//------------------------------//
// Blue Box 
// Story: Black and Blue and Bloodied 
// by Sixes_And_Sevens 
//------------------------------//

Celestia looked around the royal ballroom in dismay. One of the statues had fallen over, animal leavings were splattered all across the floor, and there was cake everywhere. “What a waste,” she murmured.
Still, at least nopony had been seriously injured, she reflected. Only some minor scrapes and some bruised pride for more than a couple of guests. Really, there weren’t many she felt truly sorry for; most of the nobles could stand being taken down a peg or two. Especially-
“Auntie?” a voice whined. Celestia closed her eyes and willed herself to be patient. “Auntie, I must speak with you!”
Celestia took a deep breath and turned around. “Yes, Blueblood?” she asked.
“I should like to raise several objections about the guests you invited this year, particularly that dreadful unicorn. She was terribly rude, and-”
“Blueblood, I’m afraid I am rather busy at the moment,” Celestia interrupted. “If you would like to wait for me in your chambers, I will be in to speak with you shortly. Possibly very shortly.”
Perhaps he detected the subtle note of menace in her voice, for he went even paler than usual. “Yes, Auntie,” he whispered, and walked away.
Where did I go wrong? Celestia wondered to herself. He had been such a sweet foal, always so friendly, so full of life.
“Your majesty?”
“Hm?” she said, glancing down. “Oh, Captain Armor. What is the matter now?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing, ma’am,” he responded, looking concerned.
Celestia frowned slightly. Had she really been so transparent? She wished sometimes that she could be as good at hiding her emotions as the Doctor had been. “It’s nothing you need concern yourself with, Captain,” she assured him. “I was just… remembering. I think perhaps I should go out and get some fresh air. It’s been a little... stuffy in here.”
Shining Armor blinked. Had that been a pun? The princess winked at him. “I trust that you and my niece can handle cleanup?” she suggested. “Nice, empty place like this would be perfect for you two to… talk…”
The unicorn turned a vibrant shade of red. “Er,” he said, but Celestia was already halfway to the doors, snickering audibly.


***

Celestia sighed happily, thinking about the look on the poor guard’s face. Cadence and he had thought themselves rather sneaky, completely undetected by the castle staff. The soundproofing spell had been a nice touch. She had never been fooled for a moment, of course. She had just been waiting for the best time to let it slip. She chuckled quietly for a moment. She could hardly wait for the wedding…
But then her thoughts turned from her niece to her nephew, and the smile slipped from her face. What could be done about Blueblood? She had heard the whole tale from Rarity, and while she had concluded that the mare wasn’t exactly blameless herself, being a ruthless social climber was no excuse for her nephew’s behavior. This was far from an isolated incident. Blueblood had become a complete boor, so slowly and gradually that she had hardly even realized it was happening... She sat down heavily on a stone bench, staring up at the stars in her sister’s sky. Memories, long left undisturbed, were stirred up once more. “Star light, star bright,” she whispered. “First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight.”
Perhaps not entirely accurate, she admitted. She herself had never been sure which star she saw first. Furthermore, she knew that, far from being magic, wish-granting sparks of light, they were massive balls of flaming gas, much like her own Sun, each capable of supporting an infinite variety of life. It was hard to say which idea was more magical. Nevertheless, she rather liked wishing on stars. It reminded her of a crafty blue pegasus in a big blue box, and all the adventures they had been on.
She squinted suddenly, noticing something rather odd. That one star, there- was it growing? No, she realized, it was coming closer! A blazing ball of fire was falling from out of space, and it was coming straight for her! She crafted a protective bubble over herself and her immediate surroundings just as the object crashed into the ground. Celestia blinked a couple of times to clear her eyes of the afterimages burned into them, and then looked at the object. Her mouth dropped open. “Well, speak of Discord,” she murmured.
She reached out a hoof and knocked lightly at the door. “‘Oo’s there?” a gruff voice demanded.
“Ann,” she replied.
There was a pause. “Ann? Ann ‘oo?”
“‘Ann’ old friend of yours.” she replied with a smile.
There was another pause. The doors swung open. A dark green earth pony with a cropped mane and massive ears peered out. “...Celly?” he asked.
“Hello, Doctor,” she smiled.
There was a long pause. Then, hesitantly, the Doctor smiled back at her. “‘Ello there,” he said. “‘Ow’ve you been then?”
“Oh, I’ve been keeping,” Celestia said as casually as she could. “How about you?”
“Ah, well. Same old, same old, y’know. Just saved the world from livin’ plastic again.”
The princess squinted at him. “You don’t have the same poker face you had when Luna and I were travelling with you,” she said.
“Ah. True. On th’ other ‘oof, I still ‘ave the same ol’ stubborn streak,” he said, his grin slightly more real this time.
“So have I,” Celestia replied. “Shall we take a walk, Doctor?”
He paused. “Ah. Love to, o’ course, but-”
“Excellent,” she said, dragging him out of the TARDIS. “Will your companion be joining us?”
His face clouded. “I’ve not got one,” he replied flatly.
Celestia tsked. “You know what happens when you do that,” she admonished.
“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
She studied him again. He seemed so much older than he was before. “Which one are you then?” she asked. “Which number?”
“Nine,” he said after a moment. “I’m the ninth Doctor.”
“And how old are you, nowadays?”
“Very,” he deadpanned. “So, when are we?”
“Luna just got back,” Celestia replied. “About three months ago. A new set of ponies assembled to bear the elements.”
“Good t’ hear,” he nodded.
“There’s something on your mind, Doctor,” Celestia observed.
“Something on yours, too,” he retorted, “But I’ve not pestered you about that.”
They walked in silence. At length, Celestia spoke up again. “You know, the new bearer of Magic is my most faithful student,”
“Sunset Shimmer?”
Celestia stumbled slightly, her composure cracking. The Doctor noticed. “Sorry, did I miss something?”
“Nothing you need concern yourself with,” the princess returned. “That’s my own burden to bear. No, her name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“Good sort?” the Doctor asked mildly.
“Yes. Perhaps a tad… neurotic, but she's really come out of her shell in the last few months. She moved to a little town called Ponyville, to be closer to the other elements.”
“Sounds like a nice place.”
“It is. Although, it does seem to have more than its fair share of odd occurrences. Twilight has been continuing her education by post, sending me letters about whatever she learns about friendship.”
“Always a good subject.”
“Mm. In one of the letters she wrote, she detailed the deleterious effect that keeping secrets can have on ponies, even those secrets one thinks would only hurt others.”
The Doctor snorted. “Subtle you aren’t.”
Celestia smiled serenely. “I can’t risk anything being insufficiently obvious, lest my meaning not pierce your thick skull,” she said sweetly.
“Ha!” he laughed, a real smile crossing his face for an instant before fading away again. “Alright, then. I’ll tell you my troubles if you tell me yours.”
“Deal,” Celestia agreed. “You first.”
“Fair,” he agreed, staring off into space. For several minutes, neither of them spoke a word.
“D’you remember, back when we travelled together, when I told you about my people?” he asked at last.
“The Time Lords? Yes. I seem to recall the choice words being ‘meddlesome’, ‘bureaucratic’, and ‘utterly corrupt’, except for a few.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Thing is, though, you always complain about things when they’re there. Impossible family members, rude friends, corrupt planets… But then, someday, you lose them. And when tha’ happens, you would do anything to get them back.”
Celestia considered this. “Yes…” she said slowly. “Yes, I see what you mean. It’s like with Luna and the Nightmare.”
“Exactly. Difference is, Luna was always going to come back in the end.”
The princess of the sun stretched a wing around her old friend and mentor. “Who did you lose? Romana? Susan? Alex?”
“All of them.”
Celestia blinked. “All…”
“Everyone. Every Time Lord, gone. Every Dalek, ditto. Gallifrey, Skaro, gone without a trace. Everyone died except me. Everyone died, and the coward survived.”
Celestia stopped, then, and turned to him. “You are no coward,” she said plainly.
“Oh, yes? Want to bet?”
“Doctor, I have known you for centuries, through several faces, and none of them have ever been anything but brave. You are a hero to so many.”
He snorted, and turned away. “No heroes,” he said shortly. “Not in that war.”
“Oh, Doctor, what happened?” Celestia whispered.
He shook his head. “Your go.”
Celestia studied him. “You shouldn’t travel alone,” she said.
“You offering?”
She shook her head, a sad smile on her face. “As much as I would love that, my subjects’ needs must come first. No,” she continued, smile slowly spreading, “I have somepony else in mind. I think I have a way to solve both of our problems…”
She started trotting back toward the castle, a sly gleam in her eyes. “‘Ang about!” the Doctor protested. “I’ve not agreed to anything yet!”
“You will if you know what’s good for you!” Celestia sang.
The Doctor growled some ancient curse in a language which was quite possibly not even of this universe, but followed after his friend.