//------------------------------// // Part 19: The Starchild // Story: Once a Time Lord... Well, actually still that, but now a Pony as well... // by The Bricklayer //------------------------------// Sweet Apple Acres: Two hooves slammed against a tree, and a stallion’s voice came out as a grunt. “I’m… I’m sorry, how do you manage to do this, day in and day out?” the Doctor asked, feeling the pain in his forelegs. “I’ve run through all my calculations in my head, and they tell me that I should be able to do this! I’ve got good lower leg strength, especially with all that running I conveniently keep having to do,” he commented, the last parts of the sentence coming out as an embarrassed, sheepish mumble. Beside him, another stallion, massive in size and coat color a bright red wearing a yoke around his neck gave a tree a mighty kick. As a result of this, a bushel of apples fell from the tree and into some wooden baskets. He was a subject of curiosity by the Doctor. A giant of a pony, possibly one could even call him a horse. He’d noticed he was fawned over by a good portion of Ponyville’s mare population, and yet he didn’t understand why the sole male Apple sibling didn’t even ask one of them out on a date. The Doctor, still thinking to himself, gave his tree another good hard kick. Big Mac chuckled to himself, continuously seeing the Doctor try and try again (Each time failing) to even knock one or two apples from his tree. “Calculations mean nuthin’ if ya don’t have the work experience ta back it up,” Big Mac replied. The Doctor had honestly been surprised he hadn’t knocked a whole tree down already with his strength. “Besides, all of that thinkin’ of yers is probably a bit distractin’, Ah’d think. In mah mind, it's just buckin' the tree, knock down apples when Ah’m on the job.” The Doctor groaned to himself, and gave his tree another kick. Big Mac sighed, and shook his head before trotting over. “Come on ‘Doctor’, you of all ponies should understand if ya keep this up, yer just going to go on and hurt yerself,” Big Mac said kindly, as the Doctor took out a handkerchief from his suit -A brown pinstripe one today- with a hoof and wiped some sweat from his brow. “Ah mean, Ah’m assumin’ that you would know this, given yer title and all…” The Doctor chuckled. “...I’m not that kind of Doctor.” “Seems a mite confusing if you ask me, ya being a doctor and yet having no medical knowledge whatsoever,” Big Mac replied in confusion and bewilderment. “Ah have to ask, what made ya decide to come on down over to here and start helpin’ us buck apples? With that suit of yers, I can assume you’re a richer stallion, perhaps on par with mah good friend Filthy, so Ah’d think you’d have better things to do with yer time.” “Never assume, mate,” the Doctor replied. “Besides, one looking at you, and even studying you at first, might just assume you’re the type of county hick one would see in Deliverance or something, picking away on a banjo wearing a straw hat perhaps.” “Fair point,” Big Mac admitted. “Going by first assumptions, well… Just not the right thing ta do is it?” “To quote a man from a place I absolutely love, “I think the problem I have is that first impressions are the ones that stick with people. And people's first impressions of me are obviously from the film, from 'Gregory's Girl,'” the Doctor remarked in return. “Funny thing about John Gordon Sinclair, the man was an apprentice electrician at the age of 15 or so, and then fast forwards a few years and he’s standing on a stage with the likes of Mel Brooks! How time flies, eh…?” The Doctor then wiped some more sweat from his brow, panting heavily and breathing hard from his attempt at an honest to God hard day’s work at the orchards. “Come on, Ah’d best get you inside, wouldn’t want ya to die of heatstroke or somethin’ like that,” Big Mac said kindly, gesturing to the homestead with a hoof. “Ah can finish up this side of the orchards by mahself. Done it before.” “Yeah,” the Doctor laughed to himself as he began trotting up to the homestead. “Dying of heatstroke, really embarrassing if you ask me. If I did, wouldn’t be one of my high points.” Big Mac blinked and muttered: “Okay…” to himself, not really understanding that bit. “Ya never answered my question Doctor, how come ya decided to work down here on the farm, buckin’ the apples and sloppin’ out the pig troughs like a common pony?” “Wanted to see what it was like, have a nice change of pace from the usual,” the Doctor replied as they reached the front porch of the homestead. Nearby, Granny Smith was fast asleep in her rocker. “And trust me on this, the usual for me isn’t… Well, I wouldn’t call it boring in any form, but it’s certainly fairly exciting. Bit too exciting at times, really.” he commented, master of the understatement. “So, basically ya just want ta slow down a bit, let life pass ya by some?” Bic Mac asked, and the Doctor chuckled nervously as he pushed open the screen door leading inside. “Something like that, I guess…” he replied, in a tone that screamed ‘Sure, let’s go with that!’ He hoped Big Mac would believe him. He honestly couldn’t tell if Big Mac knew he was stretching the truth a little, at least not by facial expression alone. The stallion had one of those unreadable expressions, one that made you nervous as you simply couldn’t tell what he was thinking about you, or more accurately thinking what to do to you. The Doctor then chided himself on his own foolishness, Big Mac wasn’t going to hurt him, the stallion was one of those gentle giant types. Couldn’t, wouldn’t hurt a fly unless severely pissed off. The Doctor shuddered to think what that would look like. He could only pity the poor soul who fell under the stallion’s bad side. But, having a soft heart in what the Doctor often found was a cruel and despicable universe was not a sign of weakness, but of great courage instead. So that must have meant Big Mac must have been one of the most courageous ponies the Doctor had ever had the pleasure to meet. “Eeyup, Ah know how that feels,” the stallion in question replied. “Sometimes, one does want to have life pass them by, just for a little while. Enjoy what it has to offer, instead of just running about busying themselves with every little aspect of their lives.” “Ponies could stand to learn from you, ya know that?” the Doctor asked, putting a hoof on Big Mac’s chest before moving it upwards to his forehead. “Big heart down here, and big brain up there.” “T-Thank you.” Big Mac flushed red, if that were possible. He wasn’t used to ponies complimenting him in such a way. Heck, he could barely hold a conversation with most of ‘em! “Big Macintosh Apple, never let anyone ever say that you being a pony with a heart that must be the size of your entire body, yet soft as a pillow be a bad thing okay?” the Doctor asked as he walked off, leaving his new friend to think on his words. The Doctor sighed again as he looked back at the stallion. He only wished others that he knew would follow that example Big Mac set out. The Last of the Time Lords murmured something sad to himself that was far too soft to hear as he walked to the bathroom -Tossing his suit aside as he did so, he’d let Applejack or somepony run it through the washer and dryer- and turned on the shower faucets, letting cool refreshing water cover his form. He knew a few of his old friends (Well, one in particular really, that had a penchant for letting his emotions rule his actions) that could benefit from such a thing. He groaned as the cool water released all the built-up tension in his muscles and wiped away at the dirt and grime in his fur. “Just what I needed.” He thought to himself before another voice rang out in his head. A rather familiar one at that. “You aren’t the least bit worried?” War’s voice asked. “About what?” the Doctor replied, going into his mindscape which was as always, his current Tardis. Mind you, in this case the lights were considerably darkened suiting who he was talking to. He stood face to face with War, looking directly at him. “Honestly, I really don’t need any of your lectures right now. Can’t you just leave me in peace for one day?” “Fine, ignore perfectly good advice. I’m your past, and don’t the seeds of the future lie buried in the past?” War asked. “Aww really?” the Doctor whined. “You’re being cryptic on me?” “I’m you, remember?” War asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Comes with the territory I should think.” “...Fair point.” the Doctor admitted, but with no small amount of annoyance. “Can’t you for just once, get to the point?” “Your new companions, aren’t you worried in the slightest?” War asked. “You have to admit, your…” War began before swiftly correcting himself. “No, sorry, our adventures are like a drug. Get someone hooked, and they’ll come back for more. That’s usually the case, isn’t it?” he questioned. The Doctor sighed to himself. “Point well taken.” But War wasn’t done yet. “Take that Twilight mare for instance. Very intelligent, yet a chronic shut-in. I’m willing to bet there’s that one side of her, deep within, just itching and waiting to get out. The side who wants to just get out and explore the universe and its many wonders however dangerous they may be. Universe…  we both know it's wondrous, filled with treasures that would satiate desires both of the subtle and the gross. I suspect, no, I know, that there’s a type of treasure for Twilight out there, probably plenty. Trouble is, we both know what lies out there, waiting in the darkness, sometimes often literally.” “Vashta Nerada.” the Doctor commented. “You know what I mean.” War replied. “...Yeah, I do.” the Doctor sighed. “Well,” Nine’s voice joined in. “If Twilight can’t take a little bloody nose, maybe she should just then go crawl back under her bed. It’d be far safer for her, really,” he remarked. “I think Twilight’s ready, she’s already seen the dark side of life. Not the innocent little mare I met first time around when dealing with Enigma. She’s learned Celestia isn’t the clean, pure mare she or I thought she was,” the Doctor replied. “Something like that, a revelation that big, it has a way of changing a person. Er, pony in this case. Plus, there’s the incident with Nightmare Moon, the real one I mean.” “Change will happen either way, you can’t stop it,” Nine put in. “All of our companions, whenever they finish off their adventures with us, they’re never the same person they were starting out. Sometimes the change is for the better…” “But sometimes for the worse…” the Doctor muttered back in reality, finishing the sentence knowing all too well how correct Nine was. He did at times wonder, was he changing his companions into little soldiers for him, ones that would fight his battles? He sighed to himself, Celestia, as old as she was, would probably know something or two about this. Maybe some advice from a kindred spirit would help him. The Doctor smiled at the memory of Celestia, she always seemed to know what to say to him, even if they did disagree on certain matters. Immortals, they always seemed to share some sort of common wisdom he’d found. The Face of Boe was a prime example of that. Then, he heard a knock on the bathroom door. “Hey Doctor,” Big Mac’s voice boomed. “You’re taking an awfully long time in there. Somethin’ wrong?” he asked in concern. “No, everything’s fine!” the Doctor shouted as he shut off the water and hurriedly dried himself off with a towel. “I’ll be out in just a tick!” “Suit yerself,” Big Mac called back. “Ya just don’t want to miss the apple pie that mah sis is making!” “I swear, every meeting these days, intent on driving me to the drink,” Fancy Pants groaned out as he and Blueblood walked through the streets of Equestria’s capital city. “And I don’t mean a fine glass of red wine.” “What vintage?” Blueblood asked, in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Pre Princess Luna’s return, I think. Year 700 of Celestia’s reign,” Fancy replied in turn. “Sounds about right, I think.” “I say you should save something that splendid for a date with that Prench marefriend of yours, really. Trust me, drinking it on any other occasion, waste of a perfectly good vintage malt,” Blueblood replied. “Just a simple piece of advice. Also, wear something nice to your next date. Please. Not that same old suit you’ve been wearing every other day it seems like. Others say “Dress for the job you want”, I say dress like the man you wanna be. Fancy, we have an obligation to assault the commonplace every chance we get, from the clothes we wear to the art we collect, to the mares in our lives. I know that sounds arrogant, and probably a little bit sexist, and if it does, I apologize deeply for that. But the point is, you’re not going to woo Fleur doing the same old things.” “Since when did this become a conversation about my sex life?” Fancy asked, tugging at his bow-tie as he flushed red in embarrassment. “Just trying to change the subject to something more pleasing, that’s all,” Blueblood replied. Fancy sighed, when it came to mares, Blueblood did seem to know best. Of course, he probably would, having had to fend off golddiggers right and left almost every day it seemed who wanted him to be their Prince Charming. So, it wasn’t that hard to believe he was wise in the ways of mares. In fact, Blueblood had actually helped Fancy land a date with Fleur. And by that, I mean dragged Fancy out of his manor kicking and screaming in protest. Blueblood chuckled in remembrance, the poor soul was far too nervous to ask the mare out on a date, despite being a master politician and being able to charm some of the more slimier politicians in Celestia’s court and sway them to his side. In his words, and Blueblood would forever hold this over his friend, Fleur Dis Lee was like a “Goddess descended from Heaven itself”. “But you can understand where I’m coming from, right?” Fancy asked. “I mean, Neighsay’s a snake!” “I was going to compare him to a cockroach, actually,” Blueblood replied. “But I get your point. He’s like that pain that never goes away. ...Hmm, maybe head lice then.” Fancy burst out laughing at that before he frowned. “You do know what he’s gunning for right?” “Celestia’s personal assistant?” Blueblood asked. “Yeah, I do. Ever since Raven left us, every noble right and left’s been trying to get in good with Celestia and be by her side. Especially the males,” he continued before chuckling. “But we both know where her heart really lies.” “Yeah, with this Doctor chap. From what I’ve read, he’s doing Equestria a great service. Mind you, if that was all it took to win Celestia’s heart, Flash Magnus would have been dating Celestia centuries ago!” Fancy commented. “Somnambula had her eye on him, if you believe the history books, as I recall.” Blueblood mused. “But I see your point. I have yet to meet this Doctor, so I don’t know why Celestia likes him so much. I’d judge him for approval, but…” he trailed off. “There’s that risk of running afoul of your aunt right?” Fancy asked. “Yes, quite.” Blueblood shuddered. “I must admit, seeing your aunt angry, if not at oneself… Actually gets your blood flowing like a double shot of red wine expresso. Quite the pleasure to see her give her the old “I’m so disappointed in you look” like a mother would give to a foal with their hooves caught in the cookie jar to somepony,” Fancy commented before he paused in thought. “Hold up, I think I just invented a new drink.” And Blueblood laughed at that. “Send the idea to the local brewery, I’m sure my aunt would be flattered.” “Well, you know what they say about imitation…” Fancy trailed off with a smile. The Master growled to himself as he finally found his way out of the thick brambles of the Everfree Forest and into a clearing, with a once-majestic castle in front of him, now laying in ruins. “Well, not my ideal place to take shelter from the storm, but…” the Master commented as thunder rumbled in the distance, dark gray clouds beginning to form overhead thick and heavy with rain. “It’ll have to do. Let’s just hope the roof hasn’t fallen in, or will fall in. So unseemingly for a man of my position.” Then, he hid behind some bushes as he saw what only had to be guards, decked out in gold armor resembling Roman centurions wander up to the castle each with spears and shields in hoof. “Hey, you there!” one of the guards cried as they spotted the Master, who quickly made himself presentable. “What are you doing out here? You know how dangerous this forest is?” “I could ask you the same question, what are you doing out here?” the Master asked. “Well, the Princesses had us scoping this old castle of theirs out, seeing if there was anything worth salvaging after all these years, but… Wait, why are am I telling you this?” The Master chuckled, his abilities were still working just fine it seemed. “Ah, I’m just one of those types you can easily trust, that’s all!” he commented. “Ruled an entire country once, don’t you know?” “You don’t seem the type…” the guard commented. “Eh, don’t judge every book by it’s cover right? Isn’t that how that old saying goes?” the Master questioned, and the guard gave a ‘fair enough’ nod as the Master slung an arm around his shoulders. “Now, tell me about these Princesses of yours…” he began.