.
"Somepony broke into her room?! The nerve of somepony to break into somepony else's room!" snapped Rarity.
"Was the room torn apart?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"No, and that's the really suspicious part," replied the Doctor. "I believe that whoever broke into Colgate's room wasn't after anything she owned but rather Colgate herself!"
Fluttershy brought her hooves up to her muzzle. "Oh my!" she gasped.
"So somepony's trying to capture her, you say?" Applejack asked.
"That's what I believe," the Doctor replied.
"And if she's coming to the Doctor for help with something like this then it must be very serious," said Donna.
"So where is she? Was she captured?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"The window to her room was open so I think she escaped into town," said the Doctor.
"I could send out a few teams to find her."
"Thanks for the offer, Rainbow Dash, but there really isn't a need to cause a ruckus. If Colgate is being followed by somepony, the last thing she would want is a lot of attention from being found by a group of pegasi."
"So...are you currently searching for her?"
"Yes. We're waiting for her to show up here."
"You really expect a frightened, stalked mare to randomly show up in Sugarcube Corner?" Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Like I told Donna earlier, this is a popular meeting place in Ponyville that I'm sure would provide safety and comfort for Colgate. I predict that she'll show up here at any moment."
"Hey, Doctor. What was the description of Colgate again?" Donna asked.
"Oh! I can answer that one for ya!" replied Applejack. "She was a unicorn with a blue coat, a white and blue striped mane, and an hourglass cutie mark. Why'd ya ask?"
Donna tilted her head and gave an impressed smirk. "Looks like you were right, Doctor. Tell me, Applejack, is that Colgate?" Donna pointed towards the entrance of the bakery. Standing there was a unicorn mare with a blue coat, a white and blue striped mane, and an hourglass cutie mark. She had a look of fear on her face and was shaking something fierce.
"Yep. That's her," Applejack replied.
Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Autumn, 930 C.E.
Twilight and Pinkie Pie followed the young Granny "Annie" Smith into the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse. Twilight was still trying to work out how she and Pinkie Pie had suddenly ended up in the past but she kept being distracted by how different Sweet Apple Acres looked. The orchard was much smaller than what it would grow to be in Applejack's time and both the farmhouse and barn were smaller as well. Twilight had quickly removed her winter clothing during the walk to the farmhouse not only to stop Annie from eyeing her weirdly but because it was quite warm out.
Upon entering the farmhouse, the strong scent of spiced apples met Twilight's nose. "Gah!" she gasped. "That's strong!"
Annie turned around and laughed. "Yeah. Uncle Prairie Tune sure loves his spiced apples," she said with a giggle. The three mares entered the kitchen where an older mare with a red mane, creamy white coat, and sewing machine cutie mark was washing some dishes at the sink. "Momma! I've brought two guests who are eager to have some of your famous apple juice!"
Annie's mother turned around with a kind, warm smile on her face. "Oh hello there! New in town, I assume?" she asked.
"Uh...yes!" Twilight replied quickly as she sat down at the table and hid her winter clothing under the chair. "My name's Twilight Sparkle and this is my friend Pinkie Pie."
"Pleasure to meet y'all. I'm Golden String. I can see that you've already gone and met my daughter Annie." Annie gave a wide, childish grin that reminded Twilight of the older Granny Smith a bit. "Don't you worry. I'll have that juice ready for y'all in no time."
As Golden String walked over to a wooden box that Twilight identified as an old timey refrigerator, Twilight noticed somepony looking in through the kitchen window. It was a stallion with a black mane and a dark blue coat. Pinkie Pie smiled and waved at the stallion, who proceeded to walk away. "Who's that?" Pinkie Pie asked.
Golden String looked out the window at the stallion, who was revealed to have a map cutie mark. "Oh! That's Map Maker! He's one of our workers. Been working for the farm for about...three months or so." Golden String pulled out a chilled container of apple juice and poured it into two large, metal cups. She then placed the cups on the kitchen table before putting the apple juice back into the old timey refrigerator. "Well, drink up then!"
Twilight brought the cup to her lips and let the cold refreshment fall into her mouth. Her tongue seemed to sing with joy as the delicious drink gushed over it. "Oh! Wow! That's good!" Twilight exclaimed.
"No surprise there. Nopony's disappointed by Momma's apple juice," said Annie with a grin.
Golden String smiled and giggled. "Well, I'm glad that you enjoy it," she said.
"How could anypony not enjoy it?!" asked an ecstatic Pinkie Pie with her eyes nearly as wide as dinner plates.
"Exactly mah point," stated Annie.
"Well, you fillies go and make yourselves at home. You've certainly come to Ponyville at a right time. Zap apple season is in full swing!" said Golden String.
"Oh!" gasped Twilight. She remembered how busy zap apple season was for the Apple family. "I hope we're not intruding. I know that harvesting zap apples takes a lot a work."
"Oh, don't you worry one hair in your pretty little mane, darling. The main harvest doesn't start until tomorrow."
Twilight looked out towards the orchard to see the zap apple trees covered in big, black leaves and glowing teal flowers. "The meteor shower's this evening! Y'all can stay and watch it if y'all are interested," said Annie.
"Ooh! We'd love to! Wouldn't we, Twilight?" exclaimed Pinkie with her gigantic, saucer eyes.
"Uh...sure," Twilight replied.
"Yay! It's been a while since I've watched the meteor shower with anypony," said Annie.
"What about the rest of your family?"
"Aw. They're always too tired to stay up and watch the meteors with me."
Twilight's eyes trailed off to the orchard again, where she saw Map Maker tending the fields alongside a stallion that Twilight assumed was Annie's father. "What about Map Maker?"
"He doesn't like to watch the meteors either. Let me tell ya, he's an odd one."
"Why?"
"Well, when he first arrived in Ponyville, I thought he was insane. He kept going on and on about how everything was wrong and that the year was 1002 or something like that. Crazy, right? I mean, 1002 is decades away! Why, I'll be an old pony by then. Maybe even a real granny!"
"No doubt about that!" Pinkie chimed in just before Twilight placed a hoof over her mouth. Annie gave a suspicious look at Twilight and Pinkie.
"Would it be okay with you if we took a look around the orchard?" Twilight asked.
"Nah. It's no problem," Annie replied. "I've got some stuff to do around the house anyway to prepare for the harvest."
"Okay. Thank you."
Twilight and Pinkie quickly finished their apple juice and headed out into the orchard. "Whatcha thinking about, Twilight?" asked Pinkie as they walked.
"What?" Twilight asked in response.
"You've got your I don't understand what's going on so I'm going to angrily think about it over and over until I find an answer look on your face."
"I don't have a face like that."
"Yeah you do. You did it all the time when you first found out about my Pinkie Sense."
"Anyway...I'm just thinking about how we ended up here. We were talking with Colgate, she backed up into us, and then we ended up in the past. My gut is telling me that Colgate has something to do with this but none of it makes any sense. Colgate didn't perform any magic on us. Heck, I don't think there's even a spell that can cause what happened to us. She just bumped into us and then...here we are."
"Maybe she can send ponies into the past by touching them!"
"But how could a pony have a power like that? The only creatures that I can think of having a power like that are-"
"Hello," said a sudden voice. Twilight and Pinkie jumped as they noticed that Map Maker was now standing next to them.
"Gah!" Twilight gasped.
"Oops. Sorry about that." Map Maker smirked a bit as he walked in front of the two mares. "Didn't mean to frighten ya."
"You didn't frighten us."
"He frightened me a bit," said Pinkie.
"Name's Map Maker," said the stallion as he extended a hoof forward. Twilight proceeded to shake it.
"Nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle and this is Pinkie Pie."
"Hi!" chirped Pinkie.
Map Maker politely nodded his head. "So, you work on the farm?" asked Twilight.
"Yeah. Going on three months now," Map Maker replied. "Why don't we just cut to the chase then?"
"Huh?"
"You look like you've got something to ask me. So ask it."
"Uh...okay. Annie told Pinkie and me that when you first arrived in Ponyville you kept going on and on about the year being 1002."
"Yes, it's true. I'm in the same situation as you, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight was taken aback a bit. "Of course I know who you are. You two just came from 1002 as well."
"How did-"
"I was walking through the trees by the edge of the orchard and I saw you two appear. Right out of thin air. No sound. No light. Nothing. I then recognized you from some old pictures that I saw in a Canterlot newspaper."
Twilight and Pinkie turned to each other before looking back at Map Maker. "So you're from 1002 like us?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah," the stallion replied. "I was on my way into Ponyville when I bumped into somepony. I didn't see who it was but I remember it being a hard shove. My guess is that whoever bumped into me was running fast. Anyway, somepony bumped into me and I found myself here: Ponyville, at the beginning of the summer of 930. I can't even begin to tell you how confused I was. Ponies around here thought I was crazy when I said that I was from 1002."
"It's no mystery why. Anypony would think that somepony was crazy if they said they were from the future."
"Yeah. I eventually gave up that story and, by some stroke of luck, found myself a job and a home here on the farm. Golden String was really kind in hiring me."
"Annie doesn't seem to like you that much," said Pinkie Pie sadly.
"She still thinks I'm a nut, and I don't blame her."
"So you were bumped into by somepony before ending up here?" Twilight asked.
"Yep," Map Maker replied.
"And you're sure that you didn't see them?"
"They came up right behind me. I didn't have the chance to turn around and face them." Twilight and Pinkie Pie looked at each other again. "I'd suggest finding a job on the farm. It looks like it's going to be a while before we catch up to where we left off."
"It's not over yet!"
"What do you mean?"
"Let's just say that I know a certain somepony who's good at getting ponies out of problems like this one."
"But, Twilight, the Doctor doesn't know where or when we've ended up," said Pinkie.
"There's got to be a way to send a message to him. But how?" Twilight pondered.
"And we can't leave right now!"
"Huh?"
"We promised Annie that we'd watch the meteor shower with her!"
"Right. This'll give me some time to think up a way to get a message to the Doctor."
"Well we've certainly got plenty of that at the moment," chuckled Map Maker.
"Hey, Map Maker! Back to work! The harvest starts tomorrow!" snapped Annie's father from the other side of the orchard.
"I better get back to work then."
"Why don't you come watch the meteors with us?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Map Maker sighed.
"I'm sure she doesn't think you're that crazy. She probably won't mind...that much!"
"Besides, if she can handle Pinkie Pie then I'm sure she can handle you," Twilight added.
Map Maker scratched his chin. "Okay. I'll see you later this evening then," he said. The stallion then returned to his work while the two mares continued their exploration of the Sweet Apple Acres of the past.