The many convoluted adventures of the not-so-mane six.
This is a story I've been piecing together in my head and tossing around with a lot of potential storylines. I've finally settled on this one and I believe it's everything i was hoping for. Anyway, what happens is the secondary six meet up and go on a variety of adventures I make up on my own. I fully intend to spin off a lot of the songs from the actual show so i void any rights of my own to that. Word of warning also, this is not a main story to me at all. This is one I'm working on that takes place in the same timeline as Light and Shadow, just much earlier on, and I'm only going to be working on it at all after I'm sure the weekly update for Light and Shadow is ready. Also, this story will have a definitive ending point right around chapter 20, and there will be no real story ark. All the bad stuff aside I like to think that I've taken a really nice common idea and given it a great revamping. So read on!
His voice was gruff, deep and old sounding as he stood over the console of the ship he loved so dearly. They had been travelling together a thousand years to this very day during which time he had changed many times, and so had she. He always called the ship a she, for indeed she was surely female. He had always known that, and it had been confirmed a number of times during their adventures.
The face he saw reflected in the console was an old face, one marked with decades, centuries even, of experience. The deep sullen eyes had been witness to countless battles, innumerable tragedies, dozens of loves. His hair, grayed and started to fall out, had been observed by millions of important dignitaries of thousands of planets. His coat, which had once been brown, was permanently stained and grimy from all the places he’d been. All of these facts had solidified the decision that he was making for they all repeated that one word.
Doctor, that was his name, and it was etched into every fiber of his being, a being that he hadn’t had forever, but had come to define him and had been defined by him. He was decades overdue for a regeneration, which one would this be now? He had lost count long ago. Not that it mattered anymore anyways; it was time for a new start.
The Doctor’s tired old hands began to work at the console for the last time, forming out a pattern he had found too long ago to remember, but had never used. It was the pattern that led this ship to a very special place. As he turned the last cog to activate it, a panel slid open, moving aside a mess of buttons to reveal one single switch. He eyed this switch carefully; he knew exactly what it did. It was something only one time lord had ever done, and was strictly forbidden since then. He smiled wryly, remembering the vaguely the dark consequences of going Colgate…
“TARDIS old girl,” he said in a raspy voice that he had long since grown tired of using “This is going to be our last journey.” A single tear dripped down his ancient face “When I go, your soul is free. You can go find a real body where you can live…” He cursed under his breath as the tears started to flow freely. Hundreds of companions and an equal number of goodbyes, yet he was still so very unprepared for this day.
“Damn it all…” he spoke aloud, slamming his hand down next to the master switch “I don’t have the energy to do this…” he looked around the dashboard again, eyes alighting on another control, one he was somewhat more familiar with. It only took him a moment to activate it. He smiled, remembering the last words he had spoken on the one other occasion he had made use of this control.
“Don’t let me eat pears…” he said with a reminiscent smile “I hate pears…” A wisp of golden dust floated off his hand as he clenched it into a fist. It was time wasn’t it? It was time to go…Allons-y.
The Doctor grasped the master switch firmly, taking a slow breath. “Goodbye old girl…” he said with a forced smile “Maybe I’ll see you again… that would be…wonderful…” He pushed on the switch, closing his eyes hard.
He proceeded to promptly stick in place. He glared hard at the little lever as some more gold smoke floated off his body. “Well there goes my big moment…” he muttered, fiddling with the switch, which seemed to have rusted in place. He glared at it, contemplating just shutting the hatch and moving on. Surely this universe had something more to explore, didn’t it? He pressed hard on the stuck switch again, suddenly noticing that one of the wheels had turned on its own. He observed this curiously, it wouldn’t be the first time the TARDIS had moved of its own accord.
The dial had turned to point toward one of the large screens on the wall, as the Doctor was quick to observe. To his amazement, a series of words began appearing on the screen. “Goodbye Doctor, I will miss you to…” The Doctor read aloud, face lighting up in amazement. This was the first time in an eon the TARDIS had talked to him directly “I just want you to know before we go...”
No further words appeared, and the Doctor stared hard at the screen, waiting for more. There was a sudden creaking from behind, and the Doctor turned sharply to see the master switch sliding forward on its own. He turned back to the screen in astonishment; it read in golden letters “I love you.”
There was a sudden burst of prismatic light as the console’s controls fell away, revealing the spectacular effects shining from within. The Doctor felt the familiar burst of regeneration energy as his body was engulfed in bright golden light that was utterly dwarfed by the rainbow effect poured out of the heart of the TARDIS.
The Doctor felt his knees suddenly buckle as he fell forward onto his hands. He more felt than heard the pop as his knee joints shifted into reverse, the fingers on his hands retracting backwards and disappearing into his palms. What was going on? Was this what entering the mythical perfect universe entailed? He was suddenly filled with doubt as a burst of multi-colored light exploded around the TARDIS, still visible on the inside.
As it would happen, around this time a green unicorn filly was sitting on her porch, plucking idly at the strings to a little golden harp. She glared carefully at the strings, her horn sparking with magic as she occasionally had to strum more than two at once.
“Lyra!” the voice of the filly’s father called from inside the house “Are you ready to play for us yet?”
“Not yet daddy!” Lyra called back. She was on the brink of frustration but wasn’t quite there yet. She had been out here on the porch for several hours now, just trying to piece together her composition. There had to be something, something to play for her parents that was truly worth playing…
The lyre tipped over as its owner groaned in frustration. Prodigy they had called her, what a laugh. This little pony couldn’t even tease a pleasing melody from the harp-strings without the music in front of her. Until she had really composed her first piece of music calling her an artist was a joke.
Lyra looked up at the afternoon sky, blue and clear, obviously well tended to by the weather ponies all day with a meticulous hoof. She loved to look at the sky, it seemed so full of inspiration, ready to be soaked up and released through the artwork that was her brilliant music.
Her head hit the railing, there she went again. She had to stop complimenting her own ability; she would never succeed that way. Her parents had always coddled her, told her what a star she was, she could never succeed that way. The only way to get anything in life was through hard work and dedication, and Celestia be damned if she didn’t have that. But what she really needed right now was some inspiration. A pony could have all the practice and talent in the world and it would be worth nothing if there wasn’t a lick of creativity to go along with it. She continued to stare up at the bright blue sky, wondering if that was ever something she would have.
A sudden burst of color suddenly appeared in the sky, accompanied by the sound of a distant explosion. She gasped as she saw the prismatic blend extent circularly outward from that one point in the sky, decorating the blue with hues of red, gold, and green.
The lyre on the floor uttered a small noise from the sound-box, a C sharp Lyra was quick to identify. She turned to the instrument, somehow not at all surprised at her ability to draw her attention away from the spectrum high overhead. She needed to capture those colors somehow, and she had a feeling that she knew just how to go about doing it. Her parents were so good to her that whatever music she played wouldn’t be good enough, she knew that.
Just this once though… just this once…
At the same time, only a few blocks away from the house of the green unicorn, was a little cream colored earth pony “working diligently” at the Sugarcube Corner. Her mane, an unnatural looking shade of pink and blue, bobbed to the sound of the music she was listening to on her MP3. She was feeling a little idle today, nothing of particular interest having happened in well over a week, and she was looking out the window with a clear expression of boredom.
The Cakes, a young couple who had opened the shop fresh out of high school, were in the kitchen working on some confection or another, as evidenced by the sugary smell wafting from within. Bonbon, for Bonbon was the name of this little filly, sighed. She had just about had her fill of sugar, which was nigh impossible. She had been living with the cakes for several weeks now, and sugar had become a part of her primary diet as the Cakes had her tasting everything they made. She honestly felt ready to puke at the smell of more.
Bonbon sighed, remembering how her parents had sent her to apprentice under the Cakes. “Candy making is in your blood!” her mother had told her “But no pony should have to learn candy the same way their parents did.” Yeah, sure, it was in her blood, that’s why the Cakes had never let her go near the kitchen, ever.
Seemingly at the very thought of them, the Cakes walked out of the kitchen carrying a huge cake between them. “Bonbon, dearie,” said Mrs. Cake in her infuriatingly coddling tone “We’re going to go deliver this, we’ll only be gone for a minute, behave yourself!” They walked out before Bonbon could voice a response, not that she wanted to. If there was anything obvious about the Cakes it was that they did not have much of a knack with children.
Bonbon just continued to stare out at the clear blue sky. It really was a day just like all the others she’d had, and most likely the same as they would ever be. Was this really the life of a confectioner? Mind numbing boredom the lifeblood of her work? If that was the case, she wanted to go home.
A sudden flash of vivid colors erupted high in the sky overhead. Bonbon’s eyes widened, fixed on the explosion of light. She rolled over and stood up so she could get a better look at the magnificent rainbow pattern streaking across the sky. What in the world was that? It was so beautiful and yet… it couldn’t be natural. It was somehow inspiring, stirring something deep inside her that simply screamed for her to create.
But what would she create? She was only a little pony after all. What in the whole wide universe could she possibly do to match the dazzling display shining in front of her eyes? She forced her gaze away from the colors to look in the direction of the kitchen. She was expressly, no exceptions, not allowed to go into the kitchen under any circumstances.
Just this once though…just this once…
A fair distance away from the Sugarcube Corner was the rich district of Ponyville. Filthy Rich himself owned most of the real estate in the area but that isn’t to say Ponyville didn’t have any other elites. As a matter of fact there were a good half dozen very wealthy families who lived in Ponyville for the peace and quiet afforded to the quaint little town.
Prominent among these nobles were the Clefs. The Clef family owned one of the largest manufacturing companies of musical instruments in all Equestria. It was a common thing for a violinist, a tuba player, even a drummer to brag about their Clef instruments as a height of luxury.
The young heiress to the Clef industry went by the name of Octavia. She was a refined young pony with a coat of soft gray. Her mane, washed twice daily with the finest shampoos, was a silky brown. She was also, in accordance with family tradition, a musician. A cellist to be precise and a very good one at that.
On this particular day young Octavia was practicing on her cello, as she almost always was. The bright afternoon sunlight sparkled down into the room from a single square window, illuminating the tidy room without so much as a speck of dust in sight. The maid really did to a thorough job with the place.
Idle thoughts trickled through Octavia’s mind as her hooves gracefully controlled the large string instrument. She had practiced this piece so many times she could play it automatically, letting her mind wander idly away from the strings and away through her imagination. She found a certain refuge in her music; it occupied her mind without concentration. While she was on her cello she was neither tired nor bored. It was, in her intrepid opinion, the highest point of living to be producing music. Even higher, perhaps, was the writing of music, which she did rather frequently.
Octavia was often called a prodigy by those who knew her, but she knew that was nothing special. Every pony had their own spectacular talent so long as they would just open their eyes to see it. Even the rather annoying unicorns which she assumed the explosion outside her window had just come from, had some purpose to fulfill.
She cast a bored glance out the window to make absolute certain the explosive sound was nothing of imminent threat to her. She saw the magnificent burst of rainbow color erupting somewhere in the distance but thought nothing of it. It was beautiful, of course, but she had grown up (to this point at least) around many beautiful things. To her it was just another fireworks display, probably brought about by some young colts with far too much time and money.
Although that pattern, the rainbow, it reminded her of something. She turned her composition book to a page labeled Prismatic Trance. It was a piece she had written a long time ago with no realistic intent on even being able to play it. After all, it was so ridiculously advanced that even her cello tutor had said he wouldn’t be able to play it.
Just this once though… just this once…
Providing a stark contrast to the incredibly rich district of Ponyville, there was of course a very poor district. Here many of the houses were small and shabby, sometimes two homes to a single brick building. Looking around this district a pony would notice an overwhelming sense of unity between the inhabitants, all of whom banded together for mutual survival.
That isn’t to say they were animalistic, as a matter of fact many of them were very happy ponies. It was very typical for the ponies of the poor district to be much more satisfied with life than the snobbish elite. When life decided to give you no easy breaks, you no longer had to follow its social rules.
Vinyl Scratch, a young unicorn filly, was a perfect example of it. She had bright red eyes and pale fur, an albino pony actually, though she had dyed her mane blue as to look more natural. Though of course as far as “natural” went she had picked a rather strange color. She lived in one of the coed buildings along with her parents and some family on the top floor she didn’t know very well.
Vinyl’s father was a musician and her mother grew flowers. Together they made ends meet a little better than some of the other ponies in the area. They had at some point collected enough bits to buy a modest computer. Crimson, her father, occasionally used this system to perfect his compositions. Vinyl was expressly forbidden from using it, but she was home alone quite a lot.
On a particularly fateful day, when Vinyl was just a little filly, she had obstinately broken the rules to play one of her favorite online games. It wasn’t particularly interesting, and she was finding more and more that by the time she reached as high a level as she was at it started to get redundant. At one point she had been sure her cutie mark would be in computer gaming, but so far no luck.
She closed the game with a sigh, looking out one of the small windows her house was lucky enough to have. The sky was still big and blue meaning it would be a long time yet before her parents returned home. It was with a weary resignation that she turned back to the computer in the vain hope of finding something else to occupy the next few long hours.
One of the icons on the screen suddenly lit up in a wave of prismatic color. Vinyl watched in curiosity as a circular rainbow extended out around one of the shortcuts on the desktop menu. Had she looked out the window again she might have seen the burst of rainbow color that the computer screen was reflecting. As such, all she saw was her father’s composition program beaming out rays of light.
“Gosh…” Vinyl muttered, glad to at least have reason to vocalize at some point today, she felt that if there were any more obvious temptation to use the music making program it would probably be mind control. The music maker was something she never touched during her bootleg computer time; she actually had the potential to mess up if she did that.
Just this once though… just this once…
And as these four young ponies were connected by the strands of fate, one small brown colt was just starting to come to. By the time he opened his eyes the rainbow explosion had almost entirely faded away. He grunted and hauled himself to his hooves, looking around at his modest surroundings.
“Let’s see…” he said “Grassy, I’m in a field. There’s a forest right there so wherever I’ve ended up it’s nice… but where was I before?” He suddenly came to the realization he didn’t remember where he was before this. Was he anywhere before this? Maybe he had just started to exist right here in this very spot.
“Hello!” came a voice from behind him that made him jump “What brings you out here?”
The brown colt turned to see a pegasus, about his height, gray with a blonde mane. He was immediately drawn to her eyes, which were staring in two different directions so he couldn’t tell whether or not she was actually looking at him.
“Um…I don’t know?” he said, hoping he didn’t come off as too strange to this pony.
“Oh, that’s okay,” said the pegasus “Sometimes I zone out and get lost too. Actually I do that a lot…” her eyes rotated a bit, her face taking on a bit of an awkward expression, even more so than it had been before “My name’s Derpy Hooves… what’s yours?”
“Doctor!” said the colt reflexively; glad he could at the very least remember that “I’m The Doctor!”
“Doctor Who?” Derpy asked incredulously.
“Just The Doctor,” said The Doctor with a grin “Sorry, I guess that’s not really normal, but it is my name.”
Derpy frowned “You’re kind of a strange pony…” she said “Did you hit your head out here somewhere?”
“Nope!” said The Doctor “I am completely unharmed as you can plainly see!”
“Well…Okay!” said Derpy, breaking into a wide smile “Strange is always good! Hey, you want to come with me? I was gonna go get some muffins but then I zoned out and ended up here!”
The Doctor shrugged, figuring he didn’t remember anything else he needed to be doing “That sounds delicious,” he said “I would love to!”
As they started walking Derpy looked toward The Doctor’s rear “Your cutie mark is an hourglass?” she asked “What does that mean?”
The Doctor looked back, observing the mark himself “Oh my,” he said “I have no idea!”
“Well I don’t know what my bubbles mean either,” said Derpy “I guess you and I have a lot in common Doctor!”
“Well, I guess we do.” Said the Doctor, returning the smile as they walked on toward Ponyville.
The Ponyville high school was something of an old building compared to the others in the town. It was very small, usually having an annual class of twenty or thirty students between the four grade levels. It was bigger than the elementary school, as well as more equipped. The students at the high school, at least those that didn’t go on to pursue their special talents straight out of elementary, had access to all sorts of scientific instruments that weren’t usually expected of such a small town.
The incoming freshman class of Ponyville this year consisted of only six students. Their names were Lyra Heartstrings, Bonbon Candystring, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia Von Clef, Derpy Hooves, and The Doctor. This was a diverse group of students to say the very least, but they were all connected before they even started school, and none of them knew it.
Except two that is, and on the first autumn school day the brown earth pony stallion and the gray pegasus mare had walked to school together. As a matter of fact, they were old friends. The Doctor had met Derpy when he had lost his memory and she had been generous enough to bring him home. Since then he had earned room and board at the antique store, and they had been great friends ever since.
“I honestly had something of a rough summer,” The Doctor said as they walked along the path “Time Turner has been running me completely ragged… I’ve hauled more wagons over the past month than I have any other time in my life!” Derpy giggled slightly “I still think I had it worse,” she said “I was helping my dad all summer. Mail Doctor! I had to memorize addresses and roadways and who knows what else…”
“Well you should,” said The Doctor “It was your job to memorize it after all, not mine.”
The familiar wall-eyed smile he received always managed to lift the Doctor’s spirits “Talking to you is like what I always thought talking to a shrink would be like,” said Derpy “I still don’t understand why you’ve stuck with that silly name after all these years.”
“It’s not that simple…” said The Doctor “It’s the only thing I remember from before you found me in that field…”
“That isn’t true!” said Derpy “You keep drawing those tanks with the plungers on them. And that blue box, you draw that box over and over.”
“Those are all from my imagination and you know that,” said The Doctor, though he sounded somehow unsure of himself “I’ve written some stories about them too remember? I like to think about our worlds beyond the sky…”
Derpy rolled her eyes, though that may have been them going even more omnidirectional. “I still think that’s silly,” she said “Only the princesses have the power to go further than the sky.”
“I don’t think that will always be true,” said The Doctor “Equestria is plagued by meteors all the time, where do you suppose those come from if not the sky?”
“That doesn’t mean we can do the same thing,” said Derpy indignantly “We pegasi can fly Doctor, but beyond the sky? Really?”
“I know pegasi wing power isn’t nearly enough,” said The Doctor “But I’m sure with enough imagination we’ll figure out some way to do it. There’s no limit to pony ingenuity, you and I both know that.”
The argument of these two continued for quite some time, during which many of their classmates started to arrive. It was a fairly well known habit for the students to mill around the courtyard until the classes actually started, and no one wanted to be late for the first day of school, particularly not the pony in the carriage that rolled up to the school.
Octavia was embarrassed that she had come to school by such a flashy transport. She had wanted to walk but her mother, of course, would have nothing of it. Now Octavia found herself in the most uncomfortable position of worrying what the other ponies would think of her now. She had painted herself out so clearly as the rich kid; her greatest, and unfortunately most likely fear, was that she would be thought of as a snob.
As Octavia stepped out of the carriage, her school supplies in a deep purple saddlebag and a most unnerved expression on her face, she was much disappointed to discover she was already receiving some harsh looks from her new classmates. Judging her already? Now that just wasn’t at all fair… Of course now all she could do was accept her fate until some pony would ignore their preconceptions and just say…
“Hello!” came an overly loud voice on her immediate right. She leapt almost a foot in the air as she was greeted with the sight of the wide beaming grin and opaque violet shades of a certain white coated pony.
“Um…hello…” she said uncertainly, not entirely sure yet whether this pony would be friend or foe. Judging by the alarming hairstyle she was guessing the worse.
“My name’s Vinyl,” said the white unicorn “Sweet ride! There’s only a few ponies in Ponyville who can afford a carriage, that’s really neat!”
Octavia felt her heart sink. Yes, this pony did want to be her friend, but it was only because she was rich. “Well thank you Vinyl,” she said snappishly “But I’m not offering any handouts or free rides so I recommend you occupy your time with some pony else…”
“Well jeez, don’t get all snarky with me,” said Vinyl sounding offended “Your acting like I’m some sort of panhandler. Trust me, I don’t do that crap, way too much pride in this pony! What’s your name?”
“Octavia…” she said, deciding to humor this pony for now “I suppose you’re one of the older students?”
“No way, I thought you were!” said Vinyl “Yeah, this is my first day here, you?”
“Same,” said Octavia flatly “I guess that means you wouldn’t be much help getting settled into this school.”
“I’m just trying to make some friends,” said Vinyl, not even rising to anger “All the ponies who were in my eighth grade class went into apprenticeships, so I’ve kind of gotta start fresh.”
“Please,” said Octavia “I hardly believe you were the only one from your entire school to move on to this level.”
“I meant in my in-group,” said Vinyl “I thought you might’ve guessed that since there’s only two other schools in Ponyville.”
“I’ve been homeschooled up to this point,” said Octavia “Of course I wouldn’t know such a thing!”
Vinyl held back a snicker “So why aren’t you still in home-school? I bet you’d like it better than dealing with us common ponies with all our impertinent questions.”
Octavia blushed wildly as Vinyl voiced her fears perfectly “I cannot receive a diploma from the home program,” she said, carefully maintaining her composure “Besides, the Ponyville High School is impeccably funded with only the finest teachers and equipment, it would’ve been a shame if I were to not utilize such an advantage.”
This time Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh “You are so serious!” she said between snickers “I’m sorry but you sound like some pony that just has to loosen up!” she lowered her shades just a little, aggravatingly still not showing her eyes “I think I know just the pony to help you with that.”
Octavia was totally unsure how to respond to this, so she just nodded and followed Vinyl toward the courtyard where most of the ponies were already gathered. Including a certain cream colored earth pony sitting across one of the few park benches available, reading a cooking magazine and waiting for the bell to ring. While she wasn’t particularly the most excited pony to be at high school, she was at least motivated more than the dropouts.
Bonbon took a moment to look up from the magazine and look around at the gathered crowd. It seemed like every pony had already sorted themselves into groups of friends. She cursed mentally, she had been expecting that not to have happened at least until they entered the building. Now it was looking like sitting here and reading had squarely secured her a spot in the loner zone. Oh well, it wasn’t like she hadn’t been through worse.
“Hey, do you mind if I sit here?” came a voice from somewhere nearby. Bonbon looked up to see a pale green unicorn standing over her, a schoolbag held in a magical aura of the same color.
“Um, there’s really only room for one,” said Bonbon sheepishly “I’m sorry though.”
The green unicorn flashed a grin and proceeded to sit squarely on her rump in the space next to Bonbon, back legs hanging down off the bench. “I sit kind of differently than a lot of other ponies,” she said “I wouldn’t have asked if it was impossible.”
Bonbon stared, hoping she wasn’t being rude “Well that is an um… unique talent,” she said cautiously.
“This isn’t talent…” said the unicorn, eyes flashing angry for barely a moment “Anyway, I never did get your name, I’m Lyra, musician.”
“I’m Bonbon, confectioner,” said Bonbon, smiling now that she appeared to be on friendly terms with some pony “What do you play?”
“Lyre, kind of a namesake I suppose,” said Lyra “Not to sound stupid or anything… But I don’t actually know what a confectioner is…”
“Candy maker,” said Bonbon, not offended in the slightest “I’m especially good with colored chocolates. That’s a namesake too I suppose.”
They laughed together a moment, but quickly stopped as the bell rang to begin class “Oh shoot, we’d better go.” Said Lyra, “Come on! Don’t want to make a bad impression on the first day do we?”
“No, I suppose not,” said Bonbon, putting her magazine back into her bag and following Lyra into the building.
The school building’s interior was all one room, wide with about seven round wooden tables that could seat six to eight ponies each. There was a podium at the front of the room with a full wall chalkboard behind it. The infamous high tech supplies were all in the back of the room where there were roughly ten computers, as well as cabinets that housed the library equipment. Wide windows were on either side of the room, providing the harrowing temptation to spend the class merely gazing out at the freedom and open air.
Entirely by coincidence the six ponies that made up the freshman class all sat at the same table. While as a group they traded a hasty hello they mostly kept the conversation in groups of two. It seemed, for now, that nothing of consequence would come from this seating arrangement.
The teacher entered the room through a side door, which very well might have been the supply closet, and stood at the podium. He was a middle aged unicorn stallion with a shock of white hair and a matted blue coat. A piece of chalk levitated up to the board, surrounded by a purple magic as he took his place at the front of the class.
“Well hello class!” he said enthusiastically “You may call me Professor Splice Bolt. To our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back!”
Octavia frowned as the teacher as the chalk drew a picture of a lightning bolt crossed by two double helix DNA strands. She thought this unicorn seemed just a tad pompous to be teaching a high school class. He was even bordering on eccentric…
“As you can see,” Splice continued “My special talent is the tutelage of science, and by extension, everything else! After all science really is whatever we want it to be, so long as we find a way to manipulate it!”
The Doctor’s ear twitched at this “That’s my line…” he said grumpily. Derpy giggled at this, the culmination of the silly teacher and The Doctor’s mirroring him was making it hard to hold back.
“But science and other fantastic things aside,” said Splice “I think that both for the benefit of our new students and as a reminder to the old we should have a getting to know each other assignment!”
There was an audible groan at this, “As if it wasn’t something we weren’t going to have to do anyway…” Vinyl grumbled, adjusting her shades.
Splice lifted up a pile of papers with magic and sent them floating out to each pony “just a basic fill-out form,” he said “I want each of you to put your name, talent, race, gender, and a rendition of your cutie mark to the best of your ability. I also left some extra space for you to add anything else you’d like me to know.”
Lyra levitated a pencil out of her bad and got to work quickly, it would be awful if she were to do poorly on her first assignment, no matter how obvious or silly it was. It was clear that Splice was going to be judging them on this paper and it would be best to make a good impression.
“Alright then class!” said Splice, the papers suddenly shooting away from each pony to another random recipient at the same table “I want you to read over each other’s papers and discuss what you think of each other. Now be honest, better to know you hate some pony from the beginning than get bogged down by pleasantries in a poor attempt to be friends!”
“Raced motorbikes with a laser shooting, robotic, Princess Luna?” asked Bonbon incredulously, looking up to the white unicorn who’s paper she had received “He’s never going to buy that you know, what do you think you’re doing?”
“I was thinking it was a better story than working with chocolate,” said Vinyl “You really should’ve been more interested in the theatrics than telling the actual facts.”
“I’m not sure whether that proves or disproves the whole DJ thing…” said Bonbon with a sigh.
“So you play the lyre?” asked Octavia with a smile “What a coincidence, I’m something of an accomplished cellist myself.”
“That’s pretty cool,” said Lyra “I’m guessing that ‘accomplished’ is a bit higher of a level than I’m at.”
“Not at all!” said Octavia quickly, worried she was coming off as a prude “I’ve just been playing for awhile and I’ve written a decent amount of music.”
Lyra’s ears drooped “I’ve only ever written one piece…” she said, sounding ashamed “I guess you are a lot better than me…”
“No, no, no, no, not at all!” said Octavia, now scared she had offended her “Composition ability isn’t at all proportional to actual musical talent! Some of the greatest musicians ever never wrote a thing in their lives!”
Lyra didn’t say anything, she just looked back to splice, waiting for something else to happen. Octavia looked down in shame, she really was terrible at this whole friend making thing wasn’t she?
“Excuse me,” said the Doctor to Vinyl “Would you mind trading papers? Derpy and I already know each other quite well.”
“Yeah, no problem man,” said Vinyl, sliding her own paper out of Bonbon’s hooves toward Derpy, giving Bonbon’s to the Doctor, and taking Derpy’s all in one quick flick of magic. The Doctor passed his to Bonbon quickly with an awkward smile.
“Is your name seriously The Doctor?” asked Bonbon incredulously “Gosh, your parents must have been insane…” The Doctor shrugged “They may have been, never met them myself.”
“Oh…” said Bonbon “Sorry… I didn’t mean…”
“No apology necessary,” said The Doctor with a smile “I know what you meant. But hey, can’t miss what you never had after all.”
Before Bonbon could reply Vinyl let out a little laugh that brought the attention of everyone at the table toward her. “I’m sorry…” she said “But bubbles? That’s your special talent? Does it have something to do with your eyes?”
Derpy looked down mostly in embarrassment “I don’t know…” she said shyly.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” said Vinyl quickly “I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. Hey, get a load of this.” She slid out of her chair and walked over to Derpy. She slid her shades upward for a barely visible moment during which Derpy gasped. Octavia tried to get a look at the eyes under the shades, but was too slow.
“Pretty wild huh?” said Vinyl with a smirk “Your eyes are cooler though. I’ve never seen eyes like that before.” Derpy smiled “Thanks…” she said sheepishly.
“No problem,” said Vinyl, reaching out for a hoof bump which Derpy returned.
“Alright class, it’s time to get serious!” said Splice, lifting up the papers with magic and stacking them together on the podium “We’re going to start work today with some logarithms!”
And so the next several long hours passed with a wave of numbers, equations, and other such chronic devices of torture. When the sound of freedom finally chimed overhead the class was more than eager to escape and find some lunch.
“What do you think about the Hay Loft?” asked Vinyl as she exited with Octavia “Ever been there? They have the best onion rings!”
“No I can’t say I’ve ever heard of it,” said Octavia “Do you think we’ll have enough time to get out there and eat before class starts again?”
“Plenty,” said The Doctor, catching up to them with Derpy close by “We were just going there ourselves, care to walk with us?”
“Totally!” said Vinyl, smiling widely “Get this, Tavi here’s never heard of the place!”
“Don’t call me that…” said Octavia, reddening slightly “We only just met today; I don’t think nicknames are entirely inappropriate.”
“Oh come on, Tavi!” said Vinyl, putting huge emphasis on the nickname “Friends are friends, don’t get so touchy.”
“Fast friends I can see,” said The Doctor with a grin “It makes sense I suppose, just look at your cutie marks. Put your flanks together and you would make a piece of music!”
Vinyl and Octavia quickly looked at each other’s flanks, laughing as they realized the connection. “Okay, you and I have to get together some time and make some music, and I mean soon.”
“Oh I don’t know…” said Octavia “I’ve never played with any pony else before. I think I would have trouble figuring out the nuance.”
“Play?” asked Vinyl “As in like a real instrument?”
“Well, yes,” said Octavia “Don’t you?”
“I’m a DJ,” said Vinyl “Didn’t I ever say that? Cripes, Tavi, just when you think you know a gal.”
“Oh…” said Octavia slowly “I suppose we can’t work together then since it seems you and I are in very different parts of the musical industry.”
“Are you kidding?” said Vinyl excitedly “You make some real sounds for me to work with and I’ll mix them into something spectacular! Friday afternoon work for you?”
“Oh, yes,” said Octavia “I don’t have anything planned then.”
“Like two peas in a pod…” The Doctor muttered to Derpy, who let out a giggle.
“Hey,” said Vinyl “Aren’t those other two chicks the ones who were at our table?”
They took a collective look over to where Vinyl was pointing ahead. Lyra and Bonbon were a little ways ahead, seeming to be on the same path as them. Vinyl ran forward to catch up with them.
“Hey, Bonbon wasn’t it?” she asked, but continued before Bonbon could voice a response “You two wouldn’t be heading for the Hay Loft would you?”
“Um, yeah we were,” said Bonbon “Why do you ask?”
“Well my team and I were on our way there too!” said Vinyl excitedly “With you guys we could get the party bargain!”
“The party bargain…?” Bonbon asked slowly.
“You know,” said Vinyl “Groups of six or more get to knock off ten percent!”
“Because groups of seven take a fifteen percent gratuity…” said Lyra “How many do you have with you?”
“You guys make six!” said Vinyl “Come on, I think you all know the group already…”
“It’s like we’re fated to know each other,” said Bonbon with a smile as they slowed to let the others catch up “I don’t think I caught your name though.” She nodded at Derpy, who shied away at the question.
“She’s a little shy,” said The Doctor apologetically “this is Derpy Hooves; she’s a long time companion of mine.”
“And here was me thinking we’d all just met,” said Vinyl, her wide smile growing wider “I guess we need you two more socializing with us than each other, come on Derpy, tell me about yourself!”
Conducted by Vinyl the group continued on to the old bar and grill known as the Hay Loft. It had been built long before any of them had been born but it was still immensely popular. It was a brick building with old fashioned neon lights, demonstrating the entrance and the fact that they were indeed open. It wasn’t hard to tell that though, the panoramic screens were lit up in front of the windows, displaying the betting pool and the current races. The place had a lot of services minors weren’t allowed to use but it was still a good restaurant.
“Table for six!” Vinyl shouted, bursting through the door ahead of the rest of the group “And a double shot of hard cider!”
“Vinyl please…” said Octavia, following behind her “Let’s not make a scene now…”
“I don’t know,” said The Doctor with a smile “I really like that enthusiasm!”
Vinyl didn’t wait to be seated, but grabbed the first table she saw with six seats. “Come on gang!” she called “Let’s get seated fast so they can serve us faster!”
The Doctor and Derpy sat quickly as ushered while Octavia, Lyra, and Bonbon tried to look as natural as they possibly could. The situation was apparently far from salvaged as the waitress walked over with a clear expression of frustration.
“Well what can I get for this group today?” she drawled, clearly going through the motions.
“I’ll get the drinks,” said Vinyl “Hard cider for everyone here!”
“She’s not old enough to drink and neither are we,” said Lyra “But soft cider sounds delightful.”
“Aw…” Vinyl whined as the waitress walked off.
“You should hardly be disappointed,” said Octavia with a shrug “If you actually expected to get alcohol without a valid ID you’re delusional. You don’t even look the part.”
“I’ve got a fake…” Vinyl muttered.
“That still doesn’t cover the rest of us,” Bonbon pointed out “And that’s without the obvious moral standpoint.”
“I think we can tell pretty well that Vinyl has too much sense of adventure to care much about moral standards,” said The Doctor “And props for that, it’s a rare talent.”
“Thanks Doc,” said Vinyl with a smirk “I don’t suppose this is the start of some exciting school group like they have in the movies?”
“I always wanted one of those…” said Bonbon quietly.
“That actually doesn’t sound bad,” said The Doctor “Those groups usually find themselves in a great deal of adventures, and I must say there is nothing I enjoy better than a good adventure!”
“I um…” Octavia stammered, afraid of being caught in any sort of bandwagon.
“Count me in!” said Lyra, looking unusually determined given the lighthearted situation.
Derpy merely nodded as Vinyl put her hoof on the table “Friends forever,” she said, almost sounding like it was rehearsed “Agreed?”
“Agreed!” they said together, all in a different intonation, but all putting their hooves out to the center of the table. And this motion, above any other strings of fate that connected them, was the seal that would begin indeed a very great adventure…
“Vinyl! Open up!” Octavia shouted, banging hard on the door to the DJ’s brick house. The music blaring from inside was probably perturbing the neighbors and it was certainly drowning out the sound of her knocking.
“I don’t think she’s gonna get the door,” said Lyra, who had come along with Octavia “Maybe we should just try again some other time.”
Undetered, Octavia took out her cell phone and dialed Vinyl’s number. The music inside softened, but didn’t abate, as Vinyl answered.
“Hey, Tavi! You’re not calling to tell me your cancelling are you?” Vinyl shouted into the phone “I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks!”
“I’m calling to tell you I’m at the door…” said Octavia.
“Oh shoot,” said Vinyl with a laugh “You know there’s this new thing called knocking? Try it sometime!”
Vinyl hung up again before Octavia could launch into a violent retort and the door was open before she could aggress that either.
“Oh hey!” Vinyl exclaimed as she opened the door like a rocket “You brought Lyra too? That’s totally sweet! I was going to call you over sometime too. Believe me this is going to be the best thing ever!”
“Do you have this choreographed?” asked Octavia curiously.
“If that means ‘do I have music?’ then yes, I came up with the absolute best track you’ve ever heard!”
“Probably better than my stuff,” said Lyra with a noncommittal shrug “Is this some sort of classical rock?”
“You’ll see,” said Vinyl “Come on in and get yourselves situated. I’ve already got my turntables warmed up so we can start whenever!”
“We heard…” said Octavia.
Vinyl couldn’t help but notice that Lyra didn’t have a case for her harp, but merely carried it on a strap over her back. Octavia, on the other hoof, had a large ornate case of what looked like some sort of polished stone. What really sort of nagged at her was how long they took to tune their instruments. Oh well, not everyone could be blessed in the art of electronic sounds after all.
“Not one word,” Octavia said to Vinyl, seeming to read her mind entirely based on her facial expression “Without our music your music wouldn’t exist.”
“I wasn’t gonna say anything!” said Vinyl defensively.
“Where’s the music you got for us to play anyway?” asked Lyra “You just have the piano part? Or do you think you could transcribe it to cello and harp?”
“Already done!” said Vinyl, changing to a smug tone “I found this awesome website that takes music and writes it out for all sorts of instruments. I’ve got both your parts here!” she proceeded to pull several pages of sheet music out of her saddlebag and passed them out.
“I hardly think the internet is a reliable source of acceptable musical apparatus…” said Octavia, looking over the music with an expression of boredom “Though I admit, this isn’t bad. You say you made this yourself?”
“Totally!” said Vinyl “Come on, I’ll introduce you to my mixing station!”
Lyra and Octavia exchanged a glance, then shrugged and followed Vinyl to the next room. Vinyl had done nothing short of constructing a monument using her speaker systems. There were two huge ones on either side of the turntable and the back seemed to have stacked all manner of other models. If this wasn’t some sort of huge drain on power, nothing was.
“Alright!” Vinyl shouted, taking a huge leap and landing behind the turntables “I’ll set it to record and you guys just play the music!”
“Do you have someone for the vocals?” asked Lyra “There are kind of words here…”
“Ignore them!” said Vinyl, just a little bit too quickly “Alright, ready to record, want me to count you off?”
“That would be nice.” Said Lyra.
“Alright,” said Vinyl, a low hum coming from the table “One, two, ready, go!”
Lyra started the melody, strumming a fast downscale then forming to the pulse of the music. Octavia followed only one bar later, providing a haunting echo as the melody built up to a crescendo. Octavia seemed to vibrate the bow on the strings while Lyra pulsed her harp like the sound of water dropping.
A pause, and then the brilliant burst of sound came from both simultaneously. The strings fell into a perfect synchronization, dancing the music around each other, handing off the melody as they passed, neither having the lead role for more than an instant.
There was suddenly a third harmony dancing through the music. Octavia looked up to see Vinyl moving the keys on her soundboard, creating a synthetic third part using what sounded like a pre-recorded violin. She smiled, so much for her opinion of Vinyl; that was actually kind of cool.
This track continued for almost an hour, repeating again from the beginning every time they approached the end and spinning it differently each time. None of them were really willing to let the music end.
Unfortunately, at some point, it had to. As Octavia finished on a long note and Vinyl trailed away, Lyra plucked out one last little harmony. They looked up at each other as the sound finally stopped, shocked in equal measure at the power of what they had just created.
“That was astounding…” said Octavia, breaking the silence “We didn’t have to rehearse it once!”
“It flowed so free…” said Lyra “Those were sounds… I didn’t even know I could make…”
Vinyl smiled “I need to condense it for the final mix,” she said “But that was absolutely fantastic! Now we just need to get your individual singing parts.”
“Individual parts?” asked Octavia “What, pray tell, are you referring to with that statement?”
“Well the lyrics are obviously illustrating the members of our group,” said Vinyl, and Octavia felt sure she was rolling her eyes behind those shades “So I need to record everyone’s parts individually. Doc came by here yesterday for his, so after we’re done here I’ll just have to get in touch with Bonbon and Derpy!”
“You have thought through this to quite a degree,” said Octavia, sounding genuinely impressed “Can this computer of yours comprehend the various sounds though?”
“Of course it can!” said Vinyl assuringly “Even if I didn’t think it could, I’d make it work somehow. I’m telling you, the DJ PON-3 name is gonna be the next big thing in Equestria!”
“I’m skeptical…” said Lyra “You do realize the sort of competition you’ve got going into music? What makes you think your going to be the one in a million that manages to get big?”
Vinyl snickered “That’s what he said…”
Octavia slapped her “That was a serious question Vinyl,” she said angrily “Respect it with a serious answer!”
“Alright, alright…” said Vinyl “I’m gonna be the next big thing because… I’m working on a whole new genre of music…”
“Oh are you?” asked Lyra “What do you call this new genre of music?”
Vinyl mumbled something incomprehensible. “Oh come now,” said Octavia “It’s not as if we’ll laugh at you. Frankly I believe any new type of music would become a success in an age where new styles are so rare and far between.”
“It’s not ready yet…” said Vinyl “Come on, we need to get that singing part done!”
“But…” said Lyra.
“No buts!” said Vinyl “Come on, this song may be good now but when we get the vocal part finished it’ll be fantastic!”
The coming Monday would find the class of Ponyville High doing one of their first real experiments. It wasn’t much, simple chemical reactions, but it was at least more interesting than the math and English projects they had been working on thus far. And what was more important, they worked on it both before and after lunch as opposed to having one morning and one afternoon class.
As the testing of various substances was drawing to a close Vinyl detached herself from her lab partner and walked over to Splice. Octavia, who had been working with her, glared as she put the finishing touches on the project.
“Can I have your attention class?” Splice called from the front “You can all put away your syringes and flasks, Vinyl has something she would like to present.”
“Oh no…” said Lyra “She isn’t…”
Bonbon, next to her, flushed “That can’t be what I think it is…” she said “That was just for us, there’s no way…”
“She’s going to play that song isn’t she Doctor?” said Derpy, sounding almost frightened.
“Oh dear…” The Doctor said.
Vinyl walked over to a small CD player on Splice’s desk and took out a blue CD labeled “DJ PON-3 Soundtrack One”. The CD floated down into the tray as Vinyl grinned over at her friends, who were all shooting her the signal not to do this. Undetered, she pushed the play button and released the music out over her classmates.
:Allons-y Theme Song:
V: My little pony, my little pony!
L: What is friendship all about?
Dy: My little pony, my little pony!
B: Friendship is magic!
V: My little pony!
L: I used to wonder what friendship could be
D: My little pony!
B: Until you all shared it’s magic with me!
O: Some time ago, I was too busy to make any friends
L: Such silliness did not seem worth the effort it expends
O: But my little ponies, you opened up my eyes!
L: And now the truth is crystal clear
O: And glorious summer skies!
L: And it’s such a wonderful surprise…
All: My little pony!
O: I used to wonder what friendship could be
All: My little pony!
L: Until you all shared it’s magic with me!
D: When Daleks make me wanna hide, the Doctor will be by my side
DW: Adventurous, she’ll never lose a match, our favorite DJ Vinyl Scratch
V: For music skill no pony can deny, Octavia will make you turn your eyes
O: The strings that play so beautiful, Lyra’s hard to come by
L: And we all enjoy great candy, thanks to Bonbon’s careful eye!
DW: My little pony!
D: I used to wonder what friendship could be!
DW: My little pony!
D: Until you all shared it’s magic with me!
V: Our music’s magic, and it’s better all the time
B: A new adventure waits for us each day is yours and mine!
L: We’ll make it special every time
All: We’ll make it special every time!
L: My little pony!
B: What a wonderful wonder friendship brings
L: My little pony!
B: Do you know you’re all my very best
L: Friends!
DW: You’re my very best
D: Friends!
O: You’re my very best
V: Friends
All: You’re all my very best Friends!
There was a thud as Octavia’s forehead slammed onto the desk. Lyra and Bonbon seemed to be trying to shrink down so as not to be seen. Derpy was hiding behind The Doctor who was rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Vinyl frowned, had they not liked it?
The sound of stomping hooves suddenly burst out through the room. The class as a whole was applauding their music. Vinyl’s frown flipped a 180 as she held back a whoop. Derpy came out from behind the Doctor, face tomato red as Lyra and Bonbon relaxed a little bit. Octavia sat up quickly, trying her best to remain professional.
“Very good Vinyl!” said Splice enthusiastically “I also heard the voices of some of your other friends in that presentation, was the music yours?”
“No way man,” said Vinyl, taking the chance to appear humble while still hogging it up “I have to give all the musical cred to Tavi and Lyra. I just remixed it. Bonbon, Doc, and Derpy were all in on it too.”
The class turned to each pony she named almost on cue. The Doctor managed to force a smile, and Octavia kept her stoic composure, but the others seemed to try and hide again. The song still seemed a bit cheesy from a third pony standpoint, and they weren’t quite sure whether the praise was genuine.
“Alright class dismissed,” said Splice as the bell rang out over the school. The usual mad rush for the door occurred quickly, but the six remained behind, Vinyl cowering under the other pony’s glaring eyes.
“How could you do that?” asked Lyra incredulously “That song was for us and us alone, why would you bring it out in front of the whole class?”
“You said you had no intention of publishing it!” said Bonbon “What do you think that meant?”
“Guys, guys, chill!” said Vinyl “I never said I wouldn’t show it off a little! Did you see that reaction? They loved it!”
“That may be…” said The Doctor “But that is still a betrayal of trust. You really out to be ashamed of yourself Vinyl, I know I’m disappointed.”
“But…” Vinyl muttered.
“No buts,” said Octavia snappishly “You made a mistake now what are you going to do about it?”
Vinyl hung her head and muttered something incomprehensible. “What was that?” asked the Doctor.
“I’m sorry…” Vinyl said “That was a really wrong thing to do. Playing the music without your permission I mean. Next time I’ll ask before I try something like that…”
“Thank you,” said Lyra, sounding self-satisfied “I didn’t have a problem with it in the end though, it did turn out really well.”
“You think?” asked Vinyl, but quickly readjusted “I mean… of course it was, it’s not like the great and awesome Vinyl Scratch is ever wrong!”
Derpy smiled as Octavia rolled her eyes. “Tell you what,” said Bonbon “Why don’t we all head over to my shop and we can get some of my new honeypot stars!”
“Class, I would like you to meet Berry Punch,” said Splice, addressing the class at large “Berry is an exchange student from Manehatten who will be joining us for the remainder of the fall semester. I assume you’ll all do your best to make her feel welcome!”
The pinkish mare at the front of the room stared vacantly around through indigo eyes. It couldn’t be clearer she wasn’t really interested in being there at all. Octavia could smell the expensive wine clinging to her coat from across the room.
“So yeah, what’s up,” said Berry with a shrug “I guess y’all are stuck with me for a little while. Nice to meet you, I’ll go ahead and find somewhere to…” her eyes alighted on the Doctor as her voice trailed off. A malicious grin touched her features as she moved toward their table.
“I don’t like how she’s looking at you Doctor…” said Derpy, sounding almost jealous “It looks like she wants to eat you…”
Vinyl snorted, but the Doctor merely smiled “If I have learned anything,” he said “It would be that you can never judge a book by its cover. Who knows? She could be very friendly.”
“Hey there handsome,” said Berry, shifting a chair over from another table and shoving herself between Vinyl and Octavia “Like what you see?”
“How uncouth!” Octavia exclaimed “Why that is the most un-ladylike…”
“Shut it dirt fur,” said Berry, glaring hard at Octavia “How did you get your coat that color anyway? You get thrown out in a dust storm when you were a filly? Heck if my kid had a face like that I’d probably do the same thing.”
There was a collective gasp from the table as Vinyl sprang up “No pony talks about Tavi like that!” she shouted, and before any pony could make a move to stop her she had forced her hoof hard into the new pony’s face.
“You little…” Berry grunted, her eye already starting to swell. She glanced over Vinyl’s shoulder and grinned “Ouch! Why would you do that you bully?” Vinyl raised an eyebrow, confused at the change in tone until she felt a hoof on her shoulder. “Now tell me Vinyl,” came Splice’s voice from behind her “What made you think that was in any way appropriate?”
“But…” Vinyl stammered, ears drooping as she realized she had been tricked “She was bad mouthing Octavia…”
“That’s no excuse,” said Splice “You’ll be staying on campus for lunch today, and for an hour after school. And you had better hope that Berry can find the kindness not the press charges for assault.”
Lyra gave Berry a death glare, to which Berry mouthed the words “You’re next!” then, took her seat again. Vinyl cursed under her breath as she did the same, not daring to make another move toward Berry lest she end up in more trouble.
By the time lunch had rolled around they were all thoroughly fed up with this new girl. She had talked throughout the entire lesson and proved completely impossible to ignore with any degree of competency. Even Octavia had been reprimanded more than once for telling her to keep her muzzle closed. It seemed that being miserable was just something they were going to have to get used to.
“You guys really don’t have to do this…” said Vinyl as she and the others sat, without food, around the courtyard “I’m the one who took a swing, you guys didn’t do anything…”
“I won’t hear a word of it,” said Octavia, hardly looking up from her book on musical theory “We’re your friends Vinyl, that Berry Punch was getting on every pony’s nerves.”
“I actually kind of admire you stepping up for Octavia there,” said Bonbon, who was playing her and Lyra’s tenth game of tic-tac-toe in the dirt “That did take some guts, even if it completely backfired on you in the end.”
Vinyl blushed, and then tried to hide it with her shades, “Oh come on guys, some pony had to do it. I just lost my temper too quick…”
“Downplaying your personal achievements is an excellent way to lose a great deal of self respect,” said The Doctor, in a very Octavia-esque sort of manner “Stop putting yourself down Vinyl, it’ll only make things worse.”
At that moment the door to the school building opened and Splice walked out “I’m glad you kids stuck around,” he said “I did want to talk to you.”
“About what?” said Vinyl angrily “About taking sides in class?”
“Watch that attitude Ms. Scratch, or you’ll have detention for longer,” said Splice “Now I can clearly see that you’re all having a great deal of trouble with Berry Punch. I completely understand that. You can’t get along with every pony you meet after all.”
“I was honestly surprised that any pony from Manehatten could be so stand-offish,” said Octavia “My grandparents are from that city, and when we visit we always receive elegant treatment.”
“I agree with Octavia,” said The Doctor “I also thought she was… what’s the word? Stand-offish.”
“I’m not saying you have to like her,” said Splice “You have to understand that she’s been in alcoholics anonymous for some time now. She’s here in Ponyville to try and get over that addiction without temptation.”
“Alcohol doesn’t make you that bad,” said Vinyl “I’m happier when I’m wasted, not a tool like her.”
“Since I’m technically supposed to report that… I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear it.” Said Splice, growing a bit tired of Vinyl’s antics “I’m going to move her to a different table so you don’t have to be in proximity to her.”
“That’s good, I don’t think Vinyl can take another round in the ring with little miss drunken horse,” said Lyra, sitting in her usual bizarre manner.
“I can take whatever she decides to dish out in triple force!” Vinyl snapped “She’s not going to get the best of me!”
“You see this is exactly the sort of reaction I don’t want to see,” said Splice angrily “Can you just avoid Berry like the plague for now? Just let her go about her usual business.”
“I think that can be arranged,” said The Doctor before any pony else could butt in “I can assure you that we won’t be having any more problems with her.”
“Thank you,” said Splice “Class will start again in ten minutes, you may want to start packing up.”
As it turned out Berry was no more tolerable as the day progressed. Despite her new seating she still felt it necessary to cat call at them from across the room.
“Why don’t you stop flirting with your cross-eyed filly friend!” She shouted while they were working on a math paper “It’s the middle of class Doc, spare us!”
“Don’t listen to her Derpy,” said the Doctor in an even tone “She’s just jealous because you’re more unique than she is.”
Derpy merely hung her head, hiding her blush. Berry noticed this, smirking as she started to feel she was gaining ground.
“What about you harp flank?” she called “Keep cutting your mane like that and Bonbon is going to start flirting with you!”
A vein ticked in Lyra’s forehead while Bonbon glared. As unfortunate as it was Berry had absolutely earned their attention now.
“And you too brownie!” she shouted, Octavia bracing herself, “You don’t…”
“That’s enough Berry,” Splice interjected “Get back to work.”
There was a unanimous sigh of relief from the freshman table. “Seriously, what a…” Vinyl started, put Octavia put a hoof hers.
“Don’t fall to her level,” she said “Yes, she’s a prude, but don’t let her have the satisfaction of being the same.”
“I was gonna be a bit more colorful than prude…” Vinyl grumbled.
As the bell finally rang to end the day Berry stood up quickly, clearly with the intent to follow them out of the school. “Oh dear…” said Octavia “Try to remain civil…”
“Berry!” Splice called “Can you come talk to me for a moment?”
Berry gave a dejected grimace and turned back to the front of the room. Octavia and the others didn’t waste the opportunity to exit the building with all haste.
“I’m sick of it!” Vinyl exclaimed as soon as they were out of view of the school “It’s hardly been a day and I already can’t stand her!”
“Calm down Vinyl,” said The Doctor reassuringly “It’s not like she can come after us now.”
“Don’t jinx it…” said Bonbon “I really wouldn’t put anything past her…”
“Why don’t we go to the movies?” Lyra suggested “I’ve got a few bits, and that way even if she goes looking for us there’s no way she could find us!”
“I don’t want her to think we’re hiding…” Vinyl grumbled “If she came at me after school I’d give her the what for Vinyl style!”
“And you would promptly be arrested…” said Octavia.
“You’re not helping…” Vinyl grumbled.
“Movies it is then!” said The Doctor “There’s a rather interesting picture about time travel that I’ve been dying to see!”
“Hey Derpy,” said vinyl curiously “What’s that you’re humming? I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before… and I’ve heard everything!”
“O-oh!” Derpy exclaimed, blushing brightly “I-it’s just a little song I came up with… I don’t want to sing it… It’s a little embarrassing…”
“Why?” asked Octavia “Music really ought to be expressed after all.”
“I-it’s about Berry…” Derpy stuttered.
“Tell you what,” said Vinyl “You whisper me the words and hum the tune, then I’ll sing it for you, sound good?”
Derpy nodded and leaned closer to Vinyl to whisper. More than once Vinyl had to back away to laugh at the hilarity of the lyrics. By the time Derpy was finished, she had a huge grin on her face.
“Alright guys,” she said “This is really awesome…” Bad Berry (To the tune of Babs Seed, property of Hasbro. New lyrics by Comet Chaser) Eyeayeahyeah! Eyeaheayeah! Eyeayeayeayeayea! First we thought that Berry was so really very sweet A new friend to have and it seemed like such a treat! But then we found the truth she’s just smart-flank from the east She went from Berry, to a bully and a sleaze Everywhere we turn, she’s just a step ahead!
Berry, Berry, what we gonna do? We tried to be nice to her But it sure seems we have failed Berry, Berry, if she’s after you We gotta flee, we gotta go! We have to hurry up, let’s go! Berry, Berry, she’s just a bad berry.
Eyeeahyeahyeah! Eyeahyeayea! Eyeaheyeayeayeayea!
Hiding from a classmate, we know it isn’t right But the Doctor and companions we aren’t lookin’ for a fight! Oh she’ll get bored soon and then we’ll have some peace again But for now we’re staying out of her way till then Everywhere we turn, she’s somehow still ahead!
Berry, Berry, what we gonna do? We can’t seem to get away But that’s just not the game we play! Berry, Berry, now she’s after you Hurry Doctor, run away! Live to fight another day! Berry, Berry, she’s just a bad Berry!
Why so mean? Why so rogue? Why so prissy? Why so vogue? Can’t you be kind? Can’t we start again? Isn’t it sad this is how it all ends?
Berry, Berry, she’s just a bad, bad Berry, Berry, she’s just a bad, bad Berry, Berry, she’s just a bad Berry!
Indeed by the time they made it to the movie theatre the entire party had fallen into conniptions, singer included. Derpy had a little smile on her face, not quite laughing, but giddy that every pony had liked her song.
“You’ve got talent!” said Lyra enthusiastically “Next time we get together to make music you’re coming, you got that?”
“Well… I’m not that good…” Derpy mumbled.
“You have as much skill as a song writer as any of the rest of us has for our instrumental talents,” said Octavia “I would be pleased to have you join us for one of the… for lack of a better word, sessions.”
“Derpy Hooves is gonna be in the V-Scratch sessions!” Vinyl said excitedly, stomping her hooves “We’re gonna rock all Equestria with this, filly!”
“You really are good,” said The Doctor “And I’ve listened to a lot of good artists, Vinyl and Tavi included. You could certainly hold your own.”
“Bet she’d make a great producer,” said Bonbon “But they really don’t do much.”
“Or a synth writer like Vinyl,” said Lyra “Do you play any instruments Derpy?”
“N-no…” said Derpy “But The Doctor can play almost anything he picks up…”
“Why do our little talks always turn back to music?” asked The Doctor with an exaggerated eye roll “Don’t we have anything better to talk about?”
“Better than music?” asked Vinyl incredulously “What’s wrong with you man? Other than the obvious of course.”
Lyra let out a long “Oh!” and everyone, the Doctor included burst out laughing again. They had quite forgotten about the annoying purple mare by now and were in quite a good enough mood to enjoy the movie without a single care in the world.
The next week… not so much…
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Vinyl snapped as Berry yet again followed them out of the school.
“Your mom wasn’t free this afternoon,” said Berry with a smirk “Scared I’ll ruin your special time with your filly friend?”
“No, I was worried about ruining time with yours.” Vinyl shot back.
“Jealous that I get five times the action you do?” Berry taunted.
“Shove it up your flank.” Said Lyra.
“Uh-oh!” exclaimed Berry “Are you two-timing on Tavi Vinyl? It takes a filly fooler to defend one. Something between you and…?”
“What’s wrong with being a filly fooler huh?” Lyra snapped “Maybe you’re just jealous that she’s getting more attention than you have in your life.”
“Whoa, calm down Bessie,” said Berry “Just don’t go breaking snobby snout’s heart.”
To the relief of everyone present Berry pushed Vinyl out of the way and walked past them. She had her nose in the air like she had just put them in their place, but they all knew that Lyra had one this round.
“Quick thinking,” said The Doctor “Though she might put you on the ropes about that later. Did you really…?”
“No,” said Lyra and Vinyl at the same time.
“I wasn’t accusing you,” said The Doctor, holding a hoof up in surrender “Not that I would have a problem if you did. I just kind of…” he trailed off here, leaving a more than awkward silence.
“Kind of…what…?” Octavia finally asked.
The Doctor didn’t answer for a minute, seeming to contemplate if he should actually say anything “I don’t want to drive a wedge between anyone, since Berry’s doing such a good job of it anyway…” he said at last “So please… If I’m wrong just forget I said anything…”
“After Berry you’d have a hard time offending anyone,” said Lyra “Out with it Doc.”
“Well…” said The Doctor, voice dropping to not much more than a whisper “I always kind of pictured… Vinyl and Octavia as… you know…”
“What?” Vinyl exclaimed “Doc come on don’t scare me like that.”
“Alright I’m wrong!” said The Doctor “Just forget I said anything okay…?”
The expected following silence never happened as Lyra quickly shouted “I’m done with this! We’re even being mean to each other after Berry’s gone! I’m not just going to sit here and let her tear us apart!”
“Lyra,” there’s nothing we can do…” said Octavia.
“But what if there was…” said Bonbon thoughtfully “We can’t combat her physically… what if we were to try something else…?”
“Do you have a plan?” asked The Doctor.
Bonbon thought for a good moment, then broke into a smile “I think I just might…” she said “But I’m going to need everyone’s help…”
The following afternoon was devoted to a long and boring study period. This was pretty typical for a Friday, when Splice was tired of teaching he would tell them to sit quietly and not cause any trouble. Berry was, naturally, one of the many who considered this a fantastic waste of time and was trying vaguely in one of her notebooks.
“Note from the brown pony,” a voice hissed in her ear. Berry looked over to see a senior, Dolphin Dreams she thought her name was, holding a note in her hoof. The brown pony was a reference to The Doctor, who no pony really felt comfortable about saying the name of.
Berry nodded and unfolded the note, extremely surprised at what she found inside. “Berry, meet me in the Everfree Forest clearing at midnight, I’ve got something I need to talk to you about.” This message was followed by a drawing of a heart. Berry looked toward The Doctor, who threw her a wink. A little surprised by this, but excited none the less, she winked back.
As she exited the building at the end of the day she kept an eye out for The Doctor, hoping to ask him about the note. To her very great surprise she found him with Derpy in the courtyard. They appeared to be in some sort of shoving match. She ducked down by one of the bushes to better listen in.
“I can’t believe you Doctor!” Derpy shouted “Did you think I wouldn’t notice you flirting with that Berry Punch?”
“Well uh…” The Doctor stuttered.
“I hate you!” Derpy shouted, punctuating the words by smacking him hard “I thought what we had was special! How could you do this to me?”
“Derpy! Wait!” The Doctor called as Derpy ran hard out of the courtyard, bawling like a newborn filly. Berry smiled as she watched her go. Apparently there actually had been something between them, but now he was hers. She couldn’t wait for tonight…
It took some clever sneaking in the end to get out of her host family’s house, but she was determined to get to the forest. It may have been a long way to walk, and it may have been cold, but the prize at the end was worth the trek.
As such it was completely understandable that her temper spiked at the sight of two pony figures, and neither of them were The Doctor. She actually recognized them as she drew closer, that crazy haired crème pony and the filly fooler unicorn. Were they meeting up with each other here? Maybe she could have a little fun with them before she reached her destination…
“Lyra?” Bonbon exclaimed, barely within earshot “What are you doing out here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” said Lyra, sounding furious.
“I came out here to meet The Doctor,” said Bonbon “I think he’s going to ask me out since he finally dumped little miss cross eyes.”
“Not a chance!” exclaimed Lyra “Because The Doctor invited me out here too!”
“Why that two timing…” Bonbon beat her hoof on the ground then looked up, seeing Berry approach “Oh great… it’s you…”
“Yeah, it’s me,” Berry snorted “And the way I hear it Doc’s trying to date both of you?”
“Yeah, can you believe it?” Exclaimed Lyra “I thought he was an honest pony but I guess I was wrong!”
“Well here’s one for you,” said Berry angrily “He told me to come out here too! He’s triple timing!”
“A new low…” grumbled Bonbon “I can’t believe he would do this…”
“Well I’m not just gonna let him pull this kind of monkey crap!” said Lyra in a rage “I’m going to stomp in to this forest right now and give him the what for!”
“Count me in,” said Bonbon “I’ve been in karate for three years, he’ll never know what hit him!”
They turned expectantly toward Berry now, faces screwed up in determination. “Well I guess the enemy of my enemy is my friend…” she said with a shrug “I’ll call a temporary truce to kick this guy’s flank.”
“Alright let’s go!” exclaimed Lyra as they galloped into the forest together “Bonbon, you go left, Berry, follow the path, I’ll go right we’ll find that Doctor yet…”
“Wait hold on!” Berry exclaimed, but Lyra and Bonbon had swerved off the path. She slowed as she found herself walking forward alone, not wanting to admit her fear, but feeling it nonetheless. She had never been in the forest before, let alone in the dead of night. Quite frankly it scared her silly. She turned with the intention of leaving the forest and letting the other two mares handle it, but all she could see was the mass of dark trees. She gulped, this was a lot more than she had bargained for…
At first she hoped against hope that the Doctor would come find her after ditching the other two. If she feigned naïveté she might still have a chance to earn a spot next to him. She forced herself to sit down under one of the trees. The noises of the dark forest seemed especially horrifying now that the initial rush was draining away. She could swear she could hear creepy music playing somewhere…
That was when she heard the scream. She leapt up from her seat under the tree and turned sharply. That was Lyra’s voice! Had something happened to her? Had The Doctor turned violent upon being found out and attacked? She had no intention of sticking around to find out. She picked a random direction and started running.
Another scream, much closer this time. She guessed that it was Bonbon. The Doctor could have snuck up on her before she could use her karate, but Lyra’s shriek would’ve alerted her. Something was out there in the trees, and she was not interested in finding out what it was. True she could very well be running deeper into the forest, but anything was worth getting away from this pony eating thing!
Loud howls started to sound around her, spurring her to run even faster, but the further she ran the closer the sound got. A low growl, close enough to hear so that it seemed to be right on top of her. This wasn’t fair! This was no way for her to die! She deserved better!
Berry came to a screeching halt as she felt mud under her hooves. She swiveled back and forth, ready to put up the last fight, but try as she might she could no longer see what had been chasing her. Her pounding heart finally started to slow as she began to realize the howling and growling may very well have been a figment of her imagination. She managed to stifle a giddy laugh, this was ridiculous! Lyra and Bonbon had surely been yelling at The Doctor!”
But if that were true… What was that squishing sound? She forced herself to turn around, finding what seemed like a solid wall of mud forming a giant ugly mass towering over her. She gulped, too afraid to immediately articulate.
The mud creature let out a moan as huge muddy wings came out of its back. Berry backed up hastily as four legs emerged from its underside. The thing slunk toward her, oozing and groaning all the while. She swore she heard some horrifying music rising to a crescendo as the mighty mud monster leered toward her.
“Blargh!” The monster howled, two rolling eyes emerging in its high head. That was it for Berry, trance snapping as she screamed and tore through the forest back the way she had come.
The huge spinny-eyed monster let out a bubbly laugh as Berry vanished into the trees “Alright Doctor,” it said “She’s running for home.”
“That was great,” said the bottom half of the monster, the top sliding off and falling on to the path. The top half was, of course, a very muddy Derpy Hooves. The added height was from standing on the shoulders of an equally drenched Doctor.
“Heck yeah it was great!” a familiar white unicorn stepped out of the trees, a cassette player held in her magical grip “Did you see the look on her face when I played the Timberwolves? That was completely priceless!”
“Speak for yourself,” came another voice as Bonbon emerged from the trees, her mane full of branches “This forest is impossible when you get off the path, and Tavi’s creepy music didn’t help.”
“I apologize,” said Octavia, emerging from the trees with a cello case on her back “I got lost in building the atmosphere and my conscious preemptively left me.”
“Well anyway,” said The Doctor “I would consider that a rousing success! How much of that act do you think she bought?”
“My eyes showed there a little at the end…” Derpy confessed “I was worried the game was up when that happened… but I think I just scared her more.”
“And I was still lost until you all started talking,” said Bonbon “So much of this plan was half-baked…”
“Timing was not the largest part of the plan I agree…” said Octavia “But for better or for worse it worked out to the most perfect degree of excellence. Now I think we should return home and capture the precious few hours of sleep each of us has left.”
“Speaking of lost,” said Vinyl, looking around the trees “Where’s Lyra? We kind of lost her back there at the beginning, where did she end up?”
“I… don’t know…” said The Doctor, looking around the trees “Lyra? Are you out there?”
Derpy suddenly screamed as a tree root snaked its way around her hoof. Vinyl’s head snapped around just in time to see a larger branch descend and lift her up. Octavia, a little quicker than the others, dove out of the way while Bonbon and The Doctor were both snagged.
A familiar laugh came from the trees as Lyra walked in to view at last. “Oh you should’ve seen the looks on your faces!” she exclaimed “You sure didn’t see that coming! That was perfect!”
“The idea of this little excursion was to frighten Berry Punch…” said The Doctor, trying successfully to hide the fact that he had been badly startled “You can let us down now…”
The nimbus of mint green magic re-illuminated the clearing as Lyra released her friends from their various captivities. “Sorry,” she said “I just couldn’t miss the opportunity for a good jump scare. These chances don’t come often you know.”
“It’s quite alright,” said Bonbon, smiling as the root let go of her hoof “Now can we please just all go home?”
Berry felt sick to her stomach as she approached the freshman table again on Monday, completely convinced she was going to throw up before she actually got there. It was, for once, a happy thought, because it gave her reason to believe she wouldn’t have to go through with the horrible plan her brain was forcing her to enact.
“What are you doing over here?” Bonbon’s voice broke through her haze, making her realize she had made it to their table after all.
“I thought I’d catch you before you all went to lunch…” she said sheepishly “I just… well…”
“Just what?” prompted Lyra “We don’t have all day you know, we were about to leave.”
“Look, I know I’ve been kind of a plot hole to you guys…” Berry forced herself to speak “And I want to say I was sorry… it was rude and unnecessary and I’ll try not to do it again…”
“Well this is most unexpected,” said The Doctor “What facilitated this change?”
“Nothing…” said Berry, looking awkwardly from Lyra to Bonbon, neither of whom made eye contact “I guess I’m just kind of stressed you know, new school, new town…”
Vinyl suddenly leapt up as if struck by a revelation “I figured it out!” she exclaimed “You were in AA and now you’re a tool!”
“Well…” said Berry.
“You’re going through withdrawal!” Vinyl finished “I think I know just the cure for that!”
“Time to recover…?” Derpy muttered.
To Berry’s shock Vinyl proceeded to put a hoof around her shoulder. “Tell the teach we both got sick,” she said “And I won’t be going to lunch with you guys! Berry and I are going out to get wasted!”
“That may not be the most intrepid…” Octavia started, but Vinyl and Berry were already out the door.
“Let them go,” said The Doctor “If it lets her keep balance in life then it’s something she out to do, and that goes for both of them.”
“I suppose you’re correct…” said Octavia with a sigh.
“Now, about lunch!” said Lyra ‘I heard there’s a brand new taco place opening! Gio’s or something, and it’s supposed to be a secret recipe all the way from Appaloosa!”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” asked Bonbon.
“You never asked,” said Lyra “Now come on! If we hurry we can get there before the lunch rush!”
The phone was ringing, that much he could register quite plainly. As he opened his eyes he also registered, from the clock on his bedside, that it was four in the morning. Next he realized that if the errant mobile device currently buzzing somewhere nearby were to wake Time Turner he would be in for a world of hurt. He fumbled in the dark for the phone and picked it up, knowing that only one person could possibly be calling him at this very early, or in her case very late hour.
“Hey Doc,” Vinyl’s voice rang from the other end, sounding somehow frightened “I need you to come over to sunset hill, now.”
“Vinyl, it’s barely four in the morning,” said The Doctor groggily “What in Equestria are you doing up this early anyway? You’re never awake enough to string two words together until at least noon.”
“I went out drinking with some of my buddies,” said Vinyl squeamishly “I haven’t exactly gone to bed yet… but that’s not important! I was on my way home when I found this… thing…”
“You’re going to have to be more specific Vinyl…” said The Doctor, already steeling himself for a long walk across town to pick up a hallucinating drunk “You know I hate the word ‘thing’.”
“Well I don’t know what else to call it!” said Vinyl “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen I swear. It’s like a big blue box… or… something…”
For some bizarre reason those last few words struck a chord with the Doctor. Big blue box, there was no reason why that could ever in any way be significant, but nonetheless he found his heart racing at an uncomfortable speed.
“Doc, you there?” inquired Vinyl.
“Yeah…” said The Doctor, realizing suddenly that he was breathing heavily “You said sunset hill? I’ll be right over…”
Just as he promised it was hardly fifteen minutes before he arrived at the base of sunset hill, panting from exhaustion and fatigue. Vinyl was waiting for him there, looking buzzed but overall greatly sobered. Not a good sign for this to be a drunken fantasy, but that could be good or bad.
“You sure got here quick,” she said, the earlier fear mostly dissipated, but clearly still present “You know about weird machine things don’t you? Sorta working with clocks and stuff?”
“Vinyl, I work at an antiques store,” said The Doctor with a heavy sigh “But yes, I do have a cursory knowledge of the mechanical. Where is this blue box you’re babbling about?”
“It’s at the top of the hill,” said Vinyl “And you are not gonna believe this Doc… but the thing just appeared out of thin air.”
“Law of conservation of mass Vinyl,” said The Doctor “You can’t just create something out of nothing, it isn’t possible!”
“Whatever, I know what I saw,” said Vinyl in a self-assured tone of voice “Would you just come on? I’m really freaked out here…”
The Doctor nodded and followed her as she began a steady trot up the hill “Did you call anyone else?” he asked “Or was it just me?”
“I asked Tavi…” said Vinyl “She’s the one I usually talk to when… But yeah, she just told me I was drunk and to go to bed… I really don’t think anyone else would know what… well just look!”
As they crested the top of the hill The Doctor’s heart skipped a beat. There, at almost the perfect summit, was a blue, wooden box. It was carved in a completely alien shape, like nothing he’d ever seen before. It was, as previously mentioned, square overall, with rectangular cutouts on the sides and what looked like the door. The top tapered into layers topped with what seemed to be a cylindrical light bulb. Adrenaline flooded his system as he approached, a nagging memory tugging at his conscious, unwilling to rise to the surface.
“So what do you think?” asked Vinyl, still just a bit too inebriated to gage his expression “It’s like something out of a space alien movie huh?”
“It’s a 1960s phone booth…” said The Doctor, pacing around it “Of classic English build… what is this doing here…?”
“Is English a place then?” asked Vinyl “I’ve never heard of it, that near Canterlot or something?”
“I… I don’t know…” said The Doctor “I must have read about it in a book or something, I don’t remember much of anything…”
“Police Public Call Box,” Vinyl read out the sign on the door “Pull to open…” she tugged on the handle a few times, clearly disappointed as the door didn’t budge “I think it’s locked Doc, what do we do now? Report it?”
“No!” said The Doctor “I think… we should come back later, bring some of the others, and see what they think.”
“Whatever you say Doc…” said vinyl, letting a loud yawn slip out “I’m going home, Tavi was right, I think I need a nap.”
“Not a bad idea,” said The Doctor “It’s almost dawn after all…” he waved her off as she stared down the hill again “Get home safe…”
Derpy found herself being woken up very suddenly by the sound of the aviators playing from her bedside table. She groaned, who could be calling her at this time of night? Her eyes blinked open, registering in her typical distorted reality, including but not limited to the early morning sun pouring through the windows. Okay so it wasn’t night, but on a weekend it might as well be. She groaned, reaching over and flipping the phone to speaker.
“Derpy?” came a familiar voice from the other end “Are you awake?”
“Doctor…” said Derpy hazily “Yeah I’m here… Are you alright?”
“In a technical manner of speaking yes…” said The Doctor “But there’s something I need you to come out here and see…”
An hour or so later Derpy was trotting up sunset hill, looking annoyed, but not quite angry. The Doctor had sounded worried about something when he had called her, so she couldn’t be entirely angry with him for being afraid. Annoyed though? Absolutely.
“What’s the big deal?” she asked drowsily, approaching him with a yawn “nice box, where’d you get it?”
“I… didn’t…” said The Doctor, still pacing a circle around the phone booth “Vinyl found it last night and called me over… I … I can’t help but feel…” he trailed off into silence.
“Feel…what?” asked Derpy, sounding exponentially more awake now “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine…” said The Doctor “I feel like… I’m familiar with this box somehow… I have this… desire… this nagging feeling that it’s somehow… mine…”
“Well you did steal me,” said Derpy.
The Doctor turned to look at her “What was that?”
“I said you’re not going to steal it are you?” said Derpy “I mean it’s got to belong to someone, and I don’t think they would want you messing around with it…”
The Doctor shook his head, was he hearing things? “Well it’s not much good messing around with it anyway,” he said “The door’s looked up tight.”
“Um…Doctor…” said Derpy “I don’t think it’s locked…” There was a low creaking sound as the door swung outward, revealing a perfectly plain interior, nothing else.
“Oh…” said The Doctor, peeking his head inside “Well that was more than a little disappointing.”
“Over a thousand years and you still push the door instead of pulling it.” Said Derpy.
“Wait, what?” said The Doctor “What the hay does that mean?”
“It means exactly what I said…” said Derpy, sounding annoyed “You probably pushed it instead of pulling it. Look, it says right here on the sign!”
“Yes… but…” he sighed “Never mind. I think I might just be tired… Pity it’s empty though, I was hoping for something a little bit more interesting.”
“Empty?” asked Derpy, poking her head in and letting out a gasp “Doctor! This is a long way from empty!”
The Doctor took another look, and upon seeing nothing merely assumed he had misheard Derpy speak again. After she stared at him for a moment he realized she was being serious “Well what exactly is it you see in there…?” he asked.
“There’s a whole bunch of machines…” she said slowly, as if trying to find the right words to describe “And a big tube looking thing in the middle, it looks like something might go up and down inside of it… That’s right in front of what looks like a computer terminal, except different! It’s got extra buttons and what looks like an eggbeater, and there’s a shoe attached to it! You really can’t see this?”
Despite the steady elevation of his heart rate as Derpy described each individual detail he couldn’t see any of these things. “I think we should go inside…” he said hesitantly “Sort of… decide once and for all if this is worth poking into…”
Derpy didn’t hesitate for even a moment, walking through the open door and walking forward. The moment Derpy’s hoof touched the floor inside the room the Doctor gasped. The image of the inside had changed dramatically, a huge cathedral of space-age electronics dominating the inner sanctum. He didn’t wait another instant, dashing past Derpy to get a better look. The walls were studded with enormous bolts that from his perspective didn’t serve any purpose, but were nevertheless awe inspiring. Massive beams curved upward at the ceiling level reminiscent of ancient architecture, but made of clean shining copper rather than stone. Innumerable doors led off the central area, their contents a wonderful mystery.
“You look like you like what you see,” said Derpy, a girlish giggle escaping her.
“Yes…” said The Doctor, still awestruck “I don’t even know what to think of this place… The arches… they look ancient! But that computer terminal, that’s like nothing I’ve ever seen! What on Earth is this?”
“What’s Earth Doctor?” Derpy asked.
The Doctor didn’t seem to hear her, still sweeping over the interior with wild abandon, laughing like a foal in a candy store. “Spatial distortion!” he said suddenly “the inside of the box has a greater volume than the outside due to the space-time stasis field! I’ve read about this! But it’s only in theories about quantum physics…”
“So… it’s bigger on the inside?” asked Derpy, trying to bring the conversation back to a level that made sense to her.
“What did you say…?” said The Doctor, suddenly turning to Derpy, a look of pale enthusiasm still underneath his attempted serious exterior.
“I said it’s bigger on the inside…” said Derpy.
Boyish laughter filled the entirety of the massive hall “It’s bigger on the inside!” said The Doctor, feeling giddy for some reason he failed to identify “I love it!” On wild instinct he grabbed Derpy by the shoulder and yanked her into a quick kiss. The gray mare squeaked, wings standing at attention for the briefest of moments while their lips touched. Even after The doctor had broken the moment, returning to his excited poking about, she stared straight ahead at him, both eyes somehow focused.
“D-Doctor…?” she said weakly, a tomato red blush coating her face as she watched him bound around the terminal. It had been an incredibly heated moment, as she well knew, he would’ve kissed anyone he had been with while exploring this strange contraption. She blushed even further as she imagined several of the stallions from class taking her place in that situation. The fantasy was one she tried not to indulge…
“Derpy?” said The Doctor, suddenly right in front of her.
She gasped slightly, blush deepening “Um… yes Doctor?” she squeaked, trying desperately to sound unflinchingly innocent.
“I said, what do you think all this does?” said The Doctor “I mean we’ve been over and over that all this is very incredible and highly technological, but what does it do?”
“That sounds like a dangerous question…” said Derpy.
“Isn’t it though?” said The Doctor, laughing in a way that reminded Derpy a little too much of the mad scientist from the movies “Only one way to find out I suppose!”
“No! Doctor!” Derpy exclaimed, but she knew there was no stopping him. He practically galloped up to the console at the center and began looking around the thousands of blinking lights, knobs, and buttons.
“Let’s see, buttons, levers, who knows!” he said animatedly, twisting a few knobs and pushing the largest red button he could find. A glass shape began to glow in the central tube, rising up and down repeatedly as whirring erupted from all sides. Whatever this machine did, it was doing it now.
The door slammed shut on its own accord and Derpy ran over to the Doctor, who was holding on to what seemed to be a safety bar. The entire room started to rock back and forth violently, sparks flying off the console with incredible flashes of light. The two ponies clung for dear life to the sides of the metal walkway, only now beginning to feel like some horrible mistake had been made.
“Why did we have to come here?” Derpy thought as the box did what felt like an upside down flip “I just want to go somewhere nice and quiet. I just want to be at sugarcube corner with a good muffin…”
Seemingly on cue the entire chaotic sequence ended, the sudden stop bringing both ponies tumbling off their hooves. The Doctor finally seemed dazed by the whole event and Derpy’s eyes were spinning even faster than usual. It took a few moments for them both to come to their senses, stumbling about the chamber looking for steady ground, but at last the world stopped spinning behind their eyes and the opportunity to piece together exactly what had happened presented itself.
“Well…” said The Doctor “I do believe that was some sort of transportation system… where is it you suppose we’ve ended up?”
“If it’s outer space I’m going to punch you…” Derpy murmured, walking in a zigzag fashion toward the door “Hey Doctor, was the door always like this? I think it changed…”
The Doctor walked in an equally dizzy fashion to take a look “Yes, I think it was…” he said “I’m sure it was, when we came in, a double door. And wasn’t it blue? Now it’s boring, brown and one sided.”
Derpy stifled a laugh “If brown is boring what do you have to say about yourself?”
The Doctor ignored this statement, hesitantly placing his hoof on the handle of the new door, “Well…” he said “Here we go I guess… If I get snapped up by some monster shut the door fast and push random buttons again.”
“That doesn’t sound any safer…” said Derpy.
“Well here I go anyway…” said The Doctor “Ready… three… two… one…” he pushed down on the knob and threw his shoulder against the door. To his surprise, it opened easily, depositing him on his face in the room beyond.
“Doctor!” said Derpy, rushing over to his side “Are you alright?”
“I’ve been worse…” said The Doctor, standing up and looking around the room “Where did we finally end up?”
It seemed to still be Equestria, or at least looked like it was. The room was done in shades of light blue and pink, suggesting that it might belong to a teenage mare. The smell of sugar wafted from somewhere behind a white door on the side, suggesting some sort of baking was going on in the next room. The desk set against the back wall was cluttered with colored note paper and frilly ended pens. The bed was covered in plush animal dolls, many of which looked as if they hadn’t been touched in years.
“This is interesting…” said Derpy, curiously lifting up a red diary “Maybe there’s a name in here…” she flipped idly through the book while The Doctor set about examining the room itself. Neither of them had the stomach to check behind the next door just yet.
“I can’t help but feel like I’m trespassing,” said The Doctor, looking in on a dollhouse filled with tiny pony figures “I get the feeling that some space witch is going to burst in here and make me her slave.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” said Derpy, blushing a bit as her eyes flickered over the pages “I can’t find a name, but according to this the girl who lives here is starting to think she’s a filly-fooler…”
“Don’t use that sort of language Derpy,” said The Doctor “Lesbians ought to have all the rights we do, and I’m sure the aliens would say the same.”
At that exact moment the flowery white door was pushed open from the other side. A familiar crème colored pony stepped through, a smile that had been playing around her lips fading as she entered the room. She looked between the two other ponies in the room, jaw dropping in disbelief.
“Bonbon?” said The Doctor, his tone matching her expression to the letter.
“What are you doing in my room?” exclaimed Bonbon, apparently having found her voice “And reading my diary no less! Who do you think you are?”
Derpy blushed and slammed the book shut again “I’m sorry!” she exclaimed “I didn’t know it was yours! We didn’t even know we were in your room!”
“How would you not know where you are?” asked Bonbon, looking completely livid “There’s only one way into my room and that’s the door!”
“My firmest apologies Bonbon,” said The Doctor “It’s that blue box Vinyl discovered this morning, it seems to have transported us here…”
“Oh, did it?” said Bonbon “Well… yeah Lyra told me about that… the alien box Vinyl found on Sunset hill. Is that what it did? Teleported you guys here?”
“It’s interesting really,” said The Doctor “It was like a spaceship once we managed to get inside of it. When we tried to press the buttons on the console this whole thing shook like mad and spun. When it all stopped we came out of the door right…” The Doctor realized he was turning around to point at the entrance to Bonbon’s closet “There… isn’t that interesting…?”
“So an alien blue box teleported you into my wardrobe…” said Bonbon “Wow… well I guess I’ll let it go this time. Weirder stories come out of Canterlot every day.”
“Fantastic!” said The Doctor “I suppose we’ll be going then. Come on Derpy, I smell some doughnuts out in the store and I’ve got bits!”
“Yes Doctor…” said Derpy, following him out, she turned to Bonbon as they went, mouthing the words “Thank you.”
Bonbon rolled her eyes and shut the door behind them. She sighed, flopping onto her bed and staring up at the ceiling. If Derpy had read her diary, who knew what sort of dirt she could gossip about at school tomorrow… Her life could be over…
It took her quite awhile to calm down and realize that Derpy wasn’t really the gossiping type. It was probable that whatever she had accidently read would never go past her. She gave a wry smile, rolling over in preparation for her afternoon nap. As she settled down she gave one last look to her closet, which seemed normal enough despite whatever alien portal had opened within. But as her eyes closed for sleep she thought she caught the briefest glimpse of blue on the side of the door…
