//------------------------------// // Intermission 2 // Story: The Rising Night // by Sixes_And_Sevens //------------------------------// "Oh, shoot." The Doctor paused his tale once more and glanced at Ditzy. "Pardon me?" "We're out of tea. I'd better go and make a new pot." "Oh, I'll go and get it, there's no bother." "No, you got the last one, it's my turn. Dinky, would you like to help?" "Not really." She caught a glimpse of her mother's face. "On second thought, I'll help you get out some more cookies." "Thank you, muffin!" Both of them quickly pushed back from the table and hurried into the kitchen, leaving the Doctor alone with the two sisters. They were both looking at him expectantly. He coughed and shifted a little in his chair. "So," he said. "Er, how's Canterlot?" "Dreadfully dull," Luna said, rolling her eyes. "As it always shall be," Celestia agreed, leaning forward on the table. "Some days, Doctor, I think back on all the different governments we encountered in our travels. I remember the master computers, and the mad scientists, and the power-craving usurpers, and all the rest, and I wonder if it wouldn't have been more effective to let them see how it really was to run a country. They'd be leaping out the windows before you could say abdication process." The Doctor laughed. "Didn't you ever wonder why I always insisted on running off before cleanup?" he teased. "You're no better," Luna said. "How long did you say you served as your planet's president? A fortnight?" "Adding up all the separate occasions, I'd say it was nearer... say, two months." "And how many times did you appoint a regent, hop in the TARDIS, and run away again?" "About three, all told. Once, they didn't even get me back to the Capitol before I dashed off again." Celestia threw back her head and laughed, her voice rich and warm. "I'm not in the least surprised." "Oi!" The Doctor crossed his hooves over his chest. "I could've run Gallifrey if I'd wanted." "But you didn't," Luna chimed. "True enough, true enough..." He tilted his chair back. "Been awhile, hasn't it? 'Specially for you, Luna." He paused, a stricken look flashing over his face. "Oh, sorry, that was rude, wasn't it? This face seems quite rude, I think. Rude and not ginger, the worst of all possible combinations..." Luna rolled her eyes. "Please, Doctor. It's quite bad enough that my sister continues to blame herself for my banishment. I will not have you trotting on eggshells as well." The Doctor frowned. "Well, alright. If you're sure." "I've stopped blaming myself, Doctor. You should as well." He went very still. "So that's what this is." "What do you mean?" Celestia asked. "Don't be coy, your highness, I taught you everything you know about diplomacy." Celestia snorted. "As if. You once called the Ovinian king's mother a controlling old bat." "I never said I led by example." "We're getting away from the point," Luna said firmly. "Doctor, this isn't an intervention." "Isn't it?" "No, Doctor," Celestia said. "Interventions are planned. Invitations would need to be sent out to all your friends. I'm not quite sure where we'd hold an intervention large enough for all of them to attend, though the royal ballroom might fit the bill." "This is just a quiet, concerned conversation," Luna said. "Two of your oldest friends, here to listen and to advise." The Doctor stared between them, his face a mask. After a moment, he sighed. "Sometimes I forget how old the two of you really are. Alright. Alright. If any creature on this planet could understand, it'd be the two of you. Possibly also Discord, but, well, I'm not about to ask Discord for help with anything." "Wise." The Doctor let out another long sigh. "Put a silencing spell on the room." Luna did a double take. "Trust you not your own wife? Your own daughter?" "To the ends of the universe. But they don't need to hear this." Celestia bowed her head, and a golden bubble surrounded the trio. The Doctor closed his eyes. "Everything I touch, I ruin," he said. "I turn the people I love into weapons. I saw that firsthand. Ready to nuke the Earth to defeat the Daleks, or blow themselves up to save the universe..." He drew a deep, shuddering breath. "And they die. Or they leave. Or I leave them. Maybe they're right to. D'you know what I did, not too long ago? I nearly crashed the timelines because of one single woman. I couldn't let her die, even if it meant the whole future would break down. She took the decision out of my hands. When I regenerated, or thought I regenerated, I thought that would be it. New face, new me. Instead, I wind up regenerating into the same ol' Doctor, same ol' face, same ol' mistakes." Luna looked at him sorrowfully. Celestia shook her head. "Ridiculous." "Beg pardon?" "Ridiculous!" she thundered, letting the silence spell drop. "I won't hear another word of it. Doctor, how many lives have you saved? How many planets? How many times have you saved the universe?" "Lost count." "Well, then! Surely that means you're doing something right." "How many lives have I cost, though?" he asked. "Planets doomed, entire species wiped out. I'm not a hero, I'm a lucky idiot. The universe would be better without--" Luna slammed a hoof on the table. "Do not," she growled. "Never for a moment, Doctor, should you even dare think that." "I've destroyed lives." "As have I!" "As have I." Celestia looked at the other two. "So it's settled then. We all should have perished back in that village. Only then would the universe have peace." "If we'd done that, the world would've been swallowed by darkness," the Doctor argued. Celestia lowered her head and smirked at him. "I-- fine, yes, fair play to you," the Doctor acknowledged. "But--" "Doctor, were it not for you, this planet wouldn't exist any longer." "Confirmation bias," he retorted, but it was obvious he was losing steam. Celestia sat back. "You are a force for good, Doctor. You knew that once. I hope that someday, you can see it again." "I hope that someday, I can be that again." Ditzy trotted back into the room, Dinky at her tail with a tray of cookies. "Did I miss anything?" Ditzy asked brightly, pouring herself another cup of tea. The Doctor and the Princesses glanced at one another awkwardly. The Doctor cleared his throat. "Now, where was I? Oh yes, the next morning..."