//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Strange Times // Story: Doctor Whooves: Discord and Time // by Gherkin //------------------------------// Letting the soft breeze cool his face, The Doctor trotted through the streets of Ponyville, taking in the sights of the beautiful, if somewhat quaint, village. The Cakes didn’t take too long with their order, having arrived just after he’d finished tucking the foals in with a bedtime story from his homeworld, something which Pinkie Pie was eager to listen to as well. As if she’s never heard of The Three Little Sontarans, he thought. He made his way through the town towards the library, curious as to what Twilight was up to. He hated to admit it, but he was lonely by himself in the TARDIS, and he needed to read up on the history and geography of where he was anyway. Before he met his new friends, he had been floating around in that blasted machine for 3 years, hopping from planet to planet, before finally landing in Equestria not long before he had met Applejack as a filly. He managed to locate the library. He stopped and stared at it for a moment, taking in the strange architecture. "Well, look at that, a literal treehouse." He chuckled and sighed. "Oh Equestria, you have such an ironic sense of humour." He trotted up and knocked on the door. It swung open, revealing a bored looking small purple reptile. "Sorry pal, we're about to close for the day." He went to close the door, only to be stopped by The Doctor. "Wow, what do we have here?" The time lord barged inside, whipping out his sonic screwdriver and examining the creature. "Twilight!" he called, "I think you have a reptile infestation!" Twilight Sparkle appeared from a back room. "Doctor! What are you doing?" Shocked, she pushed the screwdriver out of the reptile's face. "Sorry, Twilight, but in case you haven't noticed, there's a giant purple reptile in your library. No need to fear, however." He straightened his bow tie. "The Doctor is here." Twilight sighed and covered her face with her hoof. "Doctor, this is my assistant, Spike.” He stepped back, confused. “You have an assistant?” She shrugged. “Yeah.” She picked Spike up off the ground. “Well, you don’t expect me to do all the work around here, do you?” He avoided eye contact with the dragon. Picking up a dusty old book, he started to flick through the pages, murmuring, "No, I suppose not.” As suddenly as he had picked it up, he put it back again. “Saw that plot twist coming from a mile away.” “What?” He pointed back at the book. “This. Most predictable ending ever.” He picked up another book, labelled: An In Depth History of Equestria, flicking through it just as quickly as the previous one. “This ‘Ink Quill’ has got nothing on J.K... or J.R.R. Tolkien.” He looked back at her. “Which reminds me, someone in your universe still needs to write Lord of the Rings.” She sighed. “I’m guessing you didn’t enjoy reading about Daring Do?” He shook his head. “Oh no, it was a good story alright. Just a little too much Indiana Jones for my liking.” She shrugged. “Sure, whatever. Why are you here anyway?” He picked up yet another book, skimming through it with ease. “Boredom,” he said as she tidied up the books he’d left around, “Pure boredom, plain and simple.” Twilight smirked. "Aw, is Ponyville too normal for The Doctor?" she said sarcastically, "Not enough aliens and monsters for you?" He put the book down and turned back to her. "Ha ha, very funny. I can deal with normal just fine, thank you." Twilight trotted past him towards the door. "Where are you going?" "To see what Applejack's up to," she told him, "I don't suppose you'd like to accompany me?" He joined her by the door. "OK then, lead on, Miss Sparkle." She pushed open the door and cantered out, giggling. "Alright, maybe you can handle being normal, but we'll see how you handle manual labour." The time lord groaned and followed. They walked down the dirt road to Sweet Apple Acres in the mid-afternoon sun. For mid February, it was colder than usual. “It’s a bit chilly out, isn’t it?” The Doctor called, shivering slightly in his jacket. “Well, I suppose spring will be coming in soon, assuming that the seasons are the same here.” “Well, Winter Wrap Up was a few weeks ago, so it should be starting to warm up," she called back. "Winter Wrap Up?" Twilight sighed and began to explain. Listening too intently to his friend, The Doctor didn't pay attention to where he was walking and tripped over into a puddle. "Smooth moves." She smirked as he hauled himself up, soaked and shivering. He frowned at her, before shaking the water out of his coat. "For some reason, I've always wanted to do that," he thought out loud. They had reached Sweet Apple Acres. Knocking on the door, they were surprised to see Applejack answer. According to her, there was no apple harvesting to be done today, so they were invited in for some tea. The Doctor wasted no time in settling down and relaxing. “Ah,” he said blissfully, “Nothing like sticking the kettle on and having a nice bit of tea. Haven’t got any Jammy Dodgers, have you?” Unfortunately, he was left disappointed. Not soon after, Applejack returned with three mugs. Thanking her, The Doctor and Twilight sat back and started to talk. “So,” the time lord started, “Bring me up to date. What’s been happening over the past week? Since my party?” Applejack thought for a moment. “Well, Hearts and Hooves Day was last Thursday.” She leaned in close. “I wouldn’t go mentioning that around Big Macintosh though. It’s kind of a sore subject.” The Doctor nodded and mimed zipping his lips shut. “But apart from that,” Twilight continued, “Nothing else really has been going on. However, according to the princess, peace negotiations with the Griffon Kingdom have been deteriorating slowly.” “Griffons? Any other day I’d be surprised, but I’m talking with a unicorn, so...” He decided to wind back a bit. “What do you mean, ‘peace negotiations’?" Twilight shrugged. "The Griffons and us have been at each others throat for years. Politically, of course. Something about border problems. I doubt it's anything to worry about." "Not all sunshine and rainbows around here then," he murmured to himself. "What was that?" "Um, nothing." There was a sharp knock on the door. "Come on, open up!" Applejack groaned. "Now what could Rainbow Dash want at this hour?" She set down her cup and opened the door. Rainbow Dash was there, anxiously glancing behind her back. "Rainbow? What do y'all want? And what's got you all worked up?" Dash calmed down slowly. "I just got a message from my friend, Gilda. Y'know, the Griffon." Applejack remembered. The loud mouthed one. It took over a day to calm down Granny Smith after that market incident. She rolled her eyes. "So?" She grabbed a piece of paper out of her saddlebag and shoved it in the cowpony's face. "Here, read it!" By now Twilight and The Doctor had joined them at the door. Leaning over Applejack's shoulders, the time lord began to read. "Dash, I haven't got time to explain this. Negotiations between your country and mine have gone down the damn toilet. The Griffon armies are mobilizing an army to invade Equestria. Please, find your friends and hide someplace safe. I can't stop this. If they find out I sent you this, they'll hang me, so don't reply. Your old friend Gilda." He turned to Twilight. She didn't believe what he had just read. "Nothing to worry about, eh?" he said grimly. "What are we gonna do, Doc? Applejack asked, "What about my family?" He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. "Don't worry, your family's going to be fine." He looked back up. "Dash, go find Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Come and meet us back at the TARDIS." "I'm on it, Doc!" She did a mock salute and flew away. “What about the rest of us, Doctor?” Twilight looked scared. Who could blame her. A few minutes ago this had all been political debate, the kind of fights that belonged in the parliament. The Doctor smiled, bringing a sense of reassurance to everyone in the room. “We’re going to pay a little visit to...” He trailed off. “To... where do the Griffons come from?” Despite the situation, Twilight managed a giggle. “The Griffon Kingdom. Unimaginative, I know.” “Yeah, you got that right.” He started to gallop off. “Doctor!” Applejack called. He stopped. “What about my family? We can’t just leave them here!” “Well, bring them along, they’ll be perfectly safe in the TARDIS,” he said, trotting back over to them. By now, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and Big Macintosh had gathered around them. Applejack nodded to them and they started to follow. The Doctor glanced skyward. Far above, he could make out the winged silhouettes of the invaders. He gritted his teeth and called for them to follow. As they sprinted into the town, they could already see the harsh effects of war. Buildings were burning, and injured ponies were lying in the street. Arrows were flying everywhere. Defiant citizens were making a final stand from within their homes. They were nearing Sugarcube Corner; it was just a few blocks away. We’re all gonna make it, The Doctor thought, We’re gonna be OK. It was then when he heard Apple Bloom scream. Oh no... “Big Mac!” The time lord whirled around. The red workhorse had collapsed, having being shot through the leg by a barbed arrow. “Applejack, help me carry him!” He put one of Big Mac’s front hooves over his shoulder as Applejack did the same, and began to carry him the rest of the way. “Hey, you OK?” The Doctor asked. Big Macintosh looked in pain, but he managed to grunt, “Eeyup.” He looked like he could take a lot of punishment. “OK, we’re almost there.” The Doctor couldn’t hear a thing over the deafening sound of explosions around him. “We’re going to make it, Big Macintosh, don’t you worry.” There was no response, and the weight that he was carrying seemed to ease a little. “Big Mac?” He turned his head towards the muscular pony, and gagged at what he saw. A stray arrow had flown towards them and pierced Big Macintosh straight through the neck. His once hard-working body was now completely lifeless. The Doctor tripped and collapsed out of shock. “Hey, Doctor, what’re you-” Applejack noticed, as had the rest of the group. “Oh, dear Celestia, no!” She lay him down gently, right in the middle of the street. Apple Bloom broke down and started to cry, kneeling over his body. “C’mon,” she sniffed, “Don’t do this, big brother. Please wake up...” “This can’t be happening,” Applejack wept, “This just can’t be happening!” “Can’t be happening...” The Doctor whispered in realization, “Can’t be happening...” He smacked himself on the head. “Wait a minute, of course this isn’t happening!” His mind replayed through the events of the day. The puddle I tripped into, as Twilight and I were walking to Sweet Apple Acres. The water hadn’t rippled! How could I have not noticed! Water that doesn’t ripple, the telltale sign of a mind trick. OK, whoever’s doing this, the jig’s up, I’ve got you! As he thought this, the world around him seemed to bleed away, into nothing but empty blackness all around. He seemed to be within the realms of his own mind. Distant memories played back to him before his eyes. Until, finally, they all faded away, leaving him standing face to face with a strange creature. It had the head of pony and a body that was comprised from parts of a variety of different animals. It made no sense. In fact, it seemed to take joy in the fact that it made no sense. It was as if the creature before him represented the very spirit of chaos itself. “Ah, you finally figured it out,” it spoke, “Hello, Doctor.”