//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Silver Bells // by mamori86 //------------------------------// Silver Bells Chapter 4 “Ember, how are you feeling?” inquired the dark blue mare. “Wonderful, absolutely wonderful,” was the retort, though he could only manage a weak smile. “Good, then you can explain to us what is happening. Why exactly have you used those bells to cast an empathy spell over Ponyville, and why is it still draining so much energy from you?” Ember flopped himself over on his bed, managing to get a blue blanket wrapped around himself. It had seemed to him that the princess seemed much more interested in the former question. The way she said the word 'bells' seemed tinged with nostalgia. It wouldn't be too surprising that someone of her age would have fond memories of those bells, and seeing them used in a improper way may be somewhat distressing. Turning his tired eyes towards a plain wall, Ember explained. “As I’ve mentioned before there was an old custom a friend told me about. In the days before Equestria, when the clouds still flowed and the plants grew of their own accord, the spirits of old watched over this land. These spirits decided, so my friend tells me, to cast a spell during the winter to help protect against those who would seek to drag things into unnatural conflict. A spell was developed which reinforced the natural order, keeping those unnatural elements at bay.” “And you know how to perform this spell?” Ember's ear twitched at the alicorn's question. “… I do, but with Discord already imprisoned and other spirits that would cause strife not showing themselves, it seemed like a bit of a waste. So, why not cast something else that would promote peace? Why not a spell to help everyone feel each other’s feelings?” “I See.” Luna took a step towards Ember’s bed. The tan colt turned over in his bed to face the alicorn. “As for why it’s still draining me, you see, as I cast the empathy spell, I’m used as a hub of sorts. I need to keep feeding it for the spell to stay active. I really need to jot that down later, wasn’t expecting this much of a drain.” “Try again,” stated the princess, giving the colt a cold look. Ember paused, his eyes drifted to an empty corner of the room. “You see, in order for the spell to trans…” “I don’t need clarification of how the spell works, I need you to stop lying. You’re not very good at it, and it only insults me as a user of magic.” Twilight placed herself between Ember and Luna. “What do you mean? What has he lied about?” There was a silence. “Fine, I’ll tell her then,” began Princess Luna. “I’m familiar with the spell he is using, and it would not continue to drain the caster after its activation. That’s the point of activating the leyline. No, there’s something else you’re powering, something you couldn’t quite anchor into the bells.” “The signal, the second spell in the bells,” commented Twilight. “The empathy spell isn’t what you wanted, you just needed its field to amplify the signal!” Ember turned his head toward the pair, revealing smile on his face. Not a forced or calculated smile, but a true, honest smile. Ember was beginning to forget what those felt like. “Yes, you’re right. I had to get that signal out, no matter what.” Luna placed a hoof on Ember’s bed, looking him straight in the eye. “Who exactly is this ‘friend’ of yours who has told you how to do these things?” “The same one you left oranges for when you were a filly.” Luna stepped back, bumping into the desk. “Then it really is… but how could you know him? You’re but a mere colt! No one’s spoken to him since the Darkening, not even the Doctor. So how?” “He was lost. Even when he found a way to travel, he needed a light in the dark to guide him. That’s why I’m here, to light the way home.” “And these ‘Daleks,’” interjected Twilight, why are they here?” “I suspect they’ve been here a while, it was only my signal bouncing around in it’s early stages that let the Doctor finally detect them.” “You didn’t answer my question. How have you come in contact with Tempest?” There was a pause. “How much do you know about the Doctor?” The two mares were taken aback. “He’s… a clock maker,” Twilight stated, not sure what else to say. “And?” “He was chased, or so my sister says,” offered Luna. “He arrived several years ago hiding from some creatures who disguised themselves as ponies, calling themselves the ‘Family of Blood.’ Shortly after he arrived in Ponyville as Mister Whooves, clockmaker.” I don’t know all the details, but I’ve heard from my sister he has aided our country many times in the past, him and his blue box that can vanish and appear wherever he wills it.” “Yes, that TARDIS of his, the blue box, can travel in space. But what he has likely neglected to mention, is that it can travel through time as well.” ---------- Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Ditzy sat around the control panel of the TARDIS, watching as the Doctor made his way towards the creature. On the screen they would occasional catch glimpses of the strange pony, now wearing a long brown coat, his sonic screwdriver readily retrievable in a front pocket. “So, how did you meet Doctor Whooves?” Pinkie looked at the gray pegasus. “Oh, I ran into him a bit before the Summer Sun celebration. He seemed a bit out of place, so I figured I’d see if he needed help. I’ve been his companion ever since.” “Companion?” Pinkie considered the word for a moment. “Does that mean he’s your coltfriend?” It was a toss-up between who had turned redder, Ditzy or Fluttershy. “I wouldn’t say that. Not that I wouldn’t… but, you see the Doctor is, and I’m, you know… I’m more like an assistant.” “Ooooh. But, you’d like him to be your coltfriend. I get it. “I can’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind, but there’s no way he could look at me like that. I’m just his silly assistant.” “I don’t know about that,” Fluttershy began. “He certainly seems to trust you.” “Trust and love are a bit different I’m afraid,” Ditzy said with a sad smile, “but thank you.” ----- There was no mistaking it; no Daleks had left this ship alive. The Doctor skimmed through the reading of an access panel, trying to discover what had happened prior to their arrival, and what Tempest might have to do with it. As far as he could tell, that signal was designed to not only broadcast to the furthest parts of space, but time was well. That being the case, it wouldn’t be unthinkable that something like those creatures would take notice of it. “Ah, he’s what I was looking for.” The Doctor had found what he needed, video of where the Daleks had gone, as well as a better image of that creature in action. “Hold on a tick… there’s more than one.” --------- A loud "THUMP," echoed from the far side of the room. The three ponies turned towards the TARDIS’ doors. “Who could that be?” the pink pony questioned. “Hold on, I’ll see.” Ditzy moved to the control panel. “Now if I remember correctly… there!” The monitor’s image changed to show the outside of the TARDIS. There, circling the police-box was a large, bat like creature. ---------- What can I do, what can I do? The Doctor raced down the corridors back to the TARDIS. Right now, that creature is going to go to the oldest thing on the ship. He could only hope that he could escape before... too late. There it was, already circling the TARDIS. Dark brown, scaly skin, large bat-like wings, and a scythe-like tale attached. The head looked almost bird-like, and a bizarre mouth-like orifice was located in the middle of its chest, around which were four hooked arms. A reaper. Okay, okay, don’t panic. You’ve been in worse than this. I’m not sure when exactly… The reaper turned, setting its eyes on the Doctor. Running, I’m good at running. ----------- “That… thing is after the Doctor! We have to do something!” cried a panicked Ditzy Doo. “Fluttershy is good with animals, maybe she can do something.” Pinkie looked expectantly at the horrified yellow pegasus. ------------- “So what you’re telling us, just to be clear, is that you’re a time traveler, like the Doctor. That you’ve seen what’s about to happen and need to make sure it happens just as you’ve seen it happen,” summarized Twilight. “That’s pretty much the gist of it, though even my knowledge of what happened is limited only to what I saw my first time around,” explained Ember. As much as Ember would have liked that to be the end of it, the look of skepticism on Twilight’s face suggested otherwise. However, before Twilight could open her mouth to criticize his explanation, Luna spoke. “That would certainly explain your need to boost the signal, and why you couldn’t power it solely through the leylines and bells. You didn’t intend to signal Tempest now, but in the past. A spell that complicated and powerful would need the caster to continue being an anchor.” “But you said that Tempest was already here, so why are you still broadcasting the signal?” “Excellent question Miss Twilight! You see, I don’t know exactly how long it took for Tempest to detect the broadcast, given the nature of how the signal travels. I also can’t risk ending it too soon, not allowing him enough time to track it. Therefore, I have to go off how long I felt it being broadcast during my first visit.” “How long will that be?” Ember strode over to box and lifted out a small clock, all while still wrapped in his blue blanket. “Just another thirty minutes should do it. Then the real fun begins. In the meantime,” Ember let the blanket fall to the floor and strode towards the door, “I have bread to make.” ------------- “SCREEEEEE.” The reaper chased after the Doctor, corridor after corridor. Fortunately it’s large size seemed ill fitted for the spacecraft. Not far behind a trio of mares followed. If I can just get to the engine room, I could at least buy myself enough time to get back to the TARDIS and figure out whatever paradox caused these to show up. Dead end. “Well, that’s just rubbish.” The “mouth” of the creature began to glow as it hovered slowly towards the Doctor. “Doctor!” The reaper halted, turning its attention to the new arrivals. “Ditzy?” “Okay Fluttershy, do your thing.” Pinkie pushed the pegasus towards the creature. “Hey, it’s ignoring us.” “Of course it’s ignoring you,” the Doctor yelled from his corner, “these creatures come from the time vortex itself, the older something is the better, and right now I’m the oldest thing in here.” With a final flap, the reaper was upon the Doctor. The three ponies shut their eyes the sound of a sickening "CRUNCH." ----------------- “I really like making sourdough bread,” Ember said as he wobbled from a drawer filled with bowls to a drawer filled with utensils, a glass bowl balanced on his back. “It’s always a bit different depending on where you make it.” From a cupboard the hornless unicorn removed some flour and sugar. “You see, when one makes sourdough from scratch, we don’t bother adding any yeast to the mix. Just flour… salt… and water,” Ember measured out each ingredient and let it fall into the bowl after naming each one. “Now this is the important part, we need to pour our mix into a jar… grab the jar for me, thank you, and then we just place a cloth over it, yes that one over there, tie that on for me, and voilà!” “I’m not sure I understand,” began Twilight, “are you going to bake the dough in that jar?” Ember chortled. “No, well, I guess I could, but that’s not my plan. You see, with sourdough bread, you let the starter, that ‘s what I have here, gather its own yeast. Yeast is everywhere, just floating about in the air. All you need to do is give it some delicious wheat to munch on, and it will make the bread nice and puffy for you.” Ember placed the jar onto the counter and motioned for his two students to come closer. “This cloth that Miss Luna secured onto the top keeps out unwanted particles that would spoil the mix, while still allowing yeast to get it. Even more important is that this is Ponyville yeast. It will have a different taste and smell than any other sourdough in Equestria, nay, the world! Isn’t that just fascinating? With just a little time, this jar will be filled with gases from happy little fungi.” The colt placed the jar in the corner of the bakery, out of the reach of the sun. “Now in a few days I’ll be able to make some tasty Ponyville style bread. I can’t wait.” Twilight couldn’t help but smile at the cheesy grin on the young stallion’s face. --------------- The Doctor cringed in the corner of the room, waiting for his death, or rather, eraser from time and space. And waited. And waited. “Oh come now, if you’re going to eat me then get it…” The brown colt looked about the room. All across the room, the text on access panels, and even drawn on with familiar white chalk read “BAD FOX.” At the other end of the corridor the three mares looked on in horror. But what were they looking at? Following their gazes he saw them, all of five feet away in the opposite corner. A large, gray fox, easily the size of Princess Celestia, if not larger, was holding the creature up against the wall. As the fox put a mysterious pressure against the reaper, it let out another sickening “CRUNCH,” before going limp. “Hello Doctor,” a voice came from the fox, “how I’ve wanted to see you.”