//------------------------------// // (Part 3) Eclipsed at Noon // Story: Doctor Whoof : Day of Discord // by Muleicous //------------------------------// Eclipsed at Noon The Doctor could feel his legs burning as he ran faster. His mind raced over the events of the past few days until the time lord could see the clearing a head, hopefully this was where the pony known as Fluttershy lived. The colt could only hope that he wasn’t too late, otherwise the only person who could help him figure all this out would be... Suddenly, a huge dragon flew above him and landed, turning into a very familure pony. Blackspine turned and smiled at The Doctor, the capped colt’s teeth yellow as he stepped toward the time lord. “Doctor,” he began, “so good to see you again. What brings you to this neck of the woods?” The evil pony laughed harshly at his own joke. “Good question, here’s another one.” The Doctor replied, stepping around the answer he knew Blackspine wanted... That Applebloom had seen her sister being turned into something horrid. “How can you do magic? It’s obvious that you’re not a unicorn, so how?” The time lord stared as the colt adjusted his glasses like a college professeur preparing to give a long winded lecture. “A curious thing arn’t you Doctor?” Blackspine said, his voice brittle, “If you must know, I have a master who channels his power through me. He gives me the ability to do anything I please, and he knows all about your exploits... Time Colt.” If the colt wanted this to shock The Doctor, it didn’t. The brown colt just stood there and waited. “Well, has he got a name?” the time pony asked, feigning boredom to keep Blackspine’s attention focused on him. “The God of Chaos, Lord of Disharmony, the true King of Equestria... or, as most ponies call him, Discord.” the corrupt colt paused, then bit his lip in frustration as The Doctor cocked his head to the side and raised his eye brow. “Never heard of him, any way... Why are you attacking Twilight Sparkle and her friends?” the time lord asked, seeing a small white rabbit hop into the forest behind a light yellow pegasus. He just needed to give Fluttershy enough time to get as far away as she could. “I mean, if this master of yours is so all powerful, shouldn’t he be able to handle six fillies? I’d be more worried about the two royal mares who can control time.” Blackspine snorted at this like it was a bad pun. “Celestia and Luna are no match for Lord Discord,” he began, “the princesses fell out of harmony when the meek one actually gained some power, and the sun pony banished her to the moon. Even if they where able to control the Elements, it wouldn’t be enough to hold my master for too long. Not with the chaos I would be spreading around this ball of mud!” Suddenly, a huge flash of lightning shattered the sky and hit the bit of dirt between the two colts. Slowly, a strange goat’s head slid from the crater the lightning had made, followed by a feathered body attached to an eagle’s claw and a lion’s paw. As the creature opened its eyes, both of which where bright yellow with a red iris in one and a blue in the other, a growl erupted from its mouth. “Blackspine!” Discord demanded, “What is taking you so long? It’s just one little pony, can’t the big strong colt handle one timed, weak, humble...” he paused as his eyes finally met The Doctors, “Ah, Doctor... Doctor I presume. And what brings you to my little game? Oh, let me guess, you lost track of time?” “M...master,” Blackspine bowed to the half buried body, “why have you come here? It’s too early for you to manifest without harming...” “Blah blah blah,” the chaos god interrupted, “go chase a pony. There’s a perfectly good pegasus that-a way.” his eagle claw pointed in the direction Fluttershy sneaked off and Blackspine gave chase, “it’s so hard to find good help these days.” “A draconequus,” The Doctor said, “well... That explains a good amount. I’m guessing you’re Discord?” “The one and only, want me autograph? Six bits... Oh that’s right,” Discord’s head seemed to turn into putty, before it finally molded itself to mimic The Doctor’s, “ 'Ponies have money?’” the chaos master’s arms seemed to wrap around his body completely as he laughed, his head morphing back to its original shape. The Doctor gave a shrug and a sort of half smile. “What was I supposed to think?” he asked, “It’s not like I’ve been here before.” “True, true... By the way, why arn’t you chasing down Sir Monologues Alot?” Discord asked. A few moments later the god was answered by a sound that was very familure to The Doctor, almost like a lullaby to him now. The sound of the TARDIS moving through space. The time lord nodded down at his hoof, pressing down on the Sonic Screwdriver and covering it completely to dull the noise it made. “You sly fox.” the chaos god admitted just as the blue box appeared behind the colt, and as The Doctor walked inside Discord called out, “See you in Canterlot Doc!” *** The Doctor rushed to the controls and steered the TARDIS back to its original landing spot, it had taken a lot of coordination and timing to pull that stunt off especially since he couldn’t just adjust the time circuits. He turned to his companions and smiled softly, but Derpy and Applebloom had their attention focused on getting Fluttershy to stop murmuring on how big the blue box was on the inside. “Fluttershy, hello!” the time colt said, “Quick introduction. I’m The Doctor, this is the TARDIS, you know Derpy and Applebloom, and the bunny is?” His eyes focused on the white rabbit giving him a very disapproving look. “T...That’s Angel, Mr. Doctor.” Fluttershy answered, her voice as soft and scared as ever, “Is... is what that colt said true? Is Discord back again?” The Doctor nodded as the three mares exchanged concerned looks, and Applebloom even began to tear up. The filly had heard what had happened to her big sister when Discord broke out of his stone prison, and a few minutes before she had seen it first hand... Just the thought of what was happening to Applejack and her friends made the little farm pony shiver in fear. “It’ll be ok,” The Doctor said, using his hoof to pat Applebloom’s head, “I’ll figure out how to save your sister. I promise.” Somehow, the small pony knew that this strange colt she just met wouldn’t let that promise die like an old apple tree. “So,” the time pony continued, “how do we stop the big bad Discord?” “Um...” Fluttershy piped up, “me, and Rainbow Dash, and the others used the Elements of Harmony, but I don’t think it’ll work this time.” “Why not?” asked Derpy, “You told me how Twilight was able to break all of you from Discord’s control before, why can’t we do that now?” “It’s not like last time,” the gentle pegasus explained, “the last time Discord made Rainbow this Cloudsdale was falling apart, but... this time... I went to find Rainbow Dash to ask for some help getting water for my animal friends, and when saw her she was... She was just laying on her bed, frozen in place with an uncaring stare on her face.” “That’s how Pinkie and my Rarity looked,” Applebloom said, “except Rarity’s body was... clear and shiny, like a diamond. And Pinkie looked like she was going to... I don’t want to say it... but she looked like she was going to chop somepony up.” “What Element was this Rainbow Dash pony?” The Doctor asked, a serious look on his face. “Loyalty.” Fluttershy answered, “Mine is Kindness, Pinkie Pies’ is Laughter, Raritys’ is Generosity, Applejacks’ is Honesty, and Twilights’ is...” “Magic I’m guessing.” The time colt said as he went to the console of his TARDIS and pressed a few buttons. Derpy had never seen him like this before, for the past few days she knew the strange, quirky colt that frustrated her but made her laugh at the same time. This pony... It was like he was completely different. The only time she had seen The Doctor like this was that night they had found Twilight petrified. The cross eyed pegasus walked over to her friend and put her hoof on his shoulder, a small, reassuring smile crossing her lips. “I’m fine Derpy...” The Doctor said, but he still placed his hoof on hers, “If Blackspine petrified all of them then it’s going to be difficult to end this... We’re going to need help.” “Princess Celestia!” Applebloom shouted, “Her and Princess Luna turned Discord to stone way before Applejack and the others. Maybe they know what to do.” The Doctor turned to the filly and his eyes lit up. “Applebloom, you are brilliant!” the colt said, “Where are they? Where in town do they live?” “Canterlot,” Fluttershy loudly proclaimed, then she blushed and softened her voice once more when she saw the look on the time colt’s face, “Oh my... sorry... Doctor, I didn’t mean to scare you.” However, his shocked expression wasn’t because of the out burst from the usually meek pony. The Doctor had remembered Discord’s warning about meeting in Canterlot and had hoped to avoid what he could only surmise was the ponies capital city, but he knew he had to choice. Slowly, he searched the whole of Equestria for the royal city as the three female ponies discussed how to deal with Discord; finally, he found the city and the determined look Derpy had learned to respect had returned. “Do we need anything? The Doctor asked, galloping to the other side of the console. “N...no,” Fluttershy said, Angel handing the pegasus her necklace. “Where did he... Never mind,” the time lord said as he pulled a lever, sending the huge room spinning and thrashing around, “Geronimo!” *** “Master please, I’m sorry.” Blackspine’s hooves finally touched the grassy ground of Canterlot Gardens after what seemed like an eternity of flying. Discord’s voice ringing in the pony’s head as it belittled him for letting Fluttershy escape. “No, no, I understand,” the chaos god snarkly replied, “somepony had to be distracted by The Doctor. I thought it would’ve been Celestia, but no... I was you. Good job.” A snake-like shadow flung itself out from Blackspine’s and made its way to the statue of a Draconequus with a horrified look on its face. The eagle claw and lion paw hands trying to guard it from some horrible fate. Blackspine followed his master’s shadow, five blood red silk bags hanging from his back. Once at the foot of the statue, the colt opened each back and placed the Elemental Necklaces in a small circle around the Tiara of Magic. “Are you sure this spell will work master?” Blackspine asked the shadow of Discord, “Without the Element of Kindness... well, who knows how long you’ll be free.” “Will you calm down? No need to be a worry pony now,” Discord’s voice echoed in the pony’s head, “our friend The Doctor should be here any minute with my old buddies.” Just as Discord predicted it, the wing beats of four pegasi could be heard. Princess Celestia and Luna landed first, the sun princess carrying The Doctor and Applebloom, followed by Derpy and Fluttershy. “Blackspine Mulicious,” Celestia called out the colt’s full name, “you still have time to give up. Surrender and I may give you a pardon for what you have done.” “Mulicious...” Blackspine said with a smile,“nopony had called me that in a long time Princess.” The colt turned his gaze towards The Doctor, “Thank you, Time Colt, for bringing my master the last two pieces of the puzzle!” Blackspine’s eyes turned pitch black as he stared at the princesses, his lips moving fast until a large, malicious smile crossed his lips. “When the two in the sky are truly so close,” Discord’s voice sounded from Mulicious’ mouth, “the smallest one can out shine the eldest the most.” Suddenly, Luna and Celestia’s eyes turned white as snow and their bodies swayed back and forth. They both unfurled their wings as a blast of bright magic erupted from their horns in unison. The Doctor, his companions, and Fluttershy looked up as the moon slowly eclipsed the sun. Slowly, and eire light shined from the Elements of Harmony, their dull grey jewels now twinkling in the grass. The Doctor was the first to notice the cracks and small ships in the Draconequus statue, but it wasn’t long until everypony had their eyes on the now moving form of Discord. The creature laughed as he looked down on his would-be attackers, his eyes focused on them and he opened his mouth to speak. “Honey, I’m home!”