How I Met Them

by The Infinity Doctor

Broken

Heartswirl glanced to her husband as they followed the cloaked mare carrying their daughter's casket. The three were trotting down an old, beaten path- a house just a few miles away starting to come into view. The house looked rather run-down, old machine parts
littering the small lawn.

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about this..." she whispered, looking to her husband "all of this is ridiculous, we never should have agreed to this"
"You're right, maybe we are being silly, there's no way-"

"If you two are having doubts- I can simply take you home, and we can forget all of this ever happened"

Both of them stiffened, and looked to the mare leading them
"I- I- this- I can't do this...her...passing...was hard enough...but- but desecrating her- her corpse...we just can't..."

"Ma'am, what I plan to do is not to desecrate her in any sense of the word, I will be able to bring her back, and then she will go with you"
"But- but- how will you do it?"

"...that is for you to find out..."

X X X X X X X

"Jonas, I can't take this anymore, I want to go back to having just one horn" Twilight groaned

She and the other Elements were gathered in the library, still stuck in their changed forms

"Yes, I'd like to be able to walk on four hooves again, as well" Rarity said

"An' this horn ain't makin' applebuckin' any easier" Applejack said

"Okay- just hold still" he said, raising his hands "This won't hurt- I think- maybe it will, I don't know"

Twilight and her friends braced themselves as his horn lit up, a large dome went over the six mares, and pulsed as the spell took effect.

The dome disappeared, and the six collapsed to the floor

"At least they're back to normal" Spike said "Will they be okay?"

"They should be fine" Jonas said, picking up Twilight "I'm going to put Twilight in bed, then I think we should take them all back home"

"Right, I'll tell the Princess everything's back to normal" Spike said, taking a quill and parchment in his claws.

Jonas walked up the stairs, his hooves clacking againgst the wooden floor as he placed the unconcious Twilight in her bed, then walked back downstairs.

"I'm going to take Rarity back to the boutique, then Applejack back to Sweet Apple Acres"

The quill dropped from Spike's grip as he stared up at Jonas.

"What?"
"Jonas! You remembered!"
"What?"
"You remembered where Applejack and Rarity live! This is great! I'll add that in the letter to the princess"

Jonas looked at him, confused, as he scratched his head

"...that was weird...well, I guess I'd better get going- see ya Spike"
"See ya"

Spike waved goodbye as Jonas ducked under the doorway as he left the library, carrying Rarity and Applejack over his shoulders.

X X X X X X X

Clockwork flicked on the light switch as she trotted to her work table- carefully setting the casket on the floor.
The couple hesitantly followed her, they jumped as a rather large machine activated and removed itself from a table.

This...creature...had four, spider-like legs, the larger-still upper body looked like some modified chariot, two yellow lights glowing on the front. The creature's blue, demonic head and two large cannons poked out from under the red chariot.

The mare, for her part, was completely unfazed, staring into the thing's eyes

"Sorry dear, we'll have to finish later, I've got another matter to attend to"

Heartswirl half-expected the creature to get angry, to attack, but it didn't- it simply nodded and walked calmly past them.

Heartswirl looked to the mare, and her jaw dropped as the she removed her cloak, her flank and legs were covered in metal and bronze pipes, her metal legs hissed and whirred as she set the cloak off to the side.

Clockwork

"You may want to leave the room" Clockwork advised "You may not wish to see this, there is a tray of tea in the next room- you may remain there if you wish"

Both of them nodded shakily, and exited the room, leaving Clockwork to her own devices.

X X X X X X X

Rarity rubbed her eyes as she sat up in her bed

'Wait, why am I here?' she wondered 'the last thing I remember was being in the library with Jonas and the others...'

She hesitantly looked down (*Mwah* Goodnight Everybody!) and saw her body had returned to normal.

"Oh joy! Jonas' spell worked!" she cheered, leaping off the bed.
She did a small jig as she bounded down the stairs and into her shop.

"Oh dear, I'd better check on the others..." she realized, trotting out of the boutique and down the street.

X X X X X X X

"Heya Toxic! Where've ya been?" Applebloom asked, trotting up to the colt with her two friends.

"Oh, y'know, here and there" he said

"Well, we're headin' over to Sweet Apple Acres- you want to come with us?"

"Sure, that sounds fun" he smiled, following the three fillies down the road.

"So, how'd you get your cutie mark, anyway?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, what's it mean?" Sweetie Belle chimed.

"Well, me and dad were up in Canterlot for this big science event-"

"Wait- why'd you want to go do that? Sounds boring" Scootaloo interjected

"-and then there was this big explosion, see? There was nopony in sight, and there were these liquids all over the street, after I was decontaminated, I found dad again- then I remember finding my cutie mark, and passing out"

"So what's your special talent?"

"I dunno, maybe I was resistant to all those chemicals"

"Ooh! We gotta try that!" Scootaloo exclaimed

"I don't know...Rarity'd be mad if those stains didn't come out of my coat"

"'Sides, alotta those chemicals are poisonous anyhow"

Scootaloo huffed as the four continued on the path to the treehouse.

X X X X X X X

Applejack groaned as she came to, squinting in the bright sunlight streaming through her bedroom window.

"Sis? Y'alright?" came the deep baritone of her brother.
"Big Mac? Izzat you? What happened? Where am ah?"
"Jonas brought y'all home, good as new"
"Wha? How in tarnation-" AJ shook her head "Well at least mah wings an' horn are gone...where is Jonas, anyhow?"
"Left a couple hours ago"
"Where's Applebloom?"
"Off with her friends"
"Well...ah guess we'd better get back to applebuckin' then, shouldn't we?"
"Eeyup"

Applejack and Big Mac trotted down the stairs and returned to their chores.

X X X X X X X

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Ditzy asked, watching the brown-coated stallion rush around the Tardis as alarms and blinking red lights went off.

"This is bad...this is very, very bad...we're merging" The Doctor replied.

"Merging? Merging with what?"

"The Tardis"

"But...aren't we in the Tardis?"
"You remember how I explained time to you?"
"Yes"
"We, that is, my other selves and I, occasionally run into each other when in the Time
Vortex"
"How does that work?"
"No time! No time! Here he comes!"

The console sparked as another stallion appeared in the room, his coat a dark grey and a pitch-black mane matching his black bow-tie.

"So...which one are you?" Ditzy asked awkwardly.
The stallion didn't reply, and ignored the both of them, turning to the console.

Ditzy prepared to approach the stallion, when the Doctor held her back with a hoof. A dead stare locked on the stallion.

"Don't go anywhere near him" he stated coldly.
"Why?"
"You don't need to worry about it"
"But Doctor, who is he?"
"It doesn't matter, he's part of my past, that's it"
"Why do you want to forget him if he was you?"

"Everytime I regenerate, there's a set of rules I always follow, a promise, if you will" The Doctor replied, keeping his eyes on the stallion "He's the one that broke the promise"

"What I did-" the other Doctor said suddenly "-was for the preservation of peace and sanity, you know that as well as I do"
"I know"

"I also carry a message"

"And what would that be?"

"One day very soon, you and I will become one and the same once more"
His eyes shifted to Ditzy.
"Love her, cherish her, and be prepared for when the time comes"

A single tear slipped down his muzzle as the alarms once again blared throughout the Tardis, and he disappeared.

"What does it mean, Doctor?"

"I...don't know..."

X X X X X X X

Eve's entire frame shook as she slithered discreetly into the library, slipping past the baby dragon resting in a basket and a lavender unicorn dozing in her bed.

She quietly stepped down the stairs and found what she was looking for. A tall, cyan biped with wings and a horn. The Creator himself.

The Creator looked down at her, his expression confused.

"Hello there, can I help you?"

Eve sniffled.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

She burst into tears as her claws wrapped around his waist, the tears flowing freely as he spoke soothingly.

Eve jumped as a white unicorn trotted into the library, stopped, and stared at herself and the Creator.

Author's Note:

I am soooooo sorry about the hiatus, I've been busy.
Clockwork belongs to Serenity Neko Chan
Eve belongs to Edensola

Be sure to check both of them out, their fics are good.