“Listen to me Rarity.” The strange, fleshy creature was on stood in front of her, holding a pocket watch in his fleshy hand. “When I do this, everything that I am now is in this watch. Have me open it when the time comes, okay? And not a moment sooner.”
“Why, of course. But what are you...” Rarity was confused.
“I’m counting on you to take care of me when I’m like you.” The creature smiled.
“But... We just met. Why do you trust me?”
“Because I know an honest person... Or... Equine when I see one. Trust me, I’m a Doctor.”
“I... I won’t let you down, sir.” Rarity returned the smile, as the creature placed the strange device he’d called the Chameleon Arch over his head.
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Princess Luna stood on her balcony, admiring the beautiful night sky. She was quite proud of her creation, even if nopony else was. Her chamber was pitch black, aside from the light illuminating from her lit fireplace.
She smiled at the night sky, and then turned around, heading into her chamber. She sat down in front of her fireplace and looked into it. She stared deeply into the burning cinders, watching the flames rise and fade away. The fire burnt strongly, filling the room with a small ammount of heat.
“Hello?” Luna said, as though to herself. “Are you there? Can you hear me?” She waited for a few moments in silence, still staring deeply in the fire. After several moments, she frowned and turned away. Speaking never seemed to work. Only writing worked.
She used her magic to grab a quill and some paper. On the paper she wrote “How did it go?” She tossed the note into the fire and watched it burn away to ashes. She was admittedly a little nervous. Her one good friend in the world, and she couldn’t help him at all. Even a Princess can only reach so far. Her one good friend in the world, and she’d never even seen him in person. Nor did she understand how she was able to communicate with him only through such... Unusual means.
The fire crackled suddenly and violently, and out flew a rather charred looking piece of paper. Luna hurried over and picked it up. All that was written on it was the words “No luck.” She frowned again. She turned the paper over and wrote “I’m sorry...” on the back. She tossed the note into the fireplace and headed back out to her balcony.
Luna found great comfort staring into the night sky. Wherever he was, whoever he was, she had hoped that Riley felt the same comfort. To think, she only knew him through some sort of unexplained gateway within her fireplace, that came out who knows where? She hoped she would find out one day... Somehow...
His name was Riley. It was such an odd name, unlike any she’d ever heard. He was a struggling musician in some far off land. She longed to meet him, but knew that the odds of that ever happening were actually rather slim.
The fireplace burned and crackled majestically in front of Princess Luna’s eyes. She swore that if she stared into it long enough, she could see images, bizarre images, unlike anything she’d ever seen. Finally, the fire popped violently and a charred piece of paper came flying out. “I feel kind of insane...” Luna read out loud. “Pretty much my only friend is someone I’ve never even met in person... Heh...” Luna could totally relate.
“I know the feeling. Sometimes I feel like I’m all alone in the world... At least we have each other.” She wrote and threw the paper back in. The fire quickly consumed the paper, reducing it to ash. Luna watched as the smoke rose from the fire and up into the chimney.
Luna knew that she probably couldn’t figure out this phenomenon by herself... So she decided to seek assistance. Off of the top of her head, she couldn’t think of anypony who may better understand what’s going on... That’s when it occurred to she was a Princess, and she has many followers, there had to be at least ONE of them who could be of use.
Then she remembered him. A pony who had helped her before in her time of need. She knew that he was her last chance... And getting a hold of him was anything but easy. Luckily for her, she had plenty of useful resources.
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Rarity and a brown pony with a darker brown mane walked together down the streets of Ponyville. “I really appreciate your help, Doc.” Rarity beamed at the handsome stallion.
“Oh, it’s my pleasure. Anything for an old friend.” The stallion smiled. Rarity shared the smile, secretly hoping the stallion would stay around longer this time. He was a traveller, never really stayed in one spot for very long.
“I’m not TOO busy today, won’t you stay for tea at the very least?”
“Well, I guess it couldn’t...” Doc stopped. He turned to see a bulletin board beside him, On it was a relatively large bulletin, that read “Experts of the supernatural and the paranormal needed at the Canterlot Castle.” It was a simple, vague request. But Doc knew that he certainly was an expert on all things Supernatural and Paranormal. Rarity noticed his interest.
“I’ll take that as a no then...”
“A request from Canterlot castle... It must be something big.”
“I see...”
“You... Can come along if you’d like. It would be just like old times.”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot. I have work to do.”
“Oh.. Well, I’ll see you around then.”
“Farewell, Doctor.” And with that, the stallion turned and trotted off. Rarity was left alone in the streets. Now who was going to help her re-arrange the shop? She was sure she could find more help.
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“Any luck yet?” Luna asked the guard in her chamber.
“Not yes, Miss Luna.” He shook his head. “Hundreds of applicants, but none of them seem good. We’re interviewing them rigorously, just like you instructed.”
“Good, good... As you were.”
“Yes your majesty.” The guard bowed his head and exited the chamber. Luna turned her head to the crackling fireplace once more. The mystery that fireplace held wasn’t one she could figure out on her own. In fact, she was convinced that there was only one stallion in existence who could help her, and he’s long gone by now.
Princess Luna sighed in resignation and stepped out on the balcony again. The beautiful night sky was her last source of true comfort in the world. Something about it seemed to make all her cares just melt away.
The blissful silence was soon interrupted by a low, roaring sound, coming from inside her chamber. She looked in and smiled, as she saw a blue Pony Call Box fade into existese into the middle of her chamber. The door opened and a brown stallion with a darker brown mane stepped out.
“Couldn’t get passed security?” Luna chuckled.
“Those guys are tough, and their interview makes no sense... Almost impossible to pass.”
“Of course, the interview IS impossible. I knew you would be able to find another way. You and only you.”
“You could have just requested me specifically.”
“Oh yeah, request a Doctor, every physician in Equestria would show up at my doorstep.”
“Very good point. Well then, Miss Luna, what is it you need assistance with?”
“Sit down, Doctor, we have much to discuss.”
The Doctor sat down on Luna’s couch in front of the fireplace. She sat down beside him, her gaze fixed on the fireplace. She sighed heavily and began to tell the story.
It was about two months before the present day. Princess Luna was sitting in front of her fireplace, considering sleeping. It had been a long night, and the next night promised to be even longer. She had a lot of work to make up after being gone for a thousand years.
The fireplace started behaving oddly. The flames would grow and shrink randomly, and there were occassional, unnatural bursts of sparks. This was unsettling, so Luna stood up and walked over to the fireplace to see what was the matter. That was when a piece of burnt paper shot out, saying “I hate my life.” Luna was obviously quite shocked by this. After the initial shock wore off, she decided to respond. What could it hurt?
“She turned the paper over and, on the back, wrote “Why is that?” She then tossed the paper back into the fire. Not long later, another note returned. “Can’t get a job, I have no money... Really sucks. But hey, life goes on right?”
Unable to find more room to write, Luna grabbed another paper and wrote “Oh, that must be horrible. I kind of no the feeling... I worked really hard on something once, and my reward was being banished to the moon for a thousand years.” And she tossed the paper in.
“You’re a very strange burn barrel.” The next paper from the fireplace read.
“I’m not a barrel, I’m an alicorn. My name is Luna.” She replied.
“Ah. Interesting. My name’s Riley. You seem to be living inside of a barrel.”
“Well, you’re living inside a fireplace.”
“Touche.”
“And that’s basically how it’s been going for two months. I’ve gathered that he’s some sort of musician...” Luna finished explaining.
“So... You seem to have uncovered some sort of crack in space and time or something.”
“... You don’t sound so sure.”
“I’ve never actually seen anything like it. Well, I have, but I’m still not entirely sure what it is. Basically, whatever is on the other side of that fireplace could be a land far away, could even be from a different time period. There’s no telling what’s beyond it.”
“I don’t think Riley’s a pony...”
“Make’s sense, he probably isn’t. Riley’s not much of a pony name... Sounds almost...
Hm... I’m not entirely sure.”
“Is there anyway I can... See him? Or talk to him... Like, in person?”
“Oh, of course there is, there always is.” He paused. “However, I’m not entirely sure how. And I know it won’t be easy.”
“Well, figure it out. That’s what I summoned you here for.”
“Alright then.” The Doctor trotted over to his blue box. “Give me ten minutes. I’ll be right back.”
“You’d better.” And with that, The Doctor stepped into his little blue box, and he was off. Luna sat down in front of the fireplace, and waited. She was hopeful.
The Doctor returned to Luna exactly 11 minutes after he left. “My apologies, took longer than I expected.” He apologized, as he exited the TARDIS, carrying a heavy looking computer on his back. He placed it in front of the fireplace. “Now, let’s begin.” He sat down in front of it and started pressing buttons.
“What’s that thing?” Luna, asked, intrigued.
“This, is a device that will tell us everything we ever wanted to know. About this fireplace, and this Riley fellow at least.” Eventually, something popped up on the computer’s small screen. “According to this… This fireplace has some sort of dimensional rift that leads to a planet called… Earth. Ah Earth, I’ve been there once or twice. Strange place. The ponies there are so… Unintelligent. You’re probably dealing with a human here. They’re the only species there intelligent enough to write. Amazing how they speak the same language as us.
“A… Human?”
“Yeah, they’re sorta like us, only they stand on two legs, and they have these magnificent apposable thumbs. But they can’t fly or use magic, so I guess they have their downsides. Good creatures though, a lot like ponies in personality. I can see why you didn’t notice the difference.”
“Oh… Interesting…”
“Yes. Oh, I should have known, Riley is a very human name.”
“So… Is there anyway… I could see him?”
“Well, there’s some sort of magical anomaly that sends the letters… At this point, you could always jump into the fire and burn to death, and your mutilated corpse would come out on the other side, so at least he’d know what you look like. OR I could try to find a way to open the gateway further and you can just walk through.”
“I pick that one…”
“I figured you would.” The Doctor smiled and his gaze returned to the small computer, as he worked out a plan in his mind. He wasn’t sure if it would work at all, but, really, there was only one way to be sure...
The Doctor turned and trotted back to the TARDIS, and stepped inside, leaving the door open. A few moments later, he re-emerged, with his customary Sonic Screwdriver in his mouth.
The Doctor ran his Sonic Screwdriver around the fireplace, then dropped it on the ground to speak. “Well...” The Doctor rubbed his chin with his hoof thoughtfully, then picked up the Screwdriver and carried it over to the TARDIS.
“What is it, Doctor?” Luna asked, almost impatiently.
“Well, a gateway through time and space inside a fireplace. Oddly enough, I’ve actually worked with something similar to this before...” The Doctor said, after spitting the Screwdriver into the TARDIS. He headed back over the the fireplace, and looked around the edges of it, where he’d waved the Screwdriver. “Before all I had to do was kind of... Push the wall like so...” He pushed against the wall, as though expecting something, but nothing happened. “... Well then.”
“What is it?”
“Well... Didn’t work as planned... Hold on, I’ll try something else.” The Doctor turned and scurried into his TARDIS.
Luna laid down in front of the fireplace, staring into it yet again. She sighed deeply, waiting for The Doctor to come back. She was disheartened when she heard that familiar roaring sound. She turned around and saw the TARDIS fade away. “Doctor!” She shouted out, but she knew he couldn’t hear her.
Luna gloomily flopped down on her couch, feeling abandoned and alone. She couldn’t even feel Riley’s presence anymore like she thought she had before. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly alone.
Then, she felt a strange, unexplained gust coming from the direction of the fireplace. She heard a sound, familiar, but different. A very faint roaring sound. Her eyes lit up and she watched as a blue Police Call Box faded into existence between her and the fireplace. Something about it seemed... Different. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but the TARDIS had changed.
The TARDIS opened, and a bright light shown from inside. Out of it stepped... A creature, definitely not a pony. It stood on two legs, and had... Claws, or talons, only they weren’t sharp. It wore clothes too, and didn’t have a tail. It had long black pants, held up by suspenders. He wore a tan suit, with a white shirt with vertical red stripes underneath. To top it all off was a little red bowtie around his neck. His mane was black, and seemed to be all pushed to one side... Yet strangely, it went over the entire top of his head, all the way down to the ears on the side of his head.
“You’re a...” Luna stood, bewildered. “A human?”
“No. Not quite.” The creature before her said in a quiet, pleasant voice. He had a strange accent, similar to that of the exceptionally regal ponies... Though it sounded much less forced. “Miss Luna!” His voice got louder, and slightly higher pitched. “This is where things get complicated.