Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Trixie opened her eyes and blinked at the dazzling light above her bed. Her head was aching.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
She tried to sit up but immediately blacked out and had to lie down again. On inspection, she found her head was wrapped in bandages.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
A torrent of memories flooded back. She was in a crashed pod, somewhere in the distant future. Was that right? Maybe she'd taken such a knock that she wasn't thinking straight. Anyway, it was impossible to concentrate with that constant tapping going on. She leaned over the side of the bunk. There, relentlessly marching up and down was Twilight Sparkle.
"What are you doing?" said Trixie.
This did not yield any response.
"Twilight, stop pacing,"
"I'm not pacing, am I? Oh yes, so I am, I'm pacing". She reached the window, turned and started the sequence again.
"Is there something wrong?"
"No. Whatever gave you that impression?" said Twilight, "I mean being stranded at the end of the universe, millions of years away from home, with no hope of ever getting back, does tend to have a negative effect on one's general well-being, but other than that I'm fine, absolutely fine". She laughed hysterically.
"Are you missing your friends again?"
"It's not just that. It's this place. How long has it been now, four weeks? Four weeks stuck in here". Twilight was picking up her pace now, her hooves pounding the floor plates with increasing urgency. "Four weeks of the same routine, the same grey walls, the same grey doors, the same grey ceiling, it's enough to drive anypony crazy!"
"So, you're mad because of, the walls?"
Twilight flung herself onto the bottom bunk. "It wouldn't be so bad if there was something to read, or to do around here; some form of stimulation. Anything, and I mean anything, would be better than this,"
Trixie saw an opportunity. "How about a magic show from the great and powerful Trixie?"
"Except that,"
"Oh come on. You are supposed to be my mentor. Besides I've been working on my teleportation spell,"
"Ah, that explains the bandages then,"
"Just a little scrape, that's all. It's so cluttered in that Doctor's laboratory, it's hard to avoid bumping into things,"
"What were you doing in the Doctor's laboratory?"
"Well, that wasn't where I started from. I'm not quite sure how I ended up in there actually. By the way, if he comes asking what happened to his equipment, Derpy was responsible, not me,"
"Sure. Anyway, in case you had forgotten, we're still suffering the effects of your last performance".
Trixie groaned. She hardly needed reminding that it was her attempt at a time spell which had left them stranded millions of years from civilisation in the first place.
"If we ever get back home I'm going to remember that time travel is not something to be messed with". Rolling over, Twilight found a grey wall glaring at her. "Eergh. I can't even stretch my wings in here,"
"Oh please," said Trixie, rolling her eyes, "even Derpy can fly better than you,"
"That's not true," Twilight protested, "and anyway that isn't a fair comparison. She's had wings her whole life; she grew up with them. If you gave Derpy a horn, she wouldn't be able to use magic like I can".
"Well we'll never know, will we? I mean it's not like some device is going to show up that can give her magical powers".
At that point the door was kicked open. Doctor Whooves stood at the entrance, thumping his hooves excitedly.
"Come quickly. I've invented a machine that can turn a pegasus into a unicorn".
"What?" cried Twilight and Trixie, sitting bolt upright in unison.
"You can't change a pegasus into a unicorn just like that," said Twilight, "can you?"
She, Trixie and Derpy were stood on the threshold of the Doctor's laboratory, deep in the belly of the pod. He was busy running around, comparing calculations and making final adjustments to his machine, skillfully managing to not trip on the assorted junk, scattered about on the floor.
"With the molecular modifier you can," he said, "or a unicorn into a pegasus. It tweaks the genetic structure on an atomic level. Think of it like, an apple. With the right preparation it has the potential to become something delicious, like apple pie, except it doesn't really work like that at all. Actually, forget apple pie. Just trust the science".
The molecular modifier, as the Doctor described it, was a tubular construction balanced on a tripod, with the controls at one end and some sort of laser pointer at the other.
Twilight remained sceptical. "Maybe there are some areas where science isn't meant to interfere,"
"Nonsense," the Doctor answered, "science and mathematics are the two things you can always rely on. Without them we'd still be living on wild superstitions, like that one you were on about Derpy, about the Muffin King,"
Derpy gasped. "Do not mock the Muffin King. He hears every word, and one day he shall return".
"You know the difference between science, and superstition?" said the Doctor, "science requires research, and dedication. For example, the alignment of this device has to be precise, otherwise the consequences could be catastrophic".
The tripod toppled over onto the floor.
The Doctor forced a smile, "not again. I keep saying one of these centuries I'll get round to fixing that leg. I think there must be a screw loose,"
"You can say that again," said Trixie.
The Doctor stood up straight, having once more propped up and primed the device. "Now all I need is a volunteer. I'd test it on myself, of course, but somepony has to operate it, and anyway, being an earth pony, it wouldn't have any effect on me theoretically,"
"So, you're proposing that I participate in one of your experiments, and get blown up, or turned into a frog or something," said Trixie, "let me think about it". She stood there, gazing at the ceiling, as if deep in contemplation. "Er, no. The great and powerful Trixie would prefer to stay in one piece".
"Well it can't be me because I'm already an alicorn," Twilight reminded them,
"We know," Trixie groaned,
"In that case, Muffins, you're up," said the Doctor.
All eyes turned to Derpy. She stepped forward, without hesitation, into the range of the molecular modifier.
"Wait, don't tell me you're actually going to put your life in the hooves of this maniac?" said Trixie, "are you really that stupid? Don't answer that,"
"I'm not stupid," Derpy replied, "and I trust the Doctor".
The machine hummed with power, as Doctor Whooves operated the controls. The two spectators looked on anxiously. Derpy, meanwhile, exhibited her usual carefree smile, as if this was all perfectly ordinary.
"I suggest you look away," warned the Doctor.
"Wha-" Twilight started to say, but was cut short by blinding flash. Once her vision had cleared it became obvious that something had gone very wrong.
Derpy noticed that everypony was staring at her with concerned expressions. Even the Doctor seemed agitated.
"What happened?" she asked, "did it work?"
"Well, it, half worked," said Twilight,
"What do you mean?"
"I'm afraid something terrible has happened, something awful, it's so horrifying I can hardly bear to look".
Derpy couldn't understand. She felt fine. Her hooves were working normally; she did a little jig to make sure. She felt her forehead, and found that a horn had grown there. So it had worked then. Everything else was in order. She swished her tail, unfurled her wings and gave them a flutter. Wait, wings? She still had wings.
"I'm an, alicorn?"
The Doctor sensed the concern among the others. "Don't worry," he assured them, "this, is only a temporary phase; the new molecular structure will stabilise any moment now".
They waited. Nothing happened.
"Any moment now," the Doctor said again.
Still nothing.
"I don't understand". He opened up a side panel to make a closer inspection of the inner workings of the molecular modifier. "Great whickering stallions, everything is out of alignment in here. How can that be possible? You know, it's almost as if somepony has been down here tampering with my equipment".
Trixie slowly retreated into the corner while Twilight glared at her.
"Come on, you have to concentrate".
Trixie was sat at a table in the midsection of the pod. The table had a dull metallic texture like the rest of the room and had been similarly cluttered with gadgets, spare cables and odd trinkets. She had cleared these items and now a muffin stood in their place, which Derpy was staring at intently.
"I am trying," she insisted,
"Look, I'll show you," said Trixie. She too began focusing on the muffin. "Total concentration, see. Remember what I said, like you're in a bubble,"
"Ooo I like bubbles," said Derpy, "sometimes I have dreams where I'm floating and there are lots of bubbles and..."
"Derpy," snapped Trixie,
"Oh, sorry,"
"As I was saying, you're in a bubble, an empty bubble, where nothing is going to distract you and... what's that speck on the floor? I've never noticed that before".
There were hoofsteps coming up from the laboratory.
"The Doctor says it could take weeks to get that machine repaired," said Twilight Sparkle, reaching the top of the stairs, "and until then we have no way of changing Derpy back. This is a disaster".
Trixie and Derpy were still fixated on the muffin and neither of them acknowledged her.
"What are you girls doing?"
"I thought Derpy could benefit from this opportunity by learning a few tricks from the best," Trixie explained,
"Well," said Twilight, "It would be my privilege, but... Oh. You mean you". She frowned.
"Right now I'm trying to get her to turn a muffin into a cupcake",
"I think you might have more success if you did it the other way round," she suggested, "anyway, what are we going to do?"
"About what?"
"About this. We have to do something. You can't just have any ordinary pony just become an alicorn, just like that. I mean what's next? Before you know it, they'll be anarchy, chaos and disarray, and, what are you staring at me like that for?" Twilight realised she had involuntarily extended her wings. She quickly folded them away. "That was different," she said, "that was, magic",
"And what's so different about that?" said Trixie,
"It's different because, because, ergh, I'm going to bed. I'll think of a solution to this later".
With that, Twilight disappeared through the door to the bunk room. Trixie and Derpy were left alone once more.
"Now that we have quiet in here, let's have another try shall we? Complete concentration remember," said Trixie.
Derpy stared at the muffin again. After a couple of minutes, nothing had happened.
Trixie shook her head. "Oh come on. Don't you want to become great and powerful, and be the greatest magician in Equestria, like Trixie? I know it takes years of practice to reach my level, for other ponies that is; it all came naturally to me, of course, but you could at least... huh?"
Trixie found herself suspended in a magic bubble. Derpy's horn was glowing. Moments later she was propelled across the room and slammed into the airlock door. She came to rest, dazed and disoriented, in a pile of the Doctor's junk.
"Are you okay, Trixie?" said Derpy,
"Well that was, something," she replied, attempting to stand up, "your technique could maybe use a little more control,"
"I'm sorry. I just don't know what happened".
Twilight rolled over on her bed as Trixie entered the bunk room. She now had bandages on her legs and flank to go with the one around her head.
"Gosh, what happened to you?" asked Twilight,
"Derpy," was her response,
"Oh, did she make any progress with her magic?"
"Well she threw me across the room a few times, but other than that, nothing. It doesn't make sense. You can't fault the teaching; I mean who better to guide her than somepony as skilful with magic as me".
Trixie spotted that a corner of the bottom sheet on her bunk had slipped out from under the mattress. She used her magic to correct it, only for the other corner to pop out instead. She groaned and repeated the spell several times, each time with the same result as before.
"Here, let me help you," said Twilight, getting up,
"I don't require any assistance,"
"I don't mind. I can't sleep anyway".
Twilight stood back and began casting a spell which levitated the pillow, sheets and mattress from the top bunk separately, allowing her to fold the corners under all at once.
"It's this whole Derpy thing," she said, yawning, "the Doctor's gone too far this time. He's messing with things he doesn't understand,"
"Oh I get it now," said Trixie,
"Get what?"
"I should have seen it before. It's obvious isn't it?"
"What is?"
Trixie cleared her throat. "You don't want Derpy to be an alicorn because it means you're no longer special,"
"Actually, that has nothing to do with it". Having finished admiring her work, Twilight went back to her bed.
"Anypony could become princess of friendship you know, it's not that hard. It could have been me with the right opportunities,"
Twilight had to contain herself from bursting out laughing. "You, princess of friendship? You?"
"And what's so strange about that?"
"Well, for a start the princess of friendship should have, friends".
Trixie looked offended. "You say that almost as if I don't have friends".
"Okay, name some,"
"Obviously I can't think of every friend I've ever had on the spot,"
"Name one,"
"Oh, as many as that?" Trixie thought for a moment. "Twilight Sparkle," she said, giving her best cheesy smile.
"You'll have to do better than that,"
"Okay, so maybe I don't have many friends," she admitted, "but you don't need loads of friends to be a good friend,"
"Okay then, in what way have you been a good friend?"
After deliberating on this for some time, Trixie said "I sent you a card on your birthday".
"Yeah, a Hearts and Hooves card," Twilight sighed,
Trixie blushed. "Oh, was it? I must have mixed them up,"
"And not only that; you spelt my name wrong. There is no L-I-T-E in Twilight. I mean, how could you even do such a thing? It makes me sick". She breathed heavily.
"You have problems, you know that, right?"
It was then that Trixie's blanket departed from her. It didn't levitate so much as drift into the air, like it was weightless. "You've already done a great job with the bed; you can leave it alone now".
"I'm not doing this," Twilight replied. She tried to grab hold of her own errant blanket, only to find that she was now floating as well. Glancing around, she saw bubbles spurting up from the floor, while fish swam across the room. This gave her an idea.
"What in the name of Celestia is going on here?" cried Trixie, spiralling through the air, her hooves flailing in all directions. A group of fish darted out of the way and she realised she was on a head-on collision course with the wall. "Not again". She closed her eyes.
But instead of the anticipated impact, she felt a warm, soft sensation. She opened her eyes and found Twilight holding onto her. Trixie smiled.
"Swim," Twilight ordered,
"Where?"
"We need to get to the laboratory, and find out if the Doctor knows anything".
With Twilight doing a front crawl and Trixie implementing some form of doggy paddle, the two mares eventually made their way to the midsection. Doctor Whooves came cartwheeling up from the stairs.
"Woooo," he yelled, waving his hooves around joyfully, "this is fantastic. I've never had this much fun since I went to that party in zero gravity,"
"Doctor," said Twilight,
"I was in bed for three days recovering from the dizziness; what a night. Anyway, what did you want?"
"What is happening?"
"You want to know what's happening. This might take some time. Now where do I begin?" The Doctor cleared his throat, still spinning through the air. "We are a group of equines from the land of Equestria who, through a set of freak circumstances, have come to be marooned in the distant future, and..."
"Yes, yes, we know all of that already," said Trixie, "tell us what's happening now. Where did all these fish come from, and everything?"
"Oh, I see, well you should be more specific in future. As it happens I do have an inkling as to what, or rather who is responsible". He gestured for the others to follow him to the bulkhead which divided the cockpit from the midsection of the pod. Once there, he peered in and nodded with satisfaction. "Ah, as I suspected".
The others looked into the cockpit. Everything appeared in order, more or less. Spare cables were strewn across the floor, a half eaten tin of biscuits lay open on the front console, and curled up in the first officer's seat, snoring gently, was Derpy. Her horn was glowing.
"You mean Derpy's doing this? But she's asleep," said Trixie,
"Exactly,"
"I don't understand,"
"I've worked it out. You see Derpy's alicorn powers are controlled by her subconscious,"
"Of course," Twilight exclaimed, "that explains why she couldn't control her magic earlier,"
"And sleeping is a subconscious action; you don't choose to fall asleep, it just, happens,"
"I still don't understand," said Trixie,
"What we are experiencing are Derpy's dreams," explained the Doctor.
Trixie tossed her head from side to side as a lump of seaweed became stuck to her face. The seaweed didn't look very pleased about it and neither was Trixie, from the noises she was making.
"So we're safe then, right?" said Twilight.
Finally Trixie managed to shake the seaweed off and it drifted away pulling faces at her and laughing.
"Well, in theory," the Doctor replied, "as long as Derpy doesn't have any nightmares, we're fine".
There was a thud. The whole pod shook sending Twilight, Trixie and the Doctor crashing to the floor. The lights flickered. For a moment nothing could be seen or heard except the low hum of the pod's heating system. Then a silhouette emerged from the darkness, of a hideous, deformed creature. It's skin was cracked, and something was oozing from the cracks. As it lunged forwards, Twilight got a closer inspection, using her horn as a light. To her surprise the gooey stuff looked like, blueberry. She sniffed the air suspiciously. "Smells like, baking?" A raspberry muffin talon swung in her direction forcing her to duck. The lights had returned, and Twilight had a clear view of the beast. It stood three times her height, with a crude banana chip crown.
"Derpy," she cried, "wake up,"
Derpy came running in and skidded to a stop. "The M-M-Muffin King," she said, legs shaking.
"But if Derpy's awake then how come it's still here?"
"So you ran off to the end of the universe," boomed the Muffin King, "you thought you had escaped, but we are omnipresent. We see everything".
"Lea..." Twilight started to say, then she felt something grab hold of her. She looked back. Trixie was cowering behind her, clutching her back leg. She rolled her eyes. "Leave her alone".
The Muffin King turned to her, and it was then that Twilight caught a glimpse into the eyes of the creature. They were impossibly deep, and dark as the night sky, with a blazing tinge of purple around the edges. She gasped, and aimed her horn at the monster, firing a beam of magic energy. It had no effect. The beast roared and vomited a tidal wave of cream cheese, sweeping them both across the floor.
"Quick, down here," called the Doctor from the top of the stairs.
Twilight and Trixie scrambled to follow his instruction. Derpy stayed frozen on the spot, her eyes glued to the Muffin King.
"Muffins, come on".
Still Derpy could not move.
The Doctor, Twilight and Trixie regrouped downstairs in the safety, or relative safety, of the Doctor's laboratory.
"You know there was something familiar about that creature, don't you think?" said the Doctor,
"Oh yes," said Trixie, "we were attacked by a giant muffin monster, it happens all the time,"
"Well it's happened to me once or twice," the Doctor replied, dead serious, "but it's not just that. There was something about those eyes, didn't you see it? It's like, you know when you have flashbacks from a dream, but you can't remember any details".
Twilight, who had been strangely silent up until now, spoke. "That was the Tantabus".
"The what?" said Trixie,
"Ages ago, back in Ponyville, we encountered a creature, a parasite, that could infect the psyche, turning dreams into nightmares. We thought Luna had defeated it, but part of it must have survived in Derpy's subconscious, and now it has entered the real world".
"Then we need to get it back into the dream world, right?"
"It's not as simple as that. Something has changed. Last time it was feeding off Luna's guilt, but something has made it grow stronger; it must be to do with Derpy becoming an alicorn".
There were roaring and crashing sounds from above. The ceiling was shaking. Twilight noticed that the Doctor wasn't looking up like the others. He was staring into the distance, not smiling or showing any expression.
"Doctor, are you okay?"
He didn't respond.
"It's not your fault. None of us knew this would happen, and anyway, Derpy can look after herself. She'll be okay".
After a few seconds the Doctor's face lit up. "Derpy, yes, that's it; she just might be the key to fixing all this". He sprang into action, pulling a whiteboard out of nowhere with a rather crude side illustration of a pegasus on it. "You know how pegasi extend their wings when they get passionate about something? Well Derpy's magic works more or less the same. You see she is not just any alicorn, she has the power of the subconscious, which makes her potentially more powerful than even you, Twilight. Imagine if she could actually harness that power, just for a moment. I wonder what would happen. All she needs is a little help from the greatest force in the universe; anger".
"No way; that's friendship,"
"Yeah, friendship is magic, blah blah blah, carry on Doctor" said Trixie,
"Trixie, this is serious," Twilight snapped,
The Doctor cut in. "You see Derpy is not magical by nature; by nature she's a pegasus, which means she's wired up differently. The only trouble is how do you make such a cheery pony angry?"
"That's easy, just take away her muffins," answered Trixie,
"Stop," said Twilight, "listen,"
"I can't hear anything," said Trixie,
"Exactly,"
"Oh no no no," the Doctor cried, "that can't be good". He charged to the door, the others in pursuit.
As they came to the top of the stairs, the Doctor stopped. "Fascinating," he said.
"What is it?" said Twilight. She looked around. As far as she could see the midsection was empty. Empty except for a crack. A giant, shining crack, running from the floor plates to the ceiling. There was something wrong with it.
"Ow, what is that?" cried Trixie, "it doesn't look, right. It's hurting my eyes".
The Doctor glanced at Trixie, then at Twilight. "Come on. Neither of you? It's a trans-dimensional interface, isn't it? I never thought I'd get to see one in real life".
The two mares stared blankly.
"You know, from the Comprehensive Illustrated Guide to Celestial Anomalies and Oddities, Second Edition,"
"Oooh," said Twilight, "I'm still on the first edition,"
"I can lend you a copy if you like".
"Excuse me," said Trixie, "but what exactly is this transcendental interface thing?"
"Trans-dimensional," the Doctor corrected, "well, first of all, it doesn't look like that. It's actually five dimensions nested together, but your brain can't process that, which is why it looks, wrong. What it does is it links two separate points in time and space together,"
"Of course," Twilight exclaimed, "the Tantabus must need other ponies to infect. There's not enough food for it here".
"Then I suggest we follow it,"
"Through there?"
"Yes, I'm reasonably sure it's safe. No, wait, why didn't I think of it before? The molecular modifier is what awakened the Tantabus from its dormant state to begin with, so perhaps it can reverse it. You girls go on ahead, I'll be right behind you".
"But, I thought you said it would take weeks to fix..." The Doctor had already disappeared down the stairs before Twilight had a chance to finish.
The crack stood, jagged and shimmering before them.
Trixie stepped to one side. "After you," she said.
With a sigh, Twilight closed her eyes and stepped into the light. She heard a gentle chatter of voices. The ground felt soft under her hooves and there was a warmth on her back. She opened her eyes and realised she was standing on grass, surrounded by trees and houses. The voices came from other ponies, who strolled past going about their daily routines. The warmth came from the sun. It was a clear sunny day. Twilight turned to Trixie who had appeared beside her.
"This is Ponyville. We're home".
Doctor Whooves reversed up the steps into the midsection, dragging the molecular modifier and folded up tripod along behind him.
"Doctor?"
He dropped the items and looked up. "Derpy," he cried running over to hug his assistant.
"I hid in the cockpit. I'm sorry Doc, I didn't know what to do,"
"You're safe; that's what matters, no, stop. No time for sentimentality. There's a creature of nightmares loose somewhere in the universe and it's my responsibility,"
"The Muffin King?"
"Precisely. Now could you lend me a hoof with this tripod?"
"You're going through there?" said Derpy, indicating the crack, "wait. Then I'm coming with you".
"You don't have to you know," the Doctor frowned, "you've been in enough danger already".
"I want to," Derpy assured him.
The Doctor grinned, passing her the tripod. "Then let's go".
Moments later they materialised alongside Twilight and Trixie. The Doctor produced a hoofheld device, with a small dish on top.
"What are you doing?" said Twilight.
"Oh this? It's just a little gadget I brought along to help us locate the Muffin King. It scans for disturbances in a localised area, except it doesn't seem to be working..."
The ground shook beneath them. "Doctor?" said Twilight,
The Doctor was still fixated on his gadget. "Perhaps it needs recalibrating".
All around ponies scattered, panicking and screaming. A shadow loomed over them. "Doctor," Trixie shouted.
"Just a moment". He gave the device a whack and the dish started spinning round. "There, no, that can't be right. Now it says it's right in front of us. I'll have to recheck the calibration again".
"I, I think you should look up Doc," said Derpy.
This time he did. "Oh".
The Muffin King had grown. It now stood taller than all the trees and buildings, casting a shadow over the whole street. It's endlessly deep, dark eyes locked onto the four of them. It lurched forward, raspberry juice dripping off the end of its talons.
"Derpy," said Trixie, "I have a confession to make. I ate all of your muffins,"
"That's okay," she replied,
"What? Are you not angry?"
"Well, we can always get some more,"
The Muffin King growled as it continued to advance.
"No," stammered Trixie, "I, I ate all of them too. There are no muffins anywhere".
"Oh". Derpy was grinding her teeth together now. Her horn started to glow.
"You should have tasted them. They were the most delicious muffins I've ever had. Strawberry muffins, blueberry muffins..."
Derpy took in a long, deep breath. "I forgive you," she said, "it's not worth falling out over some muffins".
"It's not working," Trixie whispered to Twilight next to her,
"Then it's time for plan B," she replied,
"What's plan B?"
"Run".
They ran. Except for the Doctor, who stood still.
"Come on," said Twilight.
He began to assemble the molecular modifier, fiddling with the internal workings of the device.
"Ah, the pony who calls himself the Doctor," the Muffin King bellowed,
"Yes? Did you want something? If so, make it quick because I'm trying to perform a complex scientific task here,"
"Face it. Even if you could get that thing fixed, it is already far too late".
The ground split apart, swallowing the molecular modifier. The Doctor gasped, staggering back.
"Your science has failed you, Doctor, and now all of Equestria will be consumed into a living nightmare, thanks to you". The sky turned an unnatural, angry purple colour, as the beast roared again. Thick, heavy clouds blocked out the sun. "No clever quips or comebacks this time? What's the matter?"
Mist had descended, but through the darkness, the Doctor could hear terrified cries. He cowered down into the ground, shaking.
"That's right. Underneath all your rambling, your technobabble, your science and mathematics, you are still the same weak, pathetic foal, from all those years ago..."
"Leave him alone".
A beam of light hit the creature from above. It reeled back, blinded and in shock. The Doctor looked up. A gap in the clouds had opened. There, her wings flapping wildly, was Derpy. Her eyes burned with fury.
"You take Equestria, you do what you want with me, but you leave, him, alone".
She circled round, then descended, her horn glowing more and more intensely. Faster and faster she flew, her horn aimed at the monster. Seeing what was about to happen, the Doctor jumped out of the way. In an instant every particle in the air exploded with light. He covered his eyes, and waited for the ground to stop shaking.
It took a while for Twilight Sparkle's vision to clear. "What just happened?" she muttered.
Doctor Whooves came running over. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I think so. Trixie?"
Trixie stood motionless, her mouth hanging open.
"I think you'd better give her a minute. Where's Derpy? What happened to the Tantabus?"
"Well, what's left of it is over there".
He indicated to where Derpy was sat in the sun, cheerfully munching on the remains of the Muffin King. "This is actually really nice," she said.
"About that," said Twilight, "how are we going to convince the other princesses to accept a new alicorn?"
"She's not an alicorn any more, look," Trixie pointed out.
She was right. Derpy's horn had disappeared.
"But, what, how? I don't understand".
"It's obvious isn't it?" said the Doctor, "Derpy defeated the Tantabus the only way she could; by using her power as an alicorn to stop herself from ever becoming an alicorn in the first place, thereby creating a temporal paradox and trapping the Tantabus in a redundant time stream".
"I think I understand," replied Trixie, "but could you just repeat one part?"
"Which part?"
"All of it,"
"Wait," said Twilight, "but doesn't that mean, none of this ever really happened?"
"Exactly," replied the Doctor, "this is merely an echo of the redundant timeline".
The sun had vanished, and the sky was turning grey, and flat.
"And if none of this ever happened, then..."
"Time will revert back to the point of divergence, in this case Derpy becoming an alicorn".
The grass had now also gone grey, only it wasn't grass. It was a hard, metallic floor.
"And what does that mean?" asked Trixie.
The trees and houses disappeared, to be replaced with familiar grey walls, and piles of the Doctor's bric-a-brac.
Twilight grimaced. They were standing once more in the midsection of the pod. "It means we're still stuck at the end of the universe". She turned and trudged towards the bunk room. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm going back to bed. Perhaps I'll wake up and find that all of this is really just a bad dream".
