//------------------------------// // Between Day and Night // Story: Doctor Whooves: CY 20000 // by MaxKodan //------------------------------// Doctor Whooves: CY 20000 Chapter 3: Between Day and Night Max Kodan They arrived at the castle gates in the late afternoon. Or rather, it looked like the late afternoon. In fact, it always looked like late afternoon. The sky looked more like a ceiling, One big, uniform, glowing grey color. It was unsettling, but what was worse was the conclusion that could be drawn from it. Or rather, the speculation that emerged. The lack of the sun and moon made both The Doctor and Rainbow Dash question who, or what, they might find residing in the castle. “Huh, all things considered, it’s not that bad.” The Doctor tilted his head. The gates were laden with vines, but beyond them the castle grounds seemed relatively well kept. The plant life wasn’t overgrowing, though most of it sagged, and the previously emerald green grass was now a depressing shade of greenish-yellow. The building itself was untouched. It was dark, but the vines stayed away. Every brick was as pristine as the day it was placed. If anything, however, that just gave a more ominous feel to the entire situation. “Y-yeah. Not bad.” Dash tucked the corner of her mouth into her cheek as she gazed up at the turrets. “Looks just peachy.” “Well, come on then, help me with these gates.” The Doctor trotted up and reached a hoof up to try and push the gate open. At his touch, however, there was a loud creak, and the metal frame fell inwards, crashing to the ground within the walls. “Geez, Doc, why couldn’t you do that to the Museum door?” Dash joked as she walked past the mildly surprised stallion. “Huh. The gate must have been rusted and weakened by the vines...And it’s DOCTOR, thank you very much!” He protested, hurrying to catch up to the pegasus. She just stuck her tongue out at him in response, chuckling a bit as she pressed on. It was a strange walk through the courtyard. The silence that pervaded the grounds wasn’t any less unsettling than it had been in the city. There was no resistance to their presence. If anypony were watching over the former seat of power, they gave no sign that they cared about the intrusion. It wasn’t long before they reached the doors. The large front entrance to the castle stood before them, and to their surprise, they stood slightly ajar. A gap just g enough for a pony to enter stood before them. “Paper rock scissors to see who goes in first?” The Doctor shrugged, smiling over to Dash. “What’s ‘paper rock scissors’?” She quirked an eyebrow over at him. Both were speaking in hushed tones, and neither quite knew why. Perhaps they felt that they would disturb some sleeping force, for whom this silence was kept. “Oh, it’s a game where you count to three, and then you hold up your hand-” He held up his hoof in example, but stopped and stared at it for several seconds. “...Ah. Right.” He sighed. “Never mind then.” Dash laughed silently, then started walking towards the door. She craned her neck back to look at the entire thing for a moment, then, with The Doctor right behind her, poked her head into the main hall. It looked exactly the same as the last time she’d seen it, albeit completely empty. The wedding...what a chaotic mess that turned out to be. She entered, stepping gingerly and glancing around the room, making sure no last minute beasties would jump out at them. The Doctor followed. “It’s strange. Very strange.” He said, apparently deep in thought. “You’re telling me. This place used to be totally packed! Even when there wasn’t a big party or a wedding or a gala, there were always guests and servants galloping around. Seems so much...bigger, now.” She shivered a bit. “Gives me the creeps.” “No, it’s not just that. See...The TARDIS tends to have a mind of it’s own,” He said. “It has a habit of bringing me exactly where I’m needed. More often than not, that means an immediate onset of some kind of war or plague or some of alien invasion.” He gave the room one last, sweeping look as Dash debated whether or not to question that last one. “But It’s never brought me to a place that’s been so...empty before. Clearly, something has happened, but I’ve never arrived when there seems to be so little to do.” The pair crossed the room and headed for the stairs. The red carpet, though the light was dim, still shone bright against the marble floor. They followed the path, their hoofsteps padded by the still plush floor covering. “I’ve never really been in the castle before.” The Doctor commented, looking over a tapestry with interest. “At least, no further than the entry. Where exactly are we headed?” “Throne room.” Dash looked around the hallway, eyeing several points of interest, trying to catch her bearings. Some decoration was slightly different. A new tapestry here or there, newly changed sconces, fresh paint on the walls. It was as if the castle were caring for itself. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, considering the inhabitants. After a short time, Dash stopped in front of another large set of double doors. “Welp, here we are.” Her calm words were counter to her shaky tone. What laid beyond that door was a mystery to both of them. Noticing his companion’s hesitance, The Doctor volunteered to go first this time. He firmly planted a hoof on the door and pushed. With no excessive amount of creaking, the door slowly swung open. From inside, a cool breeze drifted across their bodies. The Doctor peered into the room, squinting. “...Oh...” He stepped inside further, his face invisible to the mare looking on. “Oh my...” “What...what?” Her voice shook as she looked on. She could easily fly over his head and get in first, but apprehension about what she might find held her back. The Doctor looked back at her and nodded into the room, then took several steps inside. Rainbow Dash had flown further than she could keep track of. She’d crossed towns, cities, circled race tracks, flown to Cloudsdale, and so much more. But the two yards in front of her felt like the longest journey of her life. Her knees nearly gave out as she approached the threshold. Memories of the Daleks burned across her mind, even though they were not her own. She remembered the destruction, the extermination of entire species, the completely lack of restraint or thought to the lives being snuffed out. The merciless killing of anyone before them. Artificial thoughts taunted her every step, thoughts of Princess Celestia, slain by those damnable lasers. Princess Luna, captured and tortured and killed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the thoughts out of her head. Even as she entered the room, her eyes remained closed. It was only the cool breeze, still flowing throughout the area, that lowered her defenses enough to let her crack her eyes open. “Princess Celestia!” She cried, launching herself airborn. She flew across the room towards the lightly glowing figure. The Doctor stood back, watching silently, as the pegasus tripped in her flight and stumbled to the ground, bowing several yards before the royal pony. “...Rainbow Dash.” The Princess spoke. The named bit her lip so hard it nearly began bleeding. She looked up, blinking the tears out of her eyes enough to finally take in the details of the scene. The Princess was, in fact, alive. However, her normally flowing, pastel mane had faded to a chalk white, and it looked as though it had been flecked with dust and charcoal. Her face was gaunt, and her body seemed thin, though still graceful. She was laying down, her legs folded under her. Her eyes, though tired, appeared as bright as ever as she regarded the time-displaced mare. “P-princess!” Dash had to choke down her emotions in order to properly speak. “It is good to see you again, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia smiled weakly, the wrinkles in her face becoming more apparent. “Doctor.” The alicorn’s eyes turned up to look at the stallion, who was still hanging back a ways. He blinked. “Huh? Me?” He thought for a moment. “Ah, suppose you know me from your past. Hasn’t happened to me yet, so...” “They come when the day ends.” She interrupted. Her eyes grew slightly harder as she looked at him. “You must find my sister. She holds the keys to the salvation of all of Equestria.” For some time, all was silent save for the light wind emitting from Celestia’s body and the labored breaths she was taking. Rainbow Dash blinked rapidly. She looked between her best friend’s mentor and The Doctor, who was slightly taken aback. Finally, the Princess’s face relaxed and she sagged. “I apologize for interrupting you. For so long I have practiced those words, for the time when you would come. I needed to speak them. I needed to tell you, lest I never spoke again.” She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. “I will explain what I can. I’m afraid there is no time for a joyful reunion, though I have missed you dearly.” She reopened her eyes just a crack, looking down at Dash. The pegasus stood stone silent, her mouth hung open in awe. What was she saying? What did she mean? The Doctor walked up beside her and put a hoof on her shoulder. Shaken from her paralysis, she tried to gather words to put together. Before she could, however, Celestia continued. “Long ago, the kingdom of Equestria came under attack by an unknown force. Even to this day, the only thing we know of the creatures is that they do not exist during the day. Our soldiers fought valiantly, but the enemy is vicious, the likes of which nopony has seen before or since. The threat came to a head when, one night, a massive force was unleashed. Many ponies were taken mysteriously. They disappeared in the attack. When I caught wind of it, I raised the sun quicker than I ever had before, blazing it across all Equestria. The creatures disappeared, but the damage...did not...” The Princess coughed lightly, and Dash moved closer, reaching out a hoof. “Princess, you don’t have to...” She swallowed hard. She’d never seen the pony’s all powerful ruler so frail before. “No, Rainbow Dash. You must hear of this. Only the two of you can help us and stop them now.” She coughed a moment more, then took a shaky breath and settle down. “Luna and I conversed at length, and we held the sun high, so that none of those creatures could take advantage of us. Eventually, we decided to use an ancient spell. One of us would remain and guard the day, keeping the sun up at all costs, at all times. The other would be locked away, and a spell would be cast by the most powerful unicorns. When the one who was locked away finally awoke, their power would be unbelievable, and they would overwhelm the creatures.” She smiled weakly. “I insisted that I be the one to stay. I told her I was more proficient at managing the sun.” She laughed softly. It was a breathy, half laugh. “I simply couldn’t see her this way. My sister is more dear to me than anything. So I remained here, keeping the sun in the sky. Sometimes I would dim it, to give the ponies a rest from the bright light, but never did it set. As of late, I’m afraid the sun has simply become a disembodied light that I keep shining throughout Equestria. But soon, my strength will give out. This day will finally end. But before it does, you must awaken my sister from her 5000 year slumber.” “Five-!” The Doctor and Dash both gasped out at the same time. They looked at each other in utter shock. The Doctor picked up the speech. “Five...thousand years? You’ve sat here, holding this one day, alone, for 5000 years!?” “Give or take.” She smiled. Her eyes were laughing, but her heavy breathing didn’t allow for any more shows of joviality. “Princess!” Any further words that Dash needed escaped her. The enormity of the situation settled more and more with each passing moment. “Nopony was left? Nopony at all?” “Many were left when the day began, but Canterlot is a very exposed city. The design was meant to be a tribute to the sky and the sun and the moon, but despite my efforts to dim the sun when I could, Canterlot would become unlivable. I ordered the city to be evacuated, though I myself could not leave. My duties with the sun have been far more important. I believe that ponies still exist, but they are hidden. They have likely adapted to life without the sun, and taken Canterlot as the ruins of an ancient civilization by now...” She sighed softly. “But when my power fails, the day will end, and so will the hopes of the ponies. The unicorns that originally cast the spell on my sister have passed, but their magic remains active. It needs to be deactivated, and you are the only one capable.” She smiled at the pair. “And the only ones who would believe me. I am a remnant of the past in this world now.” “Wait a minute, what if we just-” Dash started. “Where is Princess Luna?” The Doctor cut across her. She shot him a glare, but he looked back so calmly and seriously that she relented. “High atop the mountain, a shrine was constructed to protect her should the I fail to uphold the day. It is dangerous, and difficult to open, but I know you can do it, Doctor. Unfortunately, I cannot help you any further.” She smiled warmly at him. Dash was still unsure of how to react to all of this. “But can’t we-” “Dash, we’ll be heading to the top of the mountain.” “But-!” “Rule 3. Wait, that was the slimy thing rule...Rule 2, that’s the one!” “Doc, I-” “It’s Doctor, and we’ve been requested to do something by Princess Celestia. I think the proper thing is to do it.” “Would you just listen to-!” “Rainbow Dash. The pegasus stopped mid sentence once more and looked up when the Princess spoke. She blinked softly, her eyes going slightly wider. She HAD the words now, she knew what she wanted to say, and to her it made sense. The most obvious thing to do. This time she refrained from speaking because of the Princess. If she was interrupting her, there could be no arguing. “Believe me, Rainbow Dash.” She still smiled. “I know what you’re thinking, and I’m afraid that the only path for you, right now, is to ascend the mountain and awaken my sister.” “But...” She trailed off this time. No one interrupted her further. The Princess remained silent. The Doctor nodded at the door and turned, glancing back and waving back to the Princess lightheartedly. “See you soon, Princess!” Reluctantly, Dash followed. ----- When they were back in the main hall, heading towards the door, the pegasus spoke up again. “Why did you cut me off?” The Doctor stopped and turned around. He saw that she’d stopped a short distance behind him, and had had a glare trained on his back for a while. He blinked. “Oh. Yes. Well...” He nervously scratched his head, and sighed. “Doc, you have a TIME. MACHINE.” She enunciated the words harshly. “We can go back, stop all this from happening! We can warn Celestia and Luna in the past and they can stop all this before it gets this far.” She stomped her hoof again. It was feeling a bit better. “So why wouldn’t you let me finish? Why can’t we just...” She paused, struggling with getting her words out without completely going off on him. “We will.” She blinked. “What?” “We will. We’ll go back in time and stop all this from happening.” The Doctor levelled his look at her like he did when he was making a promise. Having not been around him for a considerable amount of time, Dash wasn’t sure whether she could really believe him. “So why didn’t we just ask Celestia how to open the museum? Why are we doing all of this?” “For one thing, Celestia is having a hard time just speaking. She’s in no position to open anything.” He sighed, and Dash winced as the harsh truth shot across her. “And secondly, we simply HAVE to do this.” “But...why?” The stallion turned and walked out the door, wedging it a little further open as he did. “Just in case.” He disappeared through the doorway, and the slightly stunned pegasus rushed to catch up. “Just in case what!? Stop being so...so...secret-y!” She called. When she slid through the door, she saw him still walking, but he was going slow enough to let her catch up. He didn’t turn when he responded. “Just in case we fail.” ----- The nearest part of the mountain was just behind the castle. They had an expectedly quiet walk there, and upon arriving at the base, they both craned their necks to look up. The cliff face was sheer, and nearly 90 degrees. “Now, how in blazes are we supposed to get up there?” The Doctor grimaced. “Maybe if I had fingers, but these blasted hooves have no traction at all!” He glanced to the side, and Dash was floating there, her wings beating evenly. She was sticking her tongue out at him. “And don’t you even start! I know YOU can get up, but I happen to be just a tad bit grounded.” He huffed. “Yeah, looks that way.” She chuckled a little and looked up again. “I mean, I could carry you, but...that’s a long way up. And I don’t think you’d be in good shape after a drop like that.” “Oh, no, I completely trust you!” The Doctor grinned cheerfully. “No other way up there, right? Might as well get on with it.” Dash glared at him. “What, you got any better ideas? Time is of the essence, Miss Dash!” “Hrmph. Fine.” She glowered at him for several seconds, then stretched her wings. “But based on this, I get to decide whether or not you go on a diet!” She prodded him in the nose with her hoof, moving on to stretch her front legs a bit. ----- “You know, over all, that wasn’t that bad at all!” The Doctor brushed himself off and turned to look at Dash. She’d collapsed in a heap near the edge of the plateau that had been carved into the top of the mountain. Her wings burned slightly from the exertion, and her legs wouldn’t permit her to stand just yet. Far below them, the tip of the castle’s tallest spire was visible just above the clouds. “...You. Diet. Tomorrow.” She spoke between breaths. The Doctor chuckled, then rounded back towards the center of the flattened landscape. There stood a building. It was somewhat small, and it looked as though it had been hewn out of the stone from within the mountain itself. He approached it cautiously, his eyes scanning the ground around the area. Burned into the rock, there were several circles laden with runes and scribblings. Likely, he assumed, the area where the unicorns who were casting the spell were sat. “Five thousand years.” He muttered under his breath, focussing on the door and approaching it slowly. “I’ll have to tell Rory to step up his game.” He squinted. The door, hardly more than a stone slab, was glowing slightly. When he reached a hoof up to tap it, it sent out a small, electric pop. He pulled his hoof back and shook it. It was warded, that was for sure. Behind him, Dash had stood and taken in the surroundings. She stretched her wings out once more, then folded them against her back. “So what’s the deal? Can we open it?” “Dunno. Do you know any magic?” Rainbow Dash scoffed and rolled her eyes. The Doctor placed a hoof to his chin and thought for a moment, then began walking around the outside of the building. “It’s kinda small, isn’t it? Doesn’t look very royal.” Dash squinted and looked closely at one of the rough pillars that supported the slight overhang in front of the door. “Not really suited for a princess.” “Probably easier to protect a smaller building. Plus, it’s not like there have been a lot of ponies up here to see it.” He sighed, coming back around to the front and looking at the door again. “I just have no idea. You think you could fly up and see if there’s anything on the roof.” Dash groaned. Flying, for once, was the last thing she wanted to do. She reluctantly tested her wings, then gave a couple of good flaps, her hooves lightly landing on top of the 1 story structure. The moment she touched the stone, a loud pop sent her tumbling back down to the ground. She sat up, suddenly wide awake. Her mane was a bit the worse for wear, but overall she didn’t seem to be hurt. A little more energized, if anything. She blinked rapidly several times as The Doctor galloped over, leaning down to inspect her. “Wo-hoa! You alright?” He looked into her eyes. “How many hooves am I holding up?” He held one up. She pushed it away half heartedly. “Yeah, no, I’m fine, thanks.” She stood up, then tilted her head slightly to the side as she looked past The Doctor and towards the door. “That was...weird.” ----- Down in the castle, Celestia felt her breathing steadily speed up. She bit her lip and looked over her shoulder, towards the mountain. Though all she could see was a wall, she imagined them up there, freeing her sister. After a few breaths, she managed to relax herself and force her body to relax a little bit. The wheezing slowed. “I’m sorry, Doctor. Rainbow Dash. I hope I have bought you enough time.” Celestia closed her eyes, and the glow that had surrounded her horn for 5000 years dimmed. She laid her head down. She could no longer hold the powerful magic that had kept the sun’s light in the sky. As she felt herself drifting off, the throne room grew darker and darker around her, and the gentle breeze that was the side effect of her magic died down. ----- “Well, maybe if we...No, that wouldn’t work.” The Doctor tapped his hoof, looking around. If one of them were a unicorn, they might be able to do something. Even if he had his screwdriver, he might be able to figure out this whole magic thing and undo the spell. He cursed himself for leaving it aboard the TARDIS. “Doc.” Dash spoke from behind him. “Have you come up with something?” The Doctor turned around eagerly, grinning. “I knew you could do it!” “Now, it’s...” The mare’s eyes were trained on the sky. He looked up as well. The gray glow that had been ever present since they first arrived was fading, slipping more and more towards black. “No.” His face fell, his eyes widening as he realized what was happening. “No, no no no!” He turned, slightly panicked, and whipped his head around. “We’re so close. So close! If we can just...” The light around them completely disappeared, causing both of them to shout in surprise. The sky wasn’t the only thing that was black. All light seemed to have disappeared entirely. No sun, no moon, no stars, nothing. “Doc! What do we do?” “Stay near me, Dash! We need to stick together. We can still break the spell!” He called, half lying. He had no idea what he could do now. They gently bumped into one another and jumped, letting out another simultaneous yell. At least they had found each other. “Doc...” “Don’t worry, we’re atop a mountain! We’re perfectly safe!” As if on cue, a series of noises kicked up around them. Loud whooshing was the first thing they heard, and only moments after that they were surrounded by the sound of loud, raspy breathing. Some kind of light laughter erupted through the invisible crowd, and ever so slowly it grew closer. “Doc...” “Just...hold on, all of you! I know what you are, and I can help you!” His go to, last ditch effort to save his own skin. It had about a 50% success rate. “We need no help. We stand victorious!” Several voices rasped in chorus, followed by an eruption of a cheer. “Victorious! Victorious! Victorious!” “That your best plan!?” Dash called to the stallion over the cacophony. “Not exactly. It was kind of my only one!” He responded. “Victorious! Victorious! Victorious!” As the cheering grew closer to them, they backed up further, closer to the door of the structure that contained Princess Luna. Meer hooves away, their salvation slept. “Victorious!” “Come on Doc, at least gimme a plan B!” Dash shouted blindly, waving her hoof in front of her to fend off anypony who got close. “Victorious!” The unseen creatures were mere inches away now. The pair of ponies could feel hot breath washing across their faces. “VICTORIOUS!”