Dr. Whooves: The Redemption Of Equestria

by Lord_Ike

Dr. Whooves: CH 6: The Insignificance of Light

The Doctor awoke in the early afternoon, having finally gotten to sleep late at night. A temporary structure had been put up around them as they slept, it consisted of a few branches and cloth to form a sort of gazebo. It was gently raining just outside. He felt a form beside him and he looked over, surprised to find that it was Twyll. She had, while they slept, managed to wrap herself around him. The girls slept not far away, still not having awoken from whatever Discord had done.

The Doctor slowly tried to slide out of her grasp, but as he stirred Twyll’s eyes, slowly opened. When she realized her position she quickly stood, blushing and looking away. “I should go, plenty of preparations to make…Oh, and I took the liberty of having the TARDIS moved over.” She pushed at a flap of the enclosure and exited rapidly into the soft drizzle.

The Doctor sat in contemplation. The piece of the Weeping angel he had placed inside Discord was important. But to take full effect it would need greater power to activate. Even reaching Discord and standing against him would take more than they were currently capable of. Sombra had taken the Crystal Empire; he doubted treasures such as the bands of power would be easy to collect.

The trio faced quite challenging times ahead.

In the corner of the Doctor’s Vision he saw Luna spring upright. He looked over, seeing that her eyes had taken on a green glow with purple energy streaming off the sides.

Celestia, having been awoken by the sudden movement, looked up at her sister in shock. “ Luna! What is wrong?”

Luna’s horn took on the same purple glow, laced with green, as energy tore away the tent and pushed Celestia aside. The Doctor managed to keep his footing and step by step approached her. As he approached, he noticed she did not seem aware of him at all, or of her surroundings. “A child in a nightmare…” he mumbled to himself, finally reaching her side. He slowly wrapped a hoof around her whispering near her ear, “Hush now, all is fine.”

At his words the glow quickly faded away, leaving her standing there in the cool drizzle. She shook her head to clear it, and looked towards her sister who was brushing the dust from herself. “I’m sorry sister, I don’t know what happened. It was like a terrible dream. I wasn’t myself.”

A few changelings paused their work, stopping to watch the events. Celestia took notice, saying, “Doctor, Changelings!” and bolting over to her sister’s side near him.

The Doctor immediately had to launch into the explanation of everything that had happened, including how Twyll was now also a bearer. The girls looked surprised, but seemed to quickly accept it.

“Twyll is taking her changelings back to their homeland. But when we need her she, will be ready.” The Doctor looked into Luna’s eyes, their shape having slightly changed. “Are you feeling alright, Luna?” he asked.

She nodded and asked him, “So what is our plan?”

“The Crystal Empire, Twyll has told me of certain artifacts that could be of use to you.”

Celestia looked startled. “But Sombra rules there! It is rumored he holds magic that is even stronger than Discord’s. It was he that ended the Great War between the Imperium and the Crystal Kingdom.”

“What else do you know about him?” the Doctor asked, urging her to continue.

“The stories say he was the greatest general of the Imperium, his massive armies destroying nearly all of the Crystal Kingdom settlements. When their King died he took the throne, but instead of ending the unjust war, he put the Crystal Kingdom to siege.

No matter what he tried the city held, despite his number of troops the crystal ponies would not fall. After a year long siege, it was evident that the Crystal Kingdom’s last stronghold was growing no weaker; his troops suffered attacks day and night through secret and concealed tunnels that they could not find entrance to.

Growing enraged Sombra struck a deal with a demon of darkness, banishing all of his armies to the void just for power. And with the powers he was granted, he singlehandedly tore down the great crystal walls protecting the city. He smote the Crystal King and Queen and took the prized crystal heart, a symbol of hope, and sealed it away. One hundred and thirty years later, he is still on that throne. And his magic keeps it that way.”

Luna, with minimal enthusiasm, spoke up, “So our plan is to go and steal ancient artifacts from an extremely powerful 160 or so year old madpony? Let’s get going.”

“That’s the spirit!” the Doctor said, opening up the TARDIS Twyll had gotten moved over. He looked back at the sisters who hadn’t moved. “Oh, sarcasm… I know you have both had your fill of danger, but we must continue on if you wish to redeem Equestria.”

They reluctantly joined him and Twyll paused in passing to see them off as the Tardis faded from view with its unique whir. “Oh Doctor, come back to me soon.”

~~

The three stumbled out of the Tardis, smoke dissipating quickly in the air.

The Doctor paused to let out a cough. “I don’t think I allowed the Tardis enough repair time.”

“You don’t say?!” Celestia looked at him, annoyed.

“Well a trip backwards in time eight years to deliver the vague letter to you as kids, and then another trip right after seemed to have done the poor girl in so soon after all the shock yesterday.” He rubbed the box with a hoof.
The Tardis door slammed shut as it whirred to life.

“No, no, no, no!” The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver, attempting to get it to stop. Despite his efforts, the Tardis faded from sight. The Doctor looked around him, pointing the sonic in several directions before looking at the reading. “She’s nearby and cross with me.”

Celestia let out an exasperated sigh. “At least we got to the Crystal Kingdom,” she paused. “In the grand hall... in the middle of a group of guards.”

The group of guards were all crystal ponies of varying hues and type, but they seemed off somehow, the looks on their faces showed no emotion whatsoever. “Run…” one of them managed to slip out as he closed in on the trio. There was nowhere to run as the mass of guards had completely surrounded them. The three were quickly jostled away.

The one that had managed to say something stuttered out a few more words slowly and disjointedly. “Sombra. Spell. Not in control.” His eyes and face faded to the same as all the other guards. The three were escorted into the dungeons and thrown in separate cells. The guards did not bother to check them over for weapons or tools, Sombra’s magic only able to control them to a certain degree.

Most of the guards left, leaving two at the entrance of the room. After about a minute, a single large dark shadow danced on the wall before seeping through, becoming solid.

The dark figure spoke, his voice dripping with venom. “I was expecting one of my slaves had slipped into the palace, but this is something new entirely. Did the two Alicorn whelps come to beg protection from Discord? You seem older than my informants have told… I will have to order them killed.” He walked over to Celestia’s cage, giving the Doctor a dismissing look as he passed.

“So, princess of the sun, will you swear your loyalty?” he asked.

“To the void with you!” she spat out.

He moved over to Luna’s cell. “Surely you will see reason, there is no need to be kept as a slave when you can live in comfort beside me. Just throw your sister aside and swear allegiance to me.”

Luna dismissively turned away from him, refusing the courtesy of a rude answer.

Sombra looked surprisingly young, his dark magics preventing any ageing. The grey pony had scarlet red pupils with a sickly green surrounding them, a curved red horn, and wore armor along with a red cape. He bared his sharp fangs and let out a hiss of anger at Luna’s refusal to acknowledge him.

“Child of darkness, I sense the seeds of chaos within you! You will submit to me!” he shouted at Luna who continued to ignore him. A purple mist streamed from his eyes and the Doctor immediately recognized it; it was dark magic. Sombra’s horn glowed with the same green and purple outline that Luna had in her waking nightmare. Luna’s cell door was ripped open, and she was grabbed by the magic.

“Put her down!” the Doctor yelled at Sombra who turned, eyes flashing. An invisible force threw the Doctor against the wall of his cell, and he found himself slipping into unconsciousness. Sombra left the dungeon on hoof, carrying the screaming Luna somewhere else in the crystalline castle.

~
~Luna
~

As Sombra snatched Luna, she could feel the taint of his dark magic as it washed over her. A scream escaped her maw as she was torn from her cell. Everything was moving so quickly. The Doctor yelled something, but was silenced as his head struck the wall. She struggled against the Magic, trying to assert her own, but it snuffed out just like a candle.

“Your pathetic magic can do nothing here. If you really want to harm me, you must use the darkness inside of you.”

She could feel the darkness inside of her, just in reach, it scarred her. When had it come, and why did she have the urge to do just as he said? Luna forced it away and asked one thing of Sombra. “Why?”

“Because darkness is power child, you will learn to see that.”

She knew this darkness wasn’t hers, but then why did it draw her so? She called upon the elements of laughter and loyalty mentally, letting them strengthen her. “Your dependence on the darkness is misguided.” She let out a blast of light that broke Sombra’s power and allowed her to drop to the floor.

She knew that facing him was her only option, so she turned towards him, firing a blast of pure energy. He had been staggered by the sudden light and took the blow directly to his neck. The plate armor took the blow, and a portion of it disintegrated.

“So it’s a fight you want? I will show to you your weakness!” As he spoke, his form lost shape and disappeared, and the room filled with a cloying darkness. Luna lit her horn, forcing back the darkness in her immediate area, but was unable to see any further. A dark sphere of energy flew at her, and she barely had time to avoid it. Another struck her flank, leaving her numb. She fired a blast towards where it had come from, striking nothing but a wall as the darkness fled from the light. She shook out her leg, trying to get the numb sensation out.

Sombra chuckled from the darkness; it seemed to come from every direction. Wait, it was every direction, Sombra was the darkness. Luna charged up as powerful a blast as she could, this time aiming at nothing. She let out all of the energy, forcing it away from herself in a sphere. The thick darkness around her was enveloped in the light as it forced Sombra’s essence to the corners of the room.

Luna bolted away, taking Sombra’s dissipation as an advantage. Just as she was about to reach the staircase back to the dungeon, Sombra reformed directly in front of her.

“I admit, girl, you reading my strategy so quickly is quite a feat…but you still stand no chance.”

Luna fired off another energy bolt aiming for the hole she had created in Sombra’s armor. Sombra, with an even quicker bolt of dark magic, intercepted it. The hole in Sombra’s armor repaired itself with dark energy.

“No more games! If you do not accept the darkness, I will have to force it upon you!”

Luna stumbled backwards as a foreign consciousness entered her own. She tried to distance herself while pushing back at his mind with the aid of the two elements. Sombra laughed over the link. “So this is where your meager power comes from,” he said while severing her connection to them.

Without the elements to aid her, Luna quickly lost ground as Sombra began to dominate her mind. Soon enough she even lost control of her body, collapsing. Sombra reached the darkness deep inside of her, her efforts to hide it away in vain. All it took was a simple coaxing and the dark flood rushed forth. Sombra receded from her mind, allowing the darkness to spread uninterrupted.

“Sleep now. And when you awake be reborn not as Luna, but as Nightmare Moon!”

Luna’s eyes closed as the darkness washed over her. “Was it really all that bad?” she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep.