Part 26
Category Ten
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"I suppose..."
The Doctor looked down at his impertinent granddaughter with a scowl--a scowl that made the young mare laugh. "'You suppose.' Your tone betrays a complete lack of conviction, Timekeeper. What is so wrong with it, hmmm?"
Timekeeper's sky blue face scrunched up a little, as she tried to choose her next words very carefully. "Well, I'm sure it's most impressive for the time, Grandfather, but it's just so... Weren't the Type 40's already museum pieces when you were young?"
"When I was... When I was young?" the Doctor groused, smidges of red peeking out through his own blue-turned-grey cheeks. "Young lady, all appearances to the contrary, I am still in my prime of life. I have yet to even experience my first regeneration!"
Timekeeper couldn't help but giggle. "You know what I mean, Grandfather."
The Doctor grumbled something about "fillies these days" and "respect for one's elders" to himself even as he ran a tender hoof over the control console. "Mmmmm, yes. Those were different days, child. We were a different people. It was an age of exploration! Discovery! Learning of limits and pushing past them!" The Doctor sighed. "And now we sit and wait and watch. Sometimes... sometimes I feel I was born in the wrong age."
A brief silence fell between the two, before Timekeeper suddenly asked, "Grandfather, are you in trouble?"
Taken by surprise, the Doctor stared at his young charge for a moment. Then he sighed, "Where did you hear that?"
Timekeeper shrugged. "Ponies talk, Grandfather. Even on Gallopfrey, they talk." She paused again, nervously pawing at the ground for a moment. "How bad is it?"
"How bad...? Hmmm, aaah, We don't yet have to fear the authorities coming to our door demanding I go with them just yet, but I am walking a very tight line. Yes, a very tight line."
"You're thinking of running, aren't you?"
This brought the Doctor's full attention. "W-w-w-what gave you that idea?"
"I just know you. This isn't the first time you've come to see this TARDIS. Even now I can see the gears turning in your head. I have grown up listening your tales of the Exploratory Days. I know you're not happy here. Not really. Why don't you just... go?"
"I should think the answer obvious," the Doctor responded, his tone turning gruff and unapproachable.
Timekeeper thought on that for a moment, before coming to the obvious conclusion. "Me?"
"Yes, you."
Timekeeper scoffed. "I am old enough to take care of myself, you know. Second year at the Academy, remember?"
"It's not that, it's... oh, I could leave. Take this ship right here and now. See the stars. See the times and places and ponies and wonders that I've desperately longed to see since my foalhood. And if I were to slip out now, in the quiet of the night, keep my head low and refrain from affecting history too dramatically, I doubt the Counsil would even pursue. But there would be no coming back, you see. No... no return. And where would that leave you? Oh, you're more than capable of taking care of yourself, it's true. But you'd also be the next of kin to a renegade. You know what that would do to you publicly. You've seen the disgrace Koschei's family has had forced upon it."
"Take me with you," she responded, simple as you please.
Again the Doctor was surprised. "What? Are you mad? The life of a renegade may be sufficient for me, but it's no place for a child like you!"
"I am not a child! And if I am mad, it must run in the family. Do you think you're the only one who wants to see the places? The ponies? The wonders? I've had dreams of them ever since I was a foal because of you and your stories." She smiled here. "Grandfather, you are a bad influence."
The Doctor bit his lip, conflict raging in his head. Timekeeper had given him an out. Something he very desperately, very selfishly longed to grasp with both forehooves and run away with. But he knew how selfish it was. He knew the future he would be stealing from his only kin if he were to do this. A sudden prick of emotion at the back of his skull caused him to pause in his own inner conflict for just a moment, and look dumbfounded at the central spire, jutting from the console. He could feel it, her excitement. She'd been sitting here, gathering dust for centuries. Centuries! After a lifetime of exploration and excitement and danger. And here was a pony, ready to give her that again. The Doctor could feel the nervous energy. As if a breath was being held, waiting for his decision.
Perhaps... perhaps now was the time to be selfish.
~DrW~
This was no time to be selfish, no matter how much it hurt.
He could hear Timekeeper desperately shouting at him through the comm system. See the tears on her face on the screen, but he knew deep in the pits of his hearts, that this was the correct choice. And, given his active avoidance of making the correct choice these last few years, he was damn well going to make it now.
"But Grandfather," Timekeeper cried. "I belong with you!"
"Not anymore, child!" he responded in that special tone that brooked no more argument. Timekeeper fell silent and the Doctor sighed. "During all the years I've been taking care of you, you in return have been taking care of me." He smiled fondly, even though she could not see it. "You are still my grandchild and always will be. But now, you're a mare too. I want you to belong somewhere, to have roots of your own. With Runner you will be able to find those roots and live normally like any mare should do. Believe me my dear, your future lies with Runner and not with a silly old buffer like me."
He continued speaking, trying to soothe out his own feelings as much as hers. "One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Timekeeper. Goodbye my dear." With his final goodbye said, the Doctor pulled a lever on the TARDIS...
...and nothing happened. Stunned, he looked down at his hoof. It was young and brown again, the sleeve of a darker brown overcoat stopping just before the knuckle. Though it took great effort, the Doctor did not let loose a sob, or even a sigh. He was not about to let his opponent have the satisfaction. Right for the jugular, straight out of the gates, he thought to himself, even as he heard the random and ridiculous noises that were Discord's footsteps enter into the console room. All right, then.
"I can't believe you used to wear this," Discord said happily, even as the Doctor groaned. He was wearing one of the Doctor's old coats... refitted of course for his own unique body shape. Specifically, it was the one his old companion Periwinkle had dubbed the 'rainbow explosion.' "I think it looks great on me, though. Mind if I keep it?"
"Classy," the Doctor retorted, voice dripping in sarcasm. "It's bad enough you're invading my memories as part of this game, but you're rummaging through my wardrobe as well?"
"Heh. Don't be like that. Genius work like this needs to be worn." Discord leaned in uncomfortably close. "So, how'd you like my opening shot?"
The Doctor snorted. "If that's your best shot, I've got this game won."
Discord chuckled. "Oh, whoever said that was my best? That was just a warm-up. Hows about I try rapid-fire?" He snapped his fingers.
~DrW~
"If you can hear us, Doctor, thanks for the ride."
"Yes, Doctor. It was fun."
Watching the two go, he turned to his new friend, tears wanting to pool in his eyes that he stubbornly kept from manifesting. "I will miss them. Yes. I will miss them. The old fussbudgets."
Helpless was he, as the Time Chargers led his best friends away. The young Scoltish warrior in particular gave him one last look. And then they were gone. Had he known it would lead to this...friendless, banished, forced to regenerate, would he have still left all those years ago? He didn't know.
The party was in full swing, the blushing bride to be radiant and all the old friends from UNIT were there. The Doctor was by himself in the back of it all, a champagne glass in his magical unicorn grip. Sadly, he raised his glass, took a swig, and was gone before the proper toast.
"Don't forget me, Doctor?"
"Forget you? Oh, my dear Wordsmith, don't you forget me."
At the moment he didn't care about anything, didn't hear anything. Not the Cyberponies, not his other companions, nothing. All he could see at the moment was a rather sad looking blue star, bereft of the owner who wore it with such pride.
"You... you killed Periwinkle?"
"Yes, that's right, you're going! You've been gone for ages! You're not really gone. You're still here. Just arrived... haven't even met you yet... It all depends on who you are and how you look at it. Strange business, time. Oh, I'm sorry. Think about me, when you're living your life, one day after another, all in a neat pattern. Think about the homeless traveller and his old blue box. And his days like crazy paving."
All these moments and more. Pouring into him. Lasting moments, milliseconds, less. Yet hitting just as hard as the first time he lived them. The Doctor could feel himself falling. Deeper and deeper. But wait! He wasn't alone. He had Derpy. But even she was going to leave eventually wasn't she? That was just the way of things. If something didn't scare her off, or kill her, he was still a near immortal Time Charger and she...?
"I just don't have it in me to go gallivanting around time and space and who knows what else running for my life anymore."
No. Don't say that. Just... just don't. But it was true, though, wasn't it? One day, she was going to be gone, just like all the others, and he'd be left alone. Again. What was the point of making these amazing friends if only to lose them? Why did he always...?
"You probably don't remember your family, do you?"
His eyes shot open. He was back in the TARDIS again, the wandering space hobo and his companion. He looked over to her, and in his muddled state, couldn't quite remember her name, nor why she was in such obvious distress. He just knew she needed reassurance, and he was the only one there to give it.
"Oh, yes when I want to," he answered. "That's the secret, you see. I have to really want to... to bring them before my eyes. The rest of the time they... they sleep in my mind, and I forget." Ha! A half truth at best. His antics and plans and rescues certainly let him forget for a while, but as soon as he had a moment to himself...
"And so will you. Oh yes, you will," he continued aloud. This must be the important part, eh? "You'll find there's so much else to think about, to remember. Our lives are different to anybody else's. That's the exciting thing! Because nobody in the universe can do what we're doing."
More important things? Find more important things to remember. Yes. The pain is real. But it wouldn't be if they weren't precious to begin with, would it? Remember the important things. Remember... Remember...
"I remember I'm-I-I... I'm with my father, we're lying back in the grass, it's a warm Gallopfreyan night--Gallopfrey! Yes! A-and a meteor storm. T-the sky above us was dancing with lights! Purple, green, brilliant yellow... yes!"
"What?"
"These shoes! They fit perfectly."
"Don't you ever take anything seriously, Doctor?"
"The things I do, yes. Not necessarily the way I do them."
"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
"That... that was the daisiest daisy I'd ever seen."
"Do you really want to go back?"
"Not really. I don't have anything for me there."
"Then you did all these calculations for nothing!"
"Got my point across, didn't I?"
"Heh."
"I could have been stuck in the Dark Times forever!"
"Did you really think I'd abandon you?"
"That was probably the most important buck in history!"
"I'm not a child; don't talk to me like I'm a child. Only children believe that crap. I am a doctor!"
"But it was a childish dream that made you a doctor. You dreamed you could hold back death. Isn't that true? Don't be sad, Red. You'll do great things."
"I'm the Doctor by the way. What's your name?"
"Uh... Derpy."
"Pleasure to meet you, Derpy. Now: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do!"
"What began as a simple curiosity in a junkyard turned into quite a marvelous spirit of adventure, didn't it?"
` The Doctor's eyes popped open, the grey that had nearly overtaken him vanished instantly and with such force Discord was knocked back into the wall. "What was that?" he asked in genuine confusion.
"That was actually a very good try," the Doctor responded as he casually brushed off his coat. "I'm not above giving my enemies credit where it's due, and you, Discord, are deserving of quite a bit of credit."
Grumbling, Discord got to his feet and snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. "Wha...?" Again, he snapped his fingers. Again nothing happened. "What's going on here?"
"Three mistakes," the Doctor continued. "You made three mistakes. First mistake: seriously, trying to force me to turn against my inner nature? That's the last thing you want to inflict upon yourself. Trust me. I've actually seen it. Your second mistake somewhat mitigated the first, thankfully. See, I'm actually somewhat resistant to mind control and hypnotism--something I admittedly gained through living an embarrassing number of years getting hypnotized and mind controlled. The fact that you brought me so close to the edge is amazing, really. But the third mistake is the real kicker. You tried to use my friends and family against me. Now that is something I just cannot abide."
"What's happening here?!" Discord repeated in desperation as his magic continued to fail.
"Are you really that thick? Do you really not see what's going on here? It's the same power that's already stopped you twice. Unless you really think you were brought low by a simple set of tacky costume jewelry." At the sight of Discord's slack jawed face, the Doctor laughed. "You do don't you? Ooooh you really are thick. Thick Thicklstine Mcthick on Thick Street. And so's your dad."
"Okay, then, Discord. Listen up because this is probably the most important thing you'll hear in your entire life. Friendship. Is. Magic." Discord's eyes almost doubled in size. Behind the Doctor appeared an image. An image of hundreds of ponies of every size, shape and color. Creatures even Discord had no hope of recognizing, and... wait was that a tin dog? It was really, something. Magic on a scale Discord probably had never seen before.
"And I'm not speaking in some rose colored hyperbole, oh no!" the Doctor continued, seemingly unaware of... of the power swirling around him. "It is literally magic. One of the three primal forces that all ponies can tap into when the need is dire enough, whether they be earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, or even Time Chargers apparently. And that means you had better be scared. I mean soil-yourself-and-run scared! Because I've spent nearly nine hundred years storing the stuff. And you... you just woke the power up."