Chapter 1: Optimistic
The whirring of the sewing machine echoed through the Carousel Boutique. The unicorn was heavily focused on her work, sewing together more and more dresses and designs. With a strip of light blue fabric tied just above her eyes, her determination was apparent. Her teeth were gritted and her eyes were fixed as she moved the fabric into the machine. Pulling the finished product out from the machine, the purple maned pony reveled the piece of clothing to herself.
“Well, it’s certainly not the greatest thing I’ve ever put together, but I am quite pleased with the result,” she spoke aloud, using her magic to levitate the dress, “I’m certain that it will look simply smashing on stage. Now, I still have quite a few to do.”
With her sewing machine off, a faint clashing and gnawing noise caused her ear to twitch. Looking at the sewing machine, what she thought was the source of the noise, she saw that it was turned off and completely motionless.
The unicorn sighed as she resumed her work, “You’ve been overworking yourself so much, that you’re losing it, Rarity.” Setting the dress on one of the ponyquins around her sewing room, Rarity heard a knocking at the front door. “Now, who can that be? I remember asking the girls to give me the day to work.”
Trotting down the staircase, Rarity heard the noise again. This time, it sounded more rabid and much louder than before. She paused mid-trot to listen for it. However, when she stopped to listen, it disappeared again.
“It’s just your imagination, dear,” the unicorn told herself, placing a hoof over her beating heart. Taking a few deep breaths, she returned to her calm and collected demeanor.
Resuming her trot down the staircase, Rarity arrived at the door. She peeked through the hole of the door. On the other end, she spied a brown stallion with a spiky dark brown mane. On his body, there was a tie around his neck and a long brown coat that covered his entire back and tail. Surprised and confused to have any company, the white mare opened the door to the unknown stallion. “Hello?” she greeted the pony.
The stallion’s face beamed a smile to Rarity, “Ah, yes, hello, my name is Time Turner,” the pony spoke, taking out a piece of folded leather from his coat. He opened the leather to reveal a small card, “I was sent here from Manehattan from a very important individual to take a look at your clothing line.”
Upon hearing what the stallion said, Rarity happily squealed with joy, “Oh, my this is just remarkable! I can’t believe this is happening!”
The brown pony folded up the piece of leather, “Indeed it is, may I come in?”
“Oh, of course! But first, I must see who in Manehattan is wishing take a look at my work! It would be on your card, would it not, Mr. Time Turner?” Rarity asked as she reached for the folded piece of leather that the brown pony was about to put away.
Rarity’s motion toward him caught the stallion off guard, causing the unicorn to take the leather holder from him. “No, wait! Don’t open that!”
As the mare opened the folded piece of leather, the card she had just saw was gone. Instead, she only saw a blank piece of paper. The paper didn’t stay blank for long, for as Rarity held it in her hooves, a message appeared on the paper, reading: ‘this stallion before me is certainly strange.” Upon seeing what she was thinking appearing on the paper, Rarity dropped the leather holder immediately on the floor, letting out a shocked sound.
Pointing to it with one of her hooves, Rarity asked, “Wh-What in Equestria is that?”
Picking it up with his hoof, the brown stallion spoke, “It’s a little nifty device called psychic paper. When used by one who is untrained, it can display what one is thinking.” Opening it up again, the brown pony showed the card within to Rarity, this time of it showing an identification of Time Turner, the card read ‘Dr. James Alistair Bowman’ next to a photograph of a creature Rarity had never seen before, “But when used by one who knows what they are doing, it’s quite a helpful tool. Saves quite a bit of trouble.” The stallion closed up the leather container and put it back in his brown coat, “And I read what it said on there, I’m not that strange!”
The unicorn was still in a state of shock, “Just….who are you? Are you not with a fashion designer or somepony of that nature?”
“Sorry to lie to you about that, but I am not. For that matter, I’ve never been one for fashion myself. Just a nice tie around my neck, a coat of some sort, and maybe a hat or scarf and I’m set for traveling the stars,” the stallion mused as he trotted through the front door and into the Carousel Boutique.
“Travel the stars? Just who are you?” Rarity repeated with a louder and impatient tone, demanding an answer.
“Simply put,” the stallion began to reply, looking round the main room of the shop as if he was searching for something, “I’m the Doctor, and I’m going to need your help.”
Closing the front door, Rarity trotted up to the pony who just invited himself in, “Help, what is it that you need help with? And who said you can enter my shop?” The mare’s voice was filled with annoyance at the brown stallion.
Without glancing her way, the Doctor responded, “Well, you did invite me in, did you not?”
“But those were under false pretenses!” Rarity quickly retorted.
A small smirk appeared on the stallion’s face, “And yet, here I am.” He continued his scanning of the interior of the building.
Sighing, Rarity gave up arguing that topic, “Fine, whatever. But what about this me helping you business?”
The Doctor ignored her statement. He started moving toward one of the corners of the main room.
“Hey! Answer me when I’m talking to you!” Rarity demanded.
The stallion started examining every little thing about the room before him. He picked up a vase to examine it before placing it back, looked underneath the sofa and the cushions, even lifting up Rarity’s cat, Opal, from her cat cushion as if he was searching for something.
The unicorn was not happy with the Doctor’s behavior, “Okay, Mr. Time Turner, or Doctor whoever-you-are! Just what are you doing?”
Finally turning around to look at Rarity, the Doctor answered, “Clues.” He then turned back around, this time to a wall. He sniffed at the wall for a few moments before exclaiming, “Ah ha!”
Rarity simply raised an eyebrow at his bizarre antics. She almost wanted to ask but felt it would be rude to do so.
The Doctor grabbed a fire iron from the nearby fireplace. With in his hooves, he began to hit the wall with it, opening it up. Rarity shouted in protest against the brown pony’s actions.
“What in the name of Celestia and Luna are you doing, you madpony? You barge into my home and shop and you start to attack my wall, what is wrong with you?” Rarity shouted as she used her magic to levitate the fire iron out of the stallion’s grasp.
The removal of he fire iron didn’t stop the Doctor, “Believe me, I’m the least of your worries, compared to this.” The Doctor used his hooves to remove a part of the wall.
As he tore a bit of it down, he revealed a metallic creature the size of the front part of a pony’s limb. It was at that moment Rarity heard a familiar sharp clashing and gnawing noise. This time, she saw where it was coming from.