//------------------------------// // Regeneration // Story: The Dashing Doctor // by Inthretis //------------------------------// Canterlot market square during midday was somewhat quiet after New Years Eve, especially on such a foggy day. Few shops were opening at this time, but if a pony was out early enough, they would have seen a slightly odd event in the form of a purple unicorn mare. Said purple unicorn galloped as hard as she could. She was running out of time. Her muscles were aching, the pain in her abdomen was increasing, and she had lost track of her vehicle. She turned past stalls, booths, and many patrons attempting to buy goods. She turned a corner and bumped into a wall. “OW! Watch where you’re-,” she looked up and saw a familiar blue box, “Oh thank goodness, it’s just you.” The box in question was a police box, with the words “POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX” written at the top. It was about five feet across the ground, and about seven feet tall, and it seemed to glow from inside. It appeared to be just another piece of the scenery, unless one was looking for it. Then, it was unmistakable. She smiled weakly as she fumbled with the key in her hooves. She put the key into its lock and opened the door. She started shaking as pangs of a sharp pain tore against her insides. “Urk! Better hurry,” she whispered to herself as pushed her hooves into the door. She entered quickly, barely noticing the vast size held within. Inside of the small box was a massive room centered around an enormous console, with many corridors leading to what seemed like another world. At the exact center was a large tube that felt like it was radiating some strange force. The mare quickly reached the console and with her magic, pulled out a full sized mirror, along with scroll and quill. Stopping she gave her reflection a last look as she noticed, for the last time, what she looked like. She was a unicorn with a purple coat, and three shades of purple and pink for her mane. Her cutie mark was of a six point star orbited by five others. She remembered fondly the times she had in this body and she was going to miss it. Another stab of pain hit her hard, she decided to begin writing. With her quill overtaken in her purple aura, she began writing on her paper: Dear Princess Celestia, By the time you receive this message, I will be dead. Or in my case, this version of me will be. Either way, it’s like dying. I’ll be gone, and a new mare will trot off in my place. Your grandfather Star Swirl, comforted me before I took the dose of radiation to save his life. Don’t hate him for it, for it was destined all along, I think. It’s kind of funny, I expected to regenerate this time from jumping from space to the Earth, or getting shot by lightning during the fight against Rassilon, not because your grandpa got stuck in a booth. Anyways, if you’d be kind enough to pass this on to the others, I would appreciate it. Granny Smith would love to hear from me after the whole “Save her son from a runaway chariot” fiasco. Tell her that I’ll be okay, and I’ll try to see her in my next life. If I can spare the time. Never thought I’d use that phrase, huh? “Spare the time”, it sounds like an advertisement. Anyways, also tell Shining Armor and Cadence I said hi, and hope they had a great wedding. I might be able to visit them later. To Captain Flash Sentry, keep up the good work. Torchwood needs you, and immortality doesn’t always have to be so depressing. Yeesh, you need to get laid more than I do, and that’s saying something. Finally, to all of you, have a happy new year. It’s gonna be a good one. Your friend and mentor, The Doctor With her final testament to her tenth incarnation finished, the Doctor relaxed. She took out a fax machine and sent the message. She hoped it would reach them soon.A stronger jolt sent her close to the Tardis console, as the Doctor shuddered strongly. Then she saw it. A yellow-orange glow began emanating from her hooves, creeping up to her shoulders. She started to cry, tears flowing down her cheeks, “I don’t want to go…” The energy of the regeneration blasted out of her head and hooves, obscuring her entire body from view. The raw power of the blast hit the Tardis on all sides, causing it to spasm and burst into flames. Sparks flew as everything in the control room burned to ashes. The Doctor didn’t notice the Tardis blowing up around her. All she felt was change. She felt different, as if… “Aaagh!” the energy faded as her coat turned from a deep purple to golden to sky blue. Her mane was messy, changing from three colors to six. Her horn disappeared, replace by a pair of feathery wings. Her eyes lightened as they turned a bright shade of pink.The pain within her subsided as she stumbled, disoriented by the explosion of energy. She attempted to concentrate on her situation, but noticed some odd details as she felt her face with her hooves, “Okay, two eyes, nose, mouth, chin… feels smaller. Let’s see! Horn! Gone. Wings… I got wings! Ooh sure has been a while, wonder if I still remember how to fly?” She felt her legs and noticed some things, “I’m a colt! Wait, no, I’m still high pitched. Maybe I’m sort of androgynous?” The Tardis creaked as it began descending towards Equestria. The Doctor saw her mane’s color pattern, “Awesome! I’m colored like a rainbow in the sky! Hmm, still wish I got brown, maybe next time?” “Ten seconds flat! Awesome pirate flight squad spectacular! Wibbly wobbly timey wimey!” She yelled, trying out her new voice, “Wait a second... I am forgetting something important...” The Tardis control room began shaking as the fires brought on by the regeneration ignited into larger blazes across the extra dimensional room. The Doctor was knocked to the side as she suddenly remembered what was so urgent. “Oh my gosh!” She clambered towards the nearby monitor, modulating it to show her coordinates. It showed the blue box spiraling towards the earth, “This is gonna be sweet!” She quickly pulled some levers and switches, in an attempt to modify her trajectory, “Haha! Geronimo!”