Dust. Lots of dust and sand stretched for miles on end. It seemed to never finish, Derpy couldn’t spot anything but sand anywhere. “This is… deserty,” She concluded. She flipped her bag open and produced the nice Canterlot styled saddle-umbrella Octavia gave to her as a parting gift. Octavia, Derpy thought of her friend, the only one who didn’t seem to lash out.
“Here,” Kacoonis muttered. The umbrella was wrapped in her aura and the little lavender saddle was placed atop Derpy’s delicate back. It popped open as the straps tightened, leaving the pegasus in a nice cool shade.
“Thanks,” She nodded, acknowledging the kind act.
“No problem,” Kacoonis replied.
“So… where is this ‘Ghastly Gorge’ supposed to be?” The Doctor asked, turning the map of Equestria in different directions.
“Well according to what ponies say, it’s supposed to be located past a desert that seems like it’s never going to end. Apparently, it’s supposed to be one Tartarus after the next, from dry, hot nothingness to a place where the most vicious and devilish creatures call home,” Derpy brushed off.
Kacoonis made a loud audible gulp. “We… we’re going there?”
Without an answer, Derpy leapt out of the Tardis and onto the hot sand. The Doctor and Kacoonis followed, jumping into the small shade of her purple umbrella.
“Ouch!” The changeling yelped, the burning sand scorching her dainty hooves. She sprouted wings and shot up into the air, her now red hooves waving around in the air.
“Kacoonis,” The umbrella was thrown up at the poor changeling. Derpy bent down and let the stallion climb atop her back, trying to avoid her delicate wings. Derpy flew up next to the alicorn-looking pony with the Doctor trying to hold on for dear life. “I think it’ll be more convenient to fly,”
“Race ya,” Kacoonis smirked, flexing her wings.
“Too slow,” Derpy blasted forward, her wings flapping at an amazing rate, one to even rival Rainbowdash.
“Der-der-derpy!” The Doctor shouted, eyes shut tight as he tried to imagine a happier place and time.
“Oh, Kacoonis could never catch me! Don’t worry!” She called, her hair being flattened back and whipping the poor Doctor’s face.
“Sl-l-l-ow d-d-down!” He cried, actual tears beginning to leak out.
Derpy came to a stop, her wings slowing down. Soon, she was going at a normal pony’s pace. “Huh? Doctor, you okay?”
“Maybe we should slow down a bit… I mean, we don’t want Kacoonis to be left too far behind, right?”
“I… guess…” She began to lazily flap her wings, flying low to the ground.
“Hey… you’ve gotten stronger since that time you tried to carry me to the library,” The Doctor noted with an impressed tone.
Derpy blushed at the compliment, her already hot and tired cheeks turning an even darker pink. “Thanks, I guess… I dunno,”
“So… how’d you learn to fly so fast?” The Doctor asked. He sat upright and straightened his bowtie, becoming comfortable at the slow and steady pace.
“Er, I am pretty good at short distances. My stamina isn’t that great… Rainbowdash used to try to train me, so I’m pretty fast. It all happened one day when…”
Derpy let the hot tears flow freely down into her soft, damp pillow. She heard the familiar sound of the dorm door opening and a little filly gallop in, loud sniffles emitting from her. “Fluttershy?” Derpy sniffed.
“Derpy?” She muttered through tears.
“Whew, glad we have this free period, that was quite one workout,” Raindrops voice laughed as she trotted into the dorm room.
“Not for me, I hate not doing anything for a whole period,” Rainbowdash moaned. “I need to do something! I just can’t sit around—“
“Derpy? Fluttershy? Don’t you guys have class right now?” Raindrops interrupted.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Fluttershy whimpered in her soft voice.
“Derpy?” Raindrops flew up to her friend, settling down next to her on the lower bunk bed. “What happened?”
“I… well, Flash made fun of me in class for… getting last place… for the twenty-second time in a row,” Derpy muttered into her pillow.
“How ‘bout I train you?” Rainbowdash beamed, zooming next to her friends. “Both of you?” She gestured towards Fluttershy.
“Oh… I don’t really—“
“Yes!” Derpy jumped out of bed in glee. “That’ll show him, won’t it Dash? Ah! I’m so excited!”
“Well, first, you better go off to class… don’t want you failing, now do we?” Rainbowdash pulled Fluttershy out from under her blankets and set her down. From that day on, Derpy learned to—
“Finally caught up with you guys!” Kacoonis panted, sweat pouring down her face. She lazily crumpled to the sandy floor, her wings going limp. “You were right… this is a living Tartarus. I don’t think I can last much longer. You two go see the dragons without me… I’ll just crawl back to the TARDIS,” she whined, pawing at the ground.
“Kacoonis, stop being so lazy! Come on, I’m sure we’re closer than you—“
A terrible sound shook the ground beneath them, causing the changeling to leap into the air. It was an extremely loud roar which emitted from a creature flying above them. A silhouette of a winged lizard covered the sun, as it flew around, repeatedly shrieking and calling.
“Think,” Derpy murmured.
“Yeah okay, I don’t really wanna—“ Kacoonis began to back away, back towards where they came from.
“Oh no you don’t,” The Doctor scolded. “We have come too far for you to back out,”
“Fine…” She grumbled.
“Okay… so we shouldn’t make ourselves too noticeable… we need to somehow blend in with them,” Derpy pondered.
“Duh, I’m called a changeling for a reason,” Kacoonis laughed. She stood on her now scaly blood red hind legs, claws now jutting out from the bases. The scales began to move up, swallowing up her whole body. The scales covering her stomach flipped to reveal yellow, hardened armor. Her snout popped out, pointing at the end to create a beak like maw. The dragon’s spikes poked out, running down her back. Her eyes turned a deep shade of gold, shining in the sun. Soon, razor sharp spikes protruded from her mouth, a smile spreading. “Is this any good?” A teenage male voice asked.
“I thought... you could only turn into… into ponies,” Derpy trembled.
“Pfft! Somepony of my level could transform into any organism. Oops! Forgot something,” He stuck her clawed thumb in her dangerous mouth and blew hard, maroon wings growing from her shoulder blades, causing the umbrella to fall.
“What about us?” Derpy asked, frowning at her own hooves.
“I’ll go in, spy around a bit. I could talk you through the whole thing,” He tapped his head, noting the ability of the psychic link. “If anything happens, we could tell each other,”
“I…guess,” Derpy muttered.
“Then it’s settled! Good luck, Kacoonis… or should I say, Inferno?” The Doctor snickered.
“Inferno?” Derpy scrunched up her snout.
“It’ll work. Sounds dragon-y enough,” Kacoonis shrugged. Testing out her new wings, he flew out towards the sun.
“Hey… Doctor?” Derpy muttered, pawing at the ground
“Hm? Yes?”
“May I… may I ask you something?”
“Yeah, sure, go ahead,”
“Well… about the… whole only one left thing…” She whispered.
“…sure… ask away,”
“Well, I just wanted to know… what was your family like?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“Well… I’m curious. I wanna know if families are really like what I imagine them to be. I wanna know if Gallifreyan life is similar to Equestrian. I wanna know everything… if it’s not too much to ask…”
“Uh… sure, sure,” He smiled in remembrance. “I, uh, I had a sister and two brothers. They were really… really great. My sister was kind and gentle, always the motherly one of my siblings. She used to fuss over me all the time. Yeah. My elder brother was really quiet, really reserved. He didn’t like talking to people outside of the family. He always stayed inside and never really participated in anything with a lot of people. My younger brother, now he… he was a prankster. I remember he used to always make us laugh with his rowdy ways, well except when he pulled pranks on us. I remember I used to get so furious. Yeah. None of them ever really changed throughout their regenerations. Only I. I… was a different man every single time. Sometimes, my siblings would get along with him, others, they despised. Yeah… they were great. I don’t remember much about home, but I remember them really well,” he gazed towards the sun, smiling at the fond memories.
“That’s so sweet… I definitely don’t have anything like that… well except my friends, back at flight school and now. Fluttershy was and is a sweet heart. She was so shy though, incredibly. She wasn’t outgoing whatsoever, but that didn’t matter to any of us. She would always watch out for us and cared for us like we were her own foals. Then there’s Rainbowdash. She was the fastest flyer in the whole wide Equestria, always bragging a lot. She was incredibly rash, never thinking ahead of time. But… she was extremely loyal to her friends. She would stand up for us in the darkest times, especially if we were being bullied. And… well, you met the rest, you can make your own assumptions,” Derpy finished, settling down on the soft sand and propping up the umbrella. She patted the sand next to her, motioning the Doctor to lie down as well.
Guys? Guys? Can you hear me? Kacoonis’ voice rang through their heads.
Yeah, yeah. What’s happened? Derpy asked, concern rising in her voice.
I’m in. They’re really rowdy, really annoying. Pfft. Guys. They’re like, smelling each other’s burps and just… ugh. I remember why I thought they had cooties when I was younger. Anyways, I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten their trust already. The leader is making me go through some dumb initiation.
I don’t care how dumb it is. You need to gain their trust, The Doctor urged.
Yeah, yeah. Ugh… I have to go through a burping contest. There was a long pause as the two waited for their partner to continue. Huh, what do you know? These baby dragons can’t even handle a changeling burp. So I guess I’m in. I’ve impressed them all and yeah. I’ll talk to you as soon as I get the info. Kacoonis, out.
“I think she’s doing alright,” The Doctor noted.
“Doctor… I’m not forgetting our conversation. May I ask… what were your parents like?”
“Well… my father was a very noble man. He didn’t talk to us much, but expected so much from us. Well, this is natural. Because of the regeneration process, he stopped associating with us after the first life. I mean, when you and your parents look like the exact same age, that’s to be expected. It was common in all families. Anyways, he went off to fight in the Time War… as did my sister and eldest brother. My sister wanted to help others and my brother… he wanted to show everyone that he wasn’t quiet, that he could stand tall. I never saw them after they left. My mother was abusive, overestimating all our abilities and giving the harshest punishments. We still loved her, caring and tending for her when ill and always there for her. She died from an incurable disease before the war— at least she didn’t have to watch everyone she knew die…” He mumbled, eyes glazing over.
“Hey,” Derpy placed her hoof on the Doctor’s. “The past is the past. No pony can really change it, not even you. Sorry for bringing it up, but like I said, I’m here for you,” Derpy gave the stallion a light hug, releasing quickly.
Hey you two, Kacoonis interrupted. So like, I asked them where to get the tasty gems, and they showed me around. That’s when I met the leader of the hoard… he was ginormous. His teeth and eyes were especially intimidating… I saw it. The pink gem. It rested on top of his forehead, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of other jewels. It stood out so much that I could’ve spotted a mile away. I asked the teenage dragons about it. They said that it was his prized possession and that no dragon has ever dared to go near it… so I’ll be the first. I plan on doing some tricky stuff in the night… until then,
Derpy and the Doctor just sat there for a while, lost in thought. Soon, Celestia’s sun dwindled down, and Luna’s moon replaced it, lighting up the starry sky. A cold wind howled against Derpy’s ears causing her to shiver.
“You know what’s warm?” The Doctor asked, noticing the little shiver. He began to dig away at the sand, creating a little burrow. “Come on,” He motioned toward the little hole. Derpy seated snuggly into it, the Doctor squeezing in as well. He brushed the piles of sand on top of their backs, causing warmth to spread through both their bodies. “There, a nice shade, comfy bed, this is paradise,” He laughed. As if something knocked him out, his head lolled to the side and onto Derpy’s shoulder.
“Good night, Doctor,” She muttered into his hair. Soon, she was asleep as well.