Chapter 5
“Reveal?”
Vinyl was playing the latest tunes on her turntable. She hoped to get the audience calmed down…Private will be back soon. When she did he’ll have his culprit and-
GET THE BUCK OFF MY STAGE!!!!
Everypony in the room turned to see I was standing in the doorway. Beside me was a very pissed looking Vinyl Scratch, wait…two Vinyls!?
The DJ ran to the stage and glared at her counterpart “You knocked me upside the head!”
The other Vinyl glared back “Listen faker! I don’t know who you are but you get off my stage!”
I walked between the two DJs and frowned at the fake one “I know what you are…You never told me that Swarm left the room before the murder…also we analyzed the dust found in the room…”
Pseudo Vinyl backed away slowly, she was about to be found out…
I kept my gaze “Also, the angle was odd on the knife…I double checked and found that the knife was levitated…by a changeling”
Pseudo Vinyl was sweating right now “Why are you blaming me? She’s the fake Vinyl!”
Real Vinyl glared “You smacked me upside the head and I woke up in a garbage can! You’re going to pay for doing that ya bug eyed freak!”
I pulled out Blackbird and aimed it at Pseudo Vinyl “You may as well come out…”
Pseudo Vinyl suddenly leaped into the crowd of ponies surrounding the stage. Everypony looked around for her but couldn’t find her.
The Doctor looked over the crowd “She could be anypony! How are we going to draw her out?!”
I knew there was only one way…I looked over at Raiden “Raiden, play that song…”
Raiden’s yellow eyes grew wide “Private the last time I played that the entire concert turned into a mass orgy!”
“That’s what I’m hoping for rock star” I said smiling “Turn the love in the room to such levels even a changeling can’t stand it”
Raiden nodded slowly and walked to a nearby piano. The crowd looked on the rock star oddly. Raiden’s songs were almost always rock and roll tunes. He rarely had just pure unadulterated love songs in his track list. But there was one song that Raiden held close to his heart.
He tapped the mike that Vinyl placed on the piano and spoke to the crowd “This is a song that I only save for special occasions. A song I think some of you might know”
He closed his eyes and his wings pressed on the keys to play the opening intro to the song…
You know our love was meant to be…
The kind of love to last forever…
And I want you here with me….
From Tonight until the end of time…
You should know!
Everywhere I go…
Always on my mind…
In my heart…
In my soul…Baby!
The music escalated as Vinyl added to the music. I looked over to see couples star to lean into each other. It was working!
Raiden began singing with all his heart into the mike
You’re the meaning in my life!
You’re the inspiration!!
You bring feeling to my life!
He looked up and saw Rainbow walking towards him on the stage. Her smile was wide as the rock star sung the song to her. Her cyan cheeks turned scarlet as he kept singing
You’re the inspiration!
Wanna have you near me!
Big Mac was nuzzling Fluttershy warmly
Wanna have you hear me say it!!
No pony needs you more then I…need…you
Raiden kept playing as the love in the room began to grow. I looked over and saw Spike walking up nervously to Rarity. The little guy got within two inches of Rarity before the white unicorn picked Spike up in her hooves and nuzzled him. Dang this stuff really works!
And I know…
Yes I know that it’s plain to see…
We’re so in love when we’re together…
I felt something on my shoulder and turned to see Twilight nuzzling me. I flushed bright red as the love of my life turned and embraced me. Thank you Raiden!!
Now I know…now I know
That I need you here with me…
Raiden looked on as Rainbow sat on the piano seat beside him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Raiden so flustered around a mare before. He turned to Rainbow and sang the lyrics to her
From Tonight until the end of time…
You should know…
Everywhere I go…
Always on my mind…
In my heart…
In my soul…
Bon Bon was causally trying not to get into the music. She wanted to avoid any more embarrassment before…too late. Lyra pounced on her mare friend and the two began to kiss on the floor. Bon Bon looked up at Lyra blushing furiously. Lyra simply smiled and nuzzled her affectionately. The cream colored mare simply rolled her eyes, there was no stopping Lyra when she got into something.
You’re the meaning in my life!
You’re the inspiration!
You bring feeling to my life!
You’re the inspiration!
I wanna have you near me!
I wanna have you hear me say it!!
No one needs you more than I!!!!
Raiden continued and Rainbow pulled the rock star into a kiss. I was amazed Raiden could play while being kissed by Rainbow like that.
I looked down at Twilight and she pressed her lips to me. All around us couples did the same…except for Swarm…
The unicorn in disguise was looking on all the love in the room. His expression was somewhat somber…then he felt somepony hug him tightly.
He looked over and Pinkie Pie began nuzzling him. His face flushed green as she did. Never before had Pinkie Pie been this close to him. He felt…happy
Raiden broke away from his kiss with Rainbow and sang the song to her
Wanna have you near me
Wanna have you hear me say it!!!
No one needs you more then I need you…
You’re the meaning in my life…
You’re the inspiration...
You bring feeling to my life…
When you love somepony…till the end of time
When you love somepony…always on my mind
Nopony needs you more then I!
When you love somepony always on my mind…
__________________________________________________________
The crowd parted as the song ended. In the center of the circle was a pseudo Berry Punch on the ground her mouth drooling. When the song ended she glared at the ponies around her. I walked to Pseudo Berry Punch and aimed my gun “Show us your true identity changeling!
Berry Punch laughed a very evil laugh and green fire surrounded her. Before our very eyes Berry’s purple coat melted off her to reveal a black insect exoskeleton. Her mane became long and blue, insect like wings sprouted out of the pony’s back. A horn jutted out of the creature’s head and her green eyes opened “Well, it was no wonder you managed to kill Zazz…”
Twilight appeared beside me “Queen Chrysalis! It was you all along!”
The Changeling queen smiled “I must say I’m about as happy to see you all again as you are to see me” She glared at me “And you Detective…I don’t appreciate ponies who go around killing my lieutenants”
Ponies looked at me, I never told anypony what the changeling said or threatened to do with me. Twilight didn’t even know she just looked at me confused. I kept my gaze on the Queen “You killed 2183…you tried to take out Pinkie Pie by having her kill her. But, Swarm stopped her from doing it”
Swarm stood beside me standing defiantly against his former queen. Chrysalis physically bristled at the sight of him. “We convinced her not to kill Pinkie Pie” Swarm said his robotic voice developing an edge “But…you went and killed her to make it look like we killed her”
I nodded “You disguised yourself as Vinyl to convince me to hunt down a culprit. Anypony would’ve said it was suicide that took 2183. But she didn’t commit suicide…you killed her to cover up the attempt at murder. Any other cop would’ve thought Pinkie would’ve had something to do with her death. But you failed to mention Swarm in your fake testimony…”
The Queen laughed “A cleaver Pony you are; now I no longer have to hide in these foul trappings!” She glared at Swarm “Now I can deal with you without having to worry about all this deceit!” She tackled Swarm and before I could do anything she teleported away.
I looked around and noticed the Doctor leaving again. He and I had the same idea I see…
___________________________________________________
I paced inside the Tardis as the Doctor began working the controls. “Can’t we just go back in time and prevent Swarm from getting captured?”
The Doctor shook his head “There’s too much of a risk of us running into our past selves” He looked rather grim “At best we would simply faint at the sight of each other. At worst there could be a paradox that could destroy the universe”
“A paradox?” I said with a raised eyebrow
“Essentially a hiccup in time” The Doctor explained “And we really don’t want paradoxes, because if we made one we’d get these nasty fellas called Reapers knocking on our door”
From his expression these Reapers were not fellows you wanted to mess with. I trusted the Doctor’s judgment on this one. I walked to him and looked over his shoulder “What are you doing?”
“Getting the Tardis to see if she can’t transport us to the nest” The Doctor said tapping more buttons and levers “If the Queen is like any dictator I know then she’s probably taking Swarm back to the nest to make an example out of him. It’ll take a few minutes for the Tardis to find the nest again”
“Swarm is dead meat if we don’t get there” I said grimly…”Wait did you just call the Tardis a she?”
“Well yes” The Doctor said “You see the Tardis isn’t completely a machine, it’s complicated to explain but she’s partially alive. We are technically inside her body”
I gave the Doctor a look. Despite everything I’ve seen about this Time Lord I found the fact that this Time machine could think like a living organism a little farfetched. Then again I live in a world where a princess raises the sun every day.
I looked around at the Tardis “How long have you had her?”
The Doctor tapped his chin “Several centuries I’d say”
“You can live that long!?” I said my mouth agape
The Doctor smiled and nodded “You see Time Lords don’t have lives like ponies. Every time I “die” I just regenerate into a new body. I get a new face, sometimes a new personality, though I have yet to become a ginger…”
“How long have you…” I fought for the right word “died?”
The Doctor looked rather grim as he said “I am currently on my twelfth life”
“How many times can you regenerate?” I asked “You can’t keep regenerating forever…”
The Doctor was quiet for a moment but then he spoke firmly “I can only regenerate thirteen times. Once I “die” two more times…bye bye Doctor”
I blinked; this guy has died almost a dozen times. I couldn’t even imagine the pain of dying once. I wondered what circumstances led to his eleven deaths. Then the question plagued my mind “But why?”
“Why what?” The Doctor said looking at me
“You’re immortal” I pointed out “You’ve lived for centuries and seen so much. Why not settle down? Live out the rest of your life by finding some lady time lord and having foals? Why die all those times?”
The Doctor got up and looked at me square in the eye. I could see hints of anger that he was trying to hold back. He obviously suffered a great deal and wanted to keep fro lashing out “To answer your first question, I can’t settle down…there are no other Time Lords left”
“You’re the last of your kind…what happened?”
The Doctor shook his head “Let’s just say I had something to do with it. I’m not proud of it but sometimes circumstances dictate actions…”
He then got even closer to me “And the reason I die all those times is the same reason I told my fellow Time Lords when they were alive. They were content to simply watch time, to watch races suffer like some sick movie” He slammed his hoof into a terminal in frustration “So many species! So many lives! Just wasted when we could’ve acted to save them!”
I blinked; I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Doctor so furious at anything. I was seeing a whole other side to the Time Lord.
He kept his blue eyes on my grey ones “I stole the Tardis because I couldn’t sit around any longer. All those centuries ago I chose to steal the Tardis in the hopes of doing something! I couldn’t watch anymore! I…I just…” He let out a breath “Sorry Detective…you were only asking why I do this…”
I smiled a little “Doctor, I can understand perfectly”
“You lived for centuries flying around in a Tardis?” He said trying to lighten the mood.
It worked as I let out a little laugh “No, but I know what you’re coming from. When I was nineteen there was this Donut shop owner that got shot in an alley. Everypony was just watching waiting for the police to arrive. I couldn’t stand waiting anymore so I went to the crime scene and investigated myself. Got an earful from the uniforms who caught me working”
The Doctor laughed “Sounds like we have a bit more in common than I thought”
I nodded and smiled “You keep doing what you do Doctor”
He nodded and went back to work smiling a little. I think he was glad to get his frustrations off his chest.
I walked to a nearby terminal on the opposite side of the room. I wonder…if the Tardis is a living thing I wonder if she could hear me? I closed my eyes and concentrated my magic on-
“Oh don’t be like that Tardis!” I heard the Doctor shout from his terminal.
I deactivated my magic and walked to the Doctor “What’s wrong?”
He let out an exacerbated sigh “The Tardis is being glitchy again! She refuses to activate her space transport gizmo!”
“I had no idea the Tardis could stop you from going anywhere”
“She can, and she’s been doing it ever since we got here!” The Doctor exclaimed “She won’t let me leave this planet, not that there’s anything wrong with this place, but still she won’t let me go off planet!”
I snickered a little “The way you talk to her it sounds as if you are married to her”
The Doctor laughed “No I’m not married to the Tardis, she’s just being stubborn”
“Why don’t you take her out for a night out with some flowers?” I suggested while laughing
“That’s completely ridicu-“He suddenly stopped himself and I could hear several sounds around me coming from various terminals. The Doctor’s eyes went wide “Tardis you can’t seriously be considering it!”
More sounds followed by a clank, the Doctor’s jaw dropped “I can’t believe you’re suggesting it! The last time we did that was under special circumstances!”
“What’s wrong?” I asked smiling “Trouble in paradise Doctor?”
He glared at me “She’s actually suggesting I download her consciousness into another body! She’s actually taking what you’re saying seriously!”
“You mean she can enter a pony body?” I said curious
“Well that only happened once and it was under very strange circumstances” Strange circumstances for the Doctor? I didn’t want to know.
More sounds came from various councils that the Doctor could apparently translate as Tardis speak “Now don’t be like that! You are too appreciated!” More sounds and the Doctor’s face looked indignant “Now that was just plain rude!”
“What did she say?” I said trying to hold back my laughter
“Let’s just say it involved me, a Dalek, and a sponge in a very personal area”
“Essentially she called you an asswipe” I chuckled
“Well she may have used a lot more words then that” more sounds and the Doctor finally groaned “Women! No matter what species they always have to be so stubborn!!” He stomped off to another room.
I laughed; even Time Lords can have women trouble it seemed. Even with their Time machines. I turned my attention to the terminal the Doctor left behind. Thousands of characters I didn’t recognize adorned the screen.
I remembered the Doctor’s Sonic…what was it Screwdriver? Reacted oddly when I mixed magic with it. I wonder what the Tardis will do if I…
My horn glowed seemingly of its own accord. The curiosity as to what would happen gripped me. Or…did something else activate my horn?
I then heard a soft female voice speak in my head
Hello Detective, I don’t really appreciate you sneaking around my systems like that
I fell back in shock. I looked around hoping to find the source of the voice “Who are you!? Where are you?!”
Seven hundred years and he has yet to get anybody with a brain on board! Please I apologize, I’m the Tardis…you are inside me
“You’re saying I can hear you?”
Your odd magic somehow allows us to speak with each other. Don’t ask me to explain it to you or your head will explode. If you see the Doctor again tell him I don't appreciate him pushing the door when it clearly says pull! I don't care if he has hooves or not!
Dear Luna this time machine has a mouth. I guess she got that from listening to the Doctor all these centuries. I smiled at the nearby terminal “So, Tardis I have to ask…why aren’t you letting us travel?”
Because…well it’s a thing I don’t really understand…I just remembered your conversation with my Doctor about his being on his twelfth life. For some reason I felt that I shouldn’t let him leave
I made the connection “You’re worried about him. Is that why he can’t leave?”
For a Tardis, her crew is everything to her. I’ve known far too many of my sisters who’ve transported themselves to the end of time…to die…
“Tardises…can die?”
We can…in fact The Doctor and I are both the last of our kind…
“That’s why you don’t want him to leave. You want to keep him from dying so that…you won’t be alone”
She got quiet for a moment. I could tell she was pondering what I was saying. Finally after a minute she spoke
After his twelfth regeneration I transported the Doctor to your universe alone. I calculated that the chances of him dying again in this universe are relatively small. You have a peaceful planet without much conflict and I hoped him to…how do humans say it, retire?
Humans? No way, those were fictional creatures. Well maybe there is a universe out there that has humans. Maybe they watch a show about ponies like we watch a show about them. I wonder if they’re fan base is also stallions my age?
I’m thinking too far into this. “Listen, Tardis we need your help if we want to help Swarm”
I…I hoped to keep the Doctor from more harm…but I guess conflict follows him wherever he goes…
“You remember what he said” I spoke smiling “He’s doing something; he stole you because of that”
He’ll tell you he stole me. In truth I stole him
“So will you help us?”
I am called Time And Relative Dimension In Space for a reason you know
The Tardis lurched as she came to life. The Doctor came out and cheered happily “Ah ha! That’s a good Tardis! Let’s go help our friend!”
Seven hundred years and I have to argue with him in order to get a compliment!
She had some issues to work out….