Roseluck entered the TARDIS and gazed in wonder at the interior, doubting she would ever get used to it. The Doctor next to her strode quickly towards the control panel, a smile on his face.
"Okay, let's start with something simple" he said as he turned the control panel around and watched her from the other side. "Do you want to go to the past or the future?"
A little dizzy that time travel was such a simple thing, she walked over to the control panel.
"Uh...future?"
The Doctor lit up and started off, pulling some levers and turning a wheel to the side.
"Perfect, I have the right place!"
The TARDIS started up, the whispering sound filling the room, the pipes moving and a slight tremor in the ship, forcing Roseluck to grab onto something. After a few moments, everything stopped and the Doctor pointed towards the door.
"We've arrived, take a look."
Roseluck looked at the smiling face of the Doctor before turning towards the door. After a few deep breaths, she dared to move forward and go outside. It took her a few moments to figure out where they were, and her eyes widened. They were in Ponyville, and the only reason she found that out was because of Sugarcube Corner, which was now ten times the size, with more candy towers, apparently, and a neon sign announcing its name. The rest was unrecognizable, when before the houses did not exceed two stories high, now, wherever she looked, there were buildings five stories or more, but maintaining the aesthetics of a structure made of wood and thatched roofs, a huge contrast with the rest.
They were located on a busy street, on a fairly wide sidewalk, and across from the Sugarcube Corner restaurant. The street was lined with ponies, going about their business, some of them wearing what appeared to be headphones on their ears and talking, apparently, to themselves. On the road, instead of pony-drawn carriages, there were automatic carriages, which moved on their own. Looking towards the center, she got a new surprise, because there was a castle that surpassed all the buildings of the small town... well, it was in her time. Roseluck gaped at the palace, which was almost as big as Princess Celestia's, or so she remembered it, and at the top, there was a star that, strangely, was familiar to her, but she didn't know from what.
"Welcome to the Golden Age of Harmony, about 500 years in your future" the Doctor said from behind her. "And this, is Ponyville, the second most important city after Canterlot, ruled by the princess of magic and friendship, Twilight Sparkle."
Roseluck's eyes widened and she stared at the Doctor intently.
"Twilight?"
"Yes."
"Twilight Sparkle?"
"Uh-huh," the Doctor said with a smile. "The heroine and bearer of the eleme..."
"The librarian?"
The Doctor blinked in confusion and eyed Roseluck doubtfully before realization hit his face, causing him to let out a resigned sigh.
"Let me guess, you live in Ponyville and you know Twilight."
"Yes."
The Doctor considered it for a few moments before shrugging.
"Well, a little miscalculation. Just promise not to say anything to her when you get back."
"I don't think she would believe me anyway" Roseluck said as she looked around the castle. "So…she's an alicorn now?"
"That's right, the last mortal to be ascend to that status."
"Now that's quite a promotion," Roseluck muttered, now recognizing the star as Twilight's cutie mark.
"Anyway, you've already seen the first surprise, if you look towards the South, you'll see the second, I think it's the most surprising one" said the Doctor as he turned around.
Roseluck studied the castle a little longer before turning around, her eyes widening. Protruding from what was the Everfree Forest was a gigantic tree, the same size as the castle at least, made of what appeared to be glass. Its bark was bluish in color, and its branches extended for hundreds of meters, covering a large part of the forest, its leaves, also made of glass, were pinkish in color, and on its trunk she could see the cutie marks of the princesses Celestia, Luna and Twilight.
"Wh-what's that?" Roseluck said with her eyes wide as saucers.
Instead of answering, the Doctor stared at the gigantic tree with a slight frown. He took his left hoof to his jacket and pulled out a small pocket watch, watching it.
"1576 after Nightmare Moon" he muttered to himself before looking back at the tree.
"Doctor?"
The Doctor blinked and looked at Roseluck, who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Putting the watch in his pocket, he gave her a smile.
"Yes, sorry" he said as he pointed to the tree. "That over there is the Tree of Harmony, source of the Elements of Harmony."
"The elements come from that thing?" Roseluck said incredulously. "That's impossible! I think I would remember a giant tree in the middle of the Everfree."
"In your time, the Tree of Harmony is just a sapling, a sapling whose growth was stunted for 1000 years away from the elements" said the Doctor. "If it wasn't for that, you would remember a gigantic tree."
As Roseluck gazed at the Tree in amazement, the Doctor looked from it to the ponies, his brow furrowing even deeper. The mare turned with a huge smile, but it faded when she saw the stallion's expression.
"Something happens?"
"I'm not sure yet" he said, then focusing on Roseluck. "Do you want to go to Sugarcube Corner? I'm in the mood for a Fluttercake."
Even though she sensed something was up, Roseluck cocked her head in confusion at the latter.
"Fluttercake?"
"Yes, ponies usually prefer Pinkiecakes or Twicakes, but I like Flutrercakes better, they remind me of nature" he commented as he headed towards Sugarcube Corner.
Roseluck stared at him in confusion before following him.
"Wait, wait, since when are their names used for food?"
"Since they became world-renowned legends" the Doctor said with a smile. "First they were only known in Equestria, then they went to the Dragon Lands, Mount Aris..."
"Mount Aris?"
"Right, you haven't gotten to that part yet. Don't worry, you'll see."
With that, the Doctor simply walked into the restaurant. Roseluck looked at him a little confused before shrugging her shoulders and following him. Upon entering, she noticed the great change this Sugarcube Corner had with the one she knew. Its interior seemed to have been enlarged, the counter was definitely bigger, with several ponies ready to take orders, screens above their heads showing the menus, which were not just dedicated to sweets now, they had a proper restaurant menu, although the sweets, cupcakes and, ultimately, pastry products continued to be the star dishes.
There were tables in every corner and, on either side of the room, there were two stairs leading to the second floor of the restaurant, or so Roseluck supposed, since in her own time, that floor was reserved for the private life of the owners. The Doctor sat down at one of the tables that had a window facing the street, his companion following shortly after.
"This site is bigger than before."
""Oh, it's not that big" dismissed the Doctor with a wave of his hoof. "You should see the one in Canterlot, that one is big."
Roseluck stopped studying the room and looked at the Doctor with wide eyes.
"There is more?"
"Yes, after Mr. and Mrs. Cake retired and their foals took over, they decided to open another store in Manehattan, and from there, they jumped to success" said the Doctor with a smile. "And it was not for less, their sweets are great, so... what do you want?"
The Doctor lightly tapped the right side of his seat, creating a holographic panel right in front of him with a full menu, to Roseluck's astonished gaze. After weighing it for a few seconds, the mare followed suit, hitting her part of the table and creating a menu for herself. There was a huge variety of options, so much so that it overwhelmed her, so she decided to have a random cupcake and an orange juice. When finished, the holographic panel disappeared, and only then, the mare realized something important.
"Uh... You have to pay for this, right?"
The Doctor gave her an amused look, turning off the holographic panel in front of him. He tapped on the opposite end from last time, revealing another smaller holographic display, then took out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it there. He turned it on for a few seconds until an approving tone sounded from the screen, which immediately disappeared.
"Ready, paid."
Roseluck blinked and watched the Doctor as he put the screwdriver away.
"Isn't that stealing?" she whispered to him, to which the Doctor shrugged.
"We are time and space travelers, we have no other way to pay."
"If that helps you feel good about yourself…" Rose replied with a mischievous smile before focusing on the crowd, waiting for their meals.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the Doctor was frowning again, watching the ponies. After a few moments, she couldn't resist anymore.
"Okay, is something wrong?" She said as she leaned across the table.
"Well…" The Doctor seemed to debate with himself for a second before turning to look at Roseluck. "Do you remember the Tree of Harmony?"
"Doctor, I will never forget the Tree of Harmony, it is too big for that."
"There is the problem."
Roseluck raised a curious eyebrow at that, looking at the Doctor's calm face.
"What is too big?"
"On the contrary, it should be even bigger."
"Plus?" Roseluck said with wide eyes.
"This is the Golden Age of Harmony, the Tree feeds on harmony to grow, it should be twice as big, but it seems to be behind in its growth, about 200 years to the naked eye. Also, there is another problem, tell me, have you seen any other race besides ponies?"
Roseluck frowned and looked around Sugarcube Corner, filled to the brim with earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns, but no races other than ponies.
"Uh, no, but that's normal, they're not that common in Equestria."
"They aren't in your time, in the year 1000 after Nighmare Moon, but this is 1576, the streets should be teeming with griffins, kirins, hippogriffs, changelings, zebras, aliens..."
"Aliens?" Roseluck asked with wide eyes, receiving a shrug from the Doctor.
"In 1145 the planet Equs will come into direct, official and peaceful contact with other species and will enter into trade relations, maybe one day I'll show you, but this..." The Doctor looked around the room. "The Golden Age of Harmony seems to be late on purpose."
Roseluck looked around before looking at the Doctor.
"If so, what is causing it?"
"That's a very good question, and our best chance to answer it is to start asking," the Doctor said, focusing on a unicorn mare approaching them with a tray. "And I know who will be the first to ask."
The mare smiled at them both as she left them their food.
"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner and I hope you enjoy your food."
"Thank you very much" said the Doctor smiling, and before the mare left, he stopped her. "Actually, I wanted to ask you a few things, if that's okay with you, we're taking a trip and we're new around here."
The mare nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course! I'll be happy to answer any questions you have."
"Good, actually, I've had one on my mind for a while, aren't there other species apart from ponies?" he asked, causing the mare's smile to vanish. "I mean, no gryphons, no zebras, no changelings..."
"Don't say that!" the mare half shouted, drawing the attention of a few nearby ponies. After calming down a bit, the mare stared at them. "How dare you? Everypony knows that it is forbidden to say... that word."
"Which?" Roseluck asked tilting her head. "Changeling?"
"Shhh!" she interrupted the mare with panic in her eyes, glancing over her shoulder before looking back at the two of them. "Yes, that word. Those things have been at war with us for two centuries, as have the dragons, and the rest of the races don't speak to us, they are too cowardly."
The Doctor and Roseluck looked at each other, both had noticed the hatred in their words. One thing that was not common in the current Equestria, that of the year 1000, was racism, since Celestia abhorred it and had instilled an environment of respect and equality. Seeing it so openly was disconcerting.
"Princesses do nothing?" the Doctor said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes they do, they keep the war away from us" said the mare, a slight frown appearing on her face. "That's something you should know."
"We were a bit isolated, that's all. Thanks for the help."
The mare stared at the Doctor before nodding and walking away, leaving the two alone.
"That was weird," Roseluck muttered, focusing on the Doctor.
"And suspicious, changelings and dragons in a war with Equestria? Dragons? That's impossible."
Deciding to leave the question of what changelings were for later, Roseluck asked about dragons, the species she did know of.
"Why is it so rare that dragons are at war with us?"
"Do you know who Spike is?" the Doctor asked, causing Roseluck to blink in confusion at the change of subject and nodded. "Spike was the first dragon with equestrian nationality in history, since he was born here, he helped the Dragon Lord Ember achieve her position, and in 1123 he was appointed as ambassador of the ponies in the Dragon Lands, and later as Personal adviser to the Dragon Lord, a title he held until his retirement in 5878, do you see a reason why war between Equestria and the Dragon Lands is nearly impossible?"
Roseluck frowned as she thought about it, eyeing the cupcakes that had been brought to them as she did so. Soon, her eyes widened.
"Wait, does being an advisor to the Dragon Lord prevent him from being loyal to Equestria?"
"Nope."
"Then...why would he go to war with the ponies?"
"More importantly, why turn against his mother?"
"Mother?" Roseluck asked with a raised eyebrow, to which the Doctor waved a hoof dismissively.
"Twilight incubated him and gave him life, technically speaking she is his mother, that they have not admitted it in your time does not mean the opposite. But the question remains, why fight Twilight? Why fight who raised him?"
Roseluck was silent for a few moments before smiling.
"We're going to look into it, right?"
"Obviously" replied the Doctor with an even bigger smile.
