Adventures in the TARDIS

by Scroll

Part 5 Nexus of Destiny

Seeing Equestria from high up, the landscape does not appear that much different to Feather Wind for the most part, but in the local area, seeing Ponyville is a clear sign that he isn't really in his own world.

Or, rather, he is, but it is not his native time.

Scanning over the horizon, Feather realizes he'll see more of the same across the rest of Equestria. That the land, water, and sky are mostly the same, but there are far more communities out there now. In fact, the population of Equestria has likely been enjoying a recent bump for about the last twenty to thirty years, and the most likely culprit of that is the railroad system. Many communities are trading and traveling more than they had in centuries. Because they are interacting more, more ponies are meeting each other and one thing leads to another. Next thing they know, a new yearling is born.

There isn't much about this new time Feather has to complain about, but it also makes him feel a little alienated and homesick. He does not even feel tempted to explore Canterlot itself and find out how much it has changed too. If that happens then he might feel like even more of an outsider in his own world.

Feather eventually excuses himself from Derpy and explains that he needs to spend some time alone. This request surprises her at first. She almost complains until she recalls something Stern once told her, and that is Feather occasionally needs some time alone to decompress himself. After being stressed in a crowd like the ones in Ponyville, even though it was clear no pony intended them harm there, Feather still needs some time to himself to help him cope.

So Derpy accepts and says she will rejoin the others before flying off. Feather thanks her before he departs.

Feather Wind closes his eyes and just lets the wind carry him without any conscious control over it. He enjoys the flight itself and allows that to soothe his spirit.

But eventually he notices the landscape getting more familiar again. In time he realizes that the wind has carried him back to the same cliff he once flew off from for the very first time in his life. At this location, the winds tend to be more energized and active. In a way, it feels like returning home.

Feather Wind lands at the edge of the cliff again. His Mist Cloak settles down, but his mane continues to be blown straight in various directions. Ahead of him are forested mountains. Then he turns around to gaze off the edge of the cliff. This cliff leads off to a very steep drop. In that direction, the significantly lower landscape is dotted with many lakes, but otherwise the terrain is mostly flat plains.

Until this moment, Feather Wind didn't really feel like he had truly returned to his home world. So much about Equestria had changed over these one hundred years. More knowledge is acquired. Some pivotal technologies have severely altered the way many societies interact with each other and it seems like this may be only the beginning. There is more communication and trade in this world. All in all, ponies kind of live closer together.

But nature itself seems largely unchanged. This cliff, as well as the landscape behind and ahead of him, is totally familiar. The feeling he gets from the winds here is also very familiar, yet he is also getting this “welcome back” sensation as he breathes in the wind and feels it brushing through his mane and hide.

There's a new story in the winds now. He can feel it. A story that he hasn't been fully a part of himself, but to the winds, the story has already been told. So, in a small way, even nature recognizes he isn't fully where he belongs. Despite that, he still feels the most comfortable here.

Feather Wind closes his eyes and breathes in deeply. As he does so, he channels some of the positive feelings he is feeling at this moment into the Red Crystal for the very first time. He's attuned to it enough, by now, that there is a decent flow of energy between him and the crystal. Using that connection, he has some of that energy flow into the crystal.

With that, a new legacy is born. The first drop of energy into this bucket. It will need significantly more for it to fulfill its destiny, but it feels iconic to him that all of that should start up here. Right back to where his true journey in self-discovery was born.

The place where he discovered his new name and cutie mark.

As he continues to dwell on that, some dark thoughts also sink into his head because it reminds him why collecting this energy is so important. Not only is it to be helpful in eventually returning the Crystal Empire, but he'll need it to defeat one of King Sombra's otherwise immortal and invincible servants.

There are a lot of things in this time that remind him of his dark past and most dangerous nemesis so far. In a way, the clicking and tick-tock sounds of Time Turner's Clock Tower is one of them, for it reminds Feather of a chilling nursery-sounding rhyme that Puppet Master created which sounded like a bunch of spooky and ghostly foals.

“Tick-tock

Goes the clock

Into the here on af-ter . . .

“Tick-tock

Goes the clock

Until we're smashed to bat-ter.”

The ghostly foals started laughing again as if they relished the idea of their own demise. The laughter rose to a fever pitch. It sounded like the crowd was thickening over time.

Feather Wind shudders as he shakes his head. That moment still eats away inside of him. It reminds him of the kinds of horrible monsters that exist out there.

But the Doctor and Derpy came on that same adventure. Since then, Feather has seen some other things that might not be as scary as what Puppet Master conjured in Vision's former temple, but the other threats had a similar level of danger. If not for himself, then for others.

Feather Wind slowly cracks open his eyes as he contemplates destiny itself. A destiny that brought him to this cliff on multiple occasions long ago, and now he is here again. He didn't influence the winds to carry him here. Instead, these seem like a nexus point where the winds and destiny converge.

The Winds of Destiny.

Those same winds had eventually carried him much further than this. Beyond this whole world and into the vast and unlimited confines of time and space. Up there, he senses he's starting to get embroiled in a much larger conflict; the Time War. Whatever role Feather, or his friends, have in that affair, however distantly, it still feels significantly important to him at this moment.

Feather wonders, to himself, if this was what destiny was preparing him for or if, somehow, events will grow even larger than this. That's hard to imagine, but not long ago, where and when he is now was hard to imagine as well. He could conceive of this possibility but didn't think anything like this was actually going to happen.

In many ways, he has been blessed with many great mentors, great power, and wonderful friends. Among them, one of them has the means to carry him through time and space. Another has the ability to see through time and space. Is that just a coincidence?

But then Feather recalls something the Doctor recently said and that is, when it comes to time travel, whatever will happen has already happened in a future timeline. If that future includes the ability to travel into the past, then they can sculpt the past in such a way that it causes itself.

But Time might be more than that, especially when it comes to the Time War. That war might be a conflict of ideologies from multiple timelines clashing against each other. Each version is more like a possibility that is trying to become more “real” than the other. The Doctor himself is one of those narrators who is trying to take control of this story and write his own version of it. A version better than the one he suffered from in the past.

All of this causes Feather to more deeply question the nature of reality. What he has seen ever since he stepped into the TARDIS made it seem like Feather Wind saw only a thin veneer of reality before. A reality that almost every pony he has ever known didn't question and wholeheartedly accepted as normal, but now that feeling of normalcy is beginning to feel like a facade. It's as if the normal, average day-to-day living is actually just innocence and naivety.

Was Feather “chosen” for some larger role in the universe? And, if so, by whom? For what purpose? What goal will ultimately be accomplished?

If any or all of this is true, this doesn't make Feather feel arrogant in the slightest. If anything, it actually makes him feel scared.

“Normal” is not a bad life. At least it usually isn't. It is routine. It is a sense of confidence in at least some basic concepts, but the realities he has started to see “out there” has turned his world upside down. Feather feels like he is struggling to find his new balance and equilibrium within this new reality. Every time he tries, though, he can feel the rules change again and he gets knocked back down. If this continues, he starts to wonder if it's even worth trying to establish any sense of normalcy anymore.

The general theme of his life seems to be to prove that nothing is impossible. There was a time, earlier in his youth after he discovered his cutie mark, that that role felt like an honor. It was somewhat embarrassing too because it made him the center of attention in some social circles, but it helps to broaden the minds and perspectives of other ponies, and it felt like a good thing at the time.

Now, however, he feels himself being plunged into the totally unknown. In it, he has very little assurance that things will eventually turn out well. There is some mention of future books Feather will publish someday so that means he has to live until then, but very little is promised beyond that. If every one of his other friends got killed or corrupted somehow then that still isn't a future he wants to see. There is plenty of incentive still here to struggle to make sure things turn out better in the long run.

Seeing this timeline helps. There are so many changes here that it somewhat unsettles him to experience, but overall, it is better here. He doesn't feel much of a connection to this time as if he isn't meant to be a part of it, but it's still nice to know well things will turn out. This is a future worth fighting for. Seeing it is like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel or the dawn of the next brighter day. He realizes that he may need to keep this knowledge and experience in the back of his mind when facing future struggles. If all of those struggles eventually cause this reality to happen, then it is nice to know it will all be worth it.

A rustle in the grass and dirt alerts him to the fact he is no longer alone up on that cliff. First, he directs his ears, then his head, back at the newcomer behind him. When he does, he notices a mysterious cloaked figure standing shortly behind him. Upon noticing that, he widens his eyes when he recalls that Stern Wing once warned him that they were being followed back in Ponyville. He really didn't expect this person to continue following him all the way out here, but if this pony did, then he or she is most likely a pegasus.

“Who are you?” Feather Wind asks the newcomer in a guarded way as he turns to fully face the cloaked figure. “What do you want?”

“I'll start by telling you what I don't want from you,” the mysterious cloaked figure says to Feather Wind in a voice that clearly sounds feminine. “What I don't want is your fear. To that end . . .”

The figure trails off as she finally pulls the hood of her cloak down. This reveals a beige face. She has reddish/purple eyes. Her mane is a mix of various shades of black, white, and gray, and yet she doesn't appear old or even middle-aged. That is just her natural mane color.

“Who are you?” Feather Wind repeats cautiously.

“A friend who has a message for the Doctor,” the mysterious mare answers. “More like something to deliver, actually. Also, I have a request for him. I need his help with something.”

“You know the Doctor?” Feather Wind asks with a lift of an eyebrow.

“I met him before,” the mare assures. “He seemed to have a healthy respect for history back then which is why I'm kind of surprised to see you here.”

“Why would that surprise you?” Feather asks as he narrows his eyes a bit.

“Because I know you don't belong in this time,” the mare answers. “You're probably not the only one, either. The Doctor struck me as normally more careful and selective about his traveling companions, but selecting one who has an important and, most likely, still unfulfilled destiny in history strikes me as unusually reckless of the Doctor.”

“Well . . . let's just say there were extenuating circumstances in my case,” Feather explains. “And not just in my case either.”

“I would appreciate more of an elaboration on that later, but for now, I came to deliver a message,” says the mysterious and adventurous-looking mare. “I need to see the Doctor both to deliver something to him and to make an important request.” She nods at him. “Can you help me arrange a meeting with him?”

Feather's stance relaxes slightly as he says, “I suppose I could. He's in Time Turner's Clock Tower.”

The mare nods as she assures, “I'm well aware of that. I am also aware of how impenetrable the TARDIS doors can be without an invitation.”

Hearing this mysterious mare mention the word “TARDIS” relaxes him slightly more. She at least has enough knowledge about that to reveal how familiar she is with this subject.

“Can I count on you to invite me into the TARDIS sometime tonight?” the mare asks hopefully. “The issues I have to present to him are urgent. He may have a time machine himself, but the clock is ticking in the present. If not acted upon soon enough, lives will perish.”

Feather Wind widens his eyes slightly, alarmed to hear her say that. He then nods at her as he assures her, “Sure. I will do what I can.”

“Excellent. Then I'll see you tonight.” The mare then crouches and spread her wings which then indeed confirms she is a pegasus.

“Wait!” Feather calls out as he holds up a hoof toward her. Fortunately, she does wait and lifts herself back to a normal standing position. “I need to warn you that there will be a lot of activity in the Clock Tower soon. We had an encounter of the Pinkie variety recently and she's made it her mission to form a party to celebrate the newcomers in Ponyville. She's also chosen to do it at that location tonight.” Feather turns his face a bit to the side and views the mare more from his left eye. “If you wanted your presence to be unnoticed in Ponyville for some reason, it might be more challenging to do that soon if you also want to see the Doctor during the party.”

Feather notices the mare looking down more thoughtfully.

“The party will mostly be held on the first floor, though,” Feather Wind adds. “And the Doctor, plus the TARDIS, is on the upper floor where it is too noisy for a normal celebration.”

“Well . . . it's not as if I'm unaccustomed to taking some risks,” the mare mentions. “Honestly, this obstacle is pretty tame compared to what I normally go through.

“Well, anyway . . .” the mare marches up beside Feather and starts to get ready to fly off the cliff.

“Before you go, tell me this. By what name shall I introduce you to the Doctor?” Feather asks the mare with a shrewd expression on his face.

Seeing that makes the mare copy his expression as she replies, “Tell him that an ally of the Time Walkers wishes to see him.”

With that, she leaps off the cliff and zooms off into the distance. Feather's yellow eyes follow her as she flies away.