//------------------------------// // Arrival // Story: Road to Disharmony // by McStudz //------------------------------// Luna was headed to the spot where she would move aside the moon and the stars to make way for Celestia and her sun. She was pondering about telling her sister about the mysterious Earth Pony from the Northern Continent when Celestia approached her. "Sorry I'm late, Celestia," Luna began. "I was distracted by... some sort of comet that landed in the Everfree Forest, right by our old castle. It seemed to slow down as it approached the ground. I decided to investigate it, but I couldn't find anything. Although... There was this Earth Pony... He said he was from the Northern Continent." Celestia was taken aback at this last statement. "The Northern Continent? Luna, the inhabitants of the Northern Continent had a civil war while you were imprisoned in the moon, and they completely destroyed themselves. Now it's a barren landscape, with very few beings other than the occasional gem dragon being able to live there. What did this pony say his name was?" Luna was just as suprised at her sister's remark. "He said his name was Sterling Smoulder. He was wearing a black coat, unlike anything any Equestrian would wear. He said something about him being from another world entirely, but he was only joking... At least, that's what I thought. He was looking for the nearest city, so I showed him the path to Ponyville. He also spoke in a strange way, like saying 'anybody' instead of 'anypony'. I was going to meet him at midnight around the outskirts of Ponyville, to answer any questions he might have. Why, Celestia? Is he a threat to Equestria?" "I'm not sure," Celestia admitted. "How an Earth Pony could even survive in the Norhern Continent is beyond me. He would have to be more than he's saying he is, or..." She paused. "Or he isn't from the Northern Continent at all. Luna, you remember Discord, correct?" Luna cringed. "How could I forget?" she replied. "After all of the things he's done to Equestria before we arrived, I'm suprised nopony else remembers him. Why do you ask?" "When we get back to Canterlot," Celestia told her younger sister, "You need to know some things about Discord, about the Elements of Harmony, and their connection to the fate of Equestria, and perhaps even the whole world. I have a feeling that this Sterling Smoulder also has something to do with Equestria's future..." Luna had no idea what this might mean, but it all of a sudden occured to her--What of that unknown object that landed near the old castle? Maybe Sterling had something to do with it. Of course! Nopony else was anywhere near the castle at the time. Perhaps I should find out where Sterling is really from, Luna thought... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a couple hours, I finally exited the forest. It was mostly dark inside, due to the trees blocking out the sun. So I was temporarilly blinded when I got out. Once my eyes adjusted to the sudden daylight, I could see that it was about 8:30 in the morning. Ponyville was just ahead, and it looked like it was already bustling with activity. Well, time for me to find that museum, I thought as I walked towards the town. I decided to ask the first person--I mean, pony--I met to show me where the museum was. My eyes fell on a pink Earth Pony. How am I not suprised? Anyways, I approached the Earth Pony. I cleared my throat. "Excuse me," I began. "I was wondering if you could pont me to the museum--" The Earth Pony then... I don't even know how to explain it. She jumped up, gasped, and bolted the opposite way. I don't know who was startled more--me, or the Earth Pony. "That went well," I muttered to myself. Now, to find someone else to point me in the right direction. I looked around and saw a lavender unicorn. I decided that she looked well informed. Let's hope that she won't freak out like the last one. I walked up toward her. "Good morning," I started. "You wouldn't happen to know where the museum is, would you?" "Of course I would!" she replied. "It's just down the street, to the left off of Sugarcube Corner, the bakery. You can't miss it. Are you new here?" "Umm, yeah." I wondered if I should tell her what I told Luna. "I'm from the Northern Continent." The unicorn's eyes widened. "Isn't the Northern Continent uninhabitable? From what I've heard, nopony can survive living there." Lovely. Nice of Discord to leave that bit of info out. Did he even know? "Well, I'm actually from the land outside of the Northern Continent." Let's hope that's good enough. The unicorn shrugged. "Whatever you say. Are you staying in Ponyville?" "For the time being, yes." I answered. "So that means I'll be seeing you a lot! I live at the library, and I try to visit the museum as often as I can. You will be staying at the museum, right?" "Yeah, for now." I replied. "Great! There isn't much known about the Northern Continent. My library doesn't have any books on it, and there's nothing in the museum either. Maybe you can tell me about it later, if you want. Oh, I haven't even told you my name. I'm Twilight Sparkle." the unicorn was acting like a kid in a candy store. I guess she enjoys learning about the unknown; or rather, about anything she doesn't know. "The name's Smoulder." I told her. "Sterling Smoulder." Now where did I hear that before??? "I'd love to tell you about it, but maybe at a later time. It's been a long journey, and I need to get some rest first. Perhaps tomorrow we can talk." Twilight sparkle nodded. "Alright. I have other things to do, too. Come to the library when you're moved in." "Sure, I'll see you later!" I promised, and we both went our separate ways. Wonderful. How will I tell her about a continent even I didn't know about? Maybe Luna will know something. But she thinks I'm from the Northern Continent too! Twilight already said that neither the library nor the museum hold any answers, other than the fact that it's a barren wasteland. I'll figure something out. I'm just too tired to formulate a plan at the moment. After I get some sleep, I'll think of something. It's been a long night. I don't even care if it's still morning. I need to get some shut-eye. I approached the museum, opened the door, and saw a light brown Earth Pony with a bowtie. That's right, I said a BOWTIE. Whatever. I'm too tired to ponder why. "Are you the one they call 'The Doctor'?" I inquired. "Why yes," he replied with a foreign accent. Where was the last time I heard an accent like that? "Why do you ask?" "I'm just wondering if you have an empty room. You see, my name is Sterling Smoulder, and I'm from the Northern Continent. I'll be staying in Ponyville for a while. Somebody told me to come here and--" The Doctor cut me off. "Wait, did you just say 'somebody', not 'somepony'?" He asked. Whoops. "No." I lied. "Oh, don't kid me," The Doctor said sternly. "I know an outsider when I see one. The coat, the substitution for 'somepony'. Are you even from this world?" Wow. That's suprising. I guess there's no point in lying anymore. "You've hit the nail on the mark, my friend. I must say, I'm impressed..." I was about to reveal my true identity when The Doctor's form changed. He was a human, like myself. "Well, there's no point in disguising ourselves any further, now is there?" He admitted. I had to agree. I changed my appearance as well. "Too true. I'm glad to see another human being here." I told The Doctor. "Well, to be honest, I'm not a human, either." he told me. "I'm... much more than that. I've been stuck here for a while, something like a year. I was headed for another world when my time/space machine, the TARDIS, malfunctioned. I was dumped here, and I couldn't get my TARDIS to work properly after that. Fortunately, someone helped me assume a more equestrian form, so that I wouldn't startle the natives. How did you get here? Where did you come from?" "Well," I began. "I was brought here by someone who needed my help. You see..." And I explained the whole situation about Discord, and my encounter with Luna. "...Although, I'm not too sure who to trust. Discord isn't tracking me right now, but I'll have to work for him when he is. In all honesty, I don't know who the real bad guys are. You're the only being other than Discord himself who knows this. Please don't tell anypony." The Doctor was silent for a while. "Of course," he finally said. "You said it was Discord who brought you here?" I nodded. "But I can't go back. I'm afraid we're both stuck here." The Doctor started walking towards a corridor. "Follow me." he said in a low voice. "You need to see this." The Doctor walked towards a door in the far corner of the lobby, and I followed obediently. He led me down a staircase which had a locked door at the end of the stairs. The Doctor got a strange gadget out of his pocket and stuck it in the lock. "Sonic screwdriver," he simply said. "So that no other being can enter this place without my knowing." The door unlocked, and we entered a dark room. The Doctor flicked on a light, and I saw a statue of some... mixed being. He had the body parts of various creatures. It looked both comical and menacing at the same time. After a long stretch of silence, The Doctor suddenly spoke up. "Behold; Discord." I was taken aback at this. "You mean, Discord is imprisoned here!?" I asked, with a bit of alarm in my voice. "Oh, no, no, no!" The Doctor said hastily. "This is just a replica. The real Discord is in Canterlot; in Princess Celestia's courtyard. That particular area is usually open to the public; mostly for school field trips. But this is a pretty accurate copy, if I do say so myself." "I wouldn't know," I admitted. "Discord never told me what he looked like. I thought he would look like an Alicorn, just darker. A lot darker." I added. "Anyways," The Doctor continued. "These are what defeated Discord about a thousand years ago." He pointed toward the wall behind Discord's statue. There were five necklaces mounted on the wall, surrounding Discord. Each necklace was encased in some sort of orb, with a symbol engraved on each orb. Above Discord's head, there was some sort of crown, also inside an orb like the necklaces. "What are these?" I asked. The Doctor replied, "These, Sterling, are the Elements of Harmony, resembling Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, and Magic. Back in the day, the two Princess Alicorns controlled them. These Elements were used to unite Equestria, which was separated into six provinces before the Elements were discovered. Shortly after, they were used to defeat Discord, who somehow controlled Equestria for a brief time. The old records are a bit hazy on most of the details. Presently, very few ponies remember Discord. They all think he's just a fairy tale character, created to scare the young and naive. As far as I know, only the Alicorns know he is a real being. "After Discord was gone, Luna somehow was able to become more powerful than her older sister in order to take over Equestria, and plunge the world into eternal night. Celestia used the Elements to imprison Luna in the moon for a thousand years--I believe you already know most of this story. "But, due to this, Neither of the Alicorns could control the Elements any longer. It wasn't until about a year ago that someone, rather somepony, could control them again. Six ponies--Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle--were able to harness the Elements' power through... as corny as this might sound, the magic of friendship. All six of them now reside here in Pnonyville." "Twilight Sparkle..." I repeated. "I think I already met her. Seemed really interested in knowing more about the Northern Continent. But, as I already told you, I know just as much about that place as she does. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?" The Doctor shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't. There aren't any records of the Northern Continent, as far as I know. The only information anyone can get about it is through word of mouth." "...And we all know how reliable that can be," I finished for him. "Exactly. All I know for sure is that it's a barren wasteland now, due to some sort of cataclysm; and now gem dragons are the dominant species--if not the only species--that can live there. This is because the landscape has a remarkable amount of precious stones, which are the gem dragon's primary food source." "Well, I guess that's all I'll be able to tell Twilight." I shrugged. "I'll probably tell her that there are things in the Northern Continent that would give ponies nightmares for months, and hope she buys it. "Anyways," I stretched. "You do have a free room, right? I need to get some sleep; I've been up all night." "Yes, of course!" The Doctor assured me. "It's up on the top floor. But first--" He turned back into an Earth Pony. "--you scould change back into an Equestrian. I think I heard some hoofsteps upstairs." I agreed, changed my appearance, and we headed back upstairs. As soon as we opened the door, I had to thank my lucky stars that I disguised myself. Apparantly, somepony got the BRILLIANT idea to set up a party in the lobby of the museum. They also invited everyone in town, by the looks of it, because there were ponies EVERYWHERE. Earth Ponies, unicorns, and flying ponies--the word Pegasus immediately enters my mind. "OI!" The Doctor bellowed. I almost jumped out of my coat from the shock of The Doctor yelling. "WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO THROW A PARTY IN MY MUSEUM WITHOUT MY SAY-SO?" The lavender unicorn ran towards us. Surely this wasn't Twilight's idea? Then again, save for The Doctor, she's the only one who knows who I am. And I'm certian that Luna wasn't behind this. "I'm sorry, Doc!" Twilight exclaimed. "I tried to stop Pinkie, but she wouldn't budge. 'C'mon Twilight! Nopony's too tired for a party!' As soon as I turned my back, she was gone. You know how she is." "No need to apologize, Twilight. We all know that Pinkie Pie can be... eccentric." The Doctor said, looking for the right word. As if on cue, the pink Earth Pony I met before--clearly Pinkie Pie--came bouncing towards us. "Pinkie Pie, what is this for?" The Doctor demanded. Pinkie Pie seemed to be shaking with excitement. "Oh, Doccie, what else would this party be for? As soon as I saw Sterling walk into Ponyville, I knew he wasn't from around here. I'd remember a coat like that." She said, pointing at my black coat. "So I ran off, trying to set up a welcome party for him. After I got his name from Twilight, and she told me where he was staying--" I could see Twilight, regretting that she told Pinkie Pie a little too early--"I invited everypony I could think of! As soon as you guys went downstairs, we got everything ready. "So what do you think, Sterling???" Pinkie Pie asked me eagerly. "I bet there aren't many parties in the Northern Continent." "I... Umm..." I stammered. "I don't know what to say." And I truly didn't. I mean, someone who doesn't know me at all, never even heard of me until today, threw me a party. "Uh, Pinkie?" Twilight said, breaking my train of thought. "I also told you that Sterling has had a long trip. He's way too tired for a party right now. I don't even think he'd enjoy it as much as he would if he got some rest first." "Oh, PFFFFFT." Pinkie scoffed. "Like I always say; 'Nopony's too tired for a party!'" "Well, actually..." I was starting to feel dizzy. "I am really tired. Like Twilight said, I've had a long journey. Maybe we should put a raincheck on that party. I can't even think straight right now. Maybe tomorrow we can have that party?" Pinkie Pie was slightly discouraged, but quickly brightened up. "Okey dokey, lokey!" She piped. "But I can't do two parties in a row. I remember what happened last time I did that. Nopony showed up. How about the day after?" "Sure, sure. Whatever works best for you." I said hastily. I was now having a hard time keeping my eyes open. "Alrighty then!" Pinkie turned to all the guests. "Sterling needs to sleep, everypony! We'll finish the party at Twilight's!" Twilight raised her eyes in shock. "Wait, WHAT?" She cried. "Well, it looks like I have to go. See you later Sterling!" And she was off at a gallop, making a beeline towards the library. I'm not sure, but I think she said something about the library being a mess. I turned to The Doctor. "Now, where's that room you were going to show me, Doctor?" I asked, with more than a hint of fatigue in my voice. "Right this way, Sterling. And please," he added. "Call me Doc. Everyone else here does." "Alright, whatever you say." By now, everypony was moving all the party decorations out. The unicorns were doing most of the work, levitating the heavy objects. We went upstairs to a room that had "GUEST" engraved on the door. "How long will you be staying?" Doc asked. I shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm thinking a few months, until I can figure out this whole Discord situation." "Then I'll get that sign changed." Doc promised. "I have a feeling you'll be here for a while." "Great. Well, thanks for everything Doc. I'll have to get up at around midnight to see Luna, so don't think someone's breaking in or something." I explained. "Alright. I'll keep a note on that." "One last thing," I said. "Why are you called 'The Doctor'? What's your name, 'Doctor' who?" "Yes, exactly." Doc answered. And with that, I shrugged and said good night (although it was only about 2 O' Clock in the afternoon) and closed the door behind me. I fell on my bed and almost immediately fell asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Doctor turned away from Sterling's door and walked back downstairs to the lobby. He was now thinking about how Sterling got here. If what he said was true, then how did Discord do it? Would he be able to send someone out of this world? As a Time Lord, The Doctor had no relatives, no friends. No one to miss him after he was missing for over a year. Even if anyone did miss him, once he got the TARDIS back up and running, he could go back in time, as if nothing ever happened. But Discord... This changes everything. Discord could quite possibly be able to repower the TARDIS, since it can use any form of energy as fuel, as long as it's powerful enough. Nothing else in this world is powerful enough to achieve trans-dimensional travel, but Discord was able to send a human into another world, even in his weakened state... Perhaps The Doctor could harness some of Discord's energy, just enough to get the TARDIS to a proper dimension. Discord's due to break free any day now. After the Elements of Harmony were passed on to somepony else, the barrier has been slowly weakening. From what Sterling said, Discord thinks that it's due to reactions to certian events. That could be part of it. But once Discord was free, the current Element Bearers would easily defeat him again. Before that happened, The Doctor would have to absorb some of Discord's energies using the Sonic Screwdriver. Unfortunately, from what Princess Celestia told The Doctor, the Elements would have to be passed on to somepony else once the current Bearers died. This would be another cause of Discord breaking free again. As the Elements go from one pony to the next, Discord's prison will weaken once more. During the 1000 years where the Elements had no master, Discord was safely locked away in his stone prison. But once Nightmare Moon broke free, everything changed. Since then, Celestia has searched most of the known world for something that would destroy Discord once and for all. So far, though, she has found nothing. Even worse, last time The Doctor was in Canterlot, checking up on how much longer it would be until Discord broke free again (using the Sonic Screwdriver), he discovered that Discord would break free sometime within this week. He had just enough power to bring someone over here to aid him, but no more. As of right now, Discord doesn't know this, which is why he sent Sterling here to break him out. Discord's prison is like a safe, locked from the inside. He has the 'key', but he can't use it. So he probably passed that 'key' to Sterling. Even worse, The Doctor can't do anything to stop him. This is how history in this world is supposed to run. Although Sterling is clearly an anomaly, such things can be permissable, as long as key events in history don't change; for example, Luna being released before her 1000 years in the moon were up. Fortunately, Sterling might hold the 'key' to Discord remaining in stone forever. There could be a way... The Doctor's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of a letter on his desk. The letter had Celestia's seal on it. What could this be for? He wondered. The Doctor got out a knife, cut through the seal, and began to read: Doctor Whooves, It has come to my attention that there may be another one of your kind among us. From what my sister, Princess Luna, tells me, this being calls himself Sterling Smoulder, and he claims to be from the Northern Continent. We're not too sure where he is really from--since the Northern Continent was ravaged by civil war years ago. He's assuming the appearance of a dark blue Earth Pony with a grey mane and a black coat. Luna showed him the way to Ponyville from the Everfree Forest, so he's probably there by now. This Sterling Smoulder just happened to show up just before Discord is due to break free. Both Luna and myself have suspicions that the two of them may have something to do with each other. We believe that Sterling Smoulder is indeed from another world because he used the word "somebody" instead of "somepony", like you did when you first arrived here. If you see him around Ponyville, keep a close eye on him. Report to me if you see or hear anything suspicious about him. Sincerely, Princess Celestia Of course, The Doctor already knew all of this, and it's quite clear that Sterling was not a Time Lord. If he was, Sterling would have killed him immediately. Or worse. The Doctor got out some parchment and proceeded to reply to Celestia's letter. Dear Princess Celestia, No, this Sterling Smoulder is not one of my kind. I could clearly see that. But, he is definately not who he says he is. He's here at my museum, as I am writing this. Sterling has told me a lot, more than I dare to write. But he told me that he will be meeting Princess Luna at midnight tonight. I can go speak to you in person at that time. You need to know what Sterling has told me. With all due respect, The Doctor The Doctor got out his Sonic Screwdriver and pressed a button. The end of the device lit up in a green flame. He brought the flame towards the letter, letting it burn into a green smoke, which disappeared immediately. Now it's only a matter of time, he thought, until we know what exactly Discord has planned. Celestia would be sending a chariot to pick him up when the time comes. In the meantime, The Doctor got out some more paper. On one sheet, he wrote that the museum will be closed for the rest of the day, and all of tomorrow. On the second sheet, for Sterling, he said that he'd be gone until tomorrow evening. He gave instructions for Sterling while he was gone; keep the front door locked, only enter through the back door, etc. The Doctor also left Sterling his extra keys to the front and back door. Everything else was locked up by the Sonic screwdriver. After all of that was done, he left Sterling's note on his desk, along with the keys. After a quick check to see if everything was locked properly (Can't be too sure what Sterling might do), The Doctor put the sign up on the front door and waited for the chariot to arrive.