//------------------------------// // Home, sweet home, right? // Story: Doctor Whooves: The Angels of Canterlot // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// The power of the mulberry unicorn became less and less, the lights she created dimmed until the darkness had taken over the caverns again. The Doctor and Applejack finally removed their hooves from their eyes. Yet in their ears they heard the thud of a body against the stone. They both knew just what to do right away. And that was getting Twilight to safety. ---   “She’s waking,” the unicorn could hear faintly in her ears. Then she released a groan of discomfort. With a gentle motion were her eyes opened. The mare was greeted by the blinding light of the sun. Almost right away she just closed her eyes again. It made her moan a bit and she shut her eyes again.         “She’s looking better than expected,” a stallion's voice said. Then the eyes opened again, but ever so slightly to constantly adjust themselves to the bright lights. Bit by bit did she came back to her knowledge. Bit by bit she could feel the troubles of her mind and the pain through her body.         “Doc, tor,” the mare spoke in a weakened voice as she finally had sight just where she was. Twilight made the discovery that she was laid in a hospital bed with a couple tubes going into her body through her hooves.         “Easy there Twilight, you need to take it easy. The, the amounts of power you called within the caves, had a greater side effect than we first had thought,” the stallion said just before he walked up to her and laid his hoof upon hers, starting to stroke it in a comforting manner .         “Apple, jack,” said Twilight. The cowgirl knew right away to come. The orange mare continued to stroke the hoof while the smile upon her face was simply astonishing to see. Never in her life had Twilight seen such a smile upon the face of her rough friend.         “Ah’m here Twily, Ah’m here,” she spoke in a comforting tone towards the unicorn.         “What, happened?” she asked to them both. Her speech might have been shattered up to a point of long recovery, but she just needed the answer for her mind. To ease the gab that had been created. It didn’t matter how terrible it was, she would have to know it.         “What happened was, that the Angels managed to get your horn from a far future version of yourself. Yet the strength of the gems was best at this time of age. Heh, and then us three had to come in and ruin their party good,” the Doctor explained to her with a small smile of his own.         The unicorn gave a weakened nod to the gotten explanation over the situation but felt her mind slipping away again, sending her back to a much required sleep. Soon there was nothing than the air that was in- and exhaled through the nose of the silent savior. “Sleep well Twily.” Applejack spoke as a single tear went down her cheek. “E-Excuse me, Ah need to talk, talk to a nurse.” Of course it was spoken as a matter of self-defense for she wasn't used to crying at all.         “Yeah, yeah you do that. I just, stay with her for a bit more,” the Doctor said as the cowgirl left the room as a whole.         After she had left, the Doctor sat down on the bed itself. He would have continued to stroke the hoof in a calm manner. His eyes never seemed to be able to take themselves off of her while he spoke his words. Words that came from the both of his hearts and just aimed towards her. “When we first met, you asked me who I was. A question understandable, but to one the answer was lied upon. I’m a Time Lord of the planet of Gallifrey. Not a pony, like you or Applejack. Though, if I hadn't met the two of you a couple days ago, I don’t know what could have happened. You were brilliant, Twilight, fantastic even. That cowgirl as well. I know you can hear me, girl, and there is just one advice I can give you, keep living your life. For it is amazing the way it is,” he said to her.         With his words spoken against her there was a nod before he moved up to the face of the sleeping Twilight and gave her a small kiss upon the forehead. And then there was a little tiny tear that streamed out of his own eyes. “You were just, just the best I have ever seen.” He released a small sniffle and finally stood up from the bed again. That was their goodbye. Just right after the events he would be going again. It was hard, even for him to leave such a wonder of life behind him. ---   With a sigh he closed the door that was leading up to her room. He looked through the hallway of the hospital. None would believe just what they had been saved from. But then there was a smile upon his face, for the future of Twilight had been foreshadowed by the Angels. They had proved themselves once more as the most kind killers in the universe. A sick concept, even for him.         In his eyes he caught the cowgirl who was talking to the nurse. There was just one last tease that came to him. With his mind set back to zero, he just darted over to the cowgirl and took her hat clean off her head. “Hey!” she spoke up to him before she excused and thanked the nurse.         “What?” the Doctor replied before he set the hat upon his own. “Stetsons are cool remember.” He gave her a wide smile and the earth pony couldn't do much else then erupting out in laughter just from the sheer silly look he had.         “Okay, okay, okay,” the mare spoke up after her laughter had died off. “In all seriousness, what’s gonna become of her, and them for that matter?”         “Twilight should be back to her normal self in just a couple of days, she needs a lot of rest. That power output was nearly impossible. No, it was not, it was highly unlikely. Anyway, rest, got that? Just some rest and she’s fine. As for them, I don’t think we will be hearing from them for a long time. Let’s say, fifty million years,” the Doctor explained to her with a massive grin of joy.         “Ah see. Shouldn't be the biggest of troubles. But what 'bout yourself?” the mare then asked.         That shocked the Doctor a bit. For he never would have expected such a question to be asked towards him. Especially since how he treated Applejack like the third wheel on the wagon. It made him think about the answer for some time before he finally got one. “I’m, not sure really. Guess I keep on traveling, like I always did. Going to places through space and time, see where I end up next time. As I have for over nine hundred years.” That was the best plan he could come up with.         “Wonderful life is yar ask me,” the cowgirl replied with a smile.         “Yup, you get used to it eventually. It’s hard at times but, what can you do about it?” the Doctor said with a mixed tone. Then he reached inside his jacket and saluted Applejack with the horn of the elder unicorn. After the salute he placed the horn back in the jacket and gave her a wink. Applejack looked confused at him and then he was just gone. Off running off as always. Except he still had her hat.         “Hey!” she spoke up and started the chase after him. ---   Applejack followed the stallion through street and alleyway until she found him leaning against the blue box he was first seen with. His back leaned against it as he stood bipedal and the forehooves were closed over one another. His head looked down and the eyes were covered by the hat itself. “Howdy, partner,” he spoke with a slight smirk created by his lips.         “All fun and games Doc, all fun and games. Can I have mah hat back? Ah’m rather attached to it,” she said to him. Then her hoof stretched itself to take it.         The Doctor flicked his head back up and looked up to the earth pony. “You mean this?” he said just before his own hoof pointed to the hat.         “Yes.”         “Very well,” he said. He took off the hat and gave it to the cowgirl herself.         The mare placed it back upon her own head and smiled towards him. “Thanks Doctor,” she spoke with a tip of the hat given to him.         “Well, guess this is our goodbye,” the stallion said to her. “Been an amazing tale to me.”         Despite them not having started at the most of friendly grounds, the adventure through the caverns had led to a wonderful friendship, even if the two of them wouldn't admit it opening to one another. “Last hug?”         “You got it partner,” said Applejack with a smile. The two just embraced themselves in a tight and friendly hug. But as their forelegs tightened, they both rose up to a bipedal stance and their noses touched one another. A little thing that caused them both to blush more than they should.         “You aren't, you know?” the Doctor stumbled out upon the facial contact.         “Nope, just a lucky coincidence,” Applejack claimed upon it. She gave him a little nuzzle though. The action was something that made the stallion blush ever so deeply and he didn't even had the slightest idea of that what he could be doing. Nothing with the exception of just taking it. “Goodbye Doctor, may you travel safe,” she spoke in a whisper.         “Goodbye Jackie, may time be kind to you,” the Doctor whispered in return before they separated from the hug.         But upon the nickname, it was the cowgirl who had to release a blush as not many ponies called her by the name. “Heheh, go. Your box needs you.”         Almost right away he gave one last salute to the cowgirl. “You might want to step back.” The Doctor opened the door of the Tardis and walked inside as he always would. Applejack was given just a glimpse of the wonderful machine that laid behind the door before the door closed again.         “Bigger on the inside,” she exclaimed in a whisper. Though she heeded his warning and did a couple steps back. Not even five seconds later did the machine came to life. The metallic thudding and its signature sound went through the air as the light at top flashed a couple times. And right before her, the machine just vanished out of existence. Almost as if it never had been there. “The sound of the universe,” spoke Applejack up when it was completely gone and the silence had taken over again. “Goodbye, Doctor.” Another tear traveled down her cheek in her own silence. ---   With the sounds of the TARDIS that made their way into his ears, the machine traveled through the time vortex. Yet the horn of the unicorn was hooked upon many instruments. The sheer levels of power that it irradiated when it was feeding the angels frightened him. Just the combination of the two could have created an army of Weeping Angels, ready to spread over the universe if they liked. “Now let’s see how powerful you really are,” the Doctor said to himself.         With one flick of a button did the instruments do their job. The Doctor turned the screen over to his side. The horn laid on the other side of the control panel. It was mostly done out of safety reasons for himself. But the reading he got were even more than he originally would have bargained for. “Six, seven, eight.  Nine, nine thousand? Curious...” He took out his sonic screwdriver and stared upon his hoof for a little bit. The twinkle in his eyes alone spoke that something had changed about them. Something that happened in mere milliseconds and without feeling.         “What..?” he spoke up as he saw his flesh colored hand again and blinked a couple times in response. “What!?” the Doctor then looked at the rest of his body and took notice that he was normal again. He released a loud laughter at the sight and did a little jump in the air. When he landed, he tossed the screwdriver into the air and caught it back in his hand. The device was aimed at the horn while the signature whirring sounds could be heard. The Doctor proceeded to read the levels from his trusty device. “Most curious...” But in his hearts he had a difficult time accepting the real truth. The truth as it was within the universe that housed the land of Equestria.         The Doctor unhooked the horn from all the wires and slid his screwdriver back into his jacket. With a sigh that left through his nose, he picked up the horn and walked down to the sofa. He dropped his body into it and he just looked upon the all-powerful horn. The horn of a unicorn, a mythical creature that shouldn't even have existed, yet the proof was in his hands.         But if he had paid attention to his on board navigator, he could have seen that he had last through the same rift as he had entered. “Could it be possible that, in the Void, nah. Nothing can live within there,” he explained to himself. But his beliefs were once again tainted by the fact in his hands. A most curious matter indeed. And one the Doctor himself, might not be able to truly solve. ---   Back through the rift, in the magical land of Equestria and, inside of the hospital of Canterlot, Applejack had joined herself with Twilight once again. Then it was her who sat upon the bed. With the light of the moon that shone down upon them both, she confronted the sleeping unicorn with her hooves stroking against one of the forelegs. “Ah’m glad Twily,” Applejack spoke up in a whisper. “Ah’m glad Ah made the decision to go with you to Canterlot, for if Ah didn't, we never would have been on this wonderful adventure sugar cube. Thank you,” she brought out to the unicorn.         The cowgirl sat with one of her best friends for a long time in silence until a much more stabilized voice did its turn. A voice that originated from the near unconscious unicorn herself. “H-Hey.” And with all the might she had in her, the mulberry hoof returned the stroking to the cowgirl. A cowgirl who beamed like the sun of happiness.