Part Six: Explanations Arguments and Revealed Losses.
Zecora was livid and afforded the sun princess no special treatment as she vented over her wrecked home.
Celestia for her part stood stony faced and took the zebra’s tirade, all the while uttering less than repentant sounding apologies.
The Doctor with Ditsy at his side was apparently out of it; Luna Twilight and the rest of the Elements were stood back watching open mouthed.
After Zecora had calmed down Celestia and Luna had embraced in a sisterly show of mutual concern, the inevitable conversation about what had happened to them since the previous night began.
Ditsy kept an eye on the Doctor, listening as Rainbow Dash explained how she ‘found’ Ditsy, then gone to Sweet Apple Acres, how Ditsy had taken flight (at this Ditsy shuffled and focused on the floor embarrassed) then her and Applejack’s search and it’s somewhat grisly conclusion.
Twilight then continued with what happened after Luna had disappeared, Celestia’s arrival Dash and Applejack’s recovery and after missing out the breakfast and bedroom disasters explained how they had found Luna and co after exhausting all other possibilities and with a little help from a friend.
Pinkie Pie had arrived at the library escorted by the royal guards and in a perfectly pinkie moment suggested using Applejack’s dog Winona to track Luna using Celestia as a scent template, being sisters and all…
The party pony had beamed as her friends chalked it up to Pinkie’s random effect on the world around her.
As every pony absorbed these events Luna began to explain her side, every now and then glancing between the Doctor and Ditsy and the now stoic yet still fired up inside while barely contained sister of hers.
It was then Zecora who continued telling of how she encountered Luna and Ditsy and had returned home.
Having established the events so far the assembled ponies turned and looked at Applejack as she cleared her throat.
“Ah know things don’t exactly make a whole lot of sense right now, but Ah’m sure as hay sure it’s got something to do with him…”
Pointing at the still floored Doctor.
“…And ma girl Ditsy of course.”
Applejack faced a fidgeting Ditsy and asked bluntly.
“Hun, did you see you a monster? Is that why you were so scared?”
Ditsy continued staring at the floor, her front hooves tracing little patterns.
“Sugar, that thing attacked me and Dash, it’s gonna hurt some other pony, can y’all tell us anything Hun…?”
Ditsy was agitated now, she didn’t know what to say, she couldn’t remember anything before she’d hit Dash mid-air, and she’d been cold and alone in the Everfree forest after running away from Applejack’s, until Luna arrived she hadn’t been able to figure out why she’d been so afraid so she’d hid in a tree to calm down.
“Nothing…”
She mumbled under her breath a tear slowly tracing down her cheek.
Instinctively Luna moved to her and placed a comforting hoof around Ditsy’s shoulders as she continued to break down slowly.
As Luna made soothing noises and stroked the distressed mare’s mane, her tears falling steadily now the Doctor opened his eyes just as another tear hit his face.
“I’m OK no need to cry.”
The Doctor said as he assumed she was upset over him.
“N-Not you idiot…”
Ditsy managed as she gently kicked him with a hoof.
“Right... well... good…”
He mumbled with a little disappointment in his voice.
Luna, who now had an red faced Ditsy burying her face in her neck and shoulder, looked at those present, Celestia, Zecora, the Elements of Harmony, and the Royal Guard.
“Doctor…”
Luna said looking down.
“…Help us…”
Having the moon Princess act so sombre and meek, not to mention she used his name put the Doctor off guard a little.
For a few seconds the Doctor just laid there as the room’s silence was broken by Ditsy’s soft crying.
“…Right!!!”
Jumping to his hooves the Doctor regained his composure, his big grin spreading across his face as he surveyed his audience.
Without waiting for a response or recognition of his assumed authority he began.
“Princesses… Guards mares and my old companion Zecora…”
The zebra let her indignation slide at being singled out, after all, wasn’t she a mare?
“There’s a very nasty critter on the loose and we need to work together on this!”
As Celestia motioned to her guards to hold off beating him down she stepped forward letting her regal bearing take effect on those around her and spoke.
“So what evil if not you… plague’s my lands…”
“A Silmeragan.”
All eyes focused on Celestia as her blood ran cold and her mouth fell open.
“But... …But wasn’t the last of those… It was destroyed a thousand years ago…?”
“What’s a Silmerage?”
Twilight asked her mentor.
“A Silmerage…”
The Doctor butted in…
“Is a creature about three inches squared, covered in fur and looks and sounds a bit like a Tribble except when they suck your blood that is...”
“Huh…?”
“A Silmeragan is a legendary beast over two ponies tall it has two long arms, two legs, red claws, is covered in putrid green scaly skin and has a head like a shark with double the teeth.”
“That…”
He looked to see if he still had their attention.
“…Is a Silmeragan it doesn’t feed on flesh or blood, it absorbs the mental energy of its victims often keeping them somewhere in almost hibernation returning only to feed or dispose of the old or dead ones.”
Seeing the shock and disgust in the room the Doctor paused.
“Now hang on an apple picking minute, me and Dash were attacked…”
Applejack piped up.
“And ah don’t remember a giant green monster; in fact I don’t rightly remember anything about it at all.”
The Doctor approached the farm pony.
“That… Is because its claws and teeth are covered in a substance it’s immune to that disrupts your memory.”
“It uses it to attack and restrain it prey and should its prey escape, it won’t remember being attacked and in most situations walk right back into the same situation again.”
“Also it’s hard to hunt down because most survivors can’t remember to tell anyone what did it and mistake the injuries for bear attacks...”
“So you’re saying anyone who gets away can’t remember…? But every pony else would about the missing ones!”
Twilight piped up with her question ignoring the frown from the Doctor as he was interrupted mid flow.
“But you said it captures its prey and keeps them prisoner…? …But there haven’t been any disappearances around Ponyville…?”
The Doctor tried to explain it in lay pony terms.
”The Silmeragan projects a mental field using the minds of its victims to completely erase all thought and memory of the victim from the minds of those who know them.”
Seeing the confusion rife on the faces of the group, he tried to explain it differently.
“Imagine some pony gets attacked, when the silmeragan adds that mind to the field, all those within that field forget them.”
“But what about pictures silly…?”
Pinkie broke in.
“I have pictures of all my friends; I’d never forget some pony just because of some icky monster or a magic spell.”
“Yes... well…”
The Doctor impressed by the pink ponies reasoning added.
“If a pony close to you is added to the field, it erases all recognition from your mind to the extent you can look at a picture of that pony and your brain only registers the background…”
“So... how big is this field exactly…?”
Twilight interjected.
The Doctor cocked his head to the side and inhaled sharply.
“Oh…”
*pause*
“Well…”
*pause*
“Depends on how many ponies… The mental ability of the Silmeragan… How many ponies know the victims...?”
“Sooo…?”
Twilight pressed on.
“Hundreds of miles…!”
The Doctor answered in a hesitant tone.
The gasp from the assembled group was loud as the implications sunk in.
Pinkie Pie, a pony for who unsettling or depressing thoughts affected her deeply slid into denial as she countered angrily.
“Don’t be a foal, there’s no way I’d forget a friend and I know all the ponies for miles around here.”
“Really…?”
The Doctor’s voice was cold as he responded, his eyes containing a small flicker of sympathy.
“…For sure!!!”
Pinkie bristled as she stared the Doctor down.
“This Silmeragan is powerful and old, very old, so old and powerful in fact it’s even affected Celestia herself…”
At this, the group turned to look at the Princess.
“Nonsense…”
She countered, full of self confidence.
“Well explain then, why there is only five Elements of Harmony here.”
A cold silence fell in the room as those present counted the Elements.
“It’s... not possible…”
Celestia shook her head.
“No…”
“…I....”
The Elements took this worse than the Princess; Pinkie’s usually unmovable smile disappeared.
Twilight just sat mouth open, her mind blank in shock.
Dash and Applejack just shared a look of disbelief as Rarity just sat eyes brimming with tears, head held low.
“I’m sorry…”
The Doctor said to no one in particular.
It was Luna still comforting Ditsy who spoke first.
“So what now, how do we beat it? How do we find it?”
It was Celestia who responded first, her rage building up inside.
“I’ll kill it myself; I’ll blast it to pieces!!!”
“We have to find it first…”
Luna replied a little unnerved by her sister’s quick and violent response.
It was then; Celestia caught the knowing look Zecora shared with the Doctor.
“And what do you two know we don’t?”
Zecora gave an apologetic smile to the Doctor as he face hoofed.
“I know where its lair is…”
His reply caused Celestia’s mane to ignite in a fiery burst burning like the sun.
“You will show me immediately.”
“Not that simple I’m afraid…”
“WHY!!!”
Celestia’s tone was deep and hate filled as she glared daggers at him.
“If you kill it before we rescue its victims from its clutches, they’ll die right along with it, the creatures demise will cause the mental field to invert, collapse and fry the minds of those connected.”
“…Oh…”
Celestia managed, her fiery mane dimmed somewhat as his words sunk in.
“So rescue first, kill later, job done.”
All eyes turned to Ditsy as she emerged from her depression wiping her tears away with a hoof slowly separating herself from Luna’s comforting embrace.
The Doctor was a little dismayed at Ditsy’s intelligent yet casually blood thirsty response but still gave her a small wink and a forced smile as he put it down to the situation in hoof, after all he didn’t relish the thought of ending a life, no matter how destructive it could be.
The Doctor looked out the nearest window.
“It’s light out, so the Silmeragan will still be asleep but it should leave to explore its territory or hunt around dusk...”
“So we invade its lair when it’s dark and then once we’ve rescued all the ponies, we hunt ‘it’ for a change.”
Twilight spoke in a confident yet slightly wavering tone.
“No…”
The Doctor said firmly.
“The only ones to do that are Celestia and me; the rest of you will just get in the way or killed.”
“Now hold on a minute, our friend is in there, and I sure as hay am not staying here when there’s a-rescuing to be done.”
Applejack was joined by the other Elements who cried in unison.
“…Yeah!!!”
“I’m sorry…”
The Doctor said before he asked…
“What was her name again…?”
This was like a slap across the face as the remaining five Elements all shared looks of confusion and pain.
“I’m sorry, I really am, but this thing is just too dangerous, one scratch, one swipe of claw and you’re out of it, you’re either a victim without memory or just in the way.”
“What about you? Aren’t you just as vulnerable?”
Luna wasn’t sure but she could have sworn he gave her a look like she’d been dribbling.
“I’m an expert!”
He replied but mumbled absently to himself…
“Sort of...”
It was Ditsy who won the argument as she pointed out the possibly fatal flaw in the Doctor’s plan.
“Who saves ponies if it not gone, if you busy fighting monster…”
Luna quickly added to the jumbled speech.
“And what if more need rescuing than the two of you can manage…?”
The Doctor saw the looks passed between all those present and sighed deeply.
“…Fine.”
“So what do we do now doctor?”
Luna instantly realized her mistake seeing Celestia’s angry expression.
“Luna, you will stay away from him, I will deal with him later when this is over, until then the Doctor and I will stand guard as the others…”
Celestia motioning a hoof at the Elements and her guards…
“…Rescue any pony they find.”
Celestia’s commanding tone gave every pony present little chance to argue, the Doctor just looked bemused as out of the corner of his eye he saw Ditsy silently laughing to herself as she mouthed to him…
“In trouble now…”
Responding with a warm hearted grin, the Doctor decided it was better just to play along like Celestia had said, ‘For now’.
As every pony agreed to the plan, an argument broke out between the royal sisters over whether or not Luna was going along.
The Royal guards Aquilinus, Biggs and Wedge went to patrol outside to escape any possible repercussion from earlier events.
As the Elements, Zecora, Ditsy and the Doctor all retreated to the other end of the house as the arguing sisters got louder and more personal.
Twilight watched stunned as her Princess’s raged away at each other, she’d never seen Celestia act like this and Luna didn’t seem like the foalish mare she’d met previously.
She was stronger looking and definitely more defiant and stronger willed.
“Be fine, he makes people out of shell.”
“W-W... huh…?”
Twilight turned to Ditsy who was looking at her while sat only a few hoof steps away.
“S-sorry…”
Ditsy mumbled going bright red, inwardly cursing her speech pattern she tried again.
“Has effect on ponies, drives up wall.”
*pause*
“Magnet for trouble…”
Pointing a hoof at the Doctor sat on a stool, he was once again behind the pages of a book.
“So who is he…? Where’s he from…?”
The other Elements and Zecora gathered round mostly because it was beginning to be difficult to hear anything over the royal expletives.
Ditsy waited for every pony to settle then replied.
“Gallophrey…”
“Gallophrey…? Uh I’ve never heard of that town, is it near Manehatten or closer to Phillydelphia?”
Rarity interrupted.
“Surely you recognize a Trottingham accent… So cultured…”
She mused flicking her gorgeous mane.
“How about we look at this map you guys…?”
Pinkie produced a very old map seemingly from nowhere.
Ditsy ignoring where Pinkie got the map from for the sake of sanity shook her head.
“Not on map.”
“So where then, Space?”
Dash interrupted pointing a hoof upwards mockingly.
Ditsy nodded.
The Elements laughed in unison.
“I suppose he has a spaceship too...”
Dash said, her sides splitting as she fell to the floor rolling about in laughter.
“Maybe he came to steal all the cows…”
Applejack snorted laughing along.
“Oo… Maybe he’s like an intergalactic treasure hunter!”
Rarity giggled at the idea of ‘space gems’.
“Oh I know, maybe he’s like a famous intergalactic explorer on a five year mission!”
Pinkie collapsed rolling around alongside Dash.
Ditsy sighed...
...
... ...
“It’s called a T.A.R.D.I.S… And he is from space… He’s the Doctor and he’s here to help…”
The serious expression, forward facing stern looking eyes and the way she spoke with clearly absolute confidence she silenced the others who looked to Zecora for help…
“Trouble he is and when around doubled it is, when he comes knocking more often than not it saves you from a coffin...”