In one of the oldest Clans of Equestria, there was a mission passed down through the generations: to write the true history. They tried to keep proper records during the ages but every so often the records would be wiped 'clean' and many things became legends and pony tales.
To achieve this goal, plans were made to travel through time from an age of acceptance so that the true history would be safe from cleansing. Certain requirements would be needed to be met before the time machine would function safely; three special stones were needed as well as fulfillment of a prophecy.
The stones had ancient writing on them and held magic that, when enhanced, will give the pony using them power over time itself.
The prophecy was to ensure that it was the right time and age; by studying odd occurrences and a constant recurrence of two ponies through time, it was found that a stallion of the Tempus Clan would lead the way along with a pony of muffins and bubbles who would help.
The time stones had been hidden by the ancients and it was only in the year 975 A.D. that one of the stones, Lapis Futurum, was found in the small town of Ponyville beneath the Golden Oaks Library. The stallion, Before Time, had found it when he helped build the underground laboratory; once found, he began making the plans for the time machine based off concepts and theoretical designs of past members of the Tempus Clan.
Each generation after him helped for a short while until the task was left to the newest generation, Time Turner. The earth pony had the features common to the Clan, with a brown coat with darker spiky brown mane and tail with an hourglass for a cutie mark.
After discovering the ability to use science to do anything magic could, Time Turner moved to the curious town of Ponyville and set up a tinker shop. It was as he added a basement to this shop that he found the second stone, Lapis Praeterita.
After this discovery, he began to build the time machine as a side project to be hopefully completed by the time he discovered the last stone. Time Turner made sure he was known around town for his gadgets and ability to make spaces larger than they appeared from the outside, as a means of work and to hopefully come across the location of the last time stone. He lived in the odd town for a few years working as the 'Doctor who fixes Clocks' or 'Doctor' for short; a nickname given by a certain pink earth pony who was friends with just about everypony in town. While most didn't need the ability to add more space than what it appeared, Pinkie Pie did remember and often came to Time Turner for help with odd things.
It was in this aspect that the time stallion found the last piece; the local party pony wanted a secret party laboratory and needed his help to make it bigger on the inside. While he may not have found the pony who loved muffins and bubbles, Turner was determined to have the machine ready for when he did. After helping Pinkie with her new laboratory, the brown earth pony spent most of his time in the basement of his tinker shop, working with all haste to get the machine ready.
It was during the time that Time Turner was working on the Time and Relative Dimension in Space machine (or as he was starting to call it, the TARDIS), he didn't see the weather nor it's sudden change from clear skies to cotton candy chocolate rain clouds. The brown stallion also didn't notice when the ground changed colors to pink and white checkered or when the sun and moon switched places rapidly and without rhythm; he did notice when a creature with many different parts appeared above him however, since it meant potential harm to his work.
“Now what do we have here? A pony who hasn't seen any of my greatest work that I've done in eons.” Time Turner looked up at the voice with a retort on his tongue that died as he took in the being's appearance. His blue eyes traveled over the course of the creature floating above his work table; the being held his claw and paw under his head while 'laying' down in mid air with his back legs crossed behind him.
“....”
“Speechless? That's a first; I usually inspire screams and shouts of fear.” The being of Chaos raised a single brow at the unusual earth pony before him while waiting to see what he would do, though he was slowly growing impatient at the silence. The stallion blinked a few times before responding with the first thing he thought to ask.
“Who are you?” Discord blinked back in surprise before touching down to frown at the brown stallion.
“It seems you don't get out much at all. I, my little pony, am Discord; Lord of Chaos and Spirit of Disharmony.” Time Turner's mind almost crashed at the answer while the rest of it screamed at him to get away, the little records of Discord detailing how very menacing he could be making the pony worried for himself and the town he now called home.
“Oh.” Discord raised a single brow at the short response and watched as Turner tried to slowly back away before flashing behind him, causing Time Turner to quickly turn around to keep the Spirit of Disharmony in view.
“Ah ah ah, you have wounded my pride sir with your reclusiveness. You seem to really like this, whachamacallit, so you should keep working on it...” Discord's yellow eyes started to spin as he looked into light-blue eyes that also started to spin in response.
“What? No, stop!” The brown earth pony tried to look away but couldn't take even a step without the Chaos Spirit following his move while continuing to stare deeply into his eyes. Discord grinned as Time Turner slowly relented and his fur took on a pale-gray pall as he turned to his almost finished machine and started to randomly 'fix' it.
He built the main core in a discorded style, undoing hours of work as he started to use tools and pieces in all the wrong ways to make it. The draconequus watched for a moment longer before giving a mad cackle and vanishing with a flash of light.
In the cloud and floating land riddled sky above Ponyville flew a blue-gray pegasus with yellow mane and tail. Her eyes were slightly ascue as she flew in aggravation, the changing landscape throwing off her flight and causing great fear.
She was searching the ground desperately for any sign of the local foals considering how everything started to become odd in the middle of the day when they would all be at school; Derpy had checked the schoolhouse but it was completely empty, prompting the pegasus to take to the skies in search.
The mailmare flew over every part of town, only to find it almost completely empty; it was as though they were hiding from whatever was causing this. While Derpy did worry for her friends and neighbors, she had a soft spot for foals; she never liked to see a little foal in trouble or sad and took any measure to make sure everything was okay.
As she traveled over the middle of town a being of Chaos materialized before the mare, causing her to pull up sharply lest she crash into him.
“Well, well, well, what have we got here? Somepony enjoying the view of Chaos.” Derpy frowned at the condescending tone and tried to glare through her unfocused eyes.
“Who are you and what have you done to this town?” Two brows rose in indignation as Discord held a claw to his chest to show how hurt he was.
“Me? Why, I've only made it a much more interesting place and much more fun to be in than before.” Derpy started to fly backwards as her face scrunched up in worry, nervous to be near the one who could cause so much trouble. Discord flew in closer and hovered upside down above the pegasus as he continued to stare at golden-yellow eyes that were pointing in opposite directions due to fear and nervousness.
“It would almost seem like I've already spoke with you... Have we met before?” Discord folded his claw and paw together as he peered at the pegasus who jerked back slightly, frowning at what he could have meant, especially as he stared at her eyes.
“No, we haven't.”
“Well then, I simply must fix this!” Derpy's eyes widened as Discord clapped his claw and paw together sharply before twisting in the air so his face was properly aligned with the mare's while his body was upside down.
“You seem to have trouble focusing... I'm sure ponies' have never seem to accept this about you, but let me help you accept this about you.” Derpy tried to back away only to find the yellow spinning eyes before her freezing her in place as her own spun.
“If you think you're having trouble seeing now, just wait until I show you the real you! You've always known that this was the case, you simply have tried to delude yourself into thinking otherwise.” Discord stood upright in the air once the golden-yellow eyes were spinning properly and walked away through the air with a half-wave of his paw.
“Have fun being your new self my dear! I'm sure we'll see each other soon.” Discord chuckled as Derpy's flying wavered even more as she shook her head to get her eyes to focus.
The blue-gray pegasus soon found herself shaking her head for an entire minute without any change to her ability to focus. She tried to calm down, take deep breaths and even rubbed at her eyes all with little effect on her impaired vision.
“Don't, panic....” Derpy frowned at the sound of her voice as she tried to collect herself, finding that she was slurring slightly. As the mare realed back in surprise, her right wing flapped too hard and she soon found herself in a tumbling dive to the ground as she struggled to fly properly.
The pegasus tried in vain to swerve or do anything to change her crash course direction but could barely brace herself as she smacked into and through a large store front window, sending little clocks and small gadgets that moved and tinkled into the air and onto herself.
“Owwwww....” Derpy stood with a hoof to her head as she struggled to even remain upright, her balance a wreck as her eyes still wouldn't focus. She tried to fly above the mess she made only to tip forward and further into the shop, knocking over more clocks and objects as she swerved back and forth trying to leave.
The brown stallion down in the basement didn't pause a moment in his work at the sounds from the floor above. He continued to rearrange all of the pieces on the machine that had taken months of careful placement while barely flicking an ear to the sound of counters being knocked over above him.
The pegasus on the first floor couldn't get any kind of break; she may be actually breaking a lot of things but she couldn't get any luck in staying upright for any period of time, bumping into counters, tables and displays. After shooting into the sky only to find the light fixture, Derpy dropped to the ground and crawled over to a table that was still standing where she hid with hooves firmly over her eyes. She shivered in fear and cowered under the cover, unwilling to move lest she started the whole cycle over again.
For a whole day, ponies of the world lived out their day in fear of the world around them. Some were oblivious to it while their inner minds screamed in terror. Others screamed aloud, living through worse nightmares of either their past or even what may happen in the future. And the most unfortunate of all were those who had to live their day knowing that it was wrong and that others were not behaving properly.
It was relief to see a blinding flash of rainbow light, especially the normalcy that followed suit. Ponies around the world cried out in joy as the sun returned to it's rightful position and the skies cleared once more. Ponies who were under his magical influence were suddenly free as they experienced a mind-numbing pain as their real selves fought the implanted personalities; the ones who were caught in the living nightmares were released just as quickly and spent their first free moments trying to be sure if what they saw was real or not. Once the ponies realized they were indeed free of the Chaos, most rejoiced as they sought out loved ones to be sure they were indeed free of the terror.
Time Turner stood from his position in the middle of the room to find his carefully constructed TARDIS in the shape of a circle instead of the rectangle it was suppose to be, it's color changed from dark gray with gold highlights to a light blue with black highlights. Instead of a sleek trim shape, it had controls and features that made little sense hanging off the sides; knobs, lights, switches, levers, wires and tubes as well as a monitor and pin pad, all without seeming use. Turner barely noticed that there was a place for all three time stones to be plugged into it as he fell to the floor in despair.
“Noooo, no no no no no.... What happened? What did he do.....? What did I do? So many months, so long... Plans my father made, grandfather made, generation after generation of Tempus Clan members, all working on theories, plans, magical studies even though not a single one of us has an ounce of magical ability.... All gone, in the course of...” The earth pony glanced around momentarily for the clock that once was on the wall only to find that he had placed it into the machine.
“A day; not even a day, somewhere between twelve and fourteen hours.... All ruined... By me...” The stallion hung his head in shame before noticing the odd sound coming from upstairs; silence reigned when there should have been some sound of ticking, and gears shifting from all the mechanics in the shop above.
Time Turner sat up as he listened further, finding that all was not actually silent in the store above. A muffled sound came from above, drifting lightly down the stairs. The brown stallion quietly made his way up the steps, ears tipped forward to identify where the sound was coming from; what he found as he stepped from the doorway into the shop gave him pause.
His shop, the source of his income and means of hobby, was in shambles; tables, counters and displays were all knocked over.; all except one, which was where the sound was coming from. As Turner stepped closer, he was able to identify the sound as muffled crying; as the stallion crept closer the crying stopped and a new sound came, one of a frantic shuffling backwards of whoever was under the bare table.
“Hello...? Who's under there?” Time Turner slowly crouched down to peer under the wooden table, to find a pegasus with blue-gray hooves covering her eyes as she sat further underneath.
“Hello? Miss? Are you alright?” Derpy shivered in place, afraid that it was somepony come to tease her about her eyes and lack of coordination.
The stallion frowned slightly and was about to make a sharp comment when he remembered what happened to him not even moments ago. He suddenly got the feeling that he was not alone in his pain or terror of a certain Lord of Chaos, and that the pegasus before him may be suffering similar consequences. The brown earth pony gently sat and crawled underneath as well, timidly putting a hoof out onto the mare's shoulders.
“Ma'am, everything is going to be alright. I think it's all over now; there's nothing to be afraid of.” Derpy slowly calmed down and removed her hooves peeking out timidly, worried that she still couldn't see properly.
Upon finding that her eyes were still unfocused, the blue-gray mare quickly shut them once more, earning a sigh from the stallion before her. Time Turner held back his annoyance and tried to reassure her once more while patting her shoulder.
“Miss, it's fine, I promise. Please come out, it's a little too small for the both of us.” Turner smiled slightly at his pathetic attempt at a joke, while Derpy tried to slow her breathing.
“Yes, that's good. Deep breaths, relax; that's it.... Any better now?” Derpy nodded slightly as her heart rate returned to normal as her shivers slowly dissipated. She tried to open her eyes once more to find that the more she calmed down the better she saw, her eyes returning from the walleyed position they had before.
The mechanic was entranced by the golden-yellow eyes as Derpy continued to take a few deep breaths before acknowledging the stallion near her.
“.... Hi...” More stress left the mare as she heard her voice coming out like normal once more while Time Turner breathed a response.
“Hi...” Derpy started to sit up from her crouched position as she felt her balance return as well, the stallion watching all the while.
“Uhm..... Sorry, about... The mess...” Time Turner frowned pensively before he remembered the rest of his shop.
“Oh, uh, it's fine. Are you fine?” The pegasus nodded slowly in response as she sat up slowly, coming to a stop before she would hit the underside of the table they were hiding beneath.
“Yes, thank you.... Is it really over?” The earth pony looked towards the exit as he tried to picture the outside world; he couldn't hear anything from outside and was unsure if it was truly over.
“I believe so. I'll go check....” Time Turner backed out from their cover and made his careful way across the littered floor; Derpy didn't want to be alone after what happened and followed the stallion as he walked across the store. She didn't want to even try to fly, pleased just being able to walk in a balanced manner once more.
The two ponies didn't speak as they looked at the mess in the shop before facing forward once more, blue-gray ears flipped back in embarrassment at the trouble caused. They came to the front to find a broken window and clear skies; Derpy sagged in relief, having known what the land of Chaos looked like and knowing that it was all over.
“He's gone, it is all over.” Time Turner looked to the mare at his side, not having seen what all the Chaos looked like and unsure if things were back in proper order or not.
“I see.... I'm glad.” The two ponies shared small smiles before the stallion's eye shifted slightly to a set of seven bubbles cutie mark on the mare's flank. Blue eyes shot forward once more as the stallion realized how it must seem from a distance and didn't want to come across as rudely staring in inappropriate places.
Derpy hadn't noticed the momentary distraction as she was watching other ponies come from their hiding place in joy and gave a small start as Time Turner asked her a question; for which she looked over to the now extremely curious stallion while focusing to make sure she heard it right.
“Do you like muffins?” The blue-gray pegasus looked back at the earth pony with a raised brow, wondering what the topic had to do with anything that happened not even hours ago.
“Yes, does it matter?” Time Turner's eyes widened in glee and he barely stopped himself from hugging the mare in joy.
“Yes, it does. It does indeed.”