December 24th, 15 BC- 8:50 am
“Pass the syrup,” Dinky said happily.
“What do we say?” Derpy said, plucking a banana nut muffin from the basket on the counter and carefully removing the paper from its bottom. The TARDIS’ kitchen looked like it would have been home in any house in Equestria and all the ponies found themselves quite comfortable there, having a leisurely meal around the thick oak table.
“Please pass the syrup,” Dinky said, stressing the ‘please’.
“Good girl,” Derpy said, pushing the bottle over. “Doctor, would you like a muffin?”
“I’m good, Derpy,” the Time Lord said, sipping his tea. “How about you, Clover? Might warm you up.”
The purple unicorn shivered slightly. She was wrapped up in several layers of heavy blankets and had a hot water bottle tied to her head. Her mane was slowly returning to normal and nearly all the ice had melted away, leaving her a shivering, wet mess. Starswirl sat next to her, using his magic to spoon feed her some oatmeal, not trusting her trembling body or her depleted reserves to do it herself.
“S-should we be doing this?” Clover said, her teeth chattering.
“I suggested we have eggs but they didn’t have any fresh ones in the fridge,” Starswirl said, taking a moment to blow on his mug of coffee before taking a long sip.
Derpy instantly got up from the table. “I suppose we could go get some… I’ll set the TARDIS to 423 AD. They had some great eggs-“
“No, I mean s-should we be having b-breakfast when the unicorns are about ready to engage the other tr… tr… tribes in bloody battle?”
The Doctor swallowed his tea with a noisy gulp. “I’m sorry, but I can’t really take you seriously with the stuttering. It is awfully distracting.”
“W-we are having breakfast while innocent p-ponies are being h-h-h-h-ACHOO!”
“Blow,” Derpy said, handing her a tissue. “There we go.”
“W-why aren’t you more concerned?” Clover grumped, hating the fact that they were treating her like a baby.
“We do something like this about once a week,” the Doctor said. “It’s hard to get excited after a while.”
Dinky nodded, looking up from the plate she was licking. “Uh huh! I only panic now if the entire world is in grave danger. Something like this? It’s a 50/50 shot if I get out of bed!”
At Clover’s exasperated look, the Doctor decided to take pity on the unicorn. “Miss Clover, I understand that you have gone through a rather traumatic event and now you are seeking out some way to fix this situation-“
“Which you are not to blame for,” Starswirl stated.
“-in as quick a manner as possible. And while I will be the first to admit that rushing in without a plan is fun-“
“Very very fun!” Dinky said. “The last time we got slushies.”
“Slushies being a war race from Alpha Centari,” Derpy informed Clover and Starswirl.
“They were cherry flavored!”
“And deadly… deadly, deadly cherry slushies. Stained the Doctor’s tie terribly.”
“-we are not going to be doing that this time.” The Doctor grabbed a banana and carefully peeled it before continuing. “Let me ask you something, Miss Clever: what would you have us do?”
Clover, without even a pause, blurted out, “R-return to the camp and explain to them that the w-windigos are trying to flare up the war so they can encase us all in ice and f-f-f-feed off of all of us! Then, they’ll-“
“Not listen to you and continue on with the war,” the Doctor said, taking a bite of banana. “They’re idiots, my dear.”
“He does have a point,” Starswirl admitted. “For all their talk of ‘unicorn supremacy’ and that we are the ‘thinking ponies’, we tend to be quite short-sighted and unable to see the big picture.”
“In other words, dumb,” the Doctor stated.
“That’s why I’m glad I’m a pegasus,” Derpy said.
“Me too,” Dinky said. When the others looked at her she grinned. “I’m a special pegasus with a horn instead of wings. Pegasus power, yeah!”
“Allow me to break down exactly what would happen, Miss Clever,” the Time Lord said. “You would return to your camp and tell them what you had discovered. They, being already war hungry even before you showed up, would not believe you. Its not your fault because, again, they are blood thirsty morons. They would demand proof and you would have none…”
“Because we flushed the proof down the potty because it was yucky,” Dinky stated, subconsciously wiping her hoof with her napkin.
“…and without proof they would think you had gone mad or that the earth or pegasus ponies had managed to do something to you, just like they had done something to Princess Platinum.”
“Or that you had gotten cold hooves,” Derpy stated. “Which… you kinda did, which is why you are shivering and dripping on my kitchen floors. Dinky, can you get a pan or something?”
“Okay, mama!” Dinky said, leaping off her stool and dashing towards the cabinets, noisily searching for something to collect the Clover-drippings.
The Doctor took another sip of tea. “At worst they would lock you up or execute you. At best… well… they would get distracted by something shiny. My money is on the shiny thing but why risk it?”
“They… they would believe me!” Clover exclaimed, waving her forelegs about and nearly knocking the blankets off her shaking body. “I listened to me when that windigo had control of me!”
“Because you were telling them what they wanted to hear,” Derpy stated. “If some pony told me muffins were yummy, I’d totally agree with them!” Her smile instantly dropped and she reached over, grabbing a butter knife and toying with it, pressing it slowly into a tender bagel. “But if somepony told me that we should ban muffins forever, even if they had the best of reasons… I don’t know what I would do.”
“Yes, well…” Clover said nervously, subtlety shifting closer towards Starswirl, “they will listen to me now. I will use logic and reason and explain to them what has happened and they, being rational ponies will hear me out and they are never going to believe me, are they?”
Starswirl rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, my dear. I know you always believe the best in them and hope that they will see things your way but they are simply too blinded by their own faulty beliefs to listen to you. The windigos made you say just what they wanted to hear… it wouldn’t have mattered who said it, most of them were just happy to have somepony finally giving them permission to go to war.”
“So there is nothing I can do to fix this?” Clover said sadly.
“Indeed,” the Doctor said, reaching out and patting her foreleg before grabbing an éclair. He happily munched on it, not noticing the looks he was getting for the rest of the group. “What?”
“Doctor?” Derpy said, pointing towards the heartbroken Clover.
“Oh! Oh, I am sorry! You can’t do anything but we can!” He laughed to himself. “I’m sorry, my dear, I didn’t mean to worry you like that.”
“Doctor?” Derpy said when the Time Lord continued consuming his éclair. “How are we going to fix this?”
“Ah, yes, sorry about that… I always seem to get scatterbrained before I finish breakfast. Most important meal of the day and all that.”
“…Doctor!” all of them shouted.
“What… oh, the plan, yes.” He leaned forward, a teasing grin on his face. “Tell me Miss Clover… have you ever heard of ‘Shock and Awe’?”
“I have!” Dinky said, running back to them with a pot on her head. “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
BANG!
“I’m ok!” Dinky called out.
~DH~DH~DH~
December 24th, 15 BC- 8:45 pm
“Commander, shouldn’t we wait for Clover?” Goldleaf said softly, her horn glowing as she attempted to pierce the darkness around them. Under any other situation they would have avoided lighting up their horns, not wanting to give away their position to the enemy, but the weather ensured that would not be a problem. The clouds had grown so thick that not even the great pale moon could pierce them and the cold, swirling winds made it so their glowing horns were barely visible 3 feet in front of them. “And shouldn’t we follow the plan she drafted?”
“No, lieutenant,” Sunstream said sternly, forcing herself to keep moving forward. The snow and ice clung to her skin and weighed down her cloak. She could see that several of the unicorns around her were barely managing to stand, the icy having adhered to their legs and made it near impossible to push forward. Goldleaf’s own brilliant mane had frozen solid and would not budge even if she struck it with a hammer. “We press on and take the advantage now!”
“But we can barely move…” Goldleaf murmured, straining to open her eyes. The ice had coated the lids and held them fast, making it impossible for the mare to see where she was going.
“We press on!” Sunstream snapped, though it was hard for the other unicorns to hear, what with the mare’s jaw nearly frozen shut. “We-“
Sunstream stopped, though not because of the ice and snow. No, what halted her forward movement was Smart Cookie’s icy form blocking her way. The mare turned and looked at the unicorn, only her eyes untouched by the frozen sheen that coated her form. Her mouth opened to unleash a stream of curses, only for a wisp of blue-ice fog to slip from her mouth, briefly taking the form of a ghostly stallion before rocketing into the air, lost among the snowflakes. Smart Cookie’s eyes widened as she came to her senses and realized what she doing and where she was.
“ATTACK!” Sunstream roared, the unicorns firing off their attacks. Smart Cookie cried out for her soldiers to stop but her screams were drowned out by the sounds of ponies lashing out at each other. Smart Cookie forced her freezing form to turn and she spotted Pansy to her right, the mare’s wings flared out and a snarl on her lips even as tears of despair rolled down her frozen face.
Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies launched themselves at each other, blindly attacking whatever they found within striking distance. Many ended up attacking members of their own tribe, the icy winds playing cruel tricks upon them: earth ponies would have frosty fake horns form upon their foreheads, unicorns would discover snow wings upon their back, and pegasi would be forced to remain on the ground as their wings iced over to their sides. Several ponies tried to grab their opponents and wrestle them to the dirt, only to find themselves stuck and the snow solidifying the two into one massive lump.
Through it all the windigos swirled above and around them, howling in glee and delight. The horde could taste the anger and the hate and the fear and soon they would feast like kings upon the foolish ponies. The fleshlings would feed the horde for years, allowing them to grow bigger and stronger. More so, their life energy would let the windigos venture out further, to find new grounds to hunt upon and new creatures to use as their incubators for precious emotional energy.
It was only a matter of time…
Pegasus, earth pony, unicorn and windigo all looked up, only to slam their eyes shut as a brilliant blue light exploded in the sky. The ponies fighting below found themselves pausing mid-attack, their attention focused on the strange and beautiful blue glow that shone upon them and chased away the cold that bit into their flanks. The ice and snow rapidly melted away under the glare of the blue star and the ponies wept tears of joy as they were freed. The windigos suffered far worse though and screamed in outrage and pain as they darted away from the blue light, retreating into the darkness just beyond its reach. Many failed to make it and fizzled away like the end of a candle wick.
“NOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE QUITE COMMITTED TO THIS LITTLE WAR BUT I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION!” The booming voiced reached every ear and forced away any desire to fight. “IT SEEMS TO ME THAT, PERHAPS, YOU MIGHT TURN ALL THAT NEGATIVE EMOTION TO, WELL, A BETTER SOURCE. SAY THE PARASITIC ICE PHANTOMS THAT ARE TRYING TO FREEZE YOU TO DEATH?”
The ponies shook their wet bodies, flinging droplets of cold water about. As they freed themselves from their icy prisons they at last noticed the swirling spectral windigos that hung about the edges of the great blue circle of light the glowing star was casting down. All of them let out cries of fear and outrage, backing away from the vicious ice wraiths that looked upon them with hungry eyes.
“YES, THEM. WINDIGOS. RATHER NASTY PIECES OF WORK. THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING THEIR MAGIC UPON ALL OF YOU, FORCING YOU TO FEEL HATRED AND GREED THAT YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER FELT OTHERWISE. THEY ARE THE ONES TO BLAME FOR PAINS YOU HAVE SUFFERED. IT IS THEIR MACHINATIONS THAT HAVE LED YOU TO EACH OTHERS’ THROATS!”
The three tribes glanced at each other and awkwardly separated, looking away from their opponents, shame filling them. They continued to back away until one earth pony let out a yelp, his tail leaving the blue warm circle of light and instantly freezing when a windigo attempted to drag him into the darkness. The three tribes instantly rushed back towards the center, intermingling as they jostled each other, wanting to keep as far away from the cold spirits as they could.
“SO I SUPPOSE YOU ALL HAVE A CHOICE. YOU CAN CONTINUE THIS SILLY LITTLE WAR OF YOURS, KNOWING THAT THE PRIZE FOR VICTORY IS A SLOW, PAINFUL, DRAINING DEATH AT THE HOOVES OF THESE BEASTS. OR YOU CAN DO THE SMART THING AND REALIZE THAT YOU DO HAVE AN ENEMY… AND IT IS NOT YOUR FELLOW PONIES. THE CHOICE IS YOURS REALLY.”
Sunstream looked about at the three armies and instantly read the hidden signs and secret thoughts that ran through their minds. She might have been many things but the orange mare was no fool; she knew when the winds of change blew and she would let them guide her, if only to save her own flank.
“The great blue star is right!” Sunstream shouted. “These windigos have driven us apart! Are we not ponies? It does not matter if we have wings or horns or great strength of limbs! What matters is that we are ponies… brothers and sisters!” She whipped around, her horn glowing brightly as she glared at the swirling windigos. “Will we stand here and let them use us like this!?”
“NO!” all three tribes roared.
“Drive them back!” Sunstream shouted. “Drive them into the darkness! Drive them off so that they never return again! Fight! FIGHT!”
The tribes began to work together, unicorns lighting torches with brilliant pink flames that seemed to fight back even the worst arctic chill. These were taken up by pegasi who rushed them towards the edge of the circle, enlarging the barrier of heat and light. Any windigo that attempted to get close and snatch up a slower pegasus found themselves at the mercy of the earth ponies, who smashed their iron shoes against the rock and stone, shooting off sparks that burned the snowy beasts and sent them crying back into the darkness to roast all alone.
All sense of supremacy and tribe loyalty faded away as the ponies worked together throughout the night, pushing the windigos away from the center of the circle, which became an impromptu launching pad and recovery camp, where those too hurt to go on received the care they needed to return to the front line. Even when the blue star faded and the voice grew quiet the three tribes felt no fear, for they were now driven to survive and the fires of loyalty and unity burned through that dark cold night. Sunstream grimly stood next to a massive earth pony stallion, her hexes occasionally going a bit wide when she snuck a peek at his flank. The most venomous of ponies, the ones labeled war-hawks who had preached the death of the other tribes now happily fought with their new allies, ignoring their true feelings for a time as they battled against the common enemy of all.
None of them noticed that Smart Cookie and Pansy had disappeared from the battlefield at the same time the blue light faded away, leaving the ponies, who now had the upper hoof, to finish off the windigos and welcome in the new day.
~DH~DH~DH~
“Well, that went rather well!” The Doctor said, dropping the microphone he was using. “Well done, everypony!”
Clover slumped to the floor, rubbing her aching horn. Starswirl the Bearded managed to make it to a chair, accepting a cup of coco from Derpy. Dinky ran over to the bewildered Smart Cookie and Pansy and happily welcomed them to her home and asked if they had a drink order or if she could take their coats. When she saw they had no coats Dinky gave them some, only to take them back and give them warm blankets.
“What… what is going on?” Smart Cookie asked, glancing about, puzzled. “The last thing I remember…” She looked over at Pansy and let out a gagging cry. “Oh… oh, I am so sorry about what I said! I… I didn’t mean…”
“Me neither,” Pansy said, hot tears still dripping from her eyes.
“None of us did,” Clover said weakly. “None of us did.”
The Derpy forced the mares to take a seat, handing them each a cup of coco and some warm muffins. “The coco warms the body and the muffins will warm the heart. I think you need warming for both.” She gave them each a smile and a hug. “And that’s because you need a hug.”
Dinky ran up and hugged them as well. “You looked like you needed a refill!”
The Doctor then proceeded to inform the confused and tearful mares what had happened to them in the caves and what they had done to stop the war and drive the windigos away.
“The blue light was to hide our spellwork,” Starswirl told them. “We had the TARDIS overload its running lights to be blinding so that none on the ground would notice Clover and I firing off some Fires of Friendship spells to melt the ice and reduce the windigos to vapor. We also enchanted the torches the unicorns were making so that they would be able to do the same thing once we were gone.”
“Do you think the tribes will be able to hold back the windigos?” Pansy asked softly, looking down at her half-empty mug.
“Of course they will!” The Doctor exclaimed. “Wouldn’t have been much of a rescue if we left them and they fell, would it? I worked out all the details, have everything under control.”
Dinky happily bounced up and down. “Now you can go make Hearth’s Warming Day and I can get presents!”
Smart Cookie sighed. “I… I just don’t know.” Looking up the mare slumped her shoulders. “I mean… it just sounds impossible!”
“What sounds impossible?” Derpy asked. “Oh, is it a chocolate chocolate chocolate chip muffin? Because I figured that out… the trick is to use frosting!”
“No,” Clover said, looking at her mentor sadly. “Starswirl, I know you have high hopes for me but I can’t do this. We weren’t able to protect the Princess and Chancellor and Commander, we weren’t able to fight off the windigos, and we weren’t able to help our tribes.”
Pansy nodded, her wings hanging limply at her sides. “How are we supposed to convince everypony that we can live in peace with one another?”
“But they all fought together down there,” Dinky exclaimed.
“Yes, little miss,” Smart Cookie said, “but what will happen when there ain’t a windigo for them to vent their anger on? What’s to stop them from turning on each other again?”
“You three,” Starswirl said sternly. “I know you feel like you failed but you did not. No pony could have fought against what the windigos put you through on their own… that is the point. If we as a species are to survive we must unite.”
“Yes, you are young,” the Doctor said, “and ponies tend not to listen to you. But that doesn’t mean you stop talking! You keep shouting, from every rooftop and every balcony until somepony listens to you… and then you get them to shout as well. You two then get another pony to shout and then another… until you aren’t a lone pony screaming at the world, but one voice in many speaking true.” He looked at each and smiled. “I know you doubt yourselves but let me tell you something: there is greatness in each and every one of you.”
Clover sighed, her eyes sliding shut. “I… I wish I could believe that I just… I just don’t know.”
“Doctor,” Derpy said softly, “I think they need to see some proof.”
“Well,” the Time Lord said, “it is risky but we could show them a history book-“
“Actually,” the gray mare said happily, “I have a better idea.”
~DH~DH~DH~
The fire of friendship lives in our hearts
As long as it burns we cannot drift apart
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few
Laughter and singing will see us through (will see us through)
We are a circle of pony friends
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end!
The crowd erupted in applause as the carol came to an end and Dinky, Rumble and Pip all smiled, resisting the urge to wave to their parents as they basked in the cheering crowd’s clapping. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, hiding behind cardboard painted to look like ice crystals, flashed the three wide grins and nods of encouragement. Even Diamond Tiara, who was still mad that she was a rock, couldn’t help but smile; she’d always loved that carol.
“And so the three friends shared the magic of friendship with the tribes,” Miss Cheerilee said, motioning for Featherweight and Ruby Punch to come out with the flag. “And from that day forth…”
“Do you see now?” the Doctor whispered from his seat in the far back of the auditorium. He couldn’t help but wonder what the citizens of Ponyville would think if they realized just WHO was watching this performance.
Clover’s eyes shimmered with tears. “This… this is how you see us?” She looked at the Doctor and Derpy, a watery smile forming on her lips. “This is how we are remembered?”
“Yes, yes it is, my dear,” Starswirl said. He too was caught up in the emotion of the moment and sucked back happy tears.
“Can this be real?” Smart Cookie whispered as she watched the Cutie Mark Crusaders step out to join in an encore of the Fires of Friendship Carol, their little forelegs slung around each other as they joined Dinky, Rumble, Pip and the rest of the cast in leading the audience in song.
“It’s like a dream,” Pansy said gently, looking about at all the families gathered together, singing in unity and friendship.
“I assure you, it is no dream,” the Doctor said. Derpy had floated up and was now happily waving her forelegs about as she joined with the rest of the audience. “I won’t lie to you and say it will be easy. There will be struggles and fights. There will be times when you look upon your fellow ponies and wonder if they are worth it. You will see the worst in them and believe that your struggle is one that will never end. You will see them be petty and cruel and foolish and greedy. And I hate to admit it but it will never end. It will continue on, even after you are long gone. That is life, my friends, and the only way to avoid that is to be freeze, to remain the same and never move on.
“But in your dark moments, think back to this day. Remember what you heard here… remember the music and the joy and know that this is what you fight for; this is what you live for. Look about you... these your your descendants! The children of those that gave so much in the name of the impossible dream. Do you hear them singing? This is your legacy… this is what you are working towards. You are merely the first step, dear mares, just as we all are another towards the goals of peace and unity and friendship.”
Clover couldn’t help but wave at Dinky, the little filly giggling as she blew a kiss to all of them, giving up all pretense of being Clover. “Doctor?”
“Yes?” the Time Lord said.
“I think we are ready to go back now.”
"Very good, I'll-"
“In a moment,” Starswirl said with a slight smile, motioning for the Doctor to sit. “I want to see the end.”
“What end?” the Doctor said, confused. “That is it. The song is sung and the play is over.”
Starswirl smirked. “Well, I think I might be suggestion a new ending when we get back.” He shared a wink with Clover, Pansy and Smart Cookie, the mares nodding in agreement.
“Ending, what-“
The Time Lord’s eyes widened as a familiar grinding, whirring sound filled the area. He looked about and realized that only Derpy was surprised by the sound; Dinky was flashing Starswirl a sly smile while the rest of the audience had merely gone quiet, their eyes going upward to the top of the stage… where a cardboard blue star, shaped like a familiar blue box, descended.
“What is that?” Rumble said, loud enough to make it clear to the Time Lord that this was part of the play.
“A blue star!” Pip exclaimed. “I’ve never seen a blue star before. What does it mean?”
“A good sign,” Dinky said with a smile. “A good omen.” She stepped forward and cleared her throat. Her little voice rang through the quiet auditorium as she sang. "Rest now... my warrior. Rest now, your hardship is over."
Derpy lowered back into her seat, body trembling as everyone, in one clear voice, began to sing. "Live. Wake up. Wake up. And let the cloak... of life... cling to your bones- cling to your bones."
The Doctor glanced over at Starswirl with tear-filled eyes of his own. The mage merely smiled, watching as Dinky led the ponies of Ponyville in song. “You’re right, Doctor… everypony needs something to remember… a memory to keep them going.”
"Wake up. Wake up. And let the cloak... of life... cling to your bones- cling to your bones...."
~DH~DH~DH~
“…and let the fires of our friendship…” Clover paused. “Uh… line?”
Dinky quickly looked through her script. “Ugh, I always forget this part!”
“Don’t worry… doesn’t really matter at this point,” the Doctor admitted. He glanced over at the other end of the cave, where the frozen forms of Chancellor Puddinghead, Commander Hurricane, and Princess Platinum stood. Already the magical pink fire, the Fires of Friendship, were burning brightly and causing the icy shells to melt away. Starswirl had left them to go see to the tribes, promising Clover that he would do his best to prepare them for the six ponies’ arrival. “What is important is the message, not the words.”
“Are you sure they are going to be ok?” Smart Cookie asked. “They were in there for a while…”
“The windigos couldn’t have fed on them much, what with them bouncing around your skulls. At worst they will have a cold.”
“Make them some soup!” Derpy suggested.
Pansy walked over to the Doctor, shuffling back and forth awkwardly. “Will we ever see you again?”
“Well, never is a horrible word, especially for a stallion in my line of work. I can’t promise anything, of course… but yes, I think we will.”
Derpy nudged the Doctor towards the TARDIS, Dinky already running up to them with her script, which now bore the Founders’ signatures. “We should go, Doctor…”
“Oh, I don’t know, Derpy,” the Doctor said, stepping toward Princess Platinum, who looked to be the first to free herself. “We’ve been able to meet all the players in this play except these three… why not stick around a bit and say hello.” Princess Platinum shook her mane, sending droplets flying all over. The Doctor bowed low and, in a humble voice said, “Your Highness, I am-“
“The Doctor,” the Princess said.
“Oh!” the Time Lord said with a grin. “Do you know me?”
“Oh yes… I know you well… my nemesis.”
“What?” the Doctor said in surprise.
“I remember what you promised me… what you took from me you ruffian! Clover, bring me that thief’s head!”
“What?”
“MOVE HOOVES!” Dinky shouted, Derpy and the Doctor quickly following her into the TARDIS. Princess Platinum screamed as she banged against the box’s door, even as it faded away.
“Well… maybe it would be best if they stayed away for a while…” Clover muttered, the other girls giggling in amusement.
The End
The Hooves Family will return in 'Let's Kill King Sombra', out 2014