//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Time Lords and Tribulations // Story: The Monster that is Me // by Terrahex //------------------------------// o----[ Chapter 4: Time Lords and Tribulations ]---------------------o The moon had risen more than an hour ago, and not many ponies were out this late. Despite this, I cheerfully plodded down the avenue, the bright, beautiful moon making the large buildings on either side of the street into dark grey silhouettes devoid of any color. Balanced on my back was a stack of Daring Do books that teetered now and then as I walked down the street. Rainbow Dash was an avid reader, but she tended to forget to return her books after she was finished with them, so Twilight, after returning from the day’s latest venture, asked me to pick them up. Now I was heading home. I almost wished that I had brought a lantern with me, but Luna’s moon was bright enough that I could adequately see (though there were numerous times when I accidentally sploshed through mud puddles from today’s earlier storm). Wispy clouds passed by overhead, opaque enough to see, but transparent enough to not disrupt the light streaming down from Luna’s charge. Then I heard some sort of groaning. It was quiet. Very very quiet. So quiet that I stopped midstep just to listen to make sure that I actually heard it. The groan quickly came again, louder this time, and I pinpointed the source of the noise to be... coming from the empty space right in front of me. The groan faded and came again over and over, louder and louder. A ball of light materialized above and slightly in front of me, pulsating in time with the groans. An object several meters tall and about two wide began phasing in and out of existence until it finally settled and solidified, blocking my way down the street. At first I didn’t know how to react. I glanced around warily, but there wasn’t anyone around to confirm that a large rectangular object appeared out of thin air in the middle of the street. Turning back to the odd object, pure white light flared outward from high windows, and even higher than that were the words POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX. They shined brilliantly, lit in that same white light. I approached it cautiously, bumping my hoof against it. A soft wooden thunk was the response. Obviously, this box was some sort of powerful magical object to appear with hardly a warning in the middle of town and emit strange light, and who in Ponyville was most magically inclined? Twilight. She seemed to be the go-to mare for all types of situations. I edged around the POLICE box carefully, keeping my eye on it. It calmed down quickly until the light it was emitting became soft and completely unthreatening. Unconvinced by its less than scary appearance, I turned back in the direction of the library, hoping to find Twilight before the box... I don’t know... exploded or something. Before I could get far, however, I heard a creaking sound and I turned to see the box open, spilling light out into the street. A stallion ran out, yelling loudly as several bright pink balls of light flew about his face. I jumped as he ran by, startled. My books spilled off my back and plopped onto the dirt. “Get off I say!” He yelled, whipping his head around, his mane waving about. I gawked as the pink balls giggle. “I said, get off of me!” He tripped over something in the dark, falling flat on the ground. The pink balls stayed up, releasing more giggling before flying off in different directions, abandoning the pony on the ground. He didn’t move. I edged closer slowly. The light was too dim for me to see him very well, especially after being blinded by his box. “Hello?” No answer. “Are you alright?” I inquired, slowly approaching. If he was hurt, I had to help, but it would be foolish to just haphazardly approach someone emerging from a magic box in the middle of the night. “Do you need a doctor?” I asked, now only a few meters away. “Woah!” He jumped up suddenly, flying through the air, flipping over, and landing on his feet unsteadily. “Oh wow, it hurts when you stop your body functions.” He spoke in an odd accent. He twisted his neck, cracking it. “Ah! Much better!” He noticed me. “Oh, hello. Sorry if I startled you. Uhm...If you could be so kind as to tell me where and when I am?” “When?” I repeated skeptically. “You’re in Ponyville. Year ten-oh-three.” “Ha ha! Even with agrigite fairies attacking me, I can land her right on the mark!” He looked around at the dark buildings. “Well, more or less. You’ve got to understand that there’s some wiggle room when ‘the mark’ is one point in the whole of time and space.” He walked to his box, tapping the front door lightly. “Is that your magic box?” I approached the strange pony. I didn’t understand exactly what he was saying, but when one lives with Twilight Sparkle, one learns to accept that they won’t always understand every combination of words or not-words spoken. “Oi, it’s not magic. Why does everypony just jump to the conclusion that its magic?” The stallion opened the door briefly, the bright light blinding me momentarily. When he shut the door, he was holding a tattered suit jacket. “Well if it’s not magic, what is it?” I asked, remembering the library books I had dropped. I picked up the first one, dusting off the dirt. “From it’s size, what else can it be?” “Very logical. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” He asked me, putting on the suit jacket. “Don’t you have a better suit?” I countered, tossing the books onto my back where they belonged. I was thankful that none of them landed in a puddle. “It’s not my fault that agrigite fairies enjoy partaking in the consumption of clothing.” The stallion looked around. “What are you doing out here at this hour anyway?” “Going home until you and your not-magic box appeared.” I answered. He seemed to be contemplate this information, so I decided to strike at the heart of the matter. “Who are you?” “The Doctor.” “Doctor who?” “Exactly.” He replied, a grin on his face. “You would be?” “Midnight.” I replied. Wait, should I have told him my name? I know almost nothing about this guy. “Midnight. What a lovely name. Is that Midnight as in the exact middle of the night or Midnight as in just during the night?” “What? I don’t know. Does it matter?” “I suppose not.” The Doctor replied, bemused. “Though you have to admit that meeting a beautiful mare such as yourself at the exact time she’s named after would be quite a coincidence.” He paused for a second. “And I don’t believe in coincidences.” I blushed from the complement despite how unsettled I should have been by that sentence. Nopony ever complimented me. I had chosen the most plain persona I could have. “I... I should get going.” I said, turning back toward the library. “Goodnight, Midnight.” The Doctor. “By the way do you know where Ditzy Doo lives? I promised to give her a ride to last Tuesday or perhaps last-last Tuesday.” Paying no mind to his odd way of speaking: “I just moved here a week ago.” I replied. “I don’t know a Ditzy Doo.” “I’ll find her eventually.” The Doctor stubbornly announced, opening the doors to his magic box again, flooding the street with light. “Good luck!” I wished. after a minute, I heard the same groaning noise. Looking back, I saw the box disappear. I wondered what it could be if it wasn’t magic. “That was the strangest pony I’ve ever met.” I muttered under my breath. When I reached the library, thankfully with no more strange ponies interrupting my journey, I opened the door to see Twilight pacing hurriedly back and forth, Spike scratching away at a scrap of parchment at the desk. “-And I look forward to seeing both you and the delegates from Saddle Arabia.” “What’s going on?” I asked, setting the books down on the checkout desk to record later. Twilight looked at Spike. “You didn’t write that down, did you?” She asked incredulously. She didn’t give Spike a chance to answer before continuing. “Nevermind, just scrap the whole thing. We’ll start over.” Spike suppressed a groan, crumpling up the parchment. I repeated my question. “Princess Celestia wants me to be the entertainment for the embassadors from Saddle Arabia.” Twilight said, not even glancing toward me. She continued her rapid pacing while Spike scrambled to get another parchment ready for writing. “You know Princess Celestia?” I asked, suddenly feeling like I was filled with broken glass. I got a job with someone who, if she found out what I was, had a direct connection to the highest authority in the land. “Oh no, I haven’t even told her about you.” Twilight said as if Princess Celestia would come into her home and personally banish her for forgetting to inform her about her tenant. I shook out the ill feelings. First thing comes first: calm Twilight down. Then I can worry about what this new revelation means. I put my hoof out and stopped her rapid pacing. “Why are you so nervous?” I asked her. “You’re the best magic user in Ponyville.” That didn’t seem to calm her down. “Stop pacing.” I said. She stopped for a moment. I seized that moment. “Take a deep breath.” She did. Too short. “Deeper.” “This is-” Twilight started. “Do it.” I adamantly interrupted her. She sighed, consenting to my demand. “Now, what does the princess want you to do?” “A levitation spell,” she replied, “on animals.” “That’s simple isn’t it?” I haven’t used many spells, but levitation was always a simple one. virtually any unicorn knew how to levitate objects. “Well...” Twilight trailed off. “And this should be a breeze for a unicorn of your caliber.” I reasoned. I could almost see the panic dissipating like steam. “What if I mess up?” Twilight looked over at the waiting dragon scribe. “What if I can’t handle it?” “When can’t you handle something?” I retorted. “I’ve never seen you unable to take hold of a situation.” I remembered how I immediately thought of Twilight whenever something went wrong. “You’re the first pony everypony turns to for help. You can do this.” Twilight was silent for a moment. “Spike!” Her ears shot up, her voice much more cheery that it was before. “Take a letter: Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight’s muffled voice as she spoke her letter should’ve been a comfort to me while I laid in my bed, staring up at the wood ceiling. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but Twilight’s voice has always been soothing to me. Why, I’ll never know, but that’s the way it’s been. It isn’t now. If she found out that I was a changeling, I could be in big trouble. Bigger than big trouble. Twilight was the best sorceress in all of Ponyville and she was dangerous enough without knowing Princess Celestia. Now that I think about it, am I really in any more danger than I was before? Twilight is, as I mentioned, the best sorceress in Ponyville. I’ve seen her explode Pinkie Pie duplicates for crimes no greater than being distracted while watching paint dry. Then there were her friends. Rainbow Dash was the fastest flier in equestria, and she never hesitated to tell me. Applejack spent all day kicking trees to knock fruit loose and was a master with a lasso. Really, the three of them could take me out in no time whatsoever, and that wasn’t even counting Pinkie Pie and those other two mares that I keep forgetting the names of. Really, did knowing Princess Celestia even make a difference? I knew that if I thought about this anymore, I’d start having nightmares again. I rolled off of my bed, looking at my reflection in the dim mirror. Midnight fell away, replaced by Niphi. What was so bad about changelings anyway? Well, we’re scary, gross, and we eat love. That would do a good job of scaring me if I was a pony, especially since love is something ponies need to survive. Tired of looking at myself, I returned to my bed, pulling the covers over my insectoid body. It had been so long since I had spent an extended amount of time in my changeling form that I had forgotten how weird the blankets felt on my exoskeleton. It sucked being a changeling, I concluded. “Midnight?” Twilight’s voice came from outside my door. I suppressed a yelp of surprise. It was just Twilight. Being Niphi must’ve made me jumpy. I tried to turn back into Midnight, but I couldn’t calm down enough to concentrate. “What?” I called out, flinching at the raspy changeling voice in my throat. Calm down! I yelled at myself. Remember what you were just thinking about? Remember how dangerous your closest friend in Ponyville is? That’s not calming me down, brain. “Are you alright?” Twilight asked, her voice filling with concern. I hoped to Queen Chrysalis she wouldn’t open the door. I drew the covers further over my body just in case she did. “Yeah. Just got a frog in my throat.” I replied. “Can I come in?” “J-Just a minute.” I replied, trying to buy some time. Okay, okay, okay. This was incredibly stupid of you. never ever ever, do this again! Shut up, brain, I’m trying to concentrate. Soon enough, I managed to calm myself down enough to change back into Midnight. I took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself before hopping off my bed and opening the door. “What’s up?” I asked, trying not to look too flustered. “I just wanted to thank you.” Twilight said, looking at me with concern. “For what?” I asked dumbly. “Well, for getting me to think clearly.” Twilight said. In the low light of the stairway, I could see her blush. “I’ve been told that can be hard to do at times.” “Yeah, well. You were panicking over nothing.” I replied, shutting my door in her face. I let out a sigh of relief. An intense shiver went down my spine. Never be that stupid again. “Anyway,” Twilight said through the door, “I told Princess Celestia about you. She wants to meet you.” “You already got a reply?” I asked, yanking the wooden obstruction open once more. “Wait, you already sent the letter?” “Yeah.” Twilight answered. “Spike serves as a link between me and the princess. He sends letters with his dragon breath.” “Oh.” I shut the door in her face again.