//------------------------------// // Epilogue: Everywhere and Anywhere // Story: Doctor Whooves- Through The Cracks // by LemonDrizzle //------------------------------// Epilogue: Everywhere and Anywhere “So, who wants to start the bidding for the big alien box of mysteries eh?” It was a crisp morning, full of sunshine and bird song, with just the tiniest, teensiest hints of dew drops on leaves. Equestria had awoken, markets and shops opening at the brink of dawn in order to attract customers from everywhere and anywhere. With the breaking of dawn, the hunt for the Plasmavore had been well and truly solved, the once powerful, vicious alien killer now sat locked and in perpetual agony atop the highest spire at the highest point in the whole of Canterlot. They were in the forest, The Doctor and his six little equine companions along with a noble tribute of volunteering Equestrian guards who had agreed to come along with her majesty Princess Celestia in order to both see and move the whimsical, mystical box that had apparently brought the equine but alien Doctor to her planet. Sunshine shone through the dappled leaves, tracing the sparkling ground and causing animals to simultaneously rise from their nests and burrows with faint yawns and stretching limbs before they noticed the parade of armour clad ponies which caused nearly all of them to dive back into their homes, much to the distress of a small yellow mare. It had been a mere three hours since the arrest and persecution of the Plasmavore, a mere three hours since The Doctor had laid out his four key aims and yet, even after three hours, he had not managed to accomplish even one of them. Not even finding the biggest breakfast. He had stated before though that finding the largest breakfast would be considerably more easy if he had the TARDIS with him and had, therefore, made reclaiming the TARDIS his principle goal. However, right now, in the middle of the sleepy forest, surrounded by tired eyes and swarmed by the faint smell of wood rot, The Doctor had decided that finding his TARDIS may have been a little bit more difficult than he had originally planned. The Doctor, three hours ago, had hosted a conversation that led with the main theme of “I'll find my TARDIS soon enough, these things have a way of working out.” It seemed, however, the at this precise moment in time, the universe had inexplicably decided that things would not actually have a way of working out and that instead if something had to be done, the somepony had to get it done rather than wait around for it to mysteriously happen. And so, three hours after his shining moment, three hours after he had caught the phantom killer, three hours after he had foiled a royal assassination attempt, The Doctor was trotting aimlessly around and around The Pandorica, only stopping to make half-hearted, awkward jokes to try and stem the boredom and anger that was slowly seething through the obviously very tired, very cranky royal guards. “Its only a matter of time before I figure this out! Get it? Time? TARDIS? Time and Relative...” The conjoined grumble of the royal guards made it perfectly clear that they had not gotten it, not one bit and that they really wouldn't care if they had gotten it, that they only cared about getting the job done and going home to sleep for the next few decades. Which was, to be fair, what the six unfortunate and dozy little fillies were currently thinking as each one of them took little naps on each other before they were eventually woken by hectic outbursts from the brown stallion. The Doctor was still pacing around The Pandorica, not so much paying attention to the great cube as he was to the springy grass that felt ever so bouncy under his hoofed feet. It was a weird sensation but not a terrible sensation. Terrible sensations were saved for serious occasions, like torture at the hands of an malevolent alien or being forced to eat pears. A gentle cough from Celestia brought The Doctor back to the present as he looked up in surprise, immediately noting the somewhat annoyed look in her eyes as she studied him wandering around in little circles, a slight indent clearly visible in the grass from where he had been trotting. The Doctor smiled sheepishly before he came to a stop in front of The Pandorica, his mind returning to the situation at hoof rather quickly. To be fair, he had searched The Pandorica for any trace of information on the whereabouts of the TARDIS, he had even made TARDIS like noises to see if it would respond. That particular plan had caused quite a few queer looks to be shot his way. And yet after everything, he had yet to find his beloved TARDIS, a thought that did scare The Doctor just a teensy, weensy bit. The Doctor walked out of The Pandorica from which he had entered only moments ago, worry plastered on his face as he let out a sigh, his noble venture into the somewhat spooky cube clearly offering no insight into the location of his TARDIS. He walked around the outside again, just once and muttered quietly, almost to himself, in a way that made him almost seem pitiful. “Come on, just give me something, anything to work with...” The universe, it seemed, would do just that. As The Doctor circled The Pandorica again, his hoof trailing along its now cool but once crisp surface, his solitary brown appendage snagged on a single, jutting point upon The Pandorica's smooth complexion, causing the relatively battered stallion to hiss with pain as a thin dribble of blood seeped from the centre of his unfortunate furry hoof. The hoof recoiled along with its owner for a fraction of a second, before The Doctor leaned in closer to the glimmering cube, his hoof hovering in the air as if on a puppets string as his eyes roamed the silver, but somewhat sooty rear end of The Pandorica. The afflicted guards, only now just managing to nod off to sleep in the humid air which buzzed with warmth, were woken quite suddenly and abruptly by what could have arguably been the loudest 'whoop' ever to appear in Equestrian history. Ever. The Doctor came charging around the corner, one front hoof awkwardly hobbling along with three stampeding caramel hooves which bustled about underneath the eccentric colt. His blue eyes sparkled with a bountiful joy that neither the girls or the princess had seen before, his darkly coloured mane bouncing around as if experiencing a sudden rush of sugar. The most pronounced feature upon The Doctor's face however, was the small, fragmented sliver of bright blue that could be seen through his teeth. The Doctor came skidding to a halt before the princess, sending small stones and tufts of dirt flying into her coat, a fact which made the guards around her growl before he sloppily began to speak. “Ewe nee' to moo' everpo' bac'!” Princess Celestia, sovereign of the sun, blinked in surprise for a second, the clearing around her falling silent before she spoke up in a befuddled voice. “Pardon?” “I sai' ewe nee' to...” The Doctor frowned, his forehead wrinkling before he spat the small globule of blue onto his hoof. “I said, you need to move everypony back!” Celestia's eyelids spasmed as she struggled to understand. “But...why? And what on Earth is that thing in your hoof?” “Its a piece of a very old frien-” “What a ghastly shade of blue!” The Doctor's head whipped around to glare at the fashionista who had so rudely piped up in the middle of his sentence. “Oy! She's not ghastly, its my fault she's this colour anyway. I never could get that Chameleon Circuit running properly again...” Whilst The Doctor mumbled to himself, Celestia took the opportunity to lean in and study the small, sticky, spit coated object on The Doctor's hoof. It seemed to be about four centimetres across and five centimetres along, with jagged edges that seemed remotely crispy and fried. The whole shard was coated a deep, rich, majestic blue colour, wooden spirals visible underneath the surface of the sapphire paint. Along its front, stretched a faint white line. The Doctor caught Celestia peeking and, in a swift manner, withdrew his hoof and tucked it into his chest, ruffling up his fur as he hid the slice of blue from view. “Hey, no staring. She's awfully shy you know, not quick to trusting people. A bit like a cat really, you do have cats right? Good.” Celestia took her turn to frown, her aged forehead sinking into a furrow as she rasied her voice over The Doctor's. “And how is that little speck of wood going to find us your, uh, TARDIS exactly?” The Doctor sighed. “Oh, well now she really isn't going to like you. This 'little' speck of blue is the TARDIS, or, part of it at least.” “I...don't really understand.” The Doctor scratched his chin with the hoof that contained the little blue lifeline. “Well, if I had to guess, I would say that a piece of my exploding TARDIS which was tearing apart the very fabric of my universe must have gotten stuck into the body of my universe shifting, life bringing magical box whilst I was flying through the ball of erupting vortex fire. Do you understand now?” “...Yes.” “You're lying.” “I am.” “You ponies are so...simple. You really remind me of another race, except more cutesy and less prone to warfare.” “That's not a bad thing, war hurts everything around it.” “...You're right, it isn't a bad thing.” The Doctor shook his head, his brain buzzing against his skull as he turned around and began to trot towards The Pandorica, throwing his head back as he heightened his voice. “Anyway, get your soldiers and those rather sleepy mares to stand back a bit, this could get...quite shocking really.” Celestia squinted as The Doctor turned to trot into The Pandorica, her voice hanging in the air. “What exactly do you expect to do with that little thing?” The Doctor turned his head around and flashed a toothy grin. “Why, my dear Celestia, what I expect to be doing is...” The Doctor tossed the fragment of the TARDIS high up into the air, catching it with his other hoof. “Resurrection.” And with that he disappeared into the gaping maw of the worn out Pandorica, leaving Celestia to stare at the place where he had once been. Quietly, she muttered to herself. “I really hope he knows what he's doing.” And then, raising her head, Celestia called out to those around her. “Everypony, please move away from The Pandirocia-” “Pandorica!” “Pandorica. The Doctor is working on something and I fear that distance is the only safe option left.” “I heard that!” And as guards and fillies began to back away from The Pandorica, stretching their tired limbs and muttering to each other, Celestia took a seat and prepared to wait however long it took for the mysterious stallions plan to come into fruition. [.] The first hour moved by at a surprisingly fast pace, the added effects of the rising, scorching sun along with the appearance of a multitude of fuzzy, furry woodland creatures had managed to keep the boredom at bay for a while at least, both mares and stallions basking in the sunlight which peeked down through the trees. Fluttershy, along with Applejack and Twilight, all huddled together around a small group of weasels, the giggling trio each taking their respective turns to pet the cream fur of the sleek creatures. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had all decided to partake in a game of cards with the numerous members of the royal guards, Rainbow because of her competitive streak, Pinkie because of her love of all games and Rarity because she most certainly didn't mind spending time with the selection of grizzled, handsome looking stallions that surrounded her. By the second hour though, the weasels had fled to forage for food and the once grizzly, hunky stallions had all taken on a much sickly, tired and wounded complexion, the added repercussions of both the lack of sleep and the non-stop chatter that simply streamed forth from the mouths of the bright pink and marble white pony had broken the soldiers wills in a solitary hour. By the third hour, everypony bar the princess of the sun had fallen into a deep sleep and even she was having a hard time keeping her eyelids from falling downwards like a boulder toppling from a mountain. Of course, when had any creature managed to have a good nights sleep in the presence of a Timelord? It started off as a dull thumping sound, a deep, reverberating, oscillating whirring noise that barely managed to catch upon Celestia's ears and raise her head from where it had sunken betwixt her right and left leg, her bag laden eyes sparking slightly with interest as they focused on The Pandorica. Her eyes widened significantly as the noise began to rise in volume, a deep set thrumming sound now echoing through the fields of metal which made up The Pandorica. Deep, flashing red and green lights lit up like a Christmas tree inside the strange cube, reflecting on its surface and bursting outwards to be met by the midday sunshine. The ground around the cube trembled. Celestia was about to call out for him when The Doctor appeared from the festive maw of The Pandorica, looking around in a nervous manner, a fact that did not escape Celestia's watchful gaze. He spied her in a fast way, trotting past the layers and huddles of slumbering ponies in order to reach her, his hoof grazing over somepony every once in a while, causing them to grumble and let out a faint snore. Even as The Doctor trotted towards her, the perplexing noise from The Pandorica continued to increase, arousing victims close to the cacophony making box who awoke with blurry eyes and buzzing heads. Pretty soon The Doctor had reached Celestia, a tidal wave of awakening ponies stirring from their slumber following in his wake. Before the alien stallion could get a word in edgewise, Celestia spoke. “What in Equestria is going on?” The Doctor squirmed sheepishly. “Umm, well, remember how you set a minimum safe distance from The Pandorica?” “Yes.” “Its a little too...minimum.” “What do you mean, Doctor? What exactly is happening?” The Doctor squirmed again, his face being thrown backwards as he looked at the noisy, colourful cube before he returned his vision to Celestia. “Well, do you hear that noise?” “Of course.” “Have you ever heard the ticking of a bomb before?” “Once or twice, the scientists down at the lab are still working on them though...Wait, why?” “Lets just imagine, hypothetically of course, that the noise coming from The Pandorica is the sound of a bomb ticking down...” “Doctor...” “And lets say that, hypothetically, that the blast radius is around roughly fifteen metres.” “Doctor-” “And finally, lets also say that if all of the ponies don't run for cover right now then they won't have a chance to run again in the future. Or walk. Or breathe for that matter.” Celestia blinked, slowly, methodically before a startlingly loud voice bellowed from her throat. “WHAT IN EQUESTRIA'S NAME HAVE YOU DONE!?” The noise of the agitated, angry and nervous Celestia coupled with the rapidly increasing sound of The Pandorica was the final icing on the cake to those who were still attempting to sleep, the conjoined noises blasting their eyes open with enough force to have them seeing stars. The Doctor's voice, though quiet, was filled with just as much emotion as Celestia's, if not more but that emotion was anger or anxiety. It was fear. “You can be angry at me later, I promise you, but right now you need to get everypony as far away from here as possible.” Celestia gritted her teeth, anger seeping into her bones before she raised her head again and, in a very clear but commanding tone, began to issue orders to those around her. “Guards, get the Elements of Harmony out of here, a designated safe distance of fifteen metres. I want everypony to get away from her as fast as you can, do not panic, do not bustle or stampede but-” “Run” The Doctor whispered. “-Run.” Mayhem. Beautiful, melodic mayhem erupted around the small clearing which still sat swimming with sunlight. The royal guards had been trained for any situation, near or far, dark or dirty, suicidal or hopeless but never in their whole training regime had they once been informed of what to do if one of the immortal, all powerful Goddesses of the night and the day told them to run. It was a scary factor, having looked up to one-now two-all powerful beings for all of your life and then, quite suddenly being informed by one of them to run. It was practically a world wide message that told these guards that whatever was going on, it was out of the control of the princess. And that scared them. Hooves stamped across the ground, tearing great chunks of earth and dirt from the woodland floor around them, golden armour glinting in the trickles of both sunlight and sweat as panting, hoarse voiced guards barraged past each other and fled into the forest as fast as possible. Those that had retained years worth of training held onto the previous orders that their sovereign had issued, choosing not to engage in the rather inconsequential acts that the other guards had chosen to wear, trotting quickly over to the six colourful mares and flanking them, beginning to escort them from the premises. It took a minute at the most, a minute of chaos and cacophony and commotion, before the thundering of the guards hooves and the crude wheezing of their breath faded from the combined ears of The Doctor and Celestia, who had both remained behind to watch the guards and the mares escape, making sure no stragglers were left behind and calling out faint commands to those who had still retained their sensible minds. By this point, the nose from The Pandorica had risen, louder and louder, higher and higher, straining the ears of the two colossally old beings who had stayed behind to safeguard the passing of the equines. The Doctor turned to Celestia, ears peeled back on his head, eyes squinting and mouth opening as he yelled above the siren that was The Pandorica. “We should really run now!” Celestia nodded once, eyes ablaze with an unknown light as she opened her mouth to similarly yell back at The Doctor, rotating her body to make her getaway into the forest. And then silence. Everything feel quiet, the noise from The Pandorica disappearing like a phantom, birdsong having fallen quiet long ago. Not even the wind stirred the trees, not even the gurgle of a stream could be heard. Only silence, deep silence followed by the harsh whisper of a suddenly very nervous stallion. “Oh, that is really not very good.” And The Doctor was running, fast, barrelling towards Celestia and grabbing her hoof, wrenching her from her solitary position with an unbelievable strength that defied his form. And together they were running, blasting past bushes and trees as light fizzled and spread from the mouth of The Pandorica like a burning sun in the sky, as arcs of azure lightning torched from The Pandorica's surface, as wind tore through the forest and bent the trees back with a groan. Leaves whipped and animals scattered as the light of a universe ruptured and poured forth from the maw of The Pandorica, blazing into life in a second. The air was flooded, filled, fraught with a deep, rhythmic humming that warbled and thrummed into the ears of the fleeing fields of equines as The Doctor stole a glance backwards at The Pandorica, at the plain of light and he smiled and laughed and cheered. Celestia turned her head back, towards The Pandorica, and her limbs froze, her form becoming still as she gazed in wonder at what was unfurling before her. She was thousands of years old, had seen things a normal equine would never believe and felt the passing of so many lives but never in her whole life had she ever, ever felt an emotion as strong and overpowering as the awe that consumed her soul at that moment. The trees behind her had bent to the sides perfectly, giving her a perfect view of the clearing where she had, only moments ago, stood upon. Light, a pure white light, was extending from The Pandorica in all directions, smothering anything it touched and turning the light that rained down from the sun into something that looked like a child’s flash light. Lightning, great static bursts of it that bounced from The Pandorica which vibrated and shivered with the deep booming humming sound that crawled from within. But all of that, the leaves whipping around the clearing and the blinding, stunning light and the crackling lightning were all hidden by what was happening in the centre of the clearing. It faded into view momentarily, just a flash, a glimpse in her peripheral vision. A painting, mirage of blue, deep blue before it flickered away again. A hum again, followed by a musical, melodic and powerful thrum. And again it was back, except it was more blue and more solid and more- “Beautiful” Celestia whispered. It was wonderfully blue, with pure white windows which shone in an unnatural and godly light. A rectangle, tall and wide, but she could feel the knowledge and the experiences and the heart which powered the box that pulsed into life before her and it made her feel so very, very small and so very, very childish. A small light, blinking in time with its systematic appearances, flashed atop its head, a faint blue cage curling around the small pinnacle of luminosity. A sign, small but recognizable sat at the centre of two massive doors, faint black writing swirling over its complexion. Pull to open A circle of white, alone and symmetrical to the sign. St. John Ambulance And above, gazing down at Celestia, stretched another sign which tingled with life and power, a sign which made the monsters in the dark run in terror, a sign which heralded the arrival of the greatest warrior in the universe. A sign that had seen the beginning of the universe and had watched as time ran out. A sign that had been everywhere and anywhere. Police Public Call Box “How?” Celestia muttered as her eyes sat glued to the still vanishing box which was becoming more corporeal by the second. “The Pandorica wasn't just a prison, it was the best prison in the universe. Not even death could stop it, it held the prisoner inside in a state of suspension for all eternity. It was a miracle box meant to hold me inside and alive for millennia on end.” The Doctor whispered croaky, eyes glued to the now spinning box with reverence and joy. “It could bring anyone, anything back from the dead. And that is exactly what I made it do.” The box was solid now, no longer could The Pandorica or the forest be spied through its clear and ethereal depths. “A piece of it, just a piece, must have come through with me, clinging to the body of The Pandorica through the twisting vortex. A piece of my TARDIS followed me here, even after everything was meant to end, even in the final moments of my universe it followed me here.” There were tears, small but noticeable in The Doctor's eyes as he talked in an almost numinous voice his eyes sparkling with thanks. “The Pandorica took it, took my piece of the TARDIS and my memories of the TARDIS and it remade her...remade her from the ashes.” The mysterious box spun, faster and faster, hummed quicker and quicker, flickered more and more frequently. “My prison, my cage, my keep saved my oldest, most treasured companion from the darkness of the void, brought it back from the dying flames of a universe. My jail was my saviour. My jail kept my last remnant of a long distant past alive. My jail, my jail, brought her back to me.” The Doctor's voice was overflowing with commendation and respect as the great blue box blazed once more, scattering particles of light across the forest, causing the still fleeing ponies to turn in wonder and shock as lights tore through Equestria. “Celestia, I'd like to introduce you to the TARDIS.” And there, in the middle of the field which now sat still, stood the tall, old, magnificent and deep, dark blue box, the TARDIS, in all of its glory. It hummed faintly, the small light on its head shining bright in the clearing. The Doctor stepped forward, eyes still riveted to the TARDIS as he spoke in a trance like tone. “I was going to get rid of The Pandorica, take it somewhere far, far away and toss it into the heart of a star, that way nothing could ever get their hands on the power that it holds but I can't. Not any more, not after this. I was going to get my TARDIS back and fly this cube, this magnificent cube, somewhere where it would die in peace. Not now, not after this. No way. I can't destroy it, my precious Pandorica but I can't hide it either. The temptation would be too great for me.” The Doctor continued to trot towards the TARDIS with eyes that locked solely on the box whilst Celestia listened in, still trying to come to terms with what had happened, what was still happening. “The things I could do with that cube Celestia, the races I could bring back, the enemies I could raze. The horrors and the wonders I could do with The Pandorica would eclipse the universe Celestia. I cannot hide it for I would always, always go back to it when my hearts broke or when my fury soared... … I cannot hide it, but you can.” Celestia's eyes widened at The Doctor's words as he edge closer to The Pandorica and finally The Doctor turned to face her with conflict plastered across his face. “Hide it Celestia, hide it somewhere safe, hide it from me and anything else that comes here searching for the powers of a God. And if I ever come searching for it, if you look into my eyes and you see insanity and fury and sadness, then you turn me away, you hide The Pandorica from me no matter what happens. You never, never let me near it.” “Doctor.” Celestia whispered as the stallion turned away and trotted forward again. “I'm going now. You'll see me again Celestia, I promise. I'm going far away from this place for a while so that I don't do something rash with this power that is sitting before me. Tell those mares that I'll come back for them, that I have not forgotten them.” The Doctor trotted closer and, with a light creak, the doors to the TARDIS opened, a shining light blazing from within as The Doctor trotted into the blue box, his voice vanishing as Celestia tried to glance inside, only to be met with a blinding light. “Hide The Pandorica Celestia. I'm counting on you.” A pause. “I think I'll be seeing a lot more of you in years to come. Or years that have been.” Celestia's eyes expanded in her head as The Doctor's voice faded and the doors to the TARDIS closed with a slam. The metallic humming noise returned, shattering the relative silence of the forest as a dark wind picked up around the box which scattered the leaves on the trees. Even as the TARDIS began to vanish, sinking into the afternoon sunlight, even as the trees whipped and the hum roared amidst the forest, even when she knew he could not hear her, Celestia still called his name, over and over again as the box containing the alien stallion disappeared from view. She still called him, wanting to know how he had gone, why he had said what he had said and why it had hurt her heart when the words had reached her. She wanted to know about him because he was like her, far too old and far too sad for this world full of innocence and she had only just realized it, she had only met the TARDIS but it had told her more about The Doctor than he had done himself. And what it had told her was full of sadness and age and of a guardian of the universe, a mad colt in a box who would always come to save the day. It lasted minutes, minutes where she continued to yell his name, where she continued to feel a distinct loss deep in her chest and where she continued to loosely spill tears from her eyes. And when those minutes had ended, when her moment of weakness had vanished just like the alien stallion who had reminded her so much of herself, she looked back at The Pandorica sitting there, a cube with the power that even The Doctor feared, and she sighed a sad little sigh. There was work to be done by the princess of the sun yet again, possibly the most important work she had ever had to do and she would be damned to Tartarus before she failed in her duties. [.] One Week Later Canterlot Castle It was dark, the moon sitting quaintly in the sky, the stars twinkling with life and the noble city of Canterlot sleeping soundly when Celestia heard the noise again. The deep thrumming that had echoed in her dreams for the last week. It had been a trivial act to bring her guards back to her on that day a week ago, a simple call and her expertly trained but apparently imperfect guards had returned to her, tossing aside their fear for their devotion to the princess. Each one had been sporting a blush of shame and each one had begged for forgiveness, which she had given to every stallion and mare present with a smile. The Elements of Harmony had returned home by the time the guards had reassembled, each and every one of them tucked up in their bed and dreaming about a mysterious alien stallion. When her guards had returned, she had told them of her task and had asked for their help in moving The Pandorica, not because she had actually needed it but because she knew her guard needed a way of making sure they repaid her for their faults and so they flew and teleported and pushed The Pandorica all the way to her regal castle, constantly refusing her request to help them. Her sister, beloved Luna, had many questions to ask when The Pandorica arrived and Celestia had been more than happy to tell her of what had transpired the night before, earning a look of disbelief and shock from her sister before disbelief turned to belief when she had taken the time to inspect the interior of The Pandorica. And then she had sat on her throne, not allowing anypony to disturb her, as she contemplated where to imprison this cube, this terrifying cube. Days passed and hours ticked by before Celestia decided and, with but a burst of magic from her horn, both her and The Pandorica were sent spinning across the surface of Equestria to reappear at her designated hiding place. She had buried The Pandorica deep into the earth where nothing crawled or lived and where only the darkness of the soil could be its companion and then she had returned to her castle and exited the throne room, passing her duties over to her sister as she went to her room and slept for three days straight. And on the night of the seventh day, when the night had fallen and the stars shone and darkness ruled the land, he had reappeared. The thrumming ended, followed by the faintest sound of a harsh creak as the blue doors of the TARDIS folded open. Celestia gazed almost longingly out towards her balcony where the TARDIS had landed, the stallion who had strode from its mouth becoming invisible in the nights darkness. Her faint red curtain which smothered the balcony wrestled with the wind, whipping up and granting the princess vision of the glowing blue box but not the colt. Celestia pushed her bed covers away, rising from her comfy, warm abode to walk without horseshoes or golden decoration out onto her balcony to find the stallion. The cold marble floor chilled her bare hooves and the night air made her shiver as she trotted past the curtain and tossed her head around, searching aimlessly for the stallion in question. His quiet voice sounded up from somewhere behind her in her room, making her turn in fright. “Is it done? What I asked you to do, did you do it?” It was a nearly silent voice compared to Celestia's which rang out a second later. “Yes Doctor, The Pandorica is hidden, never to be found by any creature. Not even you.” Celestia trotted past her curtain again, back into her room to search for the colt. Everything was still dark to her, her hoof consistently knocking into a trinket of hers, a pointless possession. Still she roamed the darkness, searching for him before a voice issued out from the balcony where she had once been, causing her to whirl around and dart outside again, his name already on her lips. “Thank you.” She burst through the curtain just as the mystical thrumming sound started up again, as the wind picked up and the TARDIS began to fade from you. She growled in equal parts annoyance and sadness as the mysterious box vanished into the empty sky, leaving her alone on the balcony. She stood on the balcony for a minute, mind whirring with thoughts before a soft smile graced her lips. He had said that they would meet again and Celestia believed him to be true. They would meet again and next time they did meet, she was going to ask him many, many things. How he moved through space, why he had talked about years that had passed her already and how he survived the sadness that eternioty brought with it. Yes, Celestia would meet him again, that she was sure of. A star in the sky twinkled, burst and shot across the night sky as Celestia turned and began to trot back into her room, her thoughts occupied with the oddity that was The Doctor. [.] The Next Day Ponyville It was a warm but not too warm day. The sky was bright but not too bright. The sounds of fillies and foals playing was loud but not too loud. Today was one of Twilight's favourite days, a day where everything seemed to be perfect and wonderful, a day where she could spend time with her friends and not have to worry about anything else. She had woken up this morning, bright and early, to the sound of a rooster cawing somewhere far off and, as she had stretched and yawned, her hoof had struck a small object on her bedside cabinet. A piece of paper had been crudely stuck with sellotape to her cabinet, edges of tape chewed off awkwardly as if by a foals teeth. The note, written in a rather messy but eligible manner, had been one informing her to be at the park at twelve that same day for a picnic. At first the lavender mare had panicked, thinking some creepy stallion had broken into her house and left her a similarly creepy note but soon enough, with Spike's help, she had deduced that it must have been from one of her friends and so she had transferred from unwarranted panic to unbridled anticipation on a matter of seconds. That was what had led her to her current situation, trotting calmly through the luscious green fields that made up the Ponyville park, admiring the laughter of the young and grinning at the beauty of nature as she juggled the small basket of jam sandwiches on her back. Her little green and purple assistant had chosen to stay at home this time around, muttering something about the boring talk that mares got up to and how he had most certainly not wanted to be a part of it. In all honesty, the little dragon had probably just wanted to sleep a little more so Twilight had let him off the hook. Her hooves led her to the top of a little hill in the park which overlooked the rest of the greenery, a single, tall tree topped with terribly translucent leaves sitting upon the crest of the hill. Twilight trotted to the top and glanced around, mouth opening in a grin as she gazed at the five colourful mares that were currently approaching from all corners of the park, each one with a different basket or bundle balanced on their backs. Well, each one except a certain cyan pegasus who simply refused to do any of her own cooking because according to her, cooking was not something cool pegasi do. Soon enough each of her friends had converged on top of the hill and the chorus of greetings rang out. “Hey girls!” “Howdy!” “H-hello.” “Good morning dear.” “Hey.” “Good moooooooooooooorning fillies.” There was a pause in conversation as each of the mares reached around to grab their baskets of food or drink, all except Rainbow Dash who looked around semi-awkwardly. Rarity had brought with her a fine selection of salads, each one crisp looking and full of vibrant green colours. Fluttershy had settled for bringing a small bottle of lemonade, which was swiftly leapt upon by Pinkie who, in turn, had bought a bamboozling amount of cupcakes and other confectioneries. Applejack had brought her famous apple pie along with a nice selection of other apple based foods and Twilight had, of course, unpacked her jam sandwiches. Laughter and conversation erupted shortly after as the six friends began to partake in the picnic food, a warm atmosphere wavering around the small group as the sounds of foals playing dimmed somewhat in the background. Snacks were devoured, drinks were drained and conversation was allowed to run free before Twilight raised her last glass of lemonade, every other pony turning to face her. “I'd like to thank whoever was kind enough to leave the note in my room about this picnic. Its great girls, I never thought I'd be doing something like this when I was a filly.” “Ah know what ya mean pardner, ah wanna thank whoever set this here picnic up as well!” “O-oh well, I am having loads of fun and I'm sure Angel bunny can manage the house on his own for a while so I'd also like to thank whoever did this as well, if that's alright.” “Yeah, this is a pretty cool picnic. It'd be better if The Wonderbolts were here but, y'know, I'll take what I can get. Thanks, uh, who set this up again?” Four eyes turned to Rarity as she sipped her lemonade, her gaze lingering on each of them for a second. “Well, it most certainly wasn't me though I do feel the need to thank whoever did arrange this. I have been positively stressed ever since I got that order in from Canterlot and this is just what I needed to relax.” All eyes turned to Pinkie, a serenade of thank yous echoing up from the mares which made the pink pony giggle. “Ah, thanks you guys but I didn't do this. If I did, it would have loads more balloons, and music and cakes!” Five frowns appeared on five faces whilst the sixth face remained filled with a large smile which displayed a perfect set of white teeth. “Then, who did this?” The only answer that came was the faint beginnings of a very distant thrumming sound. It was quiet at first, a little noise that caused small flicking of ears amongst the group of ponies present but it was not something major, it was not something that distracted them. The distraction started, however, when the wind began to pick up. The grass swayed gently and then more ferociously, the leaves on the tree dancing as the distinctive thrumming sound grew louder, causing each of the mares to cast somewhat nervous eyes around the park, trying to identify the source of the noise. All except Fluttershy, who upon hearing the loud noise, curled into a little ball of yellow in the grass. The gathered mass of colourful equines didn't have to wait long to discover the mystery behind the noise as, not two metres from them, something begin to materialize into view. Once again, all eyes widened and mouths dropped open in shock as the sound and wind picked up, a bright blue box flitting into view time and time again, becoming more and more substantial as the seconds ticked by. Well, all eyes widened and all mouths dropped bar Fluttershy's, as she was still busy inspecting the grass with her head. A great, big, blue box now stood atop the hill, placed directly beside the tree and two metres away from the girls, the sound of metallic thrumming now silenced, the wind now still and the attention of the mares now gathered. The doors opened with a majestic motion and... ...out stepped a very familiar brown stallion wearing a very peculiar looking suit which hardly seemed to fit him. A loose, partially crinkled white shirt sat on The Doctor's withers, a black coat covering the white shirt similarly sat on his withers and back. Around his neck hung a rather large white scarf that wrapped four times around his neck before it came to its close. The six mares, Fluttershy now included, stared at The Doctor in equal parts surprise, happiness and confusion. The Doctor quickly broke the silence however with a brief tut. “Oh come on, I expected a better reaction than this! Do you know how far I had to go to find someone who could remake this suit? Gosh, you mares all have way too high expectations.” “What a ghastly suit..” “Oy! I was going to wear this to a wedding back in my universe but-” The Doctor was interrupted by a flying ball of pink which was shrieking his name. “Doctor!” The Doctor quickly fell under the consuming wave of pink as Pinkie Pie latched onto him with a hug, straining his ribs with a particularly strong squeeze. The Doctor gasped and gagged in pain, rolling around on the ground and trying desperately to remove his pink vice. After a second of struggling, he gave up and began to wheeze out a greeting. “Its good to see all of you too. Honestly, I didn't think you'd all show up here. I mean, if some random person came into my house and left a message next to my bed telling me to go somewhere then... actually, I'd probably go, but a normal person would probably call the police...or the guards, whatever defence force you have.” Twilight was the next to speak up as The Doctor forcefully freed himself from the pink menace. “Wait, that was you?” The Doctor nodded. “Of course.” “Why-Actually, how did you get into my house?” “Ah'd quite like that answered as well.” The Doctor frowned as if it were the most obvious question he had ever heard before he trotted back over to the vanishing, magical box and gave it a light tap. “Well, my TARDIS can move through both time and space so breaking into the old Apple family place wasn't the hardest of tasks.” “Baloney,” Rainbow Dash cried loudly, “you're saying that messy blue box can travel through time and space?” The Doctor turned to her and smiled. “You're saying it can't? You just saw it appear her and you've seen the things I can do. This 'messy' blue box can and will travel in time and space, that's exactly why I'm here.” Twilight, who had been measuring up the apparent insanity level of The Doctor versus the fact that he may actually be telling the truth, spoke up loudly. “What do you mean?” A flash of white teeth lit The Doctor's face as he smiled and whirled around to stand in front of the blue box. “Why, I'm here to show you of course. Time and space, past and future, planets and suns, I'm here to take you with me and show you...everything.” The mares stared in amazement at The Doctor as he stood outside of his TARDIS, a genuine smile plastered across his face. Even the relatively unshakeable Pinkie Pie seemed to be at a loss for words, her blue eyes wide with wonder and a small 'O' forming from her mouth. “B-b-but, huh, what-” Twilight spluttered as she tried to come to terms with what The Doctor had said. Her and her friends, go travelling through space and time together. Not even Starswirl had perfected that level of power, heck, not even the princesses had and yet here this stallion was tossing it around like candy. “All six of you, all of time and space at your disposal. Everywhere, anywhere and whenever you ever wanted to be at your hooves. You could watch the final moments of a distance dying sun or go back in time to see the creation of your world. Anything.” “B-but what about ah family?” “Its a time machine, I could take you around the universe for weeks on end and drop you back here one minute after we first left Applejack.” “Anywhere” Rarity cooed suddenly, eyes ablaze with interest. “Everywhere” Rainbow Dash murmured, body tingling with excitement. “Whenever” Pinkie Pie giggled underneath her breath. And yet, after all of that daydreaming, after Rarity's image of visiting the future to perfect her fashion before it arrived. After Rainbow Dash's image of going to a world where aliens raced each other each and every day to prove which of them was the fastest. After Fluttershy had pictured a planet filled with the most cuddly and adorable animals. After Applejack had thought of going back in time and seeing what Equestria was like when farming was the only source of income. After Pinkie Pie imagined a world where the sky rained chocolate and everything in sight was edible and sweet. After Twilight created the idea of going back and visiting Starswirl the Bearded, the Starswirl the Bearded, and asking him about his life. Only after all of those thoughts crossed the minds of the Elements of Harmony did they start to have doubts. The mares all looked at each other, words not being needed as they gazed into each others eyes, already formulating what each and every other member of the group was thinking. There was half a minute of silence where you could have heard a pin drop before Twilight stepped forward, a nervous look plastered across her face as her friends trotted forward to support her similarly. “I'd love to go anywhere, to see anything, to travel back in time and meet my hero, to see what Equestria is like in the future. Its a dream come true, something that shouldn't be passed up. A once in a lifetime opportunity that will never come again.” The Doctor smirked before Twilight continued. “But this, appearing here after a week and suddenly asking us to go away with you, this is too sudden. There are things I need to do, ponies I need to meet, an assistant to sort out. I can't just pack up and go on a whim and neither can the rest of the girls. We have lives here and even if this is a time machine, what if something happens? What if we come back late and everypony is worried? What if Spike and Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom can't find us? We can't go with you on just a whim.” The Doctor's smirk sunk, a crestfallen look overtaking his features as he let out a lonely sigh before his ears pricked up. “One week. Give us one week to get everything sorted, one week to make sure everything is right.” The Doctor looked up, only now noticing the six grins that the mares before him were sporting, some wider than others but all heartfelt. “One week and we'll go with you, everywhere and anywhere.” The Doctor smiled, a wide, wide smile that stretched from cheek to cheek as the mares in front of him began to giggle to themselves. He spun around, hooves clopping against the door to the TARDIS as he turned his head back. “One week, I'll be back in one week. You had better be ready.” Twilight laughed at his hearty expression. “We will be Doctor, we will be.” The door creaked open as The Doctor pushed his way in before he poked his head out of the entrance, grinning as he spoke up again. “I have a feeling that you lot are gonna make this place a whole lot more interesting.” And then, just like that, the door closed and the stallion and box vanished from view with the picking up of the wind and the thrumming of the TARDIS, leaving five very nervous but excited mares to burst into a cacophony of screaming anticipation. Twilight alone stood silent, looking at the spot where The Doctor and his TARDIS had vanished, a little smile faint on her face. She couldn't be happy yet though, there was a lot of work to do before her dreams came true and, as Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, she once again saw those cold, scary eyes of the colt that she had found laying in the Everfree Forest all that time ago. And maybe nervousness and excitement weren't all that she felt. Maybe there was some fear too. But still, there was a whole future to be discovered, a whole past to be uncovered and a whole universe to explore and, to Twilight Sparkle, that easily outweighed the fear. 'Yes,' she thought to herself, 'this is going to be our biggest adventure yet.' [.] It was dark. The room he sat in was dark and cluttered and it stank, not of a corporeal smell but of madness. Light flickered in a corner, crawling across a carved, ragged desk. On the desk, a broken sonic screwdriver lay. A hoof, dark blue, reached down to the desk and tapped. One Voices Two Whispering Three Hatred Four “Master” a broken voice muttered to the darkness.