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// Chapter 3: A Friendly Game of Chess 
// Story: Of Wings Imagined, A Humans Tale 
// by Bridgebrain 
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	The two stallions were silent as they walked, each having their own concerns that they couldn't let the other know. Clockwork World had two main thoughts running through his head: How do my powers work in this world? and How much can I reveal without giving... he searched for a word and settled on one the doctor was soon to use often ... spoilers? The Doctor had much more pressing worries. How does this pony know so much about me? he asked himself. The fact that he knew his race was one thing, but he distinctly felt that his companion was holding back an absolute trove of information. Beyond this, he could sense that something wasn't right. More than one thing, come to think of it. He didn't trust this newcomer, and he couldn't fully understand why.

He had met other dimensional travelers in this land, but none with the level of power that resonated around this stranger. When he closed his eyes and looked at the universe around him, he could normally see the presence of something different, or at least an obscure sensation of life. The sensation he received when looking at this pony was, he imagined, the same that one would receive while looking into a mirror while knowing there was a vampire behind him. While he knew Clockwork was there, he could even sense his physical heat and disturbance of the wind around him, he gave off no sense of existence. This conundrum couldn't be explained by the Doctor. As was stated before, the Doctor didn't like things he could not explain.

The second thought that plagued the stallions mind surrounded the memories that he had. He knew how the universe he was in worked well enough to know that this was a problem. Though he couldn't put his hoof on it, he sensed that the information on his mind was extremely dangerous; he simply couldn't work out how. He would ask this traveler what he knew to try to figure out, he decided. This thought added something else. In this train of thought, he decided against bringing his new acquaintance to the TARDIS directly. 

They needed somewhere private where they could discuss such matters, but he realized that allowing a stranger with so much knowledge into a device capable of rewriting existence would most likely be a bad idea. He of course couldn't have known the extent of Clockworks powers, and had he seen into his mind at any point, the very thought of the TARDIS having more power than him would be laughable. He decided they would go into town, grab a few pieces of food, and picnic outside of anyone's earshot. Anypony he chuckled to himself. He had been here about a linear year, plus or minus a few temporal adventures, but still wasn't quite used to the puns the world had produced.

Clockwork was deep in thought as well. He sensed The Doctor trying to sense him, and knowing that if he was able to, it would have caused him to stop in his tracks. Seeing as they continued walking side by side, he realized that one of the limitations granted to this form must have been a severing to his natural one. As dangerous as it was to be truly away from his true nature, it made him happy to think how much the Doctor must have been puzzled. He doesn't get all that many true puzzles these days he chuckled to himself. 

The puzzling stalion stretched his mind to sense around him. A subtle sensation formed in his mind, but nothing like what he was used to. I hope this isn't another limitation he thought angrily to himself. He was used to seeing the whole of a universe at once, something that a physical mind would crack under. He usually found a way around it, but it may be different this time. He sighed, deciding that it was pointless on an empty stomach anyway.

The Doctor began walking towards Ponyville on the well traveled road to the south. From this distance, they could see the entire bustling city, the magnificent castle in the background, the peaceful brook that flowed under the bridge entrance, and the dark lush forest on one side. 

Clockworks breath was taken away. He had seen many sights, but this was among the most lovely. A perfect balance of light, darkness, color, distance. He had seen this specific site many times, before his powers manifested, in a childrens TV show. Never did he dream he would be walking into the town he knew so well in real life. 

He looked at The Doctor quizzically for a moment, knowing that the TARDIS wouldn't be hidden in such plain sight as to be in the town. Even with the perception filter, many ponies would sense something wrong with the Blue Barn, and rumors would spread. After a moment of thought, something clicked in his head. He doesn't trust me to see that much power. He had to work his hardest not to laugh as he read the Doctors train of thought. If he only knew...

Whooves decided to stop by Sugarcube Corner first, seeing as he knew nothing of this new ponies diet prior to arriving. Regardless of vegetarian, meat eater, or both, no one turned down Pinky Pie's sugary concoctions. Except vegans. I really hope he isn't a vegan he thought to himself. They never know how to eat once they find out even the plants have some level of sentience here. It was at this point he decided to ask. No harm in asking I'd imagine.

"Before we grab something to eat, do you have any preferences?" he asked gently.

Having not heard a sound from the Doctor since their earlier conversation, Clockwork jumped slightly. Some powerful being you are, getting spooked by a simple voice he grumbled to himself. "Not really. At this point, I'm an omnivore. I'll eat just about anything. Though I do prefer fruit and sweets." he mentioned. It was true, he was omnivorous. He had once lived feeding off only emotions for a month. Some things that people feel are truly repugnant he mused to himself. He then chuckled. I'm omnivorous, omnisexual, nearly omnipowerful and from the omniverse. I'm about as omni as it gets.

The Doctor looked at him quizzically, noting that at the word "omnivore" he had added a certain amount of implication. He shook it off, deciding that it was an inside joke, not a statement such as 'I eat worlds.' "Alright then, we'll begin at Sugarcube Corner. I'm thinking its such a lovely day out, it'd be a shame to talk about this business indoors." He smiled as genuinely as possible, and Clockwork put on his best poker face. 

Yeah, right. both thought at the same time. 

It was true though, the weather was absolutely perfect. It always was, even in the worst storms. A perfect storm in a perfect land they thought to themselves, following the same train of thought. If they had been speaking aloud, they would be finishing each others sentences, usually a right reserved solely to the Doctor and any other iteration of himself. 

As they entered, an old trick popped into Clockworks mind. A technique that worked without magic, that should still work within the limitations. He expanded his minds eye to a range far outside of him. In it, he tagged The Doctor, tracing his outline in his mind. As he opened his eyes in a few seconds, he smiled. The Doctor was exactly where he predicted he would be. This'll come in handy he grinned, even without magic, I can still understand people like clockwork. He held in the laugh at how well he had chosen his name.

While testing this cognitive power further, he neglected to notice the vibrant pink mare enter the room. Such a mistake would prove fatal for a lesser pony, as upon opening his eyes again, she nearly gave him a heart attack. She was three inches in front of his face, with her eyes extended right next to his. She had waited until he opened his eyes to give her standard greeting, which the Doctor was used to, and amused him to no end when it wasn't directed at him.

"HI! You must be new here! I know, because I know every pony in town, and I don't know you! Which means you're new, which means you need a party!" At this point, her eyes retracted back to their standard place, grew as wide as possible, maybe even more so, gasped loudly, and began another rapid stream of words. "Oooo a party! I love parties, I'm going to go throw you one! There'll be cake, and candy, and games, and more candy, and drinks, and hot sauce! And hot sauce candy in drinks sitting on cake! I'll see you later at the party!" With this, she dashed out the door, her cotton candy like mane catching in the door frame. She simply flipped upside down, and crawled out on her back as quickly as she had run on her feet.

Clockwork World was flabbergasted. To imagine, such a bundle of absolute energy existed outside of a super nova, or even the explosion of a beginning universe! She had surprised him, something that hadn't happened in aeons. Beyond that, she seemed to defy physics with reckless abandon. He made sure to remember to take a closer look at her when he had his powers back under his control. The Doctor reached out two hooves and helped the stunned stallion to his feet. It was at this point he was glad he had legs for such an event instead of some of the other forms he had. One was made of pure sound: no form, just sound. He had managed, but it had been much more difficult than this. He smiled to himself, thinking how long it must have taken anyone else traveling through to get used to such a change.

Once standing, he had recovered enough to speak, but his heart was still racing. "Pinkie Pie I assume?"

The Doctor began to ask how he knew her name, seeing as she had forgotten to say it , but gave up. I'll find out soon enough he thought. "Yep, that's Pinkie. And before you ask yes, she's always like that. And again before you ask, I don't know how she is that energetic either." Heh, good guess Doctor. Clockwork chuckled to himself. Seeing his expression, the Time Lord knew he had hit a point. So he's not omniscient after all he thought and smiled to himself.

"No I'm not" was the response, removing the smile from the Doctors face. Is he...

"...reading your thoughts? No, I'm just a Very good guesser." This must be how the humans feel when I show off... the Doctor blushed subtly. At this point, another pony entered from behind the counter.

"Darn that Pinkie, always disappearing in the middle of her shift. What'll you have doctor? And who may you be young man?" the blue and pink mare asked. Clockwork didn't take his eyes off of the wild swirl of pink hair that bobbed up and down on her head as he introduced himself.

"My name is Clockwork World ma'am" he said gently.

"Well welcome to town" she warmly replied. 

"I'll take a few biscuits, two cupcakes  and two apple muffins" the Doctor butted in. While he was fine with someone else getting the limelight for once (he had been a strongly receiving party since his arrival), he didn't want anyone getting to know this strange newcomer until he had had a chance to learn more about him. He didn't trust this young buck, and he felt it was his duty to protect this world he had come to love. Even with the ward in place to make one lose their tainted memories, he had managed to keep his. Why couldn't this pony have? 

Ms. Cake, her badge displaying her name proudly, recovered quickly from the interruption. "Alright then, give me one second" she said with a smile. She quickly gathered the items, and dropped a few extra cookies into the bag. This poor newcomer looks like he could use the extra sugar. It was true. Even though he was newly formed, Clockwork had taken on what the universe assumed was closest to his form. To tell the truth, he hadn't eaten in linear time in years, but in his own world he ate only when he got bored. As such, he was a bit gaunt. Not terribly so, so as to look like death on legs, but enough that his ribs were beginning to show. 

The Doctor paid for the food and thanked her. As Clockwork said goodbye, he was nudged out the door by the suspicious horse. Clockwork sighed as they cleared the door. As annoying as it is, he's right to do this. He doesn't know me, he just knows that there's something off about me. He sighed and rolled his eyes. As they walked down the street, the Doctor saw their next stop. They had begun walking side by side again. He nudged Clockwork and nodded towards the market street, and began walking towards the booths. A young orange mare (who could easily be described as a deep apricot color, but would take it as an insult if you did) was standing at her booth, and looked up happily as her male friend approached.

Since his arrival a year ago, she had grown extremely fond of the Doctor. She loved her friends dearly, but there was only so much female conversation she could take before it became monotonous. Prior to the mysterious arrival of the brown stallion, she had only Big Macintosh, her gentle giant of a brother, to talk to on that level. He was an excellent listener, and surprisingly wise, but he may as well have been born mute, what with the overwhelming silence that generally followed his half of a conversation. Sure he could talk, he just didn't most of the time. Thus, the Doctors arrival had been a great joy to her, and they had become very close. She wasn't romantically interested, and he seemed not to be with her, but there was something, something that she couldn't put her hoof on, when he looked at her. It was like a wash of hidden emotions, things that he wasn't even aware of.

As he walked closer, that same wash of emotions took hold. He always felt strange around the young mare. He felt, at best, conflicted, and could never remember why. Now, looking at her, memories that were once hidden flew through his mind, and he realized the source of so many conversations awkward moments. She reminded him of someone, and it was a beautiful but painful realization. Rose... He maintained his best poker face as he remembered the name, meanwhile feeling love and loss, fear and joy, and above all else, a deep wound that had never begun to heal. This was one of many memories that had been long locked away. The knowledge was simply too painful to exist in this world. Thinking about it now, he knew that AJ, his lovely friend with an honest heart, wasn't Rose, not in the least, but she reminded him of all of her best qualities, even down to the naturally beautiful course blond hair and outstanding accent. "Hello Applejack, business going well today?" he said in as even and friendly a tone as he could.

"Sure is Sugarcube. All I have left for the day are a few pies and sweets." At this, the Doctor frowned a bit. Applejack noticed. "What's wrong Doc?"

"Oh, nothing much really. I just picked up some sweets from Sugarcube Corner, and was actually looking for some straight apples for me and my new friend here. Clockwork, Applejack. AJ, this is Clockwork." At this, he directed Ajs attention to Clockwork, who had been quietly been observing. He could sense that there was something off in the Doctors voice, but he couldn't work out what. He also was a bit wary about meeting Applejack, knowing who she was and how important she was to this world, and being unable to explain his knowledge of either to them. The sudden shift in policy, going from isolating the newcomer to introducing him, especially assuming that the Doctor knew that he already knew her name, was shocking, and though he was a bit suspicious, he didn't let it reach his voice.

"Well howdy there Clockwork. Pleasure to meetcha." She outstretched her hooves and shook his rapidly. "A friend of the Doctor is a friend of mine. Welcome to Ponyville. Will you be stayin for a while?" She was looking into his eyes, and something bothered her as he replied, "I'm honestly not sure. Just wandering for a bit you see. Seeing the world." She could see he was telling her the truth, but her senses were also telling her that something was off. It wasn't that he wasn't telling the whole truth, but at the same time, he seemed to be holding back an entire conversation with every word. It reminded her a bit of the Doctors way of conversing, as if volumes of thoughts went unspoken with every sentence. She decided to look past it, but it still nagged at her subconscious. Very resourceful Doctor Clockwork smiled to himself. He had just realized why they had been introduced. Using the Element of Honesty to see what you can't. Shame she can't see it either. Excellent thinking though.

She decided to turn back to the Doctor, and saw a flash of the emotional waves that were lapping at his mind. She'd seen it before, but he never seemed to notice. Today was different somehow. He was actively trying to keep a straight face, something that she could see through with no difficulty. "I do have some apples left actually. Mah snack for the day. Wouldn't sell em to anyone but you Doc." She said with her genuine smile. Another twinge of pain shot through the Doctors heart, but he smiled back as genuinely as he could. She brought the bucket of apples out from behind her booth. "I'd say ten bits for these here beauties."

"Applejack, don't you go selling that far under just for me" The Doctor replied playfully. "I'll give you twenty-five, and not a bit less." Applejack sighed, rolled her eyes a bit, but nodded in agreement. 

"Deal then. Ah hate to take yer money, but thanks Sugarcube. You might be competin for most generous pony with Rarity if you keep this up." She had walked around the booth with the bucket in her mouth, and after thanking him, had pulled him into a big hug. He blushed, and seemed to go into a rather pleasant looking shock. Clockwork had to suppress a snicker at the expression on his face. "Thank you miss Applejack, we'll be sure to enjoy these tremendously." He picked the bucket up in his teeth. 

It was his turn to nudge the Doctor along now, as the stallion was still in a blissful shock. Applejack just chuckled as they left, apparently aware of the effect she had on him, even if she didn't know why. Soon the Doctor returned to his senses, joy and pain flowing through his mind as he walked. Clockwork decided to try and understand his companions confusions if for no other reason to break the awkward silence that had arisen. What's wrong Casanova? I've followed your adventures from above. I've seen your heart and mind, but I haven't seen you act that way since... Oh. He decided to hold his tongue about the subject altogether. Nothing he could say would help, and one stray word would open a world of hurt. They walked in silence until they reached the edge of town. The Doctor decided to break his own concentration, lest his thoughts consume the rest of the afternoon.

"I'm thinking we should set up lunch over there." He poked his hoof into the air, squinting and waving his leg around as if to describe an exact spot. Clockwork had no clue where exactly he meant, so he just nodded and let his companion lead. They stopped over the next hill, a short distance away amongst a beautiful field of lush green grass. The Doctor fished around in his saddlebag, reaching his head all the way inside. Clockwork realized why this bothered him quickly: The bag was smaller than his head, much-less the length of neck that was craned into the bag. The Doctor returned from the pocket with a tablecloth in his mouth. Seeing his companions shocked expression, he dropped the cloth and deadpanned "Pocket Dimension." They both looked at each other for a few seconds, faces unreadable, and burst into uncontrollable laughter at the same time. They spread the blanket, still chuckling every few seconds, and set up their food. Before they began to eat, Clockwork closed his eyes, and began to silently speak. The Doctor watched in fascination, and when Clockwork was done, asked if he was doing what he thought he was.

"Yes, I took up praying whenever I had a break a long time ago. I have... an interesting relationship with the universe, one that defies religion and most of its understandings. That said, I've never believed I was the top of the ladder. I even..." his expression went dark for a moment, grasping at thoughts and memories that eluded him. He knew he had done something, something terrible, uncomprehendingly destructive, involving his relationship with higher powers. He couldn't remember what, but he was a bit glad that he couldn't. "...Never mind. Regardless, I like to say thanks once in a while, just in case there's something out there listening."

The Doctor looked quizzically at his lunch partner. Religion had always bothered him, having watched many of the events that inspired Creation Stories personally. He had even launched what very well may have been Satan himself into a black hole once. For someone who seemed to know as much as he did to still believe in higher powers enough to actually do something, even something tiny, for them was... unique. He relished the possibility of learning this newcomers perspective now, as well as satiating his need for understanding how he knew as much as he did. 

A slight worry crossed the mind of Clockwork. He knew the Doctors history with religion, especially one memory that stuck out: a single religious zealot with a gun killing his clone/daughter in front of him... it made sense in context. He knew that if there was one thing the Doctor would never do, it would be to underestimate him due to his beliefs. Regardless, he felt he should make up any lost ground in terms of respect that may have been involved with that statement. An idea popped into his head, and he broke the minute long silence that had settled.

"Before we begin with this..." his mouth started watering as he looked at the food, "... feast..." He shook the hunger from his mind, "I wonder if you have a chess set in that bag of yours." Before he had gained his powers, he had been quite terrible at chess. After a million years, he had decided to improve himself a bit, and spent over a century playing against himself out of sheer boredom. The game of intellect, with nearly infinite possibility, had managed to amuse him for the course of the hundred years, but he hadn't since found anyone capable of playing against him. The Doctor smiled, he felt the same way. He reached through his sack, and after a few minutes of searching, pulled out the board. It was a beautiful piece, something that he had picked up in his travels, and carried with him always.

It was constructed of three materials. The black squares of the board consisted of a beautiful black stone, something Clockwork had only ever seen once. In the world he had been to, the stone was called obsidian, but it was unlike the lightly translucent black rock of his home. It could be best described as looking... insidious. It was a pure black, so dark that it seemed to consume the light around it. It radiated a gently purple hue whenever it had the right arrangement, and was used in its original world to create a purple portal to hell and back. This rock lacked the hellish sensation, the dripping noises and screaming sounds that emanated from his previous encounter with the material, but it retained the purple glow that gave no light. 

The white squares were clear as diamond, and glowed warmly and gently like stars on a quiet summer night. Finally, the border of the board, as well as the ever so thin connections between the squares, was a material of a shadowy black, much like the true obsidian of other worlds, but with traces of gray and silver faded in in designs so intricate and random that only nature could create them. Easily the simplest of the three materials, but the most necessary as well. It blended the light and the dark, the purple and the glowing pale yellow, the very essences of the other two, seamlessly. It was a masterpiece of art, and Clockwork couldn't stop staring into it deeply. 

The Doctor watched with an amused expression as his challenger took in the board, and had to force himself from staring into it as well in order to retrieve the pieces. He had taken great lengths to customize the set, adding even more beauty to the final composition. Originally, the two sets consisted simply of the materials that made up the board. The white set seemed to be shimmering crystal, glowing with that same gentle light. The black set was stunning, and honestly gave its user a bit of psychological edge on their opponent. Both sets had the gentle black stone as the base, and it swirled up into the piece like vines. It was a gentle beauty, subtle yet powerful and nearly perfect. 

The neigh immortal had decided to try and top it though. After his first regeneration with the board in his possession, he had the presence of mind to breath the slightest touch of the flowing temporal energy into the white set, giving its natural glow the powerful shimmer of time each moment that it sparkled. For the dark set, he collected some of the vashta nerada, the living shadows, during his trip to the silent library upon his now yearly memorial visit to River Song. He convinced the collective to spare some of their own for the arts, and assured them that they'd be well fed. Whoever played using them received a miniscule manicure out of it, as there weren't enough to pose any kind of threat beyond the topmost layer of dead skin. He tweaked their biology slightly, with their permission, to allow them to exist in the light, and tie them to the pieces. Thus, his pieces positively pulsated with their elements, and no one who had ever seen them could say which was more beautiful. Not that he'd pulled them out for just anyone. 

No one seemed to play chess anymore it seemed, though Kasparov and Karpov had both absolutely marveled at it, and given the lord of time a fair challenge. He'd won of course, having a few hundred years on them, but they both took the loss gracefully, and had been inspired to become even better because of it and because of the beauty and art of his set to some degree. 

He brought them out and set them gently on the board with his hooves, a simpler task than one might think, but difficult nevertheless. There was some sort of magic on hooves here, that allowed objects to stick to them at will. It was yet another thing that tickled the back of his mind annoyingly. He couldn't figure it out. It drove him slightly mad, but wonderfully so. This world was full of such possibilities, such absolutely different things, he was no longer bored here. He had been lost in thought setting the black king into place, and hadn't even started the white set. 

Noticing the lack of progress after a few minutes, Clockwork snapped himself out of his awe at the board and pieces, and finished the setup, still getting stuck every few pawns staring at its beauty. I wonder if he's shown these to the princesses. I'd be willing to bet that they would never stop bothering him to come visit and play chess if he did... He turned the board around, having a hard time choosing between the darkness of night and the shine of day. He settled on the perfect black, reasoning that he was always more of a night person. 

Snapping the Doctor back to the present, he clicked his pawns in front of his MIA opponent. "Earth to Doctor, Earth to Doctor, come in Doctor." The Doctor chuckled, but went dark for a moment. He knows about earth? He shook it off immediately. He seems to know about everything, why is that surprising? 

The Doctor looked down at the board, then up at his opponent. "White then?" Clockwork nodded and returned his pawns to their places. His mind was sharp, and he was genuinely excited about getting to play the game against an honest contender. Let the battle of wits begin... The Doctor moved forward the king's pawn by a single square. Might as well see what I'm up against. Clockwork didn't look into the board after the move, but looked instead into the Doctors face. This is where the real game is played he mused. Seconds passed. Then minutes.

Twenty minutes went by, both stallions staring intently into the eyes of the other, playing the scenarios seamlessly though their gaze. Neither blinked, nor moved in the slightest. Clockwork broke the silence at twenty five minutes.

"Stalemate, 5948 moves, not counting duplicates."

They both looked down at the board. Not a single piece had been touched other than the pawn, but they both saw every move the other would make. It resulted with two kings, naught else.

"Maybe chess was the wrong choice..." Clockwork trailed off.

"Just a bit, yeah." The Doctor agreed, trailing off in the same way.

"Excellent game though, thank you. Haven't had that much of a mental workout in eons. And your board... indescribable." He stared intently at the board again, and played with the black pieces that pulsated specks of black. "I mean, using huon particles was brilliant, but giving the darkness the life of the vashta nerada? Genius."

The Doctor simply looked at him, impressed, curious, and horrified. Many things this new interloper seemed to know, but those two in particular terrified him. The Time Lords were once famous, the Doctor doubly so. The ponies he met and seemed to know here were The Elements of Harmony, famous across the land. Huon particles, however, were ancient and obscure. No one except the higher races should know about them. As to the Vashta, no one should have been able to deduce what they were, with the changes he had put them through. Knowing the nerada that well was rarely a good sign. They could be turned into the deadliest of weapons, and sometimes had been in the past.

"All in good time, Doctor. I will tell you how I know what I know in good time. To allay at least one of your fears at the moment though, the Vashta was simply a guess, confirmed since I can feel them eating the outer layer of my hoof. Tickles a bit actually. You'd think these things would be less sensitive..." He put down the pieces he had been playing with, deciding that they'd snacked sufficiently. 

"Now then, shall we eat?" he smiled.


{{Authors Note: Sorry for all the delays, but I think I've finally bludgeoned my writers block into submission. Thanks to many of the fics I've read in the meantime, I finally found the components I was looking for to get from where I was to where I wanted to be. Sorry if this is a bit long winded, but I decided that you all needed an extra long chapter for your patience. I also have half the next one written. I'll be releasing it sometime in the next few days. Enjoy!}} 
{{Authors Note Again: A special thanks to Kiroberos for saving you all from the wrath of a potential Gary Stu, and Techogre for saving you all from the dreaded wall of text. I don't have editors, so if anyone sees anything troublesome, please either comment or shoot me a pm. I really do appreciate it :D}}