The Pegasus Paradox

"This is the TARDIS." The Doctor explained. "T-A-R-D-I-S. That's Time And Relative Dimensions In Space-it's how I get around."

"But, what is it?" Twilight pressed, still confused.

"It's my ship...and when convenient, time machine, library, medical bay-" but, Twilight's ears perked up at the word 'library' and tuned everything else out.

"Did you say library?" she asked, excitedly.

"Yes, but I'm afraid the tour will have to wait..." he replied, trotting over to the control panel where he pulled a few levers.

"What did you mean by 'ship'?" asked Rainbow Dash, suspiciously while thinking of the bizarre science fiction novels that Twilight was always trying to get her to read.

"And what did you mean by 'this form'?" Twilight added, remembering his comment from earlier.

The Doctor stopped fiddling with the control panel before sighing.

"All right, this may come as a shock to you...but, despite my outward appearance-I am not a pony."

"Then what are you?" Dash challenged, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"I am an alien...a Time Lord to be more precise, from the planet Gallifrey." he explained.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight could only stare at him in awe. If this whole thing was an elaborate prank, Rainbow had to give him props for keeping a straight face for this long. Twilight on the other hand, seemed completely fascinated by the 'Doctor's' claims.

"Anything else you'd like to share?" Dash pressed, fearing what the answer might be.

"Ah...yes, I've been around for centuries, I have two hearts, and I hate pears."

'Yeah, he's flipped.' Dash thought to herself, while giving Twilight a look to convey this message to her.

"So this isn't your real form?" Twilight asked, her studious nature getting the better of her.

"Well...yes and no." he replied, thoughtfully. "You see...my physical body used to represent a race of sentient beings entirely, after my regeneration however, I found that my body had regenerated into that of an equine."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, she could hardly believe Twi was buying this.

"How does that work?" she interjected.

"Well, the simplest way I can think to put it is like a snake shedding it's skin." he replied.

"When a Time Lord regenerates, we usually only do so if we've been mortally wounded and it's how are bodies compensate with such injuries." he explained. "I'm still me-with all of my memories and experiences intact, but my skill sets are randomized. For example; I may have previously been gifted in sports and athletics in a previous form, but the next form may forfeit those abilities in favor of more artistic attributes."

"Yeah..." Rainbow Dash began nervously while backing away slowly. "Why do you need us again?"

"Oh, yes...I was getting distracted." he muttered to himself before returning to the control panel. "Next stop; Canterlot!" he exclaimed.

Once again, Dash glanced over nervously at Twilight who smiled back at her. She wasn't sure what she was feeling so upset about, she was the fastest (and strongest) flier in Equestria. And with her newfound Alicorn powers, Twilight was now practically a demi-god so they could more than handle one crazed stallion, right?

"HOLD ON!!" The Doctor shouted.

The machine seemed to begin shaking as a strange noise filled the room and the turqouise lighted tube began flashing, as smaller cylindrical objects inside of it began pistoning up and down.

Even the powerful Alicorn had difficulty keeping her balance as this went on, Rainbow Dash was flung backwards and almost slammed her back against the wall before being caught at the last second with Twilight's magic.

She whispered a "Thanks" before everything stopped.

"What happened?" she asked, looking around.

"We've arrived." The Doctor replied with a smirk.

Twilight gazed back at the doorway with uncertainty.

"Go ahead." he encouraged her. "It's quite safe, I assure you."

She took a deep breath as she pushed the door open and placed a hoof down outside.

Looking around, she realized that it was just as The Doctor had said earlier. They were in Canterlot in the middle of the night, she glanced up at the clock tower to see that it was literally only minutes ago that they had been back in the library. It was almost as if the trip had been instantaneous.

Rainbow Dash came up behind her, as similar thoughts ran through her head. But, just because this 'Doctor' had been telling the truth about one thing didn't necessarily mean he could be trusted. Why did he want to come here to Canterlot before telling them what was really going on? And if what he needed them for was really so important, wouldn't Celestia have told them about it herself?

"Come along, now." The Doctor's voice could be heard from behind them. "We've wasted far too much time already."

"But, Doctor...you never told us where we're supposed to be going." Twilight reminded him.

"Oh, didn't I? Well...we need to get inside the castle to speak with Princess Celestia and I will explain everything there, I promise you." he replied before galloping on ahead.

Twilight, ignoring her wings-cantered along the streets at a steady pace despite the apparent 'urgency' of The Doctor's task-whatever that might be. She also noticed Rainbow Dash was deep in thought about something. Normally she'd poke fun at it, but this seemed serious.

"Something wrong, Rainbow?" she asked, softly.

"Yeah," she crossed her arms. "This guy's an Earth Pony, so how can use magic to travel through time and teleport places with that weird box thing?"

"It's not magic." Twilight explained patiently. "It's science and technology...very impressive actually, I've never seen anything like it."

"And do you really believe that he's an alien?" Dash challenged.

"Well...I'm not really sure." Twilight admitted. "I mean, I was skeptical at first, but there's no other technology like that in the entire world. Wouldn't it make sense that he's not from around here?"

"Fair enough." The pegasus grumbled.

"But, what about sneaking into Canterlot in the middle of the night with two of the Elements of Harmony-and one is the personal student of Princess Celestia?" she pressed.

"What's so suspicious about that?" Twilight wondered aloud.

"Exactly!" Rainbow practically shouted. "It's the perfect way to avoid suspicion and then...when we least expect it, he'll probably turn out to be a spy or something to try and assassinate the princesses or take over Canterlot!"

The young Alicorn was about to brush the sentiment off as being ridiculous, but it made a certain kind of sense, after all nobody but her suspected Cadence, once Chrysalis had taken her place.

"All right." Twilight conceded.

"We'll keep on eye on him, if he doesn't do anything suspicious then he's been telling the truth."

"But, if he does?" Dash pressed.

"Then we interrogate him, find out what he knows, what he's been hiding from us and what he's really planning." she replied darkly.

Much like her marefriend, Twilight's loyalty to the princesses was unquestionable and if anyone dared to insult or try to harm them, that was when she lost her temper.

Even under the cloudy night sky, the city seemed to shimmer with regality often causing her to wonder as a young unicorn if there was a special material or enchantement used to build the royal city.

Or maybe it was just a part of its natural allure?

She made a mental note to herself to look it up once she was back in the library.

They stopped before the castle gates, which were guarded by a white pegasus and black unicorn stallion.

"Halt." commanded the pegasus as The Doctor approached them. "State your name and business."

"Ah, yes..." he replied, pulling out what had appeared to be a wallet with his teeth and showed it to the guards with a muffled response. "I'm dah Doctah, I fink you'll find everyfin' you need right here."

The Pegasus examined it for a moment before responding.

"Everything appears to be in order. Sorry for the inconveniance, sir."

He then put the wallet away as the guard let him inside.

"Hold on." The unicorn guard stopped them. "There's two more coming."

As they saw the figures come more into focus the two guards straightened up and offered a salute.

"Princess Twilight!" They exclaimed in unison.

"I hate it when they call me that." Twilight muttered under her breath.

"A-apologies, but we weren't told to expect you here tonight." The unicorn explained.

"That's alright, I'm kind of here on short notice..."

Both guard's eyes darted to the rainbow maned pegasus hovering beside her.

"Who's this?" The pegasus guard asked.

"This is Rainbow Dash." Twilight introduced her. "She's my 'plus one'."

Dash shot her an annoyed look, which she could only shrug at and smile sheepishly.

They gestured for them to go inside.

""Plus one?'" Dash repeated. "I help save Equestria four times and those jerks don't even recognize me?"

She crossed her arms as she continued to gripe.

"That's gratitude, for ya."

As they followed The Doctor towards the throne room, Princess Celestia could be seen with a quill and roll of parchment levitating before her.

"Shouldn't you be resting, princess?" asked Twilight. "You look exhausted."

It was true, her normally regal appearance was somewhat diminished as dark circles could be seen forming under her eyes.

"Yes, Twilight." she replied, calmly. "However, recent events have caused much stress and tonight I suspect something terrible as happened, as is customary when you show up Doctor-no offense."

"None take." he replied, waving a hoof dismissively.

"Wait, you mean you know this guy?" Dash asked, taken off-guard.

"Yes, but I'm afraid it's a long and complicated story." The sun princess replied before turning back to The Doctor. "Now, Doctor-if you would be so kind as to fill us in."

The stallion stepped forward, clearing his throat.

"Princess Celestia...once Discord was released from his stone prison the first time, what do you remember after sending Twilight and her friends to retrieve the Elements of Harmony?"

"I...I can't remember a thing!" she exclaimed. "It's all a dark void..."

"Which means your memories are being rewritten..." he mumbled.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Dash demanded.

"Once Discord successfully pitted you and your friends against each other, he was confident that he had secured his victory." he explained. "So much so in fact, that he transported Celestia through time-this time."

"So?" Dash pressed. "That's good, right?"

"No."

"What?"

"A being like Discord, probably didn't contemplate the consequences of his actions-normally two of the same beings can co-exist without a problem." he elaborated. "But, when that being is as powerful as Celestia-time and reality can become distorted to the point where the fabric of this world begins to rip apart."

"But, that hasn't happened yet?" Twilight suggested, hopefully.

"No, but the longer two Princess Celestias inhabit this time period-the greater the possibility will become."