//------------------------------// // Chapter Eighteen: Stranded // Story: Sky Dancer, the First Flying Unicorn // by Scroll //------------------------------// “Everyone, HANG ON!!!” the Doctor cried out. His companions tried to but the violent rocking of the TARDIS made that difficult, not to mention the various explosions that happened around the machine. On top of that, the TARDIS was making mechanical wheezing sounds and other weird sound effects that were not so familiar to the gang, thus strongly indicating something was gravely wrong. “What's happening, Doctor?” Derpy asked, frightened, as she was flung back and forth while desperately holding onto a rail near the console. In this case, she stood on the outside of the rail, looking in. “We're caught in some kind of energy vortex!” the Doctor announced frantically as he desperately was operating the controls in a hurry. Sometimes he had to latch onto the controls to prevent himself from being flung away violently. More than once he also had to shield himself with a leg as the control console exploded in front of him with a shower of sparks. “It's wreaking havoc with the time/space regulators that control the particle density accelerator matrix. Without those flow regulators working in proper sync, I'm having a next to impossible time controlling the direction of the TARDIS!” “Isn't there anything you can do?” Derpy asked with very small eye pupils and scrunched in mouth due to fear. “I'm trying!” he promised frantically. He spun a monitor in front of him then widened his eyes in shock when he saw what was on the monitor. “Great sunbursts and exploding pulsars! EVERYONE, HANG ON! WE'RE GOING DOWN!” Feather Wind did sort of the opposite. He telekinetically lifted himself and all of his companions, though it was difficult to rip Derpy and the Doctor away from that which they gripped. Feather Wind scrunched his face tightly with intense concentration. He held everypony away from the floor as he waited for the imminent impact which eventually happened. The TARDIS rocked hard and spun in a circle several times around them. Every object in the TARDIS not secured to the ground somehow started flying all around them. At the same time, several explosions occurred that spouted huge shower of sparks. Seconds later, the entire area grew dark as the TARDIS finally settled onto something. The interior of the TARDIS was dark except for the silver glow around each pony as Feather Wind continued to hold them suspended in mid-air. Since everything seemed to settle, however, he gently let them down, then replaced the glow around their bodies with a brighter glow around his horn. Fortunately, the TARDIS was still right side up. Considering how it spun about several times earlier, that seemed rather lucky. Then again, the TARDIS had its own artificial gravity unless that circuit blew which, for the moment, seemed rather likely. The TARDIS gave some groaning sounds which clearly indicated a problem. “Feather Wind, bring your light closer over here,” the Doctor requested. In response, Feather Wind flew off the ground using his telekinetic magic and hovered closer to the Doctor. With the silver light closer, the Doctor started inspecting some of the controls and viewed out the monitor. Since some of the controls were temporarily not operating, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and started emitting the device back and forth on several controls. When he did so, some fires on the console vanished and other sparks got reduced. “Doctor, isn't the emergency lights supposed to turn on?” Derpy asked in concern as her eyes whirled. “And where in the hay are we?” Stern Wing added. “Clearly we crash-landed on something, but what? Knowing this machine, we could be anywhere or anywhen.” “One thing at a time,” the Doctor encouraged. “We don't even know if wherever we are is even habitable,” Stern Wing noted, then asked, “Is everypony alright?” “I'm not too injured,” Derpy reported. “Just a little frightened, is all. “Vision, are you alright?” she asked in concern as she looked at the young teenager. Who didn't respond. Instead, she sat quietly on the ground and appeared to be meditating. Stern Wing drew closer to Vision and gave a closer visual inspection. She also held a hoof in front of Vision's muzzle. Since Vision was breathing so shallowly, it was hard to tell, but, eventually, Stern Wing realized the little filly was still breathing. “She's alright, and doesn't appear to be injured,” Stern Wing reported. “She might be meditating to find out what in the blazes happened to us, or where we are. I recommend we let her continue because it might lead us to some answers.” She looked at the Doctor. “How are you coming along, Doc?” The Doctor scratched his head with a hoof as he blew out a long sigh. “This is a mess. A lot of these controls are going to have to be repaired. Wherever we are, we might be stuck here for awhile. Not only that, but I won't be joining you out there because I'll need to remain here and fix everything.” Right after he said that the emergency lights finally turned on. He looked around in minor delight, then said, “Well, thank goodness for small favors, even if it's a bit delayed.” He looked back at the control consoles in the center and pat it affectionately. “The poor old girl is injured, but she's fighting to recover.” He looked disturbed. “Whatever knocked us out of the time/space wormholes is still causing the TARDIS to be sick. I fear that, even if I repair the old girl, something might be preventing us from taking off. As long as that power source continues, we might be stuck here.” “So . . . in other words . . . a typical day in the TARDIS,” Feather Wind commented with a dry look and tone. “Not exactly, but I have suffered through this before,” the Doctor returned. “We'll pull through this. I just know it.” “I'll take a peek out the door. See if I can get a layout of our situation,” Stern Wing volunteered as she trotted over to the door. “Be careful!” the Doctor cautioned. “I do not think the shield around the TARDIS is working right now. If the outside is a poisonous gas or a vacuum, we'll not be protected as soon as you open those doors.” Stern Wing scoffed at the Doctor over her right shoulder. “Caution? When have I ever been cautious?” Stern Wing asked sarcastically, meaning the precise opposite of her statement. “I'll just take a peek out the window. If it seems relatively clear then I'll open the door a crack. That's all. “We need information, Doctor. You said something on this planet or moon or asteroid is interfering with the TARDIS. If we don't get some information, we might be stuck here till our air depletes.” “She has a good point, Doctor,” Derpy agreed. “Well . . . fine then. Just be careful,” the Doctor instructed. “I don't have the situation well in hand yet.” “Hand?” Feather Wind reflected as he looked towards the Doctor. “Are you ever going to say, 'Well in hoof?'” “Never!” the Doctor announced in dramatic defiance. “It's the principle of the thing. If I don't say such things, who will?” Derpy giggled due to that comment. “What do you see?” Feather Wind called to his girlfriend who arrived at the door. Peeking out through the window (and the only pony in the TARDIS tall enough to do so without standing up on her hind legs), Stern Wing paused there for awhile as she tried to assess the situation outside, then announced, “I can't tell. Wherever we are, it's dark out there. I think we're on a planet of some kind. I see vague silhouettes of rocks and trees but, beyond that, I can't tell.” “Trees?” Derpy repeated. “That probably means there's oxygen out there. That likely means it's safe to open the doors.” “There shouldn't be trees in a vacuum,” Feather Wind agreed. “If they really are trees,” the Doctor partially agreed as he pulled out some wires and examined it, then scratched his head in an attempt to figure out where he should start. Feather Wind regarded Vision thoughtfully, who did indeed seem to be meditating. The young teenager was being very quiet now. Feather Wind realized she had been quiet for quite a while too. Whatever was happening at that moment, he had the distinct impression that Vision saw this coming but chose to keep her warnings to herself for some reason. At least no pony was hurt so there didn't seem to be irrevocable damage so far. The Doctor seemed relatively confident he could repair the TARDIS as well. Whatever energy field out there that was wreaking havoc with the time/space warp field was likely to be their greatest problem right now. “Feather Wind, can I borrow your horn for a second?” Stern Wing requested politely. “I need you to shine a light out there.” Feather Wind looked at her, then flew over to her gently. “Sure,” he said upon arrival. He waited patiently as she very slowly cracked the door open with a tight wince on her face. When she succeeded, it seemed that nothing bad happened so far, so she opened the door up further with greater confidence. Eventually she had the door opened all the way. There appeared to be nothing dangerous out there so far. There was more light inside the TARDIS than outside, so she sidestepped and allowed her boyfriend to approach and shine a light outside. Feather Wind did so. He configured his horn to emit a focused light in a cone in the forward direction, acting more like a flashlight rather than an all-around lantern. He swept that light back and forth outside while examining what was out there. So far nothing dangerous. As Stern Wing said, it looked like an ordinary planet with rocks, trees, and a dirt ground. It was night time. The stars were out, and so was a singular, almost familiar moonlight except it was more intense than their own home planet. Feather Wind stepped outside to continue his investigations. Stern Wing followed him but, before she emerged more than halfway out the TARDIS, Vision made an unexpected announcement. “I'll meet you two out there soon,” Vision announced aloud while holding her meditation pose and keeping her eyes shut, not that it mattered if they were open or shut in her case. Stern Wing and Feather Wind both paused and looked back at her for a second then glanced at each other, each wondering what Vision actually knew about their situation. Eventually Stern Wing gave a casual shrug. After that, they both looked outward again and resumed their cautious exploration. “How's it looking, Doc?” Derpy asked fairly calmly as she folded both of her forelegs on the rail and leaned on it, looking inward at him and the console. “Right now I'm still making heads or tails of the mess here. I may be punctual when I need to be but, right now, I can't even guess at that,” the Doctor answered. “I'll let you know as soon as I do. “In the meantime, could you check on the rest of the TARDIS, my lovely assistant? See if anything else is out of place?” “Sure thing, Doctor!” Derpy said cheerfully then left to do so. She gave an affectionate pat on Vision as she passed the young teenager. Meanwhile, outside, Stern Wing gasped. “Wowie, look at the moon!” Feather Wind did then widened his own eyes. It really was the Equestrian moon. Pretty much exactly like it except for two major differences. For one, it seemed much bigger and closer, and two, there was no silhouette of Princess Luna. This was either before she was imprisoned up there, or after. “This is Equestria,” Feather Wind announced. “Judging from that moon, I'd say we are in the distant past. Very distant past. I read books and articles that theorized the moon used to be a lot closer in ancient times.” “How long ago do you think we are?” Stern Wing asked, mystified. “I don't know,” Feather Wind looked around, aiming his beaming light back and forth, “but it was a very long time ago.” Both of them jumped, startled, when the door to the TARDIS suddenly shut itself. They both whipped their heads back at it as they grew horrified to hear a familiar groaning sound from the TARDIS which indicated its ignition. The TARDIS was taking off without them! “Doctor, WAIT!” Stern Wing screeched and leapt back after the fading blue box. Too late. In fact, the TARDIS disappeared unusually fast this time. In this case, it only took four seconds. Stern Wing actually fell right through the machine as it phased out of corporeal existence. On the ground, she whined sadly, “Doctor, come back! Don't leave us here!” Despite how stunned Feather Wind felt, he forced moisture into his throat and said, “I don't think he's doing this on purpose. Whatever is interfering with the proper operations of the TARDIS, that might be the thing driving the time machine away.” Wiping a tear away, Stern Wing rose up to her hooves and asked back at her boyfriend, “Then what are we going to do?” “The Doctor would definitely be aware of this problem by now,” Feather Wind said. “He has a time machine. He'll come back for us no matter how long it takes for him to fix this. You know he'd never abandon us on purpose. There is a possibility, however, that whatever drove the TARDIS away in the first place is also preventing it from returning, no matter how much he wants to.” Feather Wind regarded Stern Wing and said, “Stern Wing, calm down. We've been in tough scrapes before. Recall how many times we've been in dangerous situations and we thought we were going to die but we kept on pulling through over and over again. Well, I'm not falling for that anymore. We'll be fine. We just have to pull through and do our part while we wait for him.” “What if he doesn't come back? What if we're stuck here in this time?” Stern Wing asked nervously. “I'm not saying the Doctor wouldn't try to come back for us. I know him better than that a long time ago, but he might be unable to return, like you said.” “Then it's up to us to search for what's keeping the TARDIS at bay and put a stop to it,” Feather Wind decided. Just then he heard a noise somewhere ahead of him. He aimed the beaming light from his horn ahead of him. It fell upon an emerging white pony who looked quite familiar, but also different. It was a white pony with hints of blue on the hide and in her mane. She was also blind. “Vision!” Stern Wing exclaimed excitedly as she happily pranced on forward for a moment until getting a closer look which made her suspicious. “Wait a second. Vision? Is that really you?” The pony in question did look like Vision except she was much older. At that point, she was far into her adult years. She even looked older than Stern Wing or Feather Wind. “Yes. It is me,” the older version of Vision announced. “I told you I'd meet you outside in a moment.” “But . . . what happened to you?” Stern Wing asked in bewilderment. “You are a future version of Vision, aren't you?” Feather Wind asked with an educated guess. “What's more, the younger version of you in the TARDIS saw this coming. She had been a bit too quiet lately, like she had information she didn't trust herself to express. Also, she told us, 'I'll meet you two out there soon' then, lo and behold, you show up only a minute later as if she knew we would encounter you instead of her.” He shrugged. “Sort of,” he amended. Vision stopped in front of them and smiled fondly. “You're as sharp as I remember, Feather Wind.” Vision sat down. “Indeed, I had foreseen this coming in the past, and I knew I could not prevent it from happening.” “I thought you told us you couldn't see into your own future,” Stern Wing reminded. “Indeed, I could not,” Vision confirmed. “What's more, I also noticed I could not see into either of your futures either until past a certain point. That made me realize you must have interacted with a future version of myself where my visions from the past would be blind to. I knew this was coming, not because of what I saw, but because of what I couldn't see. By process of elimination, I was able to deduce what would happen to you two.” “In that case,” Feather Wind began, “your past self would not have seen this coming in detail, but you are the future version of the pony who just left in the TARDIS. Based on your memories of what happened, is there any point in waiting for the TARDIS's return tonight?” Stern Wing looked from her boyfriend to the older version of Vision, very concerned about the answer to that question. “As you have surmised earlier, there is a force blocking the TARDIS from returning,” Vision informed. “According to what I recall in the past, the TARDIS will return to pick you two up but, what took us a few hours on the other side, I sensed that many years passed for the two of you. Recall the fact that I was and still am empathic . . . enough to tell that the two of you felt a lot older when my past self finally did encounter you again.” Feather Wind and Stern Wing stood there, stunned. “Come with me,” Vision requested as she stood up straight. Her old hoof glider ejected from her extra-dimensional saddlebags. “Feather Wind, I will require your assistance to get up to the sky using these things, just like old times. “I will need you two to follow me. I will guide you to my home that I've set up during this time period.” “Ah . . . sure,” Feather Wind said numbly. With that, the three of them took off into the sky, with Feather Wind's assistance in Vision's case. xoxo “This seems like a good spot,” Vision spontaneously declared while the three of them were busy flying. “Here? But there's nothing here,” Feather Wind pointed out. “No visible home, at any rate. Is it invisible?” “In a way, yes. Take me down,” Vision instructed. “Um,” Feather Wind glanced at Stern Wing in uncertainty. In response to that look, Stern Wing gave an unknowing shrug. “Sure,” Feather Wind eventually finished and guided the three of them to the ground. “Why land here? There's no home here,” Stern Wing pointed out. “No home yet,” Vision responded then pulled out a suitcase from one of her saddlebags and tossed it onto the ground. Upon landing, the suitcase ejected spikes to secure itself to the ground. At the same time, the suitcase opened and a tent inflated itself out of it. By the time it was done, it looked like a small cone-shaped tent barely big enough for one pony. “Now then, if the two of you will be kind enough to step inside,” Vision said as she started trotting towards it. “It's barely big enough for one pony!” Stern Wing complained. “It's bigger on the inside, isn't it?” Feather Wind asked with a dry look and tone to his voice. Vision stopped as she suddenly looked a bit irked, then she passed that expression back to Feather Wind's general direction. “Don't you ever get tired of your brilliance spoiling surprises?” “This coming from an oracle who sees into the future and can read other creature’s emotions?” Feather Wind reflected dryly with a casual wave to the blind pony. “Touché,” Vision returned evenly then proceeded into the tent. Feather Wind looked at Stern Wing and nodded towards the tent to indicate they should proceed inside before he started doing so himself. Stern Wing followed him in. As expected, the interior of the tent was much bigger on the inside, though not quite as big on the inside as expected if this was compared to the TARDIS. The interior walls of the tent looked exactly like it did on the outside except the interior space was dimensionally expanded. There weren’t any other rooms either. It was just the one area. Looking up, Feather Wind could see the tent narrowing at the tip, just like a cone. Some shelves were hung on the inside wall. There were plenty of decorations and alchemical ingredients on those shelves. Vision herself went to the back of the tent and resumed stirring the contents of a giant iron cauldron as if she had done it a few minutes ago. “How does this stuff not fall all over the place as it tumbles around in your suitcase which was in your saddlebag?” Stern Wing asked. Vision lifted up a spoonful of bubbling green glowing liquid from the cauldron and blew on it. After that, she said, “This tent has its own personal gravity field. What goes on outside does not disturb the interior here. I probably don't have to explain to you that this is Time Lord technology at work here.” “Actually, speaking of time travel, you can do it yourself, can't you?” Stern Wing recalled. “I remember you doing it after meditating sometimes and quaffing a potion you've concocted. Couldn't you use that to time travel back into the past and warn any of us about this crash before it happens? That way neither of us have to be stuck here.” After blowing on the spoon for a few more seconds, Vision sipped it and smacked her lips for several seconds as she tried to carefully distinguish hidden flavors and textures of her brew. This caused her to realize something, so she resumed stirring the wooden spoon into the greenish liquid. While she did that, she asked, “Do you want to explain this to her, Feather Wind, or should I?” she asked without glancing back at either one of them. Stern Wing regarded Feather Wind, who sighed before he said, “If she did that, how would she be able to warn herself in the past about an event she successfully prevented? That would cancel out the reason for warning herself in the first place and thereby prevent the action. “Besides, she witnessed us already in the past as older versions of ourselves. This may also imply that important things happened in the interim that she may feel is important not to interrupt.” “But . . . does this mean that we're stuck here in this time?” Stern Wing asked with rising horror. “For now, it seems so,” Feather Wind said with a guilty and depressed expression. “I don't actually have much to say to the two of you yet,” Vision announced. “What little I do have to say to you is pretty important, though.” She turned her head to aim somewhere between Feather Wind and Stern Wing. Since she was blind, she wasn't actually looking at either one of them. “I do have some knowledge on what will happen based on what I recall of past events as a younger filly but, for the most part, I am blind on what will happen in this time period because this is the first time I'm living through it. I can't tell you everything about what will happen in this time period, and what little I do know I'll leave you to discover. “For now, I just have some advice for you two and that is this; live your lives now as you would in your own time period. The world itself may be different, but you are not. While you are here, interact with the world as you would in your own time period. It's still your lives and your destiny. Take charge of it no matter what world or time period we visit. “Also,” Vision turned in their direction more fully but her blank eyes continued to stare off into space between them. “I know the Doctor means well but, at this point, he's kind of holding the two of you back. “Don't forget, the two of you still have some destinies to fulfill back in your native time period, like taking care of Puppet Master, then King Sombra, then eventually aiding in the return of the Crystal Empire. All three of these events are a chain reaction that build off each other, and these events are so important to Equestrian history that they have become fixed moments in time. “The Doctor cannot change that and even he knows that, yet he isn't doing you two any favors by delaying it too long just so he can have some company. “I'm not saying his motivations are entirely selfish either. He does give something in return for what we give him. “At first he really was doing you two a favor. Before you met the Doctor, you weren't prepared to face your true destiny, but now the two of you have grown to rely on him so much that you don't think for yourselves. Not in any meaningful way, and you have to. “What you will accomplish is too important to risk delaying it any further. The further the delay, the older you two get and that can eventually start a chain reaction of its own. Not all of it is good.” “Is that why you didn't warn us this was coming in the past?” Feather Wind reasoned with a bit of a melancholy tone. “Towards the end you grew too quiet, and then this happened. I think you make it a regular habit of scanning for important upcoming events for the heads up but, in this case, you didn't warn any of us.” “I indirectly saved your life many years ago, remember?” Vision reminded. “I warned Celestia about the impending attack on the Orchard farm or, rather to say, I warned my mother who, in turn, warned Celestia who, in turn, ordered the Wonderbolts to go to the farm and rescue as many ponies as they could. “Six years later you answered another message from my mother, which I also sent to guide you two to my mother's temple so that you could return the favor and rescue me. “I've followed the trot of the two of you ever since for the most part. I gave you warnings here and there, and all of it led up to this moment. “I did not have this grandmaster plan my entire life. All I had was little bits and pieces along the way but, the fact of the matter is, we are here. We caused each other's continued existence not only by saving each other's lives long ago, but many other times since. “As I said before, I don't know everything that will happen in this time period because I am personally living through it for the first time. What I do know is, whatever happens, will be important. I know it will help shape this world and every day that follows. I know something menacing is blocking the TARDIS from returning, and that force might do much worse if left unopposed. “In order to get the TARDIS to return, either this force must be neutralized or a safe zone must be constructed that is immune to this force's influence. “This event is in our mutual past, mind you. If left unopposed, then none of us will have existed in the first place, or at least not as we are. “Everything is happening for a reason. I feel you should trust that.” “So I take it you're going to travel with us and help us stop this force?” Feather Wind guessed. “Surprisingly, no.” Vision closed her eyes and bowed her head. “I've grown a lot stronger since the two of you last met me as a young filly. Indeed, too strong. The physical plane is no longer a challenge to me and, as a result, I don't have as much of a role to play in it. I'm only here to give you two a gentle push in the right direction, and I may also pop in from time to time to continue to guide you either a little or a lot, depending on your needs. Don't bother calling for me with your wind powers either. I will instead show up when I foresee that I am needed, like I'm doing right now.” “Really? After everything we've been through, that's all you're going to do for us now?” Stern Wing asked in disbelief. Vision cracked her eyelids open a bit. “Not to spoil things too much for the two of you, but the experiences I've been through since the time you've known me as a younger filly have evolved me. I'm much more akin to that fifth-dimensional reality bender we've encountered earlier, for I can travel through time and space at will without needing to drink a potion any longer. “If I traveled with you now, things will become far too easy for you, then you'd only grow to rely on me like you have with the Doctor. Instead of that, I'm giving the two of you an idea of what you need to do so that you decide your fate on your own without any hoof holding from some higher power. “I love you two far to much to do anything to disrupt your own growth, and it is time for that. You two need to finally grow up and take charge of your own destiny. “I won't even tell you where to go next after this, or when. Decide for yourselves. In honor of everything we've been through together, this is my way of repaying you and being your friend.” Stern Wing looked at Feather Wind who was frowning, then looked at Vision before approaching her to hug her. “I love you too,” Stern Wing said warmly. “It pleases me to see that you've grown up to be a strong and confident mare, one who is not afraid to take charge of her own destiny. While you were growing up with us, that's all I ever really wanted for you.” “I know. I'm empathic, remember?” Vision pointed out. “Likely that is why I turned out the way I am. As an empath, I am heavily influenced by the ponies around me. Your courage and inner strength helped me to become the pony I am today. You helped to raise me, and I have no reason to complain about the results.” “Stern Wing, can I talk to you outside?” Feather Wind requested. “Yeah. Be out there in a moment.” “Okay.” Feather Wind went outside and waited for Stern Wing to arrive, which she did a few minutes later. He looked at her with a look of apology as he said, “I want to apologize to you for dragging you into this.” “Apologize?” Stern Wing looked taken aback. “For what?” “For dragging you into this, as I said. “Really this occurred twice now. Once before I charged at the Orchard's to help save them then all across Equestria to save Vision which is also where we met the Doctor and his beyond adorable assistant. Both events transpired around me, and now you're stuck here in the very distant past of Equestria away from the rest of your friends and family. I just wanted to tell you that I regret that.” “Why? Because I sure don't,” Stern Wing returned. Feather Wind looked surprised at Stern Wing. “Well okay, maybe a little bit. I do miss my friends and family back home, but what I've gained in exchange for that is more than worth it. I have no regrets at all about saving the Orchard family other than the few weeks of medical recovery after that, but I've also discovered my cutie mark destiny on that adventure and I helped to save all of their lives. That is more than worth any inconveniences I suffered through at the time. “As for this adventure, I got to see all kinds of fantastic places throughout all of time and space! This is an incredible adventure, and what makes it better is I got to do it with my nearest and dearest friend, whom I love.” Stern Wing drew close and touched the Red Crystal hanging around Feather Wind's neck so she could pour her feelings into the crystal. While she did that, she said, “Please don't tell me that you regret traveling with me through all these places, because I sure don't. With every life I saved in every time and place we have ever gone through, that alone affirms the importance of my own life. My life is worth living because of every creature I helped to save, and the fact I did it over and over again just makes my life that much more worth living. I'm more than content, I'm downright happy! “Sure, this situation is a bit of a downer, but I know we'll pull through together. I promised I would always protect you, remember?” Feather Wind nodded while his face drew to her chest. “I will admit, that promise has been more difficult to keep than I expected when I made that promise back then, but it's also been abundantly worth it.” Feather Wind closed his eyes and relaxed against her broad and firm chest. “Thank you for being there with me,” Feather Wind told her gratefully. “I promise I will do everything in my power to protect you too.”