//------------------------------// // Land of the Pegasi // Story: Timeswirl // by Fedora //------------------------------// The Doctor was the first to step out onto the freezing clouds, jacketless and with wings poking out from his fur just behind the end of his v-necked jumper. Behind him were Starswirl and Somber Shadows, both wearing jackets to hide their lack of wings. It turned out that Starswirl could not get make a horn invisible and create illusionary wings at the same time, so they had to alter their resources. Somber Shadows wore a reddish cape over his back anyways, tattered as it was. Starswirl was now hatless, but wore the Doctor’s leather coat. “That’s a nice jacket,” noted the wizard’s student, “What’s it made out of?” “You’re happier not knowing,” remarked the Doctor. He glanced behind him, seeing Derpy close the TARDIS doors. The wind continued to blow with incredible force, and up in the sky where they were was like being in hurricane force winds, with the occasional chunk of frozen sleet pelting one in the side. A quick look through squinting eyes revealed no pegasi out and about, nor were any flying overhead through the sky to guide the storm. They had all hunkered down inside their buildings to ride out the blizzard of ice. “Get under cover!” the Doctor yelled over the sound of a thunderclap. “Doctor, over here!” a voice cried out. Derpy had found the threshold to a large looking structure with lights coming from the interior. The Doctor and the magicians followed her voice to the steps, entering. The inside was dirty and crowded with wet pegasi, having escaped the torrential storm. A small fire burned in the hearth, around which a commander of sorts tended the fire. There had to be at least fifty pegasi crowded into a single structure, leaving no room to maneuver deeper into the building and forcing the unicorns, Derpy, and the Doctor to remain at the outskirts of the group. “Who are you and where have you all been?” one pegasi asked, “All fliers were supposed to be ordered under cover when the sleet got out of hoof.” He addressed the Doctor mainly, and had the appearance of a young officer. The Doctor tried to remember what Starswirl had said earlier about pegasi and introductions. Something about titles and rank. “Captain Time Turner of TARDIS,” the Doctor blurted out, flipping open his slip of psychic paper to appease the officer. The stallion narrowed his eyes and looked at the psychic paper carefully. He was either suspicious, or had very poor eyesight. “My apologies Captain,” he replied, “It’s an honor to talk to one of the elites.” The Doctor grinned, watching the stallion begin to turn away and head back into the crowd of pegasi. He went to reach for him, as he wanted to ask questions. When he could not reach to tap the stallion on the shoulder, he instead asked a blue-coated mare standing to his side. She appeared to be in her forties, and had a heavyset jaw. “Excuse me, er...” “Private Sapphire,” she responded, “What were you saying?” “You lot have an issue with the blizzard outside? Mind telling me how it all started?” The mare went on to explain how it had happened every now and then that their weather would suddenly turn sour without cause, even when the pegasi were trying to control it. Sporadic downpours, chills, and snow interrupted the normal cycle of weather the pegasi had promised to uphold in exchange for food grown by the Earth ponies. There were whisperings that it may have been caused by unusual creatures, but nopony knew for sure. “They’re gettin’ mighty untrusting of us down there.The unicorns think it’s our fault the weather’s gone haywire, but we’re as confused as them,” she explained, “Don’t you know all this?” “Course not,” the Doctor replied with a flick of a hoof, “Look at me, totally clueless. If you don’t mind another clueless question, how have things been getting along between the tribes?” Out of the corner of his eye, the Doctor noticed Somber Shadows beginning to lose interest and drift. The teenage unicorn had struck up a conversation with a pegasus stallion, and the Doctor could only hope he was asking the right questions. “Is this some kind of public opinion poll from the higher officers, Captain?” asked the mare, bowing her head down and looking worried. “Uhhh, yes,” the Doctor said quickly, “There’s not a right or wrong, some of us just want to know how the civilians feel. Completely anonymous, in fact I’ve already forgotten your name, look at that. I’m clueless, remember? “Well,” she responded, leaning her head in closely to speak soft, “In my opinion, this temporary peace can’t last. Whenever the races mix, there’s always tension. Ponies point hooves at each other over the most trivial things, and with this change in weather.....” “You’re worried that the unusual storms could break that peace?” “Yeah.” Somber Shadows cried out suddenly, being pushed back forcefully by the stallion. The stallion who pushed him seemed to have a jovial expression. Such kind of comrade-shoving and playful faux fighting must have been pretty commonplace, as even then another pair of armored soldiers rammed each other in another section of the building, laughing as they did so. Somber Shadows did not laugh. Failing to understand the playfulness behind the blow, his face grew contorted, and he snarled at the other stallion. “Don’t push me around!” the disguised unicorn growled, “I don’t like that one bit!” Lightning crashed in the background, and a fresh gust of wind brought a flurry of snow up. The half melted sleet chunks from earlier were now snowflakes that whipped by with the wind, matching in ferocity to the temper of the stallion. “C’mon soldier, show some backbone! You too chicken for jousting?” taunted the pegasus. “I told you to LEAVE. ME. ALONE!” shouted the unicorn. A flash of purplish magic blasted from Somber Shadow’s horn, which faded back into view. The magic struck the pegasus across his body, causing the pony to cry out with an agonized wail. The magic crackled over him like lightning residue. “SOMBER SHADOWS, THAT IS ENOUGH!” bellowed Starswirl, levitating the student . The storm crashed around them, and the other pegasi stared at what had happened, utterly shocked. The shocked expressions melted, solidifying into ones of anger upon seeing the two unicorns: the master and his apprentice. “Doctor,” Derpy slowly asked, “What should we do?” The Doctor sighed, glancing to the mob of pegasi and the wizards standing like statues. They would be set upon by the mob for snooping around and injuring one of their fellow tribesponies, for sure. “Get in the TARDIS,” he quietly warned, “Run!”