“Just set him gently down right here,” Doctor Kelly advises as she gestures to the Doctor's bed. Cooperatively, Stern Wing does so by rolling the Doctor off of her back and gently down her right wing which she has extended and touching the Doctor's bed. When the Doctor settles on the bed, he groans a bit which also stirs him slightly awake. Feather Wind draws on his magic to pull the covers over the Doctor then tucks the blankets into the bed.
“Nice going, Stern Wing,” Doctor Kelly commends the large brown pegasus. “You really are very big and strong.”
“Thank you!” Stern Wing says pleasantly seconds before confusion takes a hold of her face and then she asks, “I think?”
“So this is the Doctor's room,” muses Vision as she also steps into the room.
“It can't be much of a sight to a blind filly,” Feather Wind notes aloud as he regards the small white earth pony with hints of blue. “So what is it, exactly, that fascinates you about this place?”
“You mean besides some of the sounds and the smell? Or the fact that this is the first time I stood here while awake?” Vision checks with a light shrug. “For me, what fascinates me about this room the most is the feeling of psychic energy from some of these objects.”
“What? Really?” Stern asks as she widens her eyes at Vision. “You mean you can get empathic impressions from even objects?”
“Sure if it has a lot of emotional investment,” Vision explains. “Clearly there is a bunch of objects in this room that is thick with sentimental value for the Doctor.” Her head and ears move about as if scanning the room before she says, “Although I think the emotional energy I am detecting from some of these objects isn't just from the Doctor.”
“Huh.” Feather Wind regards the Doctor. “It is true that this pony, or I should say 'pony', has had a very long and adventurous lifestyle.”
“I've traveled with the Doctor longer than any of the rest of you,” Derpy brings up. “And, in all that time, I have never seen him do something so utterly fantastical and alien as he did in the TARDIS control room just a few moments ago.” She shakes her head. “Any illusions I had that he is just an average stallion is gone now. Clearly he is more than he seems on the outside.” She regards Doctor Kelly with her left eye but her right lazily drifts off. “What's wrong with him, Doc? Can you help him? Will he be okay?”
“I'm not very familiar with Time Lord physiology yet but I assure you that's going to change soon,” Doctor Kelly assures. “I've already done a medical scan of him back at the hospital on my world. I'll take a look at that data again and see what I can scrounge up with it. In the meantime, he seems relatively stable. I recommend plenty of bed rest and water because it is rare for a physician to go wrong with that one.”
The Doctor groans again as his eyes slowly open.
“He's coming to!” Feather Wind alerts his friends.
Due to that alert notice, Derpy shoots next to the Doctor and scoops up one of his hooves then rubs it against her left cheek. During that time, she eye (not eyes) him in heavy concern as she asks him, “Oh Doctor, are you alright? Please say something to me! You're scaring me!”
For saying that, the Doctor both smiles a bit but also slightly winces as he says groggily, “Take heart, my faithful companion, for I am the Doctor. You haven't seen the last of me.”
“It's good to hear from you again, Doctor,” Feather Wind says in relief. “Do you know what happened to you? Has this ever happened to you before?”
The Doctor is quiet for a moment as he just breathes and attempts to regather his strength before he finally answers, “No. Not exactly, but I have gone through something like this about a dozen times before.”
“I take it that it has something to do with your Time Lord physiology,” Doctor Kelly assumes. “If you can, I'd appreciate any feedback you can offer me about that. The more I know, the more I can competently treat you.”
“Derpy, I'll be fine,” the Doctor reassures as he gives her hooves, which is clasping one of his, a gentle pat by reaching his other hoof to hers. “Please have faith in me, just like I have faith in you.”
“I'll try, Doctor,” Derpy promises as tears roll down from her golden, sunny eyes. “I promise I will.”
“Doctor Kelly's assessment is most likely prudent in this case,” the Doctor says to all of his companions. “After what I just went through, rest is, most likely, what I need right now.”
“Doctor, is this that 'regeneration' thing you told me about earlier?” Derpy asks with a questioning tilt of her head. “But I thought you told me your voice and appearance changes and whatnot when that happens, but you seem to be just the same other than being really tired.”
“Yeah,” the Doctor agrees with a questioning inflection on his face. “This is something new, but very similar to my earlier regeneration cycles.
“I, um, I think that I . . . ah . . .”
The Doctor trails off when he launches into a hacking fit, but it settles seconds later almost as suddenly as it came. On the final cough, golden sparkling energy shoots out of his mouth. When the Doctor's eyes crack open to see that, he regards it with a curious mix of fascination yet also recognition.
“Well. Isn't that interesting?” the Doctor asks with a curious tilt of his head.
“What was that golden energy?” Derpy asks with lingering concern. “Are you sure you're going to be fine, Doctor?”
“Um . . . huh?” He looks at Derpy then nods. “Yes-yes. I'll be quite alright. I just need some bed rest. I've been through something like this before. It always means I'll need more time to fully recover.”
“In that case, all of you please get out,” Doctor Kelly politely commands. “If rest is what he needs then it is best he doesn't get disturbed from it.”
“But you'll stay here and monitor him?” Feather Wind guesses at Doctor Kelly.
“For the moment, yes,” Doctor Kelly answers. “At least long enough to be certain that he's stable and I also like to set up some spells and equipment.”
“Very well, then,” Stern Wing accepts as she stands very erectly. “If that is what he needs then that is what he shall receive. The rest of you, out. Out.” Stern Wing spreads her brown wings with darker brown tips as she uses them to wave the rest of them out of the room. In doing so with such large wings, she stirs the air in the room somewhat even with very gentle flaps.
“Rest well, Doctor,” Derpy bids as she's ushered out of the room. “Recover soon! If you do, I'll make you muffins as a reward!” she bribes brightly.
“Make it English muffins and you have yourself a deal,” the Doctor bargains.
Derpy winces in disgust as she says, “Ew! Those impostor muffins? Well, um . . . if you say so. Sure. I'll make you some.”
“Then I'll look forward to my expedient recovery,” the Doctor says with as bright of a smile as he can muster within his exhausted condition.
Five seconds later everyone else, besides Doctor Kelly, leaves the room. When the rest are gone, Doctor Kelly uses her magic to close the door. In the process, something glows within her white lab coat with the same color as the magic radiating off her horn.
“It's good that they left now, for there are a few things I wanted to talk to you about privately. I guess now is my chance,” says the Doctor to Kelly.
“As long as you don't push yourself too hard,” Doctor Kelly says as she turns about and returns to the Doctor's side.
“These things are important. I have to tell you them before I pass out because I might remain down for a while.” The Doctor sighs as he recalls, “Before I opened the doors to the TARDIS when we first arrived on your world, I recall Feather Wind mentioning that he wished that at least one other pony could pilot the TARDIS.” He shakes his head. “He had no idea how difficult a request that is to accomplish, but I can see his point, especially now.” He frowns. “For while I am down, the rest of you shall be stranded in space. Now I assure you, that was not part of my plan . . . but these things happen just the same.
“Fortunately, before we took off from your world, we got resupplied with some medicine and food, both of which we used up on the ocean world that your world orbits. Because of these supplies, the lot of you should be good for whatever length of time I remain down. It'll be boring but otherwise safe as long as you all stay inside the TARDIS during that time. Ships like this are very hard to penetrate without the key. That was something Prime Minister Kratus learned a long time ago.”
“Hence the reason he needed an actual Time Lord to show him how to open those things, and your kind is a very rare commodity in the universe these days,” Doctor Kelly figures.
“There might be more of my kind out there, but for the moment . . . I'm the only one we are aware of. That'll have to do for now.”
The Doctor's expression brightens as he changes the subject by saying, “By the way, I noticed how your people have glowing gems on your person whenever any of you cast a spell. Have you noticed, yet, that isn't the case with Feather Wind?”
“I have noticed,” Doctor Kelly answers. “That observation basically verifies something we have in our historical records. It was said that ponies back in our original world had different methods of spellcasting. Methods that were much more complex to master compared to our Magi gems. To us, we just attune ourselves to each gem and it is the gem that shapes the spell we are trying to cast. All we really do is supply the energy for the spell. In my home world, our technology often does even that for us. We are capable of mass-producing these gems and they can be simple to attune to, but it depends on how powerful the spell is. To master the stronger ones takes lots of our energy to cast each time and plenty of practice unless we have a device that does that for us.”
“Feather Wind's method of spellcasting doesn't rely on an external object, like a gem, to cast, so his magic is harder to steal,” the Doctor informs. “The trade-off is his method requires years of study to perfect. Whatever spell he's mastered is very hard to take away from him, but learning any additional spells will take about as much effort so there are pros and cons to both methods.
“The reason I bring this up is because Feather Wind is in a unique situation that is similar to yours in one regard. You see, he actually has one magical gem that is not unlike a magi gem. However, the energy within it is probably not as refined and 'fixed' as the magic gems in your world are. Moreover, some of the energy in the gem he has is downright sentient. Specifically, it houses a portion of the soul of the one who created that gem. His name used to be Sombra, but he since calls himself Crystal Sage now to distinguish himself from his dark counterpart that still plagues Feather's home world. In fact, that's basically why he, Stern Wing, and Vision had to leave their native world and timeline.”
“I sense a story behind that,” Doctor Kelly figures.
“Get the rest of the details from the others. I'm sure they can fill you in on that,” the Doctor advises. “In the meantime, while I remain down for the count, I have a request.”
Doctor Kelly lifts a hoof as she says, “Let me guess. You want me to train Feather how to attune himself to this crystal?”
The Doctor nods as he confirms, “Correct . . . if you can. He needs to not only learn how to attune himself to that gem, but also charge it with plenty of positive energy to not only prepare himself for the challenges that yet lingers in his home world, but to also eventually use that energy to save an entire civilization that is stuck in a dimension Crystal Sage refered to as 'limbo'.”
“Really?” Doctor Kelly asks with fascination.
“Again, you can get the rest of the details from the others. In this case, I'd recommend asking Feather himself. He'd know most of the details in this particular regard.
“Another thing I want to bring up with you is keeping the information about the injection of nanites in Vision's system to yourself and Vision herself.”
“I normally do keep information like that confidential between me, the patient, and you in this case because you are assigned as her legal guardian.
“In this case, however, you piqued my curiosity. Any particular reason you want this to remain a secret from the others?”
“They wouldn't fully understand what it could mean for Vision so it may raise some concerns,” the Doctor explains. “Also, while it is harder to put my finger on this, I get the impression details like that are not known to the future version of them. I don't know that for sure, but I got some hints about that fact. I want to protect this secret just in case it is important for this fact to remain unknown to them.”
“Well, I can certainly do that barring an emergency,” Doctor Kelly compromises.
Doctor Kelly leans forward towards him as she says, “Now let's talk about you and what you're going through. Tell me everything that you can about this.”
The Doctor turns his head on top of his pillow to look straight up as he says, “In this case, I'm partially in the dark about this too. What I have gone through resembles a regeneration cycle that I've been through about a dozen times before, but for once it isn't triggered as a death prevention method. Also what I went through in the TARDIS control room was significantly stronger than most of my past regenerations.” He shakes his head. “All of those faces and voices that went through me . . . I can't explain that. It felt like countless other individuals were screaming with me and through me. That's new.” He looks back at Doctor Kelly as he goes on to say, “Another thing that is different is my face and voice didn't change in the end. I can hear that fact for myself, but I have yet to see myself in the mirror.”
“Do you want one?” Doctor Kelly offers.
The Doctor closes his eyes briefly as he shakes his head then opens his eyes again as he says, “Not yet. It's a struggle enough to remain awake right now so I want to get a few things off my chest first before I go down.
“In this case, I'm not completely aware of what has happened to me, but it greatly resembles my regeneration cycle and that is important because my people only have a limited number of times we can do that.”
Doctor Kelly suddenly looks alarmed as she asks, “In that case, how many can your people go through and which number are you on?”
“My people can go through twelve regeneration cycles, and if what I went through recently counts, then this cycle is my last one,” the Doctor informs grimly.
Doctor Kelly settles back in her force chair with a blank look on her face as she digests that latest bit of news.
“If I'm right, then I might not be able to regenerate again,” the Doctor goes on. “If that is the case, that is more information I don't want you to share with the rest of my crew. It will make them more concerned.”
Doctor Kelly's eyes focus back on the Doctor through her floating, holographic lens.
“Promise me you won't tell them,” the Doctor pleads.
“I am sworn to uphold doctor/patient confidentiality anyway,” Doctor Kelly informs. “If you don't wish for me to share this information with the others, then I shall not.”
The Doctor looks up again as he says wistfully, “It's really quite a shame as well. I have some big plans recently and I'd probably need a lot of time to accomplish them. So much to do . . . and maybe not enough time to do it. I may have a time machine myself, but my own clock keeps on ticking. I need to at least get the ball rolling on certain important goals before I pass on. So many are depending on me for that.”
“Like the Time War?” Doctor Kelly recalls. “You claimed that is important.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” the Doctor assures as he looks back at her. “But you will . . . or at least I think you will get a small idea in the years to come. My most important goal in this affair is to blunt the impact of the Time War. I already went through a version of it before. I am determined to make it more innocent this time, at least as much as I can. If I can do that, then many lives throughout the whole universe might be spared a very grim fate.”
“I'm with you on that one completely,” Doctor Kelly tells him seriously. “On this endeavor, you have my total support.”
The Doctor smiles brightly as he says, “Thank you.” His smile fades a bit as he says, “Now on to the next issue. While I am down, I want you to take care of my crew.”
Doctor Kelly smiles at the Doctor, touched by the knowledge that is among the Doctor's final thoughts before he goes down. Any good captain would feel that way.
“I can certainly do that on a medical front. That's my job,” Doctor Kelly tells him.
He shakes his head as he says, “That too, but I mean more than that. While I am down, I want you to guide them. They'll need to look up to someone for leadership.”
Doctor Kelly winces slightly as she asks him, “Why do you trust me so much with a task like that? We recently met.”
In response, the Doctor simply gives a knowing smile.
“Why do I get the feeling you are withholding some important information from me?” Doctor Kelly wonders aloud. “Does this have something to do with all those clues implanted into history? Things that only I was meant to notice?”
The Doctor continues to hold that knowing smile as his consciousness fades away.
“Oh fine! Be that way!” Doctor Kelly pouts. “Protect your secrets if you must.”
Doctor Kelly's frown softens gradually into a gentle smile of her own when she watches the Doctor sleep peacefully. He looks like such an angel when he sleeps like that.
On a whim, Doctor Kelly bends down and kisses the Doctor's forehead.