The mood was heavy in the Time Chamber. The three ponies all avoided each other’s eyes, trying to make sense at what had gone wrong. All preparations had been made; every risk had been accounted for…

So why was one of their own dead?

“He… he died well.” Time Turner murmured, absentmindedly fiddling with his tie.

“Don’t try and sugar-coat it, Turner. He… he…” Colgate’s voice cracked and she turned from the two elder Guild members.

“Calm yourself, Colgate.” The grey and black beast known only as the Tall Pony intoned in his deep monotone. “Dream Weaver wouldn’t want us to focus on his demise. It’s happened. He’s gone. The sooner you accept that and move on…”

“Easy for you to say. When’s the last time you actually felt something you ancient, uncaring MONSTER!”

“Colgate! Enough!” Turner snapped. “Dream Weaver knew the risks, as do we all. There’s never a guarantee we’ll come back from a mission.”

“He had a wife!” Colgate turned back and forced herself to look into Turner’s eyes. “Did you know that?” Her glare settled on the Tall Pony. “Did you?”

“I…”

“How could we possibly have known?” the Tall Pony did not flinch under Colgate’s hateful eyes. “How could you? You were from different time-lines. You never saw each other outside of a mission.”

Colgate sniffed and wiped her nose. “Just goes to show how much you two cared for him.” Her eyes went back to Time Turner, who looked away. “He talked about her all the time. Honestly, it was enough to make a mare jealous…”

“Colgate…”

“I wonder if he’d known he was going to die, would he have told her?”

“Colgate…”

“I just wish somepony could’ve told him it was coming…”

“Colgate would you kindly…”

“Of course, we’re not allowed to…”

“SILENCE, you foolish mare!” The Tall Pony exclaimed drawing to his full height. “I will hear no more of this insubordination!”

Colgate lowered her horn, fully prepared to charge at and impale the old stallion. “Don’t you dare speak to me like…”

“Colgate, stop.” Time Turner’s voice was calm and collected as he pointed out the Tall Pony’s eyes. “Look.”

The Tall Pony’s eyes were now glowing with an inner light as they usually did when he was receiving a message from Beyond. Moments passed and the glow faded. The Tall Pony shrugged his black shoulders and sighed. “They are… not pleased with this development.”

“Go figure.” Colgate muttered. Time Turner shushed her.

“We are to separate. You two will return to your time-lines to watch and wait. Dream Weaver’s replacement will soon reveal himself to you.”

Time Turner looked nonplussed. “Which of us?”

“They don’t say, my young friend. Only that one of you will find him… and bring him back here.”

Colgate shook her head in disbelief. “If you really think I’m going to bring some pure, innocent foal into this… this… nightmare of a life, you can forget it. In fact,” she turned and strolled towards the exit, “don’t expect me back anytime soon.”

The Tall Pony raised an eyebrow. “Shall I accept this as your two week’s notice?”

Time Turner looked panicky. “Now hold on just a minute…”

Colgate looked back and sneered. “More like a ‘take this job and shove it.’”

“Colgate, wait!” Time Turner rushed after her and stood between her and the glowing portal that lead home. “You can’t abandon the Guild. It’s your purpose in life! It’s what you were born to do.”

Colgate shook her head and actually offered him a gentle smile. She placed a hoof on his shoulder. “My purpose in life is to help other ponies. I can do that in my office just as well as I can do it here.” Her smile faded. “Turner… I just can’t do this anymore. Running around here, there, and everywhere through time and space is just… well, it’s just not for me. Have you ever thought that maybe it’s not you either?” The look on his face confirmed her suggestion. She spared a glance back at the Tall Pony. “Do you really want to end up like him?”

Time Turner sighed, shook his head, and hugged her close. “This is where I belong. Just do me a favor and find the place where you belong. Okay?”

Colgate returned the embrace. “I will.” They parted and she playfully punched his shoulder. “Stop in for a cleaning the next time you come to see Derpy. It’s on the house.”

He chuckled. “Will do.”

“And Time?” Colgate whispered.

“Yes?”

“Could you maybe, on your way home…?”

“Stop and see Dream Weaver’s wife? Of course.” They parted and looked at each other for the last time. “Good-bye Colgate.”

“Good-bye Time Turner.”

He stepped aside and she made the final approach towards the portal.

“And what of the Storm?” The Tall Pony called after her. “Will you stand by even as it destroys all time?”

Colgate refused to answer. Without looking back, she stepped through the portal and back into her office. She heard it close and finally knew; she would never see the chamber (or her two surviving comrades) ever again.

With the portal sealed, Time Turner turned back to the Tall Pony. “Think we’ll ever see her again, old friend?”

The Tall Pony snorted and made his way to the chamber’s central console. “Of course we will.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I placed a tracing spell on her that will bring her back the instant she locates the new recruit.”

Time Turner was only barely aware of his jaw hanging open. “…what?”

Never one to smile, the Tall Pony permitted himself a small, humorless chuckle. “Did you really think they wouldn’t tell me whose timeline our new partner would come from?”

////////////////////////////////////

SIX MONTHS LATER

/////////////////////////////////////

The skies crack and fall into the sea…

Ancient ruins hold the secret to the end…

Hoods, they’re all wearing hoods…

A letter, we have to find the letter…

“Having a ball now, aren’t we Colgate…”

Every war has it’s casualties…

“My father died! Why didn’t you protect him…?”

So this is it, the very end of time…

“Filii qui vadat ad proelium armis…”

“Moja mtoto wa mwanga wa upendo, nyingine ya giza lusting…”

Time’s up…

“Dr. Colgate?”

Colgate shook her head clear of the sudden rush of visions. She was definitely going to have to see somepony about those. They’d been happening more and more often. “Yes, Pip?”

The teenaged colt looked up at her from the dentist’s chair, concern in his eyes. “Are you alright? You seemed out of it there for a second.”

Colgate pulled the mask covering her mouth down to reveal a reassuring smile. “No problems with me, Pip. Just like your teeth. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up. They look great.”

Pip smiled widely, his pearly whites glinting in the light. “Thanks. Can I get up now?”

Colgate nodded. “Yep. We’re all done here. Talk to Scribble on the way out to schedule your next appointment.”

The brown-spotted young stallion kipped out of the chair and landed with a grace befitting his slim form. True to his name, Pipsqueak hadn’t filled out quite as well as the other stallions in his class. While his class-mates were developing their thick chests and muscle bound legs, Pip’s body was still quite slim and compact.

Colgate noted his neatly trimmed mane and smiled. “Something special planned today?” She moved to wash her hooves in the nearby sink. “A date, perhaps? I hear that a certain young flier is sweet on you.”

Pip chuckled. “Nah, no such luck. Just going out to celebrate.”

Colgate dried her hooves. “Oh? What’s the occasion?”

“My cutie-mark.” He said, his voice full of pride.

“PIP! Why didn’t you tell me? Congratulations!” Colgate exclaimed, turning to embrace her favorite patient.

“I’m surprised you didn’t see it.”

“When did it show up?” Colgate looked down his lean torso.

“Just last night. It’s a bit weird though…”

“Now what could be weird about…?” Colgate froze as she finally saw the cutie mark. It’s shape and form filled her with dread. It was a symbol she’s come to associate with pain and loss, with a life fraught with peril. She wouldn’t wish this mark on her worst enemies.

Emblazoned on Pip’s flank was an hourglass.

“I was hoping maybe you could explain it to me.” Pip turned so she could get the full effect. “I mean, it looks pretty similar to yours, doesn’t it? Is it some special sign for dentistry?” He took her stunned silence as a negative. “No? I didn’t think so…”

Colgate wasn’t listening. She was too busy being distracted by a strange tingling sensation in her horn.

“…the only other explanation I can think of is that it has something to do with time. But what special talent could I have that involves time?”

The sensation was getting worse, and Colgate reached up to massage her horn. She gasped as her hoof was burned by an incredible heat.

Pip finally noticed the strange glow filling the room and found his eyes drawn to the dentist’s horn. “Dr. Colgate? Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

Colgate heard the familiar sizzle and smelled ozone in the air. It was happening. Dear Celestia, it was happening. But how…?

The Tall Pony.

Colgate clenched her teeth and sent nothing but angry thoughts out towards the ancient stallion. He’d put a trace on her, some kind of spell that would pull her back to the Time Chamber when she discovered the new recruit. There wasn’t much time. “Pip, I need you to be quiet and listen to me very carefully.”

Pip’s mouth shut.

“Something’s about to happen. Something… different. I need you to relax and promise me you won’t freak out. Everything’s going to be great. Okay? Promise?”

Pip nodded slowly. “Okay… I promise. But Dr. Colgate?”

“Just Colgate, Pip.”

“Okay… Colgate. But is this really appropriate?”

“…what?”

“I mean, I’m flattered mum, but with all due respect, you’re old enough to be my mother.”

Colgate was struck dumb for an instant before she shot out and smacked the teen in the back of his head. “Okay, number one; NO I’M NOT.” The light became blinding. She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him close. “Number two; hang on.”

The pair were enveloped in the shining light, almost as though they’d been swallowed by a star. Just as fast as it had come, it dissipated… revealing their new location.

Pip pulled away from Colgate and looked around in confusion. “Uh… where are we? Where’d the office go?”

Colgate ignored him and rounded on the pair of ponies standing right where she’d left them. “How long?”

“Colgate…” Time Turner started.

“How… long?”

The Tall Pony rolled his eyes. “Two minutes.”

Time Turner looked at her with something like relief. “You?”

Colgate rubbed her aching horn. “Six months.”

Time Turner whistled, impressed. “Quite a temporal displacement.”

“Um… excuse me…”

Colgate advanced on the Tall Pony. “You put a trace on me, didn’t you?”

He looked down at her disdainfully. “Of course I did. How else could I trust you to return with the new recruit?”

She paused. “You knew he’d be in my time-line? How?”

The Tall Pony raised and eyebrow. “Isn’t it obvious?”

The answer occurred to her and she gritted in her teeth. “You lied to us.”

“Correction; I lied to you.”

“Don’t mean to be a bother here…”

She looked at Time Turner. “This doesn’t change anything. In fact, it just makes it clearer. I still want out.”

Turner sighed and shook his head. “It’s not that simple and you know it.”

Colgate grunted in frustration and stamped a hoof on the ground. “…I know. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“EXCUSE ME, BUT COULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IN LUNA’S NAME IS GOING ON HERE?!”

The three turned to see the very confused colt looking at them expectantly. Colgate looked to her comrades, sighed in defeat, and made her way back over to him. “Pip…” she laid a hoof on his shoulder. “I hate to tell you this.” She shook her head. “You’ve been drafted.”

“Drafted?” Pip tilted his head. “Drafted into what?”

“Drafted into us.” Time Turner stepped forward and offered a hoof. “Pleasure to meet you, young colt. I’m Time Turner and the gloomy chap over there is the Tall Pony.” He gestured around the grand chamber and gave a little bow.

“Welcome to the Time Defense Guild.”