Starlight Chronicles

by WanderingPhysicist

Doctor o shiyō shita ocha

Main Characters: Rei, The Doctor (11)
Cameos: None
Original Start Date: July 16, 2013

---

It is a dark night in Ponyville. An odd whooshing sound fills a back alley, and a blue box materializes out of nowhere. A light brown pony steps out and drags himself to a nearby door. He trudges in, goes up a set of stairs and sits down at a table while undoing his bow tie.

‘I could really use a cup of tea.’

‘I’d like it if ponies didn’t break into my home.’

Rei glares at the visitor as she turns on the lights. The Doctor frowns at his host.

‘I was expecting a warmer welcome,’ the stallion snorts. ‘Is the wife home?’

‘She’s helping her sister back at the farm. Now, get out or I will pump you so full of electricity you could light Las Pegasus for a week.’

‘What’s with the attitude? Still have a bit of Nightmare in you?’

‘I’m fine. I just have a problem with a Doctor right now.’

‘I don’t know what I did or will do to upset you, but maybe we can talk this out.’

Rei slams the table, electricity sparking around her. ‘You failed to stop the Daleks! You ruined dad’s wedding! You let Twilight Sparkle die! You are the reason for Discord! You are the greatest evil to ever live!’

The Doctor tents his hooves. ‘While I will not argue that last charge, I would like to hear your evidence for the other points.’

‘The other you. The you from my world. You didn’t do your job and the whole world suffered! Every world with Discord suffered because of you!’

‘That Doctor might have failed, but I was able to save your father’s wedding. You were quite happy to see me that day if I recall.’

‘That was before I knew the truth.’

‘And where did you hear this “truth”?’

‘Dinky and Pipsqueak got it from The Master.’

‘And you would trust what he says? He is crazier than a bag of cats!’

‘More ponies survived that attack than just the ones my parents saved. The Doctor was there. He failed. He failed my parents, and a lot of ponies died!’

‘If he didn’t fail, your father might not be here right now.’

‘My father would have married Twilight Sparkle and have been happy, and Discord would never have existed!’

‘Not him, you twit! Your father! Your real father! He wouldn’t be happily married. He wouldn’t have a wonderful family that, by all accounts, is getting larger every day. He wouldn’t have you!’

‘Yes, he would! We would be at home right now! Me and Helios and Alba and...’

‘Rei! Stop and think for a second! If The Doctor saved the wedding, your birth father would have married that Twilight Sparkle. Yes, he would have been happy, but you and all your siblings would never have been born.’

Rei stares, confused.

The Doctor moans. ‘Think about it. You are the product of King James Sparkle and Queen Luna. You are not the product of James Wanderer and Twilight Sparkle. If the wedding went through, your parents would never have united. None of your siblings would have been created.’

‘But...’

‘Not just that, think about your father if you weren’t here.’

‘Dad was here before I showed up! He...’

‘He was depressed all the time.’ The Doctor shakes his head. ‘Even with his friendships with Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, he was still depressed.’ He smiles at Rei. ‘You made him so happy. You made him the happiest he had ever been in three hundred years.’

‘Daddy...’

‘If you weren’t there to cheer him up, he would never have asked Twilight Sparkle out. He would never have courted her. They wouldn’t be married.’ -- Rei opens her mouth to speak, but The Doctor raises a hoof, silencing her -- ‘Don’t say that is how it worked out in your world. Your world was vastly different from this one. The circumstances were different.’

Rei sits and looks away. The Doctor sits beside her.

‘Rei, I know it is difficult to accept. The Doctor of your world failing might have been a good thing. Without that, you wouldn’t be here to save your father. Who knows who your wife would have ended up with. Worst of all, your world would never have existed if it wasn’t for Discord being created that day.’

‘You keep saying “your world”... like you mean some place other than here...’

‘Rei?’

‘I... I am furious that The Doctor did not save my father from becoming Discord, but... I can see the good that came from that horrible day. I wouldn’t have been born, and my daddy... my real daddy wouldn’t be the wonderful daddy he is today.’

‘So no more hard feelings?’

Rei stands. She puts a hoof on The Doctor’s shoulder. The stallion screams in pain as electricity surges through him. The mare laughs as she goes to the cupboards.

‘That really hurt!’

Rei sticks her tongue out. ‘Be a stallion. You have two hearts. You can take it.’

The pegasus laughs as she puts on water for tea. The Doctor grumbles and rubs his sore chest.

‘Your father used to keep the tea I like in the back cupboard.’

‘All right. All right,’ the host groans. Rei digs through the cupboard and finds a small box of tea. There is an envelope attached.

‘Dear Rei. If you are reading this, then Theta is visiting after one of his many adventures. By now, you probably know about what happened at my wedding. My wedding in the other world. As a being who can see many timelines unfolding all around him, I have known all about it. I haven’t talked to Theta about it, but I have no hard feelings towards him. What happened that day was not his fault. I hate to say it, but there seems to be something wrong with that universe by default. You were lucky enough to escape that world, and I couldn’t be happier for my darling Rei-chan. Even your birth parents could not be as proud of you as I am. Without you, life would have been unbearable. I know you probably harbor bad feelings towards Theta for what happened that day, but you should and will forgive him. If that attack didn’t happen, I would never have gotten a wonderful daughter. You wouldn’t have five wonderful siblings who care for you very much. Doubly so. Everything worked out for the best, even though one very dark day was the cause. I’d love to stay and write forever, but the wife wants to get started on the honeymoon. Take care. Kiss the wife. Hug your brothers. Give your sister some candy. Keep being wonderful. Love, dad.’

Rei smiles as she finishes reading the letter.

The Doctor wipes some tears. ‘Your father really cared a lo-’

‘PS: If you want to really stick it to him about one of his failures, just ask about “Donna”.’ Rei looks up. ‘Who’s Donna?’

The Doctor nods. ‘Yep. Same old James. Good one.’

‘PPS: You were always so easy, Theta.’

Rei laughs. She pours them some tea and slides a cup to The Doctor.

Author's Note:

I apologize for the poorly translated title. I just used Google Translate and checked it against all the Japanese language books I could find. I am really, really sorry.

Story Event: Apology being said, the title and theme are from Tea With The Doctor, where James and Theta had a small chat together too.

Story Note: If you look at the clues in James' letter to his daughter, you can place him writing this letter to the last thing he does before leaving with Twilight on their honeymoon.

Comments

[Djerid]

Worst of all, your world would never have existed if it wasn’t for Discord being created that day.’

how did this slip past my 'origins' tinfoil wearing persona.

im not sure how it will fit into future theories, but I just have to wear more tinfoil to make it work.

[WanderingPhysicist]

4346852

Rei's world. Her world needed Discord to create it. That is what The Doctor was referring to.

Trust me. By the time this was written, I had devoted more time to fixing your theory with my intentions than almost anything else in the series.