Constant: Time Guardian

Chapters

2: Earlier (pt 1)
3: Earlier (pt 2)
4: Stowaway
6: Apology/Planning Ahead
7: Finally Moving
8: Blending In
9: The Mission/A Big Mistake
10: Caught/Constant's Story
11: Compensating Damages/Where's Jethrek?!
12: Repairing the Barn/Arrangements
13: Explanations Are in Order/Jethrek and Fluttershy Meet Again
14: Jethrek's New Travel Machine/Breaking the News/Behind Constant's Name
15: He's Here, Too?!/The First Real Mission
16: Discord Steps In/Confrontation/Checking in
17: Nightmares (Pt 1)
18: Nightmares (Pt 2)
19: Forbidden Sorrows (Pt 1)
20: Forbidden Sorrows (Pt 2)
22: Constant's Journey
1: Arrival
5: The Mysterious Rock/Jethrek
21: Jethrek's Upgrade/An Angel in Rockville

2: Earlier (pt 1)

It had only been a week since Maud Pie had visited her sister, Pinkie. At the moment, she was busy organizing the rock candy necklaces that she and Pinkie had made. At the same time, she was contemplating her recent adventure. Pinkie seemed very anxious to try to make a good impression of Maud to her friends. Close to the end, Pinkie almost got hurt. Almost, because Maud was quick to save her.

Maud had to smile. Pinkie's heart was in the right place. She had to give her credit for that. She walked out to the field of rocks she was organizing and preparing for potential clients in her rock farm. The sky was now a deep purple, as the sun was about to set, and the stars were already beginning to show. She looked in Ponyville's direction. "I hope you're alright, Pinkie," she thought, smiling a little bit. "Don't pull any dangerous stunts like you did last time."

She checked the rail cart she had filled with stone earlier. A client would be coming to pick it up the next day, and she was making sure that he would have enough to lay stone paths for a new building. When she was convinced herself that there was enough, she walked to the center of the field and sat down. She looked up at the darkening night sky. Clouds were beginning to cover it, so she looked in the areas where the stars were still visible. Everything seemed still at first, but as she looked toward a pile of rocks, she noticed that one of the stars was moving. She climbed the large pile very carefully to get a closer look. Now, she could see that the star was expanding. She raised an eyebrow curiously. "What is that?" she thought to herself. A few seconds later, the star faded. "Must have been a comet." She climbed back down the pile and walked into her house.

Inside, she opened her record book to review activity over the last few weeks. It seemed that everything over that period of time was the same as it was for the last few months...years even. She readjusted the collar on her blue dress and pulled something out of her pocket. "Well Boulder," she said, setting down a small rock on the table she was sitting at, "another long day, another long task." She paused for a few moments. "Let's get some"--- But before she could say anymore...

CRASH!

The noise startled her and she ran outside to find out what happened. Something big had hammered itself into the pile of rocks she had climbed earlier. She walked closer. It was a much larger rock. Maud frowned. "Crazy diamond dogs," she sighed. She had trouble with diamond dogs before, but never before had they thrown a rock this big into her field. The only reason they had caused trouble before was that they once saw the set of rock candy necklaces she had and thought they were real gems.

At the moment though, she felt that she had to do something about this new big rock in her field. She climbed up the pile, which was unstable in some places because the new big rock had altered the pile's shape. She examined the rock carefully. "Hmm...You might just come in handy...I'll need to see what you're made of first, though...You'll make an interesting subject for my research..." She dug away the stones around it and pushed it so it would roll down the pile. She wiped the sweat off her brow before going back down. "I'll deal with you later...right now, I'm tired..."

In their clubhouse, an old tree house to be exact, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were playing yet another game of knights versus dragons with Spike. Spike was getting tired of it, but he still managed to put up with them pouncing on him. "Don't you ever get tired of this?" he asked.

"No," Scootaloo replied, "Not really."

"If I'm going to help contribute to your group," Spike said, getting up, "I want to do something else besides act as the enemy in that little game."

Sweetie Belle giggled, "You haven't had much fun in your life, have you?"

Spike could not find a way to answer that, so he just turned away and harrumphed.

Apple Bloom took off the accessories for her costume. "You know, now that I think of it, Spike's right. We haven't really given him something else to do."

"Well, he does hang out in that library doing stuff for Twilight," Scootaloo observed. "Maybe he could keep a record of things that haven't worked out for us."

"That's a great idea!" Sweetie Belle said, but before she could say anymore...

"HELLO!" Spike snapped, "You're all talking about me as if I wasn't here. Besides, don't you think I should have a say in it?"

The three fillies looked at Spike in shock. He had never snapped at them like that before.

"Uhm..." Scootaloo began, "Sorry...We'll...uh..."

"Right now, I just want to go back to the library," Spike said, turning toward the ramp, "I'll see you three later."

Apple Bloom sighed. "We'd better head home ourselves, I guess."

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle agreed, laughing weakly. "I'd better go before uh...before Rarity scolds me for being out late."

"What?" Scootaloo asked, "Come on, we can still think of something else to do to pass what time we have left before we have to go to bed."

"All of a sudden, I don't feel up to it," Apple Bloom said sadly.

"Aw come on!" Scootaloo said, turning to look through the telescope in the clubhouse. "I'm sure there must be something we can do. I mean we don't always need Spike to help us, any"---At that moment, Scootaloo caught a glimpse of something bright in the sky. "COMET!" she shouted.

This caught Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's attention. "Where?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Come quick!" Scootaloo replied, "It's still visible!"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle took turns looking through the telescope to see what Scootaloo was talking about. "Whoah!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, "That's..."

"Amazing!" Apple Bloom finished, ''I think we found our next activity."

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS METEOROLOGISTS!" the three fillies declared together.

3: Earlier (pt 2)

Sugarcube Corner was almost void of activity as it was nearing closing time. Pinkie Pie was putting away the ingredients used to make the pastries served here. It had been a long productive day for the establishment, and even she could tell by the lack of a few key ingredients. As she put the last bag of flour down, she heard the doorbell ring followed by hoof steps. She rushed to the counter. "We're getting close to closing time!" she said in a cheery and almost sing-song tone, "but there's still enough time to serve one last customer!"

It was Rarity who had entered. "Actually, Pinkie Pie, I just came here to see if you still had that thread I let you borrow last week," she explained, "I have an idea for a new dress in mind, but I need the thread back for it to work."

Pinkie remembered what Rarity was talking about. "Oh, right! Okay, let me close up shop and I'll get it for you!"

"Take your time, darling," Rarity said with a smile, "I already have it drawn out." She yawned softly. "And not a moment too soon," she went on.

It took about three minutes for Pinkie Pie to finish. She lead Rarity in the direction of her own home. "The thread you let me borrow was red, right?" she asked.

"Yes," Rarity confirmed, "I hope you didn't use a lot of it, though. I need to make four dresses, and the embroidery needs about half of the spool I gave you."

"Half?" Pinkie Pie asked, "Don't worry then. I only used about..." she stopped for a moment to think. "About one-sixteenth of it."

"That much?" Rarity asked, kind of surprised.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie stopped and stood very still as she felt her tail twitch. "Huh?" she said, looking back at it. Her tail twitched again, followed by her left ear.

"What's the matter, darling?" Rarity asked, looking at Pinkie.

"It's my twitches," Pinkie said, as her right eyelids nearly closed, "Whatever they're indicating now, it's"--- She was interrupted by her right back leg kicking back at nothing.

"Careful!" Rarity exclaimed, as it almost hit her.

"Sorry!" Pinkie gasped, as her front left hoof shook violently, "Oh no...for once, I don't know what's going on..."

"Well, once your twitches are over, maybe you can contemplate their pattern," Rarity suggested.

The sound of a thump behind them caught their attention. It was Rainbow Dash landing. "Maybe the twitches are about that?" she asked, pointing somewhere toward the sky.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity looked where Rainbow Dash was pointing. There was something bright, tiny in their perspective, and moving across the sky. "It looks like a comet," Pinkie commented.

"When did you first see that, Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked.

"About a minute ago," Rainbow Dash replied.

"A minute?" Pinkie asked, "Comets aren't usually visible for that long."

"That's what's weird about it," Rainbow Dash said. "I was finishing my rounds on cloud patrol when I saw it, and it's still there."

"If Twilight were here, she'd be showering herself in books to find more information, I'm sure," Rarity remarked.

"Whoops, it's gone!" Pinkie said, still looking in the direction of said "comet".

Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked again. "Well, it was one of those rare moments, I suppose," Rarity said. "Lead on, Pinkie Pie."

"Okey-dokey!" Pinkie replied.

"Hold on," Rainbow Dash said, "Don't you want to find out what it was at least?"

"I know you're excited about this new discovery, Rainbow Dash," Rarity replied, "but it's getting late." She looked at the town clock. "And close to Sweetie Belle's bedtime, too," she muttered.

"Well, maybe I'll investigate it tomorrow then," Rainbow Dash sighed. "Hopefully I won't forget it by then."

"Oh I'm sure you won't," Pinkie Pie assured her, "Something strange like that isn't easily forgotten, you know?"

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah, that's true. Alright, I'll turn in. Goodnight, you two." With that said, she launched herself back to her home.

Rarity looked in Rainbow Dash's direction as she followed Pinkie Pie. "You know, it's possible that this...comet, or whatever it was, will hit the news before it becomes too exciting for Rainbow Dash."

Pinkie Pie sighed, "That would spoil her fun, wouldn't it? Oh, we're almost there!"

Once they reached her home, Pinkie rushed inside and retrieved the thread. She returned with it just as quickly. "Here you go!" she said, giving it to Rarity, who levitated it into a small bag.

"Thank you," Rarity yawned.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's head shifted to the left and her left eyelids twitched again. "Oh, something big IS happening...but"---Her right front hoof quaked. "What could it be? This pattern never happened before!"

Rarity got worried. "Perhaps we should also speak to Twilight about this. If it's a pattern you don't know, then there's a high chance that it could be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Pinkie asked, "How could it be dangerous? I mean, most of what my twitches told me never said anything that bad would happen."

"True," Rarity sighed, "Still, it can't hurt to be careful." She yawned again and turned to go home. "Well, Good night, Pinkie Pie."

"Night, Rarity!" Pinkie replied cheerfully as she went inside.

4: Stowaway

Constant gasped awake. He checked the time to see how long it had been since the Monitor crashed. "Five hours," he said. "Okay, time to get my bearings again." He looked around. Apparently, five hours was enough time for the Monitor to gather enough power to fix its own control room. He turned on the main screen and saw a windmill turning. It was obvious he had landed somewhere where a primitive culture was living. He walked to the entrance doors but found that they would not open. "Right, motorized system," he muttered, "I'll try something else then."

He walked to the navigation console and input several commands toward getting an idea of where he was. He kept getting the same message. "Error; Quantum variation." He went to another console and input a command. Immediately, a hologram of himself appeared behind him.

"Voice interface is active," it said.

"I keep getting a message about quantum variations," Constant said to the hologram. "Explain."

"You have attempted several times to access the mapping program in this system," the hologram replied, "However, the quantum variation in the surrounding area suggests that this time ship has entered another universe. Furthermore, the quantum variation has also affected the main power core. Without full power, the sensors on this vessel will not function at top efficiency."

"How far can sensors scan from this location?" Constant asked.

"This vessel can scan up to six hundred light years away," the hologram replied.

"Alright," Constant said, cracking his knuckles, "Disregard quantum variation...and theorize as to location."

Several screens turned on at that moment. "Scanning," the hologram replied, "Comparing objects in this star system to known star maps...Scanning beyond this star system...aligning galactic coordinates..."

As the hologram kept stating the Monitor's status, Constant got nervous. It looked like he was headed for the right planet in the first place, but something kept telling him inside that things were going to be very different because he was in another universe. It also meant that he no longer had contact with the time probes he had sent out. All that work gone to waste if he couldn't make it back. He tapped his fingers on a panel as he waited.

Finally, the scan was finished, and the hologram spoke again. "Location calculated. Earth...eighty-two point three six percent probability."

"Well," Constant sighed, brushing debris out of his hair, "at least I know I'm where I want to be...sort of."

"Command not recognized," the hologram stated.

"Oh enough already," Constant groaned, "deactivate voice interface."

The hologram faded from view.

Constant let himself fall into a chair. He thought carefully. "Okay, Constant," he said to himself, "On one hand, you have super-adaptive technology at your disposal, and it has probably improved itself to surpass the technology in type 78 TARDISes and further up the line by now...On the other hand, it may take a while for the Monitor to adapt itself to this universe...Who am I kidding? It will take a while."

He turned to the panel that the chair stood in front of. "Okay, maybe I can"---An alarm sounded, and the screen in front of him showed the words "intruder alert". Constant called for an internal map on the screen in front of him to look for the intruder. The map blinked red in one room, indicating damage. "Ah, I've got myself a stowaway," he sneered. "Well...time to put that right."

He ran out of the control room and went back to his living quarters. He picked up his laser screwdriver, which had fallen on the floor during the crash, as well as his sonic screwdriver. He made a run for the customized cargo room. Along the way, he heard something he thought he wouldn't be hearing for the past six years.

"Exterminate!"

At that moment, a laser beam was fired toward him. It narrowly missed his nose as he stopped. He looked to his right and confirmed his fear. It was a Dalek who had fired the beam. He fired again, and Constant ducked quickly to avoid it. He leaped forward for cover behind a wall. In front of him, he saw a control panel. Recalling the schematics and maps he had drawn out for the Monitor, he recalled that this panel controlled a blast door in the hallway the Dalek was in. He quickly got out his sonic screwdriver and set it to the right frequency to close the blast door. A few seconds had passed, and he heard muffled laser fire. He smiled, knowing it had worked. He came out of hiding and walked toward the blast door. The Dalek fired six, seven, up to twelve times before he stopped completely.

"Out of power, Dalek?" Constant asked.

"Open this door at once!" the Dalek demanded.

"Not a chance," Constant replied, "You'll just blast me dead if I do."

"You are only one," the Dalek spoke back. "You cannot win against me, as you are unarmed. The only choice you have is to surrender to the Daleks!"

Constant paused for a few seconds. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you, Dalek," he said, "But the war is over...and both sides lost. You're the only Dalek left now."

"You are lying."

"Oh yeah? Try scanning for Dalek signals. You won't find any."

There was silence. Constant walked away from the blast door to get to the cargo room, convinced that the Dalek was trying to find a signal. He moved boxes and capsules until he found what he was looking for, a box of vials holding the crystal he needed to make a lens for his laser screwdriver. He broke off a piece and generated the right sonic frequency to shape the crystal. It took only that much time for the Dalek to resume firing at the blast door. Constant looked up at the door to the hallway, knowing that even blast doors have their limits. He took apart his laser screwdriver and inserted the new crystal. At that moment, the laser blasting stopped. Constant wondered why. Had the Dalek found another way out?

It only took the sound of a much louder and higher-pitched laser blast for him to realize that it wasn't the case. He finished reassembling his laser screwdriver and tested it. It fired smoothly in test mode, which was enough to convince him that he was ready to confront the Dalek again. Just as he stood up again, the Dalek fired one last shot, breaking down the blast door.

"Surrender this TARDIS, Time Lord!" the Dalek called out.

Constant didn't answer. He adjusted his laser screwdriver to cutting mode. He looked down the hall again and fired a warning shot at the incoming Dalek. The Dalek fired again, missing Constant by about three inches from his right shoulder. "Your aim is off, Dalek!" Constant taunted. "How long have you been asleep? You couldn't have come here directly! I didn't see any Daleks when we were still in our own universe! But then, maybe I haven't been looking close enough!"

"Silence!" the Dalek shouted. At that moment, the hallway shook. "What is happening? Explain! EXPLAIN!"

"I don't know, but even if I did, I wouldn't distract myself with the matter!" Constant fired his laser screwdriver at the Dalek's suction manipulator, which sparked and fell off. Constant took cover again, just as the quaking stopped. "There goes one piece of vital equipment for you!" he taunted.

"I do not need it to exterminate you!" the Dalek spoke back, and fired the laser again. Constant moved out of the way only to have the armor on his left shoulder burned off.

He took cover and fired another shot at the Dalek. The Dalek moved out of the way this time. "Oh, good," Constant said sarcastically, "You learn quickly."

The Dalek moved forward and fired another shot, which missed Constant. "You cannot win!" he said, and Constant could tell he was getting irritated. He ran down the intersecting hallway, expecting the Dalek to give chase, which he did. Further down the hall, Constant stopped and set his laser screwdriver to heat. He aimed at the floor, looking in the opposite direction to make sure he had enough time to set his trap. After heating up a section of the floor, he set his sonic screwdriver to a new frequency and pointed it at that same spot on the floor. He then ran further down the hall, which caught the Dalek's attention. Constant hid in an intersecting hallway. "Give me access to your TARDIS or I will destroy it!" the Dalek threatened.

"Not on what life you have left!" Constant yelled.

The Dalek kept moving forward until he finally rolled over Constant's trap. The floor cracked and gave way beneath him, and as he fell, his laser weapon broke off his travel machine against the floor.

Constant smiled but stayed alert. He walked toward the hole in the floor. The Dalek had landed in another room. This room had raw materials ready to be processed including salvaged metal, which the Dalek fell in. Constant looked down the hole. "Are you done yet?"

"No!" the Dalek replied. "This TARDIS will be the property of the Daleks!"

"I'll bet you haven't had much luck contacting them, huh?" Constant asked..."So what are you going to do about it?"

For about two minutes, there was silence, as Constant aimed his laser screwdriver at the disarmed Dalek. Finally...

"EMERGENCY TEMPORAL SHIFT!"

"WHAT?! NO! NOT HERE! YOU"---

But it was too late. The Dalek's suit shook and sparked violently as he screamed in pain. Then after about ten seconds, it stopped, leaving a smoking heap of a shell. Constant could tell at that point that the Dalek was either dead or dying.

He walked down the hallway until he found a stairwell to get to the level where the Dalek had landed. At this point, he did not know what he was going to do if the creature inside the travel machine was alive. He found the room and could now see up close just how bad the damage was. When a small spark nearly flew in Constant's face, he could tell that there would be salvageable parts. The Dalekanium shell would certainly prove useful if he could find a way to apply it. He sighed at that moment and set his laser screwdriver to cutting mode again.

Before he could start, however, he could hear bumping noises in the distance. He could not tell if they were coming from inside or outside at that moment, but he decided to let it be until he was done here. He cut through the casing very carefully until he was able to remove parts of the outer shell piece by piece. He had finally removed enough technology to expose the Dalek himself. The almost squid-like creature was not moving. Constant set his sonic screwdriver to scan and found that the Dalek was indeed alive. Now came the moment to make a big decision. Constant pondered that on one hand, he might need the Dalek to help him get back to his own universe. On the other hand, even he knew that you could not trust a Dalek not to turn his word against you unless you were a Dalek yourself.

After careful consideration, he made a decision and picked up his laser screwdriver again...

Author's Note

The "suction manipulator" is what I call that arm on a Dalek that looks like a plunger. Anyone know what that component is really called?

6: Apology/Planning Ahead

Twilight Sparkle had just finished reading a book on the history of Equestria when the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the library. Spike, who was just coming downstairs from the bedroom, saw them come in and turned back immediately. Apple Bloom looked in Spike's direction, gasping. She looked down sadly as Sweetie belle and Scootaloo walked past her.

Twilight looked to the Cutie Mark Crusaders first, then to the stairwell which Spike walked on earlier. She looked back to the three fillies. "You three take a seat at that table and I'll be with you shortly for Twilght time," she said.

This caught Apple Bloom's attention, and she went to join her two friends at said table. When they finally did sit down, Sweetie Belle noticed that Apple Bloom was pouting. Scootaloo noticed too, and for about thirty seconds, the only sound that was heard was the whispered speech between Twilight and Spike.

Finally, Sweetie Belle broke the silence. "Cheer up, Apple Bloom! This is the perfect opportunity for us to apologize to Spike."

"I know," Apple Bloom replied, "But...What will I say? That's what I'm afraid of."

"Well, we can start it off with a simple apology," Scootaloo suggested, "and then take it from there."

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle agreed, "Just say what comes to mind. We'll do the same."

Apple Bloom smiled a little, nodded, and dug through her saddle pack to get a notebook. "Right afterwards, we can discuss that comet we saw last night."

At that moment, Twilight came down, leading a reluctant Spike. "Don't forget," she whispered, "Listen to what they have to say before you make your next move."

Spike, almost dull-faced, looked to her, and nodded lightly. He walked slowly to the three waiting fillies and took a seat. "Hey," he said simply.

"Howdy," Apple Bloom said weakly. Now she was even more nervous.

"Hello, Spike," Sweetie Belle said, "Listen...we're sorry about what happened last night. We weren't thinking carefully then."

"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed, "We were so into it last night that we didn't think to ask you what you wanted to do."

Apple Bloom gulped. "And we didn't consider that perhaps y'all would have your own ideas."

There was a ten second pause. Spike sat up straight and surveyed the three-filly crowd around him. Finally, he nodded. "Okay. I forgive you."

Apple Bloom looked up, surprised. She half-expected Spike not to forgive them. "You do?"

"Mm-hmm," Spike replied, "Twilight told me that it's not good to hold on to grudges. She said that if somepony did, it would be a problem that they couldn't solve."

"Yeah, she's right," Sweetie Belle said, recalling such a time, "I had a grudge against my sister once...but I let it go when she decided to surprise me. Remember that, Apple Bloom?"

"Huh?" Apple Bloom asked, and suddenly, she remembered. "Oh right! I remember!"

"Anyway," Scootaloo said, "Spike...uhm...first off, if you don't want to help us out, that's fine, but...after you left, we saw a comet."

"A comet?" Spike asked, "That's weird...Comet season hasn't arrived yet."

"He's right," Twilight spoke up, "It won't be here for a while. Are you sure it was a comet?"

The three fillies looked to each other. "Well, it was definitely moving fast," Scootaloo said.

"It was bright," Sweetie Belle added.

"And we got a pretty good look at it," Apple Bloom finished, "But some time later, it vanished."

"How long is 'some time?'" Spike asked. "Between ten and twenty seconds?"

"Longer, actually," Scootaloo said, "It was in the sky for about a minute."

Just then, the front door opened, and Rainbow Dash walked in. "Hey, Twilight, you'll never believe what I saw last night! It just appeared out if nowhere. I mean, there I was on cloud patrol, finishing my round, when I saw it glowing in the sky!"

"Let me guess," Twilight cut in, "It looked like a comet, right?"

Rainbow Dash gasped. "Y---yeah, it did, how did you know?"

"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo caught a glimpse of it too," Twilight answered, pointing to them.

Rainbow Dash looked to the three fillies and dragon sitting at the reading table. "You did?"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo chimed, "We're about to discuss it now."

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Well, maybe we can discuss it together? After all it was seen by all five of us."

"Four, actually," Spike said, "I never looked at the sky on my way back home last night, so it didn't catch my attention."

"Oh," Rainbow Dash stood corrected, "Well, it seems to have caught your attention now."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, Twilight, didn't we get a set of books on astrology recently?"

"Yes, we did, Spike," Twilight said, beaming, "Good memory. Hold on, I'll get them." Unfolding her wings, she hovered to the section where she put the new set and retrieved them.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked up to retrieve the books and they brought them to the table to look through. "This will be fun!" Apple Bloom stated.

"It should be," Rainbow Dash said, "I'll bet not many ponies saw what happened up there besides us, so it may not hit the news yet."

Jethrek was startled awake by Constant opening the door to the lab he was in on board the Monitor. "I request a status report," Jethrek demanded.

Constant was not paying attention. He banged his head against a wall and held it there.

Jethrek was impatient. "Answer!"

"I heard you the first time, Jethrek," Constant replied through clenched teeth, "I'm having problems of my own right now."

"Explain," Jethrek said more calmly.

"First, the quantum signature of this universe is very close to that of our own. That's why the Monitor slipped in so easily after it hit whatever caused it to shift here in the first place. It's also why we still have power. Secondly, remember that Equine we saw working in the rock farm we're hiding in right now?"

"Affirmative," Jethrek replied. Constant could tell that if Jethrek had an eyebrow, it would have been raised.

"I did as much of a scan as I could of the planet without wasting too much power, and I found no human life," Constant replied, "As a matter of fact, the population in this world seems to include several species that are mythical in our universe. Also, I managed to catch a few...conversations. The equine population are ponies, and there are three varieties." Constant called up information on the screen behind him and showed Jethrek what he was talking about. "There are earth ponies, like the one we saw earlier, pegasi, who have wings enabling them to fly, and unicorns, who have horns on their head which work like...magic wands."

"Such creatures exist in this universe?" Jethrek asked.

"I'm as surprised as you probably are," Constant replied. "But the population isn't limited to ponies. Dragons, griffins, I could go on. Furthermore, a lot of these beings are capable of verbal communication."

"If such creatures exist," Jethrek observed, "Then we should demand their assistance."

"Excuse me?" Constant replied, "I don't know how Daleks handle things in this kind of situation, but let me tell you, we are only two people among a whole planet of unknown beings! If we were to go up to someone and start asking questions, chances are that word might spread and soon after, we would be questioned as well. Too many questions, answered or not, and the consequences would be severe on both sides! Imagine what would happen if someone tried to take the Monitor for themselves!" Before Jethrek had a chance to speak up, Constant went on, "Let me also remind you that you rendered your own travel machine useless by attempting to displace yourself in time in a universe that isn't compatible! I tried to warn you about it, but you didn't listen!"

"Then what is your plan?" Jethrek asked.

"I don't have one yet," Constant replied, "Although you are right in one respect. We can't just stand around and do nothing..." Constant felt another quake. "Especially with that grey earth pony trying to turn the Monitor into raw materials."

"Then I recommend that you start by getting us away from the rock farm at the earliest opportunity!" Jethrek grumbled.

At that moment, a beeping sound was heard from the console, so Constant went to see what the trouble might have been. It turned out not to be trouble at all. "Minor temporal disturbance," Constant observed, "Looks like someone tried to tamper with time here..." He checked to see where else the temporal disturbance would be. "Hmm...There's another anomaly much farther away, but the temporal fragments seem to be only a few hours apart...it's probably the result of a causality loop."

"How does that help us?" Jethrek demanded.

"It helps us because it's a source of temporal energy," Constant said, getting irritated by Jethrek's demanding attitude. "So that means we at least have a chance to extend our sensor range if we can move there. Satisfied?"

Jethrek took time to take in what Constant had told him. "For the moment," he said at last.

"Good!" Constant said. "In the meantime, I'll get some time probes ready to record events here."

"What purpose would that serve?" Jethrek asked, more calmly.

"If we can record all events over the past thousand years or so, we can see if anyone found a way to shift universes." He turned to Jethrek. "I'm not going to demand help from anyone, Jethrek. I'll kindly ask once I find someone who can help us once I find him or her. So there, I'm taking your idea into account as well. Got it?"

Jethrek hesitated to answer for a few seconds as he looked to Constant. "I...understand."

"Good," Constant said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some probes to program." With that, he left the lab once again. Jethrek watched him leave before going back to sleep.

Author's Note

For those of you who don't know what Sweetie Belle was recalling, watch the MLP:FiM episode "Sisterhooves Social".

As for the causality loop, yeah, check out "It's About Time."

Update: I corrected a small part of this chapter to account for the fact that it wouldn't line up with a previous chapter.

7: Finally Moving

Since this morning, all my attempts to collect a sample from the new specimen have not succeeded. I am considering writing to a geologist about it. I will set the project aside until tomorrow.

Maud Pie put her pencil down after writing her own analysis about the mysterious rock. She had worn herself out trying to get a sample from it, which was not a regular event. She looked outside to it. "What are you?" she asked it, obviously not expecting a response. She went outside and as she rolled it to the side of her house, she smiled a little bit. It was good to have something that was new and mysterious in the rock farm. All the work she had been doing otherwise seemed repetitive now. "Well, at least other work will be much easier thanks to all that effort I put into getting a sample from you."

In the Monitor's main control room, Constant sighed with relief. "Finally!" he said, "I thought she'd never find time to leave us alone." He checked the power levels. Thankfully for Constant, there was enough power to get the Monitor out of there. He set the coordinates of the temporal disturbance. He decided to go to the location only because he felt that the time zone when the causality loop started wasn't actually required. Since it was still happening over and over again, Constant was confident that even then and there, it would let off enough temporal energy for him to fuel the Monitor. He typed in the spatial coordinates for the location of the anomaly and went to the intercom. "Jethrek, brace yourself. I'm getting us out of the rock farm now."

"I am prepared," Jethrek replied from inside his life-support container. "You may proceed."

Constant didn't know whether or not to smile about Jethrek's attitude at that moment. He kept the intercom active as he pressed the execute button on the navigation console. There was a smooth whooshing sound, and a very light quake as the Monitor quickly phased out of the rock farm. About three seconds later, the quaking stopped as the Monitor landed at the intended location.

"That was quick," Constant remarked, "and certainly smoother than I thought it would be. Jethrek, are you still alive down there?"

"Affirmative," Jethrek replied, "No damage was inflicted upon me."

"Good," Constant said, "Now, let's see where we ended up, but first..." He checked the tactical console, which he had modified to account for the fact that he had replaced the weapon system with probe launchers. "Ah, good. The chameleon circuit already changed the outer camouflage. Now to"--- He was interrupted by the lights in the room lighting up. He covered his eyes. He had gotten so used to the darkness in the room that he had forgotten that he had turned the lights off when he considered them a non-essential system due to the loss of power. "Oh, that's bright!" he exclaimed. He slowly uncovered his eyes to let himself get used to the change. "That's much better," he said, and went back to the navigation console to get his bearings.

Maud Pie ran to where she had left the mysterious rock. She swore she heard a strange noise in the vicinity, and when she saw that the rock was gone, she could only conclude that the sound had something to do with the rock disappearing. She looked around for anything that would tell her what happened and found nothing but the imprint on the ground where the rock once stood. That was enough to tell her that it wasn't a figment of her imagination. Still, she had put a lot of work into studying that rock, so if she didn't find it soon, all that work she had done studying it would have been for nothing. She rushed back inside and got her journal out.

It is now about ten minutes after I wrote my last entry. My new specimen is gone. I heard a strange sound where I had placed it and when I went back to see what happened, it was no longer there.

How the rock disappeared is beyond me. I have found no clues that would explain what happened to it, so I don't know if someone sneaked in and took it away quickly or if it just vanished into thin air. I cannot make any assumptions until I know more. However, if I do not find the rock soon, I will have no choice but to cancel the project.

Maud put her pencil down and put her hoof against her forehead. "That's it. I'm going back to Ponyville first chance I get."

Constant finally managed to get the door to the outside open and took a peek outside. The Monitor had landed in either a town or a small city. He closed the door again and looked over his navigational logs . He then started a visual scan of the town so that he could start a map. To his surprise, he had landed next to a tree. He looked outside one more time to check the shape of the outer shell. The Monitor changed it's disguise to look like an extraneous branch. "Perfect," Constant whispered to himself as he went back inside.

He went back to the lab. "Well, Jethrek, we've got power now. How's that life support generator holding up for you?"

"More efficiently than earlier," Jethrek admitted.

"Good," Constant said, nodding, "Now listen. I've prepared a few probes to send out. However, we're not exactly ready to go back in time yet. If we did now, we wouldn't have enough power to return here and now. Also, I don't plan on taking us forward through time."

"Why not the future?" Jethrek asked.

"Think about it," Constant said, "If we had knowledge of the future in this universe, and someone tried to get information about it from us, they'd know that we know and try to get it from us in any way possible."

"Better not to know than risk contaminating the timeline?" Jethrek asked.

"Now you're catching on," Constant said, smiling, "One last thing, for now. When we actually start retrieving probes, I'll need your help."

"My help?" Jethrek asked. It was obviously a raised-eyebrow reaction.

"I want to get us out of this universe sooner than later," Constant replied. "I'm sure you do too. Therefore, we should look over the recorded events together. That will quicken the search. Not by a lot, but enough."

Jethrek considered what Constant was saying. "Very well," he said at last.

Constant nodded. "I'm glad." He turned and left to get the probes he had set up.

A few minutes earlier in the library, Spike heard a slight whooshing sound. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what, Spike?" Sweetie Belle asked

"I heard...a whooshing sound," Spike replied, "...or something."

Rainbow Dash looked out a window. "I heard it too, Spike. Hold on." She looked around, but found no sign of anything that would have made the sound Spike mentioned. "Huh. Nothing out of the ordinary," she said, "Anyway, where were we?"

"I believe we were trying to find where the...meteor was," Scootaloo replied.

"So you reclassified the mysterious object as a meteor?" Twilight asked, coming back downstairs.

Apple Bloom nodded. "We believe that it somehow bounced off the sky halfway when it was visible. That's why we didn't feel the ground shake."

Rainbow Dash looked to her. "I wouldn't be surprised if that was what happened. I've been through enough stunts to observe the effects of the wind. If the wind was blowing in just the right direction, then it is likely that it would have blown the meteor upward again."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded their agreement, and they continued to discuss the subject of their project.

Constant looked outside again, worried. He had overheard a few of the things that were being said in the mysterious library he had landed near. On that note, he felt lucky that he landed somewhere where an extraneous branch wouldn't be a problem, or easily noticed for that matter. He checked the time relative to the planet, and then checked the power levels. "Still not enough for a return trip after I bury the first probe," he muttered. "If I'm going to leave this time, I'll need to do it by nightfall. That being said, I'll need to blend in..."

He recalled that somewhere in the Monitor was a supply of perception filters. He could use one to make himself look like someone else, even if the person did not exist. He went to the lab where Jethrek was, and went to a computer. "Jethrek, I'm going out to see what the culture is like. I'm going to wear a perception filter. Don't try to cause trouble while I'm out."

"I could not...'cause trouble', even if I wanted to!" Jethrek snapped, "You built this life support container to be stationary!"

"Daleks have been known to betray those they claim to help, Jethrek," Constant said, "I'm not taking any chances."

Jethrek said nothing more as Constant grabbed a perception filter band from a nearby container. He downloaded information into it and put it on his arm. He turned it on. "Jethrek, what do you see?"

"You have disguised yourself as an earth pony," Jethrek replied.

"Alright," Constant went on, "Am I apparently standing like one?"

"Yes," Jethrek replied again.

"Okay, thank you," Constant said, smiling, "Now I can go out and get an idea of what kind of people we're dealing with."

"While I stay here and do nothing, am I correct?" Jethrek asked.

"Don't worry," Constant said, "I'll be back before midnight. Not sure how close, but definitely before."

"Go," Jethrek said.

Constant put his sonic and laser screwdrivers in a satchel and went outside the Monitor. He breathed in, happy to be taking in fresh air again.

Author's Note

No, sadly this is not the shining moment where Constant becomes a pony.

8: Blending In

Constant made sure the door to the Monitor closed properly before looking around again. He noticed that a lot of the ponies in the town had colors which were not natural for their counterparts on Earth in his universe. "Huh," he hummed, "Well, I guess it's the way things work in this universe." Looking further, he saw a round structure that looked like it was made of glass. He was almost mesmerized by the appearance. He approached it, making sure his perception filter was not malfunctioning. "Hah. Almost reminds me of my family's house on Gallifrey," he said to himself, "Almost a third the size, though. Whoever owns that place has good taste." Looking through a window, he saw an assortment of clothing, specifically dresses that were shaped to fit female ponies. "Ah, a boutique," he thought to himself. Suddenly, he startled himself when he saw his own reflection on a window that was covered by a shadow. He looked at it, seeing an earth pony with a black mane and peanut-tan fur. The eyes were a dark green. "Okay," he thought to himself, "It turned out alright...I should probably improve the mane a bit though..." But now was not the time for that. He left the vicinity of the boutique before anyone saw him.

On the way back toward the library, he saw three fillies leaving the library. They were a yellow earth pony, a white unicorn, and an orange pegasus. They were all carrying books. Behind them, a purple dragon with green eyes followed momentarily before stopping a few feet away from the door waving to them.

"Thanks for your help, Spike!" the white unicorn called to the dragon.

"Anytime, Sweetie Belle!" Spike called back "Good luck to all three of you finding out more about that meteor!"

"Meteor?" Constant thought to himself, just as he felt a rush of air.

He looked in the direction of the disturbance and saw a blue pegasus with a rainbow-patterned mane and tail flying away from the library. "Oh...kay," he thought to himself. Just then, he remembered that he got worried about the research the three fillies were doing on a mysterious meteor. He got so caught up in the moment that he had forgotten. He looked to the library and considered whether or not dared to ask about it. He looked around and made sure that no one was watching him as he entered the library.

Constant looked around before entering the library. "Well, at least I'll be able to hear if something goes wrong with the Monitor," he thought, looking to it before actually walking through the door. He was impressed that the library itself was made inside a tree. At the same time, he wondered how long it had been since it was first constructed.

"Need help with something?" asked a voice.

Constant looked in the direction and saw a purple unicorn. But after a quick blink, he saw that this unicorn had wings. Given that she and the dragon who he saw earlier, and whose name was Spike, were the only two beings occupying the structure, Constant could only guess that the unicorn was the librarian. "Uhm...No thank you," he replied, "I think I can find my way around here..."

Spike looked up from the book he was reading. "Are you new here?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Constant replied warily, "I was just wondering if any books on astrology were available here?"

"As a matter of fact, a new order came in some time ago," the unicorn-pegasus hybrid replied.

"Where can I find them?" Constant asked, doing his best to hide how nervous he was at this point.

"Let me show you," the librarian said, leading him to where the books were.

Constant followed, and soon he got himself a few books on the subject. He sat down at a table and started reading one of the books.

Spike looked to him. "Hey, did you happen to catch sight of a meteor last night?"

Constant looked up to Spike. "Meteor?"

"Yeah," Spike confirmed.

Constant made himself look like he was thinking. "No, I didn't," he said, "Why?"

"A few friends saw one last night," Spike replied, "But it never hit the ground. We think it went back up about halfway through it's course."

"Did they say exactly when it happened?" Constant asked.

The librarian looked to Constant and Spike. "Uhm...they said it was some time after I left their clubhouse," Spike replied, "I think I left sometime around eight fifty PM."

Constant hid his worried emotions to avoid suspicion as best as he could. "Interesting," he said.

Just then, the door opened behind him and a pink pony with magenta mane and tail entered the library. "Hello Twilight!" she said cheerily, startling Constant a bit. "How are---" Her speech was interrupted when she saw Constant.

Constant, who was now facing the pink earth pony, raised an eyebrow. "Is something the matter, miss?" he asked.

The pink pony recovered. "What? Oh! Not at all! I, uh...I just never saw you before, and uhm...Oh! I should make preparations!"

"Preparations?" Constant asked, now confused and feeling like he was about to be dragged into something.

"Pinkie Pie, he looks uncomfortable right now," the librarian, who Constant now knew was called Twilight, said, "Give him some space."

"Yes," Constant said, "Besides which, I'm not staying long. I'm just passing by."

"Aw," Pinkie pouted, "I SO wanted to throw him a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!"

Constant almost smiled. "Very thoughtful," he said, "but I'm just here to do a little research."

"Research on meteors?" Twilight asked.

"Uh, yeah," Constant lied, "among other things." It was convincing enough for everyone to believe.

"Ooh!" Pinkie exclaimed, "What else do you specialize in? Northern lights? Solar eclipses? Lunar eclipses?"

"I think I'll stop there," Constant said, "It's not all that exciting anyway. I live a very private life."

"Private life?" Spike asked, "You must not get around much, then."

"You're right," Constant said, "I don't..."

There was a pause as Constant flipped through a few pages in the book he was reading.

"Well, anyway, " he said, "I should get going." He stood up and put the books he read back in the shelf he saw Twilight collect them from.

"So soon?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Constant replied, "I've got a long way to go, and I have to collect some supplies for the trip ahead."

"Maybe you can use some help?" Twilight suggested, "I'm sure Pinkie Pie would be happy to direct you to certain places." As she said that, Pinkie nodded in agreement.

"That's very kind of you," Constant said, "but as I said, I lead a private life. I'd like to do these things by myself, thank you very much."

Spike looked up, kind of surprised by Constant's statement.

"I may come back here, and then again, I may not," Constant went on, "Farewell. Thanks for your help."

When he closed the door behind him, Spike looked back to Twilight. "He seemed to be in a hurry over something," he said, "I wonder what it would be?"

"I'm not sure myself, Spike," Twilight said, "but I don't think it would be right to dig into his personal life."

"He did seem a bit nervous, too," Pinkie observed.

Constant looked up at the sky. "Hmm...still plenty of time before nightfall," he thought to himself. He sat down on a bench and got a ration pack out of his satchel. He tore it open and took a bite, looking around. He saw a stand where apples were being sold. The merchant was a female orange earth pony wearing what looked like a stetson. She was calling out to catch the attention of potential customers. Looking at his ration pack, he wished he had money to actually buy materials he might need in the future if his plan to get home was going to work out at all. "I think I'll make a note of what materials I have handy," he thought to himself. "Maybe I have something that can be found here in the first place. I might have iron or steel handy...maybe some leftover gold from the time I had to fight those Cybermen in my universe."

He then saw a pony come up to the stand and collect a few apples. He got out a monocular and looked toward the stand to see what kind of currency the culture had. "That'll be fifteen bits," the merchant said. The customer took out fifteen gold coins from his bag and put them on the stand for the merchant to collect.

"Looks like I'll have to sell some materials after all," Constant thought to himself. "I'll make a point of looking over my cargo to see what I can spare."

Time passed, and the sky was already dark enough for the stars to shine. He headed back toward the library and made sure no one was watching before he stepped quietly toward the Monitor. He slowly pushed the doors in and they slid open in opposite directions. He entered, and checked the power levels again. Sensor data was coming in at a much greater range and rate than before. With that, Constant was able to get a full map of the land around him. "Yes!" he said excitedly. "Now to start planning the probe run!" He ran down to the lab. "Jethrek, we're almost ready to go! We'll use this time zone as a home base."

"I understand," Jethrek replied, "How far back will we be going?"

"We'll start about a thousand years ago and work our way up from there," Constant replied. "I've got several probes ready, so we'll deposit them in equal increments of time."

"What do you request of me?" Jethrek asked.

"I'd like you to watch these screens," Constant said, typing into a console. "They will tell you when the probes are working."

"Instructions noted," Jethrek said, "I will watch for status reports."

Constant nodded, and carried the first probe to the control room. He turned it on, went to the navigational console, and set a course. He watched the local time clock and waited for it to strike midnight. "Five seconds to temporal departure. Four. Three. Two. One." He pressed the execute button, and the Monitor disappeared from view.

Spike woke up from his slumber after hearing a short whooshing sound. He looked out a window and looked around. "Now I know we weren't hearing things," he thought to himself. "I'd better listen for it again..." He yawned. "Maybe after I get enough sleep," he thought further.

9: The Mission/A Big Mistake

One thousand years earlier, the Monitor re-materialized in an unpopulated area. The doors opened, and Constant stepped out, carrying out the heavy time probe. He pressed a few buttons on it, and three drill heads sprouted from the lower section of the probe. He set the probe down, and it drilled its way into the ground. "So far so good," he thought. He went back inside and got a shovel. When he came back outside, the probe had burrowed itself deep enough into the ground not to be discovered by anyone digging a large hole in the ground, assuming anyone ever did. He used the shovel to put whatever dirt had piled up back in the hole. Constant took out his radio. "Okay, Jethrek, I just deployed the first probe."

"The confirmation signal has been received," Jethrek replied, "The probe is now recording events in this time period."

"Excellent!" Constant said, "Any indication of signal degradation or sensor jamming?"

"None determined," Jethrek reported back.

"Okay," Constant said, "Our work in this time zone is done, then. We'll set up the next one about one hundred and forty three years into the future." He entered the Monitor once again and set course for the next time and location.

One hundred and forty three years later he repeated the process, being careful not to catch the attention of ponies in the area. One hundred and forty three years after that, he again repeated the process. However, this time, he received a signal from the first probe. It was ready to be replaced. Constant set a course for it's location. "Jethrek, we're taking a little detour. Probe One has already reached it's limit. We have to replace it."

"Understood," Jethrek acknowledged as Constant executed the course to the probe.

The area was once again unpopulated, so Constant sent the confirmation signal to the probe, and in about two minutes, it dug itself out of the ground. Constant picked it up and placed a new probe in it's place. He replaced the dirt once it burrowed itself in the ground. He brought the first probe inside the Monitor and went to the lab to download it's data. Once it started downloading, Constant set a course to continue deploying time probes. "Wow. Looks like the probes weren't affected by the quantum variation of this universe," Constant observed.

"Our map of this world is receiving new data," Jethrek added.

The mission continued with time probes being deployed and retrieved, and Constant found that compressing the data would make it easier to find changes in the timeline should any occur. When they finally got back to the present, Constant went back to the lab and slumped in a chair. "Well, that was easy...for the most part."

"Constant," Jethrek began.

"Yes, Jethrek?" Constant asked, turning his chair to face him.

"Are you going to keep me in this life support unit until we return to our universe?"

Constant froze at that question. He did not know what Jethrek was feeling at that moment, but he knew that anyone else in his situation would be feeling downright useless. Constant thought carefully before coming up with an answer. "I don't know," he said, "I hope not. But that all depends on you, Jethrek. I have to know that I can trust you before I make the final decision about that."

Silence filled the room as Constant checked the status of the chameleon circuit. Once again, the Monitor was disguised as the extraneous branch on the library tree he had landed on before. Checking the time, he found that he had arrived about a day and a half later than when he had left. He scanned the library for life to find that no one was present. "Good, no one could have heard us materializing into this time zone," he said.

"Constant!" Jethrek exclaimed, "Look!"

Constant looked to Jethrek first, then to the screen he was looking at. It became clear what Jethrek was surprised about. There was the grey earth pony from the rock farm. "I don't think we have to worry about her at this point," Constant said, "We're not disguised as a rock, and she has not seen my perception filter image yet." They watched as the grey earth pony opened the door of what looked like a pastry shop, to be pulled in quickly by Pinkie Pie. "Whoah," Constant said, "either she's new in town, or Pinkie Pie's just really excited to see her..."

"Pinkie Pie?" Jethrek asked, confused.

"That's the name of the pink earth pony who pulled the grey one into that...pastry shop over there," Constant explained.

"You made contact?" Jethrek asked, squinting his eye.

"Not a lot of contact," Constant replied, "The tree we're attached to is a library. The librarian looks like a mix between a unicorn and a pegasus. Her name is Twilight. I met Pinkie Pie in the library as well, and she is a strange being, let me tell you. Unless I'm mistaken, she likes to throw parties for newcomers...Very cheerful attitude...There's also a dragon named Spike, and the information that he revealed to me is worrisome."

"Why?" Jethrek asked.

"I think we were already discovered before I found you," Constant said, "Spike said that his friends saw a meteor two nights ago relative to this time zone."

"You believe that meteor was this time ship?" Jethrek asked with an expression that indicated annoyance.

"Yes," Constant said. "We'll have to be careful about how we do things here from now on."

"I agree," Jethrek stated.

"So let's"--- Constant was interrupted by a console beeping. "Oh, it looks like another probe is ready to be received," he said. He pulled up a map to find the probe's location. "Oh no," he said, "That's not good..."

"Explain," Jethrek demanded.

"The probe is near Ponyville," Constant said, "At the location labelled...Sweet Apple Acres...It's an apple orchard!"

Jethrek glared at Constant. "This will jeopardize our mission!"

"Jethrek, will you stop having such a negative attitude?!" Constant snapped. "I'll park the Monitor in the orchard at midnight, when everybody out there is asleep. From there, I can run to it's location and replace it as quickly as possible."

Jethrek looked up in doubt. "Very well, but keep that perception filter on in case they discover you."

"That was the plan in the first place, Jethrek," Constant said.

That night, at Sweet Apple Acres, the Monitor rematerialized in front of an apple tree. Constant made sure he had a probe ready in the control room. He believed that the hole which a probe left would be small enough to make it look like a large rodent had made it. He left the replacement probe in the control room as he walked out quietly. Using a control pad he had built for these occasions, he scanned the area to find the probe he was going to replace. He then looked around and saw the apples on the trees. Once again, thoughts of getting real food came to him. He shook them off and went back to work. When he found the location of the probe, he sent the confirmation signal so that the probe would ascend. Constant looked at the ground. He was relieved that the probe ended up being in an open area where the trees were not growing. Then he received a warning signal on the control pad. The probe's ascension system had jammed, so it could not finish the ascent trip. Constant groaned quietly and checked to see how far under the ground it was. "Just great," he thought to himself, "Now I'm going to have to dig it out. Could this situation get any worse?" He made sure he was standing in the right location and got the shovel off his back. He started digging. "Fate, you have not been kind to me!" he thought further, "and this is only my first life!"

What he did not know was that someone woke up inside the farmhouse. A red earth pony poked his head out a window and saw Constant pulling something out of the dirt. He was tired, but he managed to walk downstairs and sneak out toward the toolshed.

Constant had finished digging out the old probe, and he set it aside. He carried the replacement probe to where he dug the old one out and activated it. It burrowed into the ground and Constant started replacing the dirt. But halfway through the process, he saw a shadow of an earth pony behind him. "Oh no, I'm exposed!" he thought to himself. He turned around, but not fast enough to dodge the shovel which swung toward his head.

WHACK!

For the second time since he arrived in this universe, Constant was knocked out. To make matters worse, his perception filter armband was crushed by the impact on the ground. As he landed on his front side, Constant's disguise image flickered before finally disappearing, revealing his true form to the red pony, who dropped the shovel and backed off in surprise.

He approached Constant slowly and tapped him. When he got no response, he flipped Constant over to see what he looked like in front. "Not a changeling," he thought to himself, "Still, I ought'a ask Applejack to get her friend Fluttershy to find out what it is. It looks like some kind of monkey..."

Inside the Monitor, Jethrek began to suspect that Constant was in trouble. "Constant," he said, trying to get an answer through a radio signal, "Constant, where are you? Answer!" He waited for a while longer, but his patience was running out. After another half hour, he could not wait any longer. He started moving himself inside the life support tank. He bumped the transparency...

Meanwhile, the red earth pony brought Constant to a guest room in the farmhouse and lay him on the spare bed. He went outside the room and locked the door behind him. "Tomorrow we start harvesting," he thought, "I hope he didn't cause any damage..."

10: Caught/Constant's Story

The sky was a bright blue color when Constant finally woke up. He looked around and realized that he was in the farm house. He stood up and looked around. He felt for his radio so he could contact Jethrek, but he found that his satchel was missing. He then looked in a nearby mirror and saw that his perception filter band was broken. He looked outside and checked to see if the area was clear. It looked like there was nobody around, so he turned to the door and turned the knob slowly, only to find himself face-to-face with an earth mare, which startled him. He backed up, and the orange mare followed him into the same room. Constant gulped. He turned to jump out the window, but was stopped when the mare grabbed his shirt. "You ain't goin' anywhere," she said.

"Seems, I'm caught, huh?" Constant asked.

"You got that right," the mare said, and then she paused. "So you can talk."

"Yes," Constant replied, "I can."

"Then perhaps you'd like to explain what you were doing digging dirt on my family's property?" the mare asked, putting down a blanket which she was using to hold something. "You can also tell me what this is."

When Constant saw it, he gasped. It was the probe he had extracted from their yard. He felt everything he had put into his mission go to waste. There was nothing he could do to stop it from happening. The damage was done. He sighed heavily in both disappointment and fear. This mare looked like she wasn't going to take no for an answer. After all, he was caught digging on private property. “Okay," Constant said, "I’ll answer all your questions with a story…but I hope you’re open-minded enough to believe everything I tell you.”

"That depends," the mare said. "You might as well have a seat and start from the beginning."

"The very beginning?" Constant asked, surprised.

"Sit," the mare said, emphasizing that she meant business.

Constant sat down and sighed. "Okay. I might as well. To start, have you ever heard of a race called humans?"

The mare paused briefly. "Yes...a friend of mine went to a world where humans exist. She even said that she saw me...in such a form. Are you human?"

"No," Constant replied, "But I am a humanoid. My name is Constant. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier."

"I'm Applejack," the mare replied, sitting down herself.

Constant went on with what he was and where he came from. It was difficult to explain it clearly, but he managed to give Applejack an idea of what he was. "But the story actually starts with...the Time War."

"So this is going to be a war story?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Kind of," Constant replied, "A lot of people know about this war in my universe. It cost a lot of lives, and left devastation in my universe. But my story actually starts on...Hold on..." He calculated calendar time, converting Gallifreyan time with Earth time. “Okay...so it starts on the third day of an Earth week. I had heard news that my home city was destroyed by Dalek laser fire. I was in an inspection and rescue squad sent there to look for survivors. We found a lot of people, but even after that, I kept searching for anyone in my family, hoping and praying that they were still alive.”

“Did you find them?” Applejack asked.

“You’re jumping ahead of the story,” Constant replied, “but I will tell you. Anyway, I kept searching and searching, not wasting a single moment in the search…and then I found myself standing in the exact global coordinates where my family’s home was. When I dug the rubble, I found them…I can only guess you were asking that question because you were actually wondering if they were alive.”

Applejack nodded at that statement.

“Sorry to disappoint you," Constant said, "I saw burns on my father, which indicated that laser fire was used in the house before it crumbled…However, no one else was killed in that manner. They were killed when they were crushed by the collapsing building. No chance to regenerate. I wanted to at least give them a proper funeral, so I had my team collect their bodies before leaving the area.”

“All your family killed, huh?” Applejack asked… “So that means…you’re the only one left, huh?”

“Exactly,” Constant replied. “Anyway, a week later, I was staring down at the city from a cliff…I was angry…disappointed in myself…and sad. My family was dead. I wondered if somehow I was dreaming…so I hit my own leg with a sharp rock. I didn't cut myself, mind you, but it was painful enough to tell me that I wasn't dreaming. It was as real as life could get. And then I got radioed by my squad leader.” He laughed a bit. “He told me that we were being drafted to fight in the front lines. I wondered to myself if fate was playing a cruel trick on me, but given what had happened to my family, being killed in the attack, I had nowhere else to turn. I thought it would be a good break from my surveillance missions, but I was wrong. As I said, a lot of people were lost in the war, and not only Time Lords. Other races fought in the war as well, but I won’t go into so much detail about that.

“Anyway, I was fighting on the front lines, when my squadron received orders to return to base and report to the Time Lords council chambers. One thing was certain at that point: No one was up for a promotion. I was right to think that too."

“So why did the council call for you?” Applejack asked, getting more curious.

“We were assigned a secret mission." Constant went on, "After a long briefing, the head of the council gave me a key to something. I didn't know what until another council member told us that the object which the key belonged to was in a large underground safe in the most secure area. I myself asked them why we alone were assigned to do this. One of the council members stood up, apparently insulted by my question. He glared at me and said that if we didn't move to the safe soon, the Daleks would get their hands on whatever the key belonged to and if they did, it would mean the end of all of time and space as we know it.”

“Did you figure it out?” Applejack asked.

“ Well, we didn't know what it was until we actually went there,” Constant replied, “On our way, I saw a message on a wall of a building that had collapsed earlier. The message read 'No more'. I didn't understand what it meant. No more what? A Dalek who had fallen nearby also saw the message and wondered what it meant as well. He demanded an explanation. I had no time to ponder it myself. I followed my squadron to the underground storage facility and the leader opened the safe. It was then my job to find what the key belonged to. After a short search…I was surprised to see that the key belonged to a TARDIS.”

“TARDIS?” Applejack asked, clearly confused. “What’s a TARDIS?”

“The term TARDIS,” Constant explained, “is an acronym for ‘Time And Relative Dimension In Space.’ It’s what we call our time machines.”

“Oh,” Applejack said. “Well that explains it…sort of. Anyway, go on.”

“I wondered why this TARDIS in particular was so dangerous that the Daleks would want it in the first place, but that didn't stop me. I unlocked the door, and the squad leader directed everyone in the team to take positions in the main control room. My task, however, was not in the main control room. Instead, he told me to go down to the engineering chambers and monitor the space drive, the temporal drive, basically everything to make sure we wouldn't blow up in the process of escaping. One thing you have to understand about TARDISes, though, is that they can repair themselves within a period of time after an attack or a beating, so everything was ship-shape when I went in there. Anyway, everything was set to go, and the TARDIS started flying. The squad leader had ordered that the outer shell of this TARDIS be disguised as a Gallifreyan rocket so the Daleks wouldn't get too suspicious. Everything was going well...until a little later, that is. As I listened in, I heard that we were far enough from Gallifrey for the Daleks not to detect us if we made a temporal jump."

“Temporal jump?” Applejack asked. “What in the hay is that?”

“By ‘temporal jump’," Constant said, "I mean when a time machine travels from one point in time to another. I thought everything would go according to plan at that moment…but I was wrong. I heard the second technician in my team yell a warning to the squad leader. The squad leader called for evasive action, but it was too late. Something hit our TARDIS hard…like a luxury liner hitting a hard rock due to careless navigation. At that moment, I heard sparks flying in the engineering chambers, where I was. I managed to dodge a few sparks that flew out of the control panel, but I didn't realize that a panel on the ceiling had fallen directly above me. I was knocked out…”

“That hard, huh?” Applejack asked. “From the way you described, it seems that these…TARDISes are built to be super-tough.”

“Yes,” Constant replied, “They were built to be that way…except TARDISes are grown, not built…I’ll explain the details later…I don’t know how long I was knocked out for, but when I woke up, I found myself looking at the section of the ceiling where the panel had fallen off…Luckily, everything was intact from inside where the panel was…”

“I tried reporting in to the rest of my squad using my radio…but I got no response. I walked all the way back to the main control room to talk to the squad leader in person….but when I got there…I almost fainted…My squad was dead. All dead. Except me. They didn’t even get a chance to regenerate.”

Applejack was shocked. At the same time her curiosity had piqued. “Regenerate? You mentioned that twice.”

We Time Lords have a way of avoiding death," Constant replied, "but we can only do it a limited number of times.”

Applejack was silent for a few moments… “So what happened then?”

“Well, I found that most of the controls and view screens were still intact, so I checked for a recorded log of what happened. I found it…and what I saw shocked me…Gallifrey…my home…was gone…Not even the Dalek fleet was there… I fell to my knees in shock of what happened. According to the log, there was an explosion right where Gallifrey was…the shockwave from the explosion is what hit my TARDIS, causing it’s systems to go haywire. However, I did catch a glimpse of something in the record a few moments before the explosion occurred…A blue box was moving away from the planet. Only one Time Lord could have had that box…it was the Doctor’s TARDIS.”

“Who’s the Doctor?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know his true name,” Constant replied, “Although I was assigned to watch over him to make sure that his activities wouldn't result in universe-ending paradoxes…Anyway…later on, I dismantled several missile rockets and turned them into caskets for my dead crew…I put them in, and left them right where Gallifrey was when it was destroyed. After meditating a prayer, I set off to find a purpose for myself in the TARDIS. I decided to watch over the timeline, making sure that nobody tried to change history for their own benefit. For this purpose, I gave my TARDIS a name…the Monitor. It seemed fitting for the purpose I gave myself. Several years passed, and I had recorded a LOT of history, none of which to my knowledge had been tampered with. Then one day, I was returning to Earth from a far-away solar system when the Monitor hit something. It shook…it rumbled…and everything seemed to double around me…including myself…Soon, the illusion wore off, but I was facing an even bigger problem. The main power core was overheating. I had to run the Monitor very quickly through the vortex to cool it down. One degree above the tolerance level, and the Monitor would have started to fall apart. It shook again…and rumbled…I looked outside to see what was going on. There was no indication of what I had hit. Then the dimensional stabilizers started to malfunction, something I could not afford to ignore. It took some time to coax them to work again, but I managed to make it just in the nick of time. When I checked the status of the power core, it seemed fine at that moment. Then the computers started telling me that there was a navigational error. They couldn’t make heads or tails of the area around the Monitor. I looked at one of the view screens to find that I was headed for this world. However, I no longer had control of the spatial or temporal drives, which meant that I was going to crash. When the Monitor penetrated the atmosphere, however, I was able to give it a course to follow to make the crash less severe. I held on for dear life, unsure of whether or not I was facing death.”

Applejack looked at Constant from foot to face. “Well, you sure look like you went for a rough ride…”

“Yes, I did,” Constant went on, “When I DID land, I was knocked toward a wall and rendered unconscious. When I woke up, I started looking for where I was. The computers couldn't determine the exact location because of the…quantum variance in this universe. So I told the computers to disregard the quantum variance and theorize as to the location.”

“I have no idea what a 'quantum variance' is," Applejack asked, "But did it work?"

“It did,” Constant replied. “And I found that I am in the right place…but the wrong universe. So I decided to set up probes here too so I could find a way to get back to my own universe. That’s what the device over there is, a probe to record events over a very long period of time. That probe has recorded to the point that it can’t record anymore. I came here to replace it."

“So you've been watching us?” Applejack asked, and Constant could tell at that point that she was getting a little mad.

“Yes,” Constant confirmed, “But only so I could find a way to get back to my universe. I decided to watch events here too, in case someone did decide to change the timeline for their own benefit, but the probes were mainly set out for the purpose of finding a way back to my own universe.”

“It still feels like an invasion of privacy,” Applejack said, looking down slightly with a frown.

“Yes, that’s the kind of reaction I’d expect from anyone at this point,” Constant admitted, looking down, “However, unless someone tried to change the timeline, as I mentioned earlier, I usually disregard everything which I consider unrelated to my personal objective.”

“And by ‘personal objective’, you mean finding a way home, right?” Applejack asked.

Constant nodded in response and looked to her. "I know it all sounds far-fetched, Applejack, but everything I have told you is the truth."

Applejack looked at him carefully… “Well…I’ll admit…I see no clue to support the idea that you’re deceiving me…so far anyway.”

“One thing does concern me, though,” Constant said. “I buried that probe in that very spot about one hundred and forty years ago. I hope it didn’t affect any of your crops.”

“Well, I didn’t see anything wrong with the trees, so you can relax about that,” Applejack replied. “Although if something did happen…”

“You would have had stern words for me, right?” Constant guessed.

“Well that," Applejack nodded, "and I would have had you pay for the damage you caused.”

“All of it, I’m sure,” Constant said, thinking about what the consequences would have been if there was damage over a long period of time.

“Hold on an apple-buckin' minute,” Applejack said, “When you first landed, where exactly DID you end up?”

Constant looked to her… “On a rock farm,” he replied, “The Monitor had automatically disguised itself as a large rock some time after it landed.”

"As a rock?" Applejack now had a look of realization.

Constant looked to her now..."What is it?"

“Well, it’s probably nothing," Applejack replied, "but…while you were there, did you see a grey pony wearing a…blue dress?”

“Why yes, I did,” I replied. “She tried to shatter the Monitor thinking it was a rock."

"Okay, now I'm starting to believe you," Applejack said,

"Why?" Constant asked, "Do you know her?”

“She’s my friend’s sister,” Applejack replied. “She’s been looking for that rock for weeks now.”

“Well,” Constant sighed, “looks like I’ll have to explain myself to another pony, then. Meaning I’ll have to expose myself more than I find acceptable.”

“You mean you meant to keep yourself hidden this whole time?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Time Lord, time traveler, yes, Applejack," Constant replied, only slightly irritated, "I DID mean to keep myself hidden. If anyone else found out about me…do you realize the consequences?”

Applejack thought hard…”Okay…assuming you ARE telling the truth about where you came from, who you are, and all that…You’re hiding yourself so others won’t know about you and your fancy time machine, because you’re afraid it might fall in the wrong hands. If it did, then the pony who uses it may try to change events to their own benefit.”

“Exactly,” Constant said. “I just hope now that I---“

Then they heard a thump. Constant looked outside and saw a tall red earth pony kicking a tree...”Strange,” he said, looking up, “The apples on the other trees are ripe. So why aren't they falling from this one?”

It all added up. “It’s harvest season, isn't it?” Constant asked Applejack.

“Yep,” she replied. “We’ll be selling our crops tomorrow.”

The red pony kicked again. Once, twice…three times…but the apples still did not fall.

Suddenly, Constant realized why the apples were not falling. “That’s not a tree,” he said, his eyes wide.

“Huh?” Applejack asked, confused.

“That’s the Monitor!” Constant exclaimed. “If he keeps kicking it, it’ll defend itself by whatever means necessary!” He ran out of the room, downstairs, and out the kitchen where a light green, elderly pony saw him running out and squinted her eyes to see if she was seeing things. She saw Applejack running in his direction.

“Constant, wait!” Applejack called out.

The elderly pony’s eyes went a little wider. “Boy howdy, don’t all the craziest things in the world start happening here!”

Author's Note

Constant's life is about to get even harder...

Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!

11: Compensating Damages/Where's Jethrek?!

Constant ran quickly toward the red pony, Applejack giving chase. Constant was panicking because he could only predict that the Monitor was about to take defensive measures on the next kick. The red pony, whom Constant could tell now was taller than AppleJack, was panting. After all those tries, he was tired. He prepared for another kick.

“NO!” Constant yelled, “DON’T KICK THAT! IT’S NOT A TREE!”

But it was too late. One last kick, and BOOM!

Constant jumped and landed himself flat on the ground, but the red pony was flung by the shockwave that the Monitor projected. He looked up, and saw him crash through a wall on the barn nearby. Constant looked up to see that the Monitor was still intact. "Blasted shockwave generator," he grumbled, "One of the defensive measures I could NOT remove from the Monitor."

Applejack, who had been knocked over by the shockwave, stood up. "Whoah," she said, swaying a bit. "What was that?"

"Shockwave generator," Constant replied, "The Monitor thought that your...Who was that, anyway?"

"That was my brother, Big Macintosh," Applejack said, "But we call him Big Mac for short."

"I hope he's okay...He was so close to the Monitor that the shockwave threw him into your barn over there," Constant pointed to said barn.

Applejack gasped, and ran toward the barn, Constant following. "He'd better be okay," Applejack ranted, "Otherwise you'll have a lot more to pay for than the wall on our barn."

"I know," Constant replied, "and the sad thing is, I have no currency that will match whatever is used here."

"Well, you'd better do something then," Applejack said, glaring at Constant.

"Oh I will," he replied. When they went inside the barn, Constant rushed ahead of Applejack and went to the upper level, where he saw Big Mac struggling to stand up. "Sorry about that little surprise," Constant said, "That was my ship you were kicking."

Big Mac looked up and saw Constant. "Oh, it's you," he said with a frown, "The one who was digging in our yard last night."

"Yes," Constant said, "I'll explain the details about it later. Anyway, are you alright?"

"Nothing serious," Big Mac said assuredly, "Luckily for you. But I think I may have a bruise..." He felt his front leg, and seethed in pain. "Eyep..there it is..."

Constant sighed. His stay in this universe was going to be much harder now. "Here," he said, "let me"--- He reached for a pocket in his satchel, only to feel that it was not on him. "Big Mac, Applejack, did you by chance look through a bag that I was carrying?"

Big Mac nodded. "Y-...yes. We looked through it this morning. We were not sure what you were here for, so we checked for any clues in there..."

Applejack nodded. "We saw some fancy gadgets in there...In fact, Big Mac, didn't you say there was some kind'a radio in there?"

Big Mac nodded. "I think whoever was on the other side wanted to know where you were."

Constant went wide-eyed. "Oh no...Jethrek."

"Who now?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, uh...my companion," Constant said, "But I'll have to stop there. I can't risk revealing anymore than I have to."

Big Mac glared at Constant. Applejack caught Big Mac's attention and shook her head to indicate that it wasn't necessary, and Big Mac calmed down.

"Anyway," Constant went on, "As I told Applejack already, I don't have the currency to pay for the damage to the barn, but I can fix it myself."

"That's a start," Big Mac said, "We do have the wood to fix it."

"What about nails?" Constant asked.

"Yes, we have them," Applejack replied.

"Well then," Constant said, examining the hole in the wall, "I think it would be a good idea to find out what can be salvaged first."

"What's going on?" called a much younger voice, "What happened to the b"---Constant looked down from the hole in the wall to see a yellow filly with a red mane and tail and a bow in her mane, wide-eyed. "B-buh-barn?" the filly finished.

Constant recognized her immediately as one of the fillies who left the library before he went on his probe mission. "Sorry if my appearance scared you," he said.

This caught Applejack's attention, and she looked where Constant was looking. "Apple Bloom, You alright?"

"Y-yeah," the filly replied, "But...Look." She pointed to an area where a lot of apples had already fallen off their trees. "Big Mac, did you kick those trees without buckets or somethin'?"

"Nope," Big Mac replied, seeing what Apple Bloom was talking about,

"That would be my fault," Constant added, "I'll explain later. I'll help pick them up if you want."

"I think I'd better check to see if Granny is alright first," Applejack said, turning to leave.

Big Mac watched her go, and then looked to Constant. "As for you..." He looked to where the Monitor was parked. "I think you'd better move...whatever that is so we don't confuse it for a tree again."

Apple Bloom looked in the same direction, and then back to Big Mac. "It's not a tree?"

"I'll take care of it," Constant agreed. He jumped out of the hole and did a roll as he landed to decrease the impact effect.

Apple Bloom was surprised. "How did you do that?" she asked.

"Practice," Constant replied as he walked toward the Monitor. "I can survive a land from much higher too, assuming I land properly...and assuming I'm wearing something thick and sturdy." He then realized that it might encourage young Apple Bloom to try the same. He turned to her. "But don't try it yourself. I can't guarantee your safety if you do."

Apple Bloom nodded, "Well alright then..."

When Constant finally reached the Monitor, he pushed the doors forward, and they slid in opposite directions. He looked to Apple Bloom. "I'd appreciate it if you kept everything you saw and heard from the moment you heard that boom a secret. Putting it simply, no one is supposed to know that I'm here."

Apple Bloom nodded again, "Okay. Should I tell Applejack and Big Mac to do the same?"

Constant nodded as he walked inside the Monitor. He went to an intercom panel. "Jethrek, did I keep you waiting too long in there?"

There was no response.

"Jethrek?" Constant said warily, "Jethrek? Are you okay?" He checked the power levels, and found that some power had been drained when the shockwave occurred, but not enough to hinder the operation of the space drive or sensors. "I hope the resulting shockwave didn't do anything inside here," Constant thought to himself.

Apple Bloom watched the Monitor, wondering what was going on inside. "Aren't you cramped up in there?" she asked. Constant heard, but didn't reply. He set coordinates to move the Monitor to the barn. When the Monitor disappeared, Apple Bloom, who was looking back toward the barn, heard the space drive operating and looked back to see that the Monitor was gone. "Wha---Where'd it go?!" She ran to the barn to tell Big Mac, who was just staring at the now undisguised Monitor. "That wasn't there before, was it?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Nope," Big Mac agreed. When Constant opened the doors, Big Mac's eyes went wide. "How did..."

"This WAS that tree, Big Mac," Constant said, just as Applejack came back. "How's...your grandmother?" he asked her.

"She was lucky to be sitting in a rocking chair when that...shockwave happened," she replied. "She's okay."

"Good," Constant said, "I'll be right back. I need to make sure that...just hold on." He closed the door behind him in a hurry.

Inside, he ran to the lab to talk to Jethrek, but when he got there, he found the life support container fallen over on the floor. The transparency was not made of glass, so it was not broken, but the lid had come off, and the support tubes that Constant had put on Jethrek were strewn all over the floor. Constant's mind was filled with questions about how he escaped. He rushed back to the control room and ran a program to scan for Daleks. To his shock, the results all came out negative. "How did he get out?!" he finally said aloud. He pulled the entrance doors and went back into the barn. "Applejack, Big Mac, where's my satchel?"

"What's wrong?" Applejack asked, "What are you panicking over?"

"As I said before," Constant replied, "I do have a companion, but now he's missing!"

"Missing?" Applejack asked, "You said his name is...Jethrek, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Constant replied, "Tell me, did either of you see some...squid-like being with one eye?"

The three ponies looked at each other, and then to Constant. "I'm afraid not," Applejack replied.

Constant sighed. "That means I'll have to look for him. I don't like this one bit."

"We can spread out and search," Applejack suggested, "I can---"

"No, Applejack," Constant interrupted, "I don't want to end up asking questions to too many ponies. If we do, they'll start wondering what is going on and demand answers."

"Well, if it's that urgent,," Applejack began, "shouldn't you"--- She stopped when she realized something. "Hold on, how were you able to disguise yourself? I mean, it's clear now that you're not a changeling, but..."

"But you did look like a pony before I hit you in the head with a shovel last night," Big Mac finished.

"I was wearing a perception filter," Constant explained, "I programmed the image of that pony with random traits rather than choose to look like a pony that already exists."

"Never mind that," Applejack said, Apple Bloom walking up beside her and sitting down, bored, "Was...Jethrek wearing one too?"

"No," Constant said..."His tendrils aren't big enough to hold"--- It was now his turn to realize something. "Oh...no. I'd better get another perception filter," he said, "Jethrek is NOT going to be a needle in a haystack!"

"Are you sure you don't want help?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Now that I think of it, I actually will need help," Constant replied, "Just wait for me to get another perception filter." He went inside the Monitor again, and in about five minutes, he came out looking like the pony he was disguised as before. "How do I look?"

Applejack was almost shocked at the change. "That's what you looked like earlier?"

"I'm surprised you didn't see me earlier," Constant said. "I was in Ponyville about three days ago sitting on a bench when I first saw you selling apples. I also saw Apple Bloom and her friends leaving the library there too." He expected a response from Apple Bloom at that moment, but when he looked to where she was standing, she was not there. "Where'd she go?"

"Over here," Apple Bloom said from behind him, carrying Constant's satchel. "Is this your bag?"

"That's the one," Constant replied, "Thank you." He took it and looked inside. "Everything is accounted for. Good. Apple Bloom, you did hear my description of what Jethrek looks like, right?"

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yeah, I'll ask around, but I'll keep my mouth shut about who he is."

Constant smiled. "Thanks. Thank you all, in fact."

"Wait, what about the barn wall?" Big Mac asked.

"Helping to find his friend is more important right now, Big Mac," Applejack said.

"Especially," Constant added, "because he might not even be alive anymore unless he's someplace warm...He needs his life support system and he needs it fast!"

Applejack looked at Constant, shocked, "What?! Why didn't you mention this earlier?!"

"Again," Constant said, "I didn't know he was going to escape while I was knocked out! Plus, I didn't have time to organize my thoughts when I came out."

Applejack sighed heavily. "Okay. You can look for Jethrek first. The barn can wait, but I'm expecting you to actually come back and take care of it."

"My cover is already blown, Applejack," Constant said, "I don't plan to go back on my word."

"Okay then," Applejack agreed.

After Constant got his scanner from the Monitor, the search was underway. Constant started by searching the area in and around the orchard while Apple Bloom asked around Ponyville to see if Jethrek had somehow made his way there. Earlier, Constant had told her what he looked like. It creeped her out a little, but Constant assured her that he was relatively harmless in his current state. Apple Bloom wondered if she should ask Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo for help, but she decided against it, and she turned their help down when they asked.

Constant was able to pick up a bio-trail left by Jethrek, which told him that Jethrek had been crawling on his tendrils to move. 'Pretty strong for a creature whose body would be a little too heavy for his tendrils to move this far,' he thought. However, the trail stopped, and when Constant looked at the ground, he saw several hoof prints, with a strange ovular imprint next to them. Constant could only guess that someone, or somepony, as he had heard so many ponies say in his research, and which seemed appropriate in this case, had picked Jethrek up and put him in a basket, most likely made of straw judging by the shape of the imprint, before heading home. He took out an imaging device from his satchel and took pictures of the possible basket print and the hoof prints, as the end of the trail was covered by other hoof trails.

Time passed, and neither Constant nor Apple Bloom turned up anything on Jethrek, save for the evidence Constant collected. They returned to the orchard, both a bit tired. "Any luck?" Constant asked Apple Bloom.

"No," Apple Bloom replied, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Constant said assuredly, "You did your best, I'm sure. Maybe the evidence I collected will help us."

"Evidence?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Alright, so take a look," Constant said, sitting down and showing his imaging device. "Jethrek left an invisible trail which I was able to trace, and when I stopped there, I found this." He showed her the pictures he took. "From what I can tell of the tracks, somepony had found Jethrek crawling slowly on the ground, or possibly just sitting at the end of his trail. That being said, this imprint on the ground probably indicates that a basket was put down before that somepony picked him up and put him in the basket and left. However, it looks like there were several other ponies walking down that same path, so I couldn't distinguish his...or her trail from the others."

"Can I see that imprint again?" Apple Bloom asked, and Constant showed it to her again. "Wait a minute," she said, scratching her chin with her right hoof. "That does ring a bell...Applejack! Could you come here a moment?"

Applejack came over. "What's up, Apple Bloom?"

"Constant is showing me some possible evidence to Jethrek's whereabouts," Apple Bloom explained, "and...he said that this imprint looks like a basket was put down...Who do we know who has a basket like that?"

"I never really took the time to observe that much detail," Applejack admitted, but she looked at the photo anyway. "Hmm...Certainly not something Rarity would have...Besides which, she'd faint at the sight of Jethrek, if I heard your description correctly, Constant. Either that, or she'd freak out."

"Nothing to laugh about, I'm sure," Constant said.

"No, you're right," Applejack agreed, "Anyway, that leaves two other ponies I can think of; Twilight Sparkle...and Fluttershy."

"Fluttershy?" Constant asked. "I never got the chance to see her in Ponyville. Does she live there?"

"Near Ponyville, actually," Applejack explained, "She has a talent for taking care of animals, so"--- She stopped herself at once. "Horsefeathers! She was carrying a basket that would leave an imprint like that this morning! I saw her pass by some time before you woke up, Constant."

"Well, it's worth a shot," Constant said, "Can you take me to where she lives?"

"I think it'd be better to drive the Monitor to her home," Applejack replied, "If Jethrek's condition is serious, you'd better get there as quickly as possible."

Constant could see that she had a point, and even then, he couldn't think of a way to counter it. "Yes, you're right," Constant agreed. "I just hope nobody---I'm sorry, nopony is close enough to see us come but her."

"It's usually quiet out there," Applejack said, "So I don't think there'll be any trouble."

"Well, maybe you'd better come with me in case it does frighten her," Constant said.

Applejack paused as Apple Bloom looked between her sister and the disguised Time Lord. "Alright," Applejack said at last, "I'll come."

"Thanks," Constant said, smiling a bit. Then he looked to Apple Bloom and pat her head. "And thank you for going to all that trouble to help me."

"You're welcome," Apple Bloom said, smiling.

When they reached the barn, Constant pushed the doors to the Monitor inward. "Now Applejack," he said, "keep in mind that things with me are much different than things in this world, so...try not to be too surprised when you walk in."

Applejack raised an eyebrow, wondering what Constant was talking about as he walked inside. "Uh, okay," she said. She walked in to follow him, and nearly dropped her jaw in surprise. "Wha--" She looked outside to the outer shell, then back inside. "How did---How is..."

"Hold on a second," Constant said, bringing up a map of the area. "Okay...so can you tell where Fluttershy lives from here?"

Applejack snapped out of her state of half-shock. "Oh, uhm..." she looked carefully at the map, "there," she said, pointing with her right hoof to where Fluttershy lived.

"Okay," Constant replied, "you might want to hang on to something. The Monitor is still getting used to this universe."

Applejack nodded as she held on to a support beam nearby. When Constant set the course, the ship shook lightly as it dematerialized
from the barn. The trip took about five seconds. "Okay," Constant said, "We're here..."

"Let me go first," Applejack said, "I don't want her to freak out too much."

"Alright," Constant said, nodding.

Applejack walked out and to the cottage they landed near. She knocked lightly, and a yellow pony with a pink mane stuck her head out. "Oh, hello, Applejack," she said in a quiet voice. Constant could only guess that Fluttershy was the shy type. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, somepony's looking for a strange creature," Applejack explained, "He said that it is squid-like and has one eye on the front."

"Oh, well I...did find such a creature," Fluttershy replied, "Where is this pony who's looking for him?"

Constant came up calmly behind Applejack. "I am he," he replied.

Fluttershy saw Constant's disguise image and almost gasped. "Oh, okay...uhm...I've been trying to keep him warm...he was shivering when I first found him. I put him on a pillow, and I tried wrapping a blanket around him. When that didn't work, I burned some coals in a bed
warmer and put him on a pillow over it."

"That's good," Constant said assuredly, "You were doing the right thing. He needs to stay warm."

Fluttershy smiled a bit. "Thank you." She lead Constant and Applejack inside. "I feel I should mention that he was quite the fighter when he woke up."

"How so?" Constant asked.

"Well...he...grabbed my wing after I made sure he would wake up," Fluttershy explained, showing that her right wing had ruffled feathers. "I don't know why...I mean all I did was keep him warm."

Constant sighed. "I figured as much. How did you get him to stop?"

"Well, at first I tried telling him to stop," Fluttershy went on, "but then I saw he had no ears...so I...stared at him."

"Stared?" Constant asked, confused.

"Like this," Fluttershy said, demonstrating her stare.

Constant was surprised. "Well, now we know that his one eye is working," he said, laughing a bit. He then saw Jethrek. "Heh. Sleeping like a baby," he said, "Let's see how he'll react to me. Oh, uh...Fluttershy, right?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"Okay," Constant said, "Prepare to give that stare again should this start turning ugly." He walked to Jethrek and lightly tapped him. Jethrek opened his eye and flinched when he saw Constant. When Constant looked closer, Jethrek didn't move an inch. "Hello again," Constant said, "Ready to come home?" Jethrek still didn't move. "Fluttershy, I need your basket. I'll need to put him on life support right away."

"Life support?" Fluttershy asked.

"Apparently he needs more than just being warm," Applejack said, "It seems that he has the right system."

Constant nodded at that statement.

"Oh...uhm...okay," Fluttershy said, "It's right there, next to the fireplace."

"Thank you, Fluttershy," Constant said, taking the basket, "You've helped me in more ways than you can imagine."

Fluttershy nodded. "Well, at least real help came as quickly as possible," she said, "Also...I'm going to miss the little guy...even if it's only been a day with him."

Constant lined the basket with the blanket that was wrapped around Jethrek. "I'm sure he'll miss you too," he said, "You did well to keep him alive." He put Jethrek in the basket.

Fluttershy couldn't help but blush a little. "Thanks."

Constant ran with Jethrek into the Monitor while Applejack kept Fluttershy busy. When he got to the lab, he restarted the life support system and attached the supplementary tubes to Jethrek before putting him back inside. "Welcome back, Jethrek."

"You were late," Jethrek ranted. "Now it is certain that you have jeopardized our mission!"

"You shouldn't have escaped like that, Jethrek!" Constant ranted back, "Fine, I'll admit, I made a mistake, but YOU added on to it! You should have waited! It's not like the life support system was going to give out on you! I had to risk exposing myself a lot more than was necessary just to find you!"

"Then you should have left me to die!" Jethrek snapped.

"If I did that," Constant said, "Then this entire world would be exposed to factual evidence that extra-terrestrial life exists out there! And that is if you had died! They would have dissected you in a lab to find out what makes you tick! You can't argue with that!"

Jethrek was silent at that moment.

"Also," Constant went on, "You're lucky that Fluttershy, who found you and took care of you, didn't learn about what you really are. A remnant of a race that"---He stopped himself.

"Finish your statement," Jethrek said.

"No," Constant said, "I'm done here, Jethrek." He turned to walk out. "Now if you'll excuse me, I owe the owners of that apple orchard a new wall for their barn. "

Constant walked out of the Monitor to find Applejack and Fluttershy standing in front of it. He looked to Fluttershy and handed back her basket. "He's now on life-support, Fluttershy," he said, "Thanks again for your help."

Fluttershy smiled.

"Don't worry," Applejack said, "I told her to keep her encounter a secret already."

Constant nodded in appreciation. "Now if you'll both excuse me, I've got a barn wall to deal with."

"I'll see you there later," Applejack said, leading Fluttershy back into her cottage.

When Constant was sure they wouldn't see what was going on, he set a course back to the apple orchard, and the Monitor dematerialized out of the area.

Author's Note

Originally, I was going to have Apple Bloom give a short shriek and zoom out when she saw Constant, but given that she would have felt a slight quake due to the shockwave the Monitor let out, and the fact that Applejack and Big Mac were in the barn with Constant, she probably wouldn't have.

Also, this is probably the longest chapter I've written thus far. The reason the other chapters were shorter was because I had no idea that starting the story would be so hard. I had an outline for some of the mid-story and...wow...look how far I've gone.

12: Repairing the Barn/Arrangements

Constant was in a bad mood, but he made a point of not showing it when he reached Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac was waiting for him. "Welcome back, Constant," he said, "Are you ready to fix the barn wall?"

"As a matter of fact, I am, Big Mac," Constant replied, "I'm going to be honest with you, I hope it takes my mind off of what happened."

"Bad day?" the tall stallion asked.

"Only because I was worried that news would spread about Jethrek," Constant replied as he followed Big Mac to get the materials to repair the barn. "Looks easy enough," Constant said, looking at the materials, "I'll just use the materials and tools you have."

"Why not use your own?" Big Mac asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I've been in too many situations where someone in a primitive culture saw me using such tools and tried to either steal them or duplicate them and use them carelessly," Constant replied.

"You wouldn't be talking about us now, would you?" Big Mac asked, looking sternly into Constant's eyes.

"I wasn't talking about you specifically, Big Mac," Constant replied, "I'm saying that I don't trust anyone to see or use my tools except myself. Now back off."

"Sorry," Big Mac apologized, backing off, "Are they really that dangerous?"

"When in the hands of the wrong people, yes," Constant replied, picking up some materials, "I'm sure that this planet has seen it's share of such occurrences."

"Yep," Big Mac agreed, "It has."

Constant walked outside with Big Mac once all tools and materials were collected. "Well, I'm glad that the section we need to repair isn't that big," he said, "That makes it a little easier than I anticipated it would be." He looked to the barn wall. "Although moving boards through the inside section will be a little tougher than I anticipated..."

Applejack popped her head out of the hole in the wall. "Well, surprisingly, the support beams didn't break," she observed, "So it looks like all you'll need to repair is the wall itself."

Constant nodded his agreement before he got a crowbar to pry off broken pieces of wood, making note of where each one was. "If I reassemble the broken pieces, I can get an idea of what I need to make to fix the wall."

"How long will that take?" Applejack asked.

"Not long," Constant replied.

"Think you'll need help?" Applejack asked.

"I'll ask if I do," Constant replied, and he started working at once.

"Alright," Applejack said, "well, just so you know, Maud Pie is in town, now, and she's not looking too happy..."

Constant stopped where he was..."Who?"

"The pony from the rock farm," Applejack replied.

Constant shuddered.

"She said that the disappearance of her new project was making her feel down," Applejack explained.

Constant sighed. "Well, there's one thing I definitely have to correct...not that it'll do much good for the timeline..."

"I can bring her here if you want," Applejack offered.

"Might as well," Constant said, "but keep in mind, I don't want anything that I have revealed to you to end up in the newspapers."

"I won't let it," Applejack promised. Then she realized something..."Uh oh..."

"What's wrong?" Constant asked as he was cutting new boards for the walls.

"I just remembered, Maud's sister, Pinkie, can tell if a secret is being kept," Applejack explained, "If I start talking with Maud in secret, Pinkie will get...a little too curious for her own good."

"And you think that would jeopardize my cover?" Constant asked.

"I know it will," Applejack replied, worried.

Constant had just finished cutting the second-to-last board. "That is a problem...a big problem, especially because I already lied to Pinkie Pie and...Twilight, I think her name is."

"Wait...that was you?" Applejack asked, surprised.

Constant sighed as he finished cutting the last board. "So they told you about me, huh?"

"This puts all of us in a situation fifty times tighter than a lasso," Applejack said, her hoof on her forehead, "Pinkie Pie would flip out if she found out someone lied to her unless it was to cover up a party for her. I'm surprised you managed to convince her with the story you gave her."

"Yeah, I was just getting the lay of the land at the time," Constant said, "I wanted to see what the culture was like, so I thought I'd stop there first."

"Where else did you stop at?" Applejack asked.

"Uhm...a boutique," Constant replied, "but I didn't go inside."

Applejack looked to Constant. "Carousel Boutique?"

"That's what it's called?" Constant asked as he nailed in the first board, "It certainly fits, given the shape of the building. Also, whoever owns that building has great taste. I had a house like that once. Three times as big, too."

"Well, I didn't hear anything from Rarity about you," Applejack said, "That's probably a good sign."

"It certainly didn't look like she was in, either," Constant added as he nailed in another board. He got a ladder and prepared to set up the next one.

"That leaves Rainbow Dash," Applejack said..."Did you see her, by chance?"

"Let me make sure we're talking about the same pony," Constant said, "Blue fur, rainbow-patterned mane and tail, a mark on her flank shaped like a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt, and moves very fast?"

"That's her," Applejack confirmed.

"I saw her fly out of the library," Constant said as he finished nailing in the third-to-last board, "But that's it, really."

"Well, perhaps you will have to tell all of us about it then," Applejack said, "or risk making it worse for you in the future."

"I know," Constant nodded, "and that's what's so scary about it. I meant to keep myself hidden from all of you the whole time I'm in this universe, and now look at me." He sighed. "I shouldn't have buried that probe here."

"It was an honest mistake, Constant," Applejack said as Constant pounded in the last nail on the last board. "Wait, couldn't you...go back in time and move it?"

"That's the thing," Constant explained as he climbed down the ladder to get some paint, "I already found it in your property before that night when your brother found me digging."

"So?" Applejack asked, an eyebrow raised.

"So," Constant went on, "If I went back in time and changed the position of that probe, there would be two different sets of events fighting each other. The universe would be asking 'Did Constant find the probe here or there? Did he get caught digging in this orchard or not?'."

"That's a time paradox?" Applejack asked.

"One type of time paradox," Constant confirmed.

"I see."

Time passed. After he finished painting the new wall, Constant put all the tools and remaining materials away. "Phew!" he said, "I haven't done that much work since my last surveillance mission."

"You worked hard," Big Mac said, "and the wall looks as good as new."

Constant smiled. "Oh, how's that bruise?"

"Not as painful as before," Big Mac replied, "Your time machine doesn't like being attacked, does it?"

Constant laughed a bit, "No it doesn't. Did Applejack return yet?"

"Not yet," Big Mac replied, "I think she's trying to discuss a meeting place, or something..."

"Well, let's hope it's a place nobody goes to that often," Constant said hopefully.

Groooaaaaaaaaaan

Big Mac looked to Constant. "When was the last time you ate?" he asked.

"I haven't eaten since before I arrived in your orchard," Constant replied.

"Well, after all that hard work which you did by yourself," Big Mac offered, "I'll let you have one of our freshest apples."

"That's alright," Constant said, "I don't want to trouble you...Actually, let me get something from the Monitor, hold on." He walked inside the Monitor and walked past the lab. "Progress, Jethrek?" he asked, inquiring about any results for solutions to getting back to their universe.

"Nothing," Jethrek replied.

Constant sighed, went to the mess hall, walked up to the food processor, and pressed a few buttons on the controls. It brought out two square packs and two cans of fluid. He walked outside and handed one of the fluid containers and one of the food packs to Big Mac. "Here, try these."

"Why, don't mind if I do," Big Mac replied, "What...are they?"

"Look," Constant replied, and showed how to open the food packs and fluid cans. He took a bite out of the square he had.

Big Mac observed, and then did the same with his food containers. He took a bite out of his square, and went nearly wide-eyed at the taste. "Tastes like a...pancake with maple syrup." He took another bite. "I taste blueberries in this next bite."

"Well, at least that came out right," Constant said, smiling, "It's been hard to collect real food travelling in my universe."

"Real?" Big Mac raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

"I mean fresh food," Constant explained, "Food that's grown. Food that you can make your own meals with."

"So what's this, then?" Big Mac asked.

"It's basically a combination of all the food components your body actually needs," Constant explained, "and it's flavored to taste like the food you choose."

"Ah," Big Mac pondered.

At that Moment, Applejack ran up to them. "Constant, I talked with Twilight and some other ponies, and they're willing to meet you here tonight."

Constant looked to Applejack. "Here? In this barn?"

Applejack nodded. "It's the only secluded place I could think of."

Constant sighed. "Thanks, Applejack. I'll be honest with you, I'm not looking forward to this..."

"I know," Applejack said assuredly, "Don't worry though, I had them make a Pinkie Pie promise."

Constant looked up to her. "Based on what you told me about Pinkie Pie, and making a few assumptions about her myself, it's a solid deal?"

"You got it," Applejack agreed, nodding, "Actually, Rainbow Dash says that she can't make it. She's got cloud patrol tonight."

"I suppose I could explain the situation to her later, then," Constant said, "I assume...Maud Pie is coming too?"

"Yep," Applejack confirmed.

"Alright," Constant said, "I'll change the outer shell of the Monitor to look like the rock it was disguised as before I return."

"Wait, you're going somewhere?" Applejack asked.

"Back to the library," Constant replied. "I need to keep the power core charged."

Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"I'll explain later," Constant promised, "Now...what time is everypony arriving?"

"They'll be here by 7:30 pm sharp," Applejack replied.

"I'll be here by then," Constant replied as he entered the Monitor, "I'm going to park in this exact spot again, so make sure no one is standing here. See you soon." After a moment, the undisguised timeship disappeared from view.

At Golden Oaks Library, Spike was just finishing a gem muffin when he heard another slight whooshing sound. He dropped what he had left and ran outside to find out what it was, but the sound had stopped just as he opened the door. "For crying out loud, that's getting annoying!" he ranted as he looked around. After a few seconds, he went back inside with a hand over his eyes. Twilight was looking out a window. "I heard it too, Spike," she said, "and it was very close."

"How can you hear something that close if it's not there?" Spike asked as he walked upstairs

"My question exactly," Twilight agreed.

Spike looked out another window. He looked left and right for anything out of place. Then he saw that part of his view was obstructed by a branch. "That's never happened before," he thought to himself as he turned to walk away from the window. Suddenly it came to him. "I missed something!" he started as he ran downstairs.

"What is it Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Follow me!" Spike replied as he ran outside.

Twilight followed Spike until he stopped to look at one of the branches. "What do you see, Spike?" she asked.

"That branch," Spike replied, pointing to said branch, "It wasn't there before."

Twilight looked to where Spike was pointing. "What makes you say that?"

"I was looking out that window," Spike replied, pointing to said window, "and I realized that there was a branch blocking my view from there." He pointed to a building nearby. "I can usually see that building from that window, but now the branch is blocking it."

"So we have an extraneous branch, now," Twilight said.

"Yeah, but how did it grow out so quickly?" Spike asked.

Twilight hovered to examine the new branch. "You're right, this branch wasn't here before..."

Constant was looking over data from the probes. His bad mood had diminished, but he was still not happy. Several things were on his mind, one being that he made the mistake of burying a probe in the exact location where Sweet Apple Acres would be. He told himself that he should have looked around more before he started burying the probes. Another was that he probably should not have talked about astrological phenomena in the first place at the library. If he had been more careful in those two situations, he probably wouldn't have ended up in his current one. Thirdly, he thought that he should have left the rock farm sooner. Then again, that situation was unavoidable due to the power loss.

Then there was Jethrek. Constant sighed deeply. Jethrek did seem to be cooperating at the moment, even after he had been found by Fluttershy. "There's something I'll need to talk to him about," he said to himself, "I should probably teach him to appreciate things like that..." After a few moments, he shook his head, "Then again, it'll be that hard to convince him." He walked to the lab and saw Jethrek sleeping. Constant couldn't blame him for that. After all, he had been out of life support for nearly a full day. He checked the operation of the life support system via a nearby console, and saw that everything was working as it should have been. He looked back to Jethrek. Lessons from his early years started coming back to him about the Daleks, especially the Doctor's findings. Daleks were bred to be soldiers and nothing more. Only negative emotions were active in their minds. But what if there was some chance that he could be something...more? Constant let this question flow through his mind. Being in this universe seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore it. However, he decided to put it off until later.

Constant walked to a nearby console. He typed in a command to show what was going on outside and jumped back in surprise when he saw Twilight's face taking over the screen. He sighed. "Looks like we've been exposed early."

Jethrek woke up. "Report," he said tiredly.

Constant looked to him. "I'm going to talk to a few ponies about the situation we're in. If they do decide to help, I'm going to tell them to take it easy. They have to live their destined lives, so I can't ask too much from them."

"You have exposed us," Jethrek said, still tired, but sounding angry.

"Again, Jethrek, don't put it all on me," Constant ranted, "Your little stunt amplified the situation."

"What do they know about me?" Jethrek asked.

"Nothing," Constant replied, "Those that do know about you thought you were some kind of animal. However, I may, or may not tell them about you, so be prepared to accept that."

Jethrek looked away from Constant. "I do not have a choice."

"It should turn out alright," Constant said, "So start thinking positively for once." When Jethrek looked back at Constant, it was obvious that they had different views on 'thinking positively'. Constant heard a scratching noise. He went to the console he was working at earlier, and saw that Twilight wasn't in view anymore. He changed view angles until he saw a claw scratching at the shell of the Monitor. It stopped.

"Tough branch," he heard Spike say.

"Ah, "Constant said, "Looks like I'd better expose myself early."

Jethrek watched as Constant made sure his perception filter had enough charge and walked out of the lab.

Spike jumped off the extraneous branch. "It also feels cold...like metal."

Twilight was confused. "Like metal?"

Before Spike could answer, they both heard a loud CLUNK! They both looked to the branch to see a section of it open, and a pony stick his head out of that section. He looked to Twilight and Spike.

Twilight gasped. "You? But, you said---"

"Shh," the stallion whispered, "All will be explained at Sweet Apple Acres."

Spike was surprised. "Wait you---" He stopped himself and brought it down to a whisper, "you're Constant?"

Constant nodded. "I'm sorry about the earlier deception. I promise I'll explain everything at Sweet Apple Acres. For now, I must remain hidden." He looked around. "Act naturally," he said as he went back inside and sealed the door.

Spike and Twilight just looked at each other in confusion. "So he wasn't studying astrological phenomena," Twilight pondered, "So what is he really here for?"

"I hope he's not here to spy on us," Spike said, "but that does raise the question. If he is a spy...who is he working for?"

"Don't assume anything right now, Spike," Twilight said, "We don't have enough information."

Spike had to agree.

Author's Note

Man oh man, this chapter was originally going to be over 5,000 words long. I decided to stop where i did and move it into another chapter.

Also, here's a question: How would you react to seeing a Dalek in a handbasket?

13: Explanations Are in Order/Jethrek and Fluttershy Meet Again

Later that evening, Applejack lead Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Maud Pie to the barn. It was 7:28 PM. Applejack pushed the barn doors open. "He'll be arriving in here," she said.

"Why would he choose your barn as the place to meet us?" Rarity asked.

"Actually I chose it," Applejack replied, "He wanted a place that was secluded, so I told him to come here." She pointed to where the Monitor stood earlier. "That's where he said he would park, so watch where you stand."

"Park?" Spike asked, "What, is he using some kind of carriage?"

"Not exactly," Applejack replied as she walked to the barn doors to close them. "Spike, could you help me light some lanterns?"

"Oh, sure," Spike said, and ran to each lantern, turning them on and using his own fire to ignite them.

Twilight looked to the barn doors. "He really want to keep this secret, doesn't he?"

"Wait," Rarity said, "Don't you need to let him in?"

"He won't need the barn doors," Applejack replied.

"Then how will he get in?" Rarity asked, "Is he going to appear out of thin air right behind us?"

As if on cue, a slight whooshing sound was heard. Applejack smiled, pointing behind Rarity, who looked and saw that a large rock was now present in the spot where Applejack said Constant would be parking. Everyone was surprised, but the pony who actually reacted was Maud. "That's it!" she exclaimed, "That's the rock that landed in the rock farm!" She ran up to it.

"Maud, stop!" Applejack said, "It's not a rock!"

Maud stopped and looked back to Applejack. "What?"

"It's never been a rock," Applejack replied, "It's the Monitor. It's Constant's ship."

"What are you talking about?" Maud asked, not believing it. Suddenly, a section of the rock was pulled inward with a CLUNK, and it split in two, sliding in opposite directions to reveal a stallion walking out of the rock. Maud, who had seen the whole thing, was shocked, to say the least.

Constant looked at Maud. "Hello there," he said as he walked out, closing the doors behind him. Then he looked to everyone else. "Hello everypony..." He looked to Spike..."and dragon."

"Wait a minute," Pinkie Pie said, running up close to Constant, "I recognize you! You were at the library a few days ago, weren't you?"

"Yes," Constant said, "That was me...but I wasn't looking for astrological phenomena."

Pinkie froze at that instant. "Then...what were you doing?"

"I'll explain everything," Constant promised, "Just give me some room to---"

"Pardon me for interrupting," Rarity said, "but how rich are you to have possession of that vehicle? You couldn't have made it yourself, could you? You're not a unicorn."

"True," Constant said, "and I'm not a pony, either."

"What?" Rarity asked, "but you clearly look like---"

"Rarity!" Twilight snapped, "Give him a chance to speak! It must be important if he requested all of us to be here to talk with him."

Rarity looked at Twilight, realizing she was right. "I apologize," she said, sitting on a hay bale, "I guess I was a little overexcited."

Everyone else took a seat somewhere as well, but Constant remained standing. "Alright," Constant said, "Thank you all for being here. For those of you who are unaware, my name is Constant, and my journey here was unpleasant, to say the least. My arrival in this world was quite accidental, you see. Now that being said...those of you who have seen me already...I should stop deceiving you." He deactivated his perception filter to reveal his humanoid shape.

Some of the ponies went wide-eyed with amazement. Rarity nearly fainted, but Spike, who was between Twilight and Rarity, caught her.

"This is my true form," Constant explained, "In my universe, this planet is dominated with beings that look something like me, but there are several differences. I won't go into too much detail about it though."

"So the dominant species is like the the beings I saw in another dimension,' Twilight said.

"Right," Constant confirmed, remembering asking Applejack about that earlier.

"So what does that make you, then?" Spike asked, "Extraterrestrial?"

"That's right," Constant confirmed, "I'm a time traveler as well."

"A time traveler?" Spike asked, "Well, that being said, what time did you come from?"

"I've made a point of not revealing that information," Constant replied, "Plus, I don't know if my planet has a counterpart in this universe. I doubt it, though."

"Truly unique," Fluttershy and Rarity said together.

"So when did you arrive here?" Twilight asked.

"A few days ago, actually," Constant replied. He looked to the young dragon. "Spike, that meteor you and your friends were doing research for? I'm sorry, but that was no meteor."

"It wasn't?" Spike asked. He looked down, disappointed, "Then what was it?"

Constant pointed to his time ship and sighed. "Crash landing."

Rarity gasped a bit. "This is going to break Sweetie Belle's heart."

"I'm sorry I lied to you Spike, and Twilight...and you too, Pinkie Pie...but it was necessary."

"Why did you lie, anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked, restraining herself from showing an angry face.

"I'll answer that," Applejack said, "He told me that if someone powerful or...untrustworthy learned about him, that they'd want to use his time machine for their own benefits."

"How is that a bad thing?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Constant glared at Pinkie. "I'll speak now." He walked to Pinkie Pie. "Imagine all the events that you've lived through, especially those which got you where you're standing now. Alright?"

"Okey-dokey," Pinkie Pie replied, a smile on her face.

"Now, " Constant went on, giving her a stern look in her eyes, "Imagine what would happen if someone went back in time and changed something. Just think. One change could mean that you would live your life differently...or you would be uncreated altogether!"

Fluttershy gasped and shuddered at Constant's statement. "Could that really happen?" she asked.

"In my universe, I've corrected at least 124 paradoxes involving that kind of situation," Constant confirmed, "And speaking of paradoxes..." he looked to Twilight, "Twilight, did you by chance cast a time travel spell in the past?"

Twilight was surprised at that question. "Yes," she replied, "But how do you know about that?"

"Actually, you just confirmed it," Constant replied, "I could only guess because this ship detected a temporal anomaly in Ponyville, inside the library."

Twilight looked down. "It was an adventure I want to keep behind me," she said.

"Actually, I'm glad you did it anyway," Constant said, "You see, your actions started a causality loop. Whatever you did is still happening again and again and again." He smiled a bit. "Because of that, I'm able to keep the Monitor powered up."

Twilight looked to Constant, surprised, "Wait, that's why you parked your time machine on the library?"

"Exactly," Constant confirmed.

"So that whooshing sound I kept hearing was you," Spike said.

"Correct again," Constant replied.

"So how did you end up crashing in my rock farm?" Maud Pie asked.

"That's an interesting story, actually," Constant replied, "You see, the quantum signature of this universe differs to that of my own, so the power in my ship dramatically fell to below minimum. It's getting used to this universe as we speak, but from what I can tell, it'll be a while before I can stop relying on the library for power."

"Sounds like your ship is a tree that was replanted in new soil," Applejack said.

Constant pondered what Applejack had said..."That's an accurate analogy. Sometimes a tree goes through quite the shock before it starts taking in nutrients from the new soil. Anyway, to finish answering your question, Maud, because the Monitor lost power, I had no control over the navigational systems until I entered the atmosphere. By then, there was enough power to set a crash course, which I did...and the Monitor ended up rolling down one hill and up another...and then landed in your rock farm before disguising itself."

"Then why didn't you come out and tell me?" Maud asked.

"Yeah, why?!" Pinkie snapped, coming up close to Constant, "You made her think she was loco in the coco!"

"Pinkie!" Maud gasped. She didn't expect Pinkie to take it that hard, especially since she was not the one who it affected.

"You owe her apologies for so many things right now," Pinkie seethed at Constant, touching her forehead to his and looking directly in his eyes.

"Uhm, no, just two," Maud said, a little worried about where this was going, and she was not alone.

"You owe her for making her think she lost something valueable," Pinkie went on.

"Okay, yeah, that's true," Maud agreed, "but---"

"You owe her for keeping her thinking your ship was a rock!," Pinkie went on further, not hearing Maud. Constant was getting annoyed and a little bit scared, but did not show it.

"Okay, that's number two, but---"

"You owe her for---"

"PINKIE!" Maud yelled, "THAT'S ENOUGH! YOU'VE COVERED EVERYTHING HE OWES ME FOR!"

Everyone looked at Maud, surprised. No one had expected her to burst out like that.

"Uh," Pinkie spoke nervously, "yeah...okay."

"Sit down," Constant said quietly to Pinkie. His tone suggested he was annoyed. Pinkie went back to the hay bale she was sitting at.

"Uhm..."Fluttershy began, "Constant?"

Constant looked to her, "Yes, Fluttershy?"

"I've been meaning to ask," Fluttershy began, "and...you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but...what was that octopus-like creature I was taking care of before you came to get him back?"

Constant was not looking forward to that question being asked. "You're all about to think I'm crazy now," he replied, "He's a Dalek."

Applejack gasped. "What?!"

Constant sighed and sat down on a hay bale. "I'd better tell all of you what I told Applejack." The story took as long for Constant to tell as it did before. For a moment, after the story ended, everyone in the barn was at a loss for words.

"A truly sad story," Rarity said at last, a tear in her eye. Fluttershy felt the same way.

"So other than you and this...Doctor," Twilight said, "the Time Lords are all gone?"

"Yes," Constant replied.

"That still doesn't explain why Jethrek is with you," Applejack noted.

"Well, now that I've told my story," Constant said, "I'll now explain him. I don't know how he got on board the Monitor. He must have found a way into the vault and got aboard without the key. Why we didn't encounter him while we were getting the Monitor away from the battle was also a mystery. However, I did encounter him some time after I crashed here. He was still in his travel machine, too. We had a fight, and it ended with Jethrek trying to travel through time to escape, which, due to the incompatibility with this universe, caused several systems in his travel machine to short-circuit, including what was needed for time travel. I had to take it apart to get him out and make the life support system."

"So why did you spare his life?" Rarity asked, "You're a soldier. Shouldn't your instinct have told you to---"

"Stop!" Constant interrupted, "After my home world was wiped out, I left my military status behind. I'm a lone time agent now. The reason I spared his life is that I need his help to search for a method to get back to my own universe."

Rarity was taken aback by Constant's response.

"Well why didn't you ask us directly, then?" Twilight asked.

"Let me guess," Applejack said, "You didn't want to expose too much to us at the time, and now that you messed up here, you seem to have no choice, right?"

"Yeah," Constant replied, "That's pretty much it, but the other problem is that I don't want it to disrupt your lives or the lives of anyone in...the higher up."

"Why not?" Rarity asked, "We'd be more than willing to help someone in your situation."

"If you all concentrate more on me, then it will end up disrupting the natural flow of time. My research so far indicated that there are hundreds if not thousands of critical events which this world has been through to get to where it is now."

"Critical events?" Twilight asked.

"Okay think of it this way," Constant explained, "How did you all get those...marks on your flanks? Did you earn them?"

"Not exactly," Twilight explained, "They're called cutie marks. A pony gets them when they find their hidden talents."

"Ah," Constant pondered, "I see...so they're not like tattoos or painted marks, then. Anyway, I want you all to think back...Think back to the time you got your cutie marks. Think about what happened the moment you got your cutie marks. Now, think about what transpired after that, what you were able to do with your special talents."

"I think I see where this is going," Spike said.

"Now," Constant went on, "think of this scenario: Someone travels back in time and prevents whatever event got you those cutie marks, whether or not it is something of your own doing. If that happens, the chances that you'll ever do anything that you have done with those marks on you will be slim to none."

All the ponies looked at each other. What Constant said seemed to make sense.

"I don't want to catch myself involved in some event that is the most critical for your world," Constant continued, "So you see, if I do accept your help, I don't want you to concentrate too much on it."

Twilight looked to Constant. "I understand, Constant. We'll continue on with our lives...almost as if nothing happened here. But still, we're willing to help whenever you need it."

Constant smiled. "Thank you," he said.

"In the meantime," Rarity said, "You simply must do something about your attire."

"My...attire?" Constant asked. He looked at his clothing..."Well, nobody except the Apple family saw me in this clothing, and anyone else who saw me saw the pony I was disguised as. Nevertheless, you are right...I should probably make myself some concealable armor too."

Pinkie sighed..."And I wanted to make a party for you too." She perked up. "I know! Maybe we can plan a secret party! Just us! Rainbow Dash too!"

"I'll think about it," Constant replied, "Maybe on a day when I'm not so concerned about disrupting your timeline."

Pinkie looked down a bit.

"Hey!" Constant said, making her look up to him. "No sad faces. I've had enough sadness in my life losing my family and my world. I don't want to spread that sadness here."

Pinkie's sad face slowly turned to one of happiness.

"That's better," Constant said, smiling himself.

"Uhm...Constant," Fluttershy said, "I hope it's not too much to ask...but...Can I see the Dalek again?"

Constant looked to her for a few seconds..."You really want to see him, huh?"

Fluttershy nodded shyly.

"Okay," Constant said, "First though, " he looked to the other ponies, "Does anyone else have any questions?"

"Just one," Spike said, "Should I tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders about this?"

Constant was confused. "Who?" he asked.

"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo," Spike replied

"Oh hell," Constant sighed..."That's going to be trouble..." He remembered seeing Apple Bloom with two other fillies. "The last thing I'd want is to have one of you unicorns use a memory spell on them and make them forget their little project."

"I'm actually an alicorn," Twilight explained, showing her wings, "Although I was a unicorn once."

"Oh, sorry for the confusion," Constant said, taking note of the terms, "Still, a spell like that is likely to remove anything else around the subject in question."

Spike shuddered. "That wouldn't be good..."

"Not to mention the fact that they had school on the days in which they've been working on the project," Rarity added, "It would be quite unfortunate if they lost what they learned recently."

"Well we could make them...I don't know, Pinkie promise?" Constant suggested.

"Seems like the most reasonable idea to me so far," Applejack said.

"Yeah," Pinkie said, "No one breaks a Pinkie promise."

"Well then, it's settled," Constant said, "Spike, next time you see them, take them someplace where no one will hear you talking to them and tell them."

"Right," Spike said, nodding, "and...if they get...confused?"

"Then all of us must contribute to explain how serious the situation really is," Constant said, "Agreed?"

"No argument here," Twilight replied.

"Nor with me," Applejack put in.

Fluttershy nodded her agreement.

"Usually I don't like keeping secrets," Pinkie said, "but this time...I'll make an exception. This time."

"My lips are sealed," Rarity added.

"I guess that means I'll have to burn a few pages from my journal," Maud said, "I'll have to copy things that aren't related to the project, though."

Constant walked up to Maud. "Thanks for understanding my situation. Also, Pinkie Pie, here I am apologizing to your sister." He looked back to Maud. "I'm sorry that I didn't reveal myself to you the first chance I had...I have no real excuses for it except for the fact that I couldn't open the door because it requires power to actually open. Still, Pinkie Pie is right. It would have prevented all this confusion."

Maud smiled. "I accept your apology. Satisfied, Pinkie?"

"Hmmm," Pinkie hummed..."Okay, yeah, I'm satisfied."

Constant smiled. "Once again, thank you all for your help. Now...Fluttershy, come with me. I'll take you to Jethrek."

"Okay!" Fluttershy said, partly happy and partly nervous. She started walking in Constant's direction.

"Alright, y'all," Applejack said, "I've got some chores to catch up on, so, don't stay too long."

"Quite alright," Rarity said, "I've almost finished my latest design, so I'm going home to finish it right away."

"I've got some reading to catch up on," Twilight added.

"I'm going to go back with Pinkie and contemplate what we just discussed," Maud put in.

"I'm going to do an extra shift at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow," Pinkie said, "So I'm going to need to sleep super-early!"

"As for me," Spike said, "I need to figure out how I'll explain all this to the Cutie Mark Crusaders..."

With all that said, Constant lead Fluttershy inside the Monitor. "Don't be surprised when you walk inside," he said.

But it was too late. One look and Fluttershy gasped in shock and amazement. "H---ho---how?"

"How is there a whole room like this in a small cylinder, right?" Constant asked.

Fluttershy nodded.

"Not exactly a subject I like to discuss at length," he said, "Come now, I'll take you to the lab where Jethrek is being held."

Fluttershy snapped out of her shock and looked to Constant. "Oh, okay."

When they reached the lab door, Constant turned to Fluttershy. "Now, before we enter, I must remind you to remember what I told you about Daleks. Since he's in his life support system, he can now speak to you, but try not to get too offended if he is rude."

"I understand," Fluttershy said.

"Okay," Constant said, "Here goes. I'll walk in first and tell him that our situation is resolved. I'll call out for you, and you can come in and meet him."

"Alright," Fluttershy said, as Constant opened the door and walked in.

Constant left the door open so Fluttershy could hear what was going on. He walked to Jethrek's life support container to find him just waking up. "Status report," Jethrek said.

"Our cover may have been compromised," Constant replied, "but after explaining our situation to a few of the ponies in the area, I think we're safe. Satisfied?"

Jethrek looked to Constant. "Yes," he said simply.

"That being said," Constant said a moment later, "there's someone who wants to see you again."

"See me?" Jethrek asked, confused.

"Fluttershy?" Constant called out, and Fluttershy came in. "There he is," Constant said, pointing to Jethrek.

Fluttershy looked to the surprised Dalek. "Is he...going to stay in there the whole time you're in this universe?" she asked Constant.

"A question I've been asking myself this whole time," Constant replied.

Jethrek felt uncomfortable now that Fluttershy was there. She was the only being who was able to scare him so far. "Why is she here?!" he snapped.

Fluttershy looked to Jethrek. "I was concerned for you," she said, "Constant agreed to let me see you again."

"Concerned?" Jethrek asked.

"You have no idea, do you?" Constant replied, "Fluttershy, you should tell him about what really happened when you found him."

"Perhaps I should," Fluttershy said, "If he would like to hear it, that is."

Jethrek looked from Fluttershy to Constant, who nodded. He looked back to Fluttershy. "You may proceed."

"Okay," Fluttershy said, "I was returning home from the market with food for myself, and for my rabbit, Angel. I passed by Sweet Apple Acres, and I noticed some kind of trail. The imprints made it look like a live octopus was crawling on the warm ground, so I followed it until I found you. At first, I was startled. It was obvious that you weren't an octopus, but at the same time, you didn't look well. I tied the food I had in the blanket I used to line the basket and put you in the basket instead so I could help you when I got home."

"You came to save me?" Jethrek asked, a little bit surprised.

"Yes, I did," Fluttershy said, "You looked cold when I brought you home, so I did everything I could to keep you warm. Thank goodness my final solution worked."

"What solution?" Jethrek asked.

"I took a bed warmer, filled it with burning coals, and put a pillow over it. I then put you on that pillow."

"That explains how I stayed warm until Constant came back to retrieve me," Jethrek said in realization.

Fluttershy nodded, "When you woke up, I was relieved to know that you were okay...and then you grabbed my wing with your tendrils..." She showed which wing it was.

"I thought you were going to harm me," Jethrek explained, "I could not hear what you were saying."

"You couldn't?" Fluttershy asked, surprised

"Jethrek has no ears," Constant explained, "So without the appropriate technology, he couldn't hear you."

"Then you scared me," Jethrek went on, "Simply by looking at me. This is confusing. It is unheard of for a Dalek."

"I just wanted you to stop squeezing my wing so hard," Fluttershy explained, "I'm sorry if I scared you that much."

Jethrek looked to Constant, who nodded once again. "I...accept your apology."

"When Constant came with Applejack to retrieve you," Fluttershy explained further, "I felt a little sad because I thought I'd never get the chance to see you again. I'm always concerned for any creature who is hurt or in trouble."

"You did not know about me, yet you helped me anyway?" Jethrek asked.

"Y---yes," Fluttershy replied, a little taken back by Jethrek's tone.

"From what I've seen, Jethrek," Constant said, "there will be more things to surprise you in this world. Furthermore, Fluttershy knows more about Daleks now."

"Yes, but that hasn't really changed my perspective of you," Fluttershy said.

Jethrek glared at Fluttershy. "Would it change your perspective if I told you that I killed four hundred non-Daleks in battle?"

Fluttershy gasped, her eyes wide. "Four....hundred?"

"All killed by me under the orders of the supreme Dalek. As a Dalek, I do not question orders. I follow them. No exceptions. If I was told to do something which may be fatal to me, I'd do it. If I was ordered to kill another Dalek for insubordination, I'd do it. If---"

"STOP!" Fluttershy snapped, slamming a hoof on the transparency, a tear in her eye. She stifled a little before speaking again. "Those...are things I can partly understand. I'm not a soldier...but...you didn't kill anypony...or anyone in this universe." She sniffed. "But...after watching you all that time you were keeping warm in my house...I know there's something...more."

"There is nothing more," Jethrek said simply.

"Now how can you be so sure, Jethrek?" Constant asked, "Daleks don't get scared easily by a stare, do they?"

Jethrek could not find any way to argue with that, so he said nothing.

"I think that somewhere deep down," Fluttershy said, wiping away a tear, "There's more than just hatred and anger. After all, you did respond well to the way I helped you. Well, after the part where you grabbed my wing and I scared you, anyway. I'm sure that someday, you'll be kind-hearted too."

"Daleks have no concept of kindness," Jethrek replied.

"Maybe that's the problem," Fluttershy said, "Actually, part of a much bigger problem."

"Bigger?" Constant asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Fluttershy began. She thought carefully about how she could explain what was on her mind. "Okay...here goes." From then on, she was very straightforward. "Judging from what I was told about Daleks, considering that they were made to be soldiers and nothing more means that they haven't been exposed enough to the culture of whoever made them in the first place, which explains Jethrek's lack of the concept of kindness. From there I can only guess that Daleks also lack other concepts of friendship. Furthermore, in terms of culture, and again because they were bred to be soldiers, it is certain that they haven't developed art or music or even a standard social structure." Constant and Jethrek, amazed, looked at each other, then back at Fluttershy. "Given that," Fluttershy went on, "it is likely that eventually the Daleks will face disaster, assuming there ever comes a time when a Dalek of a low rank knows that a plan will end up destroying his squad or army, but his superiors will ignore his warnings and just execute whatever plan they had in the first place." She stopped there.

"Whoah," Constant thought to himself, "she's good."

Jethrek, however, spoke out. "And you believe that all this makes us imperfect?"

"I don't think 'imperfect' is the right word," Fluttershy said, "I just think it's unfair that whoever created the Daleks in the first place didn't think to give them the concepts I mentioned."

Jethrek did not know how to respond to that, so he remained quiet.

Fluttershy looked to Constant. "I don't think he will realize what I mean as long as he remains in one place, Constant."

Constant looked to her. "Perhaps you are right. It certainly gives me a lot to think about."

"I will not be persuaded to think differently," Jethrek said.

"All I ask is that you try," Fluttershy suggested, "Assuming of course that Constant gives you the chance." Constant, however, was still looking at Fluttershy, deep in thought. She noticed this. "Constant? What's wrong?"

"What? Oh!" Constant snapped out of his thoughts, "I'm sorry, it's just...I was thinking back to the time that Jethrek was bundled up on that pillow you warmed up for him."

"Now that you mention it," Fluttershy said, "He looked so adorable in that bundle."

Jethrek's eye widened, an indication that he was surprised by Fluttershy's comment. "I AM NOT ADORABLE!" he yelled, his eye squinted at both Fluttershy and Constant.

Both Constant and Fluttershy looked to Jethrek in surprise. They looked at each other. "Think it's the first sign?" Constant asked.

"It sounded like Jethrek was embarrassed by my comment, if that's what you mean," Fluttershy replied.

"I AM NOT EMBARRASSED!" Jethrek yelled.

Fluttershy sighed. "Definitely." She looked to Jethrek. "Jethrek, we're already seeing the first signs of your expansive capabilities. You're embarrassed about being called adorable, and you're in denial about it."

Jethrek turned his eye away, trying to show that he was not listening anymore.

"You were made only to hate, Jethrek," Constant added, "Does this mean you hate your own race too?"

"SILENCE!" Jethrek snapped.

"Think about it," Constant said, turning to leave, "In the meantime, I'm going to consider whether or not I should take Fluttershy's advice."

Fluttershy followed. "I hope you consider my observations about you, too," she added.

Jethrek was silent as Constant led Fluttershy to the main control room. "Sorry if that wasn't what you expected," Constant said.

"It's okay," Fluttershy said, "and I don't think anything I said about him was wrong."

Constant set course for Flutteshy's cottage. "Hang on to something." Fluttershy grabbed hold of a support beam as Constant started the course. The Monitor shook less violently than before as it moved. After a few moments, it stopped. He looked through the viewscreen. "Well, here we are, Fluttershy, your cottage."

Fluttershy looked to the screen. "Oh. Thank you."

"No problem," Constant said, opening the doors for her, "Again, thanks for helping me out with my situation."

"You're welcome," Fluttershy said, smiling, leaving the control room to go back home. The sky was already dark with stars.

Constant watched as Fluttershy went into the cottage to be greeted by her rabbit, Angel. He smiled a bit as the doors clanked closed and clunked forward. With that, he set course back to the library and the Monitor disappeared from sight and reappeared as the extraneous branch on Golden Oaks Library.

Author's Note

I stand corrected. THIS is the longest chapter I've written thus far.

14: Jethrek's New Travel Machine/Breaking the News/Behind Constant's Name

For the next few hours, Constant watched the video records from the time probes he had gone back in time to bury and receive signals from. He thought about what had recently transpired at the same time…Fluttershy did seem certain that Jethrek could be more than he was. He stopped reviewing the probe records and switched to historical records on the Daleks. He recalled reading somewhere that the Doctor had unwillingly helped them run an experiment on their own kind to find out what makes them superior to humans. He looked at that historical record. "Too bad I can't do that to Jethrek," he thought to himself, "Goodness, I should have taken my mother's advice to take genetics as my focus...given the genetic modifications she made on me before I was born. To think that all I know about the subject is what I need to know to understand myself." He kept watching and watching, moving on to other records of the Daleks. Finally, he stopped. "That's it," he thought to himself, getting out of his chair.

Jethrek woke up from the noise. "Report."

Constant sighed. "I've taken what Fluttershy said into account. I’m going to salvage what I can from your travel machine.”

That caught Jethrek’s attention. “Why?” he asked.

“I can use the parts to make another one for you. It won’t have ALL the features yours had, but it’ll at least let you move around…I’m not sure what else I’ll put in.”

“You would grant me mobility?” Jethrek asked, the tone in which he asked it made Constant imagine a face that said “Are you serious?”

“It’ll give me something to do,” Constant said, “I’m an engineer, remember?”

Jethrek said nothing. Constant simply smiled and walked away to do what he promised.

For hours, he studied the remains of Jethrek's travel machine, as well as records that the Monitor had somehow collected during the Time War about the current design. Obviously, the emergency temporal shift system was unsalvageable, since Jethrek attempted to use it to escape in a universe that was not compatible, so he put that system aside for disposal, probably to reprocess the metals for something else.

He then started organizing the parts into three categories;

1: parts that he would use,

2: parts that he would not use,

3: parts that he might use, and if he did, would modify to be less powerful, i.e., weapons.

After organizing the parts, Constant started making a list of what to make from scratch for the new travel machine, including two grab arms to replace his weapon and suction manipulator. It then occurred to him that if that was all Jethrek had, he wouldn't be able to defend himself that well. He decided to worry about that later.

He then realized that not all the materials he would need would be available to him from the Monitor alone. He would have to go out and get some. "Unless..." The Monitor still had a complement of torpedoes. If he was to dismantle them, he could use the materials that remained to make what he needed.

With all this in mind, he started drawing out plans for the new travel machine. The outer shell would have a shape close enough to the original to hold Jethrek...It was a travel machine, so obviously it would be mobile…it would fly…it would have to have an alternative form of sensors, save for the visual scope, of course...He found that the visual sensor was still intact, so he decided to add it as it was to the new travel machine. After drawing out the plans, he started disconnecting and cutting out components needed for the suit. He was glad to have his laser screwdriver for that.

Jethrek got impatient. He tried to wiggle himself out of the life-support system but to no avail. He saw Constant enter the room with the weapon parts he was going to dispose of. “What are you doing?!” he demanded, startling Constant.

Constant caught the one warhead that fell off the pile he was carrying. “Be CAREFUL, JETHREK!” he yelled back. “Are you just LOOKING TO BLOW YOURSELF UP?!”

“I wish I could die anyway,” Jethrek stated.

“Excuse me?” Constant snarled, “I’m doing you a favor. Don’t waste it.”

When Constant went back to the main control room, he put the warheads down and checked the power levels. His plan was to drive the Monitor off-planet to the edge of the solar system. Thankfully, the Monitor had gathered enough power to do just that and return back, so he set a course and executed it. At the edge of the solar system, he set a timer on the warheads, opened the entrance, and threw them out. He got some distance to make sure that they all went in the explosion…

BOOM!

Thankfully they all did. That ensured that no one could use them should the situation have arisen. All that was left now were the propulsion tubes for the torpedoes. There was enough metal to ensure that Constant didn’t have to go out and mine for metal from Earth.

After returning the Monitor to Golden Oaks Library, Constant took all the materials he needed and started cutting, drilling, wiring, and building. He put up with Jethrek’s ranting through the whole construction operation. Days passed, and all his hard work paid off. Three things were left, and they were installing the operating system in the onboard computer, as well as the life support system and the speech processor. But in order to do that, he would first have to study how the original computer worked, which he did.

Sometime later, Constant was pushing the new travel machine to the lab to be programmed. Jethrek woke up to see what Constant had made. "What is that?" he asked.

Constant turned the machine’s head towards Jethrek and lit the speech indicator as he spoke in his tonality. “This is your new travel machine.” The new travel machine was crude, but it was close enough on the outside to the average design of the Dalek travel machine. One of the most noticeable differences was that there were no sensor spheres on the body, but rather "bowls" that worked like satellite or radar dishes that sunk into the body. Another was that the speech indicator was not two lights mounted like antennae on the dome, but rather a single light in a translucent section on the top of the dome.

“I will be traveling in THAT?” Jethrek asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Constant said, “so be glad I made this, otherwise you won’t be able to move at all. I just need to install the main speech processor, the life support system, and the operating system in the suit.”

Jethrek paused… ”Very well,” he said, his eye rolling up in doubt.

Constant rolled Jethrek's life-support container close to the console where he would program the suit. After connecting wires from the suit to the speech processor in the container, as well as the life-support system, he quickly wrote the operating system. Having finished that, he connected a cable from the computer he was using to the travel machine. The machine’s onboard computer beeped to life as it received the operating system. “Are you ready?” he asked Jethrek.

"You may proceed," Jethrek replied.

"Alright,” Constant said, “I’ll remove your speech processor first.” So he did, and installed it in the appropriate place in the machine.“Now comes the tricky part,” he said, “Hang on, now.” He took Jethrek out of the container and put him on a table. He quickly removed the life-support components from the container and installed them in the machine. He looked to Jethrek… ”Okay,” he said, “Here goes nothing, as I have heard humans say…” He picked him up gently. “The life support system IS online,” he said, “Once I put you in the machine, adjust yourself so you can receive from it again.”

Once Constant put Jethrek in the suit, he wiggled to get seated properly. He blinked once, looking at Constant… ”I am receiving life support now,” he said, his speech indicator lighting up with each word.

“Good,” Constant said, “Now, let’s see if it’s comfortable for you.” He sent the command to close the machine via the computer he used to program it. “Okay,” he said, “How is it?”

Once again, Jethrek paused...After 10 seconds he finally spoke. “Adequate.”

“Adequate is good enough," Constant said, "Now let’s run a diagnostic. Try turning the visual sensor.”

The head turned in both directions and looked up and down. “Visual sensor functioning properly.”

“Okay,” Constant went on, “Now propulsion. I gave it variable speed control, so take it easy as you roll forward.”

Jethrek rolled forward, slowly at first, speeding up gradually. He stopped near the door to the hallway and rolled backward. He then tried turning in all 2-dimensional directions. “2-dimensional propulsion is acceptable,” he said, “Can this casing elevate?”

“Yes,” Constant replied, “you should feel the control for that near your third left tendril. It also has a variable speed control, so be careful.”

“I shall test it,” Jethrek said. Like his test with the 2-dimensional propulsion, he started slowly and sped up gradually. He decelerated his ascent near the ceiling and descended slowly. “Acceptable,” he said.

“Now the arms,” Constant said.

“Arms?”

“I gave you two grab arms, each with three fingers. Try them.”

Jethrek looked down at his arms, extended them, and opened and closed the grabbers. “Where is the weapon system?”

“Oh yeah,” Constant said, “About that…I redesigned your machine so you can have interchangeable accessories. The weapon I will make for you is one of these accessories. It will not be lethal, however.”

Jethrek looked to Constant. “Non-lethal?!”

“You will be able to stun whoever threatens you…or even paralyze them, but that’s it.”

Jethrek didn’t say anything for about 3 seconds…”Is there a self-destruct command?”

“No,” Constant replied, “Besides, you’re just starting your new life.”

“A life you are forcing on me,” Jethrek said, turning his head away from Constant.

“It’s still a life!” Constant snapped at him, “Like it or not, we’re both trapped in this universe! If you really want to go out there and interact with others, especially the ponies, you’ll need to learn to go beyond the thoughts of hatred and superiority that always run through your mind! So far, I have found no means of returning us to our own universe! It may take years…Centuries even.”

Jethrek looked to Constant again. “And once we return? What will you do then? Kill me?”

“I don’t know,” Constant replied. “If we do find other Daleks, I’ll probably send you to them and run.”

“Run?”

“Yes, run.”

“Even at the risk of me exposing everything I have seen here?”

Constant paused. How could he have missed that? All this time working on this project and he had forgotten that they were enemies… “There went my good mood,” he said. “I made this suit for you so we could work together. Right now, all that matters to me is getting home. Back to our own universe.”

“And you would trust me to work with you?”

“Yes, Jethrek, I would,” Constant replied walking toward a console and typing into it, "For some reason, despite all the hatred that I have toward you, I would trust you to work with me. We may be enemies, but even you can't deny that we have the same personal objective."

Jethrek was once again at a loss for words. Why was Constant helping him? Why go through the trouble of making him a new travel machine? Why limit his functions? All these questions ran through Jethrek's mind. However, as Constant said, he could not deny that he wanted to get back to his own universe as well. "Correct," he said at last.

"I'm glad we understand each other," Constant said. "Also, I installed a remote transmitter in there, so if your suit runs low on power, just activate it, and I'll come to help you. It has it's own power source which is separate from the rest of the suit."

"Where is it?" Jethrek asked.

"It's a small box with a flip cover below your front two tendrils," Constant replied, "So just open it and press the button when you find yourself in danger which you can't get out of by yourself." He finished typing in the code he needed. "Okay. Now I've given you access to some of the Monitor's systems, but only some. You can review the probe records for one, and you can perform maintenance if need be. However, you'll find that other systems only respond to my touch, so don't try to steal this vessel for yourself."

"Noted," Jethrek said, "You said it has a temper."

"Right," Constant confirmed, standing up, "Anyway, come with me."

"Where are you taking me?" Jethrek asked.

"Somewhere you can practice moving and flying," Constant replied. When they arrived, it was indeed a large room. It was completely empty, with a few support beams here and there. "This is the largest room in the Monitor. There is absolutely nothing in here. No obstacles save for the support beams. I think it's the perfect place to practice using the propulsion system in your travel machine."

Jethrek went ahead and looked around. "Affirmative," he said, expressing his approval of Constant's idea.

"I'll set up a charging station as well," Constant added. "You'll need it if you're going to keep your systems running. I still haven't figured out how to make the power system charge by itself like the original."

"Very well," Jethrek said, turning his eye stalk toward Constant, "I will give you instructions on how to make it self-charge at a later time."

Constant nodded. "For now, practice," he said, "I'm going to continue watching the probe records for a while, so if you need something, there's an intercom panel here."

"Noted," Jethrek said as he turned to practice navigating in his new travel machine.

Constant smiled. He didn't know why he was smiling, but he decided to smile nonetheless.

The next afternoon, at Golden Oaks Library, Spike was nervously tapping his foot as he waited for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to arrive. He knew what he was going to tell them, but the problem was how. They had been working on their project about that meteor for several days now, and had been making good headway, but now he was going to close the project on them. He gulped. "I just hope they don't take it too hard," he said aloud.

"I'm sure they won't," Twilight replied, "Applejack told me that Apple Bloom already saw what was going on before our meeting last night."

"Well that kind of solves the problem," Spike said, "but even you know that nopony would believe any talk about aliens unless they were talking about novels or comic books."

Twilight smiled. "That's true, Spike. Don't worry, I'll help you if they take it harder than expected."

"Thanks, Twilight," Spike said, smiling. He walked to a table and sat down, again thinking about how he was going to break the news to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. His train of thought, however, was stopped suddenly, when he heard the door open. He panicked, thinking that it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders who were coming in. When it turned out to be Rainbow Dash, Spike sighed with relief.

"What's up, Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked after hearing Spike's sigh.

Spike looked to Rainbow Dash again, a bit nervous. "Well, uh...I'm still trying to think of how to break the news to Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle that what they saw wasn't a comet or a meteor."

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said. Suddenly, the full meaning of Spike's words hit her. "Wait---What?!"

"It wasn't a comet or meteor," Spike said again, "It was a..." He looked out a window to make sure no one was close enough to hear what he was saying, and then directed Rainbow Dash away from the door. "It was an extraterrestrial vehicle."

"An extra-terrestra-what, now?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused by the term.

"He means an alien ship," Twilight whispered.

Rainbow Dash took a moment to take in what was said. Not believing it, she fell on her back, bursting into a fit of laughter. "Come on, you're kidding, right? There's no such thing as aliens!" She continued to laugh until she saw the dull look on Spike's face, and Twilight rolling her eyes. Her laughter died down. "You...You weren't kidding?" Spike simply shook his head in response.

"You should have come to the meeting, Rainbow," Twilight said, "The owner of the ship is in a tight situation."

Rainbow Dash stood up quickly. "A real alien?" she asked, "Real? This is not some fad that someone made to get attention? The genuine article?" Spike nodded at each of these questions. "Oh my gosh!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "This is big! Bigger than Daring Do running from a pack of jacka---!"

Twilight, who was just behind Rainbow Dash putting books away, turned around quickly and covered her mouth with her hoof. "Quiet, Rainbow Dash," she said quietly, "This is SO big that we cannot announce it to all of Equestria! If anypony else heard you, there will be unnecessary panic!"

"Yeah," Spike whispered in agreement, "a few science fiction stories I read agree with Twilight's statement. If it goes public, there will be so many different opinions that Constant will be in danger of being captured along with his ship...and his companion as well."

"'Constant'?" Rainbow Dash asked, "What kind of a name is that for an alien?"

"Don't ask me," Spike said, "He said that it was his name."

"Now I know you're pulling my leg," Rainbow Dash said.

Spike sighed, and walked closer to Rainbow Dash and whispered. "If you look outside, you'll find that there's an extra branch on the Library. It's not a branch. It's Constant's ship in disguise.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash looked out the same window through which Spike first noticed the extraneous branch. "That one?" Spike looked where Rainbow Dash was looking and nodded. "Can I talk to him?"

"He likes to keep to his privacy," Twilight said, "He implied that we should limit contact with him."

"He also said that we should act as if he never existed," Spike added, "We can't tell anyone about what we just told you."

"Too late," said a voice behind them. Spike's face turned blue as he recognized the voice at once. It was Sweetie Belle, with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo behind her. "So, I guess we went on a wild goose chase with our project, huh?"

"Yeah," Spike said, nervously scratching his head, "I was going to tell you once you came."

"Oh?" Sweetie Belle asked, "And why couldn't you have come to the treehouse and told us?"

"This is very sensitive information," Twilight replied, "If it spread beyond those who know, the consequences would be severe."

"What a let-down," Scootaloo sighed, "I guess we can definitely cross 'meteorologists' off our list of things to try."

"Don't worry about it," Apple Bloom said, "There's still a lot of things we can do toward earning our cutie marks!"

"Yeah, but this was going to be exciting," Sweetie Belle countered, "To think that the meteor we saw was actually a---"

"SHH!" Spike shushed, "Not so loud!"

"Sorry," Sweetie Belle whispered, "A UFO."

"Ah, don't worry," Rainbow Dash said quietly to the three fillies, "I'm sure you'll get your cutie marks one way or another. It may or may not be as awesome as the way I got mine, but you'll get them."

"Anyway," Spike said, "I think I should fill you in on what happened."

"It might lighten the mood," Apple Bloom said, "Besides, I have my own bits to fill in too."

"Just don't let it go beyond the walls of this library," Rainbow Dash added, "Otherwise Constant will be in big trouble."

"'Constant'?" Sweetie Belle asked, "What kind of a name is that?"

"That was my question too," Rainbow Dash agreed.

Spike told Rainbow Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders about what was discussed and explained in the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. But little did they know that there was more behind Constant's name than they could ever suspect.

Jethrek had finished trying out the propulsion systems on his travel machine and left the empty room. He heard a high-pitched whine sound echoing the halls, and went to find the source. When he reached the lab, he found that Constant had several battery packs set up on yet another contraption he was building. "Is this the charging station?" he asked.

Constant looked up to see Jethrek's eye stalk pointed directly at him. "Yes, it is," he said, "I made a few more energy cells for your machine, too. I recommend that if you're going to come back and go out and do something in a hurry, that you just replace the cell."

Jethrek examined the new structure. "It is designed to extract my power cells?"

"As well as connect you to the Monitor's power before it does," Constant confirmed, "This ensures that the life support system as well as the OS still run while the cell is being replaced."

"I see," Jethrek said. He was impressed but did not want to admit it. "It will be useful to me until you build the self-charging power cells that my suit needs."

"Good," Constant said.

Jethrek continued to watch as Constant tested the extraction arms on the charging device. Deep down, he was thinking. While he did want to try to take the Monitor for himself, he knew that keeping Constant in charge would be the better option considering that all the higher functions were under his control.

"Constant," Jethrek said, "May I ask a...personal inquiry?."

Constant stopped. He looked to Jethrek. "Go on."

"Why were you given your name?" Jethrek asked.

Constant was astonished by the question. "Why are you asking now?" he asked.

"I was sent to retrieve plans for 'Project Constant'," Jethrek explained, "The Daleks believed that it was a weapon that the Time Lords were developing."

Constant sighed. "No, Jethrek. It's not a weapon."

"Then what is 'Project Constant'?" Jethrek asked.

Constant stood up and walked to Jethrek's old life support container, thinking. He decided to disclose the information because it's true nature would not be a threat to the Daleks, nor would it be a weapon against the Time Lords. "You're probably wondering if it was a coincidence that I got the name 'Constant',' he said, "It wasn't. 'Project Constant' is me," .

"You?" Jethrek asked, his eye stalk raising a bit to look at Constant's head. "I do not understand."

Constant turned to face Jethrek. "You know that every time a Time Lord regenerates, that he or she changes, right?"

"I am aware of that," Jethrek replied.

"I'm an exception," Constant said.

"Explain."

Constant sat down. This was going to be a long day-and-night combination of explanations, given he had already given a lot of information to six ponies at Sweet Apple Acres. "My mother believed that there was a way to prevent a Time Lord from changing completely when he or she regenerates. She ran hundreds of simulations by computer to test her theories, and they all proved that by re-sequencing genetic patterns to something more...repetitive, the only thing that would change during regeneration was the state of age of that person."

"State of age?" Jethrek was confused.

"You know how every person withers as time passes?" Constant asked.

"Yes," Jethrek replied.

"Well, that's all that would change," Constant explained further, "Every identifiable physical feature of a Time Lord with this genetic resequencing would remain the same. The change that my mother was looking for in every simulation is that the person would turn back to a younger state."

"So you are the result of the experiment?" Jethrek asked.

"Well, I'm not sure," Constant said turning back to the console he was working at, "This is my first life, so I'm not sure whether the experiment will prove successful or not."

Jethrek looked to his old life-support container. "'Project Constant'," he said, "I understand now. It would not have been useful to the Daleks."

"No it wouldn't have," Constant said, "It was nothing more than genetic cosmetics...so to speak. However, if it was something else, say, enhancement of strength, maybe, I'm sure you would have reconsidered."

"Affirmative," Jethrek confirmed, "Has anyone else been genetically modified in the same way?"

"No," Constant replied, "After the council saw the results, they told my mother to discontinue the project. So if it does succeed, I will be the first and last Time Lord to remain as I am." Jethrek just stood there, with nothing more to say. Constant looked to him. "Any other questions?"

"Negative," Jethrek replied, "You have provided all the information I need. If we ever return to our universe, and I reveal this information to the Daleks, I am sure they will lose interest."

Constant looked to Jethrek. "I'm not sure whether or not to call that comforting. After all, isn't it true that when Daleks find that something is not useful anymore,they destroy it?"

"That is correct," Jethrek replied.

"What also concerns me is that you may not be useful to them anymore," Constant went on, and Jethrek looked to him. Constant could only speculate that Jethrek felt true surprise for the first time. It became more likely to him when Jethrek did not say anything for about a minute. "Jethrek?"

"I should have activated my self-destruct mechanism sooner," Jethrek said.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Jethrek," Constant said, "but consider this: if you did that, what kind of lessons would you learn from your past experiences? You wouldn't have that chance, would you?"

Jethrek pondered what Constant had said. "No."

Constant nodded. "It will take time for you to rethink your life up to now. When we get back to our universe, I'll---" He was interrupted by his console beeping. He turned to it and input a command to find out what the trouble was. "Temporal anomaly detected," he said, "Jethrek , go to that console, and use your knowledge of basic commands to link with Probe 7. I'll link up with Probe 8."

"Affirmative," Jethrek said, rolling up to said console. Using his grab arms, he pressed the appropriate keys to input the command. Together, they scanned the area between the two probes until they pinpointed the exact location of where the anomaly was. "We have found the coordinates of the anomaly," Jethrek said, "We must now investigate the cause."

"Agreed," Constant said, "But first, let's see if we can identify what kind of anomaly it is." He looked at the section of the map where they found the anomaly. "It looks like it's in the residential area of Ponyville." The graphics showing the anomaly suddenly disappeared. "It's gone. Jethrek, scan for residual traces in that area."

"I obey," Jethrek said.

"We're not on a Dalek ship, Jethrek," Constant said, "'Affirmative' or 'Yes sir' will do."

"Noted," Jethrek said. He used the console to do as Constant told him and the map showed the residual trace they were looking for. "Residual trace found," Jethrek reported.

"Analyze it," Constant said, "I'll do the same."

They scanned it using all methods possible, or in Jethrek's case, those methods permitted by Constant. When they finished, Jethrek checked for references in the computer databanks. He backed away from the console at the results found. "Constant, I have referenced the trace with all known time travel vehicles. The closest match, at seventy-eight percent probability is---"

"A type 40 TARDIS, right?" Constant asked, having received the same results on his console.

"Correct," Jethrek replied. There was a long silence as they looked at each other. "Only one person is known to possess such a vehicle," Jethrek said at last.

"I know," Constant said, his tone dark. He stood up, and walked to the hallway to get to the main control room. Jethrek hesitated at first, taken aback by the cold expression on Constant's face, and then started to follow him. When Constant reached the main control room, he did an even deeper scan of the residual trace. It showed that it was not the result of a shift between two universes, but rather two points in time. To Constant, that could only mean that the owner of the type 40 TARDIS arrived in this universe before him. He set up a link between probes 7 and 8 and established a visual link between them. The sight of a blue box was enough to tell Constant what he needed to know. His eyes squinted deeper as his mood turned darker. "So, you haven't had enough, huh?" he thought, "You had to bring your shenanigans here too, didn't you?..."

"Warrior."

Author's Note

On the subject of "critical events", I believe that the events in every episode of MLP:FiM are critical events. Lessons are learned, experience helps to better understand those lessons, and they both help to prevent mistakes in the future.

For the most part, Constant will only be watching these critical events. There will be VERY FEW instances where he will get involved, if any.

15: He's Here, Too?!/The First Real Mission

Constant checked the probe records to see where and when the Doctor had traveled in Equestria. So far, none of his findings revealed any major changes, but even then, since the Doctor had arrived first, there was no way to tell if the events Constant was watching were the original events, or if they were completely new as a result of the Doctor's actions to play hero. Constant was so busy worrying about this possibility and the consequences if it was true, that he did not see Jethrek coming in to the main control room. Once again, he saw the cold expression on Constant's face through the holographic interface projections. He wanted to say something to Constant, but did not dare to, in fear of Constant lashing out at him. He heard a console beeping behind him and looked to see the screen displaying a schematic layout of the Doctor's TARDIS, which changed every so often to show how it had changed over the time the Doctor had used it. It stopped changing when it reached the latest data, going up only to it's design during the Time War. Jethrek moved to the console...

"Leave it!" Constant snapped, looking up to Jethrek.

Jethrek was startled for that moment. He looked to Constant. "Do you wish for me to assist you?" he asked cautiously.

"No," Constant said coldly, "I can deal with this myself." He went silent as he continued to work.

For once, Jethrek had to admit to himself that he was afraid. While he hated and feared the Doctor like every other Dalek, he now saw a more legitimate reason to fear Constant. He backed away from the console and stopped about a meter away from it. He was thinking of leaving the control room until he heard Constant muttering. Approaching him slowly, he was able to distinguish a few words... "escape", "coward", and "warrior". The word "warrior" was the clearest that Jethrek could comprehend, as it was the last word Constant spoke under his breath, and Jethrek was close enough to hear it. He finally spoke up. "Who is the warrior you speak of?"

Constant mistyped a key after hearing that question, and an error message appeared on the holographic display in front of him. He sighed with a tight mouth and his eyes closed. He was resisting the urge to yell at Jethrek. He opened his eyes and looked to him. "The very person who you hate and fear most, Jethrek. The Time Lord who was always in the way of the Daleks whenever their greatest victories were at hand."

It all made sense to Jethrek now. "So you have confirmed it?!" he exclaimed, "The Doctor is here?!"

"Yes," Constant replied.

"But why do you call him a 'warrior'?" Jethrek asked.

Constant paused for a few moments, then saved his work and turned off the holographic displays before standing up. He paced for a few moments and then looked to Jethrek again. "I'm not sure if you are aware, Jethrek," he said, "but he was on Gallifrey during the Time War. I was able to confirm it after I analyzed the signals which the Monitor recorded before Gallifrey was wiped out of existence, destroying your fleet. People kept referring to someone who called himself the 'Warrior'. Furthermore, the Council referred to a weapon that could wipe out a galaxy."

Jethrek backed up, startled once again. "And this weapon was what destroyed Gallifrey and the Dalek fleet?!"

"Exactly," Constant confirmed, "But note that I was not aware of any of this until the war was over and I had started my own personal journey. To continue on, when I watched the visual records, I saw the Warrior's own TARDIS leaving the area...vanishing a few seconds before the final explosion occurred." Jethrek was speechless. "It was a cowardly move he made, using that weapon to wipe out both Gallifrey and the Dalek fleet." Constant stood up and banged his hand on the console as he looked to Jethrek again. "There were millions of people on Gallifrey who did nothing to deserve what the Doctor did to them! But he did it anyway, and for what?! To wipe your people out, that's what! Tell me Jethrek, is this the kind of action you would take?!"

Jethrek was silent, still taking in what Constant was saying.

"ANSWER ME!" Constant yelled.

"NO!" Jethrek replied, backing up until he hit a wall behind him. His arms and eye stalk were trembling as he spoke. "One of the primary objectives that all Daleks share is to ensure that the race survives! I would end my own life before considering such actions! And if I was found to be taking such actions as the Doctor has taken, I would be exterminated at once!"

"AND RIGHTLY SO!" Constant yelled again. He panted for a few moments, and then took one last breath to calm down. "If you think your hate of the Warrior is greater than anyone else's, you're wrong. I hate him to the point that I want to humiliate him for all the damage he did. I hate him a thousand times more than I hate you."

Jethrek stopped trembling at that moment. "I request permission to help you exterminate---"

"No," Constant interrupted, "Listen carefully, Jethrek. I don't want him to die. I want him to feel pain. If he even has one bit of regret about what he did, I want to expand it so much that he has to live with it for the rest of his lives!"

"How is that better than exterminating him?" Jethrek asked.

"Because if he dies, he can't feel that pain," Constant replied.

Jethrek paused to take in what Constant had said. "Why have you not already done this in our universe?"

"I've tried to find him," Constant replied, "I've tried following his trail for a few years, but he's always managed to escape."

"Perhaps you have not tried hard enough," Jethrek said.

"Don't start with me on that, Jethrek!" Constant snapped, "You know what I ended up having to do every time he went on his little hero missions? Pick up the pieces and record all of his actions as part of history, rather than correct them. You can't tell the Warrior not to do what he does and expect him to comply. He travels his own path. Furthermore..." Constant sighed..."Furthermore...it seems that time allows him to do what he does. After running a variety of simulations, I found that interfering with him would end up with universe-ending results and paradoxes the likes of which would be irreparable unless by undoing my own immediate change."

Jethrek rolled up closer to Constant. "Are you certain that all the simulations you ran are accurate?"

"Yes I am, Jethrek," Constant replied, "I never lie when it comes to temporal mechanics."

Jethrek looked down. "Then what must we do?"

"'We'?" Constant asked, incredulously, "Jethrek, let's get one last thing straight, the Warrior is mine! I will personally deal with him. Myself. Do you understand me?"

Jethrek, who had looked Constant in the face through all that, backed up once more. "I...understand," he replied.

"Good," Constant said, "Now go back to the lab and watch the probe logs."

Jethrek left the control room and went to do as he was told. On the way, however, he looked back to the control room. Something did not seem right about Constant. Earlier, he was calmer, and more open-minded. Now, it seemed that his hatred of the Doctor was clouding his judgement. Jethrek went quickly to the lab after pondering all this. When he got there, he closed the door behind him as quickly as he could. "Activate voice interface," he said.

A holographic image of Constant appeared in front of him "Voice interface activated. Limited access."

Jethrek faced the hologram. "At my access level, can I record a personal log?"

"Affirmative," the hologram replied, "That function is not restricted at your access level."

"Then start a log and deactivate voice interface," Jethrek said. The hologram disappeared and Jethrek started his log. "Dalek...Jethrek personal log, entry one. Constant's actions are beginning to...concern me. I have heard reports about the psychological effects on Time Lords when a struggle for power is at hand, or in that same instance, a hatred toward an individual or group. I believe that Constant is about to become a victim of said psychological effects. For further information, reference the following individuals: Rassilon, Time Lord council leader, and the Master. If the psychological condition continues to develop, Constant may be a danger to the equinoid population of Earth in this universe, to me, and to himself. While my concern for other races is usually null, if this happens, the chances of either or both of us returning to our universe will be...minimal. Therefore, I must assure myself that he will not develop this condition...by any means necessary. Stop recording and save log entry."

Somewhere in the residential area, the Doctor took a peek out of his TARDIS. Earlier, he had detected signs of temporal activity himself, and was eager to find out what was going on. As he slowly waved his "timey-wimey detector", it beeped in ways he never thought possible. He walked out of his TARDIS, his hooves clopping lightly on the grass under him. He was about to reach the gate to leave the backyard where he was parked when a hoof touched him.

"Going somewhere, Doctor?" his companion asked.

"Uhm...yes, actually," the Doctor replied, "My timey-wimey detector is picking up readings of a type that I've never seen before. I think it best to find out what it is before it starts trouble."

The Doctor's companion looked worried for a moment, then she remembered how many situations they have been through and survived. "Okay, but Doctor, be careful. Please?"

"I will," the Doctor replied, "I promise," and with that, he walked out the gate, being as stealthy as possible to search for what his device was picking up.

Constant walked into the lab, startling Jethrek. He looked to Jethrek. "What?" he asked.

"No---nothing," Jethrek replied, a bit nervous.

"Uh-huh," Constant said, taking note that Jethrek did appear scared about something. "Ok, Jethrek look, I need you to pull up the duplicated record files and make sure that they don't differ too much from the actual data we have."

"Why?" Jethrek asked.

"I need to make absolutely certain that no critical events were affected by the Warrior's actions," Constant replied.

"I understand," Jethrek replied. He went to a console and did as he was told.

Constant pulled the original files on another console to compare with the duplicates. He squinted his eyes to make sure he was seeing clearly. "Dash it all," Constant thought to himself, "I haven't slept since I was knocked out by Big Macintosh at Sweet Apple Acres, but with all this going on..I'm not certain I'll even have a chance to sleep...especially with Jethrek in the Monitor. Maybe I should---" Constant's thoughts were interrupted when the console he was working with started beeping. He looked up to the screen to see a time coordinate indicator blinking red, followed by red streaks "growing" out of it forward in relation to the flow of time.

"Constant!" Jethrek exclaimed, "I just cross-referenced the two probe files. Comparing them with current temporal sensor data---"

"Yes, Jethrek, I know!" Constant said, "It's finally happened! Someone went back in time and changed a critical event!"

Jethrek checked the records again. "The changes are progressing quickly. I estimate it will take 15.3 kilorels for all changes to reach the present."

"So about five hours and twenty minutes in Earth time," Constant said, calculating time conversion in his head..."That amount of time may decrease suddenly...we'd better hurry up." He made sure that all unaltered data was saved so they would know what was supposed to happen before the changes were made. "Okay, Jethrek, let's see if we can pinpoint where the change started. If we don't get to it soon, I just hope there aren't any reapers indigenous to this universe."

"Reapers?" Jethrek asked.

"I'll explain that later," Constant replied, "Just keep searching for the break point."

Maud Pie had come back to Ponyville from a quick trip back to the rock farm to erase the entries she had written about the Monitor. As much as she wanted to keep the information, she knew that it would be dangerous to do so, given the situation. She was walking to the library when she saw a light brown furred stallion with darker mane and tail and an hourglass cutie mark fiddling with a strange gadget in his hooves. Pondering what she was seeing, she recalled everything that Constant had explained at the meeting in Sweet Apple Acres. "Wait a minute," she thought to herself, "If we're the only ones who know about him and his situation...then what is he doing there?" She approached the library cautiously and kept an eye on the stallion, listening carefully in case he was muttering. Hearing nothing, she entered the library.

Pinkie Pie was reading a randomly-selected book while she was waiting for Maud, and leaped out of her seat to her. "HEY SIS! How's it going?"

Maud looked to her over-excited sister. "Well, I came here to find books on geology, and...uh..." she ducked behind the table, pulling Pinkie with her and whispered, "There's a stallion out there looking at Constant's vehicle."

"Huh?" Pinkie whispered back.

"I think he knows something is up," Maud went on, "He's fiddling with something in his hooves."

Pinkie peeked up toward a window and saw him. "Who is he?"

"I don't know," Maud said as the stallion moved to another position close to the Monitor. "But if he finds out about Constant's situation, we're all in trouble..."

Twilight walked downstairs to put a book away. "Psst! Twilight!" Pinkie whispered, "Down here!"

Twilight jumped from her position on the stairs to where Maud and Pinkie were ducked. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

"There's somepony outside looking at Constant's ship!" Pinkie whispered.

"He was fiddling with something in his hooves," Maud added, "I don't know what it could be, but I can only guess that whoever it is found something out and is trying to collect data."

"That's...not good," Twilight said..."If it reaches the press,...I don't even want to think about the consequences right now."

Before Pinkie or Maud could say anything, there was a flash of light near them. When they looked in the direction of the flash, they saw Constant in his disguise, only he was glowing, and transparent. "Are you seeing me?" he asked, looking around, "Twilight? Spike?"

"I'm over here, Constant," Twilight whispered, "Spike's taking a nap. What brings you to the Library?"

"I'm not actually there," Constant replied, "What you are seeing is an isomorphic projection. I'm using it to communicate with you...I see Pinkie and Maud Pie are there too."

Maud stood up and whispered, "Constant, I think somepony's on to you. He's outside your ship with some kind of gadget in his hooves."

"What?" Constant asked..."Jethrek, give me an external view."

"Affirmative," they heard Jethrek reply.

They saw Constant look toward something as the projection flickered momentarily. "I see him...He's got an hourglass cutie mark." An isomorphic image of said stallion appeared next to Constant's. "Is that the stallion you saw?"

"That's him," Maud said.

Constant looked to the viewscreen again, "Jethrek, scan the device he's holding."

"Scanning," Jethrek replied. A few seconds passed. "The device is composed of materials found on Gallifrey."

They saw Constant turn his head quickly as the image of the hourglass-marked stallion disappeared. "What?! Scan it again."

A few more seconds passed. "Same results," Jethrek confirmed.

Constant looked back in the direction of the viewscreen, his face turning cold. "It's him."

The three mares looked at Constant's projection. "Who?" Twilight asked.

"The...Doctor," Constant replied, his expression no longer cold, but rather a little concerned, "Listen, I'll deal with him. Don't try to interact with him."

"Why not?" Maud asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Wherever he goes, danger always follows," Constant stated, "and I don't want any of you to get caught in the middle of it."

The three mares looked at each other, confused and curious. "Uh...Are you sure?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes, I am sure," Constant replied, "I've watched him enough times to know it. Just sit tight. Besides which, somepony...or someone, I'm not sure which it is, has altered the timeline, and the change will reach the present in...." he checked the viewscreens..."about four hours."

"WHAT?!" Twilight exclaimed.

"We're just finishing the final preparations to depart," Constant said.

"How will we know if there is a change?" Twilight asked.

Constant paused. Even he didn't have all the information he needed to answer that question. "You may or may not," he replied, "Somewhere within those four hours, a change may occur ahead of time, changing you in the process, so you may not even be aware that a change has occurred. However, if it is not the case you'll probably see something change in the blink of an eye..."

"Okay," Maud said, "We'll still keep an eye out."

"That's all I ask," Constant said, "Hopefully by the time you notice the change, it will be gone within minutes, or even seconds."

"So it'll be a very quick game of 'Spot the Difference', then," Pinkie said.

Constant looked to Pinkie. "Yes...in a sense."

"But not the fun type," Pinkie added, with a slight smirk of disappointment.

"You should hear my ship landing here when I return, assuming you're even here to hear it," Constant said, "But for now, wish me luck." His projection disappeared from view.

Inside the Monitor, Constant went to the doors to the outside and pulled them outward. "That should catch his attention," he said.

"For what purpose?" Jethrek asked.

"You'll see," Constant said, "This will be quick. Is he walking in the direction of the doors?"

"He's in front of them now," Jethrek replied.

"Good," Constant replied. He watched the viewscreen until the Doctor got close enough, then he let go of the doors and let them open slightly. When he saw the Doctor, he just stood there for about five seconds. "So it's true...you ARE here," Constant said, "I just wanted to make sure it was true."

The Doctor, who had dropped his scanning device, stood on all four hooves looking at Constant in confusion. "What?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Constant said, "I know it's you."

"Who...are you?" the Doctor asked.

"We can discuss that later," Constant replied, "right now, I have more pressing matters to attend to. Don't follow me. When I'm done, I'll send a signal to your TARDIS."

The Doctor looked at Constant very carefully. "It can't be!" he whispered, "You're a---"

"Yes," Constant replied, "I am. You aren't the only survivor...Warrior."

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but stopped about half a second into starting when he took in what Constant had said. "How do you---"

"We'll discuss it later," Constant repeated, "Go back to your TARDIS and stay put, unless you have some adventure to go on." With that, Constant closed the doors, and they moved forward into place.

The Doctor just stood in front of the Monitor, astonished by what he had heard. At the moment, three things had surprised him about Constant:

1: Constant knew who he was, and not only as the Doctor.

2: He somehow survived the war.
and 3: He was still in his humanoid form.

After a few moments of pondering this in his mind, the Doctor turned and walked back toward his companion's home.

Back inside the Monitor, Constant compared the records of the time zone where the change had taken place. He found that it had occurred when two Allicorns, namely Princesses Celestia and Luna, first trapped a mysterious creature named Discord in stone for his evil deeds. But before he was actually trapped, he was spreading some kind of seed over the fields where he was trapped. After that, nothing was supposed to happen with Discord until some time after the return of Nightmare Moon, who Constant took note was Princess Luna.

However, in the altered timeline, it seemed that sometime after Princesses Celestia and Luna left Discord where they trapped him, an extra seed appeared out of nowhere in the dirt and started sprouting early. Within half an hour, the vines growing from it had reached other seeds, accelerating their growth process. Constant continued to watch the visual record until it was completely obstructed by one of the vines, which had apparently found the probe and grabbed it. Fifteen seconds later, a creaking and groaning sound was heard, which was an indication that the probe was crushed, and Constant could only guess that because the screen he was using showed nothing but static at that moment. He looked to Jethrek. "You saw what happened, I assume?"

"Affirmative," Jethrek said.

"Our first mission," Constant said, "Let's hope it all works out. Calculate the position of that seed, Jethrek."

"Affirmative," Jethrek said, working on the control panel. "Will you need me to follow you outside the Monitor to extract the seed?"

Constant thought about Jethrek's question. This first mission would have been the opportunity he needed to see how Jethrek would cooperate with him while they were still trapped in this universe. "Though I'm still a bit skeptical, Jethrek," he replied, "I think having an extra set of hands, so to speak anyway, would be beneficial."

"Then I will need a perception filtering device of my own," Jethrek said, still working with the console.

"I agree," Constant replied, "We're both going to have to blend in somehow if we're going to keep ourselves out of the history books."

Jethrek looked back at the screen over his console. "Coordinates calculated," he said, "I am sending them to your console now."

The console Constant was working with displayed the location of the seed on a map, which he zoomed into so he could make an immediate plan. "This feels too easy," he said, pulling out his laser screwdriver and adjusting it, "and from my experience, that is never a good sign."

Jethrek turned his eye stalk to Constant. "Why does it feel too easy?" he asked.

"It seems that all we're doing is extracting a seed that should never have been there in the first place," Constant replied, "Have you ever felt that you were being tested somehow?"

Jethek turned his travel machine to completely face Constant. "I understand what you are saying. I have felt that way in eighteen different skirmishes."

"Then be prepared for anything, Jethrek," Constant said, "I plan for us to be there a few minutes before that seed appears."

Jethrek could immediately see the logic in Constant's plan: wait a few minutes before the seed appears in the area, and then use whatever method necessary to extract it. "You should have prepared a weapon for me earlier," he said.

"I know, Jethrek, I know," Constant sighed, "I'll tell you what, I'll start working on it once we return here and now."

"Very well," Jethrek said.

"I've set the spatial and temporal coordinates," Constant said, "Confirm?"

"Coordinates received by the computer," Jethrek replied.

"Okay," Constant said, "Let's move!" He pressed the execute button on the navigation panel, and the Monitor's spatial and temporal drives hummed to life.

Outside, the Doctor watched as the extraneous branch on Golden Oaks Library disappeared. It was a quick and swift phase out of the area, and he was surprised to see how well it shifted. "Whoever he is, he's doing a better job taking care of his TARDIS than I am," he muttered to himself. He paused for about ten seconds. "So I guess I am not the only survivor after all...but how did he escape? And who is he? The Master?...No, that's ridiculous...The Master wouldn't have shown his face and said we would...discuss something later the way he did." He thought back to that moment. "Although he was angry...and he somehow knows that I relinquished my identity as the Doctor when I fought in the Time War..."

"But wait a minute!" he thought to himself, thinking again about the face he saw, "How did he manage to keep his humanoid form when he came to this universe?...And his TARDIS...It definitely was a TARDIS, but it's not like anything on record..."

He kept asking himself questions about the new situation he was about to face, and the mysterious Time Lord who was at the center of it, as he walked back toward his companion's house, making sure nobody had seen what had transpired earlier.

The ride to the target time was going smoothly compared to when Constant was on his probe-spreading mission. He watched the navigation console carefully as Jethrek watched the Monitor's status console. "We have just passed the paradox wave," Jethrek reported after a slight tremor.

"Any sign that the paradox affected us?" Constant asked.

"Negative," Jethrek replied after a quick check, "Activating perception filter." When it turned on, Jethrek looked like a burgundy-colored stallion with a light brown mane and light blue eyes.

"Good," Constant said, taking out his laser screwdriver and adjusting it, "Let's make this as quick, but as efficient as possible."

"Agreed," Jethrek said, his voice sounding natural.

A few minutes later, Constant had prepared all the equipment he would need for extracting the seed from the dirt. He turned on his perception filter. Jethrek was at the navigation console watching their course. "Approaching target time and location in ten rels!" he announced, "Nine...eight...seven..."

Constant made one last check on his sonic and laser screwdrivers as he approached the main door.

"Four...Three...Two...One..." Jethreks countdown ended as the Monitor landed at it's destination with a slight vibration. "We have arrived at the target location!"

Constant pulled the doors open, and rushed out when they had opened enough. He turned on his radio. "Link with Probe Six, Jethrek. It's the one which recorded the paradox event."

"Stand by..." Jethrek replied. "Link established. The probe is now recording your presence in the area."

"Okay, now, have the computer cross-reference the data we have with the probe's input." Constant got out his laser screwdriver and a small shovel from his pack.

"Affirmative," Jethrek replied. After a few minutes, he was able to get the information he knew Constant would want. "The seed will appear three meters ahead of you in your current facing direction."

Constant walked in the direction Jethrek told him to go. "How long before the seed comes?"

"Fifty rels," Jethrek replied, "running" out of the Monitor to assist if Constant needed him to.

Constant got ready to dig. "How far do I have to dig?"

"Half a meter," Jethrek replied, "You must hurry! Thirty-eight rels remaining!"

Constant could not argue with that. He started digging quicker than he had when he extracted and replaced the probe at Sweet Apple Acres. "How far am I from the seed's location?" he asked.

"You are about one centimeter away," Jethrek replied, "Five rels remaining! Four! Three! Two! One!"

Constant had dug enough to get to the seed, and just in time, as the seed appeared, as if by magic, right in front of him. He grabbed it. "I've got it, Jethrek!" He kept it in his hand as he grabbed a transparent canister from his bag and opened it. He then noticed that the seed went dark for a moment. That worried him. He stuck it in the canister at once and put it in his bag, giving it to Jethrek. "Bring it back inside!"

"Understood!" Jethrek replied. He "ran" back to the Monitor with the bag as Constant refilled the hole he dug to get the seed in a hurry. Jethrek waited patiently with the main door open as Constant ran back, making sure nobody was watching.

"Set course back to Ponyville at our home time!" Constant panted as he went back inside, "Quickly!"

"Affirmative!" Jethrek replied, deactivating his perception filter and setting the course.

"Wait!" Constant said, "On second thought, set course for the same time, but change the location to the edge of the Everfree Forest!" He closed the main door carefully.

Jethrek's visual scanner showed that there was unusual energy in the canister which Constant put the seed in. "Changing course now!"

Moments later, the Monitor materialized at the edge of the Everfree forest, it's outer shell disguising it as a boulder.

"We have to dispose of this as safely as possible!" Constant said, "Records showed that it took a sacrifice of magical artifacts to get what sprouted out of those seeds in this era under control!"

Jethrek looked to Constant in surprise. "How can we dispose of it when we cannot control magic ourselves?!"

"I'll burn it!" Constant replied, getting out his laser screwdriver, and the canister from his bag. He left the Monitor and ran about four meters to a clear spot before setting the canister down.

"Energy levels are rising inside the canister!" Jethrek said, turning on his perception filter.

"Then I'd better do this quickly!" Constant said. He pointed his laser screwdriver at the canister and fired. However, instead of burning the seed as he expected it to, the laser fire caused the canister to split in two, releasing the dark energy inside, which took the form of a vine and slapped him away. He landed on his back.

Jethrek found that there was nothing he could do, so he ran back to the Monitor as Constant sat up to get his laser screwdriver, which, unfortunately, the vine grabbed. "NO!" he exclaimed. He rushed to get it back, but each time he got close, the vine teased him by quickly moving away from his hand. "Darn you! Give it back!" he demanded, but the vine paid no attention.

Jethrek found Constant's predicament interesting. If he had a sense of humor, this would have been funny to him. Nevertheless, he knew that Constant would need the laser screwdriver again at some future time, so he dug inside Constant's bag and grabbed the shovel. Analyzing it, he found that the edge was sharp enough to cut through a vine, assuming enough force was applied. He ran out and charged the vine, holding the shovel out. It cut through very swiftly, causing it to drop the laser screwdriver.

Constant picked up the tool. "Thank you, Jethrek," he said, a bit surprised. However, he had no time to ponder what had transpired, as he saw not one, but about five vines wrap around Jethrek and drag him down.

"HELP ME, CONSTANT!" Jethrek called out.

Constant aimed his laser screwdriver, but found that as much as he did have a good aim at any vine in particular, there was still the risk that he might hit a vital system in Jethrek's travel machine. At this point, he could only watch helplessly as Jethrek struggled, and his perception filter flickered.

Author's Note

At this moment, the Doctor had not yet changed his own actions in the DW universe ("The Day of the Doctor").

Also, the reason I didn't choose who the Doctor's companion was is that I have seen and read a few Doctor Whooves fanfics, and I was just not sure which pony I SHOULD have chosen to be his companion in this fanfic.

16: Discord Steps In/Confrontation/Checking in

Jethrek continued to struggle against the vines as Constant aimed his laser screwdriver. "What am I doing?!" Constant thought to himself, "Why am I just standing around doing nothing?! On one hand, I've got a good shot at the vines, but on the other, I could damage Jethrek's travel machine! Come on, Constant, pull it together!" He aimed carefully, and took his chance, firing a vine off of one of Jethrek's arms. It cut off nice and cleanly, but two new vines grew from the stub. "What is this?!" Constant thought. He fired at several more, but the vines continued to multiply with each cut. Finally, it came to him. "Jethrek, polarize the shell!"

After a few seconds, sparks and loops of electricity lit up the tangled mess. Jethrek brought the energy output to the maximum level, but the vines were barely affected. "The stress level on the shell is rising beyond safety limits!" Jethrek reported as his perception filter image finally disappeared, and even Constant could tell that he was panicking. One vine wrapped itself around Jethrek's eye stalk and broke it off. "Visual sensor compromised!" Constant cursed under his breath and ran around to where the canister was. He checked his laser screwdriver and fired at the vines there. He kept on firing as Jethrek's travel machine fell on it's side, the vines wrapped around it releasing their grip. "Elevate!" Jethrek exclaimed, and the propulsion system dragged him away from the vines moments before more of them grew out of the canister.

Constant's face turned to one of frustration as he continued to fire at the vines. "Are you alright, Jethrek?!"

"The shell plating needs to be replaced and I can no longer see," Jethrek replied.

"Okay, just wait a while, Jethrek," Constant said as he continued to cut vines, "Hopefully these vines will---"

"Oh STOP already!" called a voice. There was a flash of light around the vines, and they disappeared completely.

Constant looked around in disbelief at what he just saw. He looked around more to find who the voice belonged to. When he saw Jethrek's eye stalk, he picked it up to assess whether he could reinstall it or not. "Well, Jethrek," he said, "At least the mission is over...I'll come over and help you up, and then I'll---"

"That paradox was just too easy to figure out," the voice spoke again, and it sounded like it was coming from the eye stalk.

When Constant looked at it's lens, he saw what looked like a natural eye. He dropped it in surprise. "What in the name of all of space and time?!"

Swirls of energy emitted out of the lens and formed into a familiar creature. "I didn't think it would be that easy for you to track where I hid that seed. But at the same time, I didn't expect that you'd be putting devices under the ground to record history. Very clever."

Constant picked up Jethrek's eye stalk again. "I was really hoping not to run into you...Discord."

Discord gasped lightly. "And why ever not? You've probably encountered dangerous beings who would do far greater damage than I ever could. As far as I know, I'm nothing compared to them."

Constant ignored him as he walked up to Jethrek's travel machine and lifted him upright. He got out his laser screwdriver to weld the wires between the travel machine and the eye stalk back together, but in that moment, magical energy swirled around where he was about to repair it, and it was put in place. "Visual sensor functioning," Jethrek said.

"Tell me, would someone as...," Discord made quotation signs with his claw and lion paw, "'dangerous' as me voluntarily fix that for you?"

Constant sighed. "That was generous of you, Discord. Now, if you'll excuse---" he stopped for a moment. "Hold on. How did you know that I went back in time to correct a paradox?"

"Because I'm the one who caused it in the first place," Discord said, a devilish smile crossing his face.

Both Constant and Jethrek looked to him. "You?!" Constant exclaimed, "Why?! For what purpose?!"

There was a flash of light behind Constant and Jethrek, making them look back, and Discord appeared in the spot where the flash occurred. "I've been watching you," he said, "You didn't think you were really alone in that barn, did you?" He snickered a little, "No, I've been watching your every move, and I even followed you in when you reintroduced Fluttershy to this..." He pointed to Jethrek, "thing...this...Ledakanian---"

"DALEK!" Jethrek snapped.

"Oh whatever," Discord said, waving his lion paw as if it was no big deal. A moment later, he snapped two of the digits on that paw and light flashed around Jethrek, the body of his travel machine no longer mangled out of shape due to the squeezing force of the attacking vines. "There. I didn't expect that you would take the seed back here, though. You could have taken it to the future."

"I could have," Constant agreed, "But I would rather have not, because I don't want to bring information about the future to the present."

Discord scoffed. "What, you think you'll be interrogated in such a way that you actually might break and tell them?"

"If I've learned anything during my stay here," Constant replied, "It's that if anything is possible in my universe, then more than anything is possible here."

"And that's the only reason?" Discord said with an unimpressed face. "How dull. How boring. How...unadventurous."

"As much as I'd like to discuss my temporal surveillance methods with you, Discord," Constant said, Jethrek entering the Monitor behind him, "I don't have the patience. And I certainly don't have the patience to put up with the type of shenanigans you bring to the ponies."

"Shenanigans?" Discord snickered again, "Is that what Twilight and her friends are calling it?"

"No," Constant replied, "It's what I'm calling it. Now excuse me." He went inside the Monitor and let the doors close.

Inside, he set a course back to Golden Oaks Library. He was about to hit the execute button when Discord's face appeared among the holographic projections. "You know," he said, "I couldn't help but overhear that you're having problems with another...what do you call your---"

"Discord, get out of the computer system," Constant said, holding back his urge to yell.

"I was talking, thank you very much," Discord countered, "Now, as I was saying---"

"I don't care what you have to say," Constant interrupted again, and this time it was becoming more apparent that he was angry.

Discord raised an eyebrow with a clever smile, thinking he was going to change Constant's mind. "Then I guess you don't want my help dealing with that...'Doctor'...What is he a doctor of, anyway? Psychology? Biology? Physics? Is he a med---"

"Discord, you are getting on my last nerves," Constant said, "Get out of my TARDIS, or I swear, I will set the self-destruct and quite possibly damage the area around it within a radius of about one hundred miles!"

Discord disappeared from the holographic display. Constant harrumphed and was about to press the execute button when he was grabbed from behind by a claw. "Jethrek, you'd better---" But when he looked behind himself, he saw Discord. "I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT!" he shouted.

"Did you really mean it when you said you would destroy this...TARDIS?" Discord asked, a dull look in his eyes.

"Watch me," Constant said, slapping Discord's claw away. Discords face was now one of shock as Constant walked to another panel and started typing in the commands. He summoned his magical power, and Constant vanished from view near the console, and reappeared near another.

"If you destroy this ship, then what are the chances you'll make it home?" Discord asked.

At this point, Jethrek wondered to himself whether or not he should take action to prevent Constant from doing anything foolish. He turned off his perception filter and continued watching.

"That's a question I would least expect to come out of your mouth," Constant snapped.

"You offend me, Constant," Discord said as a random heart shape appeared out of nowhere and cracked down the center, "Deeply," he finished.

"I doubt even more that you'd actually be willing to help us get home," Constant said, "and even if you did, there'd be a heavy price. A price that I'm absolutely certain I wouldn't be willing to pay. Nor would Jethrek."

Jethrek was surprised at Constant's statement. He now realized he was probably dealing with two dangerous individuals. He remained silent.

Discord looked Constant in the eye for about half a minute. "Fine," he said, "All I was going to ask of you was that you leave Jethrek behind to watch the timeline in your place."

Jethrek looked to Discord. "No!" he exclaimed.

"And besides which," Constant said, agreeing with Jethrek, "Why would you want him to stay in the first place?"

"I would have changed him so that his nature is not so...militaristic," Discord replied.

"He is what he is, Discord," Constant replied, walking back to the console he used to set up the self destruct, "Even I don't know if he can put that...militaristic nature aside. Sometimes it's best to leave things as they are. Time is one of those things that should absolutely be left alone." He looked to Discord after he cancelled all commands. "Speaking of which, what you did was absolutely reckless. You changed time so you could test me? If we hadn't detected that change, what do you think would have happened to the friends you have made here? By my observations, they would never have existed in the first place!"

"Well, I would have gone back and changed it again," Discord countered, smiling.

"And what if you didn't?" Constant asked, "Chances are, you would have changed as well. You would never have---"

"Okay, okay!" Discord said, making the entrance doors vanish, "You've made your point, Constant." He was not smiling anymore as he left.

Constant watched him. "Put the doors---" The doors reappeared with a loud clunk. "---Back," he finished. He went back to a console to see how much power was lost during the mission. Surprisingly to him, it took less than he expected. "Looks like the Monitor is getting more and more used to this universe," he said, "There's enough power to take it somewhere where I can talk to the Warrior in private."

Jethrek rolled up to him. "Are you certain you do not wish for me to help you?"

Constant thought for a moment. "You know what?...Maybe you can help. I want to show him just how bad...our lives have become thanks to him."

"How?" Jethrek asked, confused.

"I have to rely on you for help, Jethrek," Constant replied, "and if there's anyone I hate more than Daleks, it's the Warrior. At the same time, you have to rely on me to get back to our universe. As ironic as it is, it's how things are going."

Jethrek saw where Constant was going with his reasoning. "I understand," he said.

Constant smiled, and set a course for another non-populated location near the Everfree Forest. When he pressed the execute button, the Monitor barely trembled as it reached it's target. "Wow. That was smoother than I expected," Constant said, "Now to send the signal." He typed in a code to send a signal to the Doctor's TARDIS. "All we need to do now is wait," he said, watching the main viewscreen.

The Doctor was talking with his companion in his TARDIS when he received Constant's message. When he read it, he sighed heavily. "It's time for me to face the music," he said quietly. He looked to his companion. "I'm sorry, I must leave you at home for a bit."

"Are you sure?" his companion asked.

"I'm sure," he said, "I promise, I will be back soon."

"O---okay," she replied. She left the TARDIS. "Doctor?" she said turning around, "Don't get careless out there. I know you don't most of the time, but even so, a little extra caution in this situation might be helpful."

"I know," the Doctor replied, "I promise, I'll return safely."

His companion nodded and closed the door. The Doctor set a course for the coordinates Constant provided him, and with that, his TARDIS disappeared from sight.

Constant paced around the main control room, waiting for the Doctor to respond. Jethrek watched the consoles, occasionally taking a quick look to Constant. Recently, his behavior and actions began to concern Jethrek. He began to wonder whether or not it was best to continue to follow Constant, despite the "no-choice" conditions he was living in.

Finally, a console beeped, and Jethrek looked to it. "The Doctor is here," he said.

Constant stopped pacing and looked to the main viewscreen. "So he is, Jethrek. So he is." He walked to the entrance door. "Watch carefully, Jethrek, and make sure that no one can overhear us."

"Affirmative," Jethrek said, moving to the appropriate console.

Constant opened the doors and left the Monitor, making sure the doors closed behind him. He turned to see the Doctor's TARDIS, still stuck in its disguise as a mid-20th century British police phone box. He leaned against the Monitor's shell, crossing his arms, waiting for the Doctor to come out. At the moment, the Monitor was disguised as a small boulder, meant to match in theme with the rock next to it. While waiting, Constant noticed this and looked to himself. He realized that he was not in disguise, but decided not to go back and get his perception filter after all, given that nobody was around to see him or the Doctor. He heard the squeak of metal hinges on a wooden door, and looked to see the Doctor coming out of his TARDIS. "So," Constant said, "We finally meet in person, Warrior. I never thought I'd actually catch up to you, especially in...these conditions."

The Doctor made sure that the door was closed behind him before speaking. "Your message was in Gallifreyan language. So you are a Time Lord."

"Yes," Constant replied, nodding, "You can call me...Constant."

"Well, greetings, Constant," the Doctor said, "I'm assuming that you arrived here under similar conditions as me. I assume further that you also saw double, and panicked to get your dimensional stabilizers online?"

"Yes," Constant replied, "As well as suffer a power loss to my ship due to the quantum variance of this universe."

"Did you try to find a way back?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes," Constant replied, "I did...I still am looking, in fact. What about you?"

The Doctor sighed. "I've stopped looking. Besides, my life in this universe has been...a little more adventurous than my life in ours."

"So that's it, then?" Constant asked, now standing out of his leaning position against the Monitor, "I expected better of you, Warrior. I expected that you'd keep trying to find a way back."

The Doctor paused..."Why are you calling me...'Warrior'?"

"It is what some started to call you when you started fighting in the Time War," Constant replied. The Doctor now fully faced Constant, a little surprised, and trying not to show it. "That's right," Constant went on, "I know you were there. But I know more. I know you took a weapon of mass destruction and used it to wipe Gallifrey out of existence, and for what?! To destroy the Daleks?!" Constant's tone was becoming more aggressive as he took another step toward the Doctor.

The Doctor lifted one hoof to back up, but stopped when he took in what Constant had said. "I---There was no other way to end the war," he said, looking down, "No other way to stop the killing."

"Wasn't there?!" Constant snapped.

The Doctor looked up to face Constant again, "I---I changed after that. I went back to protecting the universe from those who---"

"Save me your personal history for when it is relevant!" Constant snapped again, "Besides, do you really think any of your actions afterwards could truly make up for the loss of Gallifrey?! A world that was YOUR HOME, WARRIOR, AND MINE! What would your companions say if they knew what you had done?!"

The Doctor finally took a step back, beginning to see just how angry Constant was. "I..."

"What would Barbara Wright say?" Constant asked, "And what about Ian Chesterton? Ben Jackson? Victoria Waterfield?" Constant kept naming companions until he reached the more recent ones. "Does Rose Tyler know about it? What about her mother? And her boyfriend, Mickey Smith? Does Martha Jones know about it?!"

The Doctor had tried to cut in as Constant named all his companions, but never got the chance. Finally, he had the chance to speak. "Rose Tyler was not with me long enough to be affected by such information. Nor was Martha Jones."

"And that's your excuse?" Constant asked.

"No," the Doctor said, "You're right. Nothing can excuse what I did to Gallifrey."

"Do those words truly hold their meaning when you say them, Warrior?" Constant asked. Then he remembered one companion who he forgot to mention. "What would Susan say?"

That struck a nerve on the Doctor.

"Yes," Constant said, "Susan Foreman, your granddaughter. I can only guess that she would be absolutely heartbroken to know that you would do something like that. Tell me, Warrior, how would you explain what you did to Gallifrey if she asked what happened?"

The Doctor's eyes, despite his resistance, trembled lightly from what he was hearing. "I...I don't know."

"So it seems the Warrior has a conscience after all," Constant said, crossing his arms.

"Stop---stop calling me that!" the Doctor said, "I am the Doctor once again---"

"NO!" Constant cut him off, "Not to me, you're not! What you did was unforgivable at such a high level that you don't deserve to be known by that name anymore! To me, you are still the Warrior! The cowardly Time Lord who could not think of any other way to stop the war but to END OUR WORLD!"

The Doctor lost his balance and sat down, a miserable expression on his face.

"You may not know it, Warrior," Constant sad, "but after the Time War, everywhere and everywhen you went, I was always trailing behind, picking up the pieces to make sure that your actions did not interfere with the natural flow of time! I can see now just how negligent I was to do that in this universe! I always watch for you because there's no doubt in my mind that you'll do to another world what you did to Gallifrey!"

The Doctor looked up at constant, shocked and insulted. "How dare you?!" he snapped.

"No, Warrior," Constant snapped back, "How dare you? How dare you treat the universe like a playground? You've been running around our universe through all of space and time like a child playing wildly on a jungle gym! Well guess what, Warrior, your jungle gym has rusty old screws which you never took the time to watch out for! No wonder you ended up here before me! And most certainly, no wonder you regenerated into an equinoid with a silly mark on your flank! I'm not sure whether I should call that funny or a fitting punishment!"

"I didn't regenerate!" the Doctor corrected him, "It's the quantum variation in this universe! And furthermore, I tried to get back to our universe, but the quantum variance is so small that my TARDIS is compatible with it!"

"Hmph, I see," Constant huffed.

"So if you would just put your prejudice aside for a while, Constant," the Doctor went on, "maybe we can work together to---"

"'Work together'?" Constant echoed, interrupting the Doctor, "Ha! I'm not going to help you, and I'm most certainly not going to accept help from you either. Besides," he walked to the entrance to the Monitor and gestured for Jethrek to come out, "I've already got a companion of my own."

The Doctor heard the familiar whirring of navigational machinery moments before Jethrek rolled out of the Monitor. "What?! A Dalek?! How could you side with them?!"

"He is the only Dalek here, Warrior," Constant said as Jethrek rolled up alongside him, "and in case you haven't noticed, I made this travel machine for him. Me. I also agreed to return him to his people, despite the dangers."

The Doctor took time to take in what Constant had said. "Well, if you say so, Constant. But he will betray you when that happens, mark my words."

"I will not betray him!" Jethrek argued, "Constant has followed his end of the deal thus far."

"And what about after that?" the Doctor asked.

"Enough, "Constant said, "Jethrek get back inside, and keep watching the probe records."

"Yes, sir," Jethrek replied and went to do so.

The Doctor waited a few seconds before speaking again, "Do you really think he will help you get back home?" he asked.

"He has to," Constant replied, "that is if he expects to get back to his people at all. And speaking of which," he looked to the Doctor with a cold expression on his face, "let me remind you that I am not going to ask you for help. Ever. Once Jethrek and I find a way back to our universe, we are not going to share our solution with you. I'm going to leave you here so you cannot mess with time in our universe."

The Doctor looked up at Constant, shocked once again.

"Farewell, Warrior," Constant said, walking back to the Monitor's entrance, "I hope you don't do more damage here than you did in our universe. Oh, and one more thing. If you found yourself a companion here, let him or her be your last one, assuming there even comes a point where you decide to leave him or her behind. In other words, stop ruining people's lifetimes. If you're going to mess about with all of space and time, don't get anyone else pulled into it."

The Doctor was deeply hurt by Constant's statements as he watched him close the doors to the Monitor. He stood up and walked slowly to his own TARDIS. At the moment, he felt as if he was going to break down. He set a course back to his companion's home and Constant watched through his viewscreen as the Doctor's TARDIS fluctuated in and out of view before finally disappearing.

"Is that what you meant by 'dealing with the Doctor'?" Jethrek asked, sounding almost unimpressed.

"Yes," Constant replied, "That is exactly what I meant. You see Jethrek, he thought at first that he was truly the last of his kind, well, save for the Master, perhaps, but what hurt him the most is that I, another survivor, hate him to the point that I want nothing to do with him but to make sure he doesn't cause another disaster like wiping his own homeworld from existence. Imagine yourself in that position."

"If a Dalek were responsible for such an atrocity," Jethrek replied, "he would be exterminated by his own people."

"You see?" Constant said, "You do understand. Not exactly something the Time Lords would do...I don't think...but you get the idea."

"What is our next objective?" Jethrek asked after a few seconds of thinking.

"Our next objective," Constant said, "is to go back to the library and tell Twilight and whoever else is there that the danger is over. It would also be a good opportunity to see if we missed anything."

"I concur," Jethrek stated, turning to a console.

Constant set a course back to Golden Oaks Library, and executed it.

Back at the Library, Spike had woken up from his nap. He walked downstairs to find Twilight reading. "How long have I been napping?" he asked.

Twilight looked at the clock above her. "About three hours, Spike."

"Three? That's a new record," he yawned, "Did I miss anything?"

"Well," Twilight began, a little more hushed, "Constant left earlier to correct a problem in the timeline. Pinkie Pie and Maud were here when he told us about it. He also told us to watch out for anything that may have changed due to the changes in the timeline."

"Well, I certainly didn't hear anything change," Spike said, "So he probably fixed it." At that moment, the familiar quick whirring sound was heard, and Spike looked out a window to see the Monitor parked on the library disguised as a branch again. "Right on cue," Spike said, "He's back."

Seconds later, an isomorphic projection of Constant appeared next to Twilight, who dropped her book. "Too close, Constant," she said.

"Oh, sorry Miss Sparkle" Constant replied, "I just wanted to inform you that the timeline has been corrected. Did you see any changes while I was gone?"

"Actually, I didn't," Twilight replied, "Neither did Pinkie or Maud Pie."

"Did anyone else see anything?" Constant asked further.

"Not that I heard," Twilight replied.

"I didn't see or hear anything either," Spike added.

"Well that's good," Constant replied, "Now that I got that out of the way, we know that we d---" Constant yawned silently for about five seconds, "Didn't miss anything," he finished.

"Long day?" Twilight asked.

"Long days, actually," Constant replied, "I haven't slept since the incident at Sweet Apple Acres, but I'll be fine."

Applejack walked in to return a book to the library. She overheard what Constant had said. "Constant, I don't think you should take sleep so lightly. You should let yourself rest while you have the chance." She was, of course, speaking from experience.

"How can I?" Constant asked, "Especially when I have to fulfill a promise to---" he yawned again, "get my companion home."

"You can't do that if you can't think straight," Applejack said, "Now don't make me come in there and drag you to a bed.

"Just a few more hours is all I need," Constant said, groggy at this point. He walked to a console and typed in a command which set off an alarm in the main control room. Startled, he typed the code to deactivate the alarm. He sighed. "You know what, you're right. I do need some rest...Jethrek, I'm entrusting you to keep an eye on things." He started walking to his quarters. "And don't cause any trouble," he said. At this point, his isomorphic projection had disappeared from view in the library.

"I will not," Jethrek promised. He turned on his perception filter and rolled up to where Twilight, Spike, and Applejack would see his isomorphic projection. "You, with the fruit on your flank," he said, "It was wise for you to give him that advice. I have been observing him, and some of his recent actions have...concerned me."

"What actions?" Applejack asked, "Does he pose a danger to us or somethin'?"

"I am uncertain at the moment," Jethrek replied, "However, it is most likely that the answer is 'no'."

"Do you think that time travelling caused him to act that way?" Spike asked, recalling reading such things in science fiction comics.

"Again, I am uncertain," Jethrek replied, "I will observe him..."

"Should we ask Fluttershy to come over and help you?" Twilight suggested.

"Fluttershy?..." Jethrek thought for a moment. He recalled hearing how Fluttershy had helped him despite what he was."I will consider that option," he said, "For now, keep yourselves busy. When Constant wakes up, I will consider whether or not we need Fluttershy here."

"Okay," Twilight said.

"End transmission," Jethrek said, and the isomorphic projection disappeared.

"Well," Applejack said, "I learned another thing about that...Dalek. He certainly doesn't know how to say 'goodbye' properly. Perhaps we should ask Rarity to give him advice about that."

"Probably," Spike laughed.

Author's Note

Yep, Constant hates the Doctor with a vengeance. Whether or not that will change, I don't know yet.

"Applebuck Season" was the episode I referenced when I wrote that Applejack spoke from experience.

Next... nightmares.

17: Nightmares (Pt 1)

Nighttime had fallen on Ponyville, and Jethrek was finishing an analysis of the events after the time they went to get the extraneous seed. At the moment, nothing seemed out of place, and all events afterward matched with the original data recorded by the probes. After reading through the results one last time, he found that he had nothing else to do, so he left the control center, intent on practicing his maneuverability in the large empty chamber which Constant showed him earlier.

Along the way, however, he found that the energy level in his travel machine was low. Surprised, he thought back to all the times he had checked it. He then recalled Constant telling him to polarize the shell of the machine. It must have taken a lot of power for the energy level to be so low. He turned around in the corridor and went to the lab instead. At the moment, he wished that Constant was awake to help him replace the cell, but since he was not, Jethrek decided to wait until his current power cells were charged. He maneuvered onto the charging port and backed up to plug in. Inside the machine, he saw a charging symbol, confirming that he was now receiving energy from the Monitor's power grid. Again, finding that he had nothing else to do, he decided to do the only thing he could at the moment, which was to sleep until either full power was restored to his machine, or until Constant woke up and came to wake him up too.

Constant had finally found a way home by using the dimensional stabilizers in the Monitor. For him, it had been a long two hundred years since he first arrived, and he was looking forward to going home. Around him, ponies were waving their hooves to him as he waved back going inside the Monitor.

Inside the control room, which had been refitted tremendously, he looked at a transparent cylindrical container. Inside of that container were the preserved remains of Jethrek, who had died in some battle to protect the ponies. He put his hand on the container, sighing deeply. "I'm sorry," he said, "I promised that I would bring you home...I didn't plan to bring you home like this."

He walked to the navigational control panel and started typing in the settings for the Monitor to depart to his own universe. He looked at the viewscreen one more time and watched the ponies whom he had acquainted himself with waving their hooves goodbye to him. He smiled, a tear falling from his eye. A moment later, he hit the execute button and watched the view as the Monitor ascended from the ground. Accelerating, the view finally showed the darkness of space with the stars shining in the distance. Then came the time vortex, which the Monitor traveled through for a while, and then made a quick side turn to hit the "surface" of the vortex.

There was a slight trembling as the viewscreen showed nothing but bright white light. After about thirty seconds, the light diminished, once again showing the darkness of space. Constant, sitting himself down at another console, checked the quantum signature of the matter around the Monitor, and found that he was finally in his own universe again. "I'm finally home," he said, his voice creakier than it was before. "I wonder what my time probes have been recording here." He scanned the area as far as possible and found one. He set a course to pick it up.

Sometime later, he started downloading data from the probe. All of a sudden, an alarm sounded, and all the screens in the lab turned red. He cursed and looked at one screen to see where paradoxes had occurred. One paradox showed, then another, and another, and another. The screen kept displaying altered events until the console exploded. Constant backed up to avoid getting hurt and ran to the main control room to set a course for Earth. He did so, and within seconds he was there. But he didn't see the big blue marble it was meant to be. It looked grey, and when Constant dared to zoom in to examine a land mass, he saw that almost everything and everyone had been mechanized. "Cybermen!" he exclaimed.

Suddenly, he felt a massive quake and was thrown back by the force. He stood up to find out what had happened, and found that nothing had happened to the Monitor, but rather, to Earth. The water was back, but the people on the land were not humans. They were Daleks fighting against Sontarans. "What did I miss while I was gone?!"

Another shockwave hit, and this time, Constant looked at the viewscreen to find hundreds if not thousands of statues covering their faces. That, plus the wings on their backs gave away what they were...Weeping Angels. Now, Constant had definite reason to panic. He kept watching the screen, not daring to look left, or right, or for that matter, blink. "Jethrek, I wish you were alive right now," he thought to himself. At that moment, a shadow loomed over the screen, and the screen went static. Constant knew it would only be moments before the Weeping Angels started to have their way with the Monitor. He looked back to find the source of the shadow to find...a dark navy-blue alicorn standing behind him. "What are you doing here?!" Constant asked, panicked, "You're not supposed to be here!" He knew who it was from watching his probe records. It was Princess Luna.

"Am I not?" Princess Luna responded in an almost declarative tone, "Or is it you who aren't supposed to be here?"

"What are you talking about?!" Constant replied, "Sensors did not detect you entering my ship before I left, so how did you---" He felt something touch his shoulder, followed by the feeling of getting pulled. "NO! AAAAAUU--"

"---UUUGH!" Constant finished his yell of panic as he woke up. He looked around and saw that he was still in his own living quarters. "What was I doing earlier?" he asked himself quietly, and then he remembered. "Oh yes, that's right...But why would Princess Luna show up in one of my dreams? Why a nightmare, too, for that matter?" He sighed, thinking of possible reasons, but could find no possibility that he could go with. He got himself out of bed and prepared for another shift in the Monitor. Before the shift, however, he decided to go to the library first to see if any of the ponies he knew could provide answers.

Jethrek had just reached the global coordinates of where the Time Lords kept their most top-secret weapons. Or so he thought. When he looked around, he could find no sign of any structure or settlement that would have such a storage chamber. "Unit 1376-Alpha to Battle Saucer 14. I am at the coordinates provided to me. There is no sign of any weapon storage chamber."

"Unit 1376-Alpha. Check your coordinates again," came the reply.

Jethrek checked the coordinates in his travel machine. "Coordinates confirmed," he reported. He waited for an answer. In the distance, he saw weapons fire being exchanged between Time Lords and Daleks.

Finally, he got a response. "Unit 1376-Alpha. You are above the intended location. Transmaterialize yourself to the new coordinates we are sending you."

"Receiving coordinates!" Jethrek replied. Once his internal display showed him the intended location, he saw just how deep down the intended location was. "Transmaterializing!" he reported, and he disappeared from view. He rematerialized in a large chamber. It seemed almost limitless. "Unit 1376-Alpha to Battle Saucer 14. I am inside their hidden chambers. Searching for the weapon now." He searched around the chamber he was in at the moment to find what he was assigned to look for. At that moment, he could see nothing. Everything around him was labeled as either "to be scrapped" or "failed experiment", including a box labeled, "Project Constant". He blasted the box open and electronic pads fell in front of him. One of them blinked on, requesting a passcode. Jethrek tried every decryption method he could think of but failed to get the passcode. On his twentieth cycle, the pad sparked, and the screen went dead. He tried again with another pad, but it self-destructed as well. Giving up, he made note of where everything was...until he saw something labeled "Warning: Do not attempt to destroy. Do not enter." He looked up to see its cylindrical design with a rounded top. This object appeared to stand out from everything else, which was most likely the indication he needed that he found what he was looking for "Unit 1376-Alpha to Battle Saucer 14. I have failed to access materials for 'Project Constant'. However, I believe I have found another weapon we have been searching for. I will investigate." He waited for a response. "Battle Saucer 14, respond! Are you receiving this transmission?"

All he heard were several Daleks aboard said saucer speaking. "Contact lost with Unit 1376-Alpha. Attempting to re-establish connection...Connection failed. "

"Boost signal and attempt communication again!" said another.

"Battle Saucer 14, respond! I am investigating the weapon!" Jethrek said. When he got no response, he looked around, until he found the doors. That confirmed his suspicion, which was that the object he was looking at was a TARDIS. He looked for a keyhole or some other point to unlock the door. When he found it, he put his suction manipulator on it and used magnetic energy to manipulate the lock. After a few minutes, the door finally unlocked. The doors moved inward with a jerk and slid side-to-side to open.

He went inside and started investigating. The control room looked very basic, even for the time when the Time War was happening. He tried accessing a console, only to get the words "Access denied" in Gallifreyan script. After many attempts, he turned to go into another chamber, when he heard the doors to the outside slam behind him. He rushed to them and tried using his suction manipulator to open the doors again, but failed. "Unit 1376-Alpha to Dalek fleet! Emergency! Requesting assistance!"

Once again, all he got was a conversation between several Daleks, none of them showing any indication that they received his message. Finally, the leading Dalek on board Battle Saucer 14 spoke up. "We must assume that he has been destroyed. Continue with the attack!"

"NO!" Jethrek exclaimed, "RESPOND! RESPOND! BATTLE SAUCER 14! I AM TRANSMITTING!"

"Strange," said a voice, "You didn't hear them before. How do you know that they abandoned you?"

Jethrek looked around. "Who is there?! Identify yourself! Identify yourself or you will be exterminated!"

"How violent!" the voice went on, "I have never seen any creature with such a violent nature as yours."

Jethrek went toward a door to the corridors. When they didn't open, he blasted them open with his laser weapon. "Where are you?!" he demanded. "Answer or I will find you and exterminate you!"

"You don't expect anypony to comply with your demands when you threaten them like that, do you?" the voice asked.

"Fear is a weapon of the Daleks!" Jethrek responded.

"Is that so?" the voice inquired, "I thought like that too, once, about myself.."

When Jethrek turned a corner, he came face-to-face with a tall, dark navy-blue alicorn. "Exterminate!" Jethrek exclaimed, and fired his weapon at her.

The alicorn shielded herself with a magical spell. "Even if you do hit me here, you will not harm me," she said simply.

Jethrek tried again and again but to no avail. Finally, an alarm sounded, and screens everywhere displayed the message "Intruder Alert." Jethrek remembered this event well. He turned away and started running for another chamber. Spikes extended from the walls and emitted sparks, which all connected to Jethrek's travel machine, causing him to scream in agony.

Constant was walking down a corridor when he heard Jethrek screaming. He quickened his pace and ran to the lab, where he found Jethrek connected to the charging port and shaking. "What happened?" he asked.

Jethrek turned his eye stalk to him shakily. "I had a nightmare," he replied.

"You too, huh?" Constant asked, "I had one in which we made it back...but you were dead when we got back, and...when we did go back, our universe was in chaos. Paradox after paradox was occurring...and then I found myself looking face-to-face at Princess Luna."

"Princess Luna?" Jethrek asked, "Describe her."

"Dark, navy blue fur," Constant said, "brighter mane and tail..and she was wearing---"

"A black outfit," Jethrek finished, "and a tiara and a royal-themed set of shoes."

Constant looked to Jethrek again. "Exactly right!" he said, "What was your nightmare about?"

"Losing contact with my group during the Time War," Jethrek replied, "Before I was incapacitated, I encountered her."

Constant sat down at a wall and thought. "I want to say it's a coincidence that we saw the same pony in our dreams, but the fact that we both had nightmares says otherwise."

"I agree," Jethrek replied..."I felt like a connection was made from far away."

Constant looked to Jethrek, "Do you think there was a telepathic connection?"

"It is likely," Jethrek said, "and now that you have mentioned that notion, I am feeling what you would call a...headache."

"I'll be right back," Constant said, and he ran back to his personal quarters to get his sonic screwdriver. When he got back, he scanned Jethrek. "My sonic screwdriver detected an increase in mass. Open up." Jethrek pushed the appropriate control inside, and the neck of the travel machine raised a few inches up, while the center portion of the front plating below it extended out before sliding in opposite directions to reveal Jethrek himself. Constant scanned Jethrek again..."This is interesting...Your brain mass has grown by about ten percent. Is that normal?"

Jethrek paused for a moment. "In some cases it is. However, I will need more information to find out if this is one of those cases."

"Then I suggest we keep an eye on this for a while before we do anything about it," Constant said.

"Agreed," Jethrek replied.

"In the meantime," Constant said, "I think I'll go do a little research. If someone else has seen that alicorn in a dream or nightmare, I think it would be beneficial to find out why that is."

"And find a cure for the problem if it is the result of a sickness," Jethrek added.

"Perhaps," Constant said, taking note of Jethrek's emphasis on negative possibilities, "Close your machine now, I've got all the information I need on you for the time being."

Jethrek did so before moving to a console to start reviewing probe logs.

"I'll scan you again later to see if your brain mass has grown any more than it already has," Constant went on, "If it does, I hope it is not the result of some kind of cancer caused by your integration into that machine. I don't want you to end up dead before we return to our universe."

Jethrek stopped suddenly. He turned himself slightly and turned his eye stalk to look at Constant. "Why would you be concerned about that?" he asked.

That question made Constant realize exactly what he had said. "Yes...That question just came to my mind as well. Why would I be concerned about that?...I guess it's because of the nightmare I had..."

Jethrek turned himself completely to face Constant. "Explain."

Constant sighed. "As I said before, in my nightmare, we did make it back to our own universe...but...you were dead. I had your biological body placed in a stasis tube to preserve it. And for some reason, I felt bad about seeing you dead."

"How can that be?" Jethrek asked, "Your race and mine are enemies."

"That's an understatement, Jethrek," Constant replied, "but even so, what I have told you about my nightmare is the truth."

For a few moments, Jethrek just stood there, looking at Constant as he typed on a console, narrowing down his search parameters for ponies or other beings who had nightmares with Princess Luna in them. Hopefully, his probes would have picked up something.

As Constant looked over the records, he thought carefully about how he was going to handle the situation. If there actually was a telepathic connection between him and Princess Luna when he had that nightmare, it would mean that those in the higher up would be aware of his presence. As serious as that sounded, this was also a personal situation, and when he was a time agent on Gallifrey, regulations stated that time traveling for personal reasons was prohibited, unless another legitimate situation called for it. After putting this into consideration, he decided not to use time travel to figure out why Princess Luna ended up in his nightmare. Instead, he would try to find something in the present or something that happened most recently. He decided to check the events in Ponyville first to see if the probe he retrieved from Sweet Apple Acres had picked anything up. For a short time, nothing came up, until he found an event where Princess Luna was in a studio somewhere in Canterlot where Rarity was giving out costumes for pop star Sapphire Shores and her group. Looking up at the visual record of said event, he stabbed a key on the console with his finger to pause the video. "Aha!" he said aloud, "Found you!"

This caught Jethrek's attention, and his eye stalk snapped in Constant's direction. When he saw Princess Luna on the screen, he recognized her at once. "That is her!" he said, pointing one of his claws at the screen, "That is the pony I saw in my nightmare!"

"So it wasn't a coincidence after all then," Constant pondered, "I wonder..." He typed into the console, telling the computer to track where Princess Luna was before she went to that studio. The video played backward quickly with no sound, following Princess Luna, while the screen on another console showed where she was on a map. "Hmm...So she wasn't in close range beforehand..." he thought to himself. He fast-forwarded the video back to the point where he had stopped before. "Hmm...but why was she there?" He reversed the video in standard speed, again, with no sound, as he felt it was not important at the moment. "Who is that?" he asked himself, looking at the white filly with a pink-and-purple striped mane and tail whom Princess Luna was conversing with. "Wait a minute!" He immediately remembered where he had seen her before when he was first getting the lay of the land in Ponyville. "I saw her running out of the library with her friends...I think Spike knows her...If I remember correctly from the first time I went out to get the lay of the land, her name is...Sweetie Belle."

"Are you suggesting that we speak to her?" Jethrek asked.

Constant looked to him. "Yes, but not like an interrogation. We're trying to find out if she had a nightmare of the same kind as us. If she did, then maybe she can tell us how she dealt with it."

"I predicted that would be your reasoning," Jethrek said,

Constant went to a cabinet nearby to get the perception filters he and Jethrek would need.

"Constant," Jethrek began.

Constant looked back at him. "Yes, Jethrek?"

Jethrek thought for a moment. Something was bothering him deep down, but he didn't know what at the moment. He shrugged it off. "Never mind. I'll tell you later if it comes back to me."

"Uh...okay, then," Constant said, as he pulled out the perception filter devices. "Carousel Boutique is not far," Constant went on, showing a map, "It's a short walk from here, as you may observe." He put his perception filter on. "Now, I've downloaded the image from the previous perception filter you used into the memory of this one." He connected Jethrek's perception filter to a port on his travel machine's body. "Also, given that you may need to fly if the need arises, I added wings to it, so you'll look like a pegasus."

"Understood," Jethrek replied, "Activating perception filter." A moment later, Jethrek's appearance was that of the same burgundy stallion he was before, with wings added. Jethrek saw the image in a corner on his internal display, so he knew what he looked like currently.

"Okay," Constant said, turning on his perception filter and walking to the entrance doors, "Let's see if Rarity knows where Sweetie Belle is." He pulled the doors back, let them open slightly, and looked around to make sure no one was watching. "All clear. Let's go."

Jethrek followed Constant out of the Monitor and looked around. "Primitive setting," he remarked quietly.

"Not for a culture that uses magic, if you ask me," Constant replied as he watched the doors close behind them, "Come on. I'll take you to Carousel Boutique. That's where Rarity and Sweetie Belle should be right now." As Jethrek followed him, Constant noticed just how Jethrek's perception filter image was walking. It was almost robot-like. "Move more freely, Jethrek," Constant said.

Jethrek looked to him, confused. "Freely?"

"Your perception filter is walking in the same manner as a Cyberman," Constant explained, "Loosen up a bit."

"I will try," Jethrek replied. After a few seconds, his image was walking more naturally.

"That's better," Constant said, "Keep that up. We're almost there." When they arrived at Carousel Boutique, Constant peeked through the transparent front door to see if Rarity was in. Thankfully, she was there, and she was organizing sheets of cloth, trying to decide what to use as a base color for a new dress. "Rarity's in," Constant said, "Let's see if Sweetie Belle is in too." He opened the door, and a bell over it rang, catching Rarity's attention.

Rarity looked toward the front door to see who had entered. "Ah, welcome!" she greeted, catching Jethrek's attention more than Constant's. "Have you two come on business? Or perhaps you've come to purchase something for a special somepony?" Constant closed the door behind him after Jethrek entered, and looked outside to make sure no one in particular was watching close by. "Uhm...is something the matter?" Rarity asked with a concerned look on her face.

Constant looked to her. "Rarity, it's me. Constant."

"Wha---Oh!" Rarity said, "Hello again! I assume there have been no troubles since our last meeting?"

"Not really," Constant said, "Nothing we couldn't handle, anyway. Listen, is---"

"And who is your friend?" Rarity asked, walking to Jethrek. Then she noticed the way he, or rather, his perception filter image, was standing. "Hmm, you look tense. Perhaps a spot of chamomile tea will soothe your nerves."

"I do not require refreshment, thank you," Jethrek replied, his first attempt at non-militant conversation.

"Oh, please, I insist!" Rarity said, "I sometimes drink this tea to calm my nerves too, whenever I'm in a bind."

"Uhm...Rarity?" Constant said, "Jethrek won't be able to drink tea."

"Well then, what about you?" Rarity asked. Then, Constant's words sank in. "Did...Did you say...Jethrek?"

"Yes," Constant replied, "This is him."

"Greetings," Jethrek said.

Rarity looked at Jethrek, confused. "Uhm...You're certainly...different from the way Constant described you."

"Your confusion is most likely a result of the perception filter that I am using to hide my true appearance."

"Ah, I see," Rarity said, "Anyway, I apologize. You two came here for a reason, and I am hindering you from your...objective. Is there something you need from me?"

"Is your sister around, by chance?" Constant asked.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked, "What do you want with her?"

"Just a conversation," Constant replied, "We need to confirm something involving someone in the...higher-up."

"Higher-up?" Rarity asked, "What would Sweetie Belle have to do with someone in the higher-up?"

Constant sighed, "Okay. I didn't expect the questions to go this far. We have reason to believe that Sweetie Belle had a nightmare some time ago and that Princess Luna somehow found her way into it. Jethrek and I had nightmares recently, and we both saw Princess Luna in our nightmares too. If it was the result of a long-range telepathic link...then we're in trouble."

Rarity looked from Constant to Jethrek, then back to Constant. "When do you want to talk to her?"

"As soon as possible," Constant replied.

"Princess Luna must have entered our dreams for a very specific reason," Jethrek added, "We want to find out what that reason is."

"Uhm...very well," Rarity said, a little nervous, "but don't take too long with her. She'll be returning from school in about..." she looked at the clock "...three hours. You might want to come back then."

"Thank you," Constant said, bowing slightly, "Your assistance is appreciated."

"Don't thank me yet, Constant," Rarity replied, "Sweetie Belle was quite heartbroken when she heard the news about your arrival, and the fact that we had to keep everything you told us a secret. If she actually does agree to talk with you two, I suggest that you start by personally apologizing to her."

Constant nodded. "I will do just that."

"Very well," Rarity said, going back to organizing her cloth, "See you in three hours, then?"

"Three hours," Constant agreed, "We'll be here."

Rarity nodded. "Good. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to organize my materials before designing a new dress."

"Alright, we won't keep you busy then," Constant replied, turning toward the door, "Come on, Jethrek. Let's take a break while we wait."

"A well-deserved one after our earlier mission," Jethrek added.

Outside, on their way back to the Monitor, Constant had a slight smile on his face. "Well done," he said to Jethrek, "You kept your aggressive nature at bay while we spoke to her."

"It was easier than I anticipated," Jethrek replied, "and for some reason, that concerns me."

Constant looked to Jethrek as they walked. "Why?"

"I do not understand myself," Jethrek replied.

"Hmm, maybe we'd better check your internal systems when we get back to the Monitor," Constant said thoughtfully.

"I agree," Jethrek said.

Inside the Monitor, in the medical ward, Constant finished another sonic scan of Jethrek's brain. "Well, your brain mass has not increased anymore than it already has," he said, "I don't know, perhaps I'm missing something..."

"You have extensive information in the computers on this ship," Jethrek said, "A quick search should reveal what is causing these symptoms."

Constant sighed, "Yes...hang on..." He walked to a console and ran a search.

Jethrek turned the eye stalk of his open machine to face Constant. "Did you consider how extensive your knowledge was on Dalek biology before building this machine for me?" he asked.

"I knew enough to build the standard equipment, including the casing for your second brain," Constant replied, "Look, when I finally joined the ranks of the Gallifreyan temporal security forces, I came with majors in engineering, temporal mechanics, and history, and minors in a few medical subjects including xenobiology. I learned enough about the Dalek brain to correct all malfunctions in the second brain before I first woke you up in the stasis chamber, and the programming for it was easy to figure out." His last statement suddenly made him realize something. "Hmm...yes...the second brain...Jethrek, I need access to it."

"Why?" Jethrek asked.

"I need to see if it was affected by your nightmare," Constant replied, "I'm sure that it keeps records of its own?"

"Correct," Jethrek replied.

"Then I need to see if something happened during the time you had that nightmare," Constant explained, "Plus, I've got a strange feeling that if your second brain was damaged somehow, your own brain grew because it was compensating for whatever was lost."

Jethrek took time to think. What Constant suggested was logical, but at the same time, he could not believe that he was agreeing to it. "Scanning internal system," he said..."I will allow you to access the programming for my second brain." With that, he opened his suit to reveal himself. "I will instruct you on how to connect it to the computers."

It took about half an hour to make the connections. When they were done, Constant ran a translation program to decrypt the programming of the second brain. He surveyed it carefully. "I don't see anything wrong with the programming," Constant said, "Let's look at the recent record." He looked through the internal sensor records until he found the time index he was looking for. "Here it is...you went to sleep here when you started charging your machine...and...a little further...THERE! That's where the dream started. Let's see what happened with the other systems starting here..."

Jethrek observed the records until something caught his attention. "Stop." Constant did so. "Move back fifteen rels." When Constant reversed the record to the time Jethrek requested, Jethrek's eye widened for just a moment.

"What is wrong?" Constant asked.

"This is where the malfunction started," Jethrek replied, "Unfortunately, it cannot be corrected unless by an authorized medical or maintenance Dalek."

"So in other words, even I can't correct it?" Constant asked.

"Correct," Jethrek said, looking to Constant, "A discreet security code must be entered to allow authorized Daleks to make modifications, correct the programming, or replace hardware in this situation."

Constant sighed. "Is this type of malfunction fatal?"

"No," Jethrek replied.

"Well then, it looks like we have two options, Jethrek," Constant said, almost ready to give up on the current problem, "Either we find a way to crack the code...or you adapt to the malfunction somehow."

"The latter would be inconvenient for a Dalek," Jethrek stated, "The malfunction in question has to do with how my second brain regulates my behavior."

That caught Constant's interest. "Does it now?" he asked, looking at the charts again, "Jethrek, I think this relates to what Fluttershy was talking about."

Jethrek looked to Constant. "Explain."

"Fluttershy said that your race lacks the concepts of kindness and...well, friendship in general." Constant replied, "I believe that the second brain is proof of that, given that it's limiting the way you think."

"The programming of the second brain is vital to prevent deviation from a Dalek's objective," Jethrek argued, "It is necessary for the entire race."

"So I've noticed," Constant said, "So I've no---Wait..." Suddenly, an idea clicked in Constant's mind, "Jethrek, tell me, does the second brain also watch your natural brainwave patterns?"

"Yes," Jethrek replied.

"Hang on a second." Constant searched the records until he found what he needed. In a few moments, two bars showing wave charts appeared side-by-side. "Let's play the records again," he said. He played the records. One wave chart showed Jethrek's brain activity, while the other showed the second brain's activity. When it passed the point where Jethrek noticed the problem, Constant froze the charts..."Now this is interesting," he said, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Jethrek looked at the chart, and his eye widened again. "Continue playback," he said. Constant did so, and Jethrek watched as the two charts showed that after that moment, the second brain went back to normal operation, but his own brainwave patterns had changed slightly. "I am not looking forward to this meeting with Sweetie Belle," he stated.

"Why?" Constant asked.

Jethrek looked back to Constant. "It may confirm that this brainwave activity, and the increase in my brain mass, are a result of my biological brain trying to bypass portions of the second brain's programming. If this is the case...I may not be fit to return to the Daleks."

By Constant's observations, he could tell that Jethrek was actually afraid. He turned off the graphical displays and sighed. "Well, if that is the case, at least you'll have a chance to start a new life." He disconnected the second brain from the console. "I suggest you actually think about whether that is an advantage or disadvantage for you."

Jethrek closed his machine, and turned his eye stalk toward Constant, pondering why he would suggest an idea like that.

Author's Note

Part 2 in progress...

18: Nightmares (Pt 2)

WARNING! SPOILERS TO THE EPISODE "FOR WHOM THE SWEETIE BELLE TOILS" ARE PRESENT IN THIS CHAPTER! I RECOMMEND YOU WATCH THE EPISODE FIRST BEFORE YOU READ THIS!

Constant and Jethrek left the Monitor sometime later to go back to Carousel Boutique. It was seven minutes before Sweetie Belle would return from school. Constant was nervous. Knowing that Sweetie Belle was not happy when she and her friends heard about his crash was sure to make things a little difficult, if not a lot. "Mother always said that children are unpredictable," he thought to himself, "so who knows how she'll react when she sees us?"

Three minutes in, Constant and Jethrek arrived. Constant knocked, and Rarity opened the door for him. "Welcome back," she greeted, "You're early."

"We wanted to arrive as early as possible," Constant replied, "Jethrek and I came up with a list of questions for your sister."

"We wanted to make sure to leave a...good impression," Jethrek stated, taking note of something Constant had said prior to their leaving the Monitor, "We did not want to make it sound like an interrogation."

Rarity chuckled silently, remembering Constant's explanation about the Daleks. "Most certainly not," she agreed, "You don't want to frighten her."

"As far as we know, she didn't do anything wrong," Constant said, "except what caused her to have that nightmare in the first place, but I can already guess you know what that is."

Rarity nodded and then looked toward the front door again. "Here she comes. Should I stay for support?"

"If you wish," Constant replied.

"Actually, it would be beneficial if you did," Jethrek said, "If my perception filter malfunctions, Sweetie Belle might be frightened of my appearance."

At that moment, Sweetie Belle entered. "I'm home!" she called.

Rarity looked in her direction. "Welcome home, Sweetie. We have guests."

"Really? Who?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Before Rarity could answer, Constant spoke up, "Well, I'm sure your friend Spike will have told you and your friends about us by now."

Sweetie Belle's school bag dropped with a thump, as she realized who it was. "Constant and Jethrek?" she asked, half-surprised and half-annoyed. She walked to where they were. "What do they want with us?"

"We need information from you about something personal," Jethrek replied, as Rarity gave Sweetie a stern look about her tone.

Almost immediately, Sweetie Belle noticed the tonality in which Jethrek was speaking, so rather than react to the way Rarity was looking at her, she looked at Jethrek. "Uh...are you okay?" she asked.

Jethrek raised an eyebrow on the image of his perception filter. "Yes," he replied, "I am fine."

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow herself. "Are you sure? You sound like you---" Before she could finish that sentence, it dawned on her what Jethrek had said to her, "Wait, personal? What do you need to know?"

"About a nightmare you had," Jethrek replied.

"One in which you saw Princess Luna," Constant added.

"I...see," Sweetie Belle replied, a little nervous, "Uh...Rarity? Can I...uh...talk to them alone?"

Rarity looked to her, surprised. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you have some project you want to finish...or start," Sweetie Belle answered, "I'm sure I can handle myself here."

"Uhm...very well," Rarity said, getting a little nervous herself, "Just...don't be afraid to call me if you need...support." She walked away, respecting that Sweetie Belle wanted to have a private conversation.

When Sweetie Belle heard Rarity close the door to another room, she looked to Constant and Jethrek. "Okay, so why do you want to know about that nightmare?" she asked.

"Both of us had a nightmare earlier," Constant replied, "and Princess Luna was in both of them."

"Huh?" Sweetie Belle asked, "So what does that have to do with me? And how did you know that I had a nightmare too?"

"Did Spike mention that we buried probes deep under the ground to record history?" Constant asked.

"Yes, he did," Sweetie Belle replied, "I see...and I'm also guessing that your...probes also recorded that I went to Canterlot to fix a mistake and that Princess Luna met me there too?"

"That's right," Constant replied, "What exactly happened? Did you realize something was wrong?"

"Was your nightmare a...premonition of what would happen?" Jethrek added.

Sweetie Belle sighed, "It was, and it's my fault that I got that...what did you call it, Jethrek?

"A premonition," Jethrek replied.

"Okay, it's my fault I got that premonition in the first place," Sweetie Belle finished.

Constant and Jethrek looked at each other, then back to Sweetie Belle. "Would you care to tell us about that?" Constant asked.

"Okay," Sweetie Belle replied, "Where do you---Hey! Isn't this about your nightmares? Why do I have to tell you about mine? And why do I have to tell you about everything that happened before and after my nightmare?"

"We need to find out why Princess Luna appeared in our nightmares," Jethrek replied, "By hearing information related to your nightmare, we might be able to find a connection or something related."

Sweetie Belle sighed. "Okay...So it started with a play which Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and I were performing. Rarity had made the costumes for the performance. After the play, we wondered how we did...and the only good thing anyone seemed to notice was...the costumes, and that was it. I felt angry. I thought my sister had made the costumes too good so that the ponies watching the play would notice them, and not the performance." She looked down. "I was too angry to think that perhaps it was us. The next day, Rarity was scheduled to take a costume to Sapphire Shores, a pop star in Canterlot. I really wanted to get back at my sister...so I sabotaged the headdress so that it would fall apart."

"Rarity did not notice this?" Jethrek asked.

"She was already asleep when I did it," Sweetie Belle replied, "So, no, she didn't. When I was asleep sometime later, that's when the nightmare started. It started out fine until everything around me started to turn strange. Princess Luna was there, alright, and she showed me what really happened at a birthday party for me...and then I saw what would have happened if my sister had brought the headdress to Sapphire Shores in its current state, and it wasn't pretty. When I finally woke up...Rarity had already left for Canterlot."

"I'm guessing that you made it just in time to fix your mistake?" Constant asked.

"Not exactly," Sweetie Belle replied, "It was quite a rush, and I had to swipe the headdress from Rarity and...well, thank goodness Princess Luna was there to help me fix it..." She smiled a bit, "and add something that she knew would thrill Sapphire Shores."

Constant and Jethrek looked at each other, pondering..."So she appeared in your nightmare to help you correct your mistake...and see the error of your ways..."

"Yeah, that's about it," Sweetie Belle confirmed, "Also, in my nightmare...when I saw what would have happened to Rarity...I felt...sad...ashamed..."

"Guilty, perhaps?" Jethrek asked.

"I think so," Sweetie Belle said, "if that's how heavy it feels inside."

Constant and Jethrek were silent for a moment. Jethrek was the first to speak. "If she entered our nightmares, then she knows we are here."

"And she knows more about us, too," Constant added, and then his eyes widened, "And...our...universe..."

Sweetie Belle gulped. "Is...that bad?"

"Very bad," Constant replied, "Chances are, she'll probably send somepony to bring us to Canterlot..."

Sweetie Belle sighed, "I don't know how things like this are handled in Canterlot. It's a shame I don't have a time-traveling cutie mark."

"This is already a critical event, Sweetie Belle," Constant replied, "So nothing good would come of trying to change it. However, I appreciate your willingness to help."

"As do I," Jethrek replied, and a moment later, he had a slightly surprised look on his face, and Constant looked to him.

"Uhm...is something wrong?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"No," Jethrek said, "I just...never...said anything like that before."

"Surprises everywhere, I guess," Constant said, hoping not to turn this conversation into a big discussion about the Daleks, "Anyway, Sweetie Belle, you've helped us plenty with the information about and around the nightmare you had. We should go now."

"Yes," Jethrek agreed, "With the information you have given us, we may find a solution to our current situation."

"Wait," Sweetie Belle said, "You're going already?"

"I'm afraid so," Constant said as he walked toward the door, Jethrek following, "We don't belong in this universe, so it's best to limit contact while we find a way back home."

"Aww...and I wanted to see what you two really look like," Sweetie Belle said, disappointed.

Constant was two inches away from pushing the door open when he stopped. He sighed and turned to Sweetie Belle. "Don't get your hopes up," he said, "My knowledge of events in this world...in this universe, even, are limited. All I know is what I've seen as I traveled back in time to bury time probes, and what I read from the data in those time probes. And, as Spike may have told you, I don't travel beyond now, so I don't know what will happen in the future, and I'm not even sure that a nightmare will tell me correctly. So, chances are, you may or may not see me and Jethrek as we truly appear."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "I understand."

Rarity came out of the room she was working in. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

Sweetie Belle looked to her. "Everything's okay, Rarity. We're actually done."

Rarity looked to Constant and Jethrek. "Did you get what you needed from her?"

"Yes," Jethrek replied.

"She was indeed helpful," Constant added, "She answered all of our questions and a few more."

"Very well," Rarity said, "Sweetie Belle, did you feel uncomfortable at any point when they asked something?"

"Well, a little at first," Sweetie Belle answered, "But when they said why they were asking, everything was fine."

"Good," Rarity said, assured that no harm was done.

Constant gave a little smile as he pushed the door open, letting Jethrek go first. He looked back to Sweetie Belle and Rarity. "Again, thank you both for your help."

"You're welcome, Constant," Rarity replied.

"I hope your problem is solved soon," Sweetie Belle said, "Good luck!"

"We'll take all the luck we can get," Constant replied, "Goodbye."

"Bye!" Sweetie Belle replied, waving her hoof as Constant finally closed the door.

Jethrek waited for Constant, and they headed back toward Golden Oaks Library. Along the way, Jethrek looked up to find that some pegasi were moving clouds in the sky. He stopped for a moment. "The laws of physics in this universe seem to be more expanded than in ours."

Constant looked to Jethrek and looked where he was looking. "I see what you mean." When they reached the library and went inside the Monitor, Constant sat down in a chair, turning off his perception filter. "I don't think we should risk going there directly, because we take two possible risks: One, we might be seen as intruders, and end up getting arrested, and two, if Princess Luna already told her subjects, and her sister Princess Celestia about us...then the information might have already reached the public. "

"So what do you recommend we do?" Jethrek asked, turning off his perception filter mid-sentence.

"There is only one thing we can do," Constant replied, "We must find her again...in our nightmares."

Jethrek's travel machine jolted slightly backward. "In our nightmares?!"

"I don't see any other options, Jethrek," Constant said, "Unless you have an idea that you know won't expose us further, and won't cost lives."

Jethrek paused for a few seconds. "I do not. Being as unfamiliar with this universe as you are, I do not see any other course of action besides what you suggest.

"Well, we have plenty of time to spare before anyone goes to bed out there," Constant said, "So we might as well prepare for it."

"I concur," Jethrek said.

Constant typed into the console. "There. I've set a timer to go off once the appropriate time to sleep has struck." He looked at Jethrek. "You have some time to practice your maneuverability and watch the probe logs. I will watch the logs as well in the lab while I work on something I've been holding off for a while."

"Understood," Jethrek replied.

A few minutes later, Constant went to the lab and opened the probe records in the computer system. He had them projected in a holographic display as he brought out some raw materials and his sonic and laser screwdrivers. Looking at the records, he started drawing a plan to build something at another console. He stopped for a moment and sighed. "How am I going to face her again?" he thought to himself, "If she revealed what she saw to her sister...and everyone else in the higher-up...everyone's going to have their eyes on me...watching my every move, making sure I don't break any of their laws, most likely...And then...No. I'm not going to let that happen again!" He gripped his laser screwdriver tightly. "I'm not going to let this ship fall in the wrong hands! I'll get us home if it's the last thing---" His thought process was interrupted when he smelled something burning. He looked to his left to find that he had burned a black circle on the wall behind the computer. A closer smell made him look down to find that he had also burned off the tip of the nail on his left index finger. "That was close," he thought, "I can't let my emotions control me like that...I'd better start working on this while I still have the hours."

Hours passed. Constant was halfway through cutting out the pieces for what he was building when the timer he set finally reached zero. He looked up at the beeping console and pressed a button to stop the alert. "Bedtime," he thought to himself as he put the materials away. Once that was done, he walked out to find the door to the large empty chamber opening. "Turning in, Jethrek?" Constant asked.

"Affirmative," Jethrek replied as he came out, "I request you check my primary brain before we sleep."

Constant smiled a little. "I can understand your concern there," he said, leading him into the lab, "Open up." Jethrek opened his travel machine, and Constant scanned him again. "No change," he said.

"Then I shall go to my charging port and sleep," Jethrek stated.

"Alright," Constant replied, "That being said, I shall also turn in at once. The sooner we make contact, the better." He went to

his personal quarters, changed into a set of sleepwear, and lay on the bed. "Actually, the sooner we actually resolve the situation, the better," he thought to himself as he fell asleep.

Constant found himself running around a secret storage area with a key in hand. Not many things had a keyhole in them. There were boxes, chests, and other things, but none of them fit the key he had.

"Hurry up, Lieutenant!" called out his squad leader, "The Daleks will be shooting the ground above us in a few minutes!"

"I am quite aware that time is the last thing we have on our hands, sir!" Constant replied, "I'm looking as quickly as I---" He was stopped by the sight of a keyhole on a bullet-topped cylindrical construct. "I think I found it." He put the key in, and it fit. He turned the key, and the door on the construct jolted away from him before it opened. "This is it, sir!" He looked inside. "It's a TARDIS! It's not of a design I've seen before, but it looks like it has the basic layout."

"Speculate later, lieutenant," his squad leader replied, "We found what we came for. Now we have to get it out of the battle zone!" He ordered each person in his squadron to take positions in the control room. "And lieutenant," he said to Constant, "go down to the engineering section, and make sure we are fit to fly."

"Yes sir!" Constant replied as he ran out of the control room. He went to a console in the hallway and got a map of the interior so he wouldn't wander around aimlessly. This was, after all, a dire situation, and the Time Lord council did not want the Daleks to get their hands on this TARDIS. "Why this one in particular?" he thought to himself as he ran, "Was it custom-built? Or is there something so dangerous about it that they had to lock it away?" He put his questions aside for a later time. "I've got to get to the engineering section right away to---"

All of a sudden, he realized what was going on. He stopped, only to see another of himself running in the direction he was going. "Oh no," he sighed, "Not this event!" He looked around. "This is it! Where is she?!" He ran in a different direction this time, to where the lab he set up was. It was in the same mess he remembered in the first time he entered it. "Perfect spot to talk, I suppose," he said to himself. It was also dark inside, so his shadow was projected by the light entering the room. He looked around. "Come on," he said, "I know you're here too, Princess Luna. Show yourself."

"I'm here," her voice said as he saw her shadow in the light of the doorway.

He turned around, seeing her once again. "We meet again," he said, "And unfortunately at a critical moment, too."

"I know," Princess Luna replied, "I sensed that you felt uncomfortable seeing me when I first entered your nightmare."

"Yes," Constant said, "I was hoping to keep our presence secret from everyone, including you. Now that you know that we're in your world..." He looked at a control panel, which surprisingly to him, had changed to the way it looked after he cleaned and modified it. Looking around further, he found that the scenery had changed to present-day conditions. He sat down in a chair and sighed. "Now that you know that we're in your world, I'm scared to think that you might have told Princess Celestia and just about everyone else in the higher up about what you saw in our nightmares."

"I see," the dark alicorn said, "However, even I see that this is not the only thing that troubles you."

"No doubt you've seen my world," Constant said, "The Time War...my career, everything, right?"

"Allow me to put you at ease," Princess Luna said, transforming a chair so she could take a seat too, "I did not tell anyone about you and that...violent creature yet."

"Violent crea---you mean Jethrek?" Constant asked, and Princess Luna nodded. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you continued to keep it a secret. Twilight Sparkle and her friends already know about me, and they're in the circle of secrecy as well."

"I know that," Princess Luna replied, smiling slightly, "They were among the ponies in your last nightmare. As for keeping your secret," she looked to Constant directly now, "Are you absolutely certain that's what you want? After all, help comes to those who ask for it in desperate times."

"You're saying you'd be willing to help me get back to my universe?" Constant asked, surprised, but hiding it. Deep inside, he was punching himself in the gut for not thinking it was a good idea in the first place.

"Of course," Princess Luna replied, nodding, "My sister and I have the power to send something or someone to another dimension."

Constant sighed, heavily weighing the odds. "I don't know," he said at last, "I mean, you would need that power to help defend your civilization against a major threat, the likes of which we've seen already."

"Are you rejecting my offer?" Princess Luna asked, "This may be the only chance you get."

"As I said," Constant replied, "I don't know. Besides, there are other things I'm concerned about. First, the quantum signature of this universe. It is so close to that of mine, that I don't think your magic could distinguish it. Secondly, I encountered Discord some time ago, and he changed something in the timeline just to test me. If he found out about it, who knows what other being knows about it too? Changelings, perhaps? Anyone could be watching from the outside, and we wouldn't even know it!"

The mention of Discord was enough to worry Princess Luna. "You speak a valid point," she stated, "However, does that not give you enough reason to leave sooner rather than later?"

"There's no guarantee that doing it sooner rather than later will work," Constant replied, "And even if we did try, how do we know no one will see or hear something if it doesn't work?"

Jethrek was fighting a skirmish against an army on a planet that the Daleks would soon claim. The battle was in the favor of the Daleks, and once the last soldier was executed, Jethrek's team leader reported to their ship. "This was an easy skirmish," Jethrek stated, "These soldiers had weapons that could not match those of superior Dalek technology."

"Colonization will begin in 1200 rels," the team leaders said, "Units 1376-Alpha, 974-Gamma, and 1478-Epsilon, locate cities and send coordinates to the fleet to send laser barrages on the surface."

"I obey," Jethrek replied before the other two Daleks who received orders replied with the same sentence in succession. He left the area and scanned for metals used by this world to build living structures and other buildings. When he found one of the cities, he sent the coordinates, and laser fire shot from the sky and leveled the city. Once that was done, Jethrek flew to the scene and checked for survivors. A quick scan showed nobody was alive. "All life eradicated in this location," Jethrek reported, "I am moving to find the next settlement."

"Proceed, Unit 1376-Alpha," replied his team leader via radio.

When he found another concentration of those metals, he again, flew in that direction. On the way, he saw three Daleks from other groups going in his direction, and it became clear why when laser fire shot out from ahead of them. "Exterminate! Exterminate!" Jethrek called out, and the four Daleks fired their weapons back at their attackers. It was a group of ten soldiers, two of them only young enough to be teenagers. Jethrek's travel machine was hit at least six times, but the hits were too weak to do more damage than put burn marks on the body. Eight of the soldiers were finally hit, each one screaming in pain as their skeletons showed momentarily before they fell dead on the ground. The last adult soldier was hit in the arm, which had armor only strong enough to prevent the shot from being lethal As a result, he was weakened, barely able to stand. Two of the Daleks cornered him at a rock, while Jethrek and the fourth one did the same with the teenager whose weapon was rendered useless by laser fire hitting it.

"Why are you doing this?" the teenager asked, scared, "Why couldn't you have come in the name of peace?"

"Daleks do not declare peace with inferior beings," Jethrek stated.

"Inferior?!" the adult soldier wheezed, "How dare you? Are you really that heartless to slaughter us like...like animals?!"

"Those who submit to the Daleks can live to become slaves," said one of the Daleks cornering him.

"Why?!" the adult asked, "We had a home! We had a life! Every one of us! Why must you take them away from---" Before he could finish his sentence, he was blasted by one of the Daleks cornering him, and finally died.

The teenager finally had the courage to stand and slam his now useless laser rifle against the Dalek next to Jethrek. Jethrek fired his weapon at him, and he fell, sprawled on the ground. He was still alive, but only just, and his eyes shifted between the two Daleks standing before him. "You Daleks," he said quietly and weakly, "are monsters."

Jethrek paused, looking down at the teenager's face. "Daleks conquer and destroy!" he said, and the other three Daleks repeated that sentence in sequence as the teenager's eyes fully closed, and his life stopped. However, it didn't stop there. The sentence kept repeating over and over again, which confused Jethrek. He looked to the other three Daleks to find that they were indeed the ones repeating it, still in sequence. "Silence!" he said, "We must return to our assigned duties." But they did not stop. Three more times, the sentence was spoken before they all turned their eye stalks to him. "Return to your assigned duties!" Jethrek demanded, "Obey! Obey!" The three Daleks now chanted the sentence over and over again in unison. "Unit 1376-Alpha to team leader! Emergency! Three Daleks malfunctioning in global coordi---" He was cut off mid-sentence by the leader's voice repeating the same sentence in unison with the three Daleks in front of him. It then became clear. He was having another nightmare.

"You were made only to hate, Jethrek," said a familiar voice. His eye stalk snapped to look at the adult soldier, but in his place, lay Constant, in the same position as the soldier, and in the same condition. "Does this mean you hate your own race too?"

Jethrek shot back, remembering hearing those words before. "Where is Princess Luna?!" he demanded.

After a long discussion, Constant and Princess Luna had finally come to an agreement. At a predetermined time, Constant would come to her and Princess Celestia so they could help him and Jethrek get home. But between now and that time, Constant would have to study the way the laws of physics in this universe differed from those in his own. At the end of the conversation, Constant sat down on a chair in the lab. "So anyway, let me see if I understand why you came to our nightmares in the first place," he said, "You're saying that the guilt, sadness, and...fear in us was strong enough for you to sense that it qualified for you to show yourself to us?"

"That is correct," Princess Luna said, "Those emotions, suppressed or not, can lead to a nightmare. I can see, however, that there are some things that you would prefer to deal with yourself, so I will leave them to you."

"Thank you," Constant replied.

At that moment, Princess Luna looked up, surprised. "Your companion is suffering in his nightmare," she said, a worried look in her eyes, "It's hurting him, but it's strange...I'm not sure if he's aware of the pain."

"I'd better wake up, then," Constant said.

"You are not going to accompany me?" Princess Luna asked.

Constant looked at her. "While the idea is tempting, I think his nightmare is also linked to something that happened to him in the real world and may be happening again. I need to check on him."

Princess Luna nodded. "Very well, but hurry." She disappeared from view, and at this point, Constant had enough willpower to wake up from the dream...

...which he did. He rushed off his bed and into the corridor towards the lab. Recalling what he had seen of Jethrek after they both woke up, he was confident that the nightmare he was having now (if he was still having it, that is) would affect him further. Who knew? Perhaps there was more going on behind Jethrek's nightmare than the increase of his brain mass. Either way, Constant was worried about what would happen to Jethrek if it did not go unchecked. At the same time, he wondered why he was worried about Jethrek's health at all, despite their past.

When he reached the lab, he heard rapid beeping coming from Jethrek's travel machine. He ran to him and activated the console next to him which was connected to the charging station. A warning symbol was flashing on the screen, showing that a part of Jethrek's second brain was going critical. He checked to see which part on a diagram he made from an internal scan when he first revived Jethrek after their fight. The part that was going critical was a vital component needed to operate the behavioral regulator in the second brain, and since Constant did not know which part of the behavioral regulator it was, he felt there was nothing he could do but try to wake Jethrek up. He sent a signal to the travel machine, which opened it up, and he saw Jethrek with his eye shut tight, and his tendrils trembling violently. "Jethrek!" Constant said, "Wake up!...Can you hear me?" There was no response. All he could do now was watch him and the console until the situation was over. Moments later, the beeping from Jethrek's travel machine sped up and raised in pitch. "Oh for heaven's sake!" Constant said out loud, "JETHREK!"

Jethrek fled from the location he was in when the confusion started. In the distance, he could hear every Dalek still chanting that same sentence. "This is unbecoming of the Dalek mind," he thought to himself out loud, "Why is that sentence being chanted continuously in my nightmare?!"

"Perhaps that is a question that you must answer yourself," said a voice behind him. He looked to find Princess Luna lying on the ground in a partly-contemplative posture. "I know almost nothing about your universe...Jethrek. I do know, however, that you and Constant want to get home. However, I do not think that is the reason you are having this nightmare." She listened to the chanting. "Is this true of your race?"

"Yes," Jethrek replied simply, "Why does it matter?"

"Perhaps this nightmare is a message sent to you from deep inside yourself," Princess Luna replied, "What do you think it is saying?"

Before Jethrek could answer, he heard another Dalek yell "EXTERMINATE!" Jethrek looked to his left and screamed as that Dalek fired its weapon at him. But instead of his travel machine being destroyed, it deflected the shot back at the attacking Dalek, whose own travel machine exploded from the front as he screamed. Jethrek's travel machine seemed to change from the standard design to the one which Constant had built for him.

"I do not know!" Jethrek replied after taking in what just happened, "We are not created to have nightmares, especially one of this magnitude!"

Princess Luna raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you need to look back and think about it."

"What more is there to think about besides my past?" Jethrek asked, "I followed orders. I exterminated oppressors. I helped conquer worlds for the Dalek Empire. That is what I was created for."

"While that is true, Jethrek," Princess Luna stated, "do you ever think about what you were being denied?" Jethrek looked straight at her now. "Perhaps I should make it clear." She proceeded to show Jethrek his own recent past, starting with when he woke up in the life-support container which Constant had made for him first. From there, it went on to when Jethrek escaped because he didn't know what happened to Constant, being rescued by Fluttershy, and talking with her later on. "Constant may not want to admit it," Princess Luna went on, "but it was the kind part of him that told him to make the travel machine you use now, even though he had his doubts."

"He did it out of kindness?" Jethrek asked, half with disbelief and half with curiosity.

"Yes," Princess Luna replied, smiling.

"Daleks have no concept of kindness," Jethrek stated. Princess Luna raised an eyebrow, her smile still on. Jethrek looked at her and saw that she was trying to tell him something. Jethrek looked at Fluttershy in the memory she was showing him. "Daleks have no concept of kindness because we are not created to be kind. Our second brains have behavioral regulators which keep us focused on our objectives, and prevent actions unbecoming of Daleks---" Then it struck him. "You are saying that these nightmares are being caused by the behavioral regulators?"

"I do not know," Princess Luna replied, watching as the scenery not relevant to the memories she was showing Jethrek changed from the planet the Daleks were conquering to somewhere in Gallifrey during the Time War, "But it does feel like some part of you is calling out to be released. If that is the case, then you are not letting it out, and it is causing you pain."

"How?" Jethrek asked.

Princess Luna looked at Jethrek. "Only you can answer that. If you can not find the answer, then the problem cannot be solved."

Jethrek was groaning in pain as Constant tried to gain access to the behavioral regulator. He found out that some part of Jethrek himself was trying to fight against the second brain, and he was worried about what would happen if either side won. "Either way," he thought to himself, "Jethrek is in for a psychological crisis!" He made a quick sigh as he scanned Jethrek himself and used the sonic screwdriver on the second brain to try and keep the materials in the behavioral regulator from fusing with each other. "Did this all start when his first travel machine overloaded?!" Constant said aloud, "No wonder his brain grew! It's trying to adapt because it lost it's connection with the second brain. Twice!" Looking at the scanner, he found that Jethrek's brain had grown another nine percent. "Oh, Princess Luna, I hope you can help him before his brain grows too big for his body to handle!"

Jethrek felt as if something was straining inside him, trying to push away something else, but the something else was coming in. "What--What is going on?! I am beginning to see beyond rational Dalek beliefs!"

At that moment, Princess Luna's look of worry and waiting changed to a smile. "You have found the answer."

Jethrek turned to face Princess Luna completely. "See beyond?!" At this moment, the continuous chanting, which was still heard despite the change of scenery, started to quiet down, and the atmosphere started to calm.

Princess Luna looked up toward the sky. "I believe it is time for you to wake up." She disappeared from view.

"WAIT!" Jethrek called. He looked around and saw everything starting to disappear too. "Help!" he called out, as he felt the ground beneath him give way. He started to fly away from the void approaching him. Ahead, he found more scenery fading away. He looked around inside the travel machine to find something to help him escape from this nightmare. Then it occurred to him. "Signal for help!" He felt for the emergency transmitter in his machine, opened the flip cover, and pressed the button hard. Then..it all seemed to happen at once. His vision blurred as he saw a bright light flashing before him.

Jethrek's second brain sparked violently in the area where the behavioral regulator was. "NO!" Constant yelled as Jethrek himself screamed in pain. The sparking went on for ten more seconds as Jethrek's grab arms flailed weakly.

"I am in pain!" Jethrek yelled.

"Hold on Jethrek!" Constant said. He checked the operating system to find error messages coming nonstop. Constant typed quickly and tried to override the behavioral regulator programming, but nothing he did worked. With a final loud pop, the second brain stopped sparking altogether, leaving Jethrek to groan in relief. Constant looked at the operating system link-up on the console and found that the second brain was controlling something inside the suit. It wasn't directly connected, but rather remote-controlled. He used a magnifying tool to look inside Jethrek's travel machine at the appropriate angle to examine the second brain. Tiny nanoprobes were working to repair the damaged parts, and clean up the mess. They were also cleaning and repairing Jethrek's organic material. He looked closer to see if the behavioral regulator was being fixed, but it was not. Apparently seeing it as a lost cause, the nanoprobes were instead taking parts from it and using them to repair other vital parts. "So, the nanoprobes in his system actually clung to the second brain when I extracted it," he thought to himself, "Thank you, Princess Luna."

Jethrek groaned as he slowly opened his eye. "What...happened?" he asked, "Where...am I?"

"You're awake now, Jethrek," Constant replied, "You're still in the Monitor's lab." He sighed. "The behavioral regulator malfunctioned...and it blew itself out trying to regain control."

Jethrek looked down. "If I was still among fellow Daleks, they would consider this an unacceptable loss. If they could not repair the behavioral regulator, I would be taken out of service."

"Well, since I cannot repair the behavioral regulator," Constant replied, "you'll have to adapt to your new situation."

Jethrek's eye squinted slightly as it turned to Constant. "I am aware of that," he said.

"How do you feel?" Constant asked, scanning Jethrek with the appropriate scanner.

"Weak," Jethrek replied, "but if a Dalek with all the necessary equipment felt this way, he would fully recover in 360 kilorels."

Constant looked at him..."Five days, huh?" he asked, "Would he need any special treatment within that time?"

"No," Jethrek replied, relaxing his eye, "It would take that time approximately to recover without treatments."

"I see," Constant said, taking this information into account. He finished the scan. "Well, all in all, your brain mass has grown by 20 percent. I can only guess that this happened due to you being disconnected from your second brain twice. If I'm not mistaken, your organic system must have been trying to replace what it was missing by itself."

"Perhaps," Jethrek said, contemplating the idea.

"So, how did your chat with Princess Luna go?" Constant asked.

Jethrek's tendrils quivered a little before he answered. "I...do not know. Usually, I would have felt insulted by what she was suggesting...Seeing beyond Dalek beliefs...But in that moment, when I gave in, everything that made the nightmare what it was started to diminish. I do not understand why."

Constant could not help but smile now. "Maybe another talk with Sweetie Belle might help." Jethrek looked to him as he walked to a nearby console. "Then again," Constant went on, typing in something, "maybe you're taking your first real step into a new life."

"New life?" Jethrek asked.

Constant turned to Jethrek again. "Jethrek, you've been living in the confines of that behavioral regulator for...I don't know how long now, but now that you don't have it anymore, you are free to make a wider variety of decisions than what it was allowing you to make in the first place."

Jethrek actually recognized his own fear at these words. "What if I still wish to return to my own people?" he asked.

"Then I won't stop you," Constant said, "If you still want to return to your own people, I'll even help you get to them."

There was a long pause...

Finally, Jethrek closed his travel machine. "Either way, I will have to explore the potential of this new life."

"Exactly, Jethrek, " Constant said, smiling, "I'll let you rest now. I'm going to talk with Princess Luna via isomorphic communication. I think it's fair to let her know that the situation is resolved."

"Agreed," Jethrek said, "Tomorrow, I will download schematics for a self-charging power cell. You need only modify one of the power cells which you already constructed."

"That will be helpful," Constant agreed as he walked out of the lab. As he walked down the corridor to the control room, he thought about what had transpired. With everything that was going on, and going to happen, he told himself that he would have to be patient with himself as well as the research he would have to do. Getting back to his universe was not going to happen sooner than later, but that was something he and Jethrek would have to live with. If any one thing was absolutely certain to him about this situation, it was that he and Jethrek were going to get an adventure out of it all.

Author's Note

Oh yeah, Jethrek's going to be having the time of his life as the story progresses...
Also, to date THIS is now the longest chapter in the story. I'm not sure if they're going to keep getting longer or not. This was, after all, a two parter.

Next chapter: Forbidden Sorrows

19: Forbidden Sorrows (Pt 1)

Princess Luna stood on a balcony at Canterlot Castle. She was contemplating what she had seen of Constant and Jethrek. She had not been able to help them solve all of their problems, and it was not just out of respect for privacy. Since she had never been in their universe, she wouldn't have been able to help them as much as she helped Sweetie Belle. She explained all of this and their plan to Princess Celestia, who could only sympathize with her. After an hour and a half had passed, she turned back, intent on taking a nap, when she saw light flickering in front of her. It soon shaped itself to Costant's perception filter image. "Can you see me?" he asked, "Princess Luna, this is Constant. I'm using my perception filter image to contact you. Can you see me?"

"I can," she replied, turning to face the projection completely, "I assume your companion is safe?"

"For the most part," Constant replied, "but he lost his behavioral regulator in the process of waking up. Don't ask. It would not be a description you'd want to keep in your head. For a minimal description, it was made to limit his thoughts and keep him from doing things which his race would not find acceptable."

Princess Luna nodded. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Constant asked.

"I sensed that you were still troubled by your own past," she replied..

"Ah," Constant said, "I see...Well, honestly...I don't know. So much has---" he stopped when he heard a rush of wind outside, and the room he was in shook lightly. "Uh, stand by," he said. When he walked to the entrance door to see what had happened, the isomorphic projection showed only the tip of the tail of his perception filter avatar due to the visual range of the communication system he was using.

Princess Luna tilted her head slightly to the left, wondering what was happening. "Were you discovered?" she asked.

"No, thankfully," Constant replied, coming back into view. "According to my sensor logs, that would have been Rainbow Dash, I think that's her name, flying into the library." He turned to look at Princess Luna again. "Where was I?"

"You were talking about your current state of well being," Princess Luna reminded him

Constant's eyebrows raised slightly. "That's right. As I was saying, so much has happened, even before I came here that I can't get over all of it at once."

"Understandable," Princes Luna stated. She paused for a few seconds. "I told my sister about your... situation. She agreed to secrecy as well."

Constant nodded. "Thank you, your majesty."

"Please," she said, "'Princess Luna' is acceptable to me."

"So noted," Constant said, "Alright, I'm going to sign off now. I'm actually going to send more probes back in time further than I already did. I think going to the beginning would be beneficial because I only started a thousand years ago. I'm telling you this now so neither you or your sister will worry about my activities."

Princess Luna smiled. "Ah yes, your quest to preserve the natural flow of events."

"Yes," Constant replied, "and again, thank you for your assistance." Princess Luna nodded. "Good day, Princess Luna."

"Good day, Constant," Princes Luna replied before the isomorphic projection faded.

Constant sighed as he finished programming several more time probes for use farther back in time than he did before. Jethrek came into the control room, and went to a console to to extend the search parameters for a way back home. Constant was concerned. "Jethrek, what are you doing? You should be resting."

"I have rested long enough," Jethrek replied, "I will not stand around doing nothing for the remaining 290 kilorels."

"Well, you still need to give yourself time to adjust to your new conditions," Constant pointed out.

Jethrek snapped his eye stalk toward him. "I have had to adjust to new conditions twice before. Nothing fatal will happen if I start working now." He looked to the holographic screen at the console Constant was working at. "I see you are planning to bury more time probes. I will assist you."

Constant looked down, worried. "Fine. You can observe the probe activity while I bury them."

"No," Jethrek spoke back, "I will help you bury them."

"Jethrek, I am not playing games with you," Constant snapped.

"Neither am I," Jethrek replied, "I do not wish to remain stationary during recovery. If we work together, we can..." He paused abruptly.

"We can what?" Constant asked, looking up at him.

Jethrek's eye stalk looked slightly right, slightly left, then straight back at Constant within a second. "We can get the work done faster."

Constant raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Is there something you are not telling me, Jethrek?"

"No," Jethrek replied. At this moment, if Pinkie Pie were here, she might as well have been counting the seconds for a nonexistent staring contest.

"Sounds like you're in more of a hurry to get back than before," Constant said finally, "We cannot rush this, Jethek. We need a solid plan, which we do not have." Jethrek's eye stalk shifted up momentarily. Constant walked up to him, and he faced Jethrek through the eye stalk for a few seconds, making Jethrek back up slightly. "Alright, Jethrek, you win." he said, "I'll let you help me."

"Good," Jethrek replied, "Then I shall prepare a console for probe observation."

"Okay," Constant said. He gave himself a moment to think before he spoke again. Jethrek was definitely hiding something, and there was no way to tell for certain what it was, especially with the fact that he no longer had a behavioral regulator. The only possibility that fact could imply was that Jethrek was hiding an emotional state, most likely fear or sadness. While Jethrek's attitude at the moments Constant just witnessed also supported that possibility, as it was common in many life forms, it was still not enough. "But listen," he went on, "At the first sign of trouble, I'm sending you back to your charging station. Is that clear?"

"I comprehend fully," Jethrek replied.

"Alright," Constant said. He did a calculation in his head as he worked. "I'm almost done here. We'll start in about three kilorels."

"Understood," Jethrek said. He went to another and brought up the display interface for setting up and retrieving data from time probes.

Twilight came downstairs a few minutes after organizing her notes. She saw Rainbow Dash looking out the window nearest to the false tree branch, which was the Monitor. Looking at the clock, Twilight realized that she had been there for over an hour now. "Have you been looking at the Monitor for the past hour, Rainbow Dash?" she asked, startling her a bit with the first few words.

Rainbow Dash folded her wings back in. "Uh, heh-heh...Yeah," she admitted nervously, "I have been."

"Well it's a good thing you were doing that in here rather than outside," Twilight said, with a half-deadpanned look.

Rainbow Dash could only flinch, seeing Twilight's point. If anyone else had seen her doing that, chances are her reputation would have changed dramatically. "Still, what's Constant doing in there?"

"Searching for a way home," Twilight replied.

"That's it?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow, "That's all he's doing in there?"

Twilight closed the book she was reading and looked to Rainbow Dash again. "It isn't really our business, Rainbow. He wanted us to keep his secret and go on with our lives as if we never met him unless he actually needs help. Don't you remember talking about that with Spike, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle?"

Rainbow dash sighed. "Yeah, I remember. Still, time travel sounds so cool." Her face brightened up a bit and she poked her
head out the window hole she was looking through. "Maybe I can---" She was cut off by a quick warbling sound followed by the Monitor fading as it shifted through time. Shocked, she turned her head back inside. "AWW!" she groaned, "There went my chance to meet him in person!"

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, looking to her.

"He just left in his timeship!" Rainbow Dash answered, "I can't believe my luck!"

Twilight looked back at her book. "He'll come back. He probably went to correct a time paradox, or something."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Yeah, without somepony to go with him."

"Uh, actually," Twilight pointed out, "he does have someone going with him."

Rainbow Dash looked to her. "Who?"

"That...Dalek, I think his species is called," Twilight replied, looking up as she thought about it, "His name is Jethrek. I think Constant made a travel machine for him to replace his old one."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Why would he do that? Aren't...Time Lords and Daleks sworn enemies?"

"They are, from what I've heard," Twilight said, "I think it's Constant's way of gaining Jethrek's trust so he can cooperate and not try to kill him."

"Oh, okay," Rainbow Dash said, seeing how it would make sense, "Anyway, I'm going to go out and practice some more maneuvers. Wonderbolts training is getting tougher."

"Alright," Twilight said, "good luck."

Rainbow Dash nodded a thanks and bolted out just as Spike came down and greeted the Cutie Mark Crusaders in for Twilight time.

Constant and Jethrek were halfway through their trip setting up probes. These new probes also had current data in them to help calculate what events they were recording lead to events further into the future. Everything was going smoothly until now. According to information Constant read, the location they were at right now was soon to be a dragon settlement. In fact, the dragons in question were going to be there within five minutes. However, Jethrek did not seem to be concentrating entirely on the task at hand. Every so often, Constant saw him standing stationary, not even moving his arms. "Jethrek?" he said, "Jethrek! We need to hurry!"

Jethrek's eye stalk jerked to look at Constant, "Yes, sir," he said, and sent the signal to the probe so it would dig. The probe dug
down quickly until it reached the appropriate depth. "The probe is transmitting the confirmation signal," Jethrek reported.

"Alright," Constant said. Then he heard the sound of dragon roars in the distance. "Jethrek, get inside now! I'll finish replacing the soil!"

"Affirmative!" Jethrek replied, turning and rushing back inside the Monitor.

Constant replaced the soil quickly, making sure there was no evidence that a possible excavation was taking place. He pounded the ground hard with his shovel to make sure the density of the dirt was the same all around. When he saw the shadows of several dragons approaching, he sprinted back to the Monitor, and typed quickly into the navigational console. When he started the temporal drive, the cylindrical timeship disappeared moments before the dragons landed, and since it was disguised as a boulder next to a pile of boulders, it seemed to them like their landing caused the pile to collapse, which it did when the Monitor faded.

The rest of the trip ranged with stops that were almost as eventful as what had happened there, with Jethrek seemingly distracted at times. In between stops, Constant would take a break and continue working on the unknown number of building projects he had been working on. Jethrek always wondered what it was Constant was working on. Several possibilities came to mind, one being the stun weapon that Constant promised him. When they reached the last time and location they would need to go to, which was where and when Constant started setting up probes by himself when Jethrek still did not have his new travel machine, he did not have to set up a new probe, but he did have to collect the last probe moments before the very first one would arrive. Luckily for Constant, he landed the Monitor exactly where it needed to be so he would collect the probe directly from the entrance door. Once he finished replacing the dirt, he set a course back to Golden Oaks Library about two and a half hours after they left.

Rainbow Dash had finished training for the day, and was taking a break sitting on a cloud above Ponyville, looking at Golden Oaks Library through a pair of binoculars. "When is he coming back?" she thought to herself. Despite the agreement not to dig into Constant's activities, her curiosity got the better of her. Not even her dream to join the Wonderbolts could overcome this. "Come on, come on!" she whispered to herself. After a few seconds more, she sighed, and put her binoculars down. "I should be training more, not staring at the library for the slim chance that Constant's time machine will come in sooner than later."

She stood up and prepared to fly away when she heard the slight whooshing sound that the Monitor made whenever it arrived or departed. She quickly grabbed her binoculars again and looked through them to see the extra branch on the tree once again. "Finally!" she thought, "Now to see if he'll---" She saw blue light inside the library. "What's he doing now?!" She dropped from the cloud and let her wings spread out so she could fly straight to the library. Her landing, however, ended up making her skid on the ground and roll end-over-end until she reached the entrance, as she was in quite a hurry to find out what was going on. Shaking off the dizzy spell, she looked up to see Constant's avatar being projected in front of Twilight.

"And I just wanted to make sure that---" Constant was cut off when he heard Rainbow Dash crashing into the library. He looked at her for a few seconds. "Rainbow Dash, I assume?" he asked.

Rainbow Dash stood up, holding a hoof on the right side of her forehead, "Yeah, that's me," she said, smiling despite the pain she was feeling all over. It was not much, as she had not broken any bones or suffered any injury of equivalent or more severe nature. "So you're Constant, huh?"

Constant raised an eyebrow. "You came rushing in just to get a chance to see me?" he asked.

Rainbow Dash could only laugh nervously. "Yeah, I---"

"Constant," Jethrek said, still invisible to Rainbow Dash and Twilight.

Constant looked left. "Yes, Jethrek, what is it?"

"Would you allow me to leave the Monitor and explore?"

Constant raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Why?" he asked.

"I wish to know more about the culture," Jethrek replied. He paused for a moment, "And I wish to observe activities which are unusual to us so we can expand our knowledge of the physics of this universe."

"We can read books in the library for that, Jethrek," Constant replied, "I was actually planning on going back there, anyway."

Rainbow Dash could not help but smile at that idea.

"So noted," Jethrek replied, "But I would rather see some of the concepts...in person."

Constant looked at him carefully. Jethrek's recent behavior, especially now, was indication enough that he was hiding something. Whether or not it was a result of the lack of a behavioral regulator, he was not sure. After a few moments, Constant made a decision. "Okay, Jethrek, but keep your tracker on in case something happens." He was not sure if he was making the right decision, but he decided to go along with it anyway.

"Thank you," Jethrek replied.

Constant was surprised, but that only showed for a moment. Jethrek never said "thank you" before. "Uhm, alright, let's go. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, I'll be with you in a moment." He turned off the isomorphic projection, leaving Twilight and Rainbow Dash slightly confused. A few moments later they heard a clunk from the branch, followed by the sound of sliding doors. The sounds repeated in reverse order seconds before Constant entered the library with his perception filter active, followed by Jethrek with his perception filter also active. "Alright, here we are," Constant said.

"Welcome back, Constant," Twilight said, "And...hello, Jethek."

"Greetings," Jethrek replied. Recalling recent history, he made his perception filter avatar bow to her, "Your majesty," he added.

Twilight smiled. "Rise, Jethrek," she said, "I don't feel I've done quite enough to receive that kind of treatment despite my title."

Jethrek made his avatar rise. "Very well, I'll keep that in mind," he replied.

Constant turned to Rainbow Dash. "So why were you so eager to see us, anyway?" he asked.

"Well, since I didn't get the chance before," Rainbow Dash replied, "I thought I'd get it now."

Now it was her turn to get a suspicious look from Constant. "Is that all?"

"Of course it is!" Rainbow Dash said, as Spike cam downstairs, yawning.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash," he said, "In case you're wondering, the next Daring Do book is here, in case you want to read it."

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked, shifting her attention to Spike, "Which shelf?"

"To your left," Spike replied, "Second from the bottom."

The name sounded strange to Jethrek. "Daring Do?" he asked.

Rainbow Dash looked to Jethrek. "Only the coolest adventurer ever!" she replied, getting the latest copy, "Why don't you two take a look for yourself?"

Constant, out of curiosity, looked at the collection on the shelf. Seeing the first book, he took it out of the shelf and flipped through the whole book in about five seconds. "Goodness," he said, "She lives dangerously."

Twilight looked to Constant, wondering how he could make such a quick judgement. Jethrek looked at the book curiously. "Let me read it," he said. Constant handed the book to him, and he flipped through the pages slower than Constant, primarily because he needed to use the translation matrix in his travel machine to be able to understand the language. "This story takes the main character through situations where she should have died," he said, making Constant raise an eyebrow, "The Daleks have had few enemies who have survived such situations."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. She had been told what Constant had said about the Daleks. "'Few', huh? No kidding. If you Daleks weren't such brutes and monsters, you wouldn't be in the situation you're in now."

Jethrek's grip on the book loosened, letting it drop. His perception filter flickered for a moment, letting everyone in the library get a small glimpse of what his travel machine looked like. Rainbow Dash backed up, her eyes wide, as was Twilights, but only for a moment before she deadpanned to Rainbow Dash. Spike flinched, looking toward Jethrek, saw the insulted look on his avatar's face, and then also looked to Rainbow Dash. "Really, Rainbow Dash?" he asked, "Really?"

"Pardon me, please," Jethrek said as he "walked" out of the library. Once outside, he looked down, and tried to keep himself from showing a sad face at all with his avatar, which failed. "Elevate," he said quietly, and his avatar flapped it's wings as he flew off, not knowing where he was going. He just wanted to be somewhere else at that moment. Anywhere he could try to forget what Rainbow Dash had said. He felt hurt by it, and he didn't know why.

Constant looked down and sighed. "Well, at least his tracker is on in case something happens," he thought to himself as he picked up the Daring Do book which Jethrek had dropped. He didn't go after Jethrek because he felt that he needed time to cool off if he got angry. Either that, or he needed more time to adapt to the lack of his behavioral regulator. After putting the book away, he started looking for another book that would have information on magic and physics.

It wasn't long before the awkward silence behind him was broken. "What's his problem?" Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight glared at her, and Spike sighed, going to the table and sitting down at it with a book in hand, waiting for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to return. "What?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Constant stopped ignoring the situation at this point. "I think you struck a nerve on him, Rainbow Dash," he replied.

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Yeah right," she said, "It's not like---"

"Jethrek has gone through two nightmares," Constant said, "Now I don't know if that's normal for a Dalek or not, but the last one caused his behavioral regulator to overload, so there's no way of knowing for sure how he will react to certain situations. Your remark about Daleks was just one of those situations, and his reaction surprised me."

"You?" Rainbow Dash asked, "It surprised you?"

"You heard correctly," Constant replied, walking to the table Spike was sitting at with a book in hand, and taking a seat himself, "As far as I know you gave him a bad start." He opened the book and started reading.

After a few more minutes of silence, Rainbow Dash's face was that of someone saying "huh?" in their mind. "Okay, I'll take your word for it," she said.

"I think he's implying that you should apologize," Twilight said. She was hoping that Rainbow Dash would figure it out by herself.

"As a start, anyway," Constant added.

"What?!" Rainbow Dash spluttered, "But---but...Oh, alright. I'll do it." She was starting to feel bad about what she had done, but did not want to show it so easily. She ran out and flew to try and find Jethrek.

Constant watched as she did so. Twilight did as well, but then the fact that Constant read the Daring Do novel very quickly came to mind. "Constant," she asked, "Did you really read the book that quickly?"

Constant looked to her. "Yes. Yes I did."

Jethrek had stopped flying around after exploring for a while. He had stopped a few times because he found himself getting distracted by some heaviness he felt inside. He did not know why it was there, but he did know that it was breaking his concentration. Because of this, he found himself bumping into buildings. This was not normal for a Dalek, and even he knew that. All he wanted now was to be somewhere quiet. Somewhere where he could contemplate his situation. Normally, he would have countered something like what Rainbow Dash had said with another insult, or just shrugged it off, but now it was different. Now, he didn't have his behavioral regulator, so he reacted in a way he never expected. "Why?" he asked himself.

Looking around, he realized that a few ponies had already taken notice of him. Questions like "What's wrong with him?" or "Where did he learn to fly?" were whispered among them. Now, he felt heavier. At this moment he realized what it was he was feeling, and there was only one word he could use to describe himself:

Pathetic.

Daleks were not supposed to give in to misery. That was one of the reasons for the behavioral regulator. In addition to adjusting and controlling their thoughts, it prevented them from acting too far based on an interfering emotion. But now, he was thinking back to his nightmares, and all that he had done in service to his race. He remembered the cries for help, the look of fear and sadness on every enemy soldier and civilian killed by either him or a fellow Dalek. All this, and every other detail was enough for him to break down inside as everypony went back to their normal activities. Everypony, that is, except for a certain pink-and magenta blur rushing to him at a good ten miles per hour and stopping perfectly in front of him.

"HI!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, happy to see a new face in town.

This action actually startled Jethrek, making him reverse a few feet. "Do NOT do that again!" he half-shouted.

This startled Pinkie Pie. "Whoops, sorry. Did I scare you?"

"Yes," Jethrek replied. He could not believe he was admitting that.

"Didn't mean to," Pinkie Pie explained, "I'm just happy to see a new face in Ponyville!"

"Noted," Jethrek stated, starting to move past her. He was expecting to get away from her and not show himself in his sorry state, but the sound of hoofsteps told him it was not going to be that easy.

"Hey, wait!" Pinkie called out, catching up to him, "Don't go running off yet! Don't you want a tour of Ponyville? Or a party to celebrate your arrival? Oh, wait! How about I introduce you to everypony around town? Speaking of which, I never got your name, yet!"

Jethrek was getting more irritated by Pinkie Pie's antics. He was having a hard enough time as it was trying to get past the sorrows he was feeling right here and now, but getting past them and this crazy mare was a different story. "I would prefer to memorize the layout of this town by myself."

Pinkie Pie did not give up. "Aw, come on!...You know, I've never seen someone as unhappy as you since Cranky Doodle Donkey."

Jethrek stopped and turned his avatar's head to face Pinkie Pie. The face was that of somepony who was not just unhappy, but also annoyed, with extreme sadness deep inside. Pinkie saw this, and stopped dead in her tracks, no longer smiling, but rather with a face of curiosity. "I do not know this 'Cranky Doodle Donkey' you speak of," Jethrek stated, "Whoever he is, whatever he has been through, I have been through much worse. I have done much worse." Pinkie Pie's face now showed concern as Jethrek went on. "I have done things that, even if they never happened to you, you would still find unforgivable. Now please, leave me alone."

20: Forbidden Sorrows (Pt 2)

Pinkie Pie stood speechless as she watched Jethrek "walk' away. A lot of things were trailing through her mind after all that. "He certainly wants to be left alone," she thought to herself, "but the things he said he did can't have been that bad...Can they?" She decided to follow Jethrek and find out where he was going. The trip following him took her toward Sweet Apple Acres. She hid behind a bush as Jethrek looked back to see if anyone had noticed him. When he saw that nobody, nopony even, was following him, he took to flying again. Pinkie followed quietly. She was determined to find out just how bad the actions this nameless pegasus took really were.

She was unaware that she was not the only one following him. Rainbow Dash was flying from cloud to cloud waiting until Jethrek got far enough from Ponyville before she could actually announce her presence and apologize to him. After all, she did promise to keep the fact that two extraterrestrials were present in this world a secret. Finding Jethrek was not difficult because more often than not, his perception filter did not show natural motion for the directions he was turning. The direction he was going lead toward the Everfree forest. At this point, Rainbow Dash had already run out of clouds to hide behind or on, so she followed as stealthily as possible until this point. "You're not going in there alone, are you?" she called out.

Jethrek stopped suddenly. Pinkie Pie, who was still following too, was surprised. She was so focused on Jethrek himself that she did not notice Rainbow Dash following. She watched on as the events unfolded. Jethrek turned to face Rainbow Dash, who stopped to hover a few feet from him. "How long have you been following me, Rainbow Dash?" he asked, turning to face her.

Rainbow Dash was not surprised. Sooner or later, Jethrek was bound to have found out. "Uhm...Actually, Jethrek, I had to find you first," she admitted, "It wasn't hard, either. I mean, your disguise...projection, or whatever it's called, was not moving naturally for some of the turns you made."

Pinkie Pie had finally stopped at a bush and was surprised to hear what was spoken, and at the fact that Rainbow Dash was following him too. "That's Jethrek?!" Pinkie Pie thought to herself, surprised. Then she thought back to what Jethrek had said. "So that's what he meant!" she said, recalling what Constant had told her and the others about the Daleks.

"But anyway," Rainbow Dash went on, "I...have been following you until I called out for you."

"Why?" Jethrek asked. He successfully showed a look of annoyance on his avatar's face.

"One, I wanted to apologize to you," Rainbow Dash replied, " Two, I'd rather talk to you somewhere private than anywhere somepony could hear us. Three, you're headed for one of the most dangerous areas in Equestria!" After a few seconds, Jethrek descended to the ground. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, descending with him. "Look, I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash went on, "I really wasn't thinking when I said that...comment about your race." Now was not the time to consider her pride. "I guess I should have thought more about your current situation. I mean---" Before she could go on, Jethrek turned off his perception filter, revealing his travel machine. Pinkie Pie peeked out more, even more surprised than she was before. Rainbow Dash heard hissing, followed by mechanical whirring. She backed up a little, moments before the travel machine opened, revealing Jethrek himself. Rainbow Dash's curiosity piqued, and she walked forward to look at him. Pinkie Pie got out of her hiding spot and walked slowly forward to see what was going on. "So this is what you are inside the machines?" Rainbow Dash asked, tilting her head in near astonishment.

"Were you expecting an equinoid form?" Jethrek asked, his eye blinking once.

"N-no," Rainbow Dash answered, "T--to be honest, I didn't know what to expect."

Jethrek looked at her carefully. "Then...you are forgiven," he said, "I wanted to make sure your apology was not...empty. Your honesty told me otherwise." Then he noticed Pinkie Pie behind Rainbow Dash. "She followed us too?!" he asked, surprised.

Rainbow Dash looked back, surprised, but when she saw that it was Pinkie pie, she sighed. "Don't worry, Jethrek," she said, "This is Pinkie Pie. She knows too."

Jethrek was relieved, but didn't show it. He turned his eyeball to look at Pinkie Pie. "I must apologize to you as well," he said, "I did not realize you were one of the ponies who Constant revealed our presence to."

"Oh, uhm...that's okay," Pinkie Pie replied, "So..." she sat down where she was. "this is what you meant, huh?"

Jethrek remembered what he had told Pinkie Pie before he ran off. "Yes," he replied, his eye looking down.

"Meant by what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"By doing unforgivable things," Jethrek replied.

"Unforgi---" Rainbow Dash recalled her conversation with Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Ah, that."

Jethrek looked away from Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. "Stand back," he said. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash did so as Jethrek commanded the internal system to close his travel machine. After that, his perception filter turned on again, showing his pegasus avatar, looking down sadly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked, noticing the look.

"What makes you think that anything is wrong with me?" Jethrek asked, his avatar looking up to her and Rainbow Dash.

"Uh, it's written all over your face, Jethrek," Rainbow Dash stated, pointing to Jethrek's avatar.

Jethrek looked at the way his avatar was being projected from a screen inside his travel machine. "It must be a malfunction in my second brain," he stated. He tried to make the avatar change it's expression, but since the perception filter was tied in with his second brain, he couldn't hide it very well.

"Uh...it seems to be working fine to me," Pinkie Pie stated. Even she could hear the uncertainty in Jethrek's voice.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed, "I know that this is a disguise you're using to hide what you really are from the rest of the world, but you can't exactly hide that something's bothering you."

Despite all his efforts, Jethrek found that without his behavioral regulator, he was indeed exposed, and not in the way he originally feared. "I am flawed," he said.

"Flawed?" Rainbow Dash asked, "What do you mean "flawed"?

"I am without my behavioral regulator," Jethrek explained, "It prevents me from acting based on psychological factors that interfere with an objective, or for that matter, an entire mission."

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, contemplating what they heard. "So..." Rainbow Dash began..."It prevents you from...what, feeling sadness?"

"Yes," Jethrek replied

"It prevents you from feeling happiness?" Pinkie asked.

"Correct."

"And you can't even make a side trip to save a fellow...Dalek...if it meant making yourself feel good about doing so?" Rainbow Dash asked. She thought about one of the Daring Do books she read when she asked this.

"Yes," Jethrek confirmed.

"That's terrible!" Pinkie said. Jethrek's avatar looked to her. "Who says that you can't feel happiness? I mean a world without happiness is...is...Oh, I don't know! It's just really really saddening to know that such a world exists!"

Jethrek did not know whether or not to feel insulted by this. He turned to "walk" away.

"Hey, wait!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, "I...I didn't mean to make you feel bad or anything!"

Jethrek stopped. "About which? My world existing, or that we cannot feel happiness?"

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash said, walking in front of him, "Look you, I don't know what your deal is. Believe it or not, we're actually trying to make you feel better despite what happened to make you feel flawed!"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of wood breaking. Behind them, Big Mac was carrying supplies for the farm, and the cart he was pulling had a wheel broken off. He sighed, disappointed about this situation.

"Looks like Big Mac needs help," Rainbow Dash said.

Then, an idea struck Pinkie Pie. "I've got it! Why don't you try helping somepony out of a bad situation, Jethrek?"

Jethrek looked to Big Mac and his cart, then back to Pinkie. "How would that solve my situation?"

"You'll see!" Pinke said, "Come on!" She and Rainbow Dash started running to Big Mac.

After a few seconds, Jethrek followed too.

Pinkie and Rainbow Dash arrived first. "Hey, Big Mac!" Rainbow Dash said, "Need a helping hoof?"

"Eyep," Big Mac replied.

Jethrek came up from behind them. After analyzing the situation, he decided to play along. "Hmm," he said, catching the red pony's attention, "So you've got a broken wheel and a broken axle...Has this ever happened before?"

"Once in a while," Big Mac admitted.

After inspecting the cart further, he looked to Big Mac. "Do you have any rope in those supplies?"

Big Mac nodded. "What do you have in mind?"

"I can hold up the broken axle while you pull the cart the rest of the way," Jethrek replied.

Big Mac raised an eyebrow. "Uh...Are you sure?"

"Yes," Jethrek replied.

So while Rainbow Dash tied the rope between Jethrek and the broken axle, Pinkie Pie distracted Big Mac with talk of how things were going in Ponyville. The reason for this was so that Big Mac wouldn't see Jethrek's true form while the rope was being tied. Once they were done, Rainbow Dash announced that Jethrek was ready.

"Let's do it!" Jethrek said in an attempt to keep his cover. His avatar flapped it's wings as he ascended. With much effort, he managed to raise the cart so it was upright. Now, Big Mac could pull forward, while Jethrek pulled forward and upward to keep the cart up. When they reached Sweet Apple Acres, Jethrek didn't stop pulling until he and Big Mac reached the barn. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, who were watching the whole time, looked at each other in anticipation.

"Thank you," Big Mac said, "You saved me a long~ wait for help."

Applejack, who was in the barn, ran out to see what the commotion was. "Welcome home, Big Mac...Oh no, not again!" She looked at the cart carefully. "Well, no use trying to fix the axle this time...we'll either have to replace the cart entirely or make another axle."

"Well, at least he got the supplies home early," Apple Bloom said, coming out of the barn, "Remember the last few times something like this happened?"

"Who could forget?" Applejack asked, "but you gotta live with the times, good or bad."

"By the way," Big Mac said, turning to Jethrek, "you can thank---Oh, I'm sorry, I never got your name."

Jethrek looked to Big Mac, scared, now that he was capable of being scared. "Uh...uh...I'm..."

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie saw where this was going. They rushed over. "Applejack!" Rainbow Dash called out.

Applejack looked behind Jethrek to see them. "Oh, howdy, Rainbow, what's got---"

"Shh!" Rainbow shushed her, and she looked around. She whispered something in Applejack's ear.

"Huh? Wha---oh!" Applejack now had a face of realization. "Come inside, all of you!"

Everyone did so. Applejack closed the barn doors as quickly as she could. She then turned to Jethrek. "So...how does it feel, doing your first good deed?" she asked him.

Jethrek's avatar showed that he was shocked at what he just heard. He looked down. "So now you know."

"Know what?" Apple Bloom asked, confused.

Jethrek turned off his perception filter, and Apple Bloom gasped. Big Mac, on the other hand, stood ready to defend family and friends if need be. "WAIT!" Pinkie Pie called out, standing between Big Mac and Jethrek, "Don't worry, he's friendly!" Then, it happened all at once. Jethrek opened his travel machine the second time for the day, and revealed himself to the ponies in the barn.

Apple Bloom was thinking about running out of the barn. She was scared, after all. But then, after looking at Jethrek for a few seconds more, she remembered Constant describing a creature who looked like a squid, but wasn't one. "Wait a minute," she said. She cautiously walked up to him, climbed up the "radar" dishes, and looked at him directly. "You're...Constant's travel partner, aren't you?"

"Y-yes," Jethrek admitted. All of a sudden, it dawned on him. Why was he afraid? Why was he nervous? He was not supposed to be feeling this way...and he most certainly was not supposed to feel sad or miserable about the deaths he caused...Was he? Was this what the behavioral regulator had been preventing him from feeling? Or was it what it had been...denying him?

"Jethrek?" Rainbow Dash said, waving a hoof over his eye, "Jethrek!"

"Ye---AAAH!" Jethrek backed up suddenly. Big mistake on his part, because since the machine was open, his center of gravity had shifted. As a result, he was tilting backwards. "Ah---ah--ah!"

Rainbow Dash rushed behind him and pushed him back up just in time. "I did NOT mean for that to happen!" she said.

"That was close!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"I agree," Jethrek said. He gave the command to close the machine.

"It seemed that something was bothering you," Applejack said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Constant was on board the Monitor after reading through several books in the library. He decided to check up on Jethrek. Turning to one of the screens, he typed in the code for Jethrek's tracker. A map showed that he was at Sweet Apple Acres. "Wonder what he's doing there?" he thought to himself. He checked Jethrek's status and was surprised to see that his perception filter was not active. "What does he think he's doing?!" He tapped into Jethrek's audio sensors to find out what was going on.

"---and if you talk about your problems, it won't sink into you so much," he heard Applejack say, "I should know. I went to a rodeo competition a few years ago, and I didn't get a blue ribbon in any of the challenges. I didn't want anyone to worry, so I didn't come home. Instead, I went to Cherry Hill Ranch in Dodge Junction to find work so I could get the money we needed to fix a hole in the roof of our farmhouse. I thought it would be better than facing my family and friends on the chance that they'd...well...be mad at me."

"So you were hoping to win the money in a contest, but didn't, and you could not bear to face what may or may not have come to you if you returned home?" Jethrek asked.

"Yep," Applejack replied, "That basically rounds it up."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Jethrek asked, not seeing her point.

Constant saw where this was going. At first, he was a little angry, thinking that Jethrek got careless turning off his perception filter. But when he heard all that, he sat on the chair at the console he was using and observed with interest.

"You're probably facing a situation like what my big sister faced," Apple Bloom replied to Jethrek's question, "You're holding back the truth about yourself, and it's hurting you inside." Applejack nodded with her sister's words.

There was a long silence. Jethrek finally turned his machine to go to the center of the barn. When he stopped, he turned to face the four earth ponies. "It feels like what you are saying is that by admitting the truth to you, I am also admitting the truth to myself."

"That's exactly what we're saying," Applejack said, "The question is...are you strong enough to do it?"

There was another long pause before Jethrek's eye stalk faced down, and his claw arms pointed down as well. "I killed four hundred beings in the universe where Constant and I come from," he said. He never had trouble admitting this to Fluttershy because he still had the behavioral regulator. But now it was different.

"You WHAT?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"And I had no regrets in killing every one of them," Jethrek went on, "I didn't need an excuse, except that I was following orders. It happened during wars and during invasions." His eye stalk turned to the left. "But now..." The tone of his voice turned from neutral to remorseful. "But now...I feel...guilty. I don't understand why! A Dalek should never feel this way about a mission! Those who did would be put into the equivalent of what you call psych wards."

Apple Bloom had a sad expression on her face. At first, she was terrified at what Jethrek had said. But then a thought occurred to her. "Wai--wait a minute," she stuttered, "If y'all didn't feel guilty before, then why now, all of a sudden?" She got a light tap from Big Mac, who shook his head to her.

Jethrek saw this. "Do not worry," he told Big Mac, "The question is relevant. The travel machines we Daleks use have behavioral regulators in the second brain which limit the way we think and act. Without them, emotions would distract us from completing a mission, whether it be on time or at all. Mine was destroyed yesterday when I had a nightmare."

"Well, that explains why you're feeling guilty now," Applejack said.

Constant listened to all this and at that point, all his hatred toward Jethrek seemed to start fading away from him. What Jethrek was, what he did in the past, his nature, all seemed irrelevant to him as he listened in to this.

"So how do you feel now?" he heard Apple Bloom ask, as Applejack, Big Mac, and Rainbow Dash listened and watched the situation.

"I---I don't know," Jethrek admitted. "I never felt this way before. I've never felt guilt...or sadness...or even joy. Daleks are capable of feeling anger, hatred, and even fear when it is appropriate." He turned away. "I don't know what I am anymore."

"You're a Dalek," Rainbow Dash said.

"By species, yes," Jethrek said, "But I am a bad Dalek! I am violating my existence by allowing these unnecessary and interfering emotions to take over! So what does that make me?!"

Apple Bloom could no longer hold back the tears she was fighting. She ran over to Jethrek and tapped his machine with her hoof. Jethrek turned his eye stalk to look at her. "Open your machine."

Jethrek turned completely to her. "Why?"

"Please?" Apple Bloom almost begged.

Rainbow Dash, Big Mac, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were all astonished at the event that took place here. When Jethrek opened his travel machine for the second time in the barn, Apple Bloom brought herself up to face Jethrek himself. She grabbed two of his tendrils. "A--ah---" Jethrek reacted. He didn't expect this turn of events to take place. Apple Bloom stroked his tendrils with her hoof against the machine's outer shell, looking at his one eye. Jethrek was shocked. What was it Apple Bloom was doing? Why was she sad? When he blinked, he could feel something wet going down the side of his face.

Rainbow Dash cautiously approached them. "You...didn't kill anyone here, did you?" she asked.

Jethrek's eye turned to her. "No," he said earnestly, "I did not. But I tried to kill Constant when we first arrived in this universe."

"That was before you...ended up in that fancy life-support system he told us about, right?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes," Jethrek confirmed.

"Well, at least that's one less thing to feel sad about," Pinkie Pie said.

Applejack walked up to Jethrek. "I can only guess that you feel like something heavy was lifted from you by now. Is my assumption correct?"

Jethrek pondered. It did feel that way. "Yes," he said.

Finally, Big Mac walked up. "Maybe losing your...what did you call it again? A behavioral regulator?"

"Correct," Jethrek said.

"Maybe losing that behavioral regulator wasn't a disadvantage," Big Mac went on, "Maybe it's given you another opportunity."

Jethrek's eye fully shifted to Big Mac now. "What sort of opportunity?"

"To explore yourself," he explained, "We all have to know ourselves to understand ourselves. It's part of how we get our cutie marks." He showed his green apple cutie mark to Jethrek before turning to face him again. "We have to discover as much about ourselves as possible before our special talent is realized. What do you think you would have been if your decisions were not limited by the behavioral regulator?"

Jethrek thought about this for a moment. "But that would still make me a bad Dalek," he said at last.

"Does it?" Applejack asked, "Or does it just make you...a different Dalek?"

Jethrek blinked again, letting more tears flow down. "I...I don't know...but either way, I feel...scared."

After a few moments, Pinkie Pie spoke up again. "Hey, no more pouting!" she said, "Look, you, everyone has their own opinions about somepony after they've heard stories about him or her. You're no exception!"

Jethrek looked up to her, his tendrils trembling very slightly.

"I mean, okay, now I know you've...you know, ended lives," Pinkie Pie went on, "But I see now that without that thing that makes you think differently than if you didn't have it in the first place, you're not bad at all. Everyone's got their own opinions of what's right and wrong. What do you think you are without that mind control thing?"

"Weak," Jethrek admitted, "Because now I can no longer think of ending a life without questioning it first."

"And that's the honest truth?" Applejack asked, "That's how you feel about yourself?"

"Yes!" Jethrek replied, his voice now demonstrating his sorrow. His eye stalk pointed as low as it could.

Once again, there was a moment of silence. It was broken when Big Macintosh spoke up. "You helped me bring the cart back to this farm. How do you feel about that?"

Jethrek looked up to him. "Why is that relevant?"

"Well, ya saved him a lot of trouble," Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed, "it would have been a long wait for him if you didn't come up with that idea to help him."

"A Dalek would consider that activity a trivial matter," Jethrek said.

"But you did it anyway," Big Macintosh said, "and I did thank you for it."

Jethrek's eye turned to look at Big Macintosh. "Yes...you did."

"Come on, Jethrek," Constant said. He was smiling, and his arms trembling. For reasons even he could not comprehend, this was not a moment he wanted to miss.

For a moment, it was quiet as everypony looked to Jethrek. They were waiting for him to figure it all out, and they were patient. Finally, he spoke. "What would have happened if I was not there in the first place?"

"I would either have to had left the cart there and gotten some help elsewhere, or taken several trips to and fro to get
everything back home," Big Macintosh answered.

"Which would have been inconvenient," Jethrek said, thinking of how that would have turned out.

"Yeah," Applejack agreed, "It would've been."

Jethrek looked up. If he was a pony, or any form besides a Dalek, he would have sighed by now. It was starting to make sense to him. "So...this is what it is like to receive gratitude...and not to be feared...and to help another when they most need it." This earned him curious looks from everypony.

"How are you feeling?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Jethrek took a few moments to think before he could answer. "It feels as if a part of me has turned light...like it is not holding me down anymore...Is...this...happiness? Joy?"

Pinkie Pie brought herself closer to face Jethrek directly. "Yes! Yes it is!" she said half-excitedly.

Apple Bloom stopped rubbing Jethrek's tendrils, her eyes no longer soaking wet. "I think this is a great start for you," she said.

"I agree," Applejack said, "Who knows what else you'll learn before you go back to your own universe?"

Rainbow Dash hovered over Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom, "Also, I've read plenty of stories where a bad guy turns good, last moment or not. I think I'm looking at one of these moments outside any story now."

Jethrek looked to Rainbow Dash, then to everypony else. "I have a lot to learn," he said.

"Eyup," Big Mac agreed.

"Stand back please," Jethrek said. They all did so, and once again, he closed his machine. "But nevertheless, when I return to my own universe, the Daleks may consider me defective and try to recondition me. Either that, or they will exterminate me."

"Well, then maybe you should consider not going back to them," Applejack suggested.

"Perhaps," Jethrek considered.

"Maybe you could partner up with Constant to watch over the timeline," Rainbow Dash said.

"Or perhaps find a new place to live," Big Macintosh added.

Jethrek turned on his perception filter. "If it was between those two choices, I would most likely choose stay with Constant," he said, "There are too many worlds with races who know of what my race has done."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to make a decision," Applejack said.

"Affirmative," Jethrek agreed. He hovered toward the barn doors, and Applejack and Big Macintosh opened them for him. "I think I'll go back to Ponyville and contemplate everything that has happened here." He turned to look at the five ponies behind him. "Thank you all."

"You're welcome!" Pinkie Pie said in a sing-song manner as she waved her hoof.

"Don't be afraid to come back and visit," Apple Bloom called out.

"I won't!" Jethrek called back as he flew toward Ponyville.

Constant walked outside the Monitor with a smile on his face. He walked inside the library. "Twilight," he asked, seeing that she was there, "how many ponies do you know who have only started to learn about friendship?"

Twilight looked to him as if it was a very good question, which in her opinion, it was, "Not many, but the one who I can
definitely say is like that is Discord."

"Discord?" Constant asked. He sat on one of the chairs nearby. "Tell me about that."

Twilight told him about what happened after Discord was released from his second stone prison.

"Sounds to me like he's closer friends with Fluttershy than the rest of you, so far," Constant observed.

"Uh...yeah," Twilight agreed.

They heard the door being pushed open by Jethrek. "No troubles on your return trip, I assume, Jethrek?" Constant asked.

"None," Jethrek replied, a smile on his avatar's face.

"And by the way," Constant said, "Congratulations. You've taken your first step to a new way of life. I'm proud of you."

Jethrek's face turned to one of surprise. "How long have you been watching me?"

"A while," Constant said, "starting from some time after you arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. I stopped once you started heading back for Ponyville."

"I see," Jethrek said, looking down a little.

"You know," Constant said, "Maybe you should write a journal about your experiences."

"I agree," Twilight added, "Or maybe you can write a letter to Princess Celestia."

This scared Jethrek a bit, "I--I'm not sure."

"Don't worry," Twilight said, "Since she knows about the situation already, I'm sure she'll keep it secret."

"Thank you," Jethrek said. He thought for a moment. "So when can we start?"

Moments later, Jethrek dictated while Constant wrote out the letter by hand. Once the letter was finished, Twilight rolled it up and tied it with a ribbon. Spike, who was nearby, prepared to send it with his flame, when Constant remembered something. "Hold on!" he said. He took the parchment and wrote "top secret" on it. "Okay send it," he said, handing it back to Spike, who blew his flame, sending the letter to Princess Celestia.

After everything that had transpired, Jethrek had time to think on board the Monitor. He had learned several things, one of which was that his perspective on everything was changing, especially himself. "Maybe I'm not a bad Dalek," he thought, "Maybe...I'm just an unusual Dalek...a different Dalek."

22: Constant's Journey

Darkness. That was all Constant remembered after finding out exactly when Spike landed in time. When he woke up, he found that he was no longer in Rockville. Luckily, no one was around him, considering his perception filter was not turned on. He turned it on at once in case someone was coming. Standing up and looking around, he picked up his scanner, which thankfully to him, had been thrown back with him. He found that he was in a time probably thousands of years before the time he was thrown back from. Taking a short walk around the area, he managed to get a picture of the landscape, which he recognized as the landscape where he and Jethrek would place a time probe moments before a dragon colony would settle. The flora and fauna gave him an idea of when he had landed, but he still could not guess the exact date and time. Looking up, he could not tell whether it was turning to dusk or dawn. Either way, he would have to make a temporary shelter for himself until he knew exactly when he was. Then he might get an idea of what he could do to correct the situation he was in.

“But not just me,” he thought to himself, “I put those three ponies and Spike in possibly imminent danger. Who knows if they’ve been thrown back in time by now? I should have been more careful.” He turned his scanner on and surveyed the area. “Darn it. These devices will run out of power if I use them too often. I’m going to have to make solar panels to keep them charged. But where to find the materials to do it with?”

As time passed, he started finding the materials he needed, but extracting them would be another story. He would have to hide the evidence that anyone was at the sites where he dug for them. Because of this, he had to use his sonic screwdriver a lot more often than he could use his laser screwdriver. Of course, that would not be the case when he started construction on the solar panels themselves.

Food and shelter were much more of a problem. He had no money that was useful in this world, so he had to look for edible plants and made ration packs with whatever he collected. Eventually it came to the point where he would have to make hand-driven tools such as knives for the purpose of collecting these plants. Thanks to this, he could save even more power in his sonic and laser screwdrivers, as well as his scanners.

A surprise came to him one day. As he walked along a grassy field, he heard a quick whooshing sound. He recognized it immediately as the sound of the Monitor arriving. Turning around and seeing it, he scrambled to hide behind a bush. He was not sure if it was his present Monitor being piloted by Jethrek to rescue him, or if it was their past selves on a probe run. After waiting for a few minutes, the Monitor’s doors opened, and Constant saw himself walking out with a probe, and Jethrek following. “Drat,” Constant thought as he watched himself dig the ground, “Well, at least I can link with that probe using my scanner to find out when I am.” He waited patiently until his past self and Jethrek went back into the Monitor and left, then he rushed to the deployment site and turned his scanner on to request a link up with the probe. The probe responded, and he requested the date and time. Now, he knew when and where he was, and with these, he could actually start his journey. Before he walked away, he commanded the probe to delete all traces of him accessing it.

First the days passed, then the weeks, then the months. After a long adventure of mere survival, as it felt to him, he felt that it was about time that he actually risk asking for help. But who to ask? He used his scanner to look for another probe. It took him about three hours to reach it, and once he did, he looked at what the probe had recorded so far. After looking through several hours of visual recordings in all directions, one pony of interest caught his attention: Starswirl the Bearded. “If I recall reading about him correctly,” Constant thought to himself, “he had a hand...or hoof...whatever...in temporal travel. Maybe I can ask him for help.” He accessed the probe’s visual feed to locate Starswirl. “There he is!” He cut the link, erased all traces of him accessing the probe, and went on his way.

The trip would take several days, so Constant made sure that he was prepared. If he had to, he would have shaved whatever hair formed a beard and mustache on his face and use it to light a campfire. Shaving in and of itself was a difficult task for him because he had to create a single-bladed tool for the job. One wrong move, and he would have cut himself. It did not help that he was not holding his reflective surface when he was thrown back in time. He would have to look at his reflection from the rivers.

All through the trip, he had to avoid being seen by anyone in this time zone. Some days he would walk out in the open with his perception filter active so he would not be exposed, but other days he would have to go into hiding while the batteries in said device charged up. At the same time, he wondered if it was worth it revealing his true form to Starswirl the Bearded. If he did, what would be the chances that he would be written in history after all? After considering his options, he decided it was a risk he was willing to take. He gathered what wooden sticks he could, and with them, was able to make several sheets of paper after grinding them. Having memorized the written language, he was able to write a letter by carefully burning the words on the paper.

Dear Starswirl the Bearded,

I am writing to you because I am in dire need of your assistance. What you will read in this letter must be kept secret, as I arrived in this time zone from the future. If this, or any of what I have to request of you is discovered by anyone else besides you and me, then the timeline will dramatically change.

My arrival in this world was accidental, and my own method of time travel has been compromised by some unusual circumstances. I need a way to travel back to the time I landed from, as well as a way to travel back to my own universe. I have read in history books that you have expertise in both subjects, which is why I am asking you for help in the first place. Also, someone else from my relative present was thrown back to a time between now and then, so I will need a way to send him back as well.

If you feel you can only use minimal resources to help me, I understand. I do not wish to ask too much of you. You can find me about a mile west of your home. I’ll set up camp there to make sure you find me.

Sincerely,
Constant

Constant wondered if it was a good idea mentioning his own name. It did have a chance of leaving a mark in history. After thinking about it for a while, he decided the risk was worth it. He rolled up the paper and tied it using a piece of vine he had collected some time earlier, and tied it to his belt before continuing his walk to Starswirl’s home. When he finally got there, he could hear no activity going on, which to him, meant that no one was home. He looked around, making sure that no one was watching, and then sneaked to a window, where he stuck his arm in and left the note. He looked around again, and then used his scanner to find an appropriate location in the direction he promised Starswirl he would be. Once he stopped, he collected wood and rocks and set up a campfire to keep warm.

The minutes passed, then the hours. He looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was already setting. He was about to set up a tent when he heard hoof steps approaching. Looking around, he stopped when he saw an elderly pony with a long beard and a blue hat and cape, both with moons and stars on them, approaching. Constant stood up and waved his arm, signaling to said pony where he was. The pony quickened his pace, and when he finally reached Constant, he raised his hat to show his face. “You are Constant?” he asked.

Constant nodded. “I am he,” he replied, “I’m guessing that makes you Starswirl the Bearded?”

Starswirl paused at that question. “...Yes,” he replied, “So, you are the one who left me that letter.” He took a seat near a tree. “I understand the severity of the situation you are in. You say that you are from the future and that you need to get back. That I believe. However, I need further proof that you are not from this universe. I have been able to open portals to other universes before, so if you are telling the truth, I can help you in that respect.”

“I figured you would ask that,” Constant replied, “Observe carefully.” He turned off his perception filter, enabling Starswirl to see his humanoid form. “I’m sure that there is no one like me on this world in this universe. Would I be correct in this assumption?”

Starswirl’s face was one of surprise at first, then he recovered. “No, you are right. I have not encountered anyone like you residing in this world.” He sighed. “Very well, I will assist you.”

“Thank you,” Constant said, and with that, he gave Starswirl the information he needed.

Some time had passed afterwards, and Constant and Starswirl would exchange information to help get closer to a solution. There would be days when Constant would have to let Starswirl take a break so that he could either rest or do something that Constant found was important to the timeline. Finally, after what seemed like weeks, Starswirl and Constant had a discussion about the final results.

“I am afraid that I cannot help you to the extent that you need, Constant,” Starswirl said, “The universe you come from is very difficult to focus on for an extended period of time.” He put down three jewels. “These are the mediums I can use to contain the spells you need, but unfortunately, I can only make them effective for one pony or other being.”

Constant looked at the jewels. “I see. Are you absolutely certain that this is the only way you can help me?”

Starswirl nodded. “This is all I can do without risking the loss of too many resources.”

Constant thought for a few moments and paced. After about twenty seconds, he looked to Starswirl with a determined look on his face. “Okay, I know what I need now. I want the first two jewels to contain spells that will take someone to the respective times I have spoken of. I will use the first one to travel to where my...friend is displaced in time. I will give him the other jewel so that he can return to the time we came from. As for the last jewel, I would like it to contain the universal displacement spell.”

Starswirl looked at Constant questionably. “Are you absolutely certain this is what you want? What of your companion who you said was trapped here with you?”

“I don’t plan to use it on myself,” Constant replied, “I need to use it so that I can send the monster who sent me back in time back to the universe I came from. It’s a sacrifice I will have to make to ensure that it doesn’t cause any more harm than it already has.”

Starswirl saw the determination in Constant’s eyes. “So be it,” he said, “I will prepare the jewels.”

Constant smiled. “Thank you. Also, sorry about using my sonic device on that mirror of yours. At least it is working the way it should again, right?”

Starswirl sighed and nodded in agreement.

“Also,” Constant went on, “if there’s anything I can do to compensate you for your troubles...”

Starswirl held up a hoof to Constant. “No, thank you. The materials you have found for me to replace what was already used are sufficient. Besides, once this is all over, I want to forget that any of this happened at all.”

Constant nodded. “I don’t blame you.”

The next day, Constant left with the three jewels which Starswirl had prepared for him. He traveled for about five hours until he reached a clearing. “Perfect,” he thought to himself. He walked a few more steps until he reached the center of the clearing, and then reached into a pocket in his jacket and pulled out the first jewel. “Here goes, Constant,” he said to himself, “Let’s do this.” He threw the jewel down against the hard ground, which made it shatter and in a bright flash of light, he was gone.

Spike landed on a grassy hill. He felt dizzy for a few seconds, but that went away quickly when he realized that he was no longer in Rockville. He stood up, looked around, and fell into a state of panic. “NO~!” he screamed before running in one direction a few meters before stopping to look for familiar landmarks, and then running in another direction the same distance. “WHERE AM I?! WHEN AM I?!”

Not far away, Constant, who had just landed in the time zone in question, heard Spike yelling and ran in the direction where he heard his voice. “SPIKE!” he called out, “I HEAR YOU! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!”

Hearing Constant call out to him, Spike stopped running around, looking in his direction, just about ready to burst into tears, but holding it in as much as he could. “C-CONSTANT!” he called out, “I’M OVER HERE!”

Within seconds, he saw Constant running up the hill to where he was. “I SEE YOU!” Constant called out, “I’M COMING!”

Spike ran to catch up to Constant and they stopped when they were about four feet away from each other. Both of them were panting, Constant in relief for having found Spike so quickly, and Spike half in panic, and half in relief to have been found. He looked to Constant carefully to see his condition. “Constant, what happened to you?” he asked, “Where’s the Monitor?”

“I’m afraid I was taken too, Spike,” Constant replied, looking down, “I was taken much further back than you. Luckily I was able to find out where and when you were before the weeping angel touched me.”

“So where are we?” Spike asked, looking around.

Constant looked around as well. “I’m not sure.” Then, after a few more turns left and right, he realized where they were. “Wait a minute, I recognize this landscape! I remember burying a probe...” He walked to the other side of the hill. “Over there!” He pointed to a flat area and paused for a few seconds. “This is Sweet Apple Acres! We’re seeing what it was like before the farm was built and the trees were planted!”

Spike, surprised, looked around. “This is Sweet Apple Acres?! Cool!” Then the current situation occurred to him. “But how are we going to get home?”

Constant sighed, looking to him. “I’m afraid YOU will be the one going home first, Spike,” he said. He took the last time-spell jewel out of his jacket pocket. “Throw this down on the ground, and it will take you to Ponyville in your present time. When you get there, go back to Golden Oaks library and wait next to the Monitor until Jethrek comes out and sees you. Okay?”

Spike was hesitant. “But...What about you?”

“I had to get help from someone further back, Spike,” Constant replied, “and I couldn’t get everything I needed. I will travel around the area and wait as long as is needed to get to Rockville again to save your friends.”

Spike took the jewel from Constant. “Are...are you sure about this, Constant?”

Constant nodded. “Absolutely. It’s my fault all of this happened in the first place, Spike, and I mean to correct it. Plus, I had to do this while the time and location of where you ended up were still fresh in my mind.”

“Oh,” Spike said, looking down sadly.

“Hey!” Constant said, “Don’t you pout, Spike. It’s my fault you ended up here in the first place.”

Spike looked up to him again. “I know, but...won’t you grow old?”

Constant could only laugh at that. “I understand your concern there, Spike. Don’t worry. We Gallifreyans have a long lifespan.. If I don’t have a fatal encounter, you’ll probably see me with only some of my hair turned grey or white.”

That lightened Spike’s mood a little. “Okay,” he said, “Well...see you in....how long now?”

Constant recalculated the time in his head. “About...one hundred and twenty-six years.”

Spike sighed. “Right. I’ll see you then.” He and Constant shook hands. “Good luck, Constant.”

“To the both of us,” Constant replied, and he watched as Spike threw the jewel on the ground and disappeared in a flash of light. “Okay....One hundred and twenty six years...” He checked his supplies and saw that his laser and sonic screwdrivers were still functional. “Hopefully they don’t wear out too soon,” he thought to himself.

Most of the years went by without trouble for Constant. There were times when he would have to defend himself, be it from a pack of timberwolves or some other creature that wanted a piece of him. Because of this, he would have to teach himself his own art of combat. As part of that self-training, he carved a staff out of the longest tree branch he could find. It was a very sturdy staff, and he used it not only for defensive combat, but also to help him carry multiple sacks of supplies.

Eventually, it came to the point where he found that he could no longer hide from civilization. He decided to use his perception filter more often and take on odd jobs so he could earn money to buy food and supplies. He took his skills to Cherry Hill Ranch, Appleloosa, Ponyville, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Manehattan, and on some occasions, Canterlot. For every one of these odd jobs, he made sure that he was not revealing too much about himself or how much he actually knew about engineering for the jobs that required an engineer that would have existed in whatever time he was in so he wouldn’t introduce anything new and advanced by his standards. On days whenever he was not doing an odd job, he would make sure to reteach himself everything he knew to stay caught up.

He would later witness critical moments in Equestria’s more recent history. Such events included Rainbow Dash’s first sonic rainboom which earned her and her friends their cutie marks, the return of Nightmare Moon, and Discord’s second imprisonment. One day, he went to Canterlot just to enjoy the view, when suddenly, he heard a spell being cast somewhere and a bright pink bubble formed around the city.

“What’s going on?” he asked himself. Making sure his perception filter was still active, he went to the nearest cliff side he could find. Looking around and assuring himself no one was watching, he scanned the bubble. "It's solid. Which means..." He picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the nearest section of the bubble. The rock hit it and then descended a few meters before rolling to the bottom of the bubble. "Nothing in, nothing out," he thought,"But why would the city need to be protected?" He checked his scanner to check the relative date and the answer came to him. "Oh! Oh dear. Well now that I'm here, I can't escape from what's about to come." The event which he realized would happen soon was one which he called "The Changeling Battle of Canterlot."

He rushed to another area to find a wingless Twilight Sparkle and her brother Shining Armor re-entering the castle. He had to consider his options carefully at this point. One was that he could warn them about what was going to happen, another was to hide somewhere and wait it out. Checking his supplies, he found that he had enough food that, should he choose the latter option, would last him that long. "Also," Constant thought to himself, "I can't change my perception filter image here and now without the Monitor's computers to help me. If I were to show myself, it would bring about a paradox the likes of which I don't want to calculate the severity of."

With his option chosen, he went and found a dark alleyway to hide in and hid there. He did not recall how long it would be before the changelings would come to begin their invasion, but he knew that he would have to be prepared if he was attacked. He made sure his staff was still sturdy enough, which it was, despite all the beatings it had taken in over a century. He also checked to make sure that all his equipment was still present. The knives he made were still there, and so were his sonic and laser screwdrivers. He was not sure if the knives were going to be as effective as they would have been back then, and he didn't want to risk ending a life in close range combat. Therefore, he decided that his staff, as well as his sonic and laser screwdrivers, would be enough for defensive measures.

He had fallen asleep at least three times as he waited. When he woke up after his last nap, he heard thudding noises, as well as the sound of cracking. Looking up toward the sky, he saw changelings in the process of breaking the protective barrier, and since there were so many working to do so at the same time, there was no indication that the process was going to slow down. He stood up, and braced himself for whatever would happen. When the barrier collapsed, the changelings descended into the city, Constant stood in the darkest part of the alleyway to avoid being spotted, but when he looked up, he found that they were not striking at random places.

Running to the block where the alleyway started, he saw them converge toward the castle, and there were Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack fighting them off as much as they could before storming into the castle. After a few minutes, the changelings started their spread of attacks. Constant made sure his perception filter was still on before backing down into the alleyway. It didn't seem that any of the changelings were heading in his direction at the moment. When he turned around, however, he found that assessment to be a mistake, as a single changeling was waiting for the right moment to attack him. The changeling changed his form to look like Constant's perception filter image before hissing at him.

"HEY, BACK OFF!" he yelled, swinging his staff down at the changeling. He almost missed, hitting him about two inches away from his horn. The changeling backed off from the pain it caused, and then snarled at Constant, spewing goo at him. In reflex, Constant held his staff up in order to block the goo. As a result, his left hand was now stuck to his staff. This did not stop him from being able to fight back, however. He charged at the changeling, pinning him against a wall with his staff, and pressing hard. The changeling felt the pain, yelping out for a moment, and then his horn glowed. Constant realized that this was a spell that the changeling was about to cast, so he let go of the staff with his right hand and hit the changeling in the head, making it hit the wall. The changeling got dizzy and Constant let go of him, letting him fall to the ground. Quickly, he got out his sonic screwdriver and started adjusting it. He heard the changeling groaning, which was indication enough that he needed to hurry. He was almost done when he felt a tug at his staff. He looked to it to find that the changeling had reverted to his true form and was tugging at the staff with his teeth. "No you don't!" He tugged back, but that only earned him a harder tug from the changeling, which made him fall in the direction of the tug. He gripped his sonic screwdriver tightly so he would not let go of it when he hit the ground. Hearing footsteps behind him, he looked back to see more changelings coming in his direction.

The changeling he was fighting laughed. "You're doomed," he said, and the other changelings joined him in his sinister laughter.

As the changelings surrounded him, he quickly looked to his sonic screwdriver and put in the final adjustments. One of the reinforcing changelings was about to cast a spell to take it from him, but Constant pressed the activate button on it just in time. It emitted a high-pitched sonic whine, which hurt the changelings' ears. They all backed away in whatever direction they could to get away, but it was not enough, so they retreated from the alleyway to get away from the sound. They were out looking for new targets before the sonic screwdriver let out a violent spark from the emitter.

Constant sighed, looking at the emitter. "Well, there's one loss of equipment I'll have to put up with for the time being," he grumbled. He got up and put the sonic screwdriver back in his pack before getting his laser screwdriver. After adjusting it, he carefully used it to melt away the goo from his left hand and staff, looking around every so often to make sure that he was not about to be attacked again. By the time he freed his hand from the staff, the alleyway had turned darker as several changelings stood on the roofs of the buildings the alleyway shared. He looked up, expecting the worst as a few of them smiled devilishly.

Suddenly, one of them looked up after seeing a slight change in lighting. "LOOK OUT!" he yelled. They all looked where he was looking, and it took that moment for a wave of magical pink energy to hit them, knocking them off the roofs and pushing them far away. Constant felt the wave make contact with him too, but it didn't affect him. In order to assure himself that there was no more danger, he walked back to the block again, and saw that there were no more changelings attacking the city.

"It's over," he said, "Thank goodness." He walked back into the alleyway to where his pack was, and slumped against the wall. After the Time War, he didn't think he would ever participate in a large-scale battle, whether or not anybody knew he did. He waited for about twenty minutes to catch his breath, and then repacked everything he had before walking out of the alleyway holding his staff and looking around. All around, ponies were cheering for the victory against the changelings. "I wonder how Princess Twilight and her friends fared out?" he asked himself.

One of the tools he managed to construct before he went to see Starswirl the Bearded was a handheld telescope. he walked to an area where he could look through the castle windows and used said tool to look in. He saw Twilight and her friends talking with Princess Celestia, and two other ponies who he recognized as Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza from temporal records. From what he saw, all was going to go as history recorded it, but in the back of his mind, he wondered how his unwanted participation would affect it. Either way, he decided to leave before he got himself involved in anything else.

The last few years of his travels would be uneventful, as he avoided areas where he remembered critical events taking place. It wasn't until a month before the weeping angel showed up that he started to plan out how he would finish what was started. It was obvious that he would have to show up a few moments after he disappeared. With that in mind, he used his scanner as a calculator to help him calculate where and when he would have to get to the area in Rockville where he and Spike disappeared. Once he made the calculations, he found that in the present time he would have to take a walking trip, and then on that day, he would have to make a run for it. He checked his pack to find that he still had the last crystal which Starswirl gave him, the one which he would use to send the weeping angel back to his universe. He remembered how much of a sacrifice it was going to be, given that he could have used it to get himself home, but he remembered his promise to Jethrek, and the responsibility he had for possibly bringing the angel to this universe in the first place.

After doing a final check of supplies, and setting an alarm on his scanner, he walked toward Rockville at an easy pace so that he could save the energy he needed to run. Time passed, and he was already noticing the residents of Rockville leaving to resettle. At that point he knew he was close, and when he heard the alarm on his scanner ringing, he knew it was time to make a run for it, turning off his perception filter. At this point he knew that one of several things was going to be happening at that moment. One was that he and his friends had already found the angel and Constant was scanning him. Two, Spike was about to be thrown back in time by the angel, and a few moments later, would appear in Ponyville. Three, Constant would be scanning the area to find where Spike was before getting taken himself. He wasn't going to take any chances at this point and just kept running.

When he was close enough to Rockville, he heard Pinkie scream "OH NO! CONSTANT!" That was enough for him to know that he got there just in time. At this point, all he could do was keep running. He was sweating, and he had to hold his staff with both hands, but that didn't stop him. He could feel both his hearts pounding as he reached the edge of Rockville, and he ran around several corners and alleyways before he found himself behind Twilight, looking directly at the angel who had thrown him back in time.

He touched Twilight's left wing as he stopped, which made her look to him. "Keep your eyes on him," he said, panting.

Twilight was shocked when she saw Constant. "But...how?"

"Never mind!" Constant said aggressively, "Just keep looking at him!" Twilight did so, and everypony else did so as well. Constant reached into his pack until he grabbed the last crystal. He then walked to the angel and put the crystal right under him. "You have done enough here!" he said to the angel as he backed up, still looking at him, "I may have brought you here, or not, when I entered this universe, but now you are going back!" He pulled out his laser screwdriver and aimed it at the crystal. "No longer will you feed in this universe! Go back where you belong!" He fired his laser screwdriver at the crystal, making it shatter, and there was a bright flash of light which lasted for about five seconds. As Constant watched it, he saw the angel reach out to him before it disappeared completely. "That's it," he said, "It's over. It's all over." He looked to Maud. "You and your family can move back here now, as well as all the residents."

Maud looked at him, trying to hide her shock. "How long did it take you to get back?"

Constant sighed. "One hundred and twenty-six years...give or take a few months."

"Jethrek to anypony who is listening! Please respond!"

Constant heard that, and walked to his radio, picking it up. "Hello again, Jethrek. It's been a while."

There was a momentary pause. "Constant?"

"Yes, it is me, Jethrek," Constant replied, "Listen carefully. Spike is outside the Monitor. Look outside and you will see him."

"Stand by," Jethrek replied. About a minute passed. "Confirmed! He is back! He is now in the library."

"You saved him?!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yes," Constant said, "and I had to make great sacrifices to do that and return here to save this world from that angel."

"Sacrifices?" Pinkie asked, a little worried.

"I had to work with a very specific pony in the beginning," Constant explained, "unfortunately, he had limited resources which he could not afford to lose, so I accepted what he could provide. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to travel to the point where Spike landed or send him back to the present."

Twilight looked to him with interest. "...Would this specific pony be....Starswirl the Bearded?"

"Yes," Constant said, "It was. However, I don't think you'll find records of him helping me in your books. He agreed to secrecy."

Twilight nodded. "I see....Although I will admit....I am a little envious. You actually got to meet him."

Constant nodded, "Yes. Anyway, Jethrek, please bring the Monitor here. It's time to return to Ponyville."

"Stand by," Jethrek replied, and he piloted the Monitor to Rockville. It took about three seconds to get there, and once the Monitor landed, the doors opened, and Jethrek came outside. "You have aged, Constant."

"One hundred and twenty-six years will do that to you, Jethrek," Constant laughed. He moved his hand through his hair. "I'm sure that by now I have a few grey hairs here and there, right?"

"Yes," Jethrek observed, "And you have grown a beard which is uneven."

"Raw materials," Constant replied, "Anyway, why don't we all head back now? I feel the need to rest after a long journey." He walked toward the Monitor. "Oh, and Twilight, I'm sure Spike will be anxious to see you."

"Can't argue with you about that," Twilight replied as she followed him inside, Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie following.

Once they were all inside, Pinkie looked to Constant. "You know...we never did have that party I promised you, did we?"

Constant looked to her and laughed. "You're right there. I almost forgot about that." He set course back to Golden Oaks Library and sighed. "Well, here we go." When he pressed the execute button, the trip went smoothly, with no quakes whatsoever. "We're here," Constant said.

Pinkie looked to him. "Now there's plenty of reason for me to throw you a party, private or not."

Constant laughed again. "After all I've been through, I think I need one. Just tell me when and where when you have it all planned out.

Pinkie beamed at that request. "YAY!"

Maud looked to Constant. "I have to agree with Pinkie. Now my family can get back to work. Tomorrow, I'll meet my family at Dodge Junction and tell them that we can move back to Rockville."

Constant nodded. "Good." He watched as the three ponies walked to the door to leave. "And Maud?"

Maud turned back to him as the doors opened. "Yes?"

"I apologize profusely for the trouble this has caused you," Constant said, "I should have seen it coming sooner."

Maud shook her head. "From the way things went, you didn't know any of it happened until I first reported it. Don't blame yourself."

Constant nodded. "Well...thank you for that assurance."

When the three ponies left, Jethrek turned to Constant. "How did you finally resolve the problem?" he asked.

Constant explained as much as he could. The years that went by made him forget some of what happened.

If Jethrek could actually sigh, he would have at that point. "were you able to save any data?"

"Yes," Constant said, "Thankfully. It's in my scanner." He brought the scanner out of his pack and connected it to a console, which downloaded the data from it. Soon, Constant found everything that related to his experiments with Starswirl the Bearded. "We can use this to try and recreate what was done for the universal travel spell in a larger scale. However, we may need some outside help because of the quantum signature."

"Understood," Jethrek said, "I shall start analyzing the data. In the meantime, I believe that you should rest, and get a proper meal afterwards before resuming work."

"I am in total agreement with you, Jethrek," Constant said. He looked to one of the surveillance screens to find Twilight and Spike hugging each other, and Pinkie joining into it. There was no doubt in Constant's mind that they were worried sick for each other. After a brief smile, Constant passed Jethrek as he approached the door leading to the corridors. He looked to him. "Thanks, Jethrek."

Jethrek looked to him. "Why?"

"For showing concern for me," Constant replied, giving Jethrek a smile before going to his quarters to sleep.

1: Arrival

Six years. Relatively, it had been six years since the event that brought Constant to where he was now. A wanderer. A being without purpose...

…A refugee.

In the large control room of his TARDIS, the Monitor, Constant paced, thinking of the events that brought him to what his life was then and there. The dreaded Time War. Actually, to him, “dreaded” wasn’t even close to his opinion. He was drafted for that war, and he seethed with anger every time he thought about the end result…the destruction of his home.

Constant sighed as he watched over the view screens in the control room. Everywhere, status updates popped in and out showing the probability of a paradox occurring. So far, nothing seemed to indicate that one would, but that did not keep him from staying alert. “I swear, this would all be much easier if I wasn’t doing this alone,” he muttered.

Convinced that no paradox would occur for a while, he decided to set a course to Earth in the current time he was in before going down to the living quarters he had set up for himself. He picked up a book. It was a journal full of schematics based on the designs for the Monitor. “Let’s see…Original type 77 schematics,” he muttered to himself, “Weapon systems…dismantled that, so now I have to find out what I can do with the materials…and speaking of which…material analysis…propulsion system schematics…hmm…” He kept reading until he reached a section he had written himself.

This section was full of schematics and notes for a series of probes he would leave in every corner of the universe so they could record events over a long period of time. When they reached their limit, Constant would then collect them at their time of expiration and replace them before downloading their data. This would ensure that Constant had information about what was supposed to happen should someone try to change history for their own reasons.

For the past six years, that is exactly what he had been doing. He had been using this type 77 TARDIS, which he himself had called the Monitor, watching to make sure that history was not changed and that no universe-ending paradoxes would occur. The only problem he had with this task was that there was another certain Time Lord in a certain blue box doing his own work for who knows what reason. Because of this, he found himself having to correct not the actions he took, but his own records to account for them.

But that was going to be the least of his problems.

Constant took in more of the notes he had written in the journal before taking out a quill to write more and draw more schematics. It seemed that using his engineering skills to design and build new gadgets was the only thing he could do to keep himself calm whenever he got bored or nervous. When he felt he had written enough, he stood up and walked back, and opened another drawer.

There lay two of his most important gadgets, a sonic screwdriver, which had multiple functions, and a laser screwdriver. Normally, he would use the laser screwdriver as a welding tool or a cutting tool, but there were very rare moments when he would have to use it for self-defense. If he was ever going out, he would always carefully consider whether or not he would bring it with him.

Constant looked these two devices over very carefully. He listened to the sonic emissions that his sonic screwdriver made in test mode. “Okay, good,” he said, knowing that he had properly calibrated it. “And…” he switched his laser screwdriver to test mode as well and tried firing it at a panel on the wall next to him. For a few moments, the laser fired smoothly, but after a few seconds, it started flickering and shifting directions. “Hmm…” He took apart the device and checked inside it. The focusing crystal lens was cracked, so he would either have to repair it or get a new one. He was lucky that he had the kind of crystal he needed if it came to that.

He got up and walked down the hall toward a cargo room he had set up to hold fresh materials. He only took seven steps away from his living quarters when the floor shook lightly. “What in the—“ he started as he grabbed a support beam nearby. At that moment, an alarm sounded and the whole chamber shook more violently. “Oh what now?!” he groaned. He rushed back to the control room and checked the status displays, only to see static on all of them. “What is going on?!” he yelled. At that moment, he fell to his knees, holding his head. “AGH! WHAT—WHAT IS GOING----AUGH!” When he looked up, everything seemed to double as if he was crossing his eyes, which he wasn’t. Even his hands seemed to double, and whenever he moved, the duplicate seemed to move in exactly the same way.

At that moment, a few of the screens started functioning properly and he checked them. “The power core!” he exclaimed. He fiddled with the controls, correcting the Monitor’s course of navigation and bringing it into temporal drive. After traveling through the time vortex for about two minutes, the doubling effect was gone, but Constant was still in a state of panic. “Darn it! Why the dimensional stabilizer of all things?!” He rushed to where that section was and used his sonic screwdriver at just the right frequency to get the stabilizer working again. At that moment, the quaking stopped, but lights turned dim all around him and screens flickered. “Monitor,” Constant said, “When are you NOT going to have problems?! Okay, never mind, this is the first time this has happened, so who am I to complain, right?” He snarled as he went to the control stations. He grew annoyed as he saw static on the screens.

He went to a panel and typed in a basic command code. This turned off power being used for non-essential systems. This gave him enough power to access the navigational system. He tried to get a map of the area, only to get an error message, “Error; Quantum variation.” Constant realized that he was probably in a different universe. If that was the case, it was probably why the Monitor was low on power.

After fiddling with the controls, he finally got the main view screen working. He requested an external view, and when the view screen showed it, he saw that he was headed toward a planet, and he wasn’t on the verge of stopping. “Collision course!” he exclaimed. He rushed to the navigational controls and tried changing course but to no avail. He used his sonic screwdriver on the section below the controls. This time, he was able to move the ship, but not before it penetrated the planet’s atmosphere. “Too late to avoid the planet!” Constant exclaimed. As the outer shell of the Monitor started burning up in the atmosphere, he set a course for the Monitor’s computer to follow. He hit the execute button and held on to a support beam for dear life. He watched the view screen as the Monitor collided with a hill. From there, it leaped and tumbled down. Constant lost his grip as its cylindrical outer shell rolled down like a loose pipe. When it rolled up the next hill, Constant watched the view screen in shock as he saw that the Monitor was going to land in a pile of rocks. “This will not be a soft landing,” he thought to himself. And he was right.

CRASH!

Constant was thrown into a wall by the landing and lost consciousness.

Author's Note

Well, that's the first chapter. Hope you liked it. If not, I urge you to read on. It will get more interesting as you go.

5: The Mysterious Rock/Jethrek

The next morning, in the Pie family’s rock farm, Maud was examining the new addition to her collection. After examining it closely, she put her hoof on it. For some reason, the rock didn't feel right. It had the cold feeling of metal, something definitely worth writing in her journal, which she did. After that, she decided to test the rock's strength. First, she tried kicking it hard. The large rock flew across the field and skidded about five times before rolling and stopping at the large pile of rocks which it had landed in the night before.

"Hmm," Maud hummed, "Pretty lightweight for something as big as that..." She rolled the rock back to where it was when she kicked it. "Okay...I'll need a small sample of you to look at." She went into her house and got a hammer and chisel. She put the chisel against the rock and hammered. Instead of chipping off a piece, however, the chisel simply slid along the surface of the rock. Maud raised an eyebrow. She tried again, and again, the tip of the chisel simply slid on the surface. Not even a speck of dust came off. She put the chisel down and tried the hammer alone. Again, nothing happened. Next, she picked up a rock about one-quarter the size of the rock she was studying. She rolled it up to the top of the rock pile and let it roll down again so it would hit the big rock. The smaller rock shattered.

Constant felt the Monitor shake again as he finished setting up a hydraulic system to keep water flowing in the contraption he had set up. He made sure the tubes inside the transparent cylindrical container were secure and turned the system on. Lights turned on to reveal the Dalek who had stowed away on his ship inside the container. The Dalek opened his eye slowly as Constant put a piece of the technology from the travel machine over the container.

"I...am...alive?" the Dalek asked.

"You stowed away on this time ship," Constant replied, "Then you tried to destroy it. You probably also tried to tamper with it's systems. Big mistake. It has a temper. You're just lucky you had to deal with me and not that."

The Dalek turned it's eye to Constant. "Who...are you?" he asked weakly.

"I AM CONSTANT!" he yelled.

The Dalek flinched slightly. "Why did you save my life?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Constant replied, "Part of me wants to believe that I need you to help me get back to our universe. Another part of me is saying that saving you was a waste of resources."

"Another universe?" the Dalek asked, clearly not believing it.

"That's right," Constant said, "Another universe. That's why your temporal displacement unit went out. And speaking of which..." Constant showed said component to the Dalek, "It shorted out. I can't fix this, and even if I could, I don't know if it will work in this universe. We're both stran"--- Another quake stopped Constant from finishing his sentence. He sighed and went to a nearby console to get an external view. "Whatever's doing that is getting on my nerves," he said. He looked at the screen and what he saw made him freeze. There was a grey equinoid creature pounding at the hull of the Monitor. "Huh...She looks like an equine of some sort...although the coloration of her fur and mane puzzle me...Not to mention the fact that she's wearing...some kind of dress."

"Does it not concern you more that we have been exposed?" the Dalek asked.

"There's no guarantee that we are exposed, Dal---" Constant stopped himself, "Do you even have a designation or a name?"

"I will not reveal my identifying information to you," the Dalek snapped.

"Fine," Constant snapped back, "I'll just call you 'Jethrek', then. I'm getting sick of just calling you 'Dalek'."

"If you wish," Jethrek replied.

Then Constant looked at the screen again. "Uh..oh..." he said.

"That statement indicates that you predict danger," Jethrek stated, "Explain."

"In automatic settings," Constant explained, "this time ship was designed to attack a determined threat. So far, it doesn't see that equine as a threat. She's merely hitting the hull, and probably trying to move it. Eventually, though, the computers will calculate that she is a threat."

"Then let the ship exterminate her," Jethrek said.

Constant wanted to hit Jethrek so hard in the face for saying that, but he remembered that he was in a life support container, so he yelled at him instead. "SILENCE FROM YOU!"

Maud kept pounding and kicking at the mysterious rock with everything she had. After a while, she stopped, out of breath, and feeling half-worn out. She looked again to her subject. "Hmm...tough rock," she commented to herself. She then heard hoofsteps, and saw that her client had arrived. She got up, and went to talk to the client. "Right this way," she said, leading him to the cart of stone she had ready.

Constant, seeing all this happen on the screen, pondered. "Alternate universe indeed. No equine on Earth in our universe has developed speech. Alright, so the Monitor is currently camouflaged as a rock. So the equine must believe that she can make something out of it...probably a sculpture, or a stone path."

"Your statement indicates that she will continue to attempt to break the hull," Jethrek observed.

"Exactly," Constant sighed. He called for another viewing angle on the screen. He zoomed the view and saw the grey equine talking to another taller, green-furred equine. When he saw the rail cart of stone that the taller equine was looking over, it became clear to him. "We're disguised as a rock...in...a rock farm," he stated, worried, "We've got to get out of here."

"Would you risk exposing us?" Jethrek asked. His eye clearly had the look that said "Are you serious?"

"I'm not phasing us out just yet, Jethrek!" Constant replied, "I'm going to wait for the right moment!"

"Wise decision."

Constant sighed. "And Jethrek...I don't mean to sound like an angry father ranting at his child, but when we get out of this situation, you and I are having a talk about kill or no kill decisions!"

Jethrek glared at Constant, who walked back to the control room, leaving him behind to think about his new situation.

Author's Note

Didn't see that coming, did you? :pinkiehappy:

21: Jethrek's Upgrade/An Angel in Rockville

Constant was studying the information he had collected from the books in the library. Most of the laws of physics discovered in this universe were identical to those he learned in his own, so he was able to skim over that. However, he had to study the laws of physics relating to magic more closely, given that he had no experience with it. At least, not in this universe. He had heard about the so-called magic used by the Carrionite race, and he wondered if there was some kind of connection. Unable to find one, he went back to the basics of the magic in this universe. It wasn't long after that, however, that he found himself needing to take a break. He closed the files he had written and turned away from the console. After all that work, he decided to go back to his other projects, specifically, Jethrek's newer arms and the stun weapon.

Jethrek, who had been with him this whole time watching the time probe data, looked in his direction as he walked out. "Do you need assistance?" he asked.

"No, thank you," Constant said, "Uh...How's your ability to interact with the consoles?"

Jethrek looked to the arms on his travel machine. "Slow."

"Well, that'll soon change," Constant said with a slight smile. He walked out, leaving Jethrek looking at the doorway he went through.

Constant went to the lab and looked at the progress he had made with the new equipment. He had very little left to add to them, so it only took a hour to finish them with precise detail. "Jethrek," he said through an intercom panel, "Would you come down to the lab, please?"

"On my way," Jethrek replied.

Constant waited patiently. He looked over his work thoroughly to make sure he did not miss anything. When Jethrek arrived, he looked to him. "I think I'm going to want to avoid the Daleks altogether now," he said, "the exception being you."

"Why?" Jethrek asked.

"Because of this," he said, moving aside to show Jethrek his latest work.

Jethrek was surprised. "I see what you mean," he said, "If any other Dalek saw this, they would want you as a new engineer in their forces."

"So, do you want them?" he asked.

"Yes, please," Jethrek replied, "If we are going to get back to our own universe, I must be able to interface more comfortably with the consoles."

Constant could only smile at that statement. "Then let's get started."

About an hour later, Constant had finished installing the arms on Jethrek's travel machine. He tried swiveling them around and turning the elbow joints. Then he tried picking up a small container. "The Daleks will hate you, Constant." Jethrek meant that in a playful way.

Constant laughed. "They sure will, Jethrek. Uh...hold on a moment..." He opened Jethrek's left arm and installed something cylindrical. After he closed it, he stood in front of Jethrek. "Try tapping button 4C on the left panel."

Jethrek did so, and the "palm" of Jethrek's left hand opened to reveal a hollow tube. "Explain."

"Remember when I told you that I would give you a weapon that was non-lethal?" Constant asked

"Yes," Jethrek replied.

"That weapon does only two things," Constant explained, "Stun and paralyze."

Jethrek was surprised. "Why did you go this far?"

"Well," Constant said, "One, you will need a way to defend yourself if the need arises. Two, I am demonstrating a lot of trust in you by doing this."

Jethrek nodded his eye stalk. "Has the weapon been tested yet?"

"I tested it using that target over there," Constant replied, showing a semi-scorched sheet of metal with markings on it, "but I think we should test it again since it's on your suit now."

"I agree," Jethrek said, "Should we test it in the empty chamber?"

Constant nodded. "Yeah, let's do that."

Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Maud Pie had returned, and was walking toward Golden Oaks Library. Her pace varied, as she looked back every few seconds or minutes. A few times, she even turned and walked backwards to make sure she was not being followed. Once she reached the door, she turned around one last time, looking in all possible directions. Turning so that her right side faced the door, she opened the door and rushed in as quickly as possible, breathing heavily.

Spike, who was reading a book near the staircase, looked in her direction. "Maud! Wow, you were in a hurry to get here. What happened?"

Maud panted one last time before answering. "Is...Constant here?"

Spike sat up. "I think so. He should be in the Monitor right now. Why?"

Maud sighed. "My family and I had to move out of Rockville temporarily. Some of our customers started disappearing in the middle of preparations."

Twilight could easily tell that Maud was scared about what she was talking about. She was hiding no emotions at this time. "Disappearing?"

"Do you mean 'run away' disappearing or 'poof' disappearing?" Spike asked.

Maud looked to Spike. "'Poof' disappearing," she replied, "I asked around, and I even went to the families of some of the customers, and they said that the ponies I was looking for had...died. They showed me their graves."

Spike gulped. "So they were killed? But how?"

"Well, from the dates on the tombstones," Maud replied, "It was one of two things: One, they were already dead, and we had seen their ghosts...or two, they were thrown back in time."

Twilight looked to her. "How can that be? The last time I tried going back in time, I couldn't stay very long. It only lasted for a minute before I returned to the present."

"Well, it seems that when these ponies went back in time," Maud said, "they were there to stay."

Twilight nodded. "Okay, I think we should definitely talk to Constant about this. Come with me." She led Maud and Spike outside to where the Monitor was disguised as the extraneous branch on the library. She knocked where she believed the door was.

Constant and Jethrek had just finished testing the new stun weapon when a nearby control panel beeped. Jethrek walked over and pressed the panel, and the screen above it showed that Twilight, Maud Pie, and Spike were outside, and that Twilight had knocked on the entrance door. "Looks like we have company, Jethrek," Constant said, "Let's see what they want." They went to the main control room and Constant set the door to manually open so that the sound wouldn't attract too much attention. "Hello, Twilight, Spike, and Maud. What can we do for the three of you?"

"Actually, it's Maud who needs your help the most," Twilight stated, "Her family’s customers have been disappearing and she believes that it's time-related."

"Oh?" Constant asked.

Maud nodded.

Constant looked around. "Okay, uh, Jethrek, would you prefer to stay here or accompany me to the library?"

Jethrek looked to him, "I'll accompany you."

"Alright," Constant said. He turned on his perception filter and set the systems to automatic scanning. After that, he and Jethrek accompanied the two ponies and one dragon inside the library. "Okay," Constant said, "So, start from the beginning."

"It started last week," Maud explained, and she told him and Jethrek everything she had told Twilight. "We had to move out because of this. We're currently staying in Cherry Hill Ranch."

"Wait a minute, does Pinkie Pie know about this yet?" Spike asked.

"No," Maud replied, "I was in a hurry to get here."

"Let us review what you explained," Jethrek said, "You said that your customers disappeared without a trace and that you found out later that they died some time in the past?"

Maud nodded.

Constant stood up from the seat he had taken. "There are several possibilities, the way I see it. Some more likely than others. Narrowing it down..." He took a device out of his jacket pocket and used it to link with the Monitor. Looking at the screen on said device, he typed in commands and waited for the results. "I'm definitely seeing something in Rockville...Temporal distortions...That narrows it down to one possibility...but I'd have to go there personally to confirm it."

"Can you save the ponies who were lost then?" Maud asked.

Constant looked down. He was afraid that someone would ask that question. "If it is what I think it is, then no," he replied, "All I can possibly do is prevent more ponies from disappearing like that."

"Why can't you save them, then?" Spike asked, "What do you think caused the ponies to disappear?"

Constant did a final scan of the nearby area. "Hang on a second," he said, scanning the area nearby. "Good, there's no indication that it followed you, Maud."

"What could have followed me?" Maud asked.

Constant sat down again, putting his device back in his pocket. "Did you see a statue when each of your customers disappeared?"

Maud raised an eyebrow. "Yes, now that you mention it," she said, "It just showed up at our rock farm one day. We thought maybe someone had left it behind, so we just left it there. We didn't even take it with us to Cherry Hill Ranch."

"Did it have wings?" Constant asked.

Maud nodded again.

Constant looked to Jethrek, who looked to him. "One last thing," Constant asked, looking back to Maud, "Did it follow you?"

Maud's eyes widened slightly, but only for a moment. "Uh...now that you mention it...I thought I did see it move a few steps away from the rock farm when we left..."

"That's not good," Constant said, "Jethrek, are you aware of a race called Weeping Angels?"

Jethrek looked to him, surprised. "The Daleks have heard stories about them, but we considered them to be a superstitious myth."

"They aren't," Constant said, shaking his head.

"Weeping...Angels?" Twilight asked.

"Before I go into that, "Constant said, "Maud, how many statues did you see?"

"Just one," Maud replied.

"Are you sure?" Constant asked, "Absolutely?"

Maud nodded again, this time her face showing slight worry.

Constant sighed again. "Well that's only partly a relief." Everyone else looked to him. He moved to a different seat at the table so he could face them. "The Weeping Angels are one of the oldest races in the universe Jethrek and I come from. Some say that they are nearly as old as the universe itself. The reason why they end up in ghost stories is because of their nature. Anyone who has seen one, or several, would have only seen stone statues, but once they looked away...chances are that their friends would never have seen them again."

"So you're saying that they throw anyone they see back in time or something?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Constant replied, "You see, the Weeping Angels are a quantum-locked species. They are stone statues as long as you look at them, but once you blink, or once you look away, they are free to move as long as either action prevents you from looking at them, and they move very fast. One touch, and they can send you back in time. The reason is so that they can live off your potential temporal energy, the time you would have lived."

Spike's eyes went wide. Maud looked down slightly, unable to hold back any indication of sadness or fear. As much as it also scared Twilight a little, she was also curious. "How far back do they send you?" she asked.

"That varies," Constant replied, "Sometimes they'll send you a century back, or longer, sometimes they'll send you later than a century back, and sometimes, they'll even send you back at just the right moment that your life ends at the exact moment that you were taken...or a little earlier or later."

"But if this is all true," Jethrek said, "Then why are they called 'Weeping Angels'? I do not see how any of that information relates to the name."

Constant looked to him. "A very good question, Jethrek. You see, they can also turn to stone when they look at each other." He turned off his perception filter. "So anyone who has seen a Weeping Angel firsthand would have seen them covering their faces like this." He put his hands over his face. "It's not because they're crying, it's because they need to give each other the chance to move."

"Now it is clear," Jethrek said.

Constant turned his head back so that he could face everyone at the same time. "I did more extensive research on them in my free time. As it turns out, the Weeping Angels have more tricks up their sleeves. If you were to look into an Angel's eyes, you would be infected by them because their image imprints itself in your mind. Eventually you become an angel yourself. Another is that if their image is captured by any kind of imaging device, a camera, or otherwise, that image is itself an angel. As a result, they can come out of the image and take their victims. One last thing...they can take control of statues since they are in the forms of living beings."

Spike gulped. "Well, what are we going to do about it?"

Constant sighed, a solemn expression on his face. "That...I don't know. There is no other way to study the Angel except in person. We'll have to make sure that it's not from this universe, and that's only a part of it. "

"So are you going to keep him aboard your ship?" Twilight asked.

"No, that would be dangerous," Constant said, "There is enough time energy in there for them to feast on for a lifetime. Twilight, do you recall when you stopped Nightmare Moon from turning the skies dark forever?"

"Yes," Twilight replied.

"Well imagine what would happen if there was no sun at all," Constant stated with a serious face.

Twilight and Maud both took a step back in surprise. "No sun?" Twilight asked.

"Without the sun," Jethrek pondered, "There wouldn't be enough light for the plant life to absorb...everyone on the planet would have to have a mobile light source...--wait...the Weeping Angels...The Weeping Angels could hide in plain sight more easily!"

"Exactly, Jethrek," Constant said, "They wouldn't even give the population of a planet the chance to freeze to death due to lack of heat."

"I'll have to write a letter to Princess Celestia about this," Twilight said.

"Might as well," Constant said, remembering that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were aware of the situation he and Jethrek were in. "Jethrek, let's go back to the Monitor. We're going to make preparations before I go out there and help deal with this new problem."

"Of course," Jethrek said. Then it dawned on him what Constant said, "Wait...you? You're going alone?"

"I'm afraid so, Jethrek," Constant replied, "You see, you have a holographic screen inside your travel machine, which can capture the image of the Angel. If that Angel happens to create a visual record of itself in that system, it will actually be able to get you because it can leave the image."

The eyes of Jethrek's avatar went wide, but only for a moment. "The Daleks would be wise to avoid them," he said.

"Yes, they would," Constant agreed. He thought for a moment. "Maybe you can help in a way, actually. Sound by itself doesn't seem to present a problem when it comes to the Angels."

"You suggest that I stay aboard the Monitor and observe your progress through audio channels?" Jethrek asked.

Constant nodded. "Exactly."

Jethrek thought for a few moments, then let his avatar nod as well. "Very well."

Twilight looked to Constant. "Uh..should I ask Princess Celestia to prepare a portal spell to take it to another universe?"

Constant looked to her. "Good idea, except...Wait a minute...I heard from Applejack that you once took a trip to a universe where humans existed. Was that the only universe ever accessed from here?"

"I...don't know," Twilight replied honestly.

"That's a problem," Constant said, sighing, looking to Jethrek, "A really big problem. If that angel is indeed from our universe, then it is most likely the reason for us landing here in the first place. Every universe has it's own quantum signature, and I'm not willing to risk sending it off to some other universe where no one has seen or heard of the Weeping Angels in the first place...at any time."

There was a pause. Spike broke the silence. "What about mirrors?"

Constant looked to Spike. "Mirrors?"

"Yeah, mirrors," Spike went on, "If we bring plenty of mirrors, I'm sure that we can use them as a defense against the Angel. You said that they cover their eyes so they don't risk looking at each other, right?"

Constant could immediately see what Spike was thinking. "So what if they looked at themselves? Good thinking, Spike. Jethrek, I'll need your help to make some reflective surfaces.

Jethrek nodded. "What dimensions will they have to be?"

Constant pondered that. "Big enough so that they stand as tall as the person...or pony...who is carrying them."

"Might I recommend a curved surface, then?" Jethrek asked, pondering the idea further.

Constant nodded. "Good idea."

"So that means we have a solution?" Maud asked.

"Well, only part of the solution," Constant replied, "With the reflective surfaces, we have a way to contain the Angel, but only as long as we're there. We'd have to hold our defenses until real help comes."

"Not to mention that eventually the Angel will see past our trick and start attacking blind," Twilight observed, "Wait, can they hear when they're statues?"

"They can," Constant replied, "and that makes it a little more problematic."

"I'd better get working on that letter right away, then," Twilight said.

"Right, and I'll get the necessary equipment for this mission," Constant said, "Jethrek, I'll need your help preparing reflective surfaces. They'll need to be light enough for us to carry around with us."

Jethrek made his avatar nod. "Very well."

"What about my family?" Maud asked, "The rock farm is our main source of income and...if we lose it permanently..."

Constant could immediately tell what Maud was trying to say. "I understand, Maud," he said, "Just tell them that the situation is being taken care of and that you'll have your rock farm back soon. Also tell them that when this all blows over, no one will disappear anymore."

Maud nodded. "Okay."

Spike walked up. "Uh...so who's going to look after the library?"

They all looked to each other at the question. "Well we can't let this operation go public," Constant replied, "and now that I think about it, I think you should come along as well, Spike. We'll need you to send a message to Princess Celestia once we have the Weeping Angel trapped."

"That makes sense," Spike said, seeing that part of Constant's plan.

"Then I think it's settled," Constant said, "Unless....does anyone else have any...objections? Or things they want to add on?"

"Uh...Pinkie might want to know what's going on," Maud said.

Constant nodded. "Yeah, good point." He paused..."Go ahead and tell her. If she wants to join in, she's free to. We'll need all the help we can get in this situation."

Maud nodded in agreement.

"Seeing that we're going to need to do this as quickly as possible," Jethrek spoke up, "I'd recommend we use the Monitor to travel a short distance away from the rock farm. Then I can bring it back here."

Constant nodded. "Good idea." He turned to the ponies and Spike. "I just ask that the lot of you keep an open mind before you step into my ship."

Twilight looked to Constant in confusion. "Why?"

"Let's just say that some things are not always what they seem. You'll know more once we're ready to go."

Twilight looked to Spike, then to Maud, and then back to Constant again. "Okay."

A few hours passed before Constant was ready to go to Rockville. He wasn't sure if Pinkie Pie was coming, but he made a reflective surface for her to carry around just in case. Each reflective surface was made so it could fold and be carried like a backpack. Once Twilight, Maud, and Spike were standing in front of the Monitor, Constant knew it was time to get going. Twilight knocked on the Monitor's entrance door, and Constant opened it at once.

"The course is locked in," he said, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep!" Spike replied. He was eager to go on this mission despite Twilight's concerns.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie sprung out from the right. "Hey!" she called out quietly, "Hold on, I'm coming too!"

Constant looked to her. "Ah, so Maud has briefed you on what's going on?"

Pinkie nodded.

Constant smiled, "Good, because I made a spare reflective surface for you to carry around when we get there."

"What for?" Pinkie asked.

"Weeping Angels are as much a threat to themselves as they are to others if they are in an environment where they are constantly looking at themselves," Constant explained, "So as long as each of us has a reflective surface, we're double-protected against the Angel in Rockville."

"Ah ha!" Pinkie said, seeing what Constant was talking about, "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

"Of course," Constant said, "Time's a-wasting, and we don't want anypony else being thrown back in time." He and Jethrek lead everyone else inside the Monitor. As he expected, there were mixed reactions. Twilight's face was one of shock, Spike had some time to pause before he started running around to look at everything, and Maud was doing her best to keep a straight face when she walked in. The only being whose reaction was unusual was Pinkie Pie. When she walked in, one look around, and she was holding her breath. "Uh...Pinkie Pie?" Constant asked, "Are you alright?"

Pinkie nodded slowly. When Constant closed the doors, she let out a loud "WOW!" which startled him and just about everyone else. Even Jethrek had "side-stepped" in his travel machine from the console he was working on in reaction to her scream.

And speaking of which, his eye stalk turned to her. "Hello, Pinkie Pie," he greeted her.

"Hello to you too, Jethrek!" Pinkie replied.

If there was any moment for Maud to break her seemingly emotionless expression again, it was now. One look, and her eyes fully opened, and she backed up slightly. "Uh...you know him?" she asked Pinkie.

"Yeah!" Pinkie said excitedly, "We met---Oh!" She noticed Jethrek's new arms, "Uh...I see you changed your arms."

"Constant changed them," Jethrek replied, "He and I both agreed that single-jointed arms were inefficient." He went back to working at the control panel in front of him, the two fingers and one thumb on each hand clicking keys. His eye stalk turned. "Constant, the space drive is primed. We can leave at any time."

"Let's go, then!" Constant said, moving to the center console tower. "Everyone hold on to something, this might get a little quaky." Constant pressed the control key to get the Monitor moving, and the control chamber vibrated lightly. "Huh, I guess it got used to this universe more quickly than we expected," Constant observed.

It only took about 10 seconds for the Monitor to land a few miles away from Rockville. This time it was disguised as a large bush. After a few minutes, the doors opened, and Constant walked out, followed by Twilight, then Spike, and finally, Pinkie and Maud Pie. "Why did we have to land this far from Rockville?" Spike asked, carrying his reflective surface like a backpack.

Constant took out a scanner from his jacket and looked at it, turning it on. "We don't wish to alert the Angel of our presence that quickly," he replied, "The Angel would come to us very quickly and get one of us on the first step out, and then...I'll leave the rest to your imagination."

Jethrek came to the door, but did not come out. "I will only use audio signals from the time probes to keep track of your progress," he said as he opened his travel machine.

"Very good," Constant said, "I'll signal you once it's safe to take us back."

Jethrek closed the entrance doors, and a few seconds later, the Monitor vanished instantly.

"Well, let's do it," Constant said, looking to his scanner and walking. The three ponies and dragon followed. About half an hour later, Constant turned to them. Twilight, Maud, and Pinkie were all wearing their reflective surfaces like saddle packs, much like Spike was carrying his. "Those reflectors aren't too heavy, are they?" he asked.

"No," Twilight replied, "Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering because I didn't think to bring a cart if that was the case," Constant replied. He wasn't having trouble carrying his own reflective surface, as he carried it the same way Spike did. The walk was long, and Constant was continuously scanning the area ahead of them as they did. Even before they reached the outskirts of Rockville, he was already detecting indications of temporal activity. "I'm definitely detecting temporal anomalies in the area," he said, "All signs of temporal displacement...all going backwards in time."

"Any sign that the Angel is still here?" Twilight asked.

"I'm checking," Constant replied, "Scanning for motion...Yes, everyone get your reflective surfaces out now." Everyone took the reflective surfaces off their backs and unfolded them before holding them out like shields. "Keep an eye out," Constant instructed, "Look everywhere. We can't be careless just because we have these reflectors at our disposal." Pinkie Pie looked around like her life depended on it, shifting the direction her reflector was facing every once in a while. Everyone else did the same, except not as hastily. Spike had to look in opposite directions from his reflector, seeing that it was a little too big for him to be facing forward clearly, but he looked above it every chance he could. "I can't keep track of it's position," Constant reported, "It's moving too fast."

"Then I suggest we huddle together," Maud said, "Looking outward of course, that way we can catch it---"

Suddenly, there was the sound of metal clanging, followed by Spike crying out "Ow!" Everyone looked in his direction to find him sitting up on the ground holding his nose, and his reflector dented and half-folded. But he was not the center of attention for long, as everyone saw what it was that caused it to happen in the first place. There, standing with one front hoof on the ground and the other leg covering it's eyes was the Weeping Angel they were looking for. Because everyone was looking at him, he was now solid stone.

"Spike, move!" Constant exclaimed, "Get away from him!" Spike did so and rushed away as quickly as possible. "Everyone, focus on the Angel! Don't blink, don't look away, don't get distracted!" Constant said, "I need to scan him!" Constant pulled out his scanner and did so. "Scanning the quantum signature...Oh boy, he's definitely from my universe."

Twillight sighed. "So what now? You said we needed to contain him, right?"

"Yes," Constant confirmed, "but right now, he's trying to attack blind. I'm surprised he took the form of a pegasus, though. I thought he would retain his humanoid form. "

After a few minutes of Constant's scanning, Spike found that he couldn't keep his eyes open. "Constant, I really need to blink right now," he said, "My eyeballs feel dry."

"So do mine," Twilight said, "Isn't there another way we can do this?"

"I'm not sure yet," Constant said, "There's a reason Jethrek and I made these reflectors out of metal in the first place. Glass breaks more easily with the force that dented Spike's reflector, so standard mirrors aren't as reliable.

"Well you'd better think of something quick!" Pinkie said, worried, "I'm about to blink too!"

Constant looked up at the Angel. "Alright, everyone blink now!" Everyone did except for him. "Is that enough?"

"For the moment," Maud said.

Constant looked to the Angel, then to Spike, then to the trio of ponies. Before he could speak, however, he saw Twilight's horn glowing. "Don't do anything!" he said, but it was too late. Twilight fired her spell at the Angel, but it had no effect. "Twilight, an Angel is invincible when he or she has turned to stone. I was about to suggest that you use your magic to hold the reflectors around the Angel while the rest of us surround him."

"Are you sure that would work?" Twilight asked.

"It has to," Constant said, "Otherwise there's no way to contain him." He looked up at the sky. "We'd better hurry too. We're losing sunlight." At that moment, a slight gust of wind blew through Rockville. Everyone closed their eyes for a moment, but immediately regretted it when they saw the Angel standing dangerously close to Spike. Spike was paralyzed with fear, and the Angel was now looking closely at Spike's face, baring his fangs at him. "Spike, don't look in his eyes! Move!"

But at the moment, Spike was distracted by the fact that he was about to sneeze. Sneezing meant that he would have to close his eyes. He did remember Constant saying how dangerous it was to look into a Weeping Angel's eyes before they left the library, so he knew to look away from his eyes. "Ah....AAAH...."

Everyone tried to keep their eyes on Spike and the Angel, but the wind was still blowing dust. Even Constant had to blink at this point. Unfortunately, they picked a bad time to blink because at that moment, Spike sneezed, blowing out a mighty flame from his mouth. "AAAAH-CHOO---AAA--!" When everyone looked in his direction again, Spike was nowhere to be seen. The Angel, however, was covering his face and his mouth was open in such a way to indicate that he would have been screaming in pain due to the fire.

"SPIKE!" Twilight exclaimed, "NOOOO!"

Everyone else looked at the Angel in shock and misery, but Constant rushed over to where the Angel was and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, running it and waving it around him as he scanned.

"Constant, what are you doing?!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Scanning this new anomaly while it's still fresh!" Constant replied, "I need to find out how far back the Angel sent him!" He got out his radio. "Constant to Jethrek! Constant to Jethrek, do you read me?"

"I am receiving," Jethrek replied over the radio, "What is your status?"

"We found the Angel," Constant said, "But we lost Spike."

"I will scan the probe data to find him," Jethrek replied.

Constant put his radio down on the ground as he kept working, kicking it away. Twilight, Maud and Pinkie kept looking at the Angel as they carefully approached him. "Constant, you've got to stop!" Twilight said, "You can't keep this up!...We can't keep this up!"

"Twilight," Constant said, keep his eye on the Angel every moment he could, "My arrival here was a mistake. I have reason to believe that this Angel was part of the cause. Even if he wasn't, I have reason to believe that he's a stowaway, which means I am responsible for what happened to Spike! Given the adventures that I've seen him go on with you and otherwise, I can tell that he's an important factor to the history of this world, and probably this universe! That's why I'm doing this!" His scanner beeped, and he looked to it. "I've got it!" he exclaimed, "By these readings, he's been sent ba---" Constant could not finish his sentence because at that moment, Twilight, Pinkie, and Maud were all in a position where they either had to blink because of the dust, or they were focused on Constant, which gave the Angel the advantage to strike.

Constant was gone.

"OH NO!" Pinkie exclaimed, "CONSTANT!"

Maud, seeing that the Angel was now facing forwards, rushed over with her reflector and faced it at the Angel.

"Jethrek to Constant."

The three ponies looked to the radio which Constant had kicked away from himself.

"Jethrek to Constant, please respond!"

They looked to each other, and Pinkie walked over to it.

"Constant, please respond! I have found when Spike was sent back!"

Pinkie tapped a button on the radio. "Uh...J--Jethrek...Pinkie Pie here."

"Pinkie Pie?" Jethrek asked, "Where is Constant?"

"The...the Angel got him," Pinkie whimpered.

There was a short pause. "I understand," Jethrek said, "What is your current---"

"Your efforts to trap me are useless."

Everypony looked in the direction of the Angel, each swearing that they heard Spike's voice.

"Spike?!" Twilight said, looking around with a tear in her eye, "Is that you, where are you?"

"You will not succeed."

Maud, who was still holding the reflector up, looked to the Angel and leaned her ear toward him.

"You will not be able to hold me here forever. Eventually something will break my line of sight toward the reflective contraption and I will be free."

Maud was surprised, but didn't show it. "It's the Angel. He's speaking in Spike's voice."

Twilight and Pinkie looked at the Angel in shock.

"If you do not wish to be thrown back in time you will comply with my demands," the Angel continued in Spike's voice, "You will escort me to the temporal travel machine."

"Do not listen to him!" Jethrek said over the radio.

"How do we know you'll keep your word?" Twilight asked.

"The situation dictates that you ha---" The Angel stopped speaking suddenly. All that could be heard now were only attempts to speak.

"That we have what?" Pinkie asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked back to the Angel

The Weeping Angel continued to attempt speaking, but to no avail.

"I think he was trying to say that we have no choice in the matter," Maud said.

With that said, the Angel stopped trying to speak.

"Stand by," Jethrek said, "I will attempt to make contact with Princess Celestia and request help."

"Please hurry, Jethrek!" Twilight begged. Even she was afraid now.

Several hours passed, and it came to the point where Twilight and Pinkie decided to hold their reflectors side-by-side with Maud's.

"How long do we have to keep this up?" Maud asked.

"Not much longer, I hope," Twilight said. She was honestly uncertain.

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are in public areas as of this moment," Jethrek reported over the radio, "I cannot risk contancting them without exposing myself."

"We're already losing sunlight, Jethrek!" Twilight said, sounding slightly panicked, "What are we going to do?"

"At the moment, I am calculating possible scenarios to help us---Wait...I am detecting a life form approaching you," Jethrek said.

"Where?!" Pinkie Pie said, looking around.

"It is approaching quickly!" Jethrek reported.

"From which direction, Jethrek?" Maud asked.

"Maud, keep your eyes on the Angel!" Twilight said, "Pinkie and I will---" Suddenly, she felt something touch her left wing. She gasped, and turned her head back quickly to see a pair of eyes which at first seemed to be looking at her, but turned out to be focused on the Angel. Twilight could tell, even if she wasn't looking back. The figure who the eyes belonged to said five words to start...

"Keep your eyes on him."

Author's Note

They'll be back...Trust me, they'll be back...