3rd Doctor - The Gentleman
It was Rush Job’s last day at the theatre although he didn’t know it yet. He was a fairly non-descript earth pony stallion only just into adulthood. He’d always wanted to be an actor, but frankly wasn’t much good at it, as his box cutiemark indicated, so he’d jumped at the chance to work in the Royal Canterlot Theatre hoping it would be a good jumping on point for stardom. After six months of drudge work behind the scenes his initial enthusiasm was starting to fade, and about the only good thing about his current role was that he got to see the shows for free and even that paled after watching the same show every night for a fortnight.
Thus it was with some excitement that he found the statue, if only in that it broke the daily monotony. It had been left just inside one of the side entrances of the building and was made of some crystalline material, and it depicted a snake about two hooves high encircling a rock made of the same material. The snake’s mouth was open and its fangs bared ready to strike. An odd gift, flowers were more traditional, it bore a large tag noting that it was for ‘Quartermoon the Magnificent’. Rush wished that someday someone would give him presents. Still he’d better take it to the star’s dressing room. The room itself was only a short distance away, its door adorned with a large silver star. Rush knocked but there was no answer so he let himself in, the room was cluttered with various props and costumes but there was no sign of its current owner.
Rush carefully placed the statue on the dressing table but as he did he caught the root of his hoof on one of its fangs. He winced slightly and licked the tiny wound. This was turning out to be a perfect day so far. He turned to leave when he was suddenly hit by a wave of dizziness and stumbled, knocking over a rack of costumes. He cursed his clumsiness and knelt to lift it but was stopped by a shooting pain in his side. He stood back up thinking he’d injured his back in some way but the pain continued and increased. The room suddenly seemed very stuffy, he could hardly breathe. He staggered towards the door and blinked several times, he couldn’t seem to focus his eyes properly. What was happening to him? he wondered. He staggered down the corridor leaning heavily against the wall, he tried to cry out but he couldn’t seem to draw a proper breath. The temperature seemed to increase until it seemed he was in an inferno, he had to get out into the fresh air. Struggling he pushed himself forward and fell against the very door that he had found the statue next to. It flew open and Rush fell forward out of the building and into the snow outside. His head smashed into the ground and everything went black. The snow continued to fall, slowly covering his form.
It was several hours before his body was found.
With a wheezing groaning sound a battered blue box faded into existence at one end of a small alley in Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria. Either by luck or design there was nopony around to see either this strange occurrence or the strangers who alighted from the box.
There were two of them - the first was a petite young earth pony mare wearing a short dress covered with a furry jacket, the second a tall older unicorn stallion with a thick curly mane wearing a frilly shirt covered with a velvet smoking jacket and a short cape. His horn was long and elegant. Oddly both individuals and their clothes were coloured only in various shades of grey.
“Wow, Doctor, you were right,” exclaimed the mare brightly, examining herself. “We are ponies!”
“When am I ever wrong, Jo?” said the Doctor, “I told you the TARDIS could take us through the dimensional barrier now the Time Lords have repaired her. This is Equestria.”
“Are all of the people, er, ponies here so drab?” asked Jo.
“Drab? No they're usually very colourful, why do you... Oh,” The Doctor looked down at himself and Jo for a second, “This won’t do, this won’t do at all. Excuse me for a moment, my dear, I’m sure I can fix this.” He turned back and re-entered the TARDIS.
For a minute Jo wandered uncomfortably around the alley getting used to her hooves. She shivered slightly watching the flurry of snow continuously falling from the sky, and brushed some of it away with her hooves and tried to make a snowball, a feat that much more difficult now that she lacked hands. Then there was a sudden pop, a stench of ozone and Jo’s form burst into colour, her coat blooming into Aquamarine and her dress becoming a dark red, while her hair turned bright yellow with a hint of orange. “Wow,” she exclaimed.
“That should fix it, I just had to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow”, announced the Doctor as he exited the TARDIS with his sonic screwdriver hovering alongside him encased in a white aura. The change had affected him much less than his companion. Both his fur and mane were still white and even his clothes were mostly dichromatic, the shirt white, the jacket black - although the lining of the cape was now red silk.
“Groovy,” announced Jo. There was a second pop and the colour faded from them again. The Doctors face fell for a moment, and he pointed his screwdriver towards the TARDIS and activated it with a buzz. Once again colour returned to the travellers.
“I think that’s got it now,” he waited for a second, then returned the device to his pocket. “Yes, it’s fixed. Now shall we see where we are and where the nearest shard is?” He withdrew the tracker from around his waist and waved it around. There was a loud crackle when it was pointed straight ahead out of the alley.“ The Doctor carefully examined the readings, “Interesting, there seem to be two shards in the same vicinity. If we’re lucky we may be able to recover both while we’re here. Come on Jo.”
The two of them strolled out of the alley and were quickly engulfed in a crowd of ponies of all tribes, colours, sizes and ages. Pegasi flew overhead, unicorns and earth ponies walked around in conversation, mares and stallions, fillies and colts could all be seen trudging through the snow, watched over by the occasional spear toting guard. Around them tall buildings rose up into the sky, many topped with spires of silver.
“Doctor!” exclaimed Jo in wonder. “There’s so many of them!”
“Certainly more than I’ve seen in my previous visits, this must be a major city, maybe even the capital.” He put a leg over Jo’s back and began to steer her through the crowd, “Come on, the tracker’s pointing this way, the shards can’t be far.”
The trail led them through the packed streets to a large building which proclaimed itself via an ornate sign to be the ‘Royal Canterlot Theatre’. Outside a mob of ponies were milling around and slowly dispersing into the building through the main doors.
“Look Doctor, it’s a magic act,” said Jo pointing at a poster near the door. The picture showed a blue stallion dressed in a white suit and top hat staring out of a flaming cage surrounded by images of various other tricks, such as a mare being sawed in half and a filly levitating over a pool of sharks. Text indicated that this was ‘Quartermoon the Magnificent’ and a sign stuck over it stated that this was the last night and the performance was sold out.
“That’s odd,” mused the Doctor, “Magic seems to be a way of life in this universe but they still have magic shows.”
“We’ll in our world most people can run or jump and we still have athletics performances, maybe he’s just really good at it?” said Jo.
“I suppose, you're right.” He tried the tracker again, and it hissed loudly when pointed at the theatre. “It appears that at least one of the shards is within, it’s a shame it’s sold out. We might have to sneak in.”
“Or maybe someone’s returned some tickets,” said Jo pointing at the relevant office, “Or there might be a tout about, if this place is anything like the west end.”
The travellers joined the back of the small queue leading to the ticket office, but by the disappointed looks on the ponies ahead of them it seemed that they were not likely to be successful. The queue quickly shrunk and soon the Doctor found himself facing the clerk. “Excuse me,” he began with a winning smile, but was interrupted by a short straw coloured stallion wearing a panama hat who pushed in front of him.
“I’d like to return these tickets,” announced the intruder, pushing over two pieces of paper, “Make sure they get good owners.” Not even waiting for the surprised clerk to reply, the stallion turned and doffed his hat to the Doctor before walking away to join a black pegasus mare by the door.
“Come on, Professor,” she said, as they walked away, “We better get out of here.”
The Doctor watched in shock as the pair of them walked away, “He seemed familiar,” he mumbled, before shaking himself and turning back to the pony in front of him. “Two tickets for Quartermoon the Magnificent, please.”
The serving pony examined the tickets, “These are really good seats,” he noted, “That will be one hundred and forty bits.”
The Doctor levitated a pouch of coins to the ticket pony, “This should cover it.”
“Where did you get those?” asked Jo.
“I was given them last time I was here ... for services rendered, I suppose.”
The ticket pony passed over the tickets and a much reduced purse of coins, “I hope you enjoy the show,” she said with a smile.
The Doctor nodded in reply and turned to Jo, and offered her his arm.“Shall we go in Miss Grant, we wouldn’t want to miss the start of the act.”
“Why thank you Doctor,” she replied and the two of them entered the theatre arm in arm.
The theatre itself was huge, it could easily accommodate over a thousand ponies and was full to bursting point. Close to the stage itself lines of velvet covered benches were laid out as seating for the audience, while further back there appeared to be only standing room. A second level of seating rose above the first and off to the sides various private boxed looked down upon the stage. The theatre was dimly lit by rows of what appeared to be gas lamps, and a huge chandelier dominated the ceiling. An orchestra located below the stage was warming up. Most of the ponies were done up in their finery and for once the Doctors costume fitted right in, while Jo felt conspicuously underdressed and was sure she was getting evil looks from much of the audience.
A smart pony in an usher’s uniform led the Doctor and Jo to their seats, only a few rows back from the stage and near an aisle. Jo easily curled up on the bench-like seating provided, as it was more comfortable to rest that way in her current form than it would have been to take up a sitting position. Next to her a small blue unicorn filly with a white and blue striped mane fidgeted waiting for the show to begin, while occasionally dipping into a bag of sweets almost as big as she was which rested on the side of her seat. The Doctor took his seat to the other side of his companion.
“Come on, start, start, start,” chanted the filly standing on her seat and resting her front hooves against the back of the seat in front of her. This movement upset the bag of sweets and sent it and its contents tumbling to the floor, and with a look of horror the filly flailed her limbs trying to catch it. However, just before the bag impacted it was cushioned by a white aura. With a smile the Doctor returned to the bag to its owner’s grasp while levitating a mint into his own mouth. The filly smiled back.
Jo leaned over to the small pony, “Have, you seen Quartermoon perform, before?” she asked.
The unicorn turned to Jo, “I’ve seen him lots of times, but tonight’s préféré!”
“What’s so special about tonight?”
“It’s a secret,” whispered the young pony looking shifty, “But it’s going to be great, special, magnifique, awesome!” exclaimed the filly in increasing volume bouncing up and down in her seat.
“Can you please control your child!” demanded a unicorn mare in the row in front, glaring daggers at the filly who shrunk back, intimidated.
“She’s not mine,” said Jo, “and she’s just excited about the show. Can’t you remember being her age?”
“What are you saying about my age?” demanded the mare, “They shouldn’t allow such riff raff into the theatre,” she muttered.
The Doctor leaned forward, “Madam,” he began, “The child has an excuse for being childish, you do not, now please be quiet.”
The unicorn sputtered, “How dare you! I should...”
A white unicorn with a red mane sitting on the other side of the filly leaned forward as well, “You should be quiet,” she said firmly with an air of authority in her voice.
The angry mare paled, and then turned back to the stage.
“Thank you,” said the Doctor nodding to his ally. The mare stared at him for a second with strangely ancient looking eyes before making a puzzled sound and looking away. Her horn briefly glowed blue as she covertly stole one of the filly next to her’s sweets.
“Is that your mother?” Jo asked the child next to her.
“Oh, no, she’s .. “ the filly began, when suddenly the lights started to darken. “It’s starting,” she squealed, settling in her seat and staring fixedly at the stage.
A single spot light highlighted the centre of the stage as the great blue curtains opened, to reveal it was empty. From all around them a voice could be heard. “Mares and stallions, fillies and colts. The Royal Canterlot Theatre is proud to present, the one, the only, Quartermoon the Magnificent.” There was a flash of light and a cloud of smoke rose from the stage, and quickly cleared to reveal... nothing. The stage remained empty. There were sounds of dismay from the audience.
Then a booming voice could be heard from above. “Fear not! For Quartermoon the Magnificent has never disappointed an audience.”
Jo looked up. There, perched on the chandelier, was Quartermoon himself. He was a huge blue stallion, and wore a large white top hat with a white mane sticking out behind it, and a white suit jacket with its tails laying across his flanks, highlighting a moon and wand cutie mark. A smart goatee beard graced his chin, reminding Jo of the Master, and making her shudder. “Prepare yourself for a night you will not soon forget!” His voice was deep and commanding, with what sounded to Jo’s ears a French accent.
“You will see wonders beyond compare, tricks to astound.” He leapt from his perch and, to the amazement of the crowd, floated to the ground like a feather, landing lightly on the stage.
“And remember if you think this is all just unicorn magic,” he tapped his hat which seemed to disappear to reveal his hornless head,“There is nothing beneath my hat.” Throwing out a hoof his hat appeared again and was thrown into the air where he caught it on his head. The audience loudly stamped their approval.
“That’s my Grand-père,” squealed the filly sitting beside Jo, bouncing up and down in her seat before holding a hoof to her mouth and looking around awkwardly. “I wasn’t supposed to say that,” she whispered to Jo conspiratorially.
Suddenly there was a crash from the back of the theatre and everypony’s head snapped around to see what was happening. A dark purple unicorn stood in the doorway, surrounded by several apparently dazed members of staff who stared open mouthed and vacantly at him. A neat turban covered much of his head with only his glowing horn left uncovered. He was dressed in a long flowing robe cut to reveal his cutie mark which consisted of a pair of staring eyes. “This isn’t magic!” bellowed the Unicorn in a magically augmented voice, “It’s all tricks and sleight of hoof! No mere Dirt Pony can compare to real unicorn magic!” There were gasp of shock from the audience.
Apparently unfazed Quartermoon calmly turned to the new comer. “It appears I have a critic in the audience,” he noted equally loudly, “He’s politer than most,” he continued with a smile.
Somewhat taken aback by the blasé reaction to his entrance, the intruder stuttered for a second. “You are a faker, a sham. I, Maestro, should be on that stage showing these ponies the true wonder of magic.”
“Ah, Maestro,” continued Quartermoon, “and what would the audience learn from such a display?”
“Learn, learn? They would be astounded by my power!” Maestro sounded confused, this was not working out how he had expected.
“They would learn that you are good at magic. However, with my show they will learn that they could do magic. Yes, my tricks are just that, tricks, and if a member of the audience can work out how they are done then they could do them themselves, regardless of the tribe of their birth. In fact I welcome it, if anyone tonight can see how a trick is done, I invite them to speak up and share their insight with the rest of us, for the betterment of all.”
There was a moment's silence, then the Doctor stood up from his seat and began to clap his front hooves together, “Bravo, Sir. Well said,” he cheered. More and more of the audience began to stand and stomp. Quartermoon gave a bow.
At the back of the theatre Maestro, mute with shock, was accosted by several burley ushers who began to drag him out of the theatre. “You haven’t heard the last of me Quartermoon,” he yelled, mostly unheard over the crowd, “I’ll get my revenge for this humiliation.”
Once the crowd had begun to quiet the earth pony magician began to speak again. “I apologize for the interruption, now, on with the show, and as I said if any of you can see how a trick is performed, please speak up.”
The performance continued for almost two hours. There were card tricks, escapology, illusions and knife throwing. True to his word after each one Quartermoon would ask the audience how they thought the trick was done, congratulated them if they were right and showed them how they were wrong if they were not. However, by the end of the night only a small proportion of his tricks had been ‘solved’.
“Mares and stallions,” announced the magician after a trick involving guessing what message a member of the audience had written in a sealed envelope. “For my last trick of the night, I will require a further volunteer.”
To Jo’s surprise, the filly by her side, who had been quiet and apparently captivated for the performance so far, started to leap up and down shouting “Me! Me! Me!” The spotlight searching the crowd came to a stop over her.
“We have a volunteer,” cried Quartermoon, gesturing for the filly to approach.
The small unicorn left her seat and pranced up to the stage, in the spotlight all the way. Once there she clambered up onto it, slipping slightly before straightening and standing proudly next to Quartermoon, appearing not in the slightest intimidated by the press of ponies watching her or by the imposing stallion next to her.
“And what is your name little filly, who I have never seen before,” said the magician with a theatrical wink to the audience.
“My name is Trixie, Grand-père, I mean Quartermoon,” announced the girl. A wave of laughter passed around the crowd. “And Trixie can do magic too!” The filly screwed up her face in concentration and several bright sparks erupted from the end of her horn to burst, like fireworks, in the air above her. The crowd applauded.
Quartermoon passed his hoof over Trixie’s head and the sparks stopped. Trixie gasped and looked up to see a flower now protruding from her horn. Quartermoon picked the flower before stepping forward and gesturing for silence. “And now The Magnificent Quartermoon will attempt the last and greatest trick of the night. Without the aid of magic I will levitate this filly,” he gestured to Trixie who was mugging for the crowd, “across this tank of pony eating fish.” Quartermoon stamped once and the front of the stage fell open to reveal a tank full of water, and within it large shapes could just be made out slowly moving. Quartermoon threw the flower towards the tank and a fish the size of Trixie leapt out and caught it in mid-air before falling back with a splash. The audience gasped.
Quartermoon reared onto his hind legs and gestured over Trixie, who slowly rose into the air. “I’m flying!” she announced with a giggle.
“As you can see, this is no mere feat of unicorn magic, my assistant is not encased in an aura.” Quartermoon gestured and suddenly a long sword was balanced on one hoof. He tossed the blade in the air and caught it between his forelegs before slashing it around the levitating filly. “Nor is she held by wires.”
With another gesture Trixie began to slowly hover across the stage and came to a stop next to the tank. From the orchestra a drum roll began. Trixie’s progress recommenced and she began to travel over the tank. There was a gasp as a fish leapt from the pool and fell just short of the filly’s flailing hooves.
Suddenly, with a squeal followed by a splash Trixie fell out of the air and into the pool, and the creatures within could be seen becoming more agitated. There was a scream from the back of the audience. Without a pause Quartermoon put the sword between his teeth and took a running jump into the pool. The water frothed and fish were thrown onto the stage. Suddenly a small blue shape was thrown free from the water passing over the stage and landing in the wings. The movement in the water ceased and for a second the stage was quiet.
Then with a clatter of hooves, Trixie, now dripping wet but wearing a purple cloak decorated with stars and a pointy hat galloped onto the stage, “Ne paniquez pas mes amis, Trixie will save The Magnificent Quartermoon!” She tripped and fell on her face before quickly righting herself and gesturing towards the tank. Slowly the form of Quartermoon rose from the water - and despite having returned from a watery grave the magician was completely dry, without a hair out of place in his beard - and proceeded to walk across the top of the water towards his granddaughter.
“Please can we have a big round of applause for The Great and Powerful Trixie,” called Quartermoon. The sound of the crowd stamping was deafening. Quartermoon lifted Trixie onto his back and both of them bowed as the curtain descended.
“Well, that was fun, Doctor, but it hasn’t gotten us any closer to finding that shard thingy,” said Jo, as the theatre started to empty.
“I’ve checked the tracker, I think the shard might be in this building but I don’t know where. The readings are strange, I think we should try to get backstage.”
“Hey, femme,” came a call. Jo looked around and saw Trixie wandering across the theatre towards her. The Filly had removed her magician’s outfit and her coat was ruffled where she had been dried off.
“Hi, Trixie, my name’s Jo by the way and this is the Doctor. You did really well up there. Weren't you scared with all those people watching you? Or those horrible fish?”
Trixie shook her head, “I wasn’t scared at all. It was great,” she said with a gleam in her eyes.
“You weren’t close to the fish anyway, were you?” said the Doctor.
The filly looked impressed. “You worked it out? That’s one of Grand-père best tricks.”
“Well the fish tank was at the front of the stage and it was clear if you looked for it that you were standing further back. The water made the tank look bigger than it was, there was probably a second tank a bit further back, a shallower one that you could be dropped into safely.”
Trixie nodded. “Mr Splashy and his friends aren't dangerous anyway. They don’t eat ponies, only flowers.” Suddenly an idea struck her. “Would you like to meet Grand-père?” she asked.
“Yes, I think I would like to meet him, and congratulate him on an excellent show.”
Trixie led the two ponies out to the theatre’s ample foyer area, which by this time had mostly emptied. Quartermoon was sitting at a desk signing posters for the last of his fans.
“To my greatest fan,” he read out loud as he signed the poster using a pen held dexterously in one of his hooves, before signing it with a hoof print. “There you go,” he said passing the paper over to a brown colt who nodded shyly before running off to his mother.
Trixie rushed over and began to nuzzle her grandfather “Did I do good in the show Grand-père? Did I?” she asked.
“You did very well, Trixie,” replied Quartermoon, gently hugging the much smaller pony, then his tone became stricter, “But you were showing off when you did your own magic.”
“But the crowd was cheering,” pouted Trixie.
“When we’re on the stage we do magic...”
“For the crowd, not for ourselves,” continued the filly, looking chastised, “I’m sorry.”
“That’s alright, ma douce enfant. Now, who are your friends?” said Quartermoon looking suspicious.
“They’re called Jo and The Doctor. They helped me when a mean mare was mean to me.”
“I think I had a part in that as well,” came a feminine voice.
The party turned to see the red headed unicorn that had sat next to Trixie in the theatre. “Ah, Moonbeam,” said the magician with a purr in his voice, “What did you think of tonight’s show?” He took the unicorn’s hoof and kissed it.
“It was one of your best, Quartermoon. I particularly enjoyed how you dealt with that gatecrasher, and the introduction of your new assistant,” she gestured towards Trixie, who preened.
“I’m very proud of her,” said the magician ruffling his granddaughter’s mane, “And Maestro’s a fourth rate hack, he’d be lucky to get a job at a foals party, he keeps blaming others for his lack of talent. Would you like to join us backstage?”
“Unfortunately, I have business at the castle tonight so I will be unable to talk more. I will see you at your next tour and maybe I’ll see Trixie again as well.” With that she strolled away.
“A fan of yours?” asked the Doctor.
“She comes to most of my shows. She’s something of a magic groupie. I’ve taken her backstage before, to show her some of my tricks, ...if you know what I mean,” replied Quartermoon salaciously. “She also knows a lot of the history of stage magic, we’ve spent several hours discussing tricks that haven't been tried in centuries. And you Doctor, are you a fan?”
“I’m somewhat of an amateur magician myself, nothing on your level obviously.” The pale stallion gestured and a flower appeared from his sleeve but slipped through his hooves to land on the floor. He looked rather apologetic. “That’s not as easy with hooves.”
“I’m sure a lot of things must be easier with telekinesis. However, as you and your lovely companion,” Quartermoon smiled at Jo, “have put up with my granddaughter for the evening,” Trixie pouted, “I’m sure I can give you a lesson or two on hoof eye coordination.”
With that Quartermoon led the two travellers back into the theatre with Trixie skipping along behind.
The party snaked their way through the theatre towards the dressing rooms. Much of the staff were still busy tidying up and starting to take down Quartermoon’s set ready for the next show, but as they passed most nodded to the magician and commented on the show, while he in turn replied to them by name and thanked them for their part in making his show a success.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” announced Quartermoon as they arrived at his dressing room. He polished the silver star mounted on it with a hoofkerchief he seemingly pulled from nowhere.
Trixie clambered on top of her grandfather and looked up at the door, “Why isn’t my name up there yet?” she asked.
Quartermoon gave a deep laugh, “Maybe in a few years, Little Trix, this was only your first show.”
Trixie looked determined, “One day I’m going to have the biggest, silverest star there ever was on my door.”
“I’m sure you’ll have forgotten all about your old Grand-père by then.”
“Oh, never,” she replied hugging him, “You can come to all of my shows, so can Tante, Oncle, Limelight, even Echo, but not Sharpie,” she made a face, “Unless she gives me back my Shadowbolts doll.”
The Doctor coughed, feeling somewhat awkward intruding on their family moment.
Quartermoon turned with a smile and pushed the door open. ”Ah, yes, come in.”
The room behind the door was large, but cluttered with a selection of props and costumes. A dressing table surrounded by pictures dominated most of one wall, and the rest were covered with posters from previous shows.
Quartermoon sat at the table, put aside his top hat and loosened his collar. He opened a cupboard and extracted some bottles. “Can I offer you a drink? Bourbon?” Trixie’s hoof shot up, but Quartermoon glowered at the filly and she slowly lowered it again, “Apple Juice?” he continued.
“Bourbon please,” said the Doctor accepting a generous measure. “Very kind of you.”
“Juice for me, thanks,” said Jo, “What’s that?” she asked pointing at a blue pony shaped doll propped up in one corner.
“That’s Trixie deux, her stunt double so to speak. I used its sisters when working out her trick. This one got rejected, its head isn’t quite big enough.” He gave a booming laugh at his own joke, leaving Trixie looking confused.
Jo tried to strike up a conversation with the filly. “Are there any colts you like at school?”
“No,” replied Trixie sticking out her tongue, “Colts are icky, they have cooties.”
“I’m sure you’ll feel differently in a few years.”
“No, I won’t,” said Trixie, crossing her hooves, “They’re icky now and they’ll always be icky.”
“If you keep up that attitude for the rest of your life I’ll be a very happy grandfather, if not a great grandfather,” said Quartermoon. “Why don’t you show Jo around while I give the Doctor some lessons?”
The filly nodded and put down her empty glass and pulled Jo over towards one of the posters on the wall, “This is from when Grand-père first performed here,” she began.
“Now Doctor, catch this,” said Quartermoon as he threw a tennis ball at the other stallion who caught it on a hoof. “Good, now this and this.” The magician threw a further two balls. the Doctor caught one on his other hoof and the third with his magic. “No, no telekinesis, juggle with your hooves, it’s good practise, I juggle for at least an hour a day to keep my hooves limber.”
“I see,” replied the Doctor, throwing one of the balls into the air and passing the others between his hooves. He barely caught the first as it fell. “This isn’t easy with hooves.”
“Keep trying, you’re not that bad at it. Maybe you could go professional. The trade could use some new blood, we’ve had a hard time recently.”
“How so?” asked the Doctor, now smoothly keeping all three balls in the air. Quartermoon tossed him a fourth.
“There’s been a few losses. Pencil Sharpener and Tale Teller were killed in a fire a few months ago, they were a great double act, and Dandy Flimflam’s liver finally gave out on him only last week. He was always a drinker, but a great showpony nonetheless.”
Trixie rushed over to Quartermoon and tugged on his sleeve. “Grand-père, I need to use the little filly’s room,” she said, hopping from hoof to hoof.
“You know where it is don’t you?” asked the Blue stallion, the filly nodded, “Then off you go.” Trixie rushed off out of the door. “That child has a very small bladder, I’m lucky she went before the show or she might have embarrassed herself on stage. I remember when she first learnt to use her magic, she tried to show off to her aunt and strained so hard she had an ‘accident’ on the carpet.”
“Where are Trixie’s parents?” asked Jo.
A look of pain briefly crossed Quartermoon’s face. “Her mother, my daughter, died shortly after she was born. As for her father, I will not speak of that salaud.” he snarled. “Trixie has been raised by my other daughter Moonsinger.” He walked to the dressing table and lifted a portrait, a collection of ponies of various ages smiled out. He pointed at a light blue unicorn mare. “That’s her there, and that’s her husband Sky Scraper, he’s in weather. I think she could have done better, but they seem happy enough together. Those of the petits-enfants, Limelight’s the oldest,” he pointed to a dark coated earth pony colt, “Then Trixie, then Sharp Mind, she’s the family genius,” he continued with pride, “and finally Night Echo the baby.” he pointed at a small filly pegasus standing on her father's back. “They’re a hoof full so I agreed to look after Trixie for a few days to give Moonsinger some time off. Limelight wanted to come too, but he got the croup and had to stay home. I have hopes that one of them will follow me onto the stage, it’s a family tradition started by my own grand-père Valdaville. Limelight’s shown some interest in the backstage work but only Trixie seems to like being in the spotlight. A little too much sometimes.”
While listening to the old stallion tell his tale, Jo’s attention was captivated by a statue of a snake on the table. It seemed to be glowing internally, maybe it was some sort of lamp, she thought. The it began to move, the crystal transmuting into red and green scales. “Look Doctor!” she screamed, pointing at it.
The small snake hissed and coiled before leaping at Quartermoon who fell back and away from it with a cry, the picture in his hoof dropping to the ground with a crash. The Doctor dropped the balls he had been juggling and with a cry of “Hiiyaa!” chopped at the snake, knocking it out of the air and into a rack of costumes.
“What was that?” asked Jo backing away from the costumes.
“It was a type of snake, a Naga I think.” explained Quartermoon, “Someone once tried to sell me some for my act but they’re far too dangerous. Fast as lightning and a single bite can easily kill a grown stallion in less than a minute. How did one get here?”
The Doctor turned towards the door only to see that the snake had positioned itself between them and escape. “Everyone, back away from it, slowly,” he ordered.
They all followed his instructions and the snake slithered towards them, turning its head from one to another. The Doctor reached out for it with his telekinesis but it felt slippery to his ethereal grasp and he could not hold it.
The snake shook off the white aura around it and coiled itself again before leaping, mouth open, at Quartermoon, but the earth pony grabbed a line of silk scarfs from a table and flailed them at the Naga. The brightly coloured whip seemed to distract the snake for a moment and it missed its target, skidding into the far corner. Jo rushed towards the door but the snake raced past her and once again took up a position between them and safety.
“That’s very odd behaviour,” noted the Doctor, fanning out to one side. “Unnatural. I think something is controlling it.” He pulled out the tracker, which gave a faint beep. “I don’t think it’s the shard but it might have been in contact with one recently.”
“What are you talking about?” demanded Quartermoon not taking his eyes off the snake, “We need to deal with this créature, now! Trixie could be back any second and it’s right by the door!”
“You're right, I’ll try to distract it and you see if you can find something to trap it in. Jo, stay behind me.” The Doctor stamped his front hoof on the floor rhythmically, and the snake turned towards him and started to sway. “A little trick taught to me by an Indian fakir,” he whispered to his companion.
Quartermoon’s eyes darted around the room looking for something to hold the snake with. His gaze fell upon his hat left on the dressing table and he leapt for it landing with a crash which seemed to awaken the snake from its stupor. The Naga leapt for the Doctor’s face, while Quartermoon knocked the hat into the air and kicked it towards the snake with a single move. The two collided only inches from the Doctor and fell to the ground. The snake was trapped inside the hat.
The Doctor used his power to hold the hat down and prevent the snake escaping. “Well done, sir,” he said.
“It’s not much different from throwing knives,” explained Quartermoon, “and that hat should hold it, I designed it to contain an angry rabbit.”
Jo dragged over a box and laid it over the hat pinning it down. “That should keep it trapped,” she said, “but where did it come from?”
Trixie was making her way back from the bathroom when suddenly another pony blocked her path.
“You’re Quartermoon’s little apprentice aren't you?” said the intruding pony.
Trixie didn’t recognise him for a second then she realised it was the stallion who had interrupted the performance earlier, Maestro. “You’re not supposed to be here,” she said.
“I should be performing here,” he snarled, “not a hornless fake like your grandfather. Unfortunately he seems to have avoided my little present. I think you should come with me, my girl.”
Trixie backed away from the advancing unicorn and opened her mouth to scream. Then she noticed his horn light up. It seemed different from a normal unicorn’s power, his horn looked crystalline and the lights produced were all the colours of the rainbow. The light shone into her eyes but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to blink, it was so pretty. Suddenly it was too much trouble to cry out, she just wanted to stand there and watch the calming light, and she wasn’t sure if the horn was spinning or she was, but it didn’t seem to matter anymore, nothing did. Then Maestro spoke and the words echoed louder and louder inside her rapidly emptying head until they were the only thing left, “I am Maestro, you will obey me.”
“You are Maestro,” mumbled Trixie, “Trixie will obey you.”
“Follow me,” commanded Maestro.
Without comment the entranced filly did so.
The commotion in the dressing room had attracted the attention of various theatre staff, none of whom were brave enough to enter. One was just working up the nerve to knock when the door was thrown open and Quartermoon strode out, followed by the Doctor and Jo.
“You,” commanded Quartermoon pointing to a random stagehoof, “Go get the guard, there’s a dangerous animal in my room.”
“It’s a snake trapped under the hat over there,” clarified the Doctor, “Do be careful, there’s a good mare.” The stagehoof boggled for a second before scampering off.
“Now has anyone seen my granddaughter?”
“I think I saw her leave the theatre, just now,” replied another random member of staff.
“Leave? Where? Why?” demanded Quartermoon grabbing the unfortunate pony.
“The main doors,” his victim gasped pointing down the corridor.
Quartermoon dropped the pony and galloped down the corridor indicated, the Doctor rushed after him. “Thanks,” said Jo nodding to the pony as she too followed.
The trio rushed to the front of the theatre, Quartermoon barging aside any obstruction. Outside it was snowing heavily but through the flurries Trixie could be seen following a cloaked pony across the road a short distance away.
“Trixie!” bellowed Quartermoon.
The filly did not react but the cloaked pony turned in surprise and looked straight at the Magician.
“Maestro,” snarled Quartermoon, “What have you done to my granddaughter?”
“She’s not yours anymore,” taunted Maestro, “By the time I’ve finished with her she won’t even remember you.” He rushed up to a carriage waiting by the theatre entrance and streams of rainbow light erupted from his horn at both the stallions pulling it and the driver. He grabbed the unresisting Trixie and threw her into the back before leaping in himself and slamming the door. The crew pulling the carriage took off like the Tyrant Sun herself was chasing them.
“We have to catch them!” cried Jo, looking around for a vehicle to commandeer.
“I think we would be the source of any ‘horsepower’ in this world, as they don’t appear to have invented powered travel yet, so if we’re going to follow them it’ll be quickest on our own hooves,” said the Doctor. Quartermoon was already racing down the street after the fleeing carriage.
The streets of Canterlot were quiet due to the snow, but the few pedestrians still present scattered as the carriage thundered past, paying no heed to anyone who got in its way. Quartermoon was forced to weave around various debris, abandoned by other ponies as they rushed to avoid the passing vehicle. However, his desperation gave him speed and he managed to pull up alongside the coach while the Doctor and Jo were still trailing behind. The stallions powering the coach stared straight ahead, apparently unaware of the magician running alongside them, mumbling something that he could not hear over the wind.
“Stop!” he yelled, but there was no response from either the ponies powering or driving the carriage. Gathering his strength he threw his not inconsiderable bulk against the nearest pony. It was like crashing into a rock but his target staggered slightly and slowed. Ignoring his bruises and the lather forming on his flanks, Quartermoon crashed into the running pony again and again. Although his efforts did not stop the carriage it slowed enough for the other pursuers to catch up.
Legs pumping wildly the Doctor pulled alongside the carriage itself. The windows were tinted and he could not see inside. He attempted to pull the doors open with his power but they were locked. In desperation he leapt onto the back of the carriage, his hooves scrabbling for purchase on its surface, and he slipped back before he finally got a grip and started to crawl along the top of the vehicle. From this position he could see where the carriage was heading. Not too far ahead, and quickly closing was the edge of the city, beyond that was a drop straight off the edge of the mountain. A thick wall stood in the way but at the speed they were going the ponies powering the vehicle would no doubt be killed in the crash whereas the carriage itself would either be crushed or fall into the void.
“Must get away from the theatre,” mumbled the driver, staring straight ahead and cracking the reins.
Ahead, unseen by the Doctor or Quartermoon in the snow, a foal separated from its parents in the chaos stood transfixed watching the engine of destruction bearing down upon it, frozen in fear.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea, old chap,” said the Doctor as he pulled himself into place alongside the entranced driver.
“Must get away from the theatre,” repeated the hypnotised driver.
“I’m sorry about this then.” Giving a sharp cry the Doctor jabbed a hoof at the neck of the pony who gasped and collapsed in place. “I’m somewhat surprised that Venusian Aikido worked using hooves,” he said looking at his leg. Now that the driver had been dealt with he reached down with his telekinesis and yanked at the pin attaching the ponies powering the carriage to the vehicle itself. It came loose and the crew staggered forward as their load was suddenly reduced. At the same time Quartermoon once again bashed into one of them, causing his ice cleats to slip and leading to him staggering into his colleague resulting in both of them and Quartermoon skidding sideways in a ball of legs and heads, finally coming to a stop with jarring force against the barrier.
The carriage continued its headlong rush towards the wall and the paralyzed child between it and destruction. The Doctor now seeing the danger, pulled desperately at the manual brake of the vehicle. However, with a loud crack the lever snapped. The Doctor let out a stream of expletives in some alien language and looked around wildly for another way to stop the runaway carriage or alter its path to save the foal ahead.
Suddenly Jo, with a burst of speed, weaved around the carriage and leapt to knock the foal from its path. She screamed as she felt the vehicle pass over her tail, yanking out several strands of hair as it did, but to her surprise she otherwise seemed unharmed. Sighing with relief but with the wall coming ever closer the doctor grabbed the still entranced driver and threw both of them off of the carriage. They rolled and bounced several times before coming to a halt. Behind them the cart crashed into the wall with stupefying force, the wooden vehicle smashed into splinters.
Shaking, Quartermoon untangled himself from the other ponies, who were only now starting to come out of their trances, and got to his hooves. He staggered and then straighten, looking in horror at the shattered remains of the vehicle his granddaughter had been thrown into. He rushed to the centre of the debris and desperately started to burrow into the remains. “Trixie!” he screamed, “Trixie!”
The Doctor stood up and ran over to the distraught stallion putting a hoof of the larger pony’s shoulder. “It’s alright,” he said, trying to calm him down.
The blue stallion shrugged off the Doctor’s grip and continued to hunt through the wreckage. “I can’t lose her Doctor, she’s all I have left of my little Starshine,” he sobbed.
“She’s not here, I don’t think she ever was.”
“What?”
“Look, there are no bodies in the wreckage and Maestro only ordered these ponies to get away from the theatre rather than to go to a specific location. I think he and Trixie just jumped straight through the carriage and out the other side, leaving us to chase it. Very clever and we, like fools, fell for it.”
Jo, having escaped from the grateful grasp of the foal’s father, and still blushing slightly, made her way over to the other two members of her party. “But Maestro and Trixie could be anywhere by now, how are we going to find them?”
“I suspect that Maestro was behind the snake that attacked us and as that had a trace of the shard on it, he might have access to the shard itself. In addition he ordered the carriage to get as far away from the theatre as possible which suggests his base may be near it, so we should start our search there.”
“He still has Trixie, we can’t let her be hurt,” said Quartermoon.
“Indeed, I think we should stop off at the theatre first. You have something there I think will be useful.”
Maestro’s base was a large townhouse only a block or two away from the theatre. The owner was away from the city and Maestro had used his talent to make the few remaining staff believe they had been given the week off, leaving him alone in the house. He knew that his little distraction with the carriage wouldn’t keep Quartermoon and his allies away for too long and they could find this place any minute. However, before he left he decided to collect a few trinkets from his ‘hosts’ house to finance him until he could get a theatre to recognise his obvious talents. Maestro smirked and thought that with all the ‘accidents’ occurring to stage magicians recently that should be easier than it used to be.
Maestro was currently in the master bedroom trying to use his aura to open a safe, while watching for pursuit out of the window. From behind him there was a crash as his current ‘assistant’ dropped a set of silver cutlery. “Careful, you little fool,” he snarled. “That’s breakable.” The small blue filly mutely tried to pick up the set in her aura again but was unable to keep all the pieces in the air at once.
“Whatever shall I do with you?” wondered Maestro out loud, turning away from the window and moving towards Trixie. “I was planning to make you forget all about your fake of a grandfather, but you’re obviously not skilled enough to be my apprentice.” Then an idea struck him. “Well if my little pet couldn’t kill Quartermoon, maybe you can kill his career. I can see the headlines now. ‘Quartermoon accused of abusing his own granddaughter’, let’s see him try to get a booking with that hanging over his head.” His horn lit up again to release its rainbow ray straight into the blue filly’s eyes, “Now repeat after me ‘Granddad was the one that beat me’.”
“Gran... Granda...Grandad,” muttered Trixie. “No, he’d never hurt me.” She staggered back blinking rapidly.
Grimacing the purple unicorn turned off his horn. “You really do love him don’t you? Still I have all the time in the world to ‘convince’ you otherwise, even if I have to damage your mind to do it. Now just sleep for a while.” There was a further flash from his horn and Trixie slumped to the ground, eyes closed.
There was a crash from downstairs. Maestro grabbed Trixie’s unconscious form in his aura before rushing to the bedroom door and looking down the stairs The front door of the residence had been knocked off its hinges and in the doorway stood a white unicorn stallion who Maestro recognised. “You! You were with Quartermoon in his dressing room, you helped beat my snake.”
“My name is The Doctor, not very pleased to meet you,” said the Doctor with a bow. “Interesting that you recognise me, I assume you were controlling the Naga? You could see through its eyes?”
“My powers are great, Doctor,” replied Maestro his chest swelling with pride. “You would be wise not to cross me.”
“Not entirely your own power, I’d wager. I think you might have found something to boost your abilities.” The Doctor’s voice hardened. “Release the filly and there will be no more trouble.”
Maestro lifted Trixie’s limp form in front of him, “I don’t think so. I have become somewhat attached to my little hostage. Now, where is Quartermoon and that dirt pony mare you were with?”
“They were injured in your carriage trap, but we’ve alerted the guard and they should be here soon. Give up, you can’t win.” The Doctor slowly started to ascend the stairs.
“Stay back!” commanded the purple stallion as he backed away pulling the sleeping filly with him. “One more step, and Trixie here will have an accident.”
The Doctor came to a halt staring up at Maestro, and suddenly the evil unicorn realised he was not staring at him but past him. He snapped his head around just as a thick cloud of smoke sprung up around him. Disoriented he leapt to one side and felt rather than saw a large shape move past him. There was a tugging sensation, then he staggered out of the rapidly clearing cloud dragging Trixie with him. Where he had stood only a few seconds ago he now saw Quartermoon dressed in his full stage costume. The Doctor was rushing up the stairs to join him.
“I warned you!” roared Maestro, “You’ve gone and killed your granddaughter now, this is your fault, you forced me to do this. See the Crushed and Broken Trixie.” He reared up onto his hind legs and used his aura to position the small blue body in front of him before bring both of his front hooves down on it, again and again, crushing it. Wood splintered, cloth ripped and wire bent beneath the onslaught. Maestro looked down in astonishment at the broken doll beneath his hooves.
“Congratulations,” said the Doctor with a smile, “You killed Trixie’s stunt double. Alas poor Trixie deux.”
“How?” asked Maestro mouth open in surprise.
“The hoof is quicker than the eye. While I distracted you Quartermoon and Ms Grant climbed into the bedroom. A smoke bomb disoriented you long enough for Quartermoon to switch the real Trixie for her duplicate. The original is safe, isn’t that right Jo?”
“Perfectly,” said Jo sticking her head around the bedroom door while the slumbering foal laid on her back.
Quartermoon started to stamp forward, glaring at Maestro, death in his eyes.“You tried to kill me, kidnapped my granddaughter, did something to her mind and then would have happily killed her, Je vais te tuer!” he roared as he dived forward at the smaller stallion.
With a squeak, Maestro dodged aside into another room. He opened his saddle bag and removed a crystalline ring which he clumsily fitted over his horn. “Stay back, I’ll order the naga to kill you!”
“It’s trapped back at my dressing room,” scoffed Quartermoon.
“Fool! You don’t understand my power!” cackled the purple stallion. With a pop the small snake appeared beside its master and hissed at the approaching stallion, its hood open. There was a flash from Maestro’s horn and the snake expanded, quickly growing to twice as long as a stallion and wider than a ponies head.
The newly enlarged snake lashed out at Quartermoon, who was forced to flee the room and almost collided with the Doctor who was coming the other way. Seeing the snake Jo screamed and rushed back into the master bedroom.
“Kill them my pet,” crooned Maestro, his eyes glowing. “Kill them all.”
The snake’s head struck at Quartermoon again, driving him back, while its tail lashed out splintering the banister and sending the Doctor tumbling down the stairs in a mess of hooves.
With one of its targets out of the way, the Naga focused its attacks on the blue stallion. It managed to coil its tail around one of his legs, tripping him, before slithering on top of its prey, pinning him to the ground.
“Do you still think my show doesn’t teach anything?” said Maestro, looming over Quartermoon. “I think this will teach you not to get in the way of a real magician. Wait, I think we should give that lesson to a younger audience first, don’t you?”
Both Maestro’s and the snake’s head turned towards Jo who was standing stunned in the main bedroom door. Sensing the danger, she slammed the door shut. The snake hurled its previous prey aside and leapt at the door, smashing it to pieces. Behind the door Jo, although clearly terrified, was attempting to put herself between the beast and the helpless Trixie. With contemptuous ease the snake shoved Jo aside and slithered up to Trixie, raising itself over the blue filly with its fangs extended.
Suddenly, there was a flash of blue and white and Quartermoon leapt for Trixie, pushing her out of the way. The sound of tearing fabric could be heard as the Naga’s fangs sliced through the magicians cape and jacket before embedding themselves in the ground. The snake spasmed as it tried to free itself.
“Quartermoon!” cried Jo as she got to her hooves.
“I’m fine,” he replied, wincing. “It just tore my costume.”
“Come on, you stupid reptile,” Maestro commanded. “Kill them now!”
“No you don’t,” cried The Doctor leaping up the stairs and through the hole in the banister. He landed on Maestro, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground.
“Help me!” screamed the trapped pony. The snake tore it fangs from the ground and turned towards its master.
“I think that’s enough of that,” said the Doctor, using his telekinesis to remove the tracker from his belt. The device gave a piercing shriek.
“What is that thing?” cried Maestro as he struggled with the Doctor, while at the same time attempting to keep the tracker from himself and controlling the snake. The combined task seemed to be beyond him and as the snake charged at them the tracker made contact with the ring around his horn.
“Something to cut you down to size, I think.” There was a flash of light and the Doctor felt something heavy smash into his barrel.
Blinking to clear his vision, the Doctor looked around. Beneath him was Maestro, unconscious, with his eyes rolled up into his head and a long thin crack running the length of his horn. By his head was an irregularly shaped lump of crystal, the fragment of the seal. Lying next to the Doctor’s hindquarters was a crystalline statue of a snake coiled around a rock. Of the Naga there was no sign.
The Doctor pocketed the seal and got to his hooves, and through the ruined bedroom door he could see Jo and Quartermoon doing the same. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“I’m fine, I think,” said Jo counting her hooves.
Without a word Quartermoon marched over to the helpless Maestro. Shoving the Doctor aside he raised himself up and brought his hoof down on the fallen ponies face, again and again.
“Stop!” cried the Doctor, trying to pull Quartermoon off of his victim. “He’s beaten!”
“He tried to kill me and Trixie!” He raised his hoof over the bleeding pony one last time.
“Trixie is here,” hissed the Doctor into the magician’s ear. “Do you want her to see you like this?”
Quartermoon froze and looked back and forth between Maestro and the now stirring Trixie. He shuddered and slowly lowered his hoof to the ground, wiping it on the remains of Maestro’s costume. “Get the guard,” he muttered. “Just keep him away from me and Trixie.”
“Grand-père,” mumbled Trixie as she began to regain consciousness, “Where am I? What happened? I was at the theatre...”
“It’s all right,” said the elderly pony, hugging his granddaughter, “everything’s going to be all right now,” he sobbed, “I love you.”
Trixie returned the hug looking confused, “I love you too.”
The party made their way back to the theatre and from there summoned the guard, who were currently searching through the house that Maestro had broken into. While waiting to be questioned they were relaxing in Quartermoon’s dressing room again.
“So what was that ring that that villain was using to control that snake?” asked Quartermoon resting a glass on one hoof, his eyes looking inwards.
“It was a ... special type of magic that myself and Jo had been tasked to find by the, er, authorities,” said the Doctor.
“Wow, did Princess Luna send you?” asked Trixie, looking interested, “I’d like to meet her someday.”
“I’d always hoped she’d come to one of my shows,” mumbled Quartermoon, taking a drink.
“Anyway,” continued the Doctor eyeing Quartermoon suspiciously, “I originally thought the Naga might be the item I was looking for, but the tracker showed me it wasn’t, although it was linked which was why I picked up two traces. When I realised that Maestro was controlling the snake I knew he must have been using the shard and he put that ring on before summoning the Naga so I put two and two together and luckily got four. The guard may find out where he got it from. It would appear he had been using the power to assassinate a number of stage magician’s recently, simply to get better billings himself.” The Doctor shook his head in disbelief.
Quartermoon shook himself. “Trixie, I don’t think you ever finished showing Jo my props, why don’t you do that while I show the Doctor something?”
“Ok, Grand-père.” said the blue filly. She had been slightly more restrained since being freed from Maestro’s control but seemed otherwise unharmed. She did not clearly remember what had happened to her.
The magician hauled himself to his hooves with a grunt and led the Doctor to the far end of the room. He lifted the tattered edge of his cape to reveal a crease in the blue of his coat. The thinnest of cuts ran down his flank. “I’m afraid the Naga bite was closer than I originally let on,” he said solemnly.
With a gasp the Doctor brought out his sonic screwdriver and used it to examine the wound. His face was grave.
“Not good then? How long have I got?”
“I’m afraid the poison has already reached your liver and although the dose is small it will still destroy it over time. If you take it easy, seek treatment, you might live five even ten more years, but there will be a slow degeneration in your capabilities.”
The blue stallion thought for a moment, “And if I don’t? If I carry on performing?”
The Doctor was taken aback, “If you continue to put yourself under stress then you’ll likely have less than a year, two at most before you break down, and there will be pain. Please don’t consider this, think of Trixie and your family. You can live to see her grow up.”
Quartermoon shook his head, “I’m sorry Doctor, but rotting slowly in bed is not the way for The Magnificent Quartermoon to end. If I am to die, then I will die on stage giving my fourth curtain call. Trixie...” He smiled. “Trixie is a born performer, she will understand. The show must go on.” He moved closer to the Doctor. “Please don’t tell her, she would only blame herself.”
“I won’t. You are very foolish, my friend,” he sighed, “but also very brave. I think I would do the same if I was in your position. I leave your fate in your own hooves.” With false cheer the Doctor turn to the rest of the room, “Now I think it’s time we should make our leave, Jo, before we have to answer to many questions. Far too much paperwork for my organisation, you understand.”
Quartermoon looked sceptical and Trixie frowned. “Do you have to go?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so,” said Jo.
“You could come to my first show, when I put one on,” said Trixie, looking hopeful.
The Doctor, knelt down before the little filly, “I’m afraid we probably won’t be able to do that, but I’ll try.”
Looking downcast, Trixie nuzzled Jo while the Doctor shook hooves with Quartermoon.
“Goodbye, and thank you,” said the blue stallion.
The pair of travellers quietly slipped out of the dressing room door. only seconds later there was a knock and the door opened to reveal a white unicorn in a guard uniform. “Quartermoon and Trixie Lulamoon?” he asked. Trixie screwed up her face in disgust at her full name being used.
“Present,” replied Quartermoon.
“I was told there were other witnesses in here?” said the guard using his aura to open a notebook, “A Doctor and Jo.”
Quartermoon looked around theatrically, while Trixie giggled. ”Well they appear to have vanished, officer. Don’t worry, that happen a lot around here, it’s all part of the show.”
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Outstanding story. Loved it a lot. Filly Trixie is also very very cute. I wish this could be Luaverse Cannon. It would feel nice knowing that the Doctor was present in this universe, saving the day when possible. Do feel sad concerning the injury and future death of Quartermoon.
I particually liked the inclusion of the Third Doctor's desire to "reverse the polarity" and use of martial arts. Also the change between black and white to color during his story was a brilliant touch. Just like linking the poster with "A Tale of Two Assistants".
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