//------------------------------// // The Final Hour // Story: The Amazing Adventures of Spitfire and the Doctor // by Lucky Seven //------------------------------// The Amazing Adventures of Spitfire and the Doctor The Final Hour Edited by MissytheAngle “Pleased to meet you, Discord.” “The Doctor, I presume?” The Doctor wasn’t overly surprised that Discord knew his name, given the nature of the creature. He had more important matters to attend to at the moment. “Bring her back, Discord. I’m warning you.” “Or you’ll do what, exactly? I have the Elements of Harmony now, so the best you can do is stand there and pout.” “Trust me when I say I’m the last person you want to deal with,” he glared at Discord to get his message across. For a fraction of a second, he could see a hint of fear on Discord, but it was replaced by a grin. “Tell me what you did to her.” “I put that mare in her place,” Discord laughed, “and I think she’d like it if you joined her.” With that, Discord snapped his talons and the Doctor was engulfed in a white flash, forced to close his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them to find himself in a cell. Aside from a tiny barred window on the door, there was no source of light. Looking through said window, he saw a guard standing next to the door, keeping watch. “Doctor?” came a familiar voice from behind him. Turning around, he took notice of his newest friend. “Where are we?” “I don’t know, Spitfire,” he turned back around, using his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door. “Discord just said he was taking me to you.” “Well, you know what we’re gonna do, Doctor?” Spitfire asked, walking up to the Doctor. “What’s that?” Grinning, Spitfire turned around and reared her hind legs. Taking notice, the Doctor moved out of the way and watched as she bucked the door with all her might and it flew open, smacking the guard who had been standing next to it and knocking him out. ‘Odd,’ the Doctor noted inwardly. ‘She had enough force behind that kick to break open the door even when it was locked. After all, it was just a simple wooden door. So why wait until now?’ Grin still plastered on her face, Spitfire walked out of the cell, the Doctor following close behind. “We’re gonna kick Discord right in his sorry flank.” “And how, exactly, are we going to do that, Spitfire?” questioned the Doctor as they walked down the hallways. “In case you haven’t noticed, he got rid of us with a snap of his fingers.” “Then we find the Elements of Harmony,” she replied quickly, as if that was going to be a simple task. “He teleported them away, Spitfire. I have no idea where they are.” “Well, do you have any ideas as to where he might have put them?” By the time Spitfire had asked her question, the Doctor was already deep in thought. Where would someone like Discord hide the one thing that could destroy him? Considering he was a creature of chaos, it wouldn’t be in a likely spot with booby traps and such. In fact, it was most likely in a very obvious spot. “Uh... Doctor?” Probably somewhere like a museum, or a library, or even a laboratory. Some place where something that Discord would find boring would be found at. “Doctor.” Maybe it was-- “DOCTOR!” Spitfire’s voice finally managed to break the Doctor from his thoughts, and he turned back to Spitfire. But she wasn’t alone. A strange pony, concealed in the shadows, was holding her up on her hind legs with a knife to her neck. After a few seconds of silence between the three, the mysterious pony finally spoke up. “Ah, so you must be the ‘doctor’ that m’lord told me about...” “How did you figure that out?” he asked in rhetoric. “Her yelling it? Out loud?” “You’ve got a smart mouth, you do.” “I think ‘clever’ is a better word,” the Doctor smirked. “Now how about we talk about this like civilized individuals?” “Civilized?” the mystery pony repeated. “Civilized is DEAD! Say hello to the new world, Doctor! A world of unimaginable horrors! A world where our lord and master Discord is supreme overlord!” “Well, that’s too bad,” replied the Doctor, eyeing a chandelier placed conveniently over the pony’s head, “because you’ve left me no choice.” “‘Left him no choice’, he says! Oh, this one’s got a sense of humor, he does!” “Okay, who are you even talking to when you do that?” Spitfire groaned, still in his grasp. “S-shut up!” was the only retort he had, and it was a flimsy one at best, causing Spitfire to laugh. “Alright, so now that we have the chit chat out of the way, let’s get down to business,” the Doctor teased. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, he aimed it at the chandelier above the pony and activated it. The chain holding up the chandelier broke, and Spitfire kicked herself free of the pony’s grasp as it landed on him. The Doctor cautiously walked over to Spitfire and helped her up, keeping an eye on the unknown assailant the whole time. Now that he could see him, the pony clearly looked insane. His dark blue coat was covered in dirt and strange tattoos. Symbols he’d never even seen or heard of before His mouth frozen in an incredibly creepy looking smile. His light blue mane had what looked like an orange streak of paint going through it, and the same was true of his tail. He would need to memorize this pony in case they came across him again. “Are you okay, Spitfire?” “Yeah, but that knife chafed my skin, YOU BUCKER!” she screamed, kicking the stallion’s unconscious form, making him giggle in his sleep. “Wow, he really is insane,” the Doctor said. ‘But something isn’t right here,’ he thought to himself. “Who cares, let’s go, Doctor,” pleaded Spitfire, already walking off down an adjacent hallway. The Doctor took one last look at her attacker before putting his sonic screwdriver back in his pocket and following after her. It took a few minutes for him to catch up, and along the way he noticed a few odd things about the prison they were in. First of all, there were no occupants except for him and Spitfire. Second, it was unnaturally chilly, as if Discord had turned down the temperature just to spite him. But his thoughts ceased as he caught up to Spitfire without noticing and bumped into her. “Watch it, you doof,” she joked. “Alright, Spitfire, let’s stay focused,” he chuckled. “Now, before that pony assaulted you, I was doing some thinking.” “About what?” “Where Discord may be hiding the elements, and I have a few ideas.” “Well what are you waiting for? Spit it out!” Spitfire exclaimed. “Alright, so with Discord’s nature in mind, he most likely hid the elements in a spot you wouldn’t think to look. Somewhere incredibly obvious.” “You mean like in these dungeons?” she asked, causing the Doctor to smile widely. “Exactly!” he exclaimed, starting up on one of his famous rants shortly after. “Imagine it. We try to escape the dungeons as fast as we can, but by doing so, we miss the elements and Discord wins. The future is altered drastically, and instead of Celestia ruling you, you have Discord.” “Well, I am a mare of many talents,” she replied, her already enormous pride hitting a new peak upon hearing the Doctor compliment her. “Alright, don’t let that go to your head,” he warned her. “For all we know, Discord could prey on that pride.” “Right, sorry. Now let’s go get those elements!” “Well, allons-y!” shouted the Doctor, continuing along their chosen path and taking a right before continuing down the long hallway. That is, until they came across a familiar pony standing in their path. “You again?” Spitfire looked very much miffed at the return of her assailant, who bore a creepy smile. “Yeah, me. Now are you two gonna come quietly, or am I gonna have to rough ya up a bit?” “Oh, please, the Doctor isn’t scared of a buffoon like you!” “Buffoon, eh? At least I’m not some hairless monkey!” “Hey!” exclaimed the Doctor, taking offense, “I am not a ‘hairless monkey’!” “Whatever! You two are comin’ with me!” yelled the pony, taking off and galloping towards the Doctor. But it was too easy, and the much taller Doctor simply ran straight at his enemy, Spitfire flying by his side, and jumped over him. As he skidded to a halt, he grabbed Spitfire around the waist and ran off to an adjacent hallway. As soon as a cell was in sight, the Doctor ran inside and slammed the door shut, much to Spitfire’s resentment. “What was that?! We could have taken him!” “I prefer not to fight if I don’t absolutely have to, Spitfire, now please stay quiet.” Spitfire obeyed the Doctor’s command, albeit reluctantly, remaining absolutely still and not making a sound. The Doctor, meanwhile, was looking through the little window on the door, keeping an eye out for the crazy pony who was out for them. Once a few moments had passed and he was certain the pony was gone, he reopened the cell door before walking into the hallway, Spitfire still following close behind. “This way, Spitfire,” the Doctor called back to her, pointing to the right. Giving a nod, Spitfire made haste, sticking close to the Doctor as he led them through the winding halls of the prison they found themselves in. Eventually, though, they came to what looked like a door leading out of said prison. There was sunlight leaking through, which baffled the normally confident Doctor. “Well, that’s strange...” “What is?” “Well, we just walked through every hallway in this place, but there was no sign of the elements,” he elaborated, looking around the walls of the prison, as if trying to spot something. “Maybe they weren’t here after all?” she said, trying to alleviate his worrying. “No, they’re here, Spitfire. I’m sure of it.” “But we looked in every hallway. They’re not here, Doctor.” “But they have to be!” he exclaimed. “Unless...” “Unless what, Doctor?” Spitfire questioned, unsure of what the Doctor was planning. “Unless this prison isn’t real,” he stated. “Which means you’re not real either...” As he came to his conclusion, Spitfire gave a shocked look. “Are you kidding, Doctor? That has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard.” “No, it’s not stupid. Not when we’re playing by Discord’s rules,” he explained. “I had a feeling earlier, when we were in that cell, but I thought maybe this world played by different rules.” “Rules? What are you talking about? There’s no rules, Doctor, this is Discord we’re talking about!” “Even Discord has his rules.” As the Doctor put an exclamation point on his theory, the prison the Doctor found himself in faded away, leaving him staring into the eyes of one very familiar draconequus. “Oh, pony feathers! I should have known that trick wouldn’t work on someone like you!” “Don’t sell yourself short, Discord. It would have, but one big thing gave you away,” the Doctor said, pulling his sonic screwdriver out and examining it. “Oh?” “The doors in that prison were made of wood, and sonic technology doesn’t work on wood. I thought perhaps you’d changed the way it worked, but when it also worked on the chandelier, that theory proved wrong.” “Well, I guess fair’s fair.” Discord snapped his talons, and he disappeared in a flash of white, leaving the Doctor to himself. With Discord out of his face, the Doctor was finally able to see where he was currently located. “The TARDIS!” he exclaimed, ecstatic at being back in his proverbial home. He began examining it and couldn’t help but smile widely at the beauty of it all. The control panel appeared the same, and the many coral-like support beams still remained. But the main room itself had changed vastly. Many staircases now adorned it, branching off into different rooms. It was as if the TARDIS was a full fledged house now. “Oh, you are just gorgeous! But this does raise the question of just why you changed...” I wonder if Discord did all this, he thought to himself, intrigued at the prospect. “Well, I can worry about that later. For now, I have some elements to find.” “Do you think she’s okay, ‘Tia?” “Yes, little sister. With us caring for her, I have no doubt in my mind that she will be just fine.” “Do you know what it is that is ailing her?” “I know not the cause of her ailment, but I do know that it matters not. She will be just fine.” “And Discord?” “Will be dealt with. But for the moment, we have other matters to attend to,” Celestia sighed. “But what if he plunges Equestria into chaos for thousands of years? Is it possible?” “No, little sister. He will be dealt with by our new friend.” “And what of our new friend? What of the Doctor?” “Fine, I’m sure. No doubt he’s looking for his friend at this exact moment.” After a few moments of silence, the younger alicorn finally decided to voice a question that had been bugging her all day. “... Why, ‘Tia?” “Why did I appear as a little filly to him and his friend?” “Yes.” “Because, little sister, I needed to be sure the legends were true.” “Legends?” “Just bedtime tales told to foals by their parents,” Celestia began. “Legends of a creature that saved all of Equestria before it was even referred to as such.” “That still doesn’t explain why you had to appear as a filly, ‘Tia.” “If he knew I was already an adult, do you think he would have been as willing to help us?” “I suppose not. So you believe the Doctor is the creature from these tales?” “Yes. The legends told of a ‘man’ saving an ancient civilization, our predecessors, with nothing but his wits and a big blue box.” “But we have seen no sign of a blue box. How can we be sure?” As if on cue, a low whirring noise made itself present, and the TARDIS began fading in and out before finally coming to a full stop. After a few seconds, the doors opened, and the Doctor stumbled out. “Greetings, Doctor.” “Ah. Hello, Celestia. You’ve grown. Say, you haven’t happened to see Spitfire around, have you?” he asked his question with fervor, eager to find her and get things wrapped up as quickly as possible. “Yes, but she is resting at the moment.” “Ah, well then, I suppose I can wait a few hours for her to wake up.” “She’s in a coma,” Luna added. “Of course she is.” “We’re trying to help her, if that means anything,” Celestia offered, hoping the Doctor wasn’t too upset. “It’s fine, Celestia, I’m used to things going wrong sometimes. Well, a lot. Well, all the time. But I just wanted to let you know I found the elements.” “Where were they?” she asked, curious as to how the Doctor had found them so quickly. “Right where they always were,” he replied with a grin. “I just went back in time to before Discord took them away and took them for myself.” “But how can you both have the Elements?” Luna wondered aloud. “Time doesn’t even work like that!” “It works a lot differently than one may assume, trust me.” “And where are they now?” Celestia butted in, trying to hurry things along. “In the TARDIS,” he gestured back towards the blue box. “May we retrieve them?” the blue alicorn asked. “In a mo’, Luna,” he stated, raising a finger to quiet her. “First, why aren’t you a child anymore, Celestia?” he asked, turning his head towards the sun princess. “Decide that being an adult is more fun, did you?” “How did you know my little sister’s name?” she shot back, and the Doctor smirked. “Touche. Alright, I’ll go get the elements. You can come in the TARDIS with me if you’d like.” With that, he turned around and walked into the TARDIS, the two alicorns following close behind. As soon as they walked in, their mouths fell agape. But the Doctor didn’t have time for this, and summed it up quickly. “Yes, yes, bigger on the inside and all that.” “N-no,” Luna stammered, “it’s just so... pretty.” “Oh. Well, she did have some renovations done recently. Very recently.” “Focus, little sister,” Celestia gently reminded her sister. “We need to get the elements if we are to defeat Discord.” “So, a question,” stated the Doctor as he started up the TARDIS engines, sending the three off on their journey to find Discord. Unlike Spitfire, Celestia and Luna seemed prepared and braced themselves. “Spitfire said you two weren’t princesses until after you defeated Discord?” “Merely legends, Doctor,” Celestia stated, further confusing the Doctor. “But why? If you two are still alive so far into the future, why not just tell the truth?” “Because sometimes, Doctor, the truth is best left untold.” The answer seemed to satiate the Doctor, but suddenly, a thought popped into his head. “Or… maybe Discord took away everyone’s memories of you.” Celestia let out a groan, but couldn’t help but let out a chuckle right afterwards. “See, little sister, I told you he’s good.” “So that is the case. Which, by extension, means that Discord never really ruled for hundreds of years. He just made the ponies think he did. Well I’ll give him one thing, he’s very clever.” “Very good, indeed,” agreed Luna. “Alright then! I’ll be right back, you two. Just gonna go grab the elements before we land.” As the Doctor ventured off into one of the TARDIS’s many new hallways, leaving the two sisters alone, they pick up where their prior conversation had ended. “Do you think he would want everyone to know, ‘Tia?” “Know what?” “That without him, we would not have defeated Discord.” “He doesn’t really seem like the type to want such recognition.” “I suppose you’re right.” “Luna.” “Yes?” “You do realize you’ve rid yourself of the Royal Canterlot dialect, right?” “I’ve been working at it for a while now,” she replied, blushing. “It certainly makes dealing with nobles easier.” “I don’t know. I thought it suited you very well,” Celestia said, a smile gracing her features. Before Luna could respond, the Doctor walked back up to them, dropping six stone spheres on the floor in front of them. “Alright, here they are,” he said, observing the two pick up the spheres with what he assumed was magic. “Oh, and we’re about to land, so hang on!” “M’lord, we’ve received word of a strange object flying towards the castle.” “What is it?” “Our scouts are saying that it’s a blue box!” “And where was it last seen?” “It was seen flying over the castle gard--” Interrupting the servant, the TARDIS made its presence known by crashing through one of the throne room’s many stained glass windows and crashing right into the throne. Discord disappeared in a flash, not wanting to be crushed. The doors to the TARDIS slammed open and the Doctor walked out, making his presence known. “Ah, look at that, the Doctor is in!” Discord gleefully mocked his enemy as he reappeared. “And how do you expect to beat me without the elements, hm?” Smirking, the Doctor made a motion with his head as if to say “look behind me”, which Discord did. What he saw wiped the smug grin right off of his face. Celestia and Luna, with the elements in their grasp. “Well then, I see you do have the elements,” the shocked draconequus said. “Yes, demon,” began Luna, “and now we’re going to kill you.” “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, Luna! Kill him?” the Doctor questioned incredulously. “You can’t just kill him!” “Have you seen what he’s done to the world, Doctor? Houses fall over as if they were made of cardboard, the grass is plaid, and the skies rain chocolate!” “Yes, but he doesn’t deserve to die for that,” he reasoned. “He deserves to be punished.” “And why is that, Doctor?” “Because until he kills someone, he doesn’t deserve to be killed. You’re better than that!” he yelled right at Luna’s face. “But--” “He is right, little sister...” Celestia said, attempting to calm her sister. “If we were to kill him now, we would regret it for the rest of our lives.” “Don’t I get a say in this?” Discord finally spoke up, to which everyone responded with a unanimous “NO!” “Look,” the Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose, “just blast him and let’s be on our way.” “Right,” the royal sisters agreed in unison. With that, the elements began to give off a glow, and the sisters slowly rose into the air, their eyes glowing white. “Well, if I’m going to go out, I may as well look presentable,” Discord quipped, taking a pose that looked as if he was mid-dance. As he did so, the elements shot off what looked like a rainbow. As the rainbow struck Discord, the Doctor finally realized why these objects were considered so powerful. Slowly, Discord’s body began turning to stone. Starting with the feet, and rising upwards before finally reaching his head. Once the transformation was complete, the statue fell over onto the ground with a resounding thud, and the Doctor winced. While Discord looked jubilant in his current pose, he was going to be stuck like that for a long time. “Didn’t that seem a bit too easy, Doctor?” “Well,” he began answering Celestia, “sometimes that’s just the way it goes.” “Besides, ‘Tia, would you rather have dragged this out?” “I suppose you’re right, Luna. What do you suppose we should do with him?” “Put him in the gardens we passed over on the way here,” the Doctor suggested. “That way he’ll get to witness you two rule every day. It will serve as a reminder of his defeat today. A reminder to everyone else who would dare to rise up against you two. A reminder that this world is defended!” The royal sisters smiled at the Doctor’s speech, and watched as he turned to get back in his TARDIS. “Wait!” Celestia called out, hoping to ask one more question before he left. “Yes, Celestia?” “Where will you go now? Will we ever see you again?” “I’m not sure where I’m going, but you two can bet on seeing me again,” he confirmed with a smile. “But you just reminded me, I need to do something with you two.” “And where have you been?” Spitfire poked the Doctor in the chest with her hoof. “Oh, just helping the royal sisters defeat Discord.” “You mean...?” “Yep, Discord is defeated, all is as it should be, you get the picture. We did it.” “Well, you did it,” she said disappointedly, head hanging towards the floor. “Oh, but I couldn’t have done it without you, Spitfire,” the Doctor attempted to raise her spirits, and it seemed to work as she smiled. “Now, come on, let’s get back in the TARDIS.” Spitfire had no complaints about that and followed him back inside. But something was… different. “The TARDIS, it’s... beautiful, Doctor.” “That she is, Spitfire. Now tell me. How did you wake up from your coma?” “Well, I think it was a spell by Discord or something like that. So when they turned him to stone, I woke back up because the spell had broken.” “Makes sense. Now, Spitfire, where do you want to go?” “I thought it was just one trip, Doctor?” Spitfire joked. Of course she was going to keep travelling with him, if it meant being able to go on more adventures. “Buuuut, I guess that trip to Koorharn doesn’t sound so bad right about now.” “Right then,” the Doctor said as he began messing with the control deck, “Allons-y!” “How did you learn to skate so well, Doctor?” “Well, nine hundred years gives you the chance to learn a lot of new things. But what about you? You’re a stunt flyer, right? Why are you so bad at this?” “Oh, shut up!” exclaimed Spitfire as she yet again face planted into the ice. “Come on, it’s easy!” the Doctor yelled back as he completed yet another complicated maneuver, stunning Spitfire. “But HOW?!” “Practice makes perfect, Spitfire!” The Doctor soon did yet another trick, prompting Spitfire’s jaw to hit the ground. Literally. “B-but that was a backflip!” she yelled in shock before letting out a huff and making her way back to the TARDIS, falling down every so often on the slippery ice. Back in the TARDIS, Spitfire let out another huff. “How come you get to be good at everything?” “It’s not about being the best, Spitfire. It’s about doing your best.” As a smile graced her features, she let out another playful little huff. “You always know what to say, don’t you?” “Well, not always. I’m rubbish at weddings, trust me,” he quipped. “Especially my own.” “Doctor, can I ask you something?” “Sure, go ahead.” “Well, have you ever--” A crash interrupted Spitfire mid-sentence, and the two immediately ran to the doors of the TARDIS, opening them up and walking outside. Spitfire closed the doors behind them, but that turned out to be a mistake. The Doctor’s eyes went wide, prompting Spitfire to look at the same thing he was. “What’s wrong. Did we crash into that statue?” “Spitfire, whatever you do, don’t look away, and don’t blink.”