Eldritch Beings Just Want Hugs · 2:35am May 6th, 2018
So, as those of you who have read my first story, 'We Should See Other Ponies,' may recall, I ended it with a throwaway line about how alicorns are basically eldritch abominations. What you may not realize is that I was entirely serious about that. I have very strong feelings about cosmic horrors, and like my strong feelings regarding pears, patchwork coats, jelly babies, and paradoxes, it can be traced back to Doctor Who.
There is a theory in the Doctor Who fandom. There are, in fact, several theories in the Doctor Who fandom, ranging from "Peri Brown is now the Warrior Queen of Krontemp" to "NuWho is actually an Oxbow Reality". If you don't know what those mean, don't worry, basically nobody does, nor do they majoratively care. I only half-know because I stay up late trawling the TARDIS wiki for fun. I'll cover those another day, anyway. Today, I'm here to tell you about Dr. Nyarlathotep.
The basic idea is, all Time Lords are actually eldritch abominations in human-shaped suits. Why exactly they would want to look human when they could be mind-bending eleven-dimensional octopi, I don't know. But that is the theory, and there is a surprisingly good amount of evidence for it, including the eighth Doctor functioning as an elemental spirit in "The Adventuress of Henrietta Street" by Lawrence Miles, to the seventh Doctor's manipulation of the timelines and minds of those around them in general, to the TARDISes just being straight-up non-Euclidean. And then, of course, there's my absolute favorite description of the Time Lords from author Andrew Hickey:
"On one side, there's a group of... I was going to say 'people', but in one sense they're something closer to what you'd get if you crossed the Greek Gods with the mathematics department at Cambridge University, while in another, they're more like laws of nature but with very slightly more personality. Imagine if gravity had a condescending sneer and you've got the basic idea. They call themselves the Great Houses and they are, more or less, in charge of everything."
-The Book of the War
There's another theory that it's just the Doctor that's eldritch, but this is already getting a bit technical and in-depth, so we'll ignore that. Basically, the Doctor and the Master and Romana and the Rani and every single Time Lord is Nyarlathotep. I suspect the same is true of the alicorns and draconocci. They have theoretically infinite lifespans and vast reserves of power. They are strongly connected to fundamental concepts of the universe (the sun, dreams, friendship, love, chaos, etc.), but they clearly are more than functionaries of reality itself. They have personalities, emotions, they are capable of change. They are worshipped, seemingly despite their best efforts. They are capable of performing impossible feats. This is especially evident where Discord is concerned, but they all have their moments. Royal Canterlot Voice, anyone? Or just generally, controlling the movement of the heavens? They're eldritch.
However, that doesn't mean that they're necessarily Lovecraftian. Cadence is not likely to summon up armies of the shambling and eternally-tormented dead. Discord, for all the trouble they cause, isn't about to drive every denizen on the planet gibbering. Mind, that's at least partly because then they wouldn't be able to have tea with Fluttershy any longer, but it's a start. H.P. Lovecraft was a racist jerk who was afraid of his own shadow anyway, so I don't see why we should take his word for what elder gods are like. Look at the Doctor! Ancient and eternal force of the universe, likes cats, candy, and Gilbert and Sullivan. The alicorns are no different. They care greatly for their fellow sapients, even though they are rather more limited in their perceptions and lifespans. (Nightmare Moon and Discord's rampage notwithstanding; one of them was borne of genuine belief that she was in the right, and the other was a job done too zealously.)
I bring this up now because in the final chapter of 'Growing Pains', I make another subtle reference to this notion, and thought it wise to better explain my headcanon in a medium less restricted by story. Anyway, remember to snuggle your local elder god today. Ia ia Cthulhu F'htagn,
-6&7
I bow to your superior Doctor geekiness. I mostly remember it being heavily implied in the Sky Pirates novel.
But, yes. Time Lords (or, in this case, alicorns) as hoary fifth-dimensional beings. I look forward to seeing what you do with it.
4854916
I just finished Steven Moffat's Continuity Errors and boy oh boy he sure does love the idea of the Doctor as a powerful elemental force of the cosmos, huh.
4942206
Haven’t read that one. It seems I need to.
Oh, and thank you again for the link to the downloads.
4942291
You're welcome. Also, Continuity Errors is in the downloads. Decalog 3, I think.
4942311
Sweet!