Chapter 58
I didn’t know what I was looking at, but I could tell that it was mine. There was a light blue earth pony holding it with her hooves. Her hooves were wrapped in little paper booties, as if she were holding something that belonged in a museum. She looked around every now and then fearfully, swishing her pale grey mane, as if she was afraid something would come up and breathe on the thing. The thing itself, upon inspection, was found out to be a sword. This sword was more of a rapier than the sword I summon. It was painfully thin, as far as swords go. It very much resembled Othello’s sword that he made for Celestia, but it was decorated with a palate of dark blues instead of white and pink. The shape of the sword was very different from anything I had ever summoned before. The handle and the crossguard were thin and wispy, embellished with jewels and careful metalwork that resembled vines. The vines were blued steel embellished with thin lines of shiny platinum. The entire sword was iridescent. I looked back at the Doctor.
“What is it?”
“It’s the first sword you will ever sing.” He said, somber. I snorted.
“I’ve summoned lots of swords. None of them ever looked like this.” The Doctor smiled.
“I never said you summoned this one, Edwin. I said you sang this one.” He explained. I frowned for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant. The strange verb struck a familiar chord in my mind, but I couldn’t think of what it meant.
“What does that mean?” I asked. The Doctor sighed shook his head.
“I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. I’m not allowed-”
“To tell me about my future, I know. I’m a little bit too busy for your mind games, Doctor. I’ve got to get Othello fixed up and get some ponies back to Equestria. So unless you have anything else to say, I’ve got to go.” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. I turned to get back in my Tardis when the Doctor stopped me.
“Edwin.” He said simply, his voice laden with worry. I looked over my shoulder, not turning all of the way. He hesitated for a moment. “She still... She still loves you, Edwin. Please remember that.” He said. I nodded, turning back to my Tardis and walking away.
“Where were you?” Finder demanded, perched on top of the console. He was stomping away, trying to get the Tardis to do something. I looked quizzically at Finder.
“What are you doing?”
“You were taking so long! We have to go! Othello is starting to giggle!” he shouted, pointing at Othello’s tube. Sure enough, he was shaking silently in the inertia chamber, his mouth open with a smile. I frowned.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I agreed, walking up to the console. I grabbed Finder by the scruff of his neck and set him down on the ground. He huffed indignantly and stomped over to Gespard and Marcus, now clearly green and blue earth ponies. They were whispering with their heads together, peeking over their shoulders every now and then. I eyed them from my side of the Console, trying to figure out what they were saying. I frowned and flicked a few switches and keys on the console. A screen nearby blacked out for a moment, then booted up with a plain text program. I grabbed it, pulling it closer, and started to read.
Marcus: We can’t let him leave. Can we?
Gespard: He can’t fight. He’s already used his gun, and I’m fairly sure he doesn’t have any more cartridges. He can’t do that again.
Marcus: What?
Gespard: Oh, you know what I mean. But that’s beside the point. He’s no good to us anymore as a Numbered.
Marcus: You’re kidding me. We need him to stay.
Gespard: Oh please. There’s not a chance that we can turn him back. You’re just worried that your little girlie is going to get hurt.
Marcus: Don’t you dare talk about Eve that way. I’ll make a sequoiah sprout in your stomach.
Gespard: Please. You’ve made that threat so many times over the years.
Marcus: I’ve meant it every time. You leave her alone.
Gespard: Okay, Okay. But he’s a liability here. How did he get the Tardis?
Marcus: I don’t know. I don’t know. Is he even a Numbered anymore?
Gespard: He’s still Edwin. He should still feel devoted. But he can’t act on it. He’s useless.
Marcus: We can change him back. There are unicorns in the Royal estate skilled at transformation magic, and we can-
Gespard: Listen to yourself. You want to turn an unskilled... Thing into a Numbered. Even if we could do that, we wouldn’t need Edwin to do it. We could just get a Royal guard and change it into a Numbered. He would be loyal, obey orders, and know how to use his gifts wisely. It’s just not practical. But his skill as a pilot, on the other hoof...
Marcus: You want to use him.
Gespard: Yes. He could take us right to Cloudsdale without alerting anything. He’s not as eccentric as the Doctor. He’ll listen to one of us. If not, we’ll just have to take it by force.
Marcus: Can we take it?
Gespard: We’re Numbereds, Marcus. Reality is our plaything. We can do whatever we like. Even if he won’t help us, you’ve had experience piloting it.
Marcus: Is this the right thing to do?
Gespard: It can save Equestria from the Angelics once and for all.
Marcus: But...
Gespard: But? But nothing. We all want a free Equestria. Do you remember the peacetimes?
Marcus: Of course I do. It’s the most wonderful thing.
Gespard: We can do it. We can get that back. All we need to do is take the Tardis.
Marcus: I don’t know...
Gespard: If you won’t help me, I’ll take it myself!
I heard the last line of text out loud as it appeared on the screen. I looked up to see Gespard, his eyes glowing bright white, suspended in the air. Clear tendrils of water rose around him. I had a moment of panic before I reacted. My hands ran all over the console, flying at buttons and switches. Gespard flew around the console and into me faster than I could react to it. He collided with me, throwing me to the door. I was completely drenched, dazed, lying in front of the door. I was pulled up from the floor. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the water out of my face. Gespard was standing in front of me, eyes glowing, with a snarl on his face.
“You aren’t going to leave Equestria. You’re going to stay and help us fight the Angelics. You’re too valuable to leave.” He said, his voice cold. I gurgled, trying to talk past the water in my throat. Gespard released me, letting me fall down on the cold metal grate with a hard bang. I opened my mouth to cough and felt the water rush out of my throat. I coughed when all of it was out, struggling to breathe still. I put a fist down on the grate, trying to get up again. Gespard was still standing over me, radiating magic. I tried to say something, but only coughed again.
“Speak up. Are you going to help us willingly?” He asked, cold as ever.
“Tardis” I rasped out before breaking into a coughing fit. Marcus decided to interject.
“Gespard, Let him be! He’s done nothing wrong!” Marcus shouted.
“Hey, What’s going on?” Finder asked, oblivious to just about everything. I coughed again, trying to speak. Gespard growled, stomping his hoof.
“Edwin, you are going to help us or I will kill you.” He emphasized. I coughed again, still trying to speak. Gespard levitated me in the air. I felt a warmth in my throat where Gespard healed me so I could speak. “Well?” He asked, his cobalt eyes impatient. I gulped.
“Panic!” I shouted loudly. Gespard screwed up his face in confusion. The Tardis responded, sounding the blisteringly loud alarm that heralded the Panic button. Gespard released his magic. I crashed to the floor of the Tardis. In the confusion, I rolled to the end of the grate and crawled under, searching for anything that could help me stave off Gespard. I found the polished wood handle of a gun. I pulled it out of it’s snug little hiding spot and held it close to my body. I was about to figure out what it did at Gespard when a great sucking noise filled the Tardis. The grate above me lifted away and out of the Tardis. I felt the sharp rush of wind as everything but Othello tried to leave the Tardis at the same time. I spilled out of the door first like water through a funnel, watching Gespard, Finder, and Marcus get sucked out after me. I let out a gasp, feeling a sharp pain in my chest. All of the air in my lungs rushed out at once, leaving my throat sore. I blinked, looking back at the Tardis. It was framed against a starry nebula, rapidly shrinking into the starscape. I watched other Tardii slowly appear and disappear, catching the other occupants that were unceremoniously ejected into space. My hands settled out in front of me, and I suddenly found my vision growing blurry at the corners. My mouth and eyes were dry, my body was sore, and I couldn’t hear anything. The only thing I could hear was my heartbeat, loud in my ears, thudding. My dry eyes blinked slowly, stretching tight skin over my eyes. My lungs begged for air. I gasped at the blackness, trying to get the air that was never there. I gagged silently in the beautiful starscape, thinking that this was a beautiful place to die. The blurry edges of my world slowly, slowly faded to black. I blinked one last time, feeling the deep, deep cold of empty space invade my body.
Something hit my face. I opened my eyes, my lungs heaving. I lifted my chest off of the floor, feeling the cool air around me. I touched my face with one of my hands, marvelling at the smooth skin. I sat up, looking down at my body. My red flannel shirt and slacks were completely ragged and threadbare, looking like they’ve been through a blender. The wooden-handled gun was resting next to me, emitting a faint blue light. I looked up at my surroundings. I was inside of the Tardis, but it wasn’t the Tardis I was using. Johnathan Cooper, the man from the hospital that I knew to be the Doctor, stood with his fists on his hips and a scowl on his face. The other Doctor, the pony, stood fluttering his wings impatiently with a scowl on his face too. I smiled weakly.
“Hey.” I ventured, trying to diffuse the situation. The human Doctor spoke first.
“It’s not fun to be left half-naked in the wilderness. It’s also not fun to explain to the police why there are three obliterated helicopters in the middle of a cemetery. It’s not fun to find a Tardis in the middle of a class-3 sector. So let’s dispense with pleasantries.”
“He wants his Tardis back.” The Pony Doctor said, his voice stern. I frowned.
“I kinda need it.” I tried to explain, but the human Doctor shook his head
“No, you don’t. You’re lucky that this little bloke found me in time to get it away from you. Can you believe that he had a Walters assault suit?” The human exclaimed in disbelief. The pony nodded, clearly impatient.
“Yes, I can remember. Now this is where it gets tricky-” The pony stated, talking to me now. “You obviously had assistance from a Time Lord.” The pony said. I blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“You were in possession of a controlled substance- Penultainium. It’s the fuel used to make the energy for the suit and it’s also the slugs that the suit fired. It’s extremely dangerous. Have you been feeling itchy? Have any inexplicable blisters on your body?” He asked. When I shook my head, he started up again, but was cut off by the human Doctor.
“It’s a level 9 regulated ore- fissile, radioactive, and impossible to handle safely. It’s been known to cause burns, blindness, heat blisters, hell, people that’ve been exposed to this stuff have had children with three extra heads. It’s dangerous, illegal, and literally impossible to smuggle onto a planet like Midnight.”
“I don’t know about that.” I retorted. The pony coughed, and then rushed into an explanation.
“Walking across the lobby you set off five alarms, three of them attuned to the radiation signature of penultainium. There are five thousand, nine hundred and sixty three alarms throughout the entire resort. You only set of five alarms. Thank God those five were enough to deploy the Judoon. With the penultainium alone, you've racked up enough crimes to earn yourself a trial at the Shadow Proclamation.” He finished. I frowned.
“Wait, you mean that-”
“It’s not your only crime? Of course. The Walter’s corporation itself is a front for a whole host of illegal smuggling operation and a slew of crime families. Almost every single product they make is endorsed and funded by mob money. The fact that you bought something from them is, again, enough to make you a galactic criminal a few times over.” The human Doctor said
“Please, I’m sure there’s a market for-
“Market for what?” The pony said. “A market for weapons systems that can destroy planets? There’s a market for it, and guess what color it is. Black, Edwin. These things are so illegal that you can get arraigned for just looking at them. It’s a crime most times to be in the same room with these things. You’ve broken so many laws that you should be pulling shards out of your feet with tweezers. It’s unreal. You’ve broken so many laws so quickly that I’d chew my own wings off if you didn’t have any outside help.”
“You’re saying that I’ve had help from a Time Lord.” I said out loud. The human Doctor scoffed.
“Please. There aren’t any more. Most likely you’ve had help from someone with a temporal device. It most likely wouldn’t be a Tardis- Those are few and far between. But you’ve got to have had something to help you out.” The Doctor said. I frowned.
“So... What’s gonna happen?” I asked. I had to play it dumb. I couldn’t tell them about the Composer. For all I knew, they could have hunted him. I couldn’t bring heat down on my future self. I owed the Composer that much.
“You’re going to tell us how you smuggled nine kilograms of penultainium onto Midnight. If that happens, we won’t extradite you and the Walters suit to the Shadow Proclamation. If you’re nice, we’ll let you keep the suit to fight Angelics.” He explained. I bit my lip. That put me in a real bind. The suit could definitely kill a whole load of Angelics, but I couldn’t reveal anything about the Composer. I thought about it for a moment. I smiled when I finally realized what I could say. The human Doctor frowned.
“What is it? What’s that grin?” He demanded.
“I can’t tell you about your future.” I almost laughed out.