Out of the Shadows.
985 C.R
“This is an awesome party, Carrot!!” Called a mauve earth pony around her braces, over the loud music of the dance hall. Lights flashed on and off around them as lasers arched through the air. She wore a checkered handkerchief, and several glow rings around her neck and hooves, they jangled and shook as she danced.
“Yeah! I know, it’s totally tubular!” replied Carrot, a yellow pony with a orange mane. “These are some pretty fly beats!”
The pair bopped and jammed along to the music, dancing and bumping into other ponies on the crowded dance floor as they went.
The music cut out abruptly.
“What? Hey! Who cut the tunes?”
There was a strange sound humming over the complaints and whinnies of the dancers. A sound somewhat like a key being dragged across some piano wire.
“What’s that noi-” Carrot was interrupted as a large blue box hurtled through the opposite wall. Ponies scattered as chunks of plaster went flying in all directions, the box toppled several of the large speakers in corner, which landed with tremendous crash on the dancefloor. The DJ leapt to safety before it went careening into the turntables, throwing up sparks as the machinery hissed and spat. The box finally landed in the middle of the floor. Slowly, several ponies peaked their heads out from their hiding places.
“What in the hay!?” Carrot said from behind an overturned speaker. “Are you seeing this?” he turned to find his dancing partner wasn’t there. She was in front of the blue box, dumbstruck.
He was about to call out to her when the doors to the box swung open. A brown stallion poked his head out.
“What time is I-”. He paused looking the mauve pony up and down. “......What are you wearing?”
“I-”
“And what are those things on your teeth!?”
“Braces, but I-”
“Braces!? Now why would a equine need braces!?”
The pony was getting annoyed. “To keep my teeth straight you square!”
“Square?” the stallion put a hoof to his chin, thinking for a moment. “Let’s see, overly loud clothing, bright flashing lights, obnoxious music, period lingo...” His eyes shot wide open. “Oh for peat sakes no! It can’t be. Really!? I mean, honestly!?” He tossed his hooves in the air.
“What’s your dish, lame brain?”
“Must every universe have an eighties!?” He cried, exasperated. “Even one populated by by pastel miniature horses!? I mean they got it wrong the first time, why do it again!?”
“What are you yakking about?”
“Hmm?” he looked at her blankly for a moment. “Oh, nothing, in any case, it seems I’ve really overshot my landing. But out of curiosity, could you tell me the year?”
“The year? You must have gone to some wicked party bro.” she sized him up. “It’s 985.”
“I knew it!” he yelled. “I just knew it! Even the numbers correlate. Astounding! ” He vanished back inside the blue box mumbling to himself about the logistics of pony parachute pants. The doors shut behind him and the box began to glow.
The mauve pony turned to run away. Suddenly the glowing stopped, and the doors swung open again.
“Sorry, before I go, I’m the Doctor, and you?”
“Cheerilee.” she said quickly. Then joined Carrot behind the overturned speaker.
The Doctor popped back into the blue box. The sound started up again, and slowly it disappeared into thin air.
There was silence in the dance hall for a while as everypony slowly came out of their hiding places.
“Wow....that was wicked loose.” Carrot whispered.
38, T.R
Twilight dried her eyes as followed the Doctor, looking for a way out of the large library.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” He asked softly. “I can send you home if you want. You don’t have to be here for this.”
“No.” she replied. “I want to know what’s going on here, no way I’m leaving this alone. I just can’t understand what’s happening. What would make the princesses so fearful? Why would I do this? Taking powers? Building colonies? I can’t even imagine....and in the painting... my eyes are so terrible...”
The Doctor was silent for a moment as they walked. They made their way around bookshelves and displays, most of which, Twilight noticed, incorporated purple in some way.
Eventually the Doctor spoke.
“If you’re going to stay, and note, that you still don’t have too. then we need information. If you’re anything like I suspect, books will be of little use. Probably censored of anything useful. If we’re going to get to the heart of this, we need to hear things straight from the horse’s mouth.”
He noticed Twilight’s expression.
“Oh, you know what I mean! Either way we need to be a lot faster than this!” he hopped forward, landing in front of a rather startled earth pony. Twilight noted that he wore the same wooden box a lot of ponies seemed to wear. “You, sir!” his head dipped into his pocket, returning with a wallet. He flashed it in front of the stallions face, then quickly returned it. “Random survey!” “What?”
“That’s what intend to find out! What do you think?”
“Huh?”
“We’re getting nowhere fast, sir.” The Doctor walked around the blue earth pony, assessing him. “Quick, what’s your name.”
“Uh, it’s Peanut, mister.”
The Doctor made a choking sound, but quickly stifled it. “Um...Good name...and your last name?”
“Butter.”
The Doctor paused for moment. He was about to say something, but Twilight shot him a warning glance. He held his tongue and continued “Okay....Peanut Butter, how are you enjoying life under the Queen?”
“Under Queen Twilight?” he looked apprehensive. “Well, things are good....She certainly put a lot of work into the library at least.”
“Yes, it’s quite big isn’t it?” the Doctor replied. “But what about you? You personally. Any troubles, Mr.Butter? Anything you’d change if you could?”
“Um....” his eyes shifted nervously. “No, nothing really, everything’s great! She’s made the town is more prosperous than ever! Yep....wouldn’t change a thing!”
The Doctor took a step closer. “Really Mr.Butter? Nothing at all? Because I think there’s something you would change. I think you’re hiding something.”
“No! Certainly not, sir!” said Peanut Butter, flustered.
“What do you do for a living Mr.Butter?”
“I-I make sandwiches, at a shop just down the road.”
“Hmm, sandwiches, yes,” The Doctor glared at the poor stallion. “and, are you sure, that there’s nothing you would change, so that you could do your job better?”
“Well....I suppose...” Peanut butter started tentatively.
“Suppose what?”
“Well I...it’s just that I sort of....”
“Go on.”
“Well when I first opened the shop...”
“Out with it man!”
“I miss real ingredients!!” Peanut Butter yelled. They all had become acclimated to being in the library, so the resulting shushes were hardly noticed.
“Ah,” said the Doctor. “Care to elaborate on that?
“Well...I miss real bread, and tomatoes and lettuce. Since this darkness settled in, nothing grows. No plants, no wheat for the bread, no seeds for the mustard, no vegetables for the toppings. I have to use magically replicated ingredients.”
“Magically replicated?” Twilight chimed in.
“Yes, and it just doesn’t taste the same.” Peanut Butter grimaced, growing bolder. “There’s an aftertaste of magic to everything. You know, like the flavor of burnt almonds.”
“I think what my companion means is,” the Doctor interrupted “what kind of process does one go through to get magically replicated ingredients?”
Peanut Butter raised an eyebrow. “You just cast a spell depending on what you want of course. Like with everything else.”
“Oh, so you’ve got a unicorn in the shop?” asked Twilight.
“Hmm? Oh, you mean Pumpernickel? Yeah, he works for me, but he couldn’t cast anything to save his life.” Peanut Butter pumped his chest out proudly. “I make all my ingredients myself, even if we don’t have the genuine article anymore.”
“You do? But you’re an earth pony! You shouldn’t be able to use magic!”
Peanut Butter sized up the purple unicorn, raising an eyebrow. “Are you one of those Cloppish folk?” he asked. “Always with this ‘Earth ponies shouldn’t do spells junk. I’ll tell you now, you ain’t converting me!”
The Doctor interjected. “What we mean to say is could you show us a demonstration of how you go about making your ingredients?”
Peanut Butter relaxed slightly. “Oh, well if that’s what you wanted, all you had to do was ask!” He smiled. “Follow me, magic isn’t allowed in the main building, the study rooms are this way!” He marched off proudly. The Doctor and Twilight followed closely behind.
A Pegasus climbed out from behind a nearby bookshelf, watching the three ponies leave. He quickly flew behind a stairwell, and spoke softly into the box around his neck.
“You were right mam,” he began. “It is her, we’re sending them in.”
He turned quickly, and flew off into the dark corners of the library.
“Here we are!” Said Peanut Butter, opening the large oak door to the study room. It was a small area made of thick granite stone, in places the walls were charred and burnt. The smell of magic emanated strongly from inside, a sweet nutty odor.
The Doctor hopped inside. “Okay Mr. Butter, show us your sandwich making prowess” He sat on his haunches and waited expectantly. “Come along, Digger, I think this will be fascinating!” Twilight joined him and waited for Peanut Butter to begin.
“Okay, then, I’ll give you the full run down!” He said proudly. “First, I picture the ingredient I want. For the sake of showmanship I’ll go ahead and make a whole sandwich. What kind would you like?”
Twilight thought for a moment. “Anything is fine I supp-”
“Chocolate covered daises with custard!” yelled the Doctor.
Peanut Butter stared at the brown earth pony. “Um...How about we do PB&J, it’s my specialty.” he grinned nervously.
“Well, you did ask.” said the Doctor.
“Okay, first thing we need is my favorite ingredient! Peanut butter!” he laughed at his ownjoke.
The Doctor and Twilight were silent.
“Er...well...yes, on with it then.” he closed his eyes and concentrated. “I need to focus on the ingredient, remember everything about it. How it tastes, it’s texture, it’s appearance, everything.” he strained.
Slowly, a glow began shine from inside box around his neck, growing brighter through the small hole in the front. It was green, and sparkled in the light, concentrating into a beam of energy . The glow grew brighter and brighter, until the Doctor and Twilight had to shield their eyes. It arched and crackled as the beam grew larger and larger. Peanut Butter strained and grunted in concentration as the sound grew to a crescendo . Then, in a flash of light, everything stopped.
A small jar of peanut butter landed on the floor with a click.
Peanut Butter panted a bit, exhausted. “Okay,” he wheezed. “I might have put a bit more into that than than I should have. But that’s basically how it’s done. I’ll be less showy with the rest of it.”
Several short flashes of light later a jar a jelly and a loaf a bread sat on the floor next to the peanut butter. A knife popped up next to Peanut Butter’s head and expertly cut the bread, and rationed out the ingredients. Two perfectly made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches landed in font of the Doctor and a stunned Twilight.
“There you go, nothing to it!”
Twilight stared at the food, amazed. “How....how is that possible!?” she asked softly.
Peanut Butter looked puzzled. “Come now, even if you are Cloppish, you shouldn’t act to surprised. Where are you from anyway?”
The Doctor took a bite of his sandwich. “Oh, very far away, ground ponies and all that stuff, am I the only one getting déjà vu?” He smacked on the food, walking over to Peanut Butter. “I think the real question is, what is that box around your neck?”
“This?” he looked at the small device. “It’s my horn, every non-unicorn has one these days.”
“Ah, yes...your horn.” said the Doctor. “And would you happen to know how that works?”
“Well, as far as I know, it-” Peanut Butter was interrupted by a knock at the door. “That’s weird, no one uses these rooms much anymore.” he remarked.
The Doctor walked over. “Who is it?” he asked.
The knocking continued, louder. The Doctor opened the door slightly, peeking out. He quickly shut it, staring at Twilight.
“Doctor?”
“Yes, Digger?” He asked taking out the sonic screwdriver.
“Is everything alright?”
“That depends, is it normal for living stuffed ponies to be asking to use the study room?”
“No.”
“Well, I don’t want to frighten you, so I’m going to lie.” He raced over the opposite wall scanning frantically. “Yes everything is perfectly alright.”
The door flew off it’s hinges and hit the opposite wall with a bang.
A large brown stuffed hoof entered the room, followed by the large stuffed pony it was attached to. It was a good three feet taller than anypony in the room. Its stitching was loose and threads hung off at odd angles, dragging behind it in a trail along with bits of stuffing as it lurched awkwardly, the thing’s head swiveled until it’s button eyes fixated on Twilight.
“Okay, I’m a terrible liar!” The Doctor yelled. “Things are most definitely not alright!”
Peanut Butter and Twilight screamed.
The Doctor pressed the sonic screwdriver against the wall. “Quickly! Over here!” he turned around and kicked against the granite. The wall fell over, landing outside the library with a crash.
The Doctor dashed out into the dark, Twilight and Peanut Butter quickly followed, as more of the stuffed ponies filed into the room. “What are those things!?” yelled Twilight as she hit the gravel path outside galloping away from the library.
“Raggedy Mares!” Peanut Butter yelled back. “I’m starting to doubt you two are Cloppish! There’s no way I want these things after me. You guys are on your own!” He turned and veered off into the trees. He didn’t look back.
The Raggedy Mares may have looked slow, but they were quickly gaining on the pair. They ignored the Fleeing Peanut Butter. There were three of them, each running full speed, closing the gap between them faster with every second.
“What do we do?!” asked Twilight, looking back at the things closing in.
“Remember about fifty years ago when I said I was saving the running for later?” asked the Doctor.
“Yeah.”
“Well, now’s the time to stop saving! Keep running!”
“Oh, well that’s a brilliant plan!”
“Yeah I know, I surprise myself sometimes.” The Doctor panted. “Just follow my lead!” He quickly swerved towards the shopping district.
Twilight followed. The Raggedy Mares kept running straight, the one in front caught on quickly and stopped, the other two bumping into it, their fabric stretching and sagging grossly as they lurched and shook, trying to disentangle themselves.
The Doctor galloped into a crowd of ponies, profusely apologizing as shopping bags and trinkets went flying, Twilight dodging them as she followed in his wake. The Raggedy mares weren’t stopped for long, and resumed their pursuit. The crowd panicked and dispersed in all directions as they saw the things coming. Chaos ensued, halting their progress.
“This way!” The Doctor called, dashing down an alleyway.
The two ran down the narrow path until they came to a dead end.
“Oh no!” Twilight yelled. Stopping short before she hit the wall.
“Don’t panic.” Said the Doctor softly. “It’s all part of the plan.” He walked over to a nearby dumpster and levered it open. He looked knowingly at Twilight.
It dawned on her what he wanted her to do. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes.”
“And there’s no other way?”
“Well we can see if we can outrun the creepy stuffed horses if you like.”
she sighed. “Oh alright.” she held her breath, and walked forwards.
The Raggedy mares peered down the alleyway, their button eyes searching for any sign of life. They shuffled forward in their odd limping manner. Nosing along walls, and scanning through the dark.
Twilight’s heart skipped a beat as one nosed around the lid of the dumpster. She squeezed her eyes shut and quietly willed the thing to go away. It stayed for several minutes, and for a tense moment she thought they would be caught. She could feel the Doctor nearby, his hearts beating as calmly as ever. She had the feeling this wasn’t the first time he’d hidden from monsters.
The thing eventually moved away. They waiting in silence for a while until the shuffling stopped.
“Do you think they’re gone?” Twilight whispered.
“Only one way to find out.” The Doctor slowly opened the lid of the dumpster. Peering out into the gloom. Seeing the coast was clear he opened it the rest of the way. “Yeah, they’re gone.” he said calmly. “You can come out.”
Twilight poked her head out of the garbage, taking a deep breath of the clean air. She turned to the Doctor, and couldn’t help but laugh.
“What is it?” he asked puzzled.
“You’ve got something on your head.”
He looked up to find a banana peel sitting there. “Oh.” he shook it off.
Twilight’s giggling subsided. She sighed. “What do we do now?”
“Yet another very go-” he paused.
“Doctor?”
The shove took her by surprise, the Doctor pushed her out of the way as the Raggedy mare reached out. She fell hard onto the ground, she could only look up as the thing grabbed the Doctor and dragged him into it’s fabric. He didn’t struggle. Just looked down and said.
“I’ll meet you outside the castle, don’t be late, it’s not polite.”
The seams on the front of the Raggedy mare opened up, and he was lost inside. They locked back in place as it got up from it’s hiding place behind the dumpster, and the thing was off before she had time to register what happened.
“Doctor?...” she said in disbelief.
The other Raggedy Mares came out of the shadows and walked towards her. She was backed against the wall. She looked around panicked.
“Doctor!!”
As the Raggedy Mares reached out to take her, she curled up, and closed her eyes. Just as they were about to grab her. There was a streak of rainbow.
The stuffed hoof closed around nothing.
Twilight Sparkle was gone, the rainbow streak racing out of the alleyway, and into the gloom.
To Be Continued.