Chapter Nine
In which Colgate turns briefly into a fruit, and Twilight tells of a Psychopath
There was a ferocious pause. Twilight could feel it pressing all around her as she desperately tried to calm her rapid panicked breaths. The doctor glanced at her, just a brief flick of the eyes. Then narrowed his eyes at Colgate, saying levelly "what then, do you propose?"
"Oh I'm glad you decided to be cooperative" Colgate's voice sounded sweetly from above twilight "it's pretty simple, really. You take me to when and where I want to go...and I let your pretty little friend live"
Twilight blinked the last of the tears from her eyes. Then took a deep breath. No matter what the consequences would be for her... Colgate couldn't do what she was planning to do. Not ever.
She made eye contact with the doctor, gaze firm, and in a voice as steady as she could muster said "It's not worth it. Whatever happens to me, it's not worth it."
"I said shut up!" Colgate screeched "You're always playing the hero, the martyr. But it's all just talk! Can you do anything but talk?" She laughed "I almost hope the doctor listens to you because when you're dead, you will have finally, for the first time in your wretched little life, shut your tireless, idiotic mouth!"
She heaved the Mallet all her might, and it connected, with Twilight's side with a crack, and then swung again, and a third time. Shot of agony through jolted her ribs, and Twilight's eyes widening with the pain, a yelp escaping from her throat, sides bare and unprotected since Colgate had thrown her saddlebags off into a corner earlier. She felt some of the tape securing her detach from the floor as she curled up into a defensive ball, tears streaming from her eyes as she braced for the next blow to come...
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you..." Twilight looked up, to see the Doctor's eyes flashing furiously. Suddenly he no longer quite looked like the pony she knew. He looked far older, far stranger, and far, far more dangerous. Despite the fact that she knew he was her friend, and defending her, she couldn't help feel a small shiver run down her spine looking at that gaze.
And then doctor was speaking, in a voice she had never heard from him before, "you know, Colgate...." he said slowly " All this time I thought you were supposed to be smart"
"I am." replied Colgate, unflinchingly.
"Oh really?" said the doctor, voice growing louder with each word, barely controlled fury on his face "because, if you have any sort of self-preservation instinct at all.....what you did, what you did just there. Hurting. My. Friend. was a very, very, stupid thing to do."
Twilight could almost hear the smirk in Colgate's voice "You don't scare me" she said slowly "I know all about you, remember? Now unless you want me to continue hurting your friends.... back off!" the final shouted words were accompanied by another swing of the mallet and Twilight gave a little cry of pain as it once again connected with her ribs with a crack.
"You know all about me? Is that so?" the Doctor spat, raising an eyebrow "Well how about this? I'm the Doctor. I've lived for more than a thousand years, and in that time I have seen more than any normal person's mind could even begin to comprehend. The spinning of the earth under your feet. The farthest reaches of the universe and the end of time. The very fabric of space. I have seen planets just like this die in fiery blazes, and the death throws of stars, I have seen entire galaxies collapse and have witnessed the destruction of countless civilizations. I can see the flux and shift of time. And you...... And you, in your arrogance, presume to know me?"
"you think you are the only one who can see the turn of the universe, Timelord?" Colgate screamed back, laughing "I've stared straight into the into the time vortex, right into the heart of time and space. I've seen it since I was a foal, I close my eyes and I can see it swirling in my head..." she laughed "Do you have any idea how exhilarating it was when I built the time corridor to bring you to the lab? How it felt to reach into that raw, un-tempered power, and bend it to my will? And with the TARDIS, oh with the TARDIS I could do anything.... bend the universe to my will! Rewrite time itself!"
The doctor laughed, not his usual laugh, but rough, short, barking. More resembling a snarl than a chortle. "If I had a nickel for all the thousand times I've heard that... You're all obsessed with being gods, the lot of you. Look at me, Colgate. Ask yourself if you really want this...none of the others made the right choice, but-" he laughed again, mirthlessly "hey, that's them right?" the doctor shook his head looking at the filly "because you're not the first, oh no. You aren't the first..... Or the cleverest, or even the most creative" he looked Colgate straight in the eye "I have fought against Daleks. Cybermen. Sontarans. Weeping angels. The Silence. monstrosities bred in the vilest depths of the universe and bent on destroying everything in their path. All of them smarter and greater numbered and stronger than you, and like with you, the only thing standing in their way was me"
He paused, slowly narrowing his eyes.
"I'll let you draw your own conclusions on how that worked out for them"
There was a very long silence.
"I..." Colgate started slowly "I..."
But Colgate was going to say, however none of them would ever know, for at that moment a tremendous crack rent the air, splitting through the room like a knife. Twilight's eyes shot wide open, pupils shrinking, the shock and sudden wave of magical energy from the rainboom combining with her fear and pain and igniting like black powder. She gave a cry, a surge of magic crashing through her body, and then the world went white.
The Doctor felt himself thrown back by the force of a gale and hit the ground, ears ringing. Disorientated, he tried to gather his thoughts. What had just happened? tried to He pushed himself to his hooves, then ducked back to the floor just as fast, narrowly avoiding a mallet flying at high speeds in his direction. Just before it hit the wall, it transformed into a bouquet of flowers, which fell limply to the floor. The doctor looked up, brows furrowed, before his eyes widened in surprise.
Floating in the middle of a cloud of her own magenta energy was Twilight, eyes shining the brightest white, surrounded by a spinning vortex of whatever her magic could get it's swirling tendrils a hold of. A roll of tape floating past his face, turning in quick succession into a terrified rodent, a cactus, a shoe, before swirling out of his sight. Colgate was spinning around in the magic as well, sporting a large mustache, which was quickly snipped off by a pair of scissors, before she transformed a large, unnaturally blue apple, which, true to the form of the pony it had previously been, hit the doctor right in the head. Twilight shuddered within her cocoon of magical energy, limbs twitching, mane and tail flowing as if underwater.
The doctor furrowed his brows..."This..." he muttered to himself "Could be a problem.."
Whatever this was, Twilight definitely didn't seem to be in control of it...Which meant there was probably some outside force at work, a trigger, so to speak.
The TARDIS shook violently and the Doctor nearly lost his balance again, leaning against a wall to steady himself. Whatever was causing this seemed to be affecting his ship too... That meant it was probably some large influx of energy, most likely magical, since it was having an effect of Twilight as well.
The Doctor wracked his brains...this seemed similar to the story Twilight had told him about losing control of her powers during a magic exam, but...He ducked a box of biscuits that was flying in his direction...hearing a story and being stuck in a TARDIS with an out of control unicorn were two very different things. He closed his eyes, what had Twilight said caused it the first time?
"Think, Doctor...think think think...." his eyes shot open "The sonic rainboom!"
That must have been what the noise earlier had been...that meant, if he could get out of it's range....
He scooted towards the console, keeping his head low not to get hit by any flying objects, as well as to avoid the rouge tendrils of magic. He didn't want to be turned into a pear, thank you very much.Finally creeping his way to the controls, he began to press buttons and pull levers in the attempt to get them away from the area. The TARDIS made an angry noise in response that sounded like an annoyed grumble, refusing to move
"Oh, come on, Sexy, work with me here!" The Doctor said, holding another button while turning up a dial. Another rumbling noise rattled from the machine, and then a harsh grinding
"Look, I know it's been a rough day, but I really need you to cooperate right now!"
The Doctor continued to adjust controls without any response except for a sullen grinding noise, like the sound a car that's refused to start. The Sonic Rainboom at such close range was really playing havoc with the controls, and the TARDIS kept jerking and shuddering about erratically, forcing him to cling onto the console to keep from toppling over.
A pair of saddlebags, his own, whipped about in the current of energy, hitting him right in the face. TheDoctor gave a cry of frustration, then paused, closed his eyes, took a deep breath. He glanced to his friend, still in the center of the magical vortex, curled up into a tiny ball, eyes squeezed painfully tight, as waves of energy continued to radiate from her small frame. She looked so scared.
Then he turned back to the console, grabbing a lever in hoof, flipping a row of switches, turning a dial all the way to the max, and putting a mad grin on his face "Buckle up!" He shouted, throwing the lever "It's going to be a bumpy ride!"
With a lurch, the TARDIS came to life, the familiar noise filling the air. The room tilted wildly, and the Doctor gave a whoop of exhilaration, laughing. All around him there was a myriad of thuds, and crashed as the pull of gravity returned to all the myriad items floating about the room.
Hearing this, the Doctor looked behind him, to where a very dazed unicorn was slumped in the middle of the floor, looking up at him in confusion. Brows knitted, Twilight began to pull herself to her hooves, before her eyes widened in pain and she toppled back on to the ground with a yelp.
"Careful, careful, you're hurt" The Doctor called over his shoulder, wrestling to keep their flight under control, as the room continued to rock about wildly... the controls were still acting up, and he furrowed his brow, perplexed. "Just sit tight while I land...I think the TARDIS is still shaking off the effects of the-"
His sentence was cut off with a crash, then a tremendous bone shaking jolt as they reached their destination, apperantly at higher velocities than intended.
The Doctor blinked rubbing his jaw from where his teeth had clicked together painfully "Okay...ow..." he laughed "Well, at least we've landed"
"Please don't tell me you crashed into sugar cube corner again..." Twilight mumbled weakly, lifting her head slightly from the ground to look at him.
"No!" The Doctor said reassuringly "...Well...Maybe...possibly...how about we go find out, shall we?"
He trotted over to Twilight and helped her to her hooves.
"You okay?" he asked her once was finally upright, if wobbling slightly. The unicorn gritted her teeth, eyes squinting shut, but nodded.
Then he turned to look to the corner of the room, where Colgate, still looking a mite unsteady from her experience as an apple, was unsuccessfully trying to sneak further into the TARDIS in the hopes they might leave it without her.
"I see you over there" he said flatly, and the filly froze guiltily in her tracks.
The Doctor looked unamused, pointing a hoof to a spot on the floor next to them, he said "You. Right here. Get!"
He half expected Colgate to make a fuss, but she just walked quietly over. Maybe her experiance being tossed around like a rag doll had made her slightly more complacent....that or she didn't realize that Twilight was most likely drained of nearly all of her magic.
On that thought, he went over to the console and quickly switched off the TARDIS shields. If the filly started making trouble outside, at least now she wouldn't be invulnerable from whatever spells Twi could still manage to conjure up. He also grabbed his saddlebags, which had been tossed to she side, but were otherwise unharmed.
Trotting back to Colgate, he said "Key. Now." After giving it a thorough inspection, he stowed it in the bag, before walking back over to Twilight, who leaned on him gratefully, the effort of staying on her hooves clearly taxing.
They shuffled their way slowly to the door, Colgate still lingering slightly behind.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows "Really?" he motioned at with a hoof to Colgate, eyes cold "After you"
Sighing, she complied, pushing opening the door and taking a step out. Then she stepped back in face white as a sheet, eyes wide.
"no...no...no...no. Please! Please not here, anywhere but here!" she turned to the doctor, pleading, desperate "...I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! Just punish me with something else...anything else. Kill me for buck's sake, I don't care!"
The doctor cocked his head in confusion, peering out the cracked open door "what do you mean, out there? Where are we?"
There was a laugh from outside, and the Doctor could see the fur on Colgate's shoulders stand up at the sound of it "why..." the voice said slowly, silkily "You're at the Ressurect Labs... the best research laboratories in Equestria. Now do come out...don't be shy"
A sickly pale red aura locked itself around Colgate's tail, dragging her slowly towards the TARDIS doors
"no! No no no no no!" Colgate screamed, voice breaking, pupils contracted to points.
"I'd suggest you come out too" the voice continued, addressing him "...unless you'd like any harm to come to this pretty young filly, that is."
The doctor had a split second decision to make. Abandon Colgate in this place...this place that she would rather die than return to... The place that he already suspected the name of.
Or risk himself, and possibly twilight. To save a filly who had attempted to kill them numerous times...who had ruthlessly hurt his friend...
Who was just a child.
"Oh, hell..." the doctor muttered quietly, then he turned to twilight, mouthing
"stay here, hide. I'll come and find you"
Then he stepped slowly out of the TARDIS. He was met with at least five barrels pointed towards him, and sighed. He hated guns.
"I'm unarmed" he said, holding up his hooves, and letting his saddlebags slide to the floor beside him....they would be easier to reach that way. The unicorns carrying the guns lowered them slightly, but still looked at him warily, ready to shoot at any sign of rebellion.
Standing in the center of the room was Bright Idea, holding Colgate by the nape of her neck like a kitten with his magic, and smiling coolly at him. His horn, covered in wide cracks, pulsed strangely from the inside, a pale glowing red light surrounding it. On his back, a pair of wings, mechanical and unnatural, spread at strange angles, making him look like some lopsided toy makers creation.
Bright idea looked at both him and Colgate, eyes narrowing.
"So it was just you two in there?" he said calmly, smoothly. In contrast to his appearance, his voice was low and soothing, like someone might use to talk to a sleepy foal, and he wore an affable slight smile on his face.
"Just us" the doctor confirmed.
Bright idea then turned to Colgate "Is that so, filly?" he asked, his tone was neither accusatory nor angry, but Colgate's face contorted In fear under his gaze, and she yelped frantically "No. No. There's a unicorn, his friend, still in there.He's lying."
Bright idea smiled at her "Thank you...I always thought you had the most potential, Number 17." he looked up at the TARDIS, smile growing wider "I suspect I was right too, what with you finding this incredible device and bringing it....and it's owner...to me"
He reached out, stroking the filly on the cheek, and she shuddered, flinching from his touch. Setting her on the ground, he walked over to the blue box, nudging the door open with a hoof
"Hello." he called out "I know you're in there...so why not come out? I know it must be nice in there, but we're going to find you eventually, and I imagine your friend out here would prefer you come out peacefully...we wouldn't want you to get hurt"
There was no response, and the Doctor gave a small smile. Good girl. If these ponies were able to get their hooves on magic like hers...he didn't like to think of what they would do to her. Slowly, very slowly, he reached a hoof up to his saddlebags. If he could get to his sonic screwdriver, he could activate emergency programme one...
Bright Idea turned his head to look at him, smiling as if at a particularly cute child "If you would stop ever so carefully edging your hoof towards your bags, it would be much appreciated. The unicorns you see around you are all excellent guns-ponies, and I would rather not harm my guests" he turned back to the TARDIS, his friendly tone of voice contrasting his words "Now, I hope you understand that being stubborn will only hurt your friend in the end...while I would rather not kill him, I've heard that bullet woulds to the legs are excruciatingly painful, and as for the little filly, well, I've got an earlier version of her lying around already, now don't I? So she's a bit more expendable-"
"Wait!" Twilight's voice came from the TARDIS "Don't hurt them...I'll come out"
Slowly, she slowly hobbled out of the box, teeth gritted, and sat down beside the doctor, wincing.
"there we go..." bright idea smiled "isn't that better now. I'm glad you decided to be reasonable, I would have hate to have had to resort to more extreme means of coaxing you out, or have my guards forcibly remove you...they can be a little rough, and you're such a pretty little thing"
Twilight made no response glaring back at him, and he continued, unfazed.
"Filly" he said, looking at Colgate and walking over to the TARDIS doors. "Can I close these or will they lock?"
"They'll lock." Colgate immediately squeaked back, cowering "The key is in his saddlebags"
A smile spread across his face "Why thank you..." he said, retrieving and pocketing the small metal object. He shut the doors to the blue box and returned to the center of the room, sitting and steepling his front hooves together.
"First of all..." he said, flashing his teeth like a politician "I would just like to say what a pleasure it is to meet the infamous doctor...it really is an honor."
Colgate blinked, eyes widening "you know him?!"
Bright Idea turned towards her still maintaining his amiable expression, corners if his mouth curled up slightly in an easygoing manner, but with brows slightly furrowed, as if in mild displeasure.
"Tsk..." he tutted, looking at her like a school teacher might look at a naughty kindergartner "Interrupting a conversation in very rude you know. I should think I'd have taught you better"
Colgate shrank back, closing her mouth and looking down, and Bright Idea calmly turned back to the Doctor "Like I was saying, one of my employees stumbled upon an extensive report about you in the Canterlot security files...I must say, you and your machine intrigue me greatly. From what the reports say, you yourself appear to possess a particularly intriguing sort of magic, one that seems unique to you, and as for your box" he laughed, shaking his head "if it is really accurate that it can travel back in time...I can only imagine what sort of progress I could make if I could study a unicorn with proper levels of magic..."
The Doctor studied the stallion as he talked, unsure what to make of him. His demeanor was a bit unsettling, what the relaxed voice, the friendly smiles...aside from the casual threats of violence and his rather macabre appearance, one might never suspect that he was anything but a normal pony. That probably was how he had gone undiscovered for so long. The most dangerous insane people, are the ones who appear to be perfectly sane, after all....but the smile it seemed like it might snap at any minute and judging from Colgate's obvious terror of him, he suspected there were a lot more than threats of violence at play here. The Doctor winced inwardly, he really didn't like the look of this one, but the best strategy at the moment was to play nice right back, being outnumbered and surrounded by guns it would definitely not be an opportune time to do anything to break the mask and reveal the crazy underneath.
"...so" Bright Idea finished getting up to walk towards the Doctor "As I said earlier, it is a pleasure to meet you, and I am sincerely sorry for the unpleasantantries earlier, but it was unfortunately necessity to persuade your. Seems like you've got quite the feisty one on your hooves here"
As he spoke, he reached out a hoof, booping Twilight on the nose.
The doctor watched as his friend flinched away, an expression of pure revulsion on her face as she looked up at Bright Idea. The Doctor knew that whatever outrage he was feeling about the things going on in this place, it must be a thousand times worse in her... He had seen the sort of thing that was going on in this laboratory before, after all. It was terrible, yes, it was unspeakably cruel, of course...but it was, unfortunately, not anything new.
For Twilight however, it must have been like a slap in the face, it was a level of sadism and inhumanity that was nowhere near anything she had seen before. Their villains were evil in a different way, simpler, black an white. They did not do things like this...and now the revolution and horror he had seen she had read about the labs in the library was amplified even more in the presence of the pony behind it all. He tried to meet her eyes, to shake his head, but it was too late. Twilight looked Bright Idea straight in the eye, face filled with a righteous anger that had been slowly building since she stepped out of the TARDIS.
"Get away from me..." she hissed, expression dripping with loathing and repulsion and sadness. "you monster."
Bright idea's smile, if anything, grew wider at the comment. "My dear...While I realize I might look a little" he paused "Different...That really is no justification to call me a monster"
Twilight stared straight at him, unflinching "Not that" she said.
This was not going to end well, the Doctor knew it, but somehow he couldn't help but stare as Twilight drew herself up, bristling like an angry.
"You...you...What you have done here, is unspeakable. It violates every equine right, every moral in existence. Any pony with even the tiniest scrap of empathy, would be revolted by what you have done." she spat the words out, eyes furious "You're worse than a monster.You are repellent. You are everything that this world should stand against. I don't know what sort of revolting, soulless creature you are, or what sort of hellhole you crawled your way out of...but...for everything you've done-for Celestia's sake-What you've done to that filly over there!" She pointed a shaking hoof at Colgate, voice raising almost to a scream, before saying quietly, disgustedly "You deserve worse than death"
Bright Idea's grin quirked to one side as she finished, and slowly, he began to laugh. He grabbed her chin, and yanked her gaze to his, smooth voice now tinged with amusement "My, you really are adorable aren't you? Firstly because,seeing as there at five rifles trained on you at this moment, you're really in no position to be impolite, and secondly because...." he leaned in close pressing his muzzle against her's and grinning like he was about to tell the punchline to an incredibly funny joke "You haven't seen anything yet"
That was enough. The Doctor got to his hooves, hackles raising, opened his mouth-
But Colgate beat him to it
"Don't touch her!" she shouted, eyes flashing as she stood up angrily, unfaltering even as Bright Idea slowly turned to look at her.
There was a pause, barely a second....Then the scientist straightened himself, walked casually over to her, grabbed her forleg in his hooves, and, in one smooth motion, broke it.
He smiled affably once again as Colgate fell to the floor, screaming, and shook his head slowly, voice silky once more, padding slinkily around like the paws of a great cat...all the while hiding razor sharp claws "Didn't I tell you not to interrupt?"
Twilight felt numb as Bright Idea barked a few orders and her and the doctor were dragged from the room by gaurds, it was as if her ears were stuffed with cotton. Everything was muffled, like it was a world away. Her eyes wandered around the room, but couldn't focus on anything. Finally they landed on Colgate, lying on the floor. That easily could have been her had the filly not stepped in... But why? Colgate despised her, and not fifteen minutes ago had been making that very clear with the help of a mallet.
Funny, the splitting pain in her side felt distant now, everything did. She barely even noticed as they were set roughly in a small, windowless room, and the door closed behind them.
It was only when the doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out from behind his ear and start testing the door with it that something registered.
"Wait" she said, stirring slightly "you have your sonic?"
The Doctor nodded "Managed to pickpocket it from the guard who was carrying us to the room, he was carrying our saddlebags too, so they could analyze the contents, remember?" he made a face, as he began to turn to look at her "not that it will be any help in getting us out, the door's deadbolt locked- oh... Oh dear..."
Twilight could hear the Doctor cut off uncertainly as she, without quite knowing why, began to sob, covering her face with her hooves. Maybe it was her side, maybe it was being in this horrible place, maybe it was seeing a filly's leg being broken casually right in front of her, but once the tears started, they refused to be stopped.
"Shhhh.....Shhhhh....." The Doctor pulled her into a hug "It's okay, it's all going to be okay. Just take deep breaths. It's all going to be fine."
She buried her face in his shoulder, fur damp with tears of shock, and cried there for a few minutes, thankful for the comfort of a friend's embrace. As her sobs slowly turned to sniffling, the Doctor said gently "Twilight, I'm sorry, but I need to check your side to make sure you aren't to badly hurt, okay?"
Twilight nodded, laying down.
"Alright." the Doctor said "Any pain when I push on the sternum?"
a shot of pain ran through Twilight's side and she nodded again.
"How about while breathing?"
"A little, not to bad" she replied softly
"And any pressure to your side hurts as well, I imagine?"
Another twinge of pain "Very much" Twilight said, gritting her teeth.
The Doctor sat up "Well, I am no expert on equine anatomy, but it seems to be you probably have a broken rib...doesn't seem to bad, probably only one, maybe just a fracture in the cartilage"
Twilight looked thoughtful "Well, it certainly feels like the last time I had one" she agreed "So you're probably right"
"You've had a broken rib before?"
"Yeah..." Twilight said, chuckling lightly as she pushed herself slowly into a sitting position and leaned her head on the Doctor's shoulder "My friends and I were kind of thrown against a boulder by an angry dragon when we tried to get it to leave the mountain"
The Doctors eyes widened, glancing to her in surprise "...That sounds...painful...to say the least"
"Well, it wasn't so bad for me... since I was at near the front and kind of cushioned a bit by my friends" she made a wry face "Rainbow Dash got the worst of it, not that you could have told... she just shrugs it off seeing as...well, as utterly reckless at flying as she is, that sort of thing happens to her a lot."
The Doctor laughed "I can imagine" he paused "But you guys trekked down a mountain after that?"
"Unicorn, remember?" Twilight said, tapping her horn with a hoof "I know a couple of healing spells...although..." she closed her eyes, concentrating, but was only able to produce a few feeble sparks "I don't think that's exactly going to work now"
"Hmmm..." the Doctor put a hoof on his chin thoughtfully as he grabbed his Sonic Screwdriver "I think I might have an idea...You know, the science of a cat's purring is really fascinating. You see, cats purr not only when they're happy, but when they're injured, or even dying. Which, doesn't really make much sense, but in actuality, it does!" He grinned "You see, the frequency of a cat's purring, Twenty to One-Forty Hertz, promotes the healing and strengthening of bones. Which is why broken bones in cats heal so much faster" he grinned.
Twilight furrowed her brows thoughtfully "I see where you're going with this, but even then, it would only maginally speed up the healing process..."
"Well, maybe if you just had one cat..." the Doctor said, twirling his Sonic Screwdriver "But at higher concentrations...well...I'd say it's worth a try, wouldn't you?"
"Why not?" Twilight gave a little chuckle "You are a doctor, after all"
The Doctor laughed "That I am, Sparky. Although...maybe a little on the unorthodox side..."
Twilight raised an eyebrow, and he amended himself "Well...a lot on the unorthodox side"
After a few seconds of fiddling with the Sonic Screwdriver, the Doctor gave a triumphant exclamation, and a deep thrumming sound filled the room.
"What do you think?" the Doctor said proudly "Relaxing, eh?"
"Definitely" Twilight agreed, before yawning "Maybe a bit too relaxing..."
The Doctor smirked "Well, that and the fact that you been awake for...ahhh..." he made a face, thinking "I'd say about twenty two hours"
Twilight made a sarcastic face "Time sure flies when you're having fun..." she looked off to the side "Though, to tell you the truth, I kind of missed it... I mean, not the whole dying part...but the whole amazing adventure part. It's like, anything in the universe you could possibly imagine, and you've done it."
"Well it's not like you exactly need me for that, Miss Element of Harmony wielder. You've got some stories yourself"
"But you've lived for a over thousand years! That's like...all of my stories to the power of ten!" she paused, blinking "Now that I think about it...what you said to Colgate really was right. It would take a lifetime to learn even a fraction of what you've seen, to really know you....Heck, I've been travelling with you for a while, and I don't even know your favorite color!"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, restraining a snarky grin "...blue?"
Twilight made a face "Okay so maybe I did know that one...But still...I mean..." she trailed off, ears folding back "...I hardly know anything about you at all..."
The Doctor turned to look at her, brows furrowed with concern. He knew the look on her face. Every one of his companions had a moment like that, a moment when they realized that, even if they traveled with him all of their lives, they would only be able to exist in a tiny part of his. A mere, fleeting fraction. None of them ever realized how important those fleeting fractions were, though. How they were the ones that made his fantastic adventures worth having.
"Hey." He said, eyes serious "You're my friend. I'd say you know more about me than you think...But you know what? Ask away. What do you want to know?" his mouth quirked into a smile "Though...fair warning...I'm a lot more boring than you might think"
Twilight gave a little laugh, rolling her eyes, before putting a hoof to her chin thoughtfully, biting her lip as she tried to think of a good question "Alright. I've got one. You said that you weren't from earth, the planet that was like this one...so what was your planet like?"
The Doctor exhaled softly"...My home planet was called Gallifrey. You would have loved to see it, it was...beautiful...All of it. There was a citadel, in a gigantic, shining dome, and the sky was orange. Not an ugly orange though, it was like the color of your friend...Applejack. Like the color of her coat, except all over the heaven. Like one of those really amazing sunsets, but all the time. It didn't have one sun like your world does either, it had two.... Twin stars... There were lots of mountains too. Gigantic mountains, capped with snow, with their lower slopes covered in flowing red grass." a small smile crossed his face "Then there were the trees. They didn't have green leaves though, like the trees you have. Their leaves were silver. Seeing a whole forest was incredible, all of the leaves sparkling in the breeze like the waves of an ocean, and at sunset, it looked like the treetops were on fire..."
Head still resting on his shoulder, and voice drowsy, Twilight asked "Do you miss it?"
The Doctor stiffened slightly in surprise eyes widening. He had never told her about what had happened to Gallifrey. He had never been able to bring himself to. He wanted Twilight to travel with him because she wanted to see the stars, not because she felt obliged to...Not because he was lonely.
The unicorn didn't seem to notice his confusion however, continuing sleepily, eyes closed "I mean...You're in a different universe from it now....I couldn't imagine being that far away from my home"
"Oh..." the Doctor said quietly, relaxing. Of course she didn't know. How could she? For a while, he stayed silent, just listening to his friend's deep, slow breaths, then said softly, so softly it could barely be heard "Yes...Every day"
Twilight made no response, just breathing steadily in and out, a faint smile on her face as she slept. Sighing, the Doctor leaned his head to the side, resting it against her's as he stared down at the white tiles on the floor. "Sweet dreams, Sparky" he murmured, before closing his eyes, listening to the low thrum of the Sonic Screwdriver filling the room like the rumblings of some great, sleeping cat.