> The Detective Lost in Time
>  by SweetCookie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Hidden In The Ice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equestria was in a dark era of crime and vice. Criminal activity had risen to an all-time high, and not one pony was safe on the streets, even in large numbers. In fact, most found themselves indoors as the best way to stay safe, but even the threat of home invasions made them less secure and caused panic. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sent out guards to every corner of their kingdom to keep their subjects as safe as possible, though it did little to shift the tide of crime. Among the panic and unease within the kingdom, most try to live out lives as normal as possible, encouraging each other to help the other out should the need arise. One pony who kept her head high, but didn't believe in asking for help was a young mare by the name of Ditzy 'Derpy' Hooves.

A delivery pony by day, a policemare by night, Derpy was once just a full-time delivery mare until the events in which she had been attacked and left to die on the streets late at night. She remembered it as clear as day, but wanted to forget it. What made things worse for her then was that there were other ponies trotting by, but they had been too scared or too ignorant to do something about it. Serving as a policemare granted her the privilege of not only serving others but protecting herself, though she tried to live life as normally as she could. Serving by night was far more dangerous than during the day, but it had been a fate left in the hooves of her commanding officer. Granted, if it weren't for her commander's orders, she would not have discovered something that would change the course of her life forever.



It had been like any ordinary night in Equestria. Or as ordinary as it could before for Equestria. Ditzy was on patrol once again, and for the first time in a while it had been relatively peaceful, or as peaceful as it could be. Aside from the occasional robbery or home invasion, criminal activity had surprisingly been kept to a low. Either the criminals were taking a break, or they were scared of an even more powerful villain who had recently gotten the name 'Tempest' by the public. Not much is known about her, except the fact that she was a unicorn with powerful abilities from a broken horn and she only worked during the night. As far as law enforcements were concerned, Tempest was only kidnapping ponies rather than leaving them bleeding to death, something paramedics and policeponies alike were relieved with. The case on the vigilante had been left cold for almost a year, the occasional report of a kidnapping appearing every month or two, depending on the severity of the kidnapping.

Ditzy sighed, watching the clouds in the sky up above cover the stars and the moon, the cold breeze shifting through her scarf and her mane, shivering slightly from the wind. Watching her breath disappear into the evening atmosphere, Ditzy patrolled areas of Ponyville and watched over citizens still outside the safety of their homes trying to enjoy the night, not a single sign of foals to be seen. The occasional delinquent was spotted and sent home by the policemare, but that was about it for her. Ditzy even began wondering if going on patrol was the best thing for her to do, even wondering if calling in sick and staying at home was the better option.

The pegasus' train of thought was soon interrupted by the calling of a mare not too far from her location, and by the sound of her voice she might have been another delinquent trotting around town. Instinctively and because it was her right to do so as a policemare, Ditzy followed the cries of help until she reached the mare with the colour drained from her face, but not the type that was seen when Discord ran around years ago.

"Oh god, are you a policemare?"

"Officer Der-Ditzy Hooves, sorry. What's your trouble?"

"Oh thank Celestia. Yeah, my friends and I snuck outside to play...Back in the forest...Lightning, he-he fell through the ice...Laura is with him...I-I-Please don't get mad, I-"

"Hold up, you said a colt fell into the ice? Is he ok?"

"I-I guess so."

"Is he conscious?"

"Y-yeah, b-but he came out of the ice in a state of shock. H-he kept going on about something stuck in the ice, and-"

"Something stuck in the ice?"

"Y-yeah, he couldn't explain to anypony w-what it was..."

"Um, if you don't mind just pick one eye please. Yeah, I have a bit of a problem with them, so please don't get distracted with them."

"Oh! Sorry, I'm so sorry. B-But if you'd like to see what he found, h-he's still in the forest..."

"Lead me to this 'thing in ice' if you can."

The small mare nodded, and started to gallop in the direction she came from, Ditzy followed her in the air, flying through the cold breeze that started to blow down harder than earlier that night. After a while, snowfall soon covered the land in snow, and it became impossible to locate the mare through the thick layer of snow falling from the clouds. Ditzy thought to herself for a moment. She was a pegasus, she could control the weather to her liking to make things easier for her. Only downside was her condition with her eyes. Even if she could, she wasn't coordinated enough to change the weather without worsening the condition of it further, so the fear of heavy snowfall pouring down onto the three teenage ponies still in the forest plagued her mind, her face burrowing in concentration as she tried to locate the mare once again.

After some time flying through the air, Ditzy heard the calling of the same Earth Pony that called her attention in town, and carefully made her way down to a clearing with a break in the ice and three teenagers close together comforting the colt of the group. Shaking of any bit of snow from her face, Ditzy approached the group and extended a hoof for the colt to take.

"Officer Ditzy Hooves. I've been told by your friend that you spotted something in the ice after you fell through it. You don't mind telling me what you saw, do you?"

"S-Sorry ma'am, I can't..."

"And why not?"

"I-It looked like it was about to pounce out of it! I-I honestly don't know what I saw down there!"

"You don't mind showing me where this thing is, right?"

"N-not at all ma'am. It's right here, about north of the ice break."

Taking in a deep amount of air, Ditzy lowered her head into the freezing cold water beneath the ice. The temperature of the water pricked at her coat like a pair of knives, even igniting a few sores from her old wounds. Ignoring the pain to the best of her abilities, Ditzy continued to look in the general direction the 'thing' in the ice would have been, briefly spotting something that looked like a mane before going back up for air.

"Well, you're right kid. Somepony's down there."

"There's a pony down there?!"

"Yeah, there is, and they might be in trouble. Hold these for me, and make sure they don't get wet!"

Ditzy hurriedly stripped of her outer uniform and scarf, and with a deep breath she dove back into the ice cold water and winced as the water pricked at her coat once again, but with a much greater force than that of just sticking her head in. Taking no time to waste, Ditzy used her wings to swim through the water towards the area she saw the pony's mane from, meeting with a wall of ice that was thin enough to buck should she need to. The ice wall was fogged with the additional cold of the weather above, and before she could reach it to remove the fog, Ditzy felt her breath growing shorter and her chest stinging from the lack of air, forcing her to resurface back through the hole, the cold air above the water giving her a numbing chill through her mane. Taking in another deep breath, Ditzy wasted no time to get back to the ice wall, this time reaching it successfully without wasting more of her breath. After scratching through the foggy wall with her hooves, she found herself releasing a muffled scream upon seeing something that shook her very spirit: A stallion in the ice. Ditzy resurfaced for oxygen once again, this time calling for the group that contained her equipment.

"You guys, there's a stallion Earth Pony down here stuck in ice! That's what you might have seen!"

"Oh thank Celestia! It wasn't a deep sea monster craving pony flesh and blood."

"I'm going to try and bust him out of there. If I don't resurface for a while, get help!"

Ditzy didn't even waste time getting a reply, one she heard muffled from the water's surface. Swimming back towards the ice, the policemare swam as fast as she could, using her back hooves to try and buck the stallion free from the ice wall, the wall cracking little by little as she continuously tried to destroy it. She felt her breath going through the process of realising it had no oxygen left to spare, so she tried continuously to break the wall more and more. After some time, she was able to create a break-in through another part of the wall, and using her front hooves, she used what strength she had left to pry the ice more and more until she reached the stallion's location. The more she dug at the ice, the more she was able to study him in as much detail as her darkened vision could allow, which wasn't very much to begin with.

With her breath as short as it could get, her coat numbing with each second she stays underwater, and her vision blackening with each loss of breath, she turned around and with a mighty buck, she broke the Earth Pony free from his icy prison. The stallion, now freely floating in the water, was free from the ice, and a relieved Ditzy used her wings to reach him, grab his securely, and fly out of the water, meeting with the cold winds and snow that made her skin feel like it was being stabbed. Her lungs numb and sore, Ditzy took in a deep breath and started coughing her heart out, breathing heavily as the three teenagers that were waiting for her galloped towards her to help her and the body of the colt off of the ice to prevent either from falling in.

Wrapping herself back in her warm scarf, Ditzy soon began to work on the colt, seeing whether or not she was able to save him. Beginning CPR, she instructed the pegasus mare with her outer jacket to give it to the Earth Pony and fly back to Ponyville to alert the medical centre of this discovery. After some time of performing chest compressions, the teenage colt Lightning offered to step in to do them for her, Ditzy allowing herself to move for the young colt to do what she was fearing she could no longer do. Looking at the stallion with her vision restored, she was able to get a bit more of a clearer view on him. His mane had been traditionally styled in a way that looked old-fashioned, and he looked at peace, as if he were sleeping. He looked no older than herself, and the only thing he had on him was a ruined bowtie that wrapped around his neck. Removing the bow to help him possibly breath better if he were still somehow alive, Ditzy looked at his mouth and wondered if she should do the next bit of CPR. Ditzy strove to leave that part to mares or stallions who already had their first kiss taken, but the thought of that soon left her mind as she convinced herself that saving a potential life was more important than kisses, and tilting his head she placed her lips onto his cold ones and exhaled.

The sudden jolt of his head made the pegasus jerk her head back as the stallion began spewing out water and by the looks of things vomit. The body moved himself around a bit, turning himself around slowly before losing consciousness, the one thing signifying life was the mist of oxygen exiting his muzzle and the wheezing of each breath he took. Ditzy took her jacket and wrapped it around the now unconscious Earth pony and looked towards the teenage ponies that were with her, the not-too-distant gallop of Paramedics echoing through the forest, the Earth Pony mare asking one question everypony had in their minds.

"Where-Where did he come from?"
> Knowing the Stranger with Bedside Questions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of something flowing past him reminded him of the sound of a chorus of angels echoing from the clouds in the sky, though there had been no sky for him to see. For a brief moment, he found himself floating in a dark abyss, one he was unable to get out of, one that called him deeper into its cold embrace. He found himself taking in deep breaths, but felt no oxygen going through his lungs. He didn't feel the wind in his mane, nor the dust on his hooves. He felt nothing. He felt empty, like something was missing. He felt cold. He felt afraid.

Time in his darkness seemed to have come to a complete halt. He found minutes turn to hours, hours turn to day, day turns to years, years turn to whatever else came next. Decades? Centuries? Millenniums? None of it mattered at that point. All he could know was his name, his age, his town, and his profession. What seemed like an eternity, he found himself falling deeper and deeper into a never-ending sleep, and the more he did, the more a bright light shone closer and closer. Over time, it seemed to be closer than ever, so close that he could touch it with a hoof. When he did, he heard a calling. An angelic voice that called him closer and closer to someplace else. Another light. He had a choice, and he made it so long ago. Whatever death was waiting for him, it would have to wait. He wanted nothing more than a second chance.

With the sudden jolt of his head and the sound of his body's attempts at oxygen disrupted the silence of the forest, surprising everypony that was there, especially Ditzy Hooves. Ditzy took her jacket and wrapped it around the now unconscious Earth pony and looked towards the teenage ponies that were with her, the not-too-distant gallop of Paramedics echoing through the forest, the Earth Pony mare asking one question everypony had in their minds.

"Where-where did he come from?"



BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

The sound of the repetitive noise plagued his mind, like the sound of continuous drums playing directly into his ears. A bright light engulfed his senses, begging for him to open his eyes until he finally did, his eyes hating him for doing so. Adjusting to the sudden light in what appeared to be a room, the confused colt looked around with his eyes, looking at two mare nurses talking to one another on his right, just past something that resembled a curtain that blocked the rest of the room. On his right, a pegasus with a blonde mane and a silver coat wrapped around in an oddly coloured blanket for warmth, her uniform visible from underneath the cloth, and she had been talking to a doctor, his white coat blinding in the light. Wanting to stand up, the colt found himself connected to something he had never seen before, and he was dressed in something long and light blue, and when he did try to get up, his body collapsed back onto the bed, emitting a groan of pain from his lips, catching the attention of both ponies on his left.

"Ah, you're awake I see. You seem a bit dazed, but that's nothing to worry about."

"W-where am I? What is this place? Am I....Dead?"

"I think you would have been dead if you had stayed frozen for a bit longer. I'm Doctor Gloves, funny name I know. I'm sure you're confused, but that isn't anything to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? I'm connected to something that numbs by skin, and all you can worry about is my confusion?"

"Easy there, you're only connected to an IV. It kind of helps ya in a way. I'm no doctor though, I'm a policemare so I wouldn't know."

"Uh, sure..."

"Good stallion, if anything you should be thanking this mare for saving your life."

"Saving my life?"

"She told me that a young teenage colt found you trapped in ice when he fell beneath the frozen lake deep within the forest, and one of his friends went to grab somepony who could help, and Officer Hooves seemed to have bucked you out of ice with the consequential hypothermia. Nothing too severe though."

"Ice? Yes...yes I was trapped in ice...How long was I out for?"

"We're trying to figure that out at the station. We're currently looking through files and records of when you were listed by birth. For now I'll be here to answer any questions you want."

The doctor, who the stallion noted to be a unicorn, left the room with the two nurses, possibly to work on some other pony that needed their attention. The pegasus that remained with him sat beside him, and had a box in her hoof, pressing something that made a temporary sound, one he had never heard before.

"I beg your pardon ma'am, but what is that thing?"

"Hmm? Oh, this? This is an audio recorder. Since I can't use magic to write on paper, and since my eyes are too uncoordinated, I find it easier to record information."

"Odd, I don't remember that being around before I went frozen."

"Really? That's interesting. What's your name?"

"I'm sorry, my name?"

"Yeah, like how I have a name."

"I know what the word 'name' means ma'am, I'm not that burdened with amnesia. At least I don't think I am. On the topic of your name, what is your name?"

"I'm Officer Der-Ditzy Hooves."

"Derpy Hooves, was it?"

"No, it's Ditzy. I don't really go by Derpy, it's more of a nickname for me."

"Surely you must go by the name, it seems like your birth name after all."

"H-how did you know that?!"

"It isn't too hard to detect the notion of instinct my dear. You instinctively go by your birth name rather than a nickname, so when you mentioned the first few letters, it gave it away. Besides, you shouldn't dislike the name, it sounds lovely Miss Hooves."

Ditzy's face turned red and quickly hid her face underneath one of her wings, something that got the strange colt to chuckle. Well, at least she got on his good and irritating side at the bare minimum. Shaking her head, the pegasus realised she was off her original goal and went about to ask him more questions.

"Well, I'm sure you don't want to hear about me."

"But you're rather interesting."

"I can assure you, I'm not that interesting."

"Well, what about your eyes? What condition do you have?"

"...I guess I can answer this question. I have this condition doctors call 'Wall Eyes'. This means my eyes don't look in the same direction, well I mean only one does, but the other tends to wander around everywhere."

"That's very interesting. I'd never heard of a case such as that before."

"I don't think there HAS been a case like mine. Anyway, what's your name mystery stallion?"

"My name? It's Doctor Whooves."

"Doctor Whooves? Are you a medical pony or something?"

"Actually, I look more into the scientific aspect of life. Or, I used to at least."

"Interesting. I think Equestria could use science ponies in the future, that could make for an interesting one."

"I should say so as well Miss Hooves."

They talked like that for a while. Ditzy kept asking on the Doctor and his predicaments. She learned that he had been studying the pattern of stars prior to his collapse into the ice by the looks of things, and he was just two years older than herself, and she was already 25 years old. He came from Ponyville, and he earned his cutie mark through the creation of a clock. Doctor Whooves managed to learn more about the environment around him and more about the pegasus that intrigued him. He learned that she is a few years younger than him, and came from Ponyville too. Her cutie mark was earned via her silliness with bubblewrap in a delivery shop, and how that silliness turned into successfully wrapping things in bubblewrap despite her clumsiness.

After some time, the Doctor found himself sound asleep, his uncut mane bangs going over his eyes as he rested. Ditzy didn't stop him, she rather found herself intrigued with his form. He looked like he came from a time simpler than her time, though if that were the case, she would be thoroughly surprised. Getting up from her seat and making sure he was covered from the cold, she thanked Doctor Gloves and left the building. The sun had risen at this time, making Ditzy realise that she had been up all night. It wasn't surprising, after all a mysterious stallion frozen in ice was rather extraordinary for starters. All she needed to do was get this information to her commanding officer.



"Absolute rubbish!"

"B-but sir-"

"This isn't the kind of crap I was expecting from him!"

Commander Hornbill was in a bad mood with the lack of sleep and work done by the station. The additional fuel for his anger was the lack of evidence he expected from a colt frozen in ice. Putting him beside Ditzy, she looked like a feeble little leaf about to be crushed by a gigantic hoof. He was Commander of the station for a reason, he had been strong enough to conquer any criminal that crossed his path, which is why criminal activity wasn't as high as it was before he became Commander, and criminal activity is still at an all-time high. Ditzy tried her best to stay serious and calm in front of him, but her Wall Eyes and lack of self-confidence found the pegasus cowering in fear, as if she were a bug left to his mercy.

"W-w-w-well, what d-did you expect from him?"

"I dunno, anything that wasn't generic! His name, age, how his cutie mark appeared, what kind of information is this Hooves?!"

"I-I tried to get as much as I can! B-b-but all I could get was what he felt l-l-like sharing. M-m-maybe he isn't ready for extensive questioning yet Commander..."

"I want results, not flowers Ditzy!"

"Commander! Reports from the capital! Another pony has been kidnapped by Tempest Shadow!"

"Nggh, from where this time?"

"Manehatten sir!"

"...Ditzy Hooves, you're excused for the night. Go home, get some rest, and the next time you meet him, maybe try to get something useful out of him."

"Y-yes sir..."

Ditzy exited Hornbill's office, and made her way back to her desk. With a delivery shift in a few hours, the most the Pegasus had wanted was to finish filing in her report for the night on her desktop, the thing enchanted to correct Ditzy's spelling mistakes or errors made because of her Wall Eyes, then head home to rest. Her friends in the office walked in for early shifts, and offered Ditzy a helping hoof, the mare politely declining. As time went by, Ditzy found her eyes growing heavier by the minute, and soon found herself resting her head in front of her desktop, not forgetting to save her work in case she accidentally did something to it. With that done, Ditzy allowed herself to drift off to sleep, maybe for at least an hour.



Doctor Whooves woke up to the sound of the same constant noise that continued to ring throughout the room. Groaning, he tried to sit up, wincing as his body was still weak from being stuck in one position for so long, let alone doing that in an ice cube. Finding himself hungry, the Doctor wondered what to do to get something to eat, if anything something light or simple was enough. The thought of food got him even hungrier as he imagined pancakes, waffles drowning in butter, and a few English Muffins with a cup of coffee to enjoy. It was a thought that was mouth-watering to say the least. The smell of something pastry-like caught his attention, his eyes lighting up upon seeing Ditzy in her delivery uniform.

"Ah, Miss Hooves, good morning!"

"It's more like the afternoon Doctor."

"Oh, my mistake Miss Hooves."

"Did you rest well?"

"I can safely say I got some decent sleep away from the ice. It's like being frozen in time, I can tell you that."

"Hehe, I can't imagine being frozen like that."

"Trust me my dear, I'd rather not have you go through it."

"I'll trust your word on it then."

"Rightfully so. Tell me Miss Hooves, is this some sort of new uniform the police department conjured up?"

"Huh? Oh! I'm not in a police uniform, I work part-time as a delivery mare."

"Delivery mare? Surely the pay for you policemares has gone up in the new year?"

"The pay is alright, but I still work as a delivery mare as some sort of support for my friend's bakery."

"Ooh, a bakery, how exciting! Is that how you got the muffins in the bag?"

"Oh! Yeah, I almost forgot about that. I was wondering what you liked, so I just got something that smelt good, which was the blueberry muffins on sale. I hope you like them."

"Dear, your timing couldn't have been more perfect. Being in ice takes a lot of energy and I found myself a bit hungry. I'm also guessing you got English muffins because of my behaviour."

"I mean, I guess it was posh enough."

Both ponies laughed at the remark, and soon began to devour the muffins, the Doctor happily eating as much as he could to Ditzy's encouragement. The duo continued to talk to one another, enjoying the company of one another, but through it all Ditzy was more or less a bit more quiet than usual, the commands of her superior still lingering in her head. In his nature, the Doctor noted this behaviour.

"You're not 100% alright, are you my dear?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm alright. Just tired."

"Sleep is essential for the brain to function properly my dear, so you should get some more of it."

"Thanks...Um, Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a few more questions?"

The click of the audio recorder alerted the Doctor to the situation that had just occurred. Giving a confused but comforting smile towards the mare, the Doctor spoke up through the uneasy silence that engulfed the room, his smooth English accent emitting a delicate tone that can easily be compared to that of a mother's soothing lullaby.

"It's quite alright Derpy. It's nice to talk to somepony for the first time in years."

"I-I guess. Um, do you remember when you were born?"

"The exact year, or...?"

"The exact year maybe."

"Oh, I don't honestly remember actually! But I do know I'm 27 years old by the looks of things. I was born on the 5th of the 6th month of the year though."

"The 5th of June?"

"Exactly Miss Hooves."

"Alrighty. Um, concerning your cutie mark, when DID you make your first clock."

"Oh, well, I guess it was 20 years ago by the looks of things. Maybe I missed around 20 years of my life though, or at least 14 at the bare minimum."

"You've been frozen for 14 years?"

"By the looks of things, I reckon I was. Your calendar shows the numbers and days matching up to one another that was on the calendar I owned when I made that clock. Those dates match up once every 8-9 years if you consider the leap years that occur every 4 years, and it was a leap year I made that little contraption I remember."

"That's interesting. What year do you reckon it was when you went under the ice Doctor?"

"What year? Well, it should be the year 1700 now, so what's new in the new century?"

"1-1700?"

"Yes, that should be the new year. Did I forget to mention it was a grandfather clock I invented?"

"I-I-Invention?!"

"The world is forever changing Miss Hooves, so inventions are a phenomenal thing. I shouldn't forget to mention that I invented the first Grandfather Clock when I was seven either."

"B-b-but, Doctor, that was 400 years ago! The first grandfather clock was invented 400 years ago!"

"Already invented 400 years ago? Haha, that would be something! I have been meaning to travel into the past, but I never got around to making it being in ice and all, as well as being engulfed in my studies in the stars. Tell me Miss Hooves, have you-"

"I-I'm sorry, I need to go!"

"Miss Hooves? Is something the matter?"

"Here, you can have the rest of the muffins, I'm not hungry. I need to get to the station!"

"Derpy, what's wrong? Derpy? Derpy?!"

In a panic, Ditzy raced out of the building in a gallop, concerning the Doctor who tried to follow her, only to collapse once again in pain due to the lack of strength in his muscles. Feeling helpless, concerned and afraid, the Doctor could do nothing but look up at the ceiling, his heart racing, his head swimming with possibilities and his face growing slightly pale. Could it be she might have discovered something about him that he couldn't bring himself to think about? No, it couldn't possibly be. Turning his head, he spotted the outline of something rectangular, shifting his position to see the audio recorder. She seemed to have dropped it in her panic, and as it hit the floor it must have been repeating something from the interrogation. What he heard made his heart stop each time he heard it.

"B-b-but, Doctor, that was 400 years ago! The first grandfather clock was invented 400 years ago!
SCKRTSH
B-b-but, Doctor, that was 400 years ago! The first grandfather clock was invented 400 years ago!
SCKRTSH
B-b-but, Doctor, that was 400 years ago! The first grandfather clock was invented 400 years ago!"

"4-400 years? Surely that can't be-that couldn't be-that shouldn't be right! Can it?!"

The audio continued to repeat itself, as cliche as it had been for anypony else, it was horrifyingly convenient for the Doctor, his face growing paler and his eyes growing wider as the audio continued to repeat itself like a broken clock that continues to chime. For the Earth Pony, everything clicked in an instant, it all made sense for the Doctor. All he could think of doing next was to scream in disbelief. And he did just that with tears in his eyes, covering them with one hoof.
> By Name of Time Turner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"B-b-but, Doctor, that was 400 years ago! The first grandfather clock was invented 400 years ago!
SCKRTSH
B-b-but, Doctor, that was 400 years ago! The first grandfather clock was invented 400 years ago!
SCKRTSH
B-b-but, Doctor, that was 400 years ago! The first grandfather clock was invented 400 years ago!"

The sounds of the audio recorder continued to repeat itself, it's echoes disappearing into the room. Another noise that didn't seem to disappear were the cries of Doctor Whooves, after reality hit him as hard as ice. Nurses raced into the room to figure out what was wrong, but all they could find was the Doctor weeping into his hoof and the recorder that continued to play until it was stopped by a unicorn Nurse.

Ditzy on the other hoof, galloped towards the police station. What was a quiet atmosphere soon turned into a chaotic one by the uncoordinated pegasus mare as she raced towards a storage space, regardless of the fact she wasn't supposed to be there in the incorrect uniform. Upon entering, she raced towards a cabinet that contained data from each individual Ponyville citizen from around 1673-1700, Commander Hornbill yelling at her at the commotion and mess she was causing in a confined space. Upon discovering the one thing she had been looking for, she handed it to Commander Hornbill in a panicked frenzy, stating what she found out.

"He's not of this time! He's been in an induced coma for 400 years!"



The evening moon came around at last, giving Ditzy the opportunity to put on her uniform and continue to work on what she discovered of Doctor Whooves. Upon entering the station, she found it busier than usual, to her guess maybe because of the case of Tempest Shadow and the fast-paced demands of the Canterlot Station for information. Ditzy's place, however, was with Commander Hornbill and the overworked Doctor Gloves. As complicated as it sounds, all the information was in one citizen file that was dated from 1680, the year the first Grandfather Clock was invented by the Doctor.

"Officer Hooves, here at last I see?"

"Sorry I'm late, I had to find my tie."

"Are you sure this is the correct stallion? Genetics tend to work in mysterious ways Miss Hooves."

"It's him Doctor, I know it. I heard it from his own mouth: HE invented the Grandfather Clock, that was how he got his cutie mark."

"That's impossible, the stallion would have been no older than seven, just a foal."

"Well Gloves, times are changing, and unfortunately for him time changed dramatically. How is he doing with this newfound information? Taking it well I presume?"

"Oh the contrary Commander, he's been sent into a state of shock. After breaking down into a panicked frenzy, he kept asking our staff on the year, begging for any trace of hope he hasn't missed out on the last 400 years and that it was only just, and I quote specifically, '14 years after his fall into the ice'. I had to break the news to him that wasn't the case."

"Poor Doctor, I hope he's ok..."

"He should be in a while, I'm just concerned on what this is doing to his health."

"Imagine being locked away from anypony else for 400 years..."

"That's enough of your side comments Miss Hooves, what I'm interested in is this citizen report."

All three ponies looked onto the folder that contained an image of the Doctor, this time in a cleaner state. His bowtie seemed crisp and clean, his hair was neater than it had been left in after 4 centuries, and he was oddly wearing a red fez? Each pony overlooked the information that was presented to them, the following flashing before their eyes on delicate paper:

CITIZEN REPORT:
Name of Pony: Time Turner
Age:25
Gender: Stallion
Pony Species: Earth Pony
Married?: No
Family?: Mother died 1680, Father still alive, no siblings
Additional Information: Time Turner grew up on a farm just past the outskirts of town. Moved into town as a foal and inventor of the first Grandfather Clock in 1680 at the young age of 7. Eccentric for his age and ahead of his time. Ponyville's greatest inventor, part-time astronomer and part-time Detective.

"So, his real name is Time Turner?"

"He invented the clock the same year his mother died? That's horrible!"

"He isn't married? Interesting..."

Commander Hornbill and Ditzy looked on at Doctor Gloves, his face concentrating on the page that contained various bits of information. Upon realising that his colleagues were looking at him suspiciously, he cleared his throat and blushed out of embarrassment.

"Uh, I-I don't sway that way, I do have a wife. I just thought that such a successful stallion would have found somepony to settle down with."

"It says here that he was a part-time detective. That explains why he can figure out so much about me."

"Hooves...?"

"It's nothing bad sir! I just have my secrets, that's all."

Hornbill let out a small grunt and closed the file, placing it down onto a nearby table. The Earth Pony went back to his desk and sat down, putting both his hooves together and closing his eyes. This was his way of saying he wanted time alone to think. Ditzy and Gloves exited the office and sat on some chairs to contemplate on the information. Clearing his throat, the unicorn Doctor turned to Ditzy.

"Miss Hooves, I have something to ask you."

"W-what is it?"

"Have you considered stepping into the hospital? Just for a moment, I'll let the Commander know of your whereabouts."

"I have been meaning to pay the Doctor a visit to see how he's going, but I don't think it's appropriate for the time being. Why do you want me there?"

"You put it forward simply Ditzy: I want you to talk to him."

"Me? Talk to him? Why me?"

"In times similar to this situation, often the best way to cure unstable mental health is for the patient to talk to somepony they trust or know well enough. In this case, you're quite the special mare since in all these 400 years you are quite possibly the closest thing he has to a friend or even a family member at this point."

"I dunno, I thought I made things worse for him?"

"You actually didn't do anything wrong Miss Hooves. It was the audio recorder you left behind in the room that made him click."

"Oh, that's still my fault though..."

"I'm sure he won't hold it against you forever Miss Hooves. Besides, I need to make sure he's alright, and I'm sure he'd love to have somepony to talk to."

Ditzy turned away from the medical unicorn and stared at the floor for a while, her blonde mane falling from its place behind her ear. She contemplated on whether or not to listen to the Doctor's advice, and if it was right to go and see Time Turner in his state. No question about it that he's still unsettled about everything, but all she could hope was the best. What she found so interesting about the whole ordeal was the Earth Pony's calm complexion, as if nothing phased him, as if he was shrouded in a never-ending light of positive energy. It was something Ditzy admired in a pony, in anypony in fact. Their endless supply of happiness, something Ditzy lacked ever since the night of her accident. Sighing, Ditzy flashed a content smile towards Gloves and nodded her head.

"Yep, I'll go to him. I don't think I'd leave a friend behind either."

Gloves nodded and gave the pegasus a pat on the back before turning around to enter Commander Hornbill's office. When she was sure he wasn't going to reappear for a while, Ditzy sighed before flying gently out of the room, her determination to make sure her new friend was ok repeating like a broken record in her head. It wasn't the fact that the medical stallion wanted her to talk to him that made her decide to go despite her concerns, it was the fact that he was right that convinced her. Thinking about the fact that Time Turner had been isolated from pony contact or 400 years as well as the added fact that all his friends and family were long since dead through all these years would have made things worse for him. Ditzy shook her head as she slowly made her way out of the station, looking around to see each pegasus, earth pony and unicorn that worked alongside her, her Wall Eyes expressing sadness across her face. She couldn't even imagine how lonely he must have been and how troubled he was feeling. She couldn't imagine what it was like to be suddenly placed in a new era of time, knowing all too well that the friends and family you grew up with have all passed away. With sadness spreading across her face, Ditzy exited the building, embracing the silence of the crime-riddled world around her, a world that made her stronger. A world that made her a target of its cruelty. A world she called home.



Time Turner had his back towards the door of his room, and the continuous sound of the IV rang in his ear. It was the only thing that filled the room, and he hated it. What made things worse was that he learned the truth of where he was. He was in a time that wasn't his own, and what made things worse was that not one pony seemed to care when he told them. Nah, they must have thought he was hallucinating! With an emotionless frown on his face, his ears picked up the sound of the medical door opening, not even bothering to care who it was that entered. The gentle flap of a pair of wings gave him the signal he needed that it was a pegasus, but throughout his time in hospital, he only ever met one pegasus properly. Turning over abruptly, he came face-to-face with a familiar face, a face he realised he desperately wanted to see.

"D-Derpy?"

"Hi, Doctor."

"You can't believe how relieved I am to see you again."

"I can't imagine how scary things have become. Um, Doctor?"

"...yes, Derpy?"

"Uh, is your full name Doctor Time Turner Whooves?"

"T-Time Turner? Haha, that's something I haven't heard in so long...Ha, almost forgot that name, heh."

"I-I'm sorry."

"For what? As far as it goes for you, you did nothing wrong."

"B-but I can't imagine what you're going through. I hate seeing you like this."

"What? Me suffering? Pain is an old friend my dear, it's nothing new for me."

"But-but this goes deeper than the coat. This isn't something magic nor hooves can fix Time Turner..."

"I know Derpy. Sorry, I-I-I just....I...I can't..."

"Turner?"

In a sudden flash of pure rage, Time Turner grabbed the needle that connected him to the IV, and with a flash, he ripped it out of his forehoof, blood dripping slightly onto the pure white bed and the IV making the continuous noise of one, long beep. 

"I CAN'T THINK WITH THIS BLASTED THING RINGING IN MY EARS!"

The sudden burst of Turner's anger scared Ditzy, and would have no doubt attracted the attention of medical ponies in the immediate area. In order to not attract anymore potential negative attention, Ditzy dropped to the floor to unplug the IV to stop it from making any further noises. The only thing that she could hear was Time Turner, his muzzle red and his eyes puffy and dripping with tears. In all the time Ditzy knew him, he felt so calm, collected, optimistic. Now, he was pained, sad, lost, afraid. Whatever he said, it was broken up in sobs, expelling any built-up pain that swelled in his mind that very afternoon.

"I-I'm sorry Ditzy, I'm s-so sorry. I-I can't help it...I-I've lost everything! My life, my family....my friends....Ditzy, they're all gone....they're all dead! And I'm s-still here....I shouldn't be here! I....I..."

Ditzy couldn't do anything to stop herself from crying alongside him, her sobs joining his own, alerting the stallion to her presence that was still there. The fact that she saw someone so lost so broken made her remember how she was like after that day, and the added fact that she was the closest thing he could call a friend in this time made her cry. She definitely wanted nothing more than to support him, tell him everything was going to be ok. She didn't know if it would work on a pony that missed the last 400 years of his life and somehow cheated death.

"D-Der-Ditzy? A-are you..?"

"I-it's ok Turner...I'm fine... I guess-"

Ditzy couldn't finish what she was saying because of two things. The first was her collective sobbing that prevented her from speaking. The second thing? It was Time Turner, pulling her into a hug. It was a needing hug, a wanting hug. A hug that a foal would yearn for in times of trouble. For the Earth Pony she befriended, it was a hug of safety, a hug of security, a hug that was meant to acknowledge the fact he wasn't alone, that he still had one pony to call a friend, a sister even if he had to. It was comforting. It was a hug meant to bring relief to the distraught pegasus if it sacrificed comfort on his end.

"D-Ditzy, don't cry. The sight doesn't suit your eyes my dear."

"T-Turner?"

"Hmm?"

"It's Derpy, actually. Y-you can call me Derpy."

Unbeknownst to the duo in their heap of sobs, at least 3 medical ponies entered the room earlier from the noise caused by the IV and the stallion in the bed. What they saw melted their hearts in pity and sorrow. Among them was Doctor Gloves, and beside him Commander Hornbill. They knew it was going to take a long time for things to settle down, but for now the sound of Ditzy and Time Turner sobbing into one another's shoulders filled the room, alongside the additional sobs of Nurses that couldn't contain their tears any longer.



The sound of birds filled the hospital room Time Turner had been in. For the first time in what felt like forever, he woke up with the full knowledge he knew he was so heavily denied. The sound of distant chatter confirmed his suspicions that the Nurses that heard him the previous night had since moved on from his little episode, causing him to frown. With his strength returning to him slowly, Turner was able to sit up once again, and observed his surroundings, immediately spotting a pegasus mare sleeping in a chair opposite the bed to his left. She looked distressed, but otherwise peaceful. Turner sighed, and looked at Ditzy with as much hope as he could muster. To the stallion, she was more than his rescuer. She was like a friend to him. Chuckling softly to himself, he brushed his bangs away from his face and felt tears run down his cheeks once more.

'Friend, huh? That's something I've been longing to hear. Something I may have subconsciously needed for 400 years of my life...'

After a while allowing himself to quietly cry, he cleared his nose and looked towards Ditzy before nodding to himself and closing his eyes to think. Evidently, since he now knew that he was not of this time, he would have to do something about it. He wasn't the colt that would let things take control of his mental state. No, he was going to do something about it. It didn't take long for Time Turner to learn much about this time and its predicament, all the information he needed came from his window and the constant crashes of what sounded like home invasions and robberies echoing into his room during his time alone. He figured that with his mind sharp as ever, he could try to calm things down in town. Maybe he could become a policecolt like how Ditzy was a policemare herself.

Maybe even a detective? Only time will tell after his strength returns to him. For now, sleep sounded good to him, so that's what he did. With certainty on his newly set future, he drifted off to sleep once again, this time with the knowledge that this wasn't a dream as he had been hoping for and with the content thought that he was going to make the most of his predicament at all costs.



The room was dark and cold, the only sounds echoing through were the silent sobs of ponies in individual cells, chained to the ground, only able to wander as much as the chains would allow for. Their sobs were muffled by the cloths and tape covering their muzzles to prevent them from making too much noise, if anything the excess amount of torture bearing down on them to the point of silent submission. In one specific cell, a mare with a unicorn horn and pegasus wings sat with tears rolling down her red-stained cheeks, the mare's blood staining her once lively purple coat and her purple, pink and blue mane tattered and messy. The most the mare could do was try to scream for help, but whenever a sound escaped from her lips, she would obtain a new set of scars across her back, wings, face or hooves. Looking up to her aggressor, the shadow of a mare filled the room, but the mare only knew too well that there was no shadow in front of her, but a mare around her size that loomed over with power and control over her and many others.

"Aw, look at you, what good did friendship do for you, Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"You-you won't get away with this. My trust on friendship will never fail me, or anypony else."

"You know, you should really consider that thought again Princess. After all, it was friendship that got you into my hoof, like a bug left to my whim."

"If-if you harm anypony else..."

"Oh, I don't want anypony else..."

The shadow stepped forward, her appearance clearer for the Alicorn once more. Before her stood a maroon-coloured mare with a red mohawk mane, blue eyes and a scar over one of her eyes. She wore nothing but black clothes stained with fresh and dried blood. On the top of her forehead, sparks of unconfined magic that sputtered beyond the cracks of where her horn used to be.

"...I want magic. I crave it."

The sparks from her missing horn let out buzzing sounds as it granted the whip in her hoof to run electricity through it's entire being. The only thing Twilight could do was sit to her whims, to succumb to the pain, the unicorn's torture and be subject to pain and suffering. Only until somepony came to her rescue. Anypony at all.
> Adjustments and Discoveries
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of sobs filled the room, not just from the pegasus mare and the distraught earth pony. The room filled with the quiet sobs of Nurses who found the scene before them upsetting. In front of the medical staff, the sight of Ditzy, now to forever call herself Derpy once more, and the sight of Doctor Time Turner Whooves, moved them at that moment. What they saw was a troubled pegasus and a lost earth pony, it did only make sense for the Doctor to break down in tears, knowing full well that he missed growing up and growing old with his friends and family. They knew it was going to take a long time for things to settle down, but for now the sound of Ditzy and Time Turner sobbing into one another's shoulders filled the room, alongside the additional sobs of Nurses that couldn't contain their tears any longer.

The following morning, Time Turner woke up to the sound of birds chirping through his window, for the first time the sound of the IV not plaguing his head. However, his mind was content on what to do, and how he could fit into this new world. It didn't take long for Time Turner to learn much about this time and its predicament, all the information he needed came from his window and the constant crashes of what sounded like home invasions and robberies echoing into his room during his time alone. He figured that with his mind sharp as ever, he could try to calm things down in town. Maybe he could become a policecolt like Ditzy.

Maybe even a detective?



So far it has been a month since the ice discovery, and so far things in Ponyville have returned to normal. Many of the mares that saw the 'Ice Stallion' trotting around made their hearts soar at the thought of being his beloved. A few stallions became jealous of him because of all the attention surrounding him. Time Turner's mind was sharper and wiser than most had anticipated, so whenever anypony tried to either mug him or attack him on random, he would always have the upper hoof in the encounter and he would be let go without a single scratch. Many mares found him attractive, but they also conjured up stories on his past, one that had been chosen by the pony himself to remain a mystery to the town.

After a few weeks, however, life in Ponyville returned to normal, or as normal as it could be. The rate of crime was still at an all-time high, and kidnappings were becoming a bit more constant than usual by the criminal 'Tempest Shadow'. One specific mare that was trying to get onto her case was Derpy Hooves. Having recently gone by her maiden name for the first time since the accident, many of her colleagues chose to continuously call her Ditzy for their own convenience, but those such as her superior Commander Hornbill referred to her by either her first name or last name instead of her nickname.

Derpy continued to help Time Turner adjust to the world around him, teaching him everything he needed to know to the best of her abilities. As soon as he was discharged from the hospital, she gave him a roof over her head as they went looking for his old home, to the delight of both ponies a home that was still standing and in good conditions. The inside had been dusty and rotting, the wood decaying due to the weather. Enlisting the help of a few other ponies from the town, they were able to restore the house to its former glory, and Time Turner took no time at all to fill the cottage with various contraptions of either his own invention or his own modification. So far to Derpy's knowledge he modified a toaster, kettle and telephone. He even offered to Derpy that he could invent something to help her coordination that lacked severely due to her Wall Eyes, something Derpy hesitantly disagreed to, Time Turner eagerly saying that the offer will forever remain available to her should she change her mind.

Derpy entered the cottage that afternoon, stripped of any uniform or accessories save for 2 duffle bags that consisted of home-made Butterscotch Muffins in one and Police files in the other. Derpy remembered that exact moment when Time Turner offered to help her on her case, specifically offering this to her after a failed modification experiment on a frying pan. The pegasus giggled at the memory, giggling even more when she heard his muffled singing and banging and clanking from the other side of the door.

'I don't think he was ever a good singer. I wonder what he's working on.'

Straightening herself up, Derpy knocked on the door. The clanking and the banging didn't cease in its repetitive noise, but one sound did change, Turner's soothing and chipper English voice chiming through the door.

"You're more than welcome to trot right inside Miss Hooves!~"

Derpy smiled. He always knew which pony approached his door. It might have been common knowledge or the simple fact he could see outside with one of his inventions. Whichever came first really. Opening the door, Derpy welcomed in the sight of the open-planned kitchen, living room and 'inventing corner' as the stallion described it. The place was left in a mess, various bits and pieces of cogs, metals, springs and other various objects cluttering the floor. Time Turner was sitting on a chair, seemingly welding two metals together with his back turned to the door. Turning around, Turner lifted the goggles off of his eyes with his hooves, revealing a much paler colour of brown around his eyes, most probably from an explosion prior to her arrival by the looks of things.

Over the course of the month, Turner's appearance had changed dramatically. For one, his mane was cut to 'fit in with the times' as he described it, but his attempts at cutting his own mane was left futile as it was messy, uneven and shorter than he anticipated. It was a fix Derpy had to do herself, which didn't work too well in favour of her eyes. Eventually the mane settled into a mohawk-like state, but still gentlepony enough for Time Turner to be proud of. Since then his mane grew longer in the style, the bits of his mane pressing against his neck due to the goggles. His once vacant neck was now decorated with a white collar and a green tie which was placed on messily and definitely needed adjusting some time later.

"Oh good afternoon Derpy! Want to see what I'm working on?"

"Yeah! What are you working on?"

"Um, well I was working on modifying a microwave and tried to fuse it together with a digital clock. It didn't fuse properly the first time, so when I tried it out, it kind of exploded everywhere. Do try to mind where you sit, I think I still have a few bits and pieces of sharp metal lying around."

"What were you melding together then?"

"Oh, this? It's what remains of the modification. I'm trying to see if I can come up with something as to not waste this material."

"I'm guessing you're too busy to eat then?"

"My dear Miss Hooves, inventing and thinking takes up a lot of energy, and I have yet to try that butterscotch muffin of yours. Before you ask, I can still smell them."

"Freshly baked Turner."

"Splendid! Let me tidy this mess up and I'll prepare us something to drink. Coffee with buttermilk Miss Hooves?"

"As always."

As soon as Time Turner turned on the kettle, he set about clearing the table of bits and pieces of either the clock or the microwave. As Derpy approached the table, the inventor pushed the seat towards the table as she sat, something that made the mare smile. He was still a gentlepony, even until now, and it never ceased to surprise her as to how polite he can be. As he cleaned up more of the space around them, Derpy's eyes rested on that of the kettle. It had been modified to create two drinks at the same time. The kettle at a certain temperature would tip and flow water through a pipeline that filled up as many as two cups at a time, the kettle tipping at a certain angle to prevent overflow. The cups would be on top of something that mixed the substances of either tea leaves or coffee beans together in a shaking motion, and then it was left to the pony to adjust the drink to their liking. Derpy watched the kettle tip steadily, watching the cups fill up and shake as they mixed together.

The pegasus smiled, remembering how bad it worked when Time Turner first showed it to her. For starters, the kettle tipped water too fast, spilling it over the counter, and the pipeline consisting of straws leaked. The cups were either overflowing or undefiled, and the device meant to mix the drink either shook too violently or too softly, and would constantly spill bits of the drink onto the countertop or the floor. What was left was a poor excuse of tea or coffee, and the countertop was left in a mess of boiling water, tea leaves and coffee beans.

When the eccentric inventor finally stopped cleaning everything in his path, he carefully gave Derpy her coffee and placed it in front of her, Derpy pulling out a packet of 4 reasonably sized Butterscotch Muffins all wrapped in colourful bubble-patterned casings, placing one in front of Turner's seat at the table, the brown colt smiling as he placed his tea cup to the side of the baked pastry and sits next to the mare. Derpy takes her time to add some buttermilk to her cup of coffee and takes in the warm beverage.

"Warm beverages do help improve body temperatures, don't they Miss Hooves?"

"They do."

"So what's new for the papers Miss Hooves?"

"Hmm? Oh, I almost forgot! I have them here."

Derpy took out the missing ponies reports from the unopened duffle bag, each pony's profile image showing smiling faces. No doubt that these faces weren't smiling at this point in time. Each profile had a red stamp on each one of them and a date, some similar or close to others. They signified what happened to each pony and when it happened. So far only 3 have been reported dead, their bodies discovered a few days after their kidnapping. Time Turner took a few profiles, observing the page as if it was calling him forward. Derpy took out a portable laptop and got to work filing in some reports on some of the more recent kidnappings, sharing the screen with Turner should he take a curious peek. Both sat in silence and either ate, drank or indulged in the profiles, reports and known discoveries about the case, which had gone cold for a while.

"“So the case hasn’t been too successful so far?”

“I’ve been working round the clock to find some information, anything to help really. All I can find are these files, but that’s about it.”

“Don’t lose hope Miss Hooves, when there’s a will, there’s a way as they say."

Derpy nodded and continued to look onto her laptop, typing away as the gadget fixed up any errors conjured up by her hooves. Time Turner looked at each individual image for each report file, seemingly uninterested on the written information on each pony filed. The Pegasus mare looked at his behaviour and found it rather interesting.

"Uh, Time Turner, aren't you gonna read the information on the papers?"

"Hmm? Oh, I already have, I'm just looking at each pony's picture."

"How come?"

"You forget Miss Hooves, I'm a part-time detective when I'm not inventing something or investing on the odd constellation. Or, well, I was a detective anyway."

"If you don't mind me asking Turner, what kind of cases did you work on 400 years ago?"

"Hm, that's something I can answer. I remember working on the case of Pectilia Flaire very vividly."

"Pectilia Flaire? The murderous mare that got away with 25 murders and 35 attempted murders before her suicide?"

"Oh, you've heard of her? That isn't surprising, she was the most sinister villainess in Ponyville's history. I remember meeting her face to face whilst undercover at a Ponyville Ball. It was no surprise she was able to stay hidden from law enforcements, she had the type of personality any innocent pony had but I wasn't fooled, though she was able to master disguising magic in no time at all I've heard. In fact, she tried to kill me that very same night, leading me down an alleyway 'persuading' me into something rather inappropriate now that I think about it. She went for my throat with a hidden saddle knife."

"Did she strike you badly?"

"On the contrary Miss Hooves, I was just able to move out of a fatal knife strike to the throat, though the same couldn't have been said for my left hoof which was scarred for around 3 months I remember. We battled a bit before officer ponies arrived, and she was under arrest.

"How did you manage to find her? I heard that her case was cold for 3 years!"

"How I tracked her down? I kept in mind the location of sighted bodies. Each location was different, but the pattern was that they were in individual locations within the Ponyville region."

"Really? That's scary but interesting."

"I know! It's the smallest details within a report or area that can make the difference Derpy. It's basic elementary my dear."

Derpy nodded, smiling as she took a bite from her muffin. The Earth Pony next to her continued to observe each profile until his expression began to change, lifting multiple papers and closely observing each pony's forehead. Derpy noted the behaviour of the stallion and leaned in to get a closer look at the thing that grabbed his attention. Time Turner's eyes grew smaller in concentration until his eyes widened, his head whipping up and almost catching the Pegasus' muzzle in the process. Time Turner kept muttering things that the mare was able to identify as questions such as 'How was it missed?' or 'Is this the missing link? I bet it is.'. This concerned the mare but she didn't pay heed as Turner surprisingly drank the rest of his tea and finished his muffin fairly quickly, watching him head to one of his shelves and pulling out a book on pony anatomy, a book Doctor Gloves gave to him upon request. After skimming through the pages, the inventor's eyes widened and his mouth spread into a smile Derpy found rather adorable, and watched as he approached her with the book open on a page about unicorn horns.

"I found the missing link Derpy!"

"H-huh? Unicorn horns? What about them?"

"Miss Hooves, didn't you see the small detail on their forehead?"

"Their forehead?"

"The horns have a spiral motion, remember? The pictures of each report shows a curved line on the top of their forehead, and this is required so that way they can be identified as the unicorn population. With each picture having curved lines, that provides an insight on who Tempest is targeting."

"She's targeting unicorns!"

"Exactly Miss Hooves! We need to get this information to Hornbill."

The exchange between the duo had them smiling in triumph, the hopes of the case resurrecting with a new lead filling their thoughts, the thought of finally apprehending Tempest Shadow clear in their heads. Their triumph was short-lived when a junior officer burst through the door, out of breath and in a panic. Standing as straight as he could, the young pegasus colt who appeared no older than 18 looked at Time Turner and Derpy dead in the eye, panic and fear in clear in his eyes, causing the duo to become alarmed and cautious.

"What business have you good sir?"

"C-Commander Hornbill requests the presence of O-Officer Dit-Derpy Hooves!"

"Why, what's wrong?"

"It's Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. She's been reported missing by the Capital of Equestria and Celestia herself!"
> Volunteering to Help
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Derpy Hooves and Doctor Time Turner Whooves spent an afternoon working together on the cold case of ponynapper Tempst Shadow. A discover lead to an exchange between the duo that had them smiling in triumph, the hopes of the case resurrecting with a new lead filling their thoughts, the thought of finally apprehending Tempest Shadow clear in their heads. Their triumph was short-lived when a junior officer burst through the door, out of breath and in a panic. Standing as straight as he could, the young pegasus colt looked at Time Turner and Derpy dead in the eye, panic and fear in clear in his eyes, causing the duo to become alarmed and cautious.

"What business have you good man?"

"C-Commander Hornbill requests the presence of O-Officer Dit-Derpy Hooves!"

"Why, what's wrong?"

"It's Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. She's been reported missing by the Capital of Equestria and Celestia herself!"



The police station was buzzing with activity, each policepony working on filing the report and distributing warnings to the other cities of Equestria after the news of Princess Twilight Sparkle's disappearance was announced by Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Derpy Hooves in her police uniform stood beside Commander Hornbill, the Earth Pony frantically typing away, sending messages to other Commanding Policeponies in the land and around the globe. Doctor Gloves had been working with forensic ponies to collect any trace of evidence from anything they found suspicious, from the smallest tuft of a mane to an out of place rod.

After some time, Commander Hornbill looked up at Derpy, who had been standing there with a worried expression on her face, looking towards various things in the room. The Earth Pony looked at her, clearing his throat and receiving the attention of the Wall Eyed Pegasus. Derpy's attention turned straight back to the officer, a nervous expression plastering her face. All the Commander could do was sigh, getting up from his seat and moved to the side of his desk where he stayed for a while in thought.

"Are you sure Time Turner's findings is what we need to narrow the search?"

"Positive. I hope."

"I don't like this, the Princess of Friendship is gone and not one pony has any information on her whereabouts. It's as if she vanished without a trace, and Celestia isn't even warranting a search of the Princess' room where she was last seen whilst saying the guards found the room in a mess but without any sign of a break-in, no glass no nothing. It's as if she's hiding something on purpose, but surely the Princess couldn't hide anything against her subjects..."

"I don't know. This is the biggest thing that happened in this case, but I'm sure she shouldn't be too far."

"You're talking on a whim of hope Hooves. If she's been taken, Tempest is planning something big."

"But what? If she's been taking unicorns, what use does she have for them all?"

"Well, link the two together, and what do you get Hooves?"

"...An invasion of sorts?"

"Possibly."

"She'd have to be a unicorn in order to hypnotise them all, and it would take magic equivalent to Chrysalis' to perform such a task on around 50 missing ponies."

"That's true. But it is a possibility. Have you found her citizen report?"

"No, it's gone. It's like she hasn't even been registered in Equestria's data at all. Not one recorded picture of her has been found, and we haven't been able to locate ponies that have known her yet."

Commander Hornbill's face sported a frustrated look, rubbing his forehead with a hoof as he thought about what to do. The sound of awkward crashing and cheerful apologies echoed through to the office, alerting the duo of what was going on outside in the open workspace. Both recognised the English accented pony as he grew closer, Hornbill hastily exiting his office to see Time Turner with an overcoat whilst tripping over it every now and then. The awkward sight before the Commander sent his frustration wild, Derpy having to refrain the Earth Pony from letting his anger out on the bumbling stallion before them.

"What the?! What the absolute fuck are you doing here in my office Turner?! You have no authorisation into the bloody station!"

"On the contrary, I come as a volunteer for the case."

"A what?!"

"A volunteer! Surely you ponies need another detective on the team, do you?"

"NO ONE ASKED!"

Time Turner, by this time was forced out of the overcoat and stood in front of the enraged Hornbill whilst Derpy retreated to his side in a polite salute to her superior. Both them and the rest of the workforce watched as Hornbill ran his mouth of profanity and anger out on everypony in the room before collecting himself and clearing his throat in embarrassment and retreating back into his office, slamming the door behind him. Derpy and Time Turner stood for a minute in silence as the office around them returned to the chaotic mess it had been before Turner's arrival, both looking at one another before turning to the office. Time Turner broke the silence between the two of them not long after.

"So, is he always like this?"

"Sometimes...It still shakes the station up every time, heh."

Turner nods and proceeds towards the Commander's office, knocking gently on the door whilst calling out to the officer in a tone that reminds Derpy of a mother asking their foal out in the most foalish manner, causing the mare to sink in embarrassment. Hornbill's frustrated voice called for the both of them to enter his office, more or less in a way to stop the stallion from apparently babying him in front of his colleagues. When both ponies entered his office, Hornbill looked at Time Turner with a frustrated glare that didn't waver the stallion's confidence, as if he's had this happen before.

"If I may, Commander Hornbill, I'd like to ask you this: May I be able to join the investigation team?"

"In other words, be a detective?"

"Precisely."

"Did Miss Hooves give you the idea?"

"On the contrary, she was much against it like you. Still though, it shouldn't hurt at all to add a member to the team. As of now, let's see, we have Doctor Gloves as your forensics, yourself as brute force, Derpy as a negotiator of sorts, and yet you don't have one pony stepping up to be the detective in the team."

"He does bring an interesting point forward sir."

"Turner, you may have been a detective in the past, but now is not the time to indulge in such fantasies."

"If it would change your mind sir, I am skilled in my deduction skills, should you forget I came in a time prior to computers and fancy gadgetry. I did solve complex cases in my time, and if anything helps, I will be able to find your mare if you would let me."

"And why should I? Really, why should I?"

"As cliché as it sounds, I may be your best bet as of now."

At this, the Commander accepted his defeat against the rather childish Earth Pony, letting out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his temples. After doing so, Hornbill motioned for the eccentric part-time detective to come forward, the stallion obeying like a trained pet much to the amusement of Derpy. Time Turner approached Hornbill and cleared his throat, asking for the files of the recorded methods of kidnapping of each unicorn. Despite the confusion, Hornbill gave him the files and watched as the Earth Pony scanned through each file one by one, letting out a sigh of annoyance and frustration. Hornbill motioned Derpy to take a seat, implying the start of a rather long wait.



Coughing out bits of blood, the purple Alicorn looked at her aggressor. She knew exactly what her facial expression. It was the face of no remorse, no pity, not even a single sign of friendship or kindness. Oh, if Fluttershy had been here she might have gotten some form of kindness out of her kidnapper. Tasting blood in her mouth, Twilight Sparkle looked up to see Tempest Shadow looming over her, as if the Princess was nothing more than a foal.

"You're getting weaker Princess, I can tell."

"Y-you'll never get what you seek for Tempest!"

"Oh, spite huh? And, uh, why should I give up on all of this exactly?"

"You seek the impossible from not only me but everypony you've done wrong to. but may-"

"-Maybe if I seek out the Princess Celestia in a kind manner I would be able to get what I want blah blah blah. Yeah, the only way I can get what I want isn't through the graces of the Princess little one."

"W-what makes you so sure of it?"

"Because kindness isn't going to fix a broken pot of China, isn't it? Kindness isn't going to replace what was ONCE LOST!"

Tempest's raised voice sent bolts of fear through Twilight as something was forcefully attached to her horn once again. The other end was attached to what looked like a spear with the tip being a completely intact horn? Twilight only hoped, no, prayed that it was a model of a horn, and not what she thought. Tempest sensed the uneasiness of the Princess of Friendship, smirking with parted lips in a way that would give young foals nightmares for a long time, the kind of smile that doesn't go away no matter how hard you try.

"Yeah, you ever wonder why 5 of these cells were covered in dried blood? They're proving their use to me in a more...convenient manner."

Twilight couldn't form words as she opened her mouth to try and speak. Fear, disgust and anger spread through the Alicorn, the unicorn in front of her doing nothing but laugh at the sight before her, moving a few steps forward towards a switch on a console.

She flipped the switch, and explosive waves of light filled the room.



Hornbill and Derpy were more or less falling asleep from waiting for Time Turner to finish analysing 50 report files. It wasn't until the stallion shouted a 'EUREKA' did he catch the attention of the other two ponies in the same room as him, also unintentionally scaring the both of them. Hornbill looked at him with annoyance and anger, the kind of look that tells anypony to dig their graves to be buried in. Derpy looked at the eccentric detective with hope, surprise and fear, completely engulfed in curiosity despite her heart beating fast because of the sudden shouting in an enclosed environment.

"Respectful commander, I think I have a way of tracking your kidnapper!"

"You do?"

"Precisely! Look at the locations of each unicorn. Manehatten, Canterlot, Ponyville, Applossa, back to Canterlot, Baltimare, back to Manehatten, Cltifornia, back to Canterlot, back to Ponyville. You get the gist."

"What does this have to do with tracking her down?"

"I'm getting there good stallion. Look at the date of kidnappings, and tell me what you think."

"T-they're rather close, aren't they?"

"Mhmm, and each location is rather far away. It would be rather impossible to kidnap ponies and transport them via a blimp or the connected train system as I'v analysed a few weeks ago on a map."

"So, you're suggesting some form of one-pony transportation?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"...that doesn't say ANYTHING about-"

"I'm not done. Derpy, remind me again as to how the Princess' room looked like?"

"Huh?! Oh, they say that the room had no sign of broken windows. It was as if they knew how to get in. Oh, they also found no sign of tacks on the ground if that helps..."

"In fact, it does my dear! This implies a fast-moving vehicle that-"

"-doesn't touch the ground? I have to give you credit you eccentric bastard, you know your way around information."

"It's basic elementary as I love saying on a regular basis. Now the trick is to find out what type of vehicle she's using..."

"Knock knock~ I have your vessel."

All three ponies looked up to see a strange creature standing in the doorway, apparently ignoring the calls of officerponies to back away from the office and leave the building. The character was not something they have seen before, but it was obvious he was not a pony. If anything, it looked more like a cat standing on it's hind legs. The creature had golden-brown fur, blue tufts of fur on his forehead, and he wore a long, red coat that was worn out but still fashionable. His green eyes illuminated in the light of the building, and he had the posture of a gentlecolt such as FancyPants.

"I believe the vessel in question is none other than an airship."

"And just who the fuck are you exactly?"

"Oh, where are my manners. The names Capper. Capper Dapperpaws. Charming is my game. I'm a con artist from the Klugetown region."

"Klugetown? You're beyond the boarders of Equestria aren't you?"

"Right you are little pony. And might I add, I'd like to get in touch with my new acquaintances, other than angry Hornbill here, I don't know you two."

"Oh! I'm Officer Derpy Hooves. It's, n-nice to meet you."

"I'm Doctor Time Turner Whooves. I go by Time Turner though."

"Well, I am very pleased to meet the both of you, especially you Time Turner. I tuned into your findings and I have to say you have a sharp mind."

"Well, than-"

"Keep your distance Turner, he's a con artist remember? He's probably in servitude of Tempest."

"My dear Earth Pony, if I were working for Tempest Shadow, I wouldn't be so open about revealing myself, would I? Besides, I come with no tricks up my sleeves, I mean, apart from a useful map of course."

Capper revealed to the trio a large map of the world beyond Equestria's boarders, surprising two of them and exciting one. Turner looked in awe and excitement at the thought of travelling beyond the boarders of what he called home, the other two in the room with him looked just as surprised as the other. Hornbill shook his head and stood straight and mighty, moving towards Capper with a glare in his eyes, evidently hesitant to trust a stranger so willingly.

"This is all too convenient, even for Turner's standards I presume."

"It's not actually~"

"But why should I really trust you? I'm not content with blindly trusting anypony without a good reason."

Capper sighed and managed to take a glance at a stack of papers with the faces of missing ponies. Hastily walking over towards the stack, he carefully rummaged through it before finding 2 faces he remembered fondly. Walking towards the Commander, he presented the papers to the stallion with a sad expression on his face.

"Twilight Sparkle and Miss Rarity. These two were the first friends I've made in a long time, alongside their other companions. It would mean very much to me if anypony could help me retrieve them."

"You know these two? How?"

"Well, you see I wandered into the boarders of Equestria a while back, and not one pony gave me a warm welcome to the town. I was hanging around an alleyway when Rarity came across me and took me to the Carousel Boutique to fix me up with something to eat and fix my more run down coat. Thanks to her, this old thing hasn't been any more flashy than ever."

"Yeah, yeah, what about the Princess?"

"Oh, her. She and the other 4 came into the Boutique not long after I went in, and we sat for a discussion. It was, rather pleasant if I do say so myself."

Derpy looked at Capper with sadness in her eyes, Time Turner feeling empathy and a tinge of suspicion for the cat. Commander Hornbill looked at the two missing faces, sighed heavily in frustration and turned towards the feline, raising a hoof towards the other.

"For the time being, you have my trust. Do so much as breathe incorrectly and I'll have you locked up for fraud and for generally being a con-artist."

"My dear, uh..."

"Hornbill?"

"...My dear Commander Hornbill, you have my gratitude and my word."

"Mr Time Turner! You can lead a small team to investigate the matter. If you had been employed here, I would have granted a bigger team, but as it stands you're an unwanted volunteer. Then again, I need the help to locate them, so Capper and the Map will accompany you beyond Equestria."

"You're not coming along sir?"

"Me? Leave my post? You must be joking Miss Hooves. I also heavily suggest you stay here due to your condition."

"What? Why?"

"You could get yourself lost, injured or killed due to poor coordination."

"With all do respect sir, that's uncalled for."

"You will listen to my instructions Hooves, that is an order."

"If I may put forward something in the case of the Pegasus here, she can serve as a means of communication outside of Equestria. She is the only one here that has proper police equipment, including what I presume is a radio."

"Miss Derpy is also more than capable of great feats. Need I remind you of who rescued me from my icy prison sir?"

"...very well, I can't win against an eccentric idiot and his new found pet. Go with them and report in immediately if anything is to be found. Oh, and I presume you want Gloves with you?"

"As a matter of speaking, yes I do. After all, I may be a detective, but I need someone to decode science with the proper equipment."

And thus, under Commander Hornbill's permission, a team of 5 was created to hunt down Tempest from beyond the boarders of Equestria. At the helm, the now titled Detective Time Turner leading his first case in 400 years. With Derpy as a negotiator, Doctor Gloves as the forensics, and Capper as a navigator and tracker, confidence brewed within the eccentric Earth Pony. The chase began at that moment, Tempest Shadow as the clear target of the investigation team. Before leaving the station with the necessary gear gathered, Capper turned to the newly formed team with a smile beaming across his face.

"My friends, let the hunt begin."