The Pegasus Paradox

Down the hall, Rainbow Dash stopped short of the entrance of the TARDIS leaning against the wall.

“Are you alright?” The Doctor asked, it was a stupid question, but the only one that seemed right to ask given the circumstances.

“I can’t believe we turn into such selfish jerks in the future…” she grumbled.

“Not necessarily.”

She glanced up at him with a questioning look.

“Time can be rewritten,” he explained. “This isn’t what the future is supposed to be like, someone or something is rewriting history…and not for the better.”

“But, who or what is doing this and why?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, “But, I intend to find out.”

He was about to enter the TARDIS before she stopped him.

“Doctor, I wanna stop whatever’s doing this…but, I have to know; if I become a Wonderbolt, Rarity gets her dress shop or whatever up in Canterlot, and Twilight does take over for Celestia and we do find and stop whatever’s doing this-will we still turn into jerks?”

He stared into her eyes, which betrayed her tough exterior he could see that she was afraid of betraying Equestria for her own desires.

“No,” he replied, “What happens to you is a fixed point in time that must always happen, no matter what.

Her ears drooped a little as a look of confusion spread across her face.

“Even though you all have these new responsibilities in the future-you still remain a very tight-knit group of friends, always there for each other to keep on saving the world and once or twice if recall, even the entire univ-” he cut himself off.

“Ahem, sorry I can’t say anymore-spoilers and all that.”

“But, you just said that I become a Wonderbolt!” Dash exclaimed, with stars in her eyes.

“Yes, because at this point nothing in your timeline could possibly prevent that from happening.”

“What about what I said…I mean, the older me?” she pressed.

“I think Spitfire, Soarin and the other Wonderbolts would understand the need for the Elements of Harmony to remain in constant contact with each other.” He replied with a knowing grin.

A huge sense of relief could visibly be seen washing over her face as The Doctor moved to open the TARDIS with the key between his teeth.

CLICK

The door unlocked as Twilight and Shining Armor could be seen, leaning against one of the railings and catching up with all of the events that had transpired since her coronation ceremony.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Shining Armor.

“Well, first I’m going to need to speak with Twilight in private.”

Shining Armor and Dash both exchanged glances before heading down a flight of stairs to explore the TARDIS some more.

“What is it, Doctor?”

There was a hint of anxiety in her tone, as she wondered whether or not she did something wrong and completely messed up the timeline.

“So…becoming an Alicorn and princess at nearly the same time, that’s a pretty big adjustment-especially for someone so young-it must be pretty scary for you.”

“Yes,” she replied softly, averting her gaze.

“Hey,” he leaned in a little closer so she was looking right at him.

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of, while change isn’t always necessarily a bad thing-it can be scary-and nobody knows that better than I do.”

“What?”

“You don’t think I’ve always looked like this, do you?”

She merely stood there with a look of confusion plastered onto her expression.

“But yes, I have always been this handsome.” He continued, brushing a hoof through his mane confidently, causing her chuckle a bit, but then suddenly stopped.

“That’s not the biggest thing that worries me…”

“Oh?”

“It’s what Princess Celestia said about Alicorns being immortal and outliving all of their friends and family…” she sighed.

“Oh…”

He placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Twilight, I don’t think she knows if you’re actually immortal or not, but she cares about you so much, that she wanted to prepare you for that possibility…since an ascension from Unicorn to Alicorn has never happened before in recorded history, it’s a completely unpredictable process.”

‘Much like my regeneration’ he thought.

“She just expressed it in the wrong way.” He explained.

“You’re a time traveler, so don’t you know for sure?” she asked, timidly.

He regarded her for a second with what she thought might have been disapproval before he burst out laughing.

“I wouldn’t worry about it.”

He could see a cyan ear pressed up against one of the grates in the floor.

“Yes, you two can come back now Rainbow Dash!” he called out, shocking both the prince and the Pegasus.

The two emerged from their hiding spot.

“Twily…” Shining Armor began.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Dash burst out.

“I…I didn’t want to worry you guys…I’m sorry…” her ears were flattened and she was holding her foreleg shamefully.

Rainbow Dash looked furious, but then her expression dropped as she flew to the young Alicorn’s side before putting her in a headlock and ruffling her mane.

“You egghead!”

“We care about you,” Shining Armor added throwing his arms around his sister. “It’s our job to worry about you!”

The Doctor threw a switch as the TARDIS began to hum, causing the trio turn in his direction.

“Doctor, what are you doing?” asked Twilight.

“We are heading back to the library, so we can get some rest, in the morning I have an errand to run and at noon I’ll return Shining Armor to the Crystal Empire.”

“But, what about-” Dash began before he held up a hoof to silence her.

“I’ll return in a few days to pick you up…and Twilight too if she wishes to join us, but until then I think it would be best for both of you to try and relax.”

“You’re leaving!?” the couple exclaimed in unison.

“Just for a short while, I do these kinds of things all the time and I’m feeling a bit worn out-I can scarcely imagine how you two must feel.”

“So…I’m going back to the Crystal Empire?” asked Shining Armor.

“Tomorrow,” he whispered. “I need time to think, to ascertain whether or not these anomalies are the result of meddling with their timelines or the cause.”

“I don’t follow…”

“I think that whatever is causing all of these problems through time may have it out for your sister and her friends.”

“Couldn’t it be Discord?” Shining Armor protested, “I mean, in our time the Princess released him so he could be ‘reformed’ and as much faith as I have in her…I still can’t find it within myself to believe that he’s truly changed.”

“Neither can I,” agreed The Doctor. “But, for now we have to give him the benefit of the doubt-Discord causes chaos for more of his own amusement-these changes seem more malicious, like whatever is causing them wants people to suffer.”

“So who does that leave?”

“I don’t know…” he admitted, “But it might be someone we haven’t even met, yet.”

“What?”

“From what we’ve seen so far, the only events that have been affected are in the future-so it’s quite possible that whatever-or whoever is out to get your sister and her friends hasn’t met them yet; Nightmare Moon was purified by the Elements of Harmony, the events I’ve encountered aren’t Discord’s style, plus I doubt even he has that kind of power-is there anyone else you can think of?”

“Well…” Shining thought carefully, “There was Queen Chrysalis, but she feeds on love for power-so unless she found a never-ending supply of it, she couldn’t even take on the Princess-let alone affect time in the way you’re saying.”

“Anyone else?” The Doctor pried, “Anyone at all?”

“When Cadance and I moved to the Crystal Empire after our wedding ceremony, there was an old tyrannical unicorn that resurfaced along with the Crystal Ponies-King Sombra-he was so evil that it was said that his heart was as black as night and so powerful that it took the combined power of both Royal Sisters to seal him away for a thousand years.”

“Could it be him?”

Shining Armor shook his head.

“No, Sombra was killed the moment the Crystal Heart was returned to its rightful place, the love and hope of the Empire’s inhabitants wiped out the fear and hatred that had oppressed them for so long.”

“No, no…” The Doctor sighed, “If it isn’t any of them, then who else could possibly possess that kind of power.”

“Aside from an Alicorn?” Shining Asked. “No.”

“Then we’re still missing something…but, we’ll figure it out tomorrow-it’s been a long day for all of us.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

The Doctor will return in; “GHOST OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE