There was a certain dampness in the air. Cold cobblestone walls enclosing them on three sides. The fourth wall was nothing but a row of two inch steel bars connecting the top to bottom. There was a steel bar door allowing the only entrance between the cell the Doctor and Derpy now found themselves in.
The Doctor turned to Derpy, who had been silently staring at the back wall of their small cage for the last thirty minutes.
“Derpy, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what? For disrespecting the princess or for getting us thrown in the Canterlot dungeon”
“Well both, I guess. But to be fair it’s not entirely my fault” the Doctor.
Derpy turned her gaze away from the cobblestone wall and looked over at the Doctor. “You asked the princess where the queen is and when she just stared you just asked where her mommy was!”
“You said princess and I assumed there was a queen. That’s a fair assumption” the Doctor said defensively.
“She was sitting on a throne!”
“I’m just saying it could have happened to anyone.”
“You mean anypony?” Derpy asked.
“Sure. But we need to figure a way out of this right now, and bickering will not solve any of our problem.”
“You’re right Doctor. So what’s the plan?”
“Well first let’s think about what we know” the Doctor told Derpy.
“Alrighty then. What do we know Doctor.”
“I don’t know, I was kind of hopping you could tell me, this world is new to me, and it is your countries history.”
"Well I do know that if you keep calling yourself the Doctor it will only raise questions. You need a code name Doctor," Derpy suggested.
"This is true. I usually go my John Smith when I have to."
"That's a weird name Doctor, how about a more pony name. Like Time Turner. Since you have an hourglass Cutie Mark, and you keep saying you're a time traveler. It could be a fun inside joke between you and all your friends" Derpy offered with a smile.
"Time Turner huh?" The Doctor said, rubbing his hoof on his chin, pretending that he was deep in thought. "You know what Miss Derpy, I rather think it's brilliant. Better, it's cool."
Derpy Hooves and the Doctor exchanged smiles for a brief moment despite the fact that they were imprisoned.
“So we really traveled back in time, huh Doctor?”
“I’m afraid so Derpy. And without the TARDIS we aren't going anywhere.”
“Well we must be really far back if princess Celestia is using her Royal Canterlot Voice.”
“Is that what that was? I swear she nearly rupture my eardrums, and these are new!” complained the Doctor, rubbing his temples to help clear his head of the memory of the booming voice of the princess.
Just then a four dark gray ponies, all with deep blue manes of similar length came into sight. They seemed to all be pegasus ponies but the wings seemed almost bat in nature. The metal plates on their armor rattled as they approached the bars of their prison.
The one if front was the only one who spoke, and all four kept their eyes on the duo. When he spoke his voice was rough and harsh, “Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have requested your presence to explain whom you are and what your business is.”
“Do we have a choice?” Asked the Doctor.
“No.” The bat-pony guard’s response was curt. “Now stand against the opposite wall as I unlock this door so we can be on our way.
The Doctor and Derpy complied and soon were on their way to meet with the two rulers of the land. The group of ponies remained silent throughout the entire walk towards the throne room. Derpy kept taking glances over at the Doctor, who seemed just as perky as he had been during the day they spent together in Ponyville.
Finally, they reached the two well constructed and imposing doors of the royal throne room. Two of the bat ponies moved forwards and opened the doors as the other two ushered Derpy and the Doctor into the familiar room now devoid of a TARDIS in the middle of the magnificent marble floor.
The Doctor leaned over to Derpy and whispered “Right then, allons-y.”
The Doctor and Derpy approached the two sisters, and once they were about ten yards away Derpy knelt to the pony royalty yet again, and this time, so did the Doctor.
RISE SUBJECTS! the booming voice was just as loud yet different this time. The Doctor's larger pony ears fell flat against his head, and he looked up to see whom he assumed was princess Luna sitting beside the large golden throne Celestia sat in.
The Doctor rose to his full standing position, and Derpy did the same.
"Hey listen. I know there is probably a reason you keep shouting and all but perhaps if you could just keep it down to a low holler then maybe I'll walk away from this place without the need of a hearing aid," The Doctor told the moon princess.
"WE SPEAK TO EVERY COMMONER IN THIS TONE AND THIS MUCH SPEAKING VOLUME MUST BE USED"
"What if I told you I wasn't a commoner?" Asked the Doctor.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Then we could speaketh to thou in a gentler tone, but tell us, doth thou hath proof of thine nobility?"
"Actually it just so happens I am Time Turner. Lord of all things timey wimey in the far off and distant land of Gallopfrey!" The Doctor announced.
"But doesn't far off and distant mean the same thing?" Asked Derpy, now entirely lost as to what the Doctor was doing.
"And this is my fair hoof maiden Miss Derpy Hooves" The Doctor said gesturing towards Derpy, completely ignoring her previous statement.
Celestia turned to the bat-ponies and motioned for them to leave.
The bat-ponies stood their ground. Celestia was about to stand up and remind those guards whom she was when Luna raised her hoof in front of Celestia, looked her in the eye and said "Only we shall command our guard. You have no authority over my night."
Her words were barely a whisper, but still they seemed to echo around the room. The Doctor fully expected Celestia to began to yell, and an argument to break out. But Celestia proved to the Doctor that he knows nothing about this world as well as it's rulers because rather than become angry or to cower and apologize Celestia simply nodded and allowed Luna her control.
"LEAVE US NOW." Luna commanded. The four bat-ponies, as if finally uprooted from their place, all fell out of the room and closed the doors behind them. Leaving only Equestria's rulers, the Doctor, and one particularly confused Derpy.
"Let us start with introductions. We are Princess Celestia, princess of the sun and day. And this is our sister, Princess Luna. Princess of the moon and keeper of the night."
"So it's not your claim to princess-hood that gives you total authority but rather you claim over those domains. Interesting, very interesting" the Doctor noted thoughtfully.
"Thou seems to like to point out the obvious. Tell us Lord Time Turner, what exactly art thou doing here in Equestria?" Celestia inquired. Her voice steady and calm the entire time. Her cool gaze seeming to look right through the Doctor rather than at him.
"Well we seemed to have been caught in extenuating circumstances. That blue box you moved, if you'd allow us to reunite with it we would happily be on our way" The Doctor said with a reassuring smile.
Celestia and Luna exchanged a few thoughtful glances before turning towards the duo. This time, it was Luna who spoke up.
"We shall bring you to where your box hath been moved to. Then you shall be on thine way, yes?"
"Sounds like a deal, right Derpy?" the Doctor turned to look at Derpy and she just nodded. Still trying to take in the fact that time travel was not only possible but that she had spent nearly an hour in a dungeon in the distant past. It was a lot to take in all at once. But Derpy took comfort in knowing the Doctor seemed at ease.
Princess Luna lead the Doctor and Derpy through the castle and into the Canterlot gardens. The gardens were lush greenery of life and energy that seemed to flow around all who entered them. Dozens of statues adorned the lawn, scattered about the small field.
"So princess, I was sure we were about to see a stand off back in there." The Doctor mentioned nonchalantly.
"Celestia means no ill will to us, but still we feel as if she is taking away what little we already have."
"What little you have. Come now princess even you can't believe that. I mean the beauty of the night sky is unparalleled."
Just then two foal could be heard off in the distance, a boy and a girl, yelling to each other words of caution for being out past sunset and the dangers of the night.
Luna sighed.
"We only wish more shared your feelings of our night."
"You know princess. A very close friend of mine once told me that we are lucky we're alive to see this beautiful world. To see the magnificent night sky. That it's not dark and black and without character. He said that the black is, in fact, deep blue and mixed into it all some lighter hues of blue. And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the winds swirling through the air. That shining, burning, bursting through it all were the stars. He asked me if I could see how they roll their light? And looking up now princess, I can."
Derpy looked up at the night sky. She had never noticed it before, but the Doctor was right. It was uniquely beautiful. And maybe it would clear princess Luna of all her doubts.
"Thou art correct Lord Time Turner. Perhaps it's time everypony saw that our night truly is worthy of their time. Thank you" Luna then stopped walking. Derpy and the Doctor stopped and looked back towards her. In the eyes of the moon princess, they saw a newfound determination. The sun was still setting, but the light wouldn't last another ten minutes and darkness was beginning to take over some of the minor details in the world around them, but that look in her eyes is one the Doctor has seen enough to recognize.
"Thou shalt find thine box over by the exit of the gardens, just keep moving in this direction, and thou shalt surely reach it." and with that, Luna flew away.
"Well now that was a bit odd, wasn't it? Guess you just can't rationalize royalty, so many traditions to uphold" the Doctor mussed as he continued to walk in the direction of his TARDIS.
"Doctor, I have a bad feeling about all this. It all seems. I don't know, familiar somehow." Derpy cautioned.
"Relax Derpy. We will sort everything out once we are back in the TARDIS" the Doctor told her.
They only walked for another minute or so before the TARDIS was finally in sight. The Doctor ran over to that blue box and began to hug it's side.
"Would you two like a minute alone," Derpy said with a giggle.
"Oh hush up and get in" the Doctor told Derpy with a smile.
Once they were back inside that magnificent ship with the TARDIS doors closed safely behind them Derpy sat down and looked the Doctor in his eyes.
"Doctor, I think we are about in the time when Princess Luna became evil."
"Princess Luna? How do you mean?" asked the Doctor.
"Nightmare Night? The legend of Nightmare Moon? Oh come on, you know Doctor. Ponies celebrate it every year."
The Doctor just shook his head and shrugged.
"Oh hang on Derpy, I think I have an idea" the Doctor began.
The Doctor cleared his throat and said very clearly "Show me all historical records of the legend of Nightmare Moon."
The screen hanging above the main center console turned on, and painting began to show like a slide show as a generic speaking voice spoke along with the slides.
Once upon a time ...
The Doctor leaned over to Derpy, who was now sitting next to him watching the slide show with him, "I like it already, it's like a Disney film."
"Disney?" asked Derpy.
"Oh never mind," said the Doctor.
In the magical land of Equestria,
There were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land.
To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn.
The younger brought out the moon to begin the night
"Wait wait wait, hold on one moment" the Doctor called out. The slide show paused itself. "So when they said they were the princess' of the sun and moon they meant they literally had power over it?" it was more of a statement than a question.
"Well yeah Doctor. What did you think they meant?" Asked Derpy.
"I don't know. We'll talk about this later, let's just finish this thing first. Continue." With that, the slide show picked up where it had left off.
Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies.
But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth
But shunned and slept through her beautiful night.
One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn.
The elder sister tried to reason with her.
But the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness. Nightmare Moon.
She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night.
"Alright that's enough. We don't want to spoil anything now do we?"
"Hey Doctor. How come you had that whole thing and never looked at it before?" Asked Derpy.
"I didn't know it was there. The TARDIS has records of many things, and I can't always explain how she knows, but she does and I'm glad for it."
"What else does it know?"
"Well let's find out." the Doctor began clearing his throat yet again "Show me all visual records of my previous regenerations." The Doctor had been meaning to take a look at his previous forms since he landed in Equestria.
Faces of ponies started to flip on a loop on the display screen. Eleven faces, the last one he assumed was his current form. "So that's what I look like" the Doctor muttered to himself.
"I don't understand Doctor. Who are these ponies? And why are you with them?"
"There was something about that story that seemed to be hinting at events that happened tonight." The Doctor told Derpy, changing the subject.
"Doctor. I've had a bad feeling about this place since we got here."
"Right, and I think I know why."
"And why is that Doctor?" asked Derpy.
"Because I think I may have motivated Princess Luna to act on her frustrations. We have to stay here until we sort out this mess."
"What mess. How do you mean you 'motivated princess Luna to act on her frustrations?' " Asked Derpy.
The Doctor then turned to face Derpy and said "I may have given her that push down the path she needed to become Nightmare Moon."