//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight // Story: The Fantastic Adventures of Doctor Whooves: Hourglass // by The-Pony-Librarian //------------------------------// Chapter Eight In which Doctor meets a workout trainer from the greatest depths of Tartarus, and Colgate does a very, very stupid thing Colgate growled at the infernal machine in front of her, angrily kicking a lever with her back. Turning on the stablizers on had stopped the Celestia forsaken thing from lurching about like an inebriated three-legged pony, but that still left the issue of trying to pilot with only four hooves. She was spread out in front of the console, her back left leg stretched as far as it could go to hold down a lever, left and right forehooves pushing buttons, and repeatedly whacking a panel on the console with a large mallot respectively, and the remaining leg trying desperately to keep her upright. Around her horn was a roll of Duct-tape which she had been forced to use several times to keep parts from flying everywhere. Finally she felt the ship land with a heavy thunk and slowly pushed herself into a normal standing position. Trotting to the TARDIS doors, she blew a small, slow stream of air through pursed lips. She had to have gotten it right this time. She had to. After all, once she got to her destination, nothing else would matter. The stupid unicorn might have refused her deal...but she didn't really need they key anyways, she had just been trying to- Colgate shook her head, the edges of her mouth tightening. It didn't matter anyways. Reaching out a hoof, she pushed the doorway, squinting her eyes shut in anticipation before mentally chastising herself for her foalishess and opening them to see...Coulds. A city of clouds to be precise. A vicious snarl escaped from Colgate's lips. What the hay had she done this time? This wasn't working....Why wasn't this working? Then, an idea sparked in her head, and a sly smile spread across her face.She had been dealing with the wrong pony this whole time...trying to barter with the lavender imbecile, when the pony she really needed to be concerning herself with was the Doctor. Well no more. Lighting her horn, she focused on her shoulders, beads of sweat gathering at her forehead. A pair of wings flickered into being, nestled against her shoulder blades. They were electronic of course, and had been travelling with her the whole time, albeit a second out of sync with time. The spell was taxing to initiate or end...though not too hard to maintain, but the conveinience outweighed the strain. One never knew when they would need a pair of wings. She stepped off onto the cloud, relishing the springy feel of it under her hooves. She probably could have walked on them without the wings...the amalgamation of different magics altered refined to make her own being composed mostly of pegasus type, but being in a cloud city filled with winged ponies, it would serve her well to blend. With a flap, she took off, flying towards Cloudsdale. She and the Doctor were going to have a chat. Around the same time, Twilight and the Doctor appeared with a flash of light on the outskirts of Cloudsdale. It had been pretty easy to find the Doctor after Colgate had fled. Maybe a little unfortunately so, Twilight thought, putting a hoof to her sore shoulder. She had literally ran into him not three steps into the main plaza. The purple unicorn made a wry expression. She really needed to stop bumping into things. "Wow" the Doctor began as the bubble of magical energy around them began to dissipate "Would you look at tha-AAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" As soon as the last sparks of magenta energy cleared from around them, the Doctor's hooves plunged straight through the cloud beneath them, and it was only Twilight reaching out and grabbing his hooves at the last second that kept him from falling to earth far below. Frantically, she cast the cloud walking spell on him, and he clambered to his feet. Eyes wide with surprise "What the blazes-" "Only pegasus ponies can walk on clouds" Twilight wheezed, heart still beating fast from the rush of adrenaline caused by seeing her friend almost plunge to his death "....you scream like a girl" Choosing to ignore the last statement, the Doctor asked curiously "How are you still on the clouds then?" Twilight spread her mechanical wings in reply, causing her coat to flutter off. It was a warm day anyways, so she caught it in her magic, rolled it up, and placed it in the Doctor's saddlebags. She supposed she could have used her own...but, it wasn't like she really needed them, and she didn't exactly miss having to carry them around on her back. She was about to set off towards the city when the Doctor stopped her, pointing to her horn "Unless I'm mistaken" he said, smirking "Alicorns aren't exactly common" Rolling her eyes, Twilight lit up her horn and pulled the fez from their bags before placing it on her head once more "Happy now?" "I'm not the one who was about to become the new alicorn princess" the Doctor mumbled back, fighting a grin. Twilight huffed at him, before suddenly cocking her head, and then bursting into a fit of giggles at the way the Doctor was walking. Apparently unaccustomed to the feel of clouds beneath his hooves, he was lifting his legs up awkwardly high with each stride, looking like Opalescence when Rarity had put booties on her paws. Twilight raised an eyebrow at him "Having some difficulties?" "I've never walked on clouds before, it's a bit off-putting" The Doctor grumbled said defensively, then gave an exuberant bounce on the fluffy material, and grinned at her "It is, however, pretty fun" Twilight rolled her eyes, stifling a smile, as they walked "You know, I've never thought about this before, but...how did you end up with the TARDIS anyways? Was it assigned to you or something?" She chuckled to herself "Did you buy it at some sort of TARDIS dealership?" "Well....funny story...You see, when I first saw the TARDIS, she was in a museum. I...sort of... borrowed her" Twilight raised an eyebrow, smirking "You mean stole?" The Doctor paused "Yeah, that was the word I was looking for" Twilight let out an incredulous laugh covering her mouth with a hoof "You actually stole it?" she exclaimed through chuckles, eyes wide "That could get you thrown in jail!" "Psshhhhhh..." The Doctor waved a hoof "I've spent over seventy four years in jail, it's not that bad.......Lump sum, mind you" The Doctor added seeing the look on twilight face "You know, two hours here, forty minutes there, thirty seconds somewhere else..." "Thirty three seconds? Really?" "You'd be surprised what you can do with a toilet plunger and the element of surprise" the Doctor flashed her a smile as they made their way into the main square of Cloudsdale. There were a surprising amount of ponies all bustling about, a lot of them seeming to be heading in the direction of the stadium. Ponies selling flags, banners and the like lined the sides of the square...it looked almost as if there were some sort of sporting event going on... Then Twilight spotted them, out of the corner of her eye, a pair of vibrant butterfly wings. She stopped dead, then grabbed the Doctor and dragged him into the shadow of one of the sales pony's booths. "Oi!" The Doctor huffed indignantly "What on earth was that for?" "Shh!" Twilight snapped "Look." She pointed to the other side of the square" "Is that Rarity with butterfly wings?" Twilight nodded "Along with all of your other friends?" Twilight nodded again The Doctor put a hoof to his chin "That..." he said slowly "That might pose a problem" "Yeah..." Twilight said slowly. Then something darted in front of their vision, a blue filly, heading towards the stadium "It's Colgate!" Twilight whispered excitedly. "I see her" the Doctor nodded "We should follow her, we'll just need to be careful not to bump into your-" "Are you going to buy something?" Twilight looked up to see the large Pegasus stallion running the booth they were hiding behind scowling at them. "Uhh...Just going on our way!" the Doctor said quickly, and he and Twilight scuttled back into the square. "Well, no time to waste" Twilight said "To the stadium!" They walked up to the mare managing the stadium, an older pegasus, who smiled at them kindly. "Excuse me" the Doctor said "Have you seen a filly go this way? Blue, about yea high, hourglass cutie mark?" The mare put a hoof to her face thoughtfully "Why yes, not two minutes ago. Went right through there" the mare pointed a hoof through the door, before beaming at them "My grandfoals are almost that age, they can be such a hoof full can't they?" Twilight couldn't help it, giving a wry chuckle. She and the Doctor exchanged glances "Tell me about it..." she gave the pegasus a smile as she walked through the stadium "Thank you!" "No problem, dearie. Good luck finding you daughter!" Twilight's eyes widened in surprise and there was a painful pause before she composed herself, giving an awkward laugh which turned into a cough ".....uh....Yeah!....Daughter!...... Anywaysgottagobye!" She began to walk swiftly into the stadium, the Doctor following close behind. Once they were out of earshot, the Doctor burst out with laughter. "Daughter?!" Twilight squawked, red-faced. "You really didn't think she wouldn't assume that?" The Doctor said incredulously through snickers. "Well I guess-" the purple unicorn stammered "But just- I don't- With you- It-was- Stop laughing!" She swatted the Doctor on the shoulder as he began another fit of guffawing. "Oi! Ow! No hitting!" The Doctor, said fending her off "Fine, fine. I'll stop" Twilight narrowed her eyes at him "Promise" he said, as they continued into the building. Satisfied, Twilight turned away. "That was real smooth though...." The Doctor muttered, sniggering. "So help me, I will turn you into a pear" “You wouldn't!” They turned the corner, still bickering playfully, before stopping as they came to an intersection, two corridors branching off from the main, one with a booth where contestants were getting their numbers, and the other leading to seating for spectators. The Doctor and Twilight exchanged glances. “She probably went to the seating” The Doctor said quietly “After all, you kind of have to be a pegasus to be a contestant” Twilight nodded but then paused, looking at the mare manning the check-in table, who was seemingly engrossed in the card house she was building, and wearing an expression of the utmost boredom “On the other hoof...” Twilight muttered quietly back “Do you really think she would be that hard to sneak past?” “True” The Doctor nodded his head “I think we’re going to have to split up- You take contestants, I’ll take spectators-” Twilight cut him off, shaking her head “Rainbow Dash is competing, she’ll recognize me for sure...I may have wings, but my mane and cutie mark are still the same!” “Alright, here, give me your wings” Twilight nodded, casting a quick cloud-walking spell on herself before removing her wings. They turned instantly back to their original state of wire and clear plastic feathers, before turning to a light brown as the Doctor placed them on his shoulders. In exchange, Twilight took his saddlebags, nestling them onto her back. Nodding at each other, they turned around....and saw the mare at the checkout booth staring at both of them, slack jawed. The Doctor looked to her and put a hoof to his mouth “Shh! You didn’t see anything.” before trotting past her and grabbing a number with a wink. The mare’s eyes flicked from him to Twilight and back again as she open and closed her mouth like a stranded fish. Twilight gave her a nervous smile in return, laughing awkwardly before scurrying as fast as she could up the stairs towards the seating. The Doctor walked into the contestant prep room, looking around curiously. There were a great deal of pegasai, ranging in age from about as old as Colgate to maybe a tad older than Twilight...of course, that was as far as he could tell, he wasn't exactly the best at estimating pony age. Aside from the drastic changes is color palette, their faces all looked pretty similar to him.....Their moods seemed to differ as much as their ages, some the epitome of confidence, some looking distinctly nervous, and some just out right panicking, like that rainbow one in the corn- oh....The Doctor winced at the state of Rainbow Dash, who was glancing about frantically while running her hooves through her mane and giving little chokes of manic, panicked laughter. At least he wouldn't have to worry about her remembering him...she seemed pretty caught up in her own issues. The Doctor glanced at the schedule taped to the wall. Still thirty minutes until the first performer would be set to go on. He had plenty of time to find Colgate if she was in the area- "Hey hey hey, everypony!" A lime green stallion clad in sweatbands trotted in bouncily, grinning exuberantly "I'm Workout Wing here to lead the warm-up exercises!" There was a small commotion as those new to the competition exchanged confused glances, and those who had competed before exchanged heaving, long suffering sighs. "Now get in line young fliers! Remember, you've got to warm up before you get down!....You too young mare, warming up is an important part of acrobatic flying, and is integral to make sure nopony hurts themselve-oh....oh...um....you know what, you can just carry on with what you're doing" Seeing the crazed look in Rainbow Dash's eyes as she sat in the corner taking hyperventilating breaths, Workout wisely backed down, flashing a smile and quickly scooting away The Doctor reluctantly got in line next to a yellow and purple mare, who looked deeply unhappy "He forces us to do this awful warm up exercise every single year" She griped to the mare on the other side of her angrily, flicking her ears in annoyance "I swear, if it wouldn't get me instantly disqualified, I would kick him square in the mug" The Doctor was annoyed, but for a different reason...How was he going to sneak off and look for Colgate now? "Time for wing circles!" Workout Wing cheered, spreading his wings and holding them so they were parallel to the ground "Everypony, wings to the side. Just like me!" The Doctor did as told, lifting his wings outward as he glanced around. There was no way he could slip away to look around in the halls on the other side of the room without having to cut through the crowd and surely attract somepony's attention. He wondered why Colgate had even left the TARDIS after landing in Cloudsdale, wouldn't she have seen right away that this wasn't the place she was looking for...the thought lingered, nagging, in his mind..,.. "Now, forward!" the garishly colored stallion up front ordered cheerfully, moving his wings forward in little circular motions. Then, to the Doctor's dismay, began to sing "Repeat after me Bum...bum...bum...bum...bum...bum...bum bum bum bum!" "Bum...bum...bum...bum...bum...bum...bum bum bum bum...." Droned the crowd back enthusiastically "I love wing circles!" "I love wing circles..." "They are really fun!" "They are really fun..." "And when I like to do them!" "And when I like do do them...." "I like to do a ton! YEAH! Bum...Bum...Bum...Bum...Bum...Bum...Bum Bum Bum Bum-" Five minutes in Doctor could definitely sentamentalize with the purple pegasai's distaste for this coach...plus moving your wings in little circles for an extended period of time didn't half burn... "Now, backwards!" Workout Wing shouted gleefully, reversing the direction of his rotations. There was audible groan from the crowd, and several whimpers, but the lime green taskmaster had no mercy. "Bum...bum...bum...bum...bum...bum...bum bum bum bum!" "Bum...bum...bum...bum...bum...bum...bum bum bum bum...." "I Love wing circles!" "I love wing circles..." "They are the best!" "They are the best...." "And when you do them often!" "And when you do them often..." "Can we please get to rest?" whimpered the pegasus beside the Doctor. "NO!" Workout wing snapped angrily, before putting his exuberant smile back on "Now we have to do Rain Catchers! Now flip your wings over like you're catching rain, and then flip them back like you're dropping them down...now repeat after me...Rain, Drops...Rain, Drops...Rain, Drops-" Then, from the corner of the room, there was a loud, indignant squawk, as if a cat's tail had been stepped, and the rough puffing noise of a kick landing on a cloud, like someone jumping down as hard as they could on a mattress. The Doctor looked over to see Cogate being dragged roughly over by a light orange mare wearing a pink shirt, glasses, and a head mic. "Get off of me you cretin!" the filly shouted, squirming roughly. Workout Wing, however, looked aghast "What is the meaning of this? This is a very important training exercise and cannot be interrupted!" "We found this one screwing around in the back room, what did you want me to do with her?" the orange mare snapped back, narrowly avoiding a buck to the teeth by her wriggling prisoner. She pushed her snout roughly into Workout Wing's, demanding an answer. The lime stallion thought for a minute, before his eyes lit up "I know! Put her in the warm up group so she can do the exercise with us!" "Trust me, it's punishment enough" piped up a red stallion from nearby. Workout Wing shot a glare at him, attention momentarily distracted, and the Doctor slowly began to scoot toward's Colgate as quickly as he could without attracting any attention. Unfortunately, he attracted Colgate's attention quickly enough, and smirking she raised a hoof. "Excuse me, mister! I think this stallion is trying to sneak out of warm up excercise..." Every pony in the room turned on him...save Rainbow Dash, who was still in the corner. "No...." the Doctor said slowly, trying to think up an excuse. This event, from what he had heard from Twilight, was pretty important, and he couldn't afford to create a ruckus and change things up "I......had to use the restroom" Poor excuse really...but it would have to do. "The Stallion's room is that way-" said the orange mare flatly, pointing behind him. "Well I didn't know that" the Doctor retorted back "Look kid, I'll show you where it is" the orange mare said, rolling her eyes "Follow me" "I really don't think that's necessary...." the Doctor said slowly...bang went the plan of sneaking back around to get Colgate while everypony was distracted once again. "Nonsense" the mare deadpanned, looking the epitome of unenthused, turning and beginning to walk. Growling in frustration under his breath, the Doctor followed behind. feeling Colgate's smug grin bore into the back of his head all the way to the door. After one turn and a hallway, they entered a door, and the mare sat down "Well?" Rolling his eyes, the Doctor walked in, waited exactly thirty seconds, and then dashed back out "Okaywe'redoneherelet'sgo" The orange mare could barely keep up as he ran back to the room for the contestants, skidding inside to see....Workout Wing nursing a black eye, and Colgate nowhere to be found. Figured. He walked over to the little table where they had an assortment of food, and grabbed some hay, chewing on it while looking very annoyed. "Okay, contestant number one, you're up!" the orange mare barked through her microphone "Okay...Number two, let's go" There was a long pause "Come on, come on, I ain't got all day!" The Doctor was poked in the shoulder, and he glanced up to see Rainbow Dash "She's talking to you!" He doubted rainbow would remember, but disguised his voice all the same, looking at his number in surprise "Oh, uhhh...I guess that's me!" He trotted out the curtain's as he'd been instructed and took of into the air before remembering....He had no idea how to fly... Twilight sat on the cloud seats of the arena, scanning the crowd with diminishing hope. She couldn't see Colgate anywhere around, which probably meant she was in the contestants area with the Doctor....it had been a while though, hopefully he had gotten the chance to....to.... Her train of thought was quickly derailed as she saw the Doctor burst through the curtain, wings flailing wildly as he struggled to remain upright. Losing all semblance of control, he pinwheeled head over hooves at least six times before righting himself, spotting her, giving a wave...and crashing straight into a cloud pillar, sending a puff of fluffy white out from his impact. Twilight winced and looked away, then shook her head, chuckling and went to go get up. Best meet with the Doctor out where the contestants exited so they could get going as quickly as possible, if Colgate was acting on trend then she was probably already long gone. With a stretch of her legs she trotted into hall leading out of the cloudesium, cloud doors swinging gently shut behind hr, muffling the din of the crowd and bright sunshine. Her ears twitched, and Twilight looked up, brows furrowing. Something wasn't right. Just as her horn began to glow, there was the sound of a mallet being swung, and the world went black. The Doctor trotted over to where he had spotted Twilight, shaking the last bits of cloud-stuffs out of his mane, smirking to himself. He definitely wasn't winning best in show with that performance. He would have to tell Twilight about his little adventure backstage, she would doubtless enjoy hearing about it. Then, smile sliding off of his face, he slowed to a halt. There was the TARDIS, right in front of him, framed against the white clouds and pale sky. He stepped towards it, and reached out a hoof to push the door... it swung effortlessly open. Brows furrowed, the Doctor stepped inside. "Hello, Doctor!" sang a familiar, snide voice "Look...I know I've been a little uncooperative of late, but I'm really hoping you'll still be willing to work with me....after all, it's in your friend's best interest....." Colgate stood leaning against the TARDIS console, a large mallet cradled in her hooves, one of her hind legs was planted comfortably on the floor, and the other was resting firmly on the horn of a unicorn who was Duct-taped roughly onto the floor "Doctor! Don't do it! It's not worth it-" Colgate gently increased the pressure of her hoof on the horn and Twilight quickly cut off with a yelp. She looked squarely at the Doctor as he began to step forward "I wouldn't try anything, you attempt any funny business-" "Yes, yes" the Doctor said, glaring at her "Typical villain monologue... 'act smart and I kill your friend' and all that rubbish" "Kill her? And loose my bargaining chip?" Colgate scoffed "Oh no. I have something else in mind... If I chose too, I could stomp clean through her horn right now. I feel any buildup of heat that mean's she's casting a spell, snap! If I see you step even an inch towards me or the control panel, snap!" Colgate chuckled "You know considering how your little friend here loves to use her magic, I wouldn't be surprised if she preferred death....oh, do stop crying, Sparky....that is what you call her, right?...it's really unbecoming of a mare your age" Twilight whimpered quietly. "you see" Colgate continued, eyes shining "unicorn horns are delicate things, rather brittle unfortunately...but that's not the thing about their anatomy that's really interesting. The really great part is that the insides of unicorn horns are like the insides of teeth....Except instead of just being full of nerve endings, they're chock full of magic recepters too the things you need to channel arcane energy...But I'm sure the lesson on horn composition is boring you, the point I'm getting at is that...they don't grow back. Shattered horns can be repaired somewhat, but once you damage the pulp, there's no more magic use ever again" she winced "and and all those little nerve endings too....You should have heard the screams when Doctor Bright would operate...it was not a pretty thing to hear" she paused "or to look at for that matter...blood everywhere" The whole time she went on describing it, Twilight's eyes went wider and wider, hooves scrabbling on the floor as well as they could with the Duct-tape all over them as she choked back heaving sobs. The Doctor had seen Twilight scared before, but until then, he had never seen her terrified. She made eye contact with him, just for a moment "I'm so sorry.....I'm so sorry, Doctor..." "And what" The Doctor said slowly, looking levelly at Colgate "Will you do if I decide not to take this deal of yours?" "Oh!" Colgate smiled widely at him "Then I kill her"