“Wherever we’ve landed, it’s going to be a bit before we can leave. The Tardis has to undergo repairs.” The Doctor pulled open the Tardis door and looked out. “Ah. Camping, I do love camping. We can share stories, especially ones that start with what these ‘Elements’ are.”
The Doctor started out, picking a random direction. The trees loomed above them and the moon shone brightly over the expansive Everfree forest. The two girls began to follow.
“Doctor? Are you sure we should be leaving the Tardis?”
“Yeah, its too noisy in there when repairs are going on. Who wants to sleep through that? Besides, the stars are out.” The Doctor stared up at the stars trying to identify where in the universe they could be. “No!? Is that the Valtherez Cascade? That was supposed to be a legend… A whole galaxy cut off from the rest of the universe.”
“Valtherez?” Luna questioningly formed the new word.
“Never mind that, Luna, Astronomy won’t help our situation,” Celestia scolded. “We need to remove Discord from power!”
The Doctor stopped to respond, “Celestia, I know after watching your future kingdom fall not once but twice you want results, but if you forge ahead endlessly, you will lose yourself.”
“I… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, sister,” Luna consoled. “Take heart, we have discovered one of the elements of harmony. Take what joys you may and smile despite life’s hardships.”
Celestia started into what she knew of the elements, “We thought the Elements of Harmony were a myth until now. They supposedly show themselves only in times of need, and only to bearers whom they find worthy. It is said that only when they are all brought together is their power revealed. Most of the legends were lost, but we know at least the first five elements represent some moral, ideal, or character quality of the bearer.
“About that element… You left it in the Tardis correct?” the Doctor asked the two, a worried look on his face.
“Yes, we thought it safer to leave it there.” The two girls looked around them to see the situation.
“That was probably a good choice.” The Doctor looked out upon the sea of glowing eyes looking at them from the darkness. “I vote hasty withdrawal. Run!”
They all bolted towards the direction they came from only to be blocked by dark creatures with insect like wings.
“Changelings!” Luna shouted, changing direction to a gap between their ranks.
“Changelings…” one of them repeated with her voice in a mocking tone. Another of the group shifted to an exact likeness of Celestia. All around him the Doctor saw the changelings shift forms. Some took his, others took the form of Luna or Celestia.
“Enough!” the Doctor shouted, stopping, “I know how this ends. You seek to separate and confuse us for easy capture, which I doubt you would have trouble doing. From what I have heard you Changelings work as a hive; you may have no queen but you still have a leader. Take me,” he demanded. “And for everyone’s sake, stop trying to be me. You just can’t pull it off.”
The changelings shifted back to their regular forms, and four of them grabbed the Doctor, lifting him up and flying him off towards their supposed camp.
“Girls! Whatever happens stay strong and true to yourselves!” The Doctor shouted at them as they were taken as well.
~
“Oh? A gift? For me? You shouldn’t have,” a voice spoke as the Doctor was deposited in a large hollowed out tree. “Oh quite a specimen. Tell me sir, what brings you to my part of the forest?”
“A big blue box.”
“Lying to me will get you nowhere,” she scolded lightly in an almost singsong voice.
“No, really, it’s a blue time and space traveling box. The Tardis,” the Doctor stated knowing she would not believe him.
“Enough with the games! I will have the answers I seek!”
A foreign consciousness pressed against his own as the speaker came into the moonlight. She didn’t look quite like the other changelings. She was taller, and her eyes glowed a viridian hue of green.
“The future queen of all changelings will not be refused!”
The Doctor began throwing up mental barriers to prevent against the intrusion, but he could feel his alarm at the situation slowly drain away as her powers took effect. He hid away all he could, but she did get some information.
“You are good at protecting your mind…but not quite good enough… Doctor,” She said mentally her mouth unmoving. A wicked grin spread across her face. “I’m going to enjoy breaking you,” She spoke out loud. “Tell me Time Lord of Galopfrey…
The Doctor burst out laughing. “Apparently you aren’t as good at reading minds as you think. Failure number two.” The Doctor laughed again. “Galopfrey?”
“Silence! These ponies name everything after themselves, I merely assumed I misread the title in your mind!” The Changeling brood mother looked almost embarrassed.
“You’re assuming I’m from this world: failure number three.”
“What’s number one? You have skipped it!”
“I might tell you later.”
“One does not brush of the future queen of Equestria!” she shouted at the Doctor
“Again with the future queen…a bit overambitious are we? Doesn’t Discord own what you seek already?”
“Discord will be dealt with, Everyone has a weakness, Doctor, and it’s time to find yours,” the changeling continued her assault on the Doctors mental barriers.
“Please, for your own good. Stop this,” the Doctor pleaded with her.
She wormed her way gracefully into some memories; she had much practice invading minds.
“No, not those.”
“Oh Doctor, such loss you have felt. If you simply gave in, I could allow you to be with them again.”
The Doctor gritted his teeth saying, “The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it’s a world or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends.”
“But Doctor, I can feel your power. Why not join me? Together we would never end. What’s the point in sorrow when I can bring back for you the ones you have lost.”
The Doctor struggled against her mental onslaught, but she was gaining ground rapidly.
“Rose Tyler...”
The Doctor remained silent.
She slowly and tauntingly continued, “Martha Jones, Donna Noble, River Song!” She pulled out his memories and played them in front of his eyes. Each and every departing moment, full of sorrow, repeated themselves in an instant.
“No more, please.” A tear streamed down the Doctor’s face as his mental barriers completely shattered. All that she had obtained from him so far, a few memories of past companions, was a mere pittance to what he had inside of him. He knew it would destroy her. “Please, my mind is more than you can handle. Stop this.”
“I will not be taken for a fool!” She delved into his mind and her eyes shot open. Words slipped out of her mouth. “He’s ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the universe. Such power… I will have it!”
“You have gone down a path that will change history. Some points in time are fixed, others are in flux. If you continue, your fate will be altered forever.”
“How can you know this?” She reigned in her mental assault temporarily.
“Because that’s how I see the universe: what is, what was, what could be, and what must not be. That’s the burden of a Time Lord.”
“And you would deny me the same?” She renewed her mental assault, siphoning all the memories she could. A pained expression fell upon her face. “So much knowledge, too much, I must share it with the hive.”
“Even your whole collective can not hope to contain my mind. In your lust of power, would you doom them, too?”
“Silence!”
The Doctor took a step towards her. “Mistake number one was harming the inhabitants of Equestria; this world is under my protection. And you also forget a door into the mind can be opened both ways!” The Doctor poured his raw emotion through the link and she shrunk back as if stung by a blow. “You wanted to see the universe as I do? Then take it!” He pushed his anguish on her through the mental connection, holding her mind in a vice as she tried to retreat.
“I remember every single face I couldn’t save! I remember every mother’s tears, every child’s cry, and every lost soul!” He openly wept as he poured himself out. “I have heard the wails of dying stars, and the last gasps of entire solar systems! My power is no blessing, it’s a curse!”
“Please Doctor! It hurts! Take it away!” she cried, collapsing in a heap. The wails of changelings in agony could be heard through the forest, the mental link still open to all.
The Doctor ceased the flow, calming down to say, “But without compassion, the universe would be a much darker place. So instead of adding to its anguish, I try to make it a better place.” He removed his mind from hers and stood over her quivering form, reaching out a hoof. She flinched away at first, but allowed the Doctor to gently stroke her mane as if she was a child.
She wept at the realization of the things she had committed washed over her. She listened to the Doctors words and resolved to change her ways.
“Find a better way to coexist. Find true love instead of falsehoods.”
“Our people have always lived this way, it will be a long and arduous task.”
“Then become their Queen and take them far away, into exile, where they cannot hurt anyone else. Teach them honesty, teach them love, and most importantly teach them compassion.” The Doctor offered a hoof and she grasped on pulling herself up.
“Come with us Doctor! You are wise and we need guidance.”
“I’m sorry, I have things that need to be done. And these ideals must come from you, a reformed, to have the proper impact.” The Doctor touched his forehead to hers gently.
“My brood understands your message, you will be safe here tonight. Please, find your friends and stay. From what I hear they have learned their own valuable lessons. Furthermore the changelings in the forest have heard my call and accepted me as queen and leader. I can only hope the others can see the same when we arrive at our ancestral homeland.”
The Doctor started to leave but before he could she continued. “There is darkness inside of me that I have to fight… But thank you for being the one to help me start the battle.”
“I never did get your name.”
“Twyll…It loosely translates to Deception in the Equestrian tongue. Though now, it no longer defines me. I have repented of my ways and must search for my new true name.” As she came to this conclusion two radiant lights sparked from nothingness blinding the two temporarily.
“I think you are closer than you know. These two elements, Elements of Harmony, are now yours. May your rule be one of Kindness and Honesty.”
“But I am unworthy of them…”
“From what I know of the Elements they ‘only’ grant themselves to the worthy. They can sense your heart; show your willingness to learn their truths. And always stay true to their morals. If you do these things they will remain with you.” The Doctor paused. “But you must also prepare yourself, for you will be needed when we face Discord.”
Twyll could no longer contain her gratitude and rushed over to embrace the Doctor. “I would fight Death himself in your name, for with you at my side we could not possibly fail.”
“When I see Death I prefer to run the other way.”
Twyll began to laugh, breaking the embrace, a true smile coming to her face for the first time. “It was a hypothetical situation.”
“Part of my job description is cheating him on a daily basis… Let’s just say he doesn’t like me very much.”
“Wait…” She paused. “You’re actually serious?”
The Doctor gave her a quick smirk and descended the stairs carved into the hollowed tree.