//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Silver Bells // by mamori86 //------------------------------// Silver Bells Chapter 5 “T-Tempest? Is that really you?” The Doctor stared at his rescuer, not sure whether he was more shocked at their sudden meeting, or the fact that he was able to subdue the reaper so easily. “How are you doing that? Nothing in this universe can hurt those creatures, so how did you manage that?” The limp form of the strange entity slumped to the floor with unsettling "flump." Tempest continued to gaze at his victim as he spoke. “These things, reapers some call them, they come from outside our universe, living within the flow of the time vortex. Damaging them would require something capable of damaging time itself.” “Damage time?” questioned Pinkie, “how does that work?” Tempest turned his head slightly to the left, just enough to catch a glimpse of the three ponies behind him. He considered them for a moment before answering. “The details are quite complicated, but the important aspect is that these creatures are naturally capable of doing it. They use this ability to mend paradoxes, but I’ve seen it have other uses.” The Doctor took a step towards the fox spirit. “That’s fantastic! You mean you’ve actually managed to mimic their abilities? I knew you were a crafty fox, but this is beyond belief.” “It was dumb luck really,” began Tempest. “After I found myself abandoned, I eventually noticed one of these poor things wounded in the aftermath. Must have been attracted to that dragon. I tried to help it, but to no avail.” Tempest lowered his head, face to face with the reaper. “So I figured, ‘why let this chance go to waste?’ So I studied it, observed as it tried to return to the vortex, tried to consume me, as it cried. It was all rather depressing, really. But you know what? I was happy it was there, if only to not be alone.” The Doctor knew how it felt to feel alone in the universe. As much as one tried to make up for it with other distractions, there was always that nagging void in one’s heart, constantly reminding you, “You are alone.” “However,” Tempest continued, “it soon stopped chasing me. It went silent. That was when I had an Idea. If I could take its remaining temporal energy into myself, I could manipulate time-space. I could travel through the vortex. But most importantly, I could get home!” “Take its energy? You don’t mean…” a paling Fluttershy’s voice gave out, not willing to finish her sentence. “I’m afraid so little one, I had to consume it.” For the first time, the ancient spirit turned to face the ponies. Like a vine gripping the bark of a tree, long strands of brown-green scales wound their way around his body, and covering much of the right side of his long, vulpine face. “I see,” muttered the Doctor, “in order to navigate the vortex, you had to assimilate some of their flesh.” “Indeed, this was the third gift I received from my ordeal,” Tempest explained. “The first two were given to me from the dragon. The first was its hunger. The second was the means to satiate that hunger… if only momentarily.” As Tempest spoke a stream of glowing golden orbs made their way from the reaper to his spine. The scaly skin matched the colors and intensity of the orbs until the last of them had passed into his body. “There, much better.” The time pony looked on in horror at the realization of what stood before him. ----------- According to the clock on the wall, it was a few minutes passed eleven o’clock. Ember had finally stopped sending out the signal, and had tried to return to baking. This left Twilight and Luna to wait by the wooden box the Doctor had left, and attend to the occasional customer. The princess had taken a particular interest in the how the box worked. However, it had been a few minutes since Twilight had seen him since he had gone to the kitchen. “I suppose I should check on him,” the purple mare commented to the princess.” Luna nodded, not bothering to look up at Twilight as she continued to prod at the box with a hoof. Peering into the kitchen, Twilight could see a couple of trays of what she assumed were to be rolls had been left on the counter, bowls coated in dough remnants filled the sink, but no sign of the colt. It was only when she peered into an alcove that held much of the bakery’s ingredients that she found him. Ember had once again fallen asleep, this time leaning against the shelves to the pantry, a large bag of flour proving too powerful a temptation to rest his head upon. Ember twitched an ear at the soft "ding" of the timer. The colt lifted his head slowly from the sack, and not even bothering to turn around, instead backed out of the panty, towards the oven. “Need any help?” A mumble that sounded something like “I’ll be fine” was the reply to the purple mare's inquiry. “Well, the princess and I will be just in the next room waiting to hear from the Doctor if you do need anything.” Seeming to be drifting back to sleep with every passing second, Ember placed the next batch of rolls into the oven before re-setting the timer and returning to the alcove. “Luna? Twilight? Are you there?” It was the Doctor’s voice crackling from the wooden box. “Yes Doctor, we are here,” replied Luna, “do you need me to retrieve you?” “No, but when we come back I need you both to keep your distance from Tempest.” “What? Why?” “He’s… changed a bit. Are you familiar with The Darkening?” “Yes, Twilight Sparkle and I have discussed it.” “Good, that makes this easier. It seems when Tempest went into the dragon to stop it, he absorbed a bit of the magic that allowed it to break down and absorb matter and energy. Over time, that magic has spread throughout his body, becoming a part of whom he is. That’s how he was able to follow that signal here, he absorbed entities capable of manipulating time and space, and used their abilities to travel.” After a short pause and some clattering in the background, the Doctor continued. “Anyway, as it stands, entities with strong magical abilities would make a powerful temptation for him. And as much as I’d like to think otherwise, I’m not sure enough of the Tempest I knew remains to keep that hunger in check.” Luna and Twilight exchanged glances. “Doctor,” Twilight began, “if he’s become so dangerous, why let him come here at all?” “He’s been trying to get home for hundreds of years. Now that he’s within view of it there’s nothing that would convince him to simply stay away. There’s no way for us to stop him from coming, so better he be with us where we can keep an eye on him.” “I understand Doctor,” Luna replied. “Good, we’ll meet you by Fluttershy’s home by the Everfree Forest.” With that the box went silent. “We probably should have told him what we learned from Ember.” “It wouldn’t have changed anything.” Ember’s voice carried from the kitchen. “My role has finished, the rest is up to you.” --------------------- Having left the baker to his work, the pair made their way to the outskirts of Ponyville. The sun was still hidden from sight by the cloudy skies, and the closer they got to the Fluttershy’s house the darker and angrier the clouds seemed to become. Coming over the top of a hill, they saw a blue box. Outside Twilight could see four forms. The Doctor, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Ditzy Doo. “Where’s Tempest?” “The Doctor said it might be problematic if he entered the TARDIS, so Tempest said he’d meet us here,” answered Ditzy. Almost as if stepping out of a shadow, the tall vulpine form appeared. Twilight thought he certainly looked like the illustration, though what the Doctor meant by his change was quite evident as well. “Would you smell that air! And look, flowers!” The spirit flopped down upon the frosted earth and stared lovingly at a pair of flowers that had managed to poke through the thin blanket of snow, his tail swinging back and forth in an almost hypnotic manner. “I never thought I’d be so happy to see flowers.” Twilight stepped lightly towards the Doctor, not wanting to catch the attention of their guest. “Oh! Look at this rock! Where did you come from?” “He seems… interesting,” Twilight commented. This wasn’t exactly how she envisioned an ancient guardian spirit, that could keep Discord at bay, would behave. In her mind, she imagined something that felt more regal and wise. This creature seemed… easily amused at any rate. “He’s been away for a long time Miss Sparkle. I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s endured. Not just being alone, but also the effects of the poison of that dragon. The other spirits who felt it were weakened to the point that they needed to hide themselves away. Tempest made up for that by taking in the essence of time creatures, but he’s still not whole. If anything he’s all the more wounded for it.” “What is he looking at?” Tempest had ceased rolling the rock over with his nose, and instead sat rigidly, his head turned towards the forest. Twilight glanced at the Doctor, who seemed as confused as her. “I’m not sure. It couldn’t be… no.” The Doctor’s eyes went wide with panic. “I’ve made a huge error, we need to distract him, NOW.” Tempest finally began to move, crouching low to the ground. He silently started to move towards the forest. Twilight thought it looked almost as if he were... hunting. “Hey! I just thought of something!” declared an excited pink pony. “This is your first time to Ponyville! And you know what that calls for.” Pinkie had sprung up to block the path of the great fox. He regarded her with interest, though still glanced occasionally at the forest. “A map? I suppose a map would be useful,” he suggested. Pinkie Pie giggled. “No silly, a party!” ---------------- “Hello?” A blue unicorn strode into the bakery, peering around the front counter. “Ember? Are you here?” Colgate had not seen the baker since he had left clock shop the night before. He seemed to be in a strange mood at the time. Well, people who knew the Doctor were always strange, but they don’t normally live next to where you work. With no customers of her own to tend to, and the Doctor once again vanished, she decided to take a break and check in on her neighbor. For some reason, Colgate couldn’t shake the gloomy feeling that seemed to fill the room. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but it just seemed so lonely in there. The light jingle of the bell hung from the door didn’t seem to help. If anything, the solitary ring seemed to make it feel all the lonelier. “Hellooooo.” The welcome came from kitchen in the back. There Ember sat, staring into the warm glow of the oven. The mare peeked into the oven. Nothing was inside.” “H-hey there Ember, what-cha baking?” “Nothing, I’ve finished baking for today.” “I see.” As much as she felt inclined to help, the longer she stayed in the bakery the more depressed she felt. Besides, Colgate was sure things would be fine without her getting involved. “I just don’t know what to do,” Ember said, still peering into the oven. “My whole life I’ve known more or less where my life was going. But now… I just don’t know.” Unsure of what to say, Colgate opted to remain quite. What was one suppose to say to someone in this case? “It’s just… a little scary I guess,” he explained. “To have everything written out for you in advance, it’s comforting. You know what the expectations are, you know how to get there. Easy. But now, I’m not sure where my place is. If I even have a place.” “Well,” Colgate replied, “you seem to be doing pretty well here. I don’t see how this couldn’t be your place. I admit, it’s been nice coming to work with the smell of baking floating around.” The two ponies shared a quite smile. SLAM The sound of the shop’s door being thrust open startled the two. “Baker,” Princess Luna announced, “we need your assistance.”