//------------------------------// // Celestia, Fluttershy and...Pinkamena? // Story: Destiny Book 1: Dark Vengeance // by SirScribe //------------------------------// Fluttershy was bored. So, so bored. Shortly after she, Pinkie Pie, and Princess Celestia were thrown into the dungeon, Fluttershy developed a need to talk to somepony. Her blindness, a result from Nightmare Moon’s magic, left her with a desire to talk. Of course, Pinkie fell silent as soon as the keys were thrown away while Celestia was slipping in and out of consciousness due to her injury. With the guards all the way upstairs and no other forms of life downstairs, Fluttershy found herself talking to the wall. After a while longer, she too became silent. Occasionally, Celestia would awaken and speak to the pegasus. It made them both happy. Fluttershy would talk about how her animal friends would sometimes chase Rainbow Dash around, especially the flying creatures she denied having as a pet. Some seemed to hold a grudge after the whole 'Find a Perfect Pet' contest Rainbow hosted a while ago. Celestia laughed and explained how she came across her Philomena. "If you ever consider getting a phoenix, remember to keep its ash tray cleaned and ensure she is properly fed. Also, if he or she goes through their burning cycle, don't let them stay perched on your head when they burn up," Celestia warned. Eventually, however, Fluttershy returned to the silence she had grown accustomed to. She began to bat at her own tail and occasionally hum some tunes her songbirds played, excusing the cursing in some of their songs. Some of the tunes were familiar to the princess, and soon they hummed a duet. And then Fluttershy ran out of songs to hum. As Fluttershy stayed silent inside her cell, Princess Celestia contemplated her situation. Her horn was broken and her Magic Core was exposed. Celestia was beyond worried now concerning the safety of the ponies in the room. Celestia remembered Starswirl’s findings concerning the Magic Core. It is said that a unicorn has a horn, not just for show, but because of the unique and small power source within that had the ability to generate pure energy. The object weighed no more than a feather, yet it carried a lot of power. If a horned pony cracked their horn to the point where the Magic Core was exposed, the wrong move could jeopardize half a county. The devastation depended on the power of the horned pony. Remembering the truth of the matter scared Celestia more than anything else in the world. Well, almost. A lot of things could go wrong if the necessary precautions were not made. The Magic Core was one of those. Celestia should’ve gotten out easily, but thanks to Nightmare and Chrysalis, the guards believed they have detained criminals who attempted a coup. The emergency protocols that the guards had to remember by heart kept Celestia’s magic at bay thanks to a magical field canceling any spell made within. The Solar Goddess began to wonder if Twilight was still alive. The Elements are the only thing that could save them from this awful nightmare. If Twilight didn’t survive, then hope is lost. The more she thought about the Elements, however, the more she began to wonder where they came from. The first time she saw them was after the Doctor and Starswirl told them where to find them. Upon arriving to the Tree, however, Celestia felt like she had seen them before. Thinking about them now, Celestia knew that she would have to search for the answer to the question: when did I first see the Elements? Her concentration was interrupted by the sound of a wheezing machine. Celestia’s ears perked up. It couldn’t be— Celestia rose from the floor of her cell, cautiously while doing so. Indeed, the magical blue box was starting to materialize in front of her. Next to her, Celestia thought she heard Fluttershy squeak in fear as the sound grew louder. Celestia smiled. She first heard the sound…well, it was a long time ago. The blue box finally took a solid form. Celestia’s heart began to race. The doors of the wooden box opened, and bathed in a white light, the stallion emerged. He was brown, unlike the last time she saw him. His ship also looked different. New or old TARDIS, she could never fully tell. What she did know was her favorite Time Lord was back. The stallion ran over to Celestia’s cell. “Princess Celestia!” “Doctor! Oh mother of Me, it’s good to see you again,” she exclaimed. “New regeneration?” The Doctor looked down at his body. “No, I’ve been this way for about 300 years now. Jumping from place to place though, never staying in one time. It gets boring.” “At least you get to cheat. I have to progress the long way around,” Celestia said. The Doctor chuckled and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his Screwdriver and began working. “Coast is clear, come on!” Celestia looked up, more ponies were walking out. Applejack and Rainbow were both the first to exit. Rarity followed suit with the gray pegasus behind her. Celestia remembered her as the mare who almost caused the recent Summer Sun Celebration to go out of control. Although it was never proven that it was Ditzy who released the bulls from their pens. At last, Princess Luna exited with a familiar lavender alicorn behind her. Celestia’s eyes watered. Her student was one tough cookie to crumble. Besides from the unruly mane style she was sporting and the bandages on her wings, she was in good shape. Cookies sound good right now, Celestia thought to herself. The sound of a turning lock drove her out of her thought. The cell door came open and slowly opened. Celestia was able to slowly crawl out of the cell before losing her stability due to her injury. Luckily, the Doctor was nearby and caught her before she hit the ground. Her broken horn was still affecting her. It had felt like somepony got a bowling ball in a bag tied onto the tip of her horn. Not the little foals bowling balls, but the ‘25’ pound ball. Already she began to bleed from the fracture. The Doctor looked up at her horn. “Hmm, basic fracture, magical leaks are starting to arise along with, it appears to be added pressure. Magic Core is exposed so you cannot meet any enemies on the battlefield until you are properly healed,” he said. Celestia nodded. “Ok, Luna, help your sister to the infirmary. Make sure she is given antidote number 15, put a kettle on and make sure she has her Jade tea made exactly the way she likes it. Also ensure that Earlhart the Brave’s fast healing potion is administered to the point where the splinter is deepest to avoid any overgrowth. I’m sorry Luna, but there won’t be much to do about her horn.” Luna nodded and took her sister. Together, they walked into the TARDIS. Meanwhile, Twilight and Rarity were both trying to break the magical seal over Fluttershy’s cell. It appears as though Sombra had taken precautions in locking up members of the Elements. The seal itself was already weakening as the Doctor raised his Screwdriver up. The field began to grow visible. Twilight and Rarity focused on the hinges while the Doctor focused on the lock itself. Eventually, the field began to falter as the three continued to concentrate at the task at hand. Er, hoof. Finally, the field fell, leaving the cell wide open. Fluttershy, still blinded, began feeling her way out of the cell. Finally, she bumped into Rarity and Twilight. The girls all hugged each other, and soon Applejack and RD followed. The Doctor and Ditzy smiled. 5 down, one to go, the Doctor thought. After a while, the 5 began to settle down. “Ok, all we need now is to find Pinkie.” “She should be here. I heard her a while ago,” Fluttershy said. The girls all looked around the prison. The Doctor began to inspect one of the cells when he heard scratching on the cell walls. He followed the sound to a cell shrouded by darkness. Without magic, the Doctor knew there was a powerful force surrounding the cell. The sound of Pinkie’s giggling filled the prison, but it didn’t make anyone else feel happy. In fact, there was fear in the room. The Doctor was sure this was the right cell. He placed a hoof onto the cell door, and a face slammed itself onto the bars. It was Pinkie Pie. Aside from her usually fluffy, but now flat mane, the wicked smile, and the bulging eyes that stared into your soul, nothing was different from the earth pony baker. From the force of her slamming into the bars, it almost appeared she was halfway from squeezing through the bars. Twilight became alarmed and she came over to Pinkie’s cell. “Pinkie? Are you OK?” Pinkie turned her attention from the Doctor to the princess for a moment. “Why wouldn’t I be? I mean, after all, I was the last to be rescued.” Pinkie smiled. “So, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle? The bearer of the most powerful Element in Creation? The prophecy mare? The future ruler of all Equestria and outer colonies? The prodigal student to Princess Celestia? Eh, I expected a strong and fearless hero, not a unicorn with giant Post-Its that look like wings.” The alarm began to blare in Twilight’s mind. The ‘Prophecy Mare’? What does that mean? She sounds like we’re just meeting for the first time. The Doctor looked uneasy in the corner of Twilight’s vision. “We didn’t know where you were,” Twilight said. “We’re here to help you Pinkie.” Pinkie giggled. “Oh, and stop calling me Pinkie. That was a name given to me by simple foals who wanted a cheery name to go with my face.” “Then what can I call you?” The Doctor asked. Pinkie kept her glare at Twilight. “Pinkamena is fine. You know, for as long as I have been in Ponyville, nopony has ever asked me my full name, and I am quite sad about that. I am Pinkamena Diane Pie, overseer of Sugarcube Corner, former rock farm, full-time master party planner and bearer of the Element of Laughter. Ha! Boring, isn’t it? As for you, Doctor—” She turned again to the Time Lord. “Names are important. They define you and you should know that. Names are powerful, Time Lord! Why is your name shrouded in time? Why is your name the most dangerous word in the Universe? Why do you call yourself ‘Doctor’? Doctor who?” The Doctor came closer. “The Doctor has a name, and it is a secret he will take to the grave. Coming soon to a Universe near us, the question will be answered.” The hairs on the Doctor’s neck rose up. Pinkamena started hopping around in her cell, cheering loud enough for anypony worth their bits to notice. “The Doctor’s here! The Doctor’s here! And death will follow! The Dark Lord has come!”