//------------------------------// // Finally, the Fully Factual Finish // Story: The Curiosity Machine // by ThunderChaserCreate //------------------------------// "I don't care what you say anymore, Doctor. This is... this is too personal. I'm opening that watch." I stood firm, snagging the watch and holding it up by the chain. "Twilight, no!" The Doctor stood, too. "You have to do this slow! The shock could... could..." I arched my eyebrows, demanding an answer. "That's it! I don't know!" The watch swung gently in my grip, the soft blue light from the console glinting off its silver surface elegantly. As I watched it, the imperceptible clicking sounds of the chain became magnified. The watch was the world... but not this one. "Another world..." I whispered. "Yes." The Doctor nodded. "Another destiny..." The Doctor was silent. "How do I get it open? Show me." "How else?" Derpy put a hoof on my shoulder. "Your spell." "M-my spell?" I looked at her, the world suddenly coming back into focus. "What... what does that have to do with anything?" "Where did the words come from, Twilight? All those magnificent, perfect words..." "I..." He was right. Starswirl couldn't write that spell in hundreds of years, and I finish it off in less than twenty? "They came from before, Twilight. Long before. Hundreds, thousands of years." Time lord... the watch whispered. Fate... Destiny... The Rebel... "Who... who is 'the rebel?' " I asked. "Why are my friends all mixed up in this?" The Doctor looked panicked. "It's happening already! This-- this is too fast!" Open it, Twilight... the watch murmured. The murmur was made of many voices speaking in perfect unison. Open it! the voices were soothingly familiar. I felt a calm wind begin to swirl up around me, and although it just barely moved my mane, the Doctor and Derpy were swept back. The Doctor seemed to be screamed muffled warnings to me, but none came through the whirlwind about me. "From one to another, another to one..." I began to recite. I closed my eyes. My lids were warmed by a gentle light. "A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled..." The wind continued to pick up, and my hooves left the metal grating I had once stood on. "From all of us together, together we're friends! With marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end!" ~~~~~ Bombs exploding. Bullets flying. Voices screamed, though not all were equine in nature. Something mechanical, something... something... A voice near me gasped. "Dalek! Get down!" A rough shove forced me to the ground. The Pilot stood over me, her prismatic mane being knotted and matted by the goggles pushed up onto her forehead. I breathed heavily, spitting a clod of dirt out of my mouth. "Thanks." "No prob." She offered my hoof, which was ringed by sheep's wool from her aviator's jacket. I grabbed it, being hauled to my hooves. "Need a lift?" she asked, her wings ratcheting as she flapped them showily. "Could do with one. That a problem?" "Not since I updated these babies!" She spread her wings to their full length, the natural feathers accented by heavy brass machinery. "I can carry three times my weight." "Is that a fact? 'Cause it looks like the Architect might need some help, as well." I gestured to the unicorn galloping towards us, trying to carry a load of schematics across the bumpy landscape. She wore a pair of square glasses and a long purple coat to match her mane. It was filled with pockets and straps that held strange and unfamiliar devices used for sketching complex designs. The Pilot scoffed. "She invented 'em. She gets first go." "Hey!" called a third voice from behind us. "What about me, huh?" Of course, there was no getting anywhere without the Mechanic. She was stronger than all of us put together without all the machinery, and she sure loved to flaunt it. Instead of going for the damsel-in-distress type, or even strong home front type, she had been the first to throw herself into this war. She had a greasy, once-red handkerchief tied around her neck, and a set of grimy clothes to match. "Get there yourself, Mechanic. You could prob'ly crush a Dalek between your teeth if you had to," the Pilot commented. "Plus, I'm full up with these two. Get Omega to carry you, she's got the same model." "I don't know where she is!" Her southern accent grew thicker as she yelled louder. "Psst!" hissed a very soft voice. "Over here!" Omega was curled up on the ground, shivering slightly. Her wings were also accentuated by brass hinges, and were covered in dried red clay on top of it. She was using these once-yellow wings to hide herself from the hovering enemies. Omega was our division's medic. She was very good at what she did, but it was hard to bring her along on most missions. I think she was actually afraid of... everything. "Omega! We need you over here!" I called. She continued shivering. "Look, I can't fly the whole division over the Ridge, we need your help!" The Pilot grimaced, preparing to march over and grab her by the scruff of her neck. Omega ever so slightly shook her head. "Well..." the mechanic kicked at the ground. "To be fair, we got one more member unaccounted for. Let Omega be for now." "Oh, don't say it..." The Architect put a hoof to her forehead. "Where's the Hostess?" I said slowly. "I don't know. Probably blowing up a building," the Pilot said, grinding her teeth slightly. "Pilot, it doesn't matter how much she bothers you, she is a member of this team!" I said firmly. "She never stays on point! She's never focused! She just bounds about, tossing grenades into the nearest major population centers!" She stamped her hoof angrily. "That makes it sound so much worse than it is," I told her. The Pilot sighed deeply. "Okay. Fine. You're right, we need her. Where should we start looking?" "Um..." I rubbed my chin. "Where's the nearest bakery?" ~~~~~ I groaned softly, feeling about the floor, trying to find something so I could haul myself to my hooves. "Oh, my gosh! Doctor, do something!" an echoing voice ordered. "Derpy?" I mumbled. My vision was hazy, at best, but I made out a large brown shape standing over me. "Oh! Oh, Twilight, are you alright?" A powder blue shape now hovered somewhere in my peripheral. I groaned again, still groping for something to push off of. "Twilight! Twilight, follow my hoof." The brown shape began to become clear as it moved its hoof back and forth in front of my face. I closed my eyes for a second, then squinted up at the kind, familiar face of the Doctor. "Doctor..." I smiled a bit. He smiled back. "Hey. Are you okay? You feel woozy?" "Uh..." I shook my head, then quickly changed to a nod. "Derpy, could you get my coat off the rack over there?" She nodded, trotting off towards the door. "I, um..." I bit my lip. "I remembered a lot of stuff." The Doctor looked a bit excited. "You did? Did you... did you want to tell me about it?" "Well..." I frowned. "I don't know. I'm a bit confused. There was this pony called 'the Pilot,' only she reminded me a lot of..." "One of your friends, right?" "Here." Derpy tossed a long, brown coat to the Doctor, who rolled it up and put it under my head. Derpy landed beside me, waiting eagerly to hear the full story. I nodded. "Actually, they all looked like my friends. But that... that just can't be right." "It is. You'd already figured it out before. Why is it that you can't believe it?" the Doctor asked seriously. I sighed. "I'm just confused. Well, what I'm most confused about is... you, Doctor. How do you fit into this?" "Well, that's the thing, Twilight. You... you were..." He turned to Derpy. "I'm sorry. Would you mind just... giving us some time to ourselves?" Derpy nodded curtly, flying to the door and quietly slipping out. The Doctor took a deep breath, laying down beside me. "You were once very... special to me." "What... what does that mean?" "It means... we used to spend quite a bit of time together." "Then why don't I recognize you?" I asked. "I used to look a bit... different. Well, very different. When you knew me. But you... you're exactly the same." He chuckled, running a hoof over my mane. "I still don't understand!" I yelled. "Who am I?" My vision finally returning to normal, I stood. "Enough secrets. Enough of this 'we have to do this slowly' crap. I want you to tell me what is going on." The Doctor stood, too. "Fine. Fine! You, Twilight, are the Rebel." "The... Rebel?" "Yes. You were the only one who wanted to stop the war." "What war?" I asked. "The Time War, Twilight! The war between the Time Lords and the Daleks. You saw our fighting, and you wanted to find a non-violent solution. You convinced your little team to help you, and you all disappeared." He scoffed. "Well, now I know where you all disappeared to. You hid out here, on Equestria. But that's besides the point." "I don't get it." "Twilight, I was so... I was so angry at the Daleks. I found a way to kill them all, but... I killed the Time Lords, too." He swallowed hard. His eyes glistened. "Then... how are you still alive?" "It was my punishment. I had to live with killing all of those innocent people." He flopped down in the busted-up car seat taped to the rail. "But... I still don't get it. Who were you... to me?" "I loved you, Twilight!" He yelled suddenly. "Alright? I loved you..." "The why don't I remember you?" I yelled back. "You didn't call me 'Doctor.' You called me by a different name. Time Turner." All of a sudden, a thousand memories rushed back to me, and I was knocked to the floor. It felt like hundreds of years ago that I had last seen that face... I remember his affectionate nickname for me, 'Twilight,' because we used to watch the suns rise together. "Oh... my god." I stood shakily, trying to get my bearings. Today was shaping up to be very confusing. And yet... at the same time, this was the clearest I had been in years. "Twilight! Oh, I'm sorry!" The Doctor lifted me gently off the floor. "Are you alright?" I was quiet for a while, but finally nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. I'm great!" Without thinking, I planted a kiss on the Doctor's cheek. He blushed, his ears flattening against his head. "Um... what did you remember?" "You. Mostly you. But a few other things, too... " I rubbed my chin. "Wh-what? What is it?" The Doctor put a hoof on my shoulder. "Not sure yet... there's something in my library, but... I can't make out what it is." Without a word, the Doctor trotted to the door. "Where are you going? Do you know what it is?" He grinned slyly. "Oh, Twilight. Aren't you curious?" ~~~~~ Derpy was swept up in our mad dash to Golden Oaks, a million questions bouncing among the three of us. "What's happening? Did you remember?" was the first one. "Well... sort of," I replied, panting a bit. "I don't think it works like that. I have to see things or hear words to trigger the memories. For example, you..." I looked at the mare's golden eyes, then at the bubbles on her flank. "I don't remember you at all. I don't think you were from my old life." "She isn't," the Doctor confirmed. "Seems like you've gotten the hang of this." "I think so..." I murmured. "Then who are you? Like, really? Did you remember that?" Derpy pressed. I nodded. I couldn't help but a smile a bit. "Yeah. With some help from the Doctor." I chuckled. "I solved that mystery." "Who, then?" Derpy demanded. "Why is everypony being all mysterious about this? Just tell me!" Her nose scrunched up n frustration. It was kind of cute. "Derpy, do you remember what I told you about the Time War?" The Doctor asked. "Of course. Does Twi have something to do with that?" He laughed. "She practically is the Time War! A vigilante, trying to stop it in its tracks! Everypony knew her name back on Gallopfrey." "Gallopfrey?" I asked. Images of orange skies, two suns, red grass and silver trees flickered quikly in my mind, finally resting on the image of a city encased in a glass dome. It looked a bit like a snow globe. "Our planet." "That's right," the Doctor said, smiling. His eyes glowed with a happiness so genuine, I thought he might just start laughing then and there. The library was within sight, and I leapt off the ground to fly the last stretch of road. Spike wasn't there. But then, I guess he really didn't have anything to do with this. Unless that's where the egg came from... was Celestia in on this, too? I couldn't be sure, and I couldn't stop to think at the moment. My head was pounding, trying to form some kind of picture. It was like trying to remember the tune of a song you heard years ago... there was a shaky structure, but not much more. I closed my eyes tightly. "That's right, " the Doctor urged. "Just wait for the memory to come." I grunted uncomfortably, growing impatient. "I don't... wait. I think... the lab?" `"Lab?" Derpy asked. "Where? I don't see a lab." "In the basement. Come on!" I trotted for my door to the laboratory, cheerily inviting the other two along. Down a set of dark and mildewed stairs was a large, round room full of threatening machines and twisted masses of wire. The walls were covered with shelves of notebooks, most on the verge of falling apart. Most of the things in the room were horribly mismatched, all different sizes and materials. "Wow..." Derpy glanced around. "What is all this stuff?" "Research," I said simply, wandering about the room. My chest felt almost like it was squeezing, collapsing in on itself, in anticipation. As I neared the smallest shelf in the room, one made of cheap and deteriorating wood, my head suddenly cleared. Strangest of all, the shelf was empty. I stopped moving, just staring at the shelf. "What?" The Doctor was immediately by my side. "I don't... remember this," I said. "Huh?" Derpy was beside me, as well. "The shelf. I don't remember it ever being here. But I don't remember a bare spot, either..." The memory clicked back into place. "Perception filter! Not invisible... unnoticed, un-remembered... genius..." I grabbed the shelf with my magic, tearing it away from the wall. It landed on the ground, losing its weak structure and crumbling to rotted planks before me. Behind that was a small room. It was dome-shaped, but shrouded in darkness. Cobwebs criss-crossed the entrance, which I dispelled with a quick swipe of the hoof. I walked slowly forward, the hoofsteps of Derpy and the Doctor close behind. I lit my horn, the purple light bouncing about the stone room, and ultimately illuminating a strange artifact. A grandfather clock, so large that the housing of the pendulum could have acted as a door. The pendulum itself was still, and the hands were both pointing straight up. The clock's wood was a lovely dark blue-purple, reflecting the color of my mane. The Doctor stood proudly beside me, his chest puffed out and a ridiculous grin on his face. "You know what that is, Twilight?" I squinted at it, but the memories came in short bursts that I couldn't understand. "That... is your ticket to everywhere. That... is your TARDIS. Well... it's partly yours. But your friends have a share in it. The six of you... all of time and space..." The Doctor looked to me. "Better get started." "What about you? And Derpy, of course." Derpy smiled, too. "Really?" "With your invitation," The Doctor bowed. "Don't you want to look inside?" I walked up to the clock, resting a gentle hoof on the glass. I pushed hard against it, and it swung open. The inside was dark. "A secret room inside a secret room inside a laboratory inside a library. isn't that just so... you?" the Doctor commented, hanging back. I grabbed his front leg, yanking him forward, then sweeping Derpy along as well. As soon as we had gone inside, the room lit up. Its ceiling was very high, held up by Corinthian columns. Vines of ivy swirled up these columns, creating a leafy roof. The whole place was very elegant, but at the same time very industrial. Things were made of tarnished silver and oxidized copper, and all of machinery was less electronic (like the Doctor's), and more physical. At the very center was the control panel, made of gears and hissing with steam. A glowing purple glass cylinder rose from this, scraping the ceiling and beyond. "Where to, Rebel?" the Doctor asked. I looked across the controls, spotting a certain lever that almost seemed to glow in my mind. I pulled it, the glow fading. Another button glowed, further away, and I hit that. The TARDIS was showing me how to fly. "Not sure!" I shouted. "But I think to pick up my friends!" The TARDIS seemed to respond with an almost pleased groan. I danced about the controls, the Doctor and Derpy eventually joining in. The TARDIS finally landed, and I pushed open the door. Like magic, there stood my five closest friends in the world-- in the universe, probably-- grinning away. I just stood for a moment, gazing out at them. None of us could even speak. There was too much to say. Pinkie Pie ran at me, knocking me to the floor with a bear hug. The rest of them giggled happily, hauling us up and joining the hug. ~~~~~ "Yes, Twilight," Applejack muttered. I could tell that, beyond her fake boredom, she was happy to hear the story again. "we remember." "It's difficult to forget," Rarity added, tinkering with something at her desk. "I don't mind hearing it again. I think it's a lovely story." Fluttershy smiled "I can never figure out why you end it there, Twi," Rainbow complained. "I mean, we all know that there was so much stuff after that: the return to the Time War, the moons of Fuon--" "Shimmering water palaces--" Rarity interrupted. "Freeing the slaves on... that planet..." Pinkie added, quickly losing her train of thought. "Not to mention the breezie comet. So adorable!" Fluttershy squealed. "Yeah. You practically start that story with 'once upon a time,' but I've never heard you finish with 'the end.' Why is that?" Applejack asked. I chuckled. "Well, that's an easy one. Story isn't over yet. Speaking of!" I leapt up from my seat, heading over to the control panel. "Who has an idea for the next chapter?"