//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Strangers In The Night // Story: Under The Milky Way // by Closer-To-The-Sun //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Strangers In The Night “So, whose this stallion?” Spike asked as he made his way down the staircase into the main room of the library. “He’s a….friend….that I just met last night,” Twilight hesitated in her answer. The dragon became more interested, “Oh, how did ya two meet?” The Doctor spoke before the unicorn could start, “Oh, she helped me out of a jam when my TARDIS had a little crash after falling down to the surface.” He noticed then that Twilight was glaring at him, not amused, “What, you want me to lie?” “Quite honestly, I wish you did,” the mare’s voice was annoyed. “So, you randomly met this strange pony last night after he felt out of the sky?” Spike pointed to the brown pony. “Spike, don’t be rude!” “That about sums it up in a neat little package!” the Doctor commented with a laugh. Spike was still puzzled, “So, what are you exactly?” Twilight replied for the Doctor, “He’s an alien, despite that he doesn’t look it. Look, can you just go away, Spike? I’m still trying to figure out some things here about this pony….or alien….or whatever!” Spike seemed too interested to leave, “No way, this is too cool!” The Doctor smiled, “I’m glad that you think so, little dragon, or Spike, if I may call you that.” “Totally, that’s fine! So, what’s your name?” the dragon asked. “The Doctor,” he simply answered. “Doctor What?” Landing near Spike, Twilight’s pet owl, Owlicious, spoke, “Who?” “This colt right here, the Doctor. I’m trying to figure out his name,” Spike explained. “Who?” the owl repeated. “The Doctor’s name. I’m asking for his name.” “Who?” “Him. The Doctor!” Spike was losing his patience. “Who?” “That’s it, I’m trying to figure out who he is!” “Who?” “The Doctor!” “Who?” “Are we seriously doing this?” The Doctor turned to Twilight Sparkle who seemed to be used to this sort of situation. With a sip of her tea, the mare calmly spoke, “Just ignore them when they start fighting. That’s what I do.” “Happens a lot, I take it?” “More than you would think.” Finally, Spike gave up on arguing with Owlicious and turned his attention back to the Doctor, “So, if you’re an alien, Doctor, do you have some sort of adventures in a spaceship or something? Can you tell me some?” The small dragon was getting excited. The Doctor took a drink of his tea before he started, “Oh, but of course, but where should I start? Oh, how about the Daleks? They are a very spiteful race of organisms trapped in a metal box of their own creation. While they may look simply silly, one Dalek can bring down an entire planet, which is why when you see one, you run.” “Whoa, really?” Spike was wide-eyed. “Indeed. Even worse is that they are a hateful race with the intent to destroy all that is not of their own kind,” the Doctor remembered. “Wow, what other aliens have you come across?” “There’s the Sontarans. A race military-like species whom have been likened to a ‘talking baked potato’ by some species. They never do anything with out a military reason, which is one reason why they are all cloned to all have a like mind set.” Spike had yet another question, “What about dragons? Any dragons in space?” “Of course! The Dracoians are also out there in the reaches of space! Not a exactly a friendly race but filled with a code of honor.” “I like the sound of that. They sound tough and strong.” “Perked your fancy, didn’t I?” the Doctor smirked, “If you want tough and strong, how about I tell you about the police force of the Shadow Proclamation, the Judoon?” “Am I the only sane one here?” Twilight interrupted, feeling as if she was invisible to the two males in the room as they chatted around her. “Excuse me, where are my manners? First you help me with the TARDIS, you offer me tea, and then I just ignore you. That is very impolite of me, Ms. Sparkle,” the Doctor turned his attention back to the unicorn. With a huff, Twilight gave a sour expression to the Doctor, “It certainly was.” “She went into your spaceship?” Spike asked after piecing a bit of the puzzle together. “She certainly did. Twilight helped me out in my TARDIS as I needed some assistance with fixing some of the time mechanics that were damaged. Though the power surge and blackout was quite bizarre. Never seen my own TARDIS pitch black before,” the Doctor continued to think about why the entire machine had powered down as it did when Twilight was helping him. Spike gave sly smirk, “Did she cry when the lights went out?” Embarrassed, Twilight scolded her assistant, “Spike! Shush!” “Yes, she did quite testy when the power oddly shut off,” the stallion gave a small chuckle. Spike also laughed, “Haha, she always did have a fear of the dark. She used to have me check for monsters in her closet, and I’m the younger one!” “By all means, she has every reason to fear the dark!” the Doctor explained, “The Vashta Nerada are just one race she has the right to fear. Those little microscopic carnivores hide in the dark shadows and refuse to give up when they know a meal is nearby. It’s thanks to them why most have a fear of the dark. They aren’t called ‘the shadows that melt the flesh’ for nothing! They’re even on your planet right now, but in very small numbers.” As Spike cowered in fear at the idea of shadow monsters, the unicorn was uneasy as she replied, “Great. Thank you, Doctor. Now I never want to leave my home ever again.” “Oh, fret not. They are harmless unless in massive quantities. But if you ever have a second shadow; run,” the Doctor explained. Twilight raised an eyebrow, “Always with the running, huh?” “The best plan is sometimes the simplest,” the stallion pointed out. “Can’t argue with that, I guess.” The Doctor took one last drink of his tea,“And speaking of running, I think it’s about time that I be on my way.” “Aww, but why can’t you stay?” Spike asked, still a little shaken about the idea of the Vashta Nerada. “I got the universe to see and got people and organisms to meet,” the stallion stated, “I’m not getting younger, now am I? And I mean that chronologically, not by the way I look.” “Alright, if you insist on leaving, I think I can at least take you back to where you….um, crashed,” Twilight paused to pick the right word for her sentence. “Excellent, shall we away?” Spike quickly interjected, “I want to come, too!” “No, Spike, you still have your chores to finish,” the mare said in her very motherly tone. The dragon groaned, “I’ll do them when I get back.” “No, you need to get them done now, Spike.” “Fine….” Spike finally admitted defeat bitterly. The Doctor smiled and tried to cheer up the sad Spike, “Buck up, my boy, I might come back and see you sometime. Anything is possible! Besides, if you do come along, K9 would get jealous.” Both Spike and Twilight gave confused looks and a unison statement of “What?” “Oh nothing,” the Doctor chuckled to himself as he headed toward the front door of the library to leave, “Come along, Ms. Sparkle!”