The Hostess

by Gaekub

Chapter 5

1002 CE (2 years after the return of Princess Luna)

A grey pegasus with golden eyes fluttered desperately through the night. Ditzy Doo had never been a very strong flier, and the stress she was feeling wasn't helping. Her wings beat rapidly, inefficiently, and often at cross-purposes. It was only through sheer adrenaline from her encounter with the Hostess that she managed to stay afloat.

A cyan pegasus drifted effortlessly up next to her. "Hey Derpy. Where you going?"

"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash!" Ditzy panted. Rainbow was the only pony who called her 'Derpy' to her face. Honestly, Ditzy appreciated it. It was better then saying it behind her back like everypony else. Ditzy's eyesight may not have been very good, but her hearing was better then average. "I'm just on my way home!"

"You uh... you want some help?" Rainbow said, shooting her a half-smile.

"Oh! Thanks Rainbow!" Ditzy replied, giving an enthusiastic grin.

Rainbow Dash hooked her front legs underneath the struggling pony's and lifted her effortlessly. She'd been doing this since she was very young, when they were both growing up in Cloudsdale. Ditzy relaxed, letting the stronger pony carry her weight. She watched the ground zoom by below, Rainbow flying faster with her then she could have on her own.

They arrived at Ditzy's house in almost no time at all, and Rainbow dropped her onto the roof. It was a cloud house like Rainbow Dash's, but that's where the similarities ended. Ditzy's was little more then a few clouds pushed together into the rough shape of a box, but it kept the rain off.

"See ya Derpy." Rainbow said as she flew back the way they'd come.

"Bye Rainbow Dash!" Ditzy shouted after her. She'd never tell her, but that pony was her second best friend. She called her Derpy, and her words weren't very kind, but she was always willing to help her. She watched until Dash was out of sight, and then climbed down into her house.

She used her hooves to form a simple chair out of cloud stuff, and then sat down. She closed her eyes, crunched up her face, and thought as hard as she could about her best friend.

Halfway across the universe and six hundred years ago, words appeared on a piece of paper.

Doctor. Come back to Ponyville. I need you.

---

Bon Bon knocked on Lyra's door for the third time. She leaned back to look at the mailbox. 'Lyra Heartstrings' it said. She was in the right place, not that she could forget where Lyra lived.

She knocked again, exasperated. Lyra had been complaining all of yesterday that that earth pony watchmaker had forgotten her order. Bon Bon had finally suggested they go get it the next morning, and Lyra had agreed. Now here she was, the next morning, and Lyra wasn't answering her door.

With a sigh, Bon Bon reached down into her saddlebags and grabbed the key Lyra had given her. She could have just walked right in, but she didn't like to use it unless she had to. It was silly, but ponies talked. That's what happens when everypony knew everypony.

She unlocked the door and dropped the key back in her bag. The door creaked open, and she stepped through. She closed the door behind her, and shouted for the mint-green unicorn. There was no reply.

She headed up the stairs. "Lyra!" she shouted again. "Where is that pony?" she asked herself as only her echo answered. She pushed open the door to Lyra's bedroom, hoping she was still asleep. The bed was empty, curtains fluttering in the wind. She walked over to the open window and closed it. As she brought her hooves down, one brushed against something soft and wet on the windowsill.

She recoiled from the disgusting feeling, and then leaned forward to examine it. Spread on the windowsill was some greeny gunk that Bon Bon didn't recognize.

"Yech" she said, and then left to search the rest of the house. She forgot about the strange substance, and Lyra was nowhere to be found.

---

"Oh, so sorry" apologized the Hostess to the much larger pony she'd just bounced off.

"Excuse me, Ms Pie" apologized the huge red stallion at the same time.

The Hostess was about to ask Pinkie who she was talking to when John came around the corner and answered her question.

"Big Macintosh?" he blurted, surprised "Are you alright?"

"Eh-yup."

Twilight's head popped around the corner. "Wait, we found him?"

John ignored her. "Have you seen Applejack yet? She's been worried sick about you."

"Eh-yup."

"Wait, I'm sorry. Where have you been for the last three days?" the Hostess asked, disbelief in her eyes.

"It's private. I have to go." Big Mac rumbled, and then walked past them all into town.

All three ponies stared after him for a sec.

"Is he always that... curt?" asked the Hostess after a second.

"Yeah, that was pretty much classic Big Mac" John replied.

"So... are we done?" Twilight asked.

"Of course not. Even if Big Macintosh wasn't kidnapped, we still found the green gunk. Something's been at Sweet Apple Acres" the Hostess answered, already turning back towards the road ahead.

They had gone little more then half a mile when they bumped into Applejack. "Well lookie, it's the frensics three. I was looking for y'all, Big Macintosh came back. Turns out he was just at a Marefriend's."

"Yeah, we just bumped into him in town" John replied.

"What? Nah, ya couldn't have. He's back at the farm, cleaning the barn."

John and the Hostess shared a look. Instantly, they both burst into a run towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"Now where are they off to in such a hurry?" Applejack asked Twilight, scratching her head.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. Bye Applejack, we'll catch up later." Twilight replied, shouting the last few words over her shoulder as she ran after the two other ponies.

Applejack shook her head and continued down the road. Pinkie Pie was no surprise, and Twilight could get caught up in things, but she'd never pegged John for anything like this. "Well, you never really know a pony..." she mused out loud as she headed into town.

---

By the time Twilight managed to catch up, the group was among the apple trees. "What... is going on?" she panted.

"The Hostess said... said the green stuff came from a..." John huffed, winded himself.

"It was from a shape-shifter. I'm thinking whatever it is still has Big Macintosh and is impersonating him. That's how he can be in two places at once." the Hostess finished, not even breathing heavy.This body might lack fingers, but it was good for running. Better, she observed, then most pony's.

"Oh, so... you knew there was a... a shape-shifter, and you didn't... even question Big Mac?" Twilight wheezed.

Before either John or the Hostess could respond to Twilight's accusation, they arrived at the barn. The same large red pony they had seen in town was busy pushing the wooden panel they'd knocked over yesterday back against the wall.

"Ms Pie. Ms Sparkle. John" Big Macintosh greeted them in turn, then turned back to his work. The three ponies he'd nodded to drew each other into a huddle.

"What do we do? How do we figure out if that's Big Mac?" John asked in a whisper.

"Alright, here's what we do. John, you know him best. Go talk to him, and see if he acts the same. In addition, ask him a question only he-"

The Hostess was interrupted by a humongous slam as the heavy wooden board fell for the second time in as many days. Today, however, it was pushed by Twilight Sparkle's magic, and it landed on Big Macintosh.

"Or that. That works" the Hostess finished lamely as Twilight bounded towards the trapped pony.

"What was that for Ms. Sparkle?" asked the pony, trying his best to push out from under the board. However, although he had been able to lift it before, he had no leverage now. His muscles strained, but the board didn't move.

"We know you're not Big Macintosh. You're some kind of shape-shifter" Twilight said, triumphantly.

Big Macintosh looked angry for a split second, and then resigned. He let out a sigh, and then changed his form. His features melted like wax, changing into something altogether alien.

Twilight jumped back and screamed at the sight, and John looked like he was going to throw up. Only the Hostess kept a straight face, but inside, she was just as horrified.

The creature was roughly pony shaped. Four legs, a body, and a head. Those basic similarities only served to accentuate the vast differences.

It was completely clear of hair, and was covered in crusty, green skin. A layer of mucus coated every inch of its body giving it a slimy appearance. Its skin clung tight to its bones, making it look like it was starving. Most disturbing was its face. Where a pony would have eyes, nostrils, and a mouth, this thing only had flat green skin.

A crack opened in the things face, revealing a mouth that literally stretched from ear to ear. Far too many sharp teeth winked out from the crack. It grinned widely at each of them in turn. John stumbled back, Twilight looked away, and the Hostess just closed her eyes. "What gave me away?" it hissed.

"We saw another of you back in town. Sloppy to have more then one of the same form out and about, Falaxaporian" the Hostess replied, wielding the species name like a knife.

If possible, the creature grinned wider. "So you know what I am. Congratulations."

"I know that for you to make such a close copy of another creature, you must have him hooked up somewhere. Where is he?" the Hostess asked, trying to sound menacing. She still wasn't looking at the creature.

A disgusting wet hiccuping escaped from the creatures lips. It took the Hostess a few seconds to realize it was laughing. "Yeah, there's no way I'm telling you that. Now either let me up, or kill me."

She stepped onto the plank that lay on the creatures chest, still not looking at it. "Tell me" she said, but instead of sounding angry, she just sounded tired. She regretted not sleeping the night before.

The creature laughed louder.

The Hostess paused. She didn't know what to do. She looked at Twilight, and then at John. They both looked terrified. The Hostess realized this would be their first encounter with an obviously alien race.

She closed her eyes. They couldn't help. She had to take charge now. She couldn't keep being the entitled spoiled child like she had for the last two days. She'd complained, and mocked, and avoided the truth. Hell, she had kicked John in the shin. On top of that, she had started missing things. She should have been suspicious of Big Macintosh, but she had been distracted by her own problems.

She couldn't do that anymore. She had to show them that she could defeat these creatures. She had to be the Time Lord.

She took a deep breath and retreated into her own mind. She'd never been the master of mental control Time Lords liked to pretend they were. Honestly, she'd never been good at a lot of the things Time Lords said they were. She was terrible at math, time travel made her head hurt, and her psychic sensitivity was well below universal par. She'd never be the most self controlled, but she could enter her own mind.

She found herself standing in a huge empty room. In her head, she was still humanoid. Still that pants wearing monkey that had crash landed in a field.

A pink pony bounced out of the darkness in the back towards her. "Oh, hi Hostess! It's so nice to finally meet you-"

She was cut off when a wall rose from the floor. The Hostess had raised it with a minor effort of will. This was a calming exercise she was about to go through, and Pinkie Pie was not conducive to calm.

She brought three more walls up, creating a room around herself. Out of the floor rose a trash bin. The Hostess gathered all her worries and bothers around her, and began the cleanse.

First, the physical troubles. The exhaustion was first. She wadded it up and threw it in the bin. The stabbing pain in her side that she really hoped wasn't massive organ failure. Into the bin it went, along with the worry that it was killing her. The general problems that came with being in a different body went in after it, and then on to the mental distractions.

Her worry that she wasn't good enough to stop this. Into the bin. Her worry that she had killed Big Macintosh. Into the bin. She gathered up all her guilt; for essentially killing Pinkie Pie, for bringing these creatures here, for lying about the Doctor, for scaring those fillies, for waking up John, for involving either John or Miss Sparkle in this whole thing. All that guilt was rolled into a giant ball, and then pushed in the bin.

Finally, she made a copy of her old monkey body. It hovered in front of her, slowly rotating. She watched it for a few seconds, and then morphed it into a pink pony body. This is who you are now. Deal with it, she thought. She looked down at her mental representation, and it matched her physical body. She was an equine now, in both mind and body.

She was about to leave her mind, but thought better of it. She brought down all the walls, and faced the pink pony that was bouncing on the other side. "I'm sorry Pinkie. I'm sorry for taking you away from your friends."

"Oh, it's okay! I mean, I'm sad I'm not with my friends anymore, but it weren't for you, I'd never have existed in the first place!" Pinkie grinned.

The Hostess smiled back, nodded, and then left her head. The cleansing had taken several minutes in her head, but only a second or two had passed in the real world.

John saw her eyes open. They looked different. She had been tired and annoyed before. Now she looked... focused. He'd only seen that look in a ponies eyes once before, when a Manticore had grabbed Applebloom from Sweet Apple Acres. Big Macintosh's eyes had looked exactly the same as the Hostess's did now.

She turned to look at the still laughing creature, looking exactly where its eyes would have been. "Tell me. Have you ever heard of the Doctor?"

The creature's laughter cut off. A look flitted across its face.

"Ah, I see you have. Most monsters have. The Daleks call him the oncoming storm. He is the only creature they have ever feared. Well, I'm obviously not him. But I am one of his kind. And let me tell you this."

She leaned forwards, her nose almost touching its. "He is not unique" she snarled, leaning back and aiming a kick at its head. The thing flinched from the blow, but it softened halfway down and turned into a caress.

"So let me tell you what is going to happen" she said, her voice soft, hoof slowly grazing against the creatures chin "I know you won't tell me where they are. So you won't. Instead, we're going to let you up, and you're going to run. You're going to run back to your kin, and you're going to tell them about me."

She leaned forwards again, the soft caress turning into a stranglehold as she pressed her front hoof into its neck. "You're going to tell them that a Time Lord is coming, and that she. IS. ANGRY!" she said, voice rising into a bellow. "Understood?"

The creature nodded, unable to speak.

The Hostess stepped off the board, and nodded at Twilight. Luckily, the unicorn was present enough to lift the board with her magic, letting the creature scramble away. It skittered to its misshapen hooves, and then galloped away as fast as it could.

As the Hostess watched it go, John watched the Hostess. He couldn't help remembering what had happened when the Manticore had taken Applebloom. Big Macintosh had disappeared into the forest, and returned with Applebloom three hours later.

His hooves had been coated in blood.

Comments

[Shpoople96]

Wasn't the doctor able to make a mortal copy of himself once?
Couldn't she do that with Pinkie?

[Tech_Priest]

As the Hostess watched it go, John watched the Hostess. He couldn't help remembering what had happened when the Manticore had taken Applebloom. Big Macintosh had disappeared into the forest, and returned with Applebloom three hours later.

His hooves had been coated in blood.

I shuddered.