The Changeling could never remember a time that they weren't running. Since the wedding of Princess Cadence, his kind have been hunted. They were born after the fact, but that didn’t make them any less guilty in the eyes of Pony kind.
Arrows were stuck into his back like that of the porcupine. Green goo oozed from his mouth, and parts of his exoskeleton were cracked. His wings were torn and his horn was gone.. and yet he still runs. They didn’t know where they ran to, and that didn’t matter. They have been lost for quite a long time... the hive most likely believed them dead.
The hunts have begun to get more aggressive as of late since their queen, Queen Chrysalis, successfully took over a small town called Ponyville. It’s only a matter of time now before Celestia declares full-out war... it was war already, just not a spoken one.
The Changeling ran deeper into the forest, hoping for someplace to rest. Their legs were weak and their eyes grew heavy when they spotted it; a river!
Without hesitation, they sprinted over to it and jumped in. They swam, bathed, and drank the water! It tasted horrible, but it had to do. Now they just needed some love to make their stomach feel less hollow. They would take a few moments to scout around and make sure they weren't followed before returning to the water.
In the water, they began removing the arrows one at a time. They tried to use magic to pull them all out at once, only to get a painful reminder of the battle they just escaped.
They were in Seaward Shoals when they were discovered. They just wanted a little bite to eat... just a little something. They disguised as a mare they saw and attempted to flirt with the sea captains that walked the town. Sadly, their idea of flirting was to bluntly say the first thing that come to mind. Eventually, a powerful sorcerer saw through their disguise and outed them as a Changeling. The sorcerer tried to use his magic to crush the Changeling there and then, but only managed to smash their horn. Guards shot at him and villagers chased him with weapons. He felt disgusted by this display... until he heard one scream;
“Keep it away from the children!”
These ponies were just scared. From what he'd heard about the wedding, he couldn't blame them. Mabey one day in the future there could be peace... a Changeling could dream.
As they lay in the water, they stared at the stars and moon... it was a pretty moon, even if it had an enormous cavity where The Mare in The Moon used to be... Celestia took no chances with that prophecy... prophecy... The Changeling found the word funny. Prophecies are nothing more than the space between the moon and Equestria; empty. The Changelings had a prophecy of death... one where a Pony-Machine hybrid would come and exterminate them all. It was silly garbage noise to scare the weak-minded into obedience.
The Changeling looked around one last time before closing their eyes and drifting off to sleep.
“...-I SAID SILENCE TURNER!” screamed a female voice.
The sudden scream awoke the Changeling from their slumber. They had drifted off to a new location and became disorientated.
“alright sorry, just trying to lighten the mood...” spoke a soft male voice.
The Changeling looked around and saw light. Their first instinct was to run again, run from the voices.
“But just remember why the Timelords were founded.” spoke the male voice. “We are the very things we were meant to stop; to protect Equestria from!”
Timelords? The Changeling never heard of “Timelords” before... maybe just a quick peek. From behind a bush, the Changeling sat.
They could see the back of a tied-up brown stallion wearing a strange red robe. In front of him, two Griphions and a female Sea Pony stood in similar robes watching. The Sea Pony held a strange-looking gun that glowed red.
“We are protecting Equestria” the Sea Pony replied, “Ponies don’t realize they are burdened by the freedoms of life. They make bad decisions all the time... just look at Celestia and Luna for proof.”
“If you hadn’t convinced Celestia that Luna was beyond salvation...”
“Then Nightmare Moon would have taken Equestria.”
“Wrong... then two sisters would have made amends...”
The conversation sent shivers down the back of the Changeling. What was happening?
“Do you accept the charges against you Time Turner?”
“Could you explain them again? I wasn't listening the first time... fell asleep from bordom.”
The Sea Pony shot him a dirty glare before speaking.
“You stole a Type-40 TARDIS meant to be used for parts and traveled back in time in an attempt to bring life to the prophecy of The Doctor.”
Prophecy. It’s always a prophecy, the Changeling thought. The Sea Pony continued to talk.
“We have prevented the prophecy from coming true seven times now, and thanks to you we know why we had to kill seven Ponies.”
“Killed?!” Time Turner screamed. “You didn’t need to kill them! I barely said anything before you lot showed up and I had to run!”
“We take no chances Turner. The Doctor is destined to change the fate of all of time and space, and we can’t risk that change being negative.”
“Wrong; You can’t risk that change hurting your POWER!” Turner struggled to move as he yelled! “You Power hungry villains! Soon, you will see your meddling with time will have consequences!”
The Sea Pony stared before aiming the strange gun at Time Turner. “This Paradox Gun is set to the day you first became a Timelord up to the date before today. Everything but this moment will cease to exist and you will return to who you were before; a clockmaker from Ponyville.”
“You know what happened to the ponies of Ponyville, correct? The same will happen to me!”
“We are aware.” Her tone of voice was cold, but the Changeling could feel a bitter taste of love emanating from them... did this Sea Pony have a broken heart? “Any last words?”
“...” Time Turner thought for a moment before turning his head slightly behind him... just enough so the Changeling could see his smirk. “You’re wrong about the Doctor; Any being can be The Doctor... not just Ponies... Griffins... Sea Ponies... Changelings... No matter how unimportant they may seem, they just need the push I had...” Time Turner turned back to the Sea Pony. “I remember when I first became a Timelord... I was taken to the Timelord base of Galafray a million years into the future... I drank from the Fountain of Time and again the secrets of Regeneration... Do you know how long it took me to get my old face back... yes... centuries of faces... yet my Cutie-Mark never changed... I’ll miss you River...”
Poisons amounts of vulgar love poured from the Sea Pony. “I won't.” She pointed the gun at his person and it began to charge; the red glow grew in brightness as the gun growled with anger.
“My TARDIS... the one left just SOUTH of here... MY TIME MACHINE!” Time Turner yelled as he glanced behind him... “What will happen to her?!”
The Sea Pony said nothing...
The blast was large and bright. The screams were loud and quick. One moment he was there, the next he was not.
“Stay alert.” The Sea Pony said. “I want to head into the nearby town and double-check he didn’t change anything to spite us...”
The Changeling backed away as the Sea Pony talked to her Griffin guards... Time Machine... Timelords... Doctors?! This was all crazy! This was madness... and yet they saw it all. They refused to believe this... but the hunger for the truth overtook them... south... They looked up to the night sky... they could see the moon was setting... so if that was West then... The Changeling turned left and quietly walked away... for about a minute before running South.
The gray cylinder sat in plain view. It was as hidden as the Sun would be to an astronomer... during mid-day. Her in the glow of the moon it sat waiting for its new master.
Soon, this master came, a scared Changeling.
This Changeling was not special. The reason they were chosen was that they only appeared in one New Paper throughout all of history. Time Tuner only hoped that was good enough.
There was no time to lose, so as soon as the Changeling came close to the TARDIS doors, she opened up just a crack.
She could feel the other Timelords closing in but she knew she needed to be slow and steady. She could not take off without somepony to steer her.
As the Changeling walked in, she thought about where they needed to go first... perhaps... yes... that would be a good starting point.
She readied a drink; a small glass of Regeneration Energy directly from the Fountain of Time. He had made it smell of true love in hopes the Changeling would drink it.
She could feel the Changeling gasp at the sight of her insides... and she could feel the Timelords approaching.
It was clear this Changeling would not fly off in time, so she would have to rush things a bit. She closed her doors quietly and slowly before initiating an emergency take-off to the moon.
Here, as a loud noise rang out, is when she realized Turner left the brakes on. She could feel the Timelords run to her location. She could feel them get there too late. She could feel the Changeling panicking inside of her, trying to figure out what her noise was.
She could feel them sniffing the air as they smelled her special drink.
Author's Note
Wanted to keep our Changeling genderless, so please point out if I ever call them by a “he” or a “she”.
