It was like an electrician's worst nightmare.
Sparks were showering from every corner of the control room, raining down like golden fire sprinklers. The sounds of fires, explosions and warning alarms sounded and echoed across the heavily damaged walls. Like a submarine being depth-charged, every explosion rocked the room, knocking any person off their feet. Or in this case, specifically the only person in the room, who was frantically running around the control console that sat in the middle of the room, an island in the chaos.
She was a young woman, or at least she looked young. She had tears in her eyes, tears of pain and desperation, tears from eyes that had seen too much destruction, and wished to see no more. She had to run, run from the destruction, run from the war. The war between her race, one of usually peaceful non-interference, and their enemy; that who were partly machine, and knew nothing but hate, anger and xenophobia. The war was getting more brutal, and more destructive. It was a war being waged across all of time and space, and it was threatening to tear apart the very fabric of the universe. She could not take anymore of it, and decided to run.
Taking a page from an old friend of hers, she had managed to steal a vehicle, a signature piece of her race’s technology: A TARDIS. It was a space vehicle capable of travelling across all four dimensions of time and space, and the young lady was now using it to flee to the furthest fourth-dimensional corner of the universe, hoping to take shelter where the war would do the least amount of damage.
Another explosion rocked her vehicle, once more knocking her off he feet as a panel above her came loose, and a shower of sparks rained down on her. Her TARDIS was taking a lot of damage; they were probably salvos from other TARDISes, rightly assuming a rogue hijacking. She had to be quick, and program the destination before her getaway vehicle was destroyed.
As she got up, she ran back to a panel of the control console, blocking out the warzone of explosions and shorting circuitry all around her, her concentration would be needed for a several critical seconds as her hands frantically went over an array of buttons and dials.
But just as she hit the “Enter” command, another salvo struck her TARDIS, and a fiery explosion burst forth from her panel, the blast of orange flame knocking her back and mortally burning her entire upper half.
This was nothing compared to the effects the salvo had on her TARDIS. By either sheer luck or fate, it was struck right at the perfect moment of dematerialisation. The result was a shock, one big enough to tear a wormhole in the universe to another, and the TARDIS fell through it, destination unknown and unguided.
The young woman’s burns were fatal; every cell in her body was now dying, and in her mind she could already feel her end, as well as her beginning. As she lay on the floor amongst the fire and carnage of her deteriorating lifeboat, the tips of her limbs began to glow, and the glow began to spread up to the rest of her body.
“Oh, let it be done,” she whimpered, her last words as she gave in to the inevitable and her eyelids closed for the last time. Yet, this would only be the death of her as she knew herself, but not her completely.
She was regenerating; her body’s natural trick to cheat death. In the event of potentially fatal injuries and damage, every cell in her body would change rather than die. This however did have the side effect that she would become a different person. She’d have the same memories, but her appearance, and her personality would completely change into something completely unknown.
Her limbs and head exploded in a shower of glowing, arcing yellow light to rival the explosions around her as her flesh and bone began to reshape themselves. Her brain cells were changing too, and the next few seconds would become an unconscious blur to her. She was blind and deaf to her surroundings and her changing body until the glowing stopped.
Her new mind was in a daze. Thoughts began to circulate as her senses came back to her. Words, important words were flashing in and out of her head.
‘Change...Running...Escape...Fire...War…Time…Scarves…Jelly Babies…’
Her swimming mind tried to connect these words to her sensory inputs, which were becoming clearer by the second. Flashes of orange, showers of yellow, blasts of heat, sounds of explosions…
Wait, explosions?
Her body bolted upright. Her mind was clear enough to know that explosions were not a good thing. As her memories returned to her, she felt a sense of urgency and importance, as her agitated mind began to gradually clear.
She was running; that’s right. Running away. She had stolen something, but it was for the right reasons. She was under attack, but she had gotten away, right? She was in one piece, so she must have. There was something else that she had to do. She had to run and she’d done that, but she also had to…
“Hide!” she exclaimed suddenly, and got to her feet. As she stood up her posture felt strange and uncomfortable. She wobbled on her feet, struggling to balance her body. It proved hopeless, and fell facedown onto the metal floor. No matter, if she still can’t walk, she’d have to crawl.
She extended her arms, one in front of the other, pulling herself forward. Wait, did she notice the colour blue amongst all the Red and Orange around her? Never mind, that wasn’t important. What was important was the task at hand.
Even crawling, her limbs…for that matter her entire body felt strange. Wait, no. Focus on the task at…hand? Somehow, that last word now felt strange.
Her crawling took her to a device that could hide her, from any and all detection across time and space. There was a…foot (that word felt strange, too) activated control panel on the floor, and with her elbow she jammed it. From the ceiling, a helmet lowered on a tether, all the way down to the floor. It was a chameleon arch, a device that could alter her biology to create the ultimate, perfect disguise, right down to her personality and memories.
She took the helmet and strapped it to her head to start the machine, only to be overwhelmed with an unfathomable experience of pain…a shocking, excruciating pain that engulfed her entire body, but especially her brain as the helmet was sucking out the very essence of her being. Her biology, her memories, her personality were all being pulled out into the helmet. In their place an alias, a cover for herself to seamlessly blend in to her new surroundings was loaded into her mind.
With the use of the Chameleon Arch, there was absolutely no way she was her true self by any detectable means, even to herself. She wouldn’t know who she was; she’d only know the alias she’d been given by her TARDIS
Outside, the TARDIS was on an automatic course to the nearest gravitational body. From where it emerged in this universe, that happened to be a planet. The TARIS made a beeline towards it, eager to land as its pilot was incapacitated.
It had however taken damage in the earlier fight, and as it entered the planet’s atmosphere it could not keep itself stable. It began to tumble, and the air around it began to glow from an uncontrolled reentry.
To observers on the ground, they would have faintly seen a shooting star, streaking across the night sky. The star seemed to be heading towards the Royal City in the mountains: Canterlot.
The TARDIS was not on a collision course with the city itself, but a field on its outskirts, surrounded by a treeline. The tumbling TARDIS crashed into the ground, kicking up a large wedge of dirt before it bounced along like a Basketball, tumbling as the force of gravity and its own momentum dribbling it down the grassy court towards the leafy backboard.
Its momentum expended, the TARDIS came to a stop, upright, right where the trees began. Inside the vehicle, sensing that the violent roller coaster had finally ended, the young woman, her mind more dazed and confused than ever obeyed the only thought in her mind: head for the door.
Stumbling, she pushed the door open and fell out into the grassy field. The door of her vehicle swung shut behind her, and it began to morph itself into the shape of one of the surrounding trees.
-----Approx. 8 Years Later-----
A blue glow enveloped the box in front of her, opening the flaps on top for her to peer down and examine its contents. Celestia’s sake, what in Equestria could be so heav-…
“Berry!” she exclaimed to her lover across the room. “Why do you have an entire box filled with Smirnoff Blue Label in your closet?”
A purple Earth Pony rose up from the drawers she was clearing to face the music, guilty as charged.
“Ehehehe,” she sheepishly giggled, “that was back from my uncontrolled drinking days, I think.” She tapped her hoof to her chin. “Oh yeah, I remember now. I had made a big sale of my wines to this Canterlot restaurant. The cheque had cleared, and at the same time the liquor store were having a sale on spirits,” she nervously rubbed the back of her head. “So I guess I…bought half their stock of Smirnoff Blue? You know how much I love premium vodka.”
All Minuette could do was roll her eyes and giggle, since her marefriend’s drinking antics were all in the past now, they were funny stories both of them just laughed over.
“Well, on the bright side I guess we’ve now got enough liquor for special occasions for like…the next ten years?” the blue unicorn laughed, then walked over to nuzzle her marefriend, before her nuzzle turned into a slow, sensual lick. “Like, maybe tonight?” she whispered into her purple ear, “since Pinchy’s got that sleepover at Twist’s? We have the house to ourselves.”
Berry only nodded in approval with an excited grin on her face. Oh yeah, tonight was going to be a good night. Berry wrapped her hooves around the blue unicorn, and pulled her in closer, running a hoof up and down her back before their lips made contact.
Berry Punch and Minuette had been dating for the last 3 years, ever since they met each other in Canterlot. A freshly graduated dental student and a winemaker, who’d have thought they’d make such a loving couple? Pretty soon they’d be making regular trips between Canterlot and Ponyville to see each other at their places of residence, and now Minuette had finally decided to move in with Berry Punch and they were now clearing stuff in her home to make space for Minuette’s things.
She still remembers how they met. She was out celebrating her graduation from Dentistry with Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine and even Lyra had come up from Ponyville to celebrate with them and paint Canterlot red. They had been out all day, and were winding up celebrations at a local pub.
-----Approx. 3 years ago-----
“…And that’s how Dental Crown learned the importance of novocaine with Root Canal procedures,” Minuette said in between laughs, her stout sloshing within her aura-held pint glass. “I’m amazed the patient didn’t sue, and I’m certainly not making that mistake.”
Lyra, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts were also having a good chuckle at the stories Minuette told of Canterlot School of Dentistry. She had been talking up a storm all day, regaling everything from eccentric lecturers to stressful exams and nasty photos that would scare any foal into brushing till their gums bled. This was Minuette’s night, and her chipper attitude showed she was riding high on relief, both from the end of acadamic stress and the prospect of finally earning some bits for her troubles. She couldn’t wait to find a practice in need of a Junior Dentist.
The pub they were in was called “Mizar’s Binary,” and it was one of Minuette’s favourite nightly hangouts in Canterlot. It wasn’t dark or decrepid, not with the large windows to the streets of Canterlot outside and the decent tables, chairs and decor, nor was it too noisy and overcrowded aside from hoofball nights. There were a good number of students who frequented the bar as well as Canterlot locals. All in all, it was a very casual atmosphere with good chatter and a great way to end a day.
“I’ll keep a note that if the dentist I’m seeing has the last name Crown, I’m cancelling and making an appointment elsewhere,” Twinkleshine giggled, taking a sip of her Pina Colada.
“Oh come on, Crown’s a good dentist,” Minuette interjected. “Besides, he learns from his mistakes.”
“I’d still like to see you over my teeth,” Lyra added. “Even if it means coming up all the way from Ponyville, besides I’d like to be your first patient."
Minuette couldn’t help but smile and reached over the table, letting Lyra put down her Mojito before giving her a hug, and inviting everypony else in. “You girls are the best, all of you. This has been such a fun day, I don’t know how it could be better.”
“It could be better if you reloaded, Minnie.” Lemonhearts pointed a hoof at Minuette’s glass. “You could do with another pint.”
With that Minuette got up and headed to the bar. While waiting for her pint, she couldn’t help but notice something out of the corner of her eye. Next to her was a purple earth pony, sat on the bar stool looking sullen and forlorn with a half empty wine bottle in front of her. The expression on her face spoke one word: Heartbreak.
Minuette could’ve just ignored it. It was her night out and this probably wasn’t any of her business. Besides, since she didn’t even know this pony, it would’ve been nosy to inquire.
Yet, something within the unicorn told her not to ignore it. She couldn’t stand seeing other ponies being miserable. It somehow didn’t seem right.
“Umm, hi there,” Minuette cautiously prodded. “Y'alright?”
“Mmmmno,” came a depressed response. The pony’s head resting on the bar table, all the life seemingly sucked out of her.
Minuette could’ve left it at that. She was tempted to. Until she heard the Earth Pony mutter to herself, “what am I gonna do about Pinchy?” before rolling the wine bottle in her hooves
That was a hint and Minuette took it. “Pinchy? Who’s Pinchy?”
The sad pony apparently heard her. “My angel, my little angel…what am I gonna do now?” she said forlornly. “She doesn’t have a daddy anymore”
Minuette’s heart broke a little. This was a newly made single mother. She didn’t know this pony, but could immediately sympathise.
“Oh…I’m so sorry to hear that. If you want to talk about it, how did he pass away?”
Berry looked up, eyes narrowed. “Passed away? No, no, that would be too good for him.” Her tone shifted from forlorn to furious. “He left me, me and Pinchy! Heartless @#$%, just made up some crap about ‘it’s not working’ and ‘can’t handle being a dad’ and walked out on the both of us! Saying it was my fault…” The pony’s anger evaporated and she looked back at that bottle. “M..Maybe…maybe he’s right.”
Minuette couldn’t believe what she just heard. Somepony well and truly heartless walked out on his marefriend and daughter. To top it all off, somehow he had managed to convince her that it was somehow her fault.
“That…that’s just horrible!” Minuette stuttered. “What a horrible person! And how in Equestria could that possibly be your fault?”
The Pony’s gaze moved from the blue unicorn to the bottle. “This…this thing, right here.” She sighed as she read the label, “it isn’t one of mine, but it might as well be. Making these is my special talent…but you could say I got hooked on my merchandise. Running a vineyard and raising a daughter was stressful, and he was hardly around, it made things easier for me.” She sat up, lifting the bottle. “Oh well, might as well prove him right…”
Just then. Berry found that her bottle was frozen in place, encased in a blue aura and she couldn’t move her hoof.
“H-hey! What are you-”
“No!”
“W-what?”
Colgate repeated herself, more sternly. “No, you’re not gonna prove him right. Put that bottle down right now”
“B-b-but he sai-“
“A load of horseapples,” she finished. “Listen, I don’t know you properly yet, but from what I can see, he was a horrible jerk to just take off from you rather than, I don’t know, trying to help you. If not for you, than for the sake of his daughter. Leaving you and her is inexcusable.”
The Earth Pony didn’t know what to say. In truth, this was the first pony she had spoken to all day long. Pinchy was being babysat back in Ponyville, and she had come up to see her Coltfriend in Canterlot. They were supposed to be discussing him moving in with her to help take care of their daughter better. Instead, she got dumped earlier today and had been pub-crawling all afternoon, boozing up as soon as the buzz was wearing off to stay drunk. She couldn’t handle the pain of what happened today, and as it had been for the last couple of years, she quickly turned back to alcohol, the only thing right now that made her feel better.
Well, at least it was until this random unicorn started talking to her. As she was about to respond, a cream-coloured unicorn walked up to the blue mare in front of her.
“Hey Minuette, I’ve gotta be up early tomorrow and Lyra needs to catch the last train back to Ponyville. I think it’s probably for the best we call it a night”
Minuette turned to Twinkleshine, remembering what she was out here for again, her bubbling pint had arrived next to her long ago. She felt like an idiot.
“Oh! Oh dear, I…I’m sorry I was out here for so long. It’s just-“
“It’s ok, it’s getting late anyways. So I guess we’ll disperse about now?”
“I guess, it was a fun day anyways.” Minuette got up and headed back to her table to see her friends off.
Once again, the Earth Pony was alone her own world. The bottle was her only friend. Just as she was about to lift it again for another swig, to her surprise the unicorn sat back down next to her.
“Sorry about that, my friends were just leaving,” Minuette smiled before turning back to her. “I’m Minuette by the way.”
Taken aback that this pony had decided to stay, she put her bottle down and pushed it away slightly.
“I’m Berry, Berry Punch,” came the weak reply.
They spent the rest of the night talking, well more Berry pouring out her soul to Minuette, and her in turn cheering Berry up. Aside from Minuette finishing the pint she ordered earlier, there was no more alcohol that night. Berry didn’t know why, but something about Minuette just made her happier. As the ice broke and Berry gradually sobered, the conversations were less painful and more light-hearted, and as closing time came, Berry panicked that she had missed the last train back to Ponyville, and without her Ex Coltfriend’s house, she had nowhere to stay.
That was when Minuette did the unthinkable, offered to let Berry stay at her house. Even Sober, it proved too much for her and Berry became overly emotional and hugged her newfound friend, grateful for such kindness after experiencing such cruelty.
Over the next few months, the two became close. Berry’s need for alcohol seemed to lessen, although Minuette’s interventions certainly helped. Minuette often made train trips down to Ponyville, and Berry did likewise to Canterlot. Minuette even got to know Berry Punch’s daughter Ruby Pinch, who was such a sweet filly that Minuette couldn’t help but become close to her. From friends, Berry and Minuette’s relationship deepened, and on the anniversary of their meeting, a few well-placed confessions had made them lovers. None of them knew when that line was crossed. All they knew was that the anniversary of their meet made them realise something about each other, and they became official from then on.
-----Present Day-----
Their lips parted, eyes and hooves in contact with the other.
“Whatever did I do to deserve you in my life?” Berry asked, small tears in her eyes, “especially after the state you first found me in?”
Minuette could only smile before giving her response. “Giving me a chance to talk to you, and opening up, that’s what.” She gave Berry one last peck on the nose before letting her go. “Can you dig through my box of old uni stuff and see if you can find some picture frames in there? Would look good for the shelf.”
Berry walked over to the box on the other side of the room and rummaged through the bits and bobs from Minuette’s old days at Dental School. She had quit the practice she was working at in Canterlot as part of her move, buying a building in Ponyville to set up her own practice here, closer to her Berry and Pinchy. As Berry dug, going past odd trinkets in search of picture frames, one object caught her eye and she held it up in her hoof. It was clearly a fobwatch, but what caught Berry’s eye were the strange markings on it, and intricate pattern of curves and circles
“Hey Minnie, what’s this?”
Minuette turned and saw what Berry was holding up. Minuette knew what it was immediately.
“Oh, that? That’s an old fob watch. It’s broken though,” Minuette dismissed.
Berry chuckled as a thought occurred to her. “It’s kind of ironic that you of all ponies would keep a broken watch, given how your cutie mark is an hourglass. Or it ‘more appropriate,' I’m not really sure. You know what I mean, though; your special talent being dentistry and yet your cutie mark is more suited to clocks and things.” She was however still curious. “Any reason why it has all these cool markings?”
At this, Minuette dropped what she was doing and walked over to her lover, taking the watch in hoof and inspecting it.
“I…I’m not sure, really. Thing is, I’ve always had this watch. I really can’t tell what these markings are.”
Very subtly, as she ran a hoof over both sides of the watch and tried to make sense of the curves and circles on it, some strange impulse began to creep into her mind.
“I’ve…always known it to be broken, yet some part of me always told me to keep it, to not throw it away or get it fixed.”
The impulse grew steadily. After having ignored this watch for so long, she was suddenly transfixed by it, something within her was keeping her focused on it
“I…I’m not really sure…”
The impulse changed course from attention to that of a command. It felt like something within the watch was beginning to speak to her.
“…what this watch was…for…”
The impulse only grew stronger, now it had a clear command: Open the watch
Minuette had stopped talking; she suddenly had tunnel vision for the watch and the watch alone. This drumming impulse in her head only grew stronger and stronger, telling her to press down the knob, and open it. Something in her longed to open it, like there was a part of her trapped within its confines that she wanted back.
Without really thinking about it, she pressed down the knob.
A blast of golden light shot from the watch and bathed her in it. All of a sudden, it was like she had an epiphany, a revelation and an awakening all at the same time. Memories, names, places, knowledge beyond all comprehension and reasoning flew into her mind like pieces of iron to a magnet. Sights, sounds, sensations all came flooding back. Lives, more than one, all entered her conscious, and her conscious felt like it was expanding, like she was becoming some higher state of being. Her body itself felt like it was changing internally. She felt like her heart was beginning to beat in stereo, she felt new senses, an innate understanding of time itself came to her.
Within seconds, the flash of light ended. The watch fell out of Minuette’s hooves, and she began to shake and tremble. Her knees felt weak, and she began shivering from her ordeal.
Immediately she felt limbs around her and the warmth of another body holding her, a pleading and panicked voice was coming from it. He was gradually regaining her senses and as she did, the voice became clearer and more decipherable.
“…-innie, Minnie, please speak to me. Minnie, say something, anything. Talk to me, plea-“
“I…I’m fine,” Minuette answered dryly.
She felt a patch of her fur becoming damp as she slowly came to her senses and out of her trance.
“Oh…oh Celestia Minnie I was so scared. W…what happened? There was this light and you stared at it and you were frozen and…and…Minnie you looked like the life was being sucked out of you.”
The patch grew damper as she heard more sobbing and the embrace tighten. At this point is when memories of the last 8 years began to surface over all her newfound knowledge.
She was a Dentist, having practised for the last 3 years. This was her marefriend, the single mother alcoholic who she met in a bar after a breakup with her coltfriend. She was also in her house, helping herself move in.
Oh dear, this can’t be good. How was she going to explain this?
-------Meanwhile, elsewhere in Ponyville-----
“Derpy, why do we have to buy so much flour? And why am I the one carrying it?” moaned a brown Earth Pony to his grey, wall-eyed companion, who had a wing draped over his back.
She giggled in response “Oh, quit complaining Doctor. You, Dinky and Sparkler all love my muffins, and you know you can’t make muffins without flour.” Stepping a few inches closer, she nuzzled him lovingly. “And also, you’re carrying most of them because you’re an Earth Pony, and you’re naturally stronger than me”
“I wasn’t born one though,” he quipped. “I just got this body during my last regeneration. I didn’t get a horn…or ginger fur,” he sadly added.
Derpy could only giggle, giving him a peck on the cheek. “I think you’re perfect just the way you are, Doctor. I’m sure Dinky and Sparkler think the same.”
The Doctor’s face blushed, as he always did when Derpy was affectionate in public with him, even as he giggled from it. However, as Derpy nuzzled him, he suddenly froze. A long-dormant sense awakened within him. A sense he never thought he’d feel again.
This wasn’t lost on his companion, who noticed he had suddenly frozen up.
“Doctor? What is it?”
The Doctor’s mouth was suddenly very dry, if this was true then…
“Derpy…I…I think something’s happened.”
Derpy knew what that meant, and inquired nervously. “Umm, is this the usual kind of something…or bigger?”
“Bigger…much bigger”
Even weighed down by flour, he broke into a gallop. The sense was drawing him to a part of town, a sense that he had long hoped to feel again.
It was the sense that he was not alone.
As he ran, Derpy took off, following him from a few feet above. She hadn’t seen the Doctor running TO something this fast before, it was usually running away at this speed. Turning down street corners, sprinting down main roads, and diving through alleys, it was like he was on some kind of homing beacon. He was razor focused on whatever it is that he was drawn to.
Eventually after darting halfway across Ponyville, he slowed down to a door. It was Berry Punch’s door to be precise, and almost immediately began to frantically knock.
-----Back inside the House-----
Minuette finally had collected herself enough to say something more substantial, and spoke to her marefriend that was quietly holding onto her.
“Umm…Berry, what happened in that light…I, I have something to say.”
Before Berry could respond, they heard the door beginning to knock frantically. With that, another sense came to her, a sense that there was somepony very similar to herself very close by.
Minuette shifted to a very serious tone Berry wasn’t normally used to hearing. “Berry…I need to open that door. Like, right now. Please, let go”
Berry obeyed, that tone wasn’t used lightly and she knew it was something really serious for Minnie to use it. As soon as she relaxed her grip, Minuette cautiously walked out into the hall and down the stairs to the door, slowly opening it in both anticipation and dread of whatever was on the other side.
In front of her was an Earth Pony she recognised as Time Turner, the local Clock and Watch Maker. However, this time she recognised something else about him: an old friend, from centuries past.
“D…Doctor?” she asked
Time Turner smiled, tears in his eyes. “Hello Romana,” and embraced her.