Time is Forever

by MysteryMelt

A Twist in Time

A Twist in Time

"Time is truly fickle."
~ Star Swirl the Bearded

---

Not a sound stirred upon the quiet moors of Ponyville. Moonlight shadows were cast on ripples of the water from the nearby snaking river. Along this river sat a cottage connected to an observation tower. A water wheel turned in the river and churned the water alongside the structure. No light shone through the benighted moss-covered windows within the cottage.

A nameless earth pony remained in a darkened room, which was more like a laboratory than an actual abode. Wires hung from the ceiling and ran along the floor like silent snakes. Computers buzzed and whirred on the walls. Silence and solitude remained until the pony flipped a metal switch and a cyan coloured central column lit. The dim light from the column revealed this pony to be brown in colour and that of the earth, with a spiked brown mane cut and light-blue eyes. The central column was the centre of his home and the conduit to all of it's light and electrical power.

The remarkable proceeded to press switches and pulled handles upon a console of colourful buttons that flashed with flair.
“There and there, oh yes!” The earth pony said with glee, he grabbed a metal hammer and knocked it upon the mechanism. His gauche method had worked. Sparks and flashes of light erupted from the central computer as it whirred into action...

The grains of sand drained in the hourglasses of Ponyville. It was nearly the crack of dawn now and far from the silence and solitude of the mysterious cottage, pegasi were gathered together under the twilight sunrise. They were all getting ready to practice racing. They were to race into the rising sun and continue until the mid morning. The objective was to tag several checkpoints along the way. This was the only time of the day they could practice such a race in Ponyville since it was only morning everypony still slept soundly in their beds. The weaving alleyways and oblique buildings were the perfect training ground for all of them. They would have to use all their stamina and agility to twist and turn through the course. As they all prepared, Rainbow Dash trotted on the spot.

‘You can do this Dash, you can do this... you just have to concentrate, consseeenntrate.’ She thought with a look of determination. Before every race it always helped to encourage herself.

“Rainbow crash, what’re you doing ‘ere?!” Hurricane, storm of the skies, suddenly spoke with a snarl. Her hoarse voice pierced through the stillness.

“Duh! I’m training for the Equestrian Five-Hundred,” Rainbow Dash said in reply as she did some hoof-ups. There was a cyan and white sweatband was firmly wrapped upon her head. “It’s like the... biggest race around and it... starts really, really, soon.” She only spoke in between each hoof-up, when sweat dripped from her brow she got up to rest. “I gotta be in tip-top shape; ‘cause I’m gonna win it.” She boasted and posed to that of victory.

“Tsh, yeah right. We’ll see ‘bout that.” Hurricane gave a faint laugh at the optimism of her rival. Hurricane was a simple mare, stronger than most with a certain mean streak and competitiveness, a trait she had retained from fillyhood. Rainbow Dash did seem to be in physical peak, but Hurricane had a devious plan, she turned to leave the others to their preparations...

The rehearsal race began as soon as the sunlight peeked into Ponyville. The town had been littered with circular checkpoints made of cloud; they each had to be tagged in quick succession.

The mayor of Ponyville stood ready for the race to start as everypony prepared themselves in their own ways. She watched as Rainbow Dash and Hurricane nudged each other at the starting-line.

“Only they could make a competition out of a rehearsal.” The Mayor snorted to the pony next to her. Stood next to the mayor was the time turner poised and prepared. He held a decorated hourglass, an hourglass which precisely matched that of his cutie mark. The namless earth pony threw a strange look over at Rainbow Dash in particular. He ignored her bickering with Hurricane and just stared directly at her. He knew something about her nopony else knew. The air grew tense as the Mayor then picked up the checkered flag in her maw.

“On your marks...”

Everypony stood at the starting line. Their hearts pumped with tense energy. Rainbow Dash poised herself. Hurricane also got ready with a wicked blue eyes affixed upon the first checkpoint.

“Get set...”

All the racers lowered their hooves and posed, ready for that initial and crucial jump into the sky. The sun peaked above the mountaintop; then line of sunlight crept across the grass until—

“Go!”

The hourglass is skillfully turned. All the pagasi including Hurricane took flight as the sand in the hourglass trickled down. Rainbow Dash took flight also but suddenly something tugged on her hoof.

“What the? — WHOA!”

Rainbow Dash flung backwards mid-air straight into the dirt with a crash. As the dust cleared, she discovered a piece of elastic had being attached to her hoof via glue, it had twanged her back to the starting line. She must of stepped into it... but that means somepony purposely placed the glue exactly where Rainbow Dash was going to start.

“Hurricane!” Rainbow Dash suddenly snorted. “That no good cheat!” She retorted and quickly ripped the elastic from her hoof with a squeal and shot into the burning heavens.

The first checkpoint was directly infront of them; it was the easiest one to tag. Leading the group was Hurricane. She was buff and larger than all the others that made her tire easily. All the other knew she wouldn’t be leading for much longer. The laps around Ponyville were simple for Rainbow Dash who twisted and turned among the many houses with only a trail of rainbow to mark the route she had taken. As the pegasi soured Rainbow Dash suddenly darted past them as the two rival pegasi were neck-and-neck.

“Too slow Hurricane,” Rainbow teased her fellow pegasister as she flew backwards; she even had time to check the rim of her hoof! She tagged every checkpoint along the course in style. Hurricane retorted with a grumpy snort, she was quickly getting out of breath. She would never beat Rainbow like this because she was way too hulky. This was only a rehearsal; most ponies weren’t too bothered about winning. But Hurricane wanted to win, now more than ever. It was time to drag Rainbow Dash down into failure. In a sly move she hastily leaned to the left and smashed straight into Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash gave a faint cry before she rolled through the air.

“Whoa... whoa... whoa...” Rainbow said dazedly in time to the spins as she rotated around. By the time she adjusted herself she was in last place. After her eyes rolled from the dizziness she took off again before she fishtailed around the back of the schoolhouse, and tagged the second checkpoint. She came up behind the group as she trailed behind. Next, they had to fly over the river, then the third and last checkpoint was high in the clouds above Ponyville. Hurricane was nearly there however she stopped at the river. She panicked as she saw the water and refused to fly over it. Instead Hurricane took the long way around. Rainbow Dash mustered everything she had, this was her chance, She jetted up and away until her speed was unmatched, she passed most of the other pegasi as the town becomes a small spec. One of Rainbow Dash's famous sonic rainboom a pulse of prism light to erupt from the epicentre.

“A sonic rainboom!” The Mayor shouted with delight.

Rainbow Dash had magically broken the sound barrier again, the supreme light forced everypony to cover their eyes. After the initial flash of white light Rainbow Dash landed with style at the finish line... only to see Hurricane had already beaten her.

“Ha! I won; in yer face failbow crash!” This time Hurricane boasted and snarled in Rainbow’s face when she did. With a grand grin on her mug she celebrated. But to Hurricane's utter surprise; nopony celebrated with her. Was it because she cheated? No. Hurricane was unaware of the resulting event. She followed the gaze of everypony else as all eyes turned upward to the sky. Something was terribly wrong...

“Dash... look at the sky.” Hurricane said as she pointed up with her hoof.

“Yeah I know it’s just my sonic rai— what the?!” Rainbow Dash gawped. That’s when she saw it. Something else had appeared from the centre of the sonic rainboom.

Then they felt it under their hooves... the ground was moving, pounding! It was strong. It was an earthquake. No. A skyquake! Everypony stopped still, it immobilized them in fear. Until the pounding got so ferocious that they could no longer stand. Everypony bent their hooves to avoid falling. The cottages trembled, their walls shrieked. Awakened from their sleep ponies of all kinds rushed into the dawn. Shaken out of their cosy beds and broken out of their angelic dreams, they looked up.

Crrzzzzrooommm!

It teared across the sky. An eruption of red light unlike anything ever see. A fracture then tore across the sky in jagged movements. It looked like the aurora borealis as it snapped across the skyline. Eventually the rumbling came to a slow halt. After the pounding slowed, the only thing that pounded more than the ground were the hearts of everypony. The red fracture remained in the silent sky ominously above Ponyville. The air around Ponyville tinted to a shade of red.

“This is it... everything changes now.” The brown earth pony said and left his post beside the hourglass. He galloped away from the location of the race and into the sunrise just as the last grain of sand dropped from the hourglass. He knew the time was now.

Elicited screams came from within Ponyville. A heavy crowd filled the town square with noise.The mayor stepped up infront of a podium with an attached microphone.

“No pony panic!” Her voice erupted on the speakers and deafened all the ponies in the crowd below.

“Sorry about that.” She apologized and waited as the volume was turned down. Everypony quickly gathered in front of the recently rebuilt town hall. All had worried looks upon their faces, some of them had younger fillies that cried and some still even had their night clothes on.

“Today,” the mayor cleared her throat, “we face an unprecedented emergency.”

“What’s going on?”

“What is that thing?”

“Is it dangerous?!” Ponies in the crowd blazed questions of all kinds in rapid succession. Their hopes were for an explanation from the mayor. She did not have the answers to the questions posed upon her. Infact, nopony knew what it was that had just opened above their fair town. Considering all this the mayor had only one option.

“We must evacuate Ponyville.”

The mayor attempted to maintain the panic at all costs. But her speech only brought more unrest: ponies rushed in all directions, they grabbed their belongings and hoarded them into makeshift bags and baskets before they flung them over their flanks. Within a few moments it was chaotic. Nearby a young filly placed her hoof upon her ribcage in fear. Soon the mother ran and grabbed her filly before flinging her onto her rump.

There was a yellow unicorn with a short light-blue mane, she had a cutie mark of a microphone and she was remarkably calm for all the panic that was happening around her. She wore a large pair of technical headphones on her head.

“This is P & E News reporting from Ponyville. You join us today at the precipice of disaster. As you can see, chaos has erupted across Ponyville as ponies mercilessly push past each other in a stampede to escape the town. Nopony knows what fate awaits them as an unknown tear in the sky is now gaping open above this peaceful country town. Seven ponies died. This is Sunny Rain, reporting.”

Twilight walked into camera shot in the background, she shook her head from the reporters’ lies. Twilight then stared upwards at the red pulsating fracture in the sky above as ponies rush in a panic around her. In all her life, with all the magic in the world, she had never seen anything like it. She do galloped off among the crowd as she rushed home, to the Library. She burst through the door with little care for the hinges.

“Twilight! What is going on?” Spike climbed out of his cosy circular bed before he gazed out of the window. Headstrong ponies rushed in all directions, some with suitcases and some with their filly children on their backs. Twilight ignored all the shouting outside and used her magic to unlock a door she doesn’t open very often: The door to the library basement...

“Uh, Twilight?” Spike asked as he cautiously followed her down the stairs. The basement of the library contained many metal machines which bleeped with sound. Many strange devices and computers Spike hadn’t seen. It had roots which perturbed from the tree above. The entire basement was dimly lit with a cyanic coloured light that reverberated.

“Shouldn't we be getting out of here?” Spike asked and plonked himself down on top on one of the computers.

“Ponyville is being evacuated because of a something that... Uh, I don’t know how to explain it. Something that has never happened before.” said Twilight, she didn’t even look up from the computer console when she spoke. Twilight quickly swept everything off of a nearby desk with her hooves, documents and vials clashed on the floor. What was she clearing room for? She was flustered and out of breath from her panic. She could even feel her own beating heart in her chest. Spike knew when she got like this she must be really onto something special.

Twilight returned to her own devices as she tried to discover the source of the fracture. One of the machines printed loads of wavy lines on a long piece of paper. Wavy lines Twilight could translate into date, they were a frequency. Twilight tore the paper from the machine and slammed them onto the desk and read the contents.

“The source of the fracture was... Rainbow Dash?!”

Crrzzzzrooommm!

The fracture rumbled with unnatural energies. All across Ponyville, legions of ponies sprinted out of the town to find any form of safe haven outside its boundaries.

Scared and alone the intrepid Fluttershy headed for the library. She knew Twilight would know what to do, she always knew what to do. Fluttershy squealed as the chaos unfolded around her. But then something caught her eye. She turned to look to see an inexplicable yellow with a pink mane and tail pony that started at the ground. She froze; then Fluttershy realised, as impossible as it may be, she was looking at herself. She was looking at something that had already happened. Fluttershy watched herself staring into a puddle, she was angry... really angry. Her eyes soffened and her eyes filled with tears. This had happened before, when she was under the training of the Minotaur Iron Will.

Pinkie Pie had a similar experience on the way to the library. Her past self wore strange goofy glasses and was playing many instruments of all sorts. She wore the instruments and danced away as a line a Parasprites followed her every whim.

“Hehe, silly me.” Pinkie Pie giggled. She thought it creepy at first, but then danced and bounced around with her the apparition toward the library.

“Crickets an’ jam!” Applejack shouted when scared out her wits. She just opened the barn door, about to depart from sweet apple acres when she saw herself playing Horseshoes with Rainbow Dash. Sweet Apple Acres were known to be haunted being built on an ancient burial ground and all, but this was ridiculous. Applejack tilted her head at herself, and then she waved her hoof right through the apparition. It was all just an illusion.

Several of these apparitions appeared across the now abandoned town. They were harmless illusions and only reflected things that had already happened. There was even an apparition of Twilight Sparkle carrying the enchanted doll Smarty Pants. Ponies’ that had fallen in love with the doll that fought each other to try and claim it all for themselves. However all these apparitions only added to the chaos that came from within Ponyville.

Eventually everypony came to meet in the library basement after all their various encounters.

“It’s like it’s mocking me.” Twilight snorted in anguish in reply to the red light in the sky. She knew it was just more than just a simple red light, it was dangerous. But no matter how dangerous it was, the six friends and Spike were the only ones to have remained in Ponyville.

“I thought I was seeing double!” Pinkie Pie spoke first while waving her hoof infront of her own face.

“I don’t s’pose ya know what’s goin’ on Twi? I coulda sworn that a just gone and seen... ma’self.” Applejack spoke with great concern.

“I...” Twilight stammered. “I don’t know, I just don’t know.”

“What?!” Everypony blasted in unison.

“But Twilight, you always know what’s going on.” Rarity exclaimed.

“There’s a first time for everything... I guess.” Twilight parted with a nervous laugh. She was almost disappointed to admit that she couldn’t understand what was happening. “Whatever that thing is up there. I believe it’s dangerous and I think what we’ve been seeing are side-effects of it.” Twilight tried her best to explain it, but all her friends just gave her blank expressions.

“It’s my fault. I know it was. It was my sonic rainboom that caused it.” Rainbow Dash suddenly said with regret, she sat sorrowfully in a darkened corner. Was all this because of her? One minute she was enjoying the race like it was any other ordinary day, then suddenly their town was turned upside down.

A computer behind Twilight printed out more lines of data. Twilight had worked tirelessly to get this far... it was time for the results.

“Apparently not.” Twilight said at the same time she read the data on the print document. She looked up with a grin on her face. “There’s another source to the fracture.”

“Then let’s goooo!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully waving her hoof into the air.

“No.” Twilight sternly said. “Only me and Rainbow Dash will go. The rest of your need to get out of Ponyville.”

“Twilight dearest, are you absolutely sure?” Rarity asked.

“I... I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you because I kept you all here.” Twilight nodded to her friends.

With those parting words the six of them took off from the Library. Fluttershy carried Spike upon her back as they rushed out of the derelict town and headed for the moss-covered hills on the outskirts. Spike watched with a sour face as Twilight and Rainbow Dash galloped off in the opposite direction.

[img] http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/247/2/f/2f72a29316e236e1655efeb29c0f45d4-d5dkat6.png[/img]

The fracture crackled with even more energy as it tore wider.

The pathways of Ponyville felt eerie without life to fill them. Usually at this hour ponies would be selling and buying in the market stalls, enjoying the sunshine with picnics or just genuinely conversing. But today not a creature nor sound stirred in the derelict town. A lone tumbleweed bounced silently across the grass. Then through the silence was the sound of trotting... Twilight Sparkle ran with Rainbow Dash in flight behind her. Their short trek brought them both to the outskirts of Ponyville.

Unheard and unseen they sneakily approached a small cottage. It had a large observation tower connected to it with an even larger golden telescope for stargazing that pointed up from the circular roof. The cottage was near a stream and had a water wheel churning the water. The red colour of the fracture reflected on the rippling water. Unusually the door the abode was ajar, as if its occupant was inviting them inside...

Twilight Sparkle opened the door, it squeaked as it opened. As they let themselves in they saw a brown earth pony sat in a black leather chair, his hooves were folded. He evilly scowled his eyebrows down at them.

“So... you’ve found my lair, have you?” He said and tapped his hooves together like an evil genius. A tense pause followed as Twilight and Rainbow glanced at each other.

“Baaah, only kidding,” The earth pony joked. Suddenly all the lights in the room switch on all at once blinding both Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

“Could you imagine if I was really like that?” The brown earth pony spun round in his spinning chair for awhile. Then he jumped out of his chair and danced around his cottage. He had a spiky mane and the cutie mark of an hourglass.

“Who the hell are you?” Twilight grunted and pointed her hoof at this weird pony with a stern look on her face.

“Well, aren’t you a bundle of fun. Hello! I don’t believe we’ve met, I’m the Doctor.” He enthusiastically shook the hoof Twilight pointed at him. Perhaps he mistook it for a hoof shake?

“Doctor… doctor who?” She asked and then snatched her hoof from his.

“Just the Doctor... ooowh!” He swooned like a school-aged filly. “You must be Rainbow Dash. I’ve heard many great things. Come in... oh— it seems you’ve already let yourselves in, splendid!”

“Who is this pony Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked and tilted her head in confusion. The interior of his cottage was more like a laboratory than an ordinary abode. Flashing machines that whirred with electrical power covered the four walls. The water wheel outside generated the electrical power as the wheel was connected via wires to the inside the house. At the epicentre of the residence is a dimly lit central column. Everything here rivalled that of what Twilight had in her basement.

“Well... how do I put this? I suppose I should start at the very beginning. I am a lord of time or a time lord, whichever you prefer really.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Rainbow Dash’s voice cracked up.

“My special talent is time. See?” The Doctor said. Rainbow looked at the earth ponies’ cutie mark to see an hourglass. Rainbow Dash recognized him now; it had become increasingly obvious during their conversation the Doctor was the one that turned the hourglass at the race this morning.

“Whoa... wait... what?” Rainbow Dash suddenly snapped back into reality. She was amazed and confused at the same time. The Doctor spoke so quickly about things she couldn’t quite understand.

Twilight scowled at this pony. That brown coat to match his mane, those sapphire eyes and a cutie mark that certainly was an hourglass.

“Wait a minute, I know you! You were one of the ponies who laughed at me when I said that I’d seen my future self.” Twilight Sparkle said and remembered back to that time. It was back when she snuck into the Star Swirl the Bearded wing of the Canterlot archives to find a time spell.

“Ah... I do remember that. I heard you created your own paradox. Unfortunately I have to keep up appearances. I am undercover as it were as the official timekeeper and time turner of Ponyville. Sorry about that.” The Doctor said and pulled a lever then he darted to the other side of the cottage and connected two wires together.

“I am the last of the time lords. All the others were lost in a war. I’m a miracle in itself. But imagine if every pony knew time travel was possible. If they knew about the time lords and the time spells in the Canterlot archives. There’d be mass panic Twilight, everypony would want to go backwards and forwards and all over the place. It would be a right old mess. But we can’t let that happen now, can we?”

“O-of course not.” Twilight stammered. This wasn’t the first time she had heard about the time spells. She had overheard Celestia and Luna talking about a spell a few days ago, although Twilight was still in doubt if that was a time spell.

“Wham!” The Doctor suddenly shouted as he popped up infront of Rainbow Dash. She jumped out of her fur and spread her wings out to hover back away from him. “Might I say Rainbow Dash, I’m a big fan of your work.” The Doctor said and winked at Rainbow Dash; making her grin. He then continued to dart around the many machines of his abode.

“I don’t know who he is Twilight, but I like him.” Rainbow Dash jumped onto a nearby beanbag to chill.

“Well I don’t. He’s totally crazy!” Twilight replied back with utter detest. Twilight couldn't help but a sense that the Doctor enjoyed the thrill of danger, something she has never been able to relate to. “Listen Doctor, the fate of Ponyville is at stake and you’re swooning like a little school filly at Rainbow Dash! We know it was you who caused that... red fracture to appear in the sky.” Twilight pointed her hoof at him as she accused this strange pony.

“You really have no idea what that ‘‘red fracture’' is do you?” The Doctor pulled some levers on a big machine in the centre of the house.

“Look we need some serious answers, is it dangerous?” Twilight said with a stern look on her face.

“Of course it’s dangerous! It’s a big twisty-swirly thing in the sky. You see Rainbow Dash; every time you do a sonic rainboom you break the sound barrier. Now that sonic rainboom is totally unique to you, but that alcubierre drive, your unique ability, opened it! It’s a fissure ripped open in the sky! A fissure in time itself. I’m sure by now you’ve been seeing your past selves, a side-effect of the fracture I’m afraid.” The Doctor paused to swing around the central column.

“Pretty soon everypony will be seeing things in the future and I don’t know about you, but I really wouldn’t like to know my future.” The Doctor waffled on at a hundred miles-an-hour. “But if there’s a fissure of time above Ponyville that can only mean one thing...” he paused to give a look of seriousness. “The walls are broken... two instantaneous times that should’ve never have touched. This event changes everything. Isn’t that just wonderful?” The Doctor said with a cheeky grin.

He was, in a word, crazy. Despite the impending danger this pony danced around with his tail between his legs. It was like he was enjoyed all the adventure and danger. Twilight, on the hood, had heard enough. She grabbed Rainbow by the hoof.

“C’mon Rainbow Dash, we’re leaving! We’ll use the Elements of Harmony. That’d stop it.” Twilight demanded as she tugged on Rainbow Dash tightly, she didn’t budge. Something about the Elements of Harmony made the Doctor’s ears erect. It was like a trigger word which made a his spine tingle and his fur stand up on end.

“But I...” Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight and then at Doctor Whooves. “I’m staying.” She decided. Afterall, it was their fault the fracture opened.

“Urgh. You want to stay here? Fine!” Twilight grunted and walked out. She slammed the door with her magic.

“Did somepony just slam my door?” The Doctors head popped up through a pile of wires.

“I think she’s just jealous some pony is a bigger egghead than her.” Rainbow said and rolled her eyes. Even the machines in the library were inferior to better and bigger gadgets that the he had.

“Well nevermind that; all in good time. C’mon Rainbow Dash... you know what? I’m just gonna call you Skittles. Onwaaaards!”

The hellish ripples of the fracture could be seen for miles. It was only above Ponyville, for now at least. All the ponies that had come from the town had arrived as temporary refugees outside the gates to Canterlot. Campfires burnt brightly and tents were erected. Princess Celestia, wise and true, was overseeing the refugees and provided sustenance and fresh clean water. But just what does that red fracture mean? What has happened to time?

Stood anxiously upon a hilltop among watching the event unfold. It was a strange yet sorrowful sight to see the red fracture hanging above their fair town. From behind Princess Celestia the four friends and Spike had arrived.

“Princess Celestia, we need the Elements of Harmony,” Rarity explained as she arrived. They stood alongside the Princess as the wind blew through their various manes. Each of the best friends had their own concerns and worries, all this talk of fractures above Ponyville and refugees, it was beyond them...

“I feared as much,” Celestia replied sombrely. She turned to look at them with a smile but her smile was only the hide the true burning concern within her. Soon after, her horn glowed bright and with a simple flash of light, the blue gemstone chest containing the Elements appeared before them.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight's voice called out. Behind everypony else Twilight dashed up the hillside toward them. She trotted as fast as her hooves could take her. Her teleport spells got her here in half the time it would normally take on the Friendship Express. But she was utterly exhausted from all the magic she had cast.

“Twilight? Where is Rainbow Dash?” Princess Celestia replied.

“She... she isn’t coming.” Twilight huffed.

“Doesn’t that mean we can’t use the Elements? They has to be all of us here.” Pinkie Pie said. She wasn’t wrong either, with one of their friends missing the Elements of Harmony were much less powerful and much more unpredictable. All of them had to be here to complete the link.

“Princess Celestia...” Twilight said as she snatched the Element of Loyalty linked to Rainbow Dash and gave it to the princess. “You can still use it.”

“Twilight.” Princess Celestia protested. “I can do nothing of the sort.”

“Please! You’ve used it before, you can do it again.” Twilight pleaded now as she held it infront of the Princess. Celestia just stared at the jewel before her while it pulsated with energy like a faint heartbeat. It was almost as if the jewel had something living inside of it. Her eye twitched slightly. It had been one-thousand years when she had to last used the Elements of Harmony to stop Discord, turning him the stone. But was she really considering using it again? When Celestia thought about it she became weak at the knees as if the Elements were somehow making her feel ill. She held her head in ache.

“I understand the situation is d-desperate.” She groaned. “However I cannot. The Elements of Harmony are connected to you six now. If I were to use one of them once more it would sever the link; forever.” Celestia hastily backed away from the red jewel and recomposed herself. Twilight had noticed the weakness in Celestia but thought nothing of it. Twilight felt so powerless, she couldn't stop this. Never had she faced something without knowing what to do, without some plan of action. This red fracture was beyond her knowledge, beyond them all. In her madness and desperation she placed the Element of Loyalty upon herself.

“Twi’...” Applejack said.

“We can do it. We can still do it.” Twilight bounced in determination.

“Twilight... ” Rarity said.

“Uargh! You’re right.” She succumbed to their concerns and slammed the Element upon the ground. They were right. They couldn’t stop this. Not even the Elements of Harmony could stop this. Even if she did use two of the elements the sheer power of the magic could fry her brain entirely. Twilight curled-up to sob on the hillside. Her friends, Celestia and even Spike immediately came to comfort her.

The only one who can save them now... is a Doctor.

“Skittles!” The Doctor shouted in distress from upstairs as the central column to his house shook with life. Several electrical sparks exploded from the computers and white smoke billowed from within the cottage.

“Nope, that’s no good. Try the blue one,” The Doctor commanded from upstairs. He was laid on his back and gazed at the fracture from his telescope.

Rainbow Dash tried her best to understand the machines laid out before her. They were all mocking her with their various colours and sounds. She pressed any and all of the switches coloured blue. She didn’t know which one it was.

“Nope, that’s not it either,” The Doctor said and got himself up. He jumped onto a modified swing set. The wooden contraption was connected to a rope pulley system with then abseiled him down via a winch.

“I don’t think whatever it is you’re trying to do is working.” Rainbow Dash said as the Doctor descended next to her.

“There is another way... But I’ve being trying to avoid it because it’s too dangerous.”

“What is it? Tell me, there’s nothing I can’t handle.” Rainbow Dash said with a wry smile.

“It, it involves you, Skittles, we’ll need—”

They were four knocks at the door. Both Rainbow Dash and Doctor Whooves accidently bumped shoulders beside the computer as they swivelled around to look at the door. Silence had fallen. The only problem that they faced was that there were no ponies still in Ponyville; they had all evacuated. So who or what was at the door? The Doctor calmly and politely trotted to the door, he opened it ajar with a creek.

Suddenly the door swung open and a grey pegasus burst into the abode.

“...Derpy?” The Doctor said as the cloudy-filly flew into the abode.

“Derpy?!” Rainbow Dash repeated with surprise.

“Where is everypony? They're ghosts running around everywhere. They're funny.” Derpy spun around confused and finally landed with a slight wobble. She couldn't have fully understood when the evacuation came into effect...

“You know Derpy?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh yes!” The Doctor swooned. “Old friends, me and her, didn’t I ever tell you? It’s a story involving the collapse of time, a jammie dodger and Jim the fish! Although neither of us can remember it all though...”

“And one of these days I’m going to get you to eat a pear, Doctor.” Derpy joked with a giggle.

“Oh, you can try, but I hate pears! You’ll never get me to eat a pear. Never-never-never...”

“Doctor? Aren’t you forgetting something...?” Rainbow Dash said indubiously as she watched the old friends get reacquainted.

“Sorry. Yes! There are more important things to deal with. Alright then Skittles, hold that button rriigghhtt there!” The Doctor commanded and pointed with his hoof.

“When the all the computer screens display the number eighty-eight, you can let it go. Now then, Derpy... um... no-no-no, Derpy, no, not you, you just... stand there.” The Doctor moved Derpy away from the computers before she touched anything. Rainbow Dash held the button. The Doctor stood on the modified swing set and used his hoof to tap the switch. He is then winched back up to gaze into the telescope again. The fracture was getting wider and louder despite all their original efforts.

The button soon flashed sporadically, the computer screens displayed eighty-eight. When Rainbow Dash quickly removed her hoof the whole cottage whirled into life. The computers shook from processing so much electrical energy. Sparks flew from the central column as screeched up and down. The ground rumbled violent from another earthquake that ensued.

In the stratosphere above, the fracture slowly sealed itself. It got thinner and less noisy as it closed. It groaned as it closed, almost as if it was alive and screeched in defeat. The and skyline around Ponyville change from the faint haze red into their regular colourful brightness.

It was working!

The machines sparked and gave strange readings. They printed out a single-lined message:

The doctor ruffled a hoof through his mane as he read the data, but he didn't have time to fully translate it.

"Doctor, what is that?" Rainbow Dash asked over the console.

"It's nothing." He replied coldly.

"You're lying, I can tell."

"Alright fine, it's the most important thing ever—"

Thick black smoke covered their faces and spread around the cottage, covering it in dust. All three ponies inside were blown off their hooves and into the opposite corners of the room. As the smoke cleared, all three of them covered in ash and burn marks lied defeated. It was all going so well! Two guesses who messed it all up...

“Derpy...” Rainbow Dash and Doctor Whooves said in unison. They were clearly disappointed.

“I’m sorry!” Derpy apologized. “I only wanted to help and the big colourful button said doughnuts.” She twiddled her hooves shyly.

Rainbow Dash looked down. "Urg, Derpy. It's says 'do not touch', not doughnuts!"

“We were so close,” Doctor Whooves tutted in disappointment. “All the machines have powered-down, they've lost their juice." The Doctor said between his gritted teeth and checked all the dials on the computers. “We can’t do it, we can’t do it!”

“Anypony in need of a little... magic?” A new voice was heard, everypony looked to the open doorway.

“Twilight!” Everypony shouted in unison. There stood Twilight herself infront of sun rays which shone behind her. She banished the smoke and ash from the room with a simple flick of arcane magic her horn.

“You came back.” Rainbow Dash said and whizzed over to hug her best friend in mid-air. Rainbow nearly thought her friend had given up all hope in rescuing Ponyville.

“I had to. We couldn’t use the Elements of Harmony without you and I don’t think they can be used for this sort of stuff anyway.” Twilight said as their hug finished.

Then Doctor Whooves and Twilight Sparkle slowly trotted toward each other and came face-to-face once more.

“Twilight...” He said.

“Doctor...” She replied.

“I think I know what’s bothering you Twilight: You honestly believe that machines are better than magic... am I right?” He said with sympathy and great kindness, a kindness he showed to all creatures in Equestria.

“The Elements of Harmony couldn’t close the fracture even if they could be used... so maybe you’re right.” Twilight said with regret and twiddled her hooves. Was the Doctor right all along?

“Wrong!” The Doctor suddenly shouted and jumped up infront of Twilight making her jump out of her fur. “Neither machines nor magic could close it on their own. But maybe together.”

“That might just work!” Twilight shouted back. Now they were on the same level! Derpy and Rainbow Dash stood aghast as both the Doctor and Twilight whizzed like maniacs around the residence. Twilight used her magic to seal two wires together, powering up the computers. The Doctor flipped switches and levers galore. Within moments; they were ready to go again.

“Before we do this.” Doctor Whooves addressed his three friends. “I suppose I should explain the whole truth. This red fracture is more than it appears. It is called the Edge of Forever. Look up.” The Doctor pointed his hoof upward. All three ponies gazed through a small hole in the roof of the cottage. Through the hole they could see the red fracture directly above them.

“They're ripples in time, emanating from some point in the past. It’s a tunnel in effect, a tunnel to another world. A line between then and now. Go through it and you can see to the beginning and end of all time, hence it's name, the Edge of Forever. That is what has been unleashed above Ponyville...”

“You certainly know a lot about this.” Twilight scowled at him with mistrust.

“I should know... I was there when it first opened at the Timeless Hour.” He replied.

Twilight’s eyes widened as she spoke, “how old are you?"

"Uhh... you know you stop counting after about a couple of thousand years."

"That’s incredible." Twilight wondered just how old a Time Lord could become...

“But the Edge of Forever, it's very bad; you could be facing the end of civilization as you know it.”

“Then Doctor. If that is your real name; promise me you can fix this... promise me we’ll be safe.” Twilight throws a paranoid glance over at the time lord.

“I promise. We can fix this, I promise. I didn’t want to have to do this but it’s the only option left. Skittles. It’s all up to you. Only your sheer speed can break the sound barrier. We need a Double Rainboom.”

"But Doctor, wouldn't the sheer power of double rainboom destroy Ponyville?" Twilight inquired.

"I dunno, one has never been seen before. We'd better make sure we're not at ground zero when it happens." The Doctor remarked.

Rainbow Dash stood aghast for just a moment before a grin came upon her lips. “No worries! There’s nothing I can’t handle.” Rainbow Dash said as she cracked her hooves.

“We must be vigilant. Time is delicate. Imagine a series of strings, if you trip one of them they might all trigger. Any sort of time travel into the past creates a paradox. You should know Twilight; you created your own paradox once. A paradox is where time is forever, because it can never be changed. Certain moments in time are fixed, moments which if a pony went back to try and change, they would only kill themselves. This is one of those moments. If we made the biggest mistake right here, right now and that mistake lead to the end of civilisation. We will not be able to change it, no matter how many times we tried...” He paused again so Twilight can take in all the information he had just bellowed at her at a hundred miles-an-hour.

“So the short explanation would be: we only have one chance. Heh... no pressure then?” Twilight replied under an awkward smile.

Rainbow Dash affixed the elastic around her head. Her trusty goggles snapped onto her face. Her amethyst eyes were a blur behind the glass. Another sonic rainboom, it was no biggie, after all she had done plenty of them before; one more wouldn’t hurt. Then again she had never done anything quite like this; her hooves had heavy metal rings around them which flashed with electricity. Her goggles has been kitted-out with a tiny microphone and a tiny camera so those on the ground could see where she was from the ground.

“You know Twilight, when you first came to Ponyville you said we were all crazy. So if I don’t make it—”

“You will.” Twilight interrupted.

“But If I don’t make. You can trust him. I think you should give him a chance.” Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on her friends shoulder.

“I’ll try.” Twilight replied with a wry smile. “Ready?”

“As I'll ever be!” Rainbow Dash replied at her friend. She closed her eyes and made peace with both herself and Equestria. Her wings flapped as fast as jet propellers, then she jumped up and soured into the red stained sky.

“Good luck Rainbow Dash!” Derpy shouted from below as she waved her hoof in goodbye. She was stood outside also and stared at the pretty red light in the sky, almost mesmerized by it.

As Derpy remained outside doing... nothing, both Twilight and the Doctor sprung into action. The plan was set into motion; machines sparked louder than ever before. Rainbow Dash flew faster than ever before towards the Edge of Forever. It pulsated within and red light shone out. It was a tunnel to another world, and she was going to fly right into it. There was a silent pause.

“Now!” The Doctor shouted. Magical energy exploded from Twilight’s horn, the magic spiralled onto the machines and engulfed them in red light. The machines were powered into overkill by the magic.

Rainbow Dash appeared as a single spec on the skyline for those stood watching Ponyville.

Far from the epicentre of the fracture stood the inhabitants of Ponyville outside of Canterlot. They were all there including the mayor, Hurricane and even Princess Celestia. Most watched in awe and trepidation and gazed up from their campfire in hopes that this could end their fear.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and left the mundane world behind.

She was gone.

Everything went white. Then after bief moment of peaceful silence.

Crrzzzzsssssttttrooommm!

The Edge of Forever erupted against an enormous double rainboom that exploded in the sky. From Canterlot everypony had to avert their gaze as the light was so powerful nopony could look at it with the aid of protection for their eyes. Pinkie Pie put on a pair of sunglasses on and held up some popcorn which popped from the heat emitted from the epicentre.

Down in Ponyville, all the glass within a two hundred metre radius was blown out. Both the lights of the rainbow and red light of the fracture pressed against each other. A rainbow coloured light rippled across the stratosphere of Equestria in the shape of a ring around the entire world.

Twilight and Doctor held onto whatever they could in the cottage. All the computer screens around the cottage displayed the number eighty-eight, as they all flashed with a red alert light. The strain on the computers was too much...

“Something’s wrong...” the Doctor groaned. "It's going into overload!"

Twilight dodged the sparks that exploded from the machines and rushed to look at the computer screen. It displayed whatever Rainbow Dash could see from the small camera attached to her sweatband. All the computer screen continued to show was a bright red light. The machines bellowed alarms and sparked with treacherous lightning. She continued to just stare at the monitor until it cut-off and flashed with static.

“N-no... no... she can’t be gone... she just can’t!” Twilight said and shook the computer screen. Is this the paradox Doctor Whooves spoke of? Had one of them made a mistake? Could they never fix this?!

“Twilight, we need to get out!” The Doctor shouted. But Twilight was affixed to the monitor. Did she just watch her friend die? "Twilight, it's coming!"

“No... NO!” She cried.

“Out... out-out-ooouuut!” The Doctor demanded and dragged Twilight by the hoof, they rushed out into the daylight.

Doctor Whooves cottage burst into flames. Both Twilight and the Doctor dived from the explosion and into the dirt as the house erupted into an inferno. Bricks, wood and fire flared out in all directions, the wooden water wheel exploded from the side of the wall and crashed into the river, the telescope melted from the heat and then collapsed in on itself to fall into the rubble. All the machines inside were destroyed as a mushroom cloud of fire curled up into the air. The entire cottage had been leveled by the Double Rainboom.

The two ponies landed safely on the grass and quickly gazed over their shoulders.

“Well, there goes the house,” the Doctor said with a wince. The inferno of his home reflected in his sapphire eyes.

“What about Rainbow Dash?” Twilight said. She looked at the sky and felt more vulnerable than ever as she brushed herself off from dust and mortar. With assistance from Derpy they both stood on their own two hooves and watched the sky.

“There she is!” The Doctor interrupted and pointed upwards as Rainbow Dash flew overhead. She was safe. She descended from the skyline as quickly as possible. The Edge of Forever shrunk thinner and thinner as it collided against the Double Rainboom with unnatural light.

This was it. This was the moment that if they failed they could never change. The ground rumbled and shook with powerful tremors. Loose tiles fell from the roof of the cottages. The apparitions of everypony from the past faded from view without a flicker like ghosts. It sealed once and for all with an almighty beam of light.

Everything went white...

When Doctor Whooves opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the present. Instead of seeing a past apparition of himself, he was gifted with seeing the future. He opened his eyes to what the future held:

The vision was incredible, he could feel, smell and see in such detail. Above him the sky burnt blood red. He looked towards the horizon and Canterlot was seen in flames. It crumbled from its post upon the cliffside. Burning, everything in Canterlot was burning, every room, tower and building. The smoke swirled into the air with little remorse for the souls the fire claimed.

The moon hung dangerously out of the sky, blood red in colour. It was a lunar eclipse, the moon was in the shadow of Equestria, and the silhouette of Princess Luna was once again etched onto the moon. But why? What happened?

The Doctor turned to look at ground level, there was Rainbow Dash. She clutched her own body tightly in tears, as if something terrible had just happened. It was strange considering Rainbow Dash rarely cried. The scene burned through his deep eyes. Of all ponies in the world he was the only one who never wanted to see the future but by a cruel twist of fate, he was the only one who could.

The vision felt so real because he was actually there, the doctor was in the future! Then, the minute he released where he was, he felt like he was being called, like a silent cry pulled him back to reality...

The future faded...

A high-pitched buzzing rang in his ears.

“Doctor?” A distorted voice cried to him.

“Doctor!” The concerned voice rang again.

“Uargh, where am I? What happened?” The Doctor groaned as he sat up.

“Ha! You’re alive! Look! We did it, look! We did it!” Twilight Sparkle jumped up and down on all four hooves as the Doctor Whooves readjusted himself. He landed on his head.

As the Doctor’s blurry vision readjusted itself, he saw that the sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky. Ponies of all kinds merrily walked Ponyville once more, and Twilight stood with her five friends plus Derpy as they all smiled brightly at the Doctor.

It was at that moment he realised he was holding something in his hoof; a letter. His eyes widened as the Doctor realised he had brought back a letter from the future. It must have fluttered through the Edge of Forever just before it closed and he must have picked it up with his hoof. He hastily screwed it into a ball and hid it away before anypony could see it. Knowing that if anypony read it; it would create a most terrible paradox.

The Doctor then unexpectedly found himself at the bottom of a group hug. Everypony was joyful again. It was almost as if the Edge of Forever was just a fleeting memory, or a cataclysmic event nopony dare remember.

And so it came to pass, after talk of fractures in time, sonic rainbooms and the collapse of civilization that this chapter in Ponyville’s history came to a close...

That night fireworks shot into the sky above Ponyville. Displays of colour and flair erupted with a variety of dazzling colours, shapes and sizes much like the variety of ponies merrily drinking Perry and Cider. They all sang and cheered to the success of another disaster averted.

But this journey came to an end on the edge of a lonely, dusty and dimly lit train station. The only source of light was a lonely lantern that swung from above in the bitter wind. Doctor Whooves waited for the Friendship Express to come rolling down the train-track. He was headed to Hoofington, for his next big adventure.

While he waited he produced the letter from the future. He unscrambled it to view the contents. It wasn’t just any letter, it was a letter entrusted to Celestia, the pony who had written it had learnt a valuable lesson about family.

‘dead...’

...

‘my foal sis...’

...

‘she looked afte—’

Doctor Whooves was interrupted by the hiss from the wheels of the the Friendship Express. It had made port in the station and slowly came to a halt and steam flared from behind the wheels. He screwed up the letter into a ball and put it away in a saddlebag attached to his rump. But just before Doctor Whooves stepped on board the train, he was delayed by the goodbyes of Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

Doctor Whooves turned to his new-found friends and spoke first. “Well, in the end magic that was greater than machines. It was your magical abilities from your unicorn horn and your sonic rainboom that closed the fracture; my machines just gave you a little help along the way.” The Doctor said and then paused. But then he gave a stern look as he remembered well what he had seen in the future. When will it happen? How could something so horrible come to pass? The Doctor could reach only one logical conclusion:

“There’s something about the Elements of Harmony that you keep using Twilight. There is something wrong with them which I can’t quite understand yet. You should mindful when and where you use them from now on.” The Doctor said sternly. Twilight Sparkle gave a look of complete understanding. Infact she remembered back to when she tried to give Princess Celestia the Element of Loyalty. The jewel itself made the princess weak at the knees. Like some unnatural force still bound her to its magic.

“But enough of foreshadowing. Happy days!” The Doctor cheered with a grand old smile. If he wore a fez he would surely tip it to them in respect. In the end he and Twilight had worked quite well together. Both him, Twilight Sparkle and Skittles had all learnt a valuable lesson, that the ability of mortal machines will never best that of good and honest magic.

"It's strange, Doctor. We've just saved all of Ponyville and yet I still feel like I don't know anything about you," Twilight looked into his unfamiliar blue eyes. "You hide so much, even your own name."

"It's for the best. I don't like looking back, too many broken hearts and unfulfilled promises. Besides, information is dangerous Twilight, too much of it and you could be making all the wrong mistakes." The Doctor looked serious. He wanted to say more, but only a withheld sigh parted from his lips.

“Where will you go?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Anywhere and everywhere. Perhaps I’ll just... travel for awhile.” He looked up to the brightest stars in the sky as he spoke. It was certain now that the Doctor had nothing left in Ponyville; his entire cottage was destroyed in the resulting closure. But even though he had lost everything and never felt mundane towards anything he owned; it still felt like he was leaving home. He had taken it on the chin; he felt it was time to move on anyway. He had all of Equestria to adventure across.

“Oh but Doctor.” Twilight spoke again. “Promise me you’ll find someone, to travel with I mean. I feel you’re lonely, on the inside. You hide it with spirit for adventure but deep down inside it’s still in there. I feel you need somepony by your side.”

“Nah! Same old life for me, last of the Time Lords. Alone.” The Doctor replied cockily.

“Promise me Doctor.” Twilight repeated more sternly.

“Alright-alright,” he paused to sigh sincerely “...I promise.”

The Friendship Express tooted its high-pitched horn, the sign that it was about to depart. This was goodbye, but it didn’t need saying. Perhaps this wasn’t the end of their team. Perhaps somewhere down the tracks of fate their paths were destined to cross again.

“Well Doctor, it’s been a blast.” Twilight said and smiled. Everything was back to normal, but for that one beautiful moment, she found herself enjoying the chaos. It was a grand adventure filled with both excitement, and danger.

“Always a pleasure Twilight Sparkle... Skittles.” He nodded to both of them in turn. “I’ll be seeing you again. One day.” The Doctor said with a wink before he boarded the Friendship Express. The train puffed and slowly chugged down the line, steam plumed from the funnel on top of the front carriage and the pistons spun and gradually increased their speed.

The Doctor waved from the window and took off on his newest adventure. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash stood on the station and waved back as the train departed toward the horizon. With a heartfelt smile and the whistling wind that blew through their manes, they watched the train roll off into the elegant sunset.

To Be Continued...

---

My Little Pony: Time is Forever™ will return...
Soon...

'Heartstrings will be pulled...'

Notes:
This episode was a special wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey storyline.
They're loads of references to Doctor Who in this chapter: four knocks, the silence, Jim the fish etc...
Doctor Whooves will return... when you least expect it.