Note: I am also Neoraichu, so I can reprint this story with my own permission. Thanks.
Title: Doctor Whooves: The Re-Imagining
Category: Cartoons » My Little Pony
Author: Neoraichu
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T
Genre: Humor/Adventure
Published: 09-03-13, Updated: 09-04-13
Chapters: 3, Words: 9,155
by Neoraichu
Part 1: The Magical Teleporting Box
I claim no credit for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic including Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, the Cutie Mark Crudsaders (Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom), Doctor Whooves, or anything from the actual Doctor Who, including the Doctor and Romana.
...
The Cutie Mark Crusaders (before they were known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, actually), aka Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom, were making their way through the White Tail Woods in the perpetual quest for their Cutie Marks. They felt that they still had time to try a few things before the Summer Sun Celebration began, and they well knew that both Applejack and Rarity would both be upset if they should miss it.
"This is so embarrassing," said Sweetie Belle.
"I wonder if we'll ever get our Cutie Marks before everyone else in our class does," sighed Apple Bloom as she looked down at the ground and her own hooves.
"I'm a Pegasus who's stuck on the ground! A Pegasus who can't fly!" moaned Scootaloo, "How could anything be more embarrassing than that?"
"Well, we can't just give up!" said Sweetie Belle.
"Diamond Tiara would never let us live it down!"
But the three of the stopped cold when a noise unlike any noise they had ever heard before split the air around them. Much to their surprise, a blue box appeared from thin air with a spinning light on top. The sides of the box were marked with strange symbols or glyphs the likes of which they had never seen before. Whatever it was, they were facing a door.
"What the hay is that?!" asked Apple Bloom.
"Obviously a magical teleporting box," said Sweetie Belle in a tone of authority and knowledge she was no doubt learning from Rarity.
"Well I ain't ever seen anything like that before."
"Look how small it is," noted Scootaloo, "There's hardly room for one full sized pony in there let alone the three of us."
"Well, I'm gonna knock on the door an see who answers."
"We're right behind you."
So Apple Bloom went up to the door and knocked on it with her hoof. A moment passed without any response, so she knocked again. The door suddenly opened to reveal the head of a very dark brown unicorn. He looked at them with a slightly disturbing smile and brown eyes that looked just a little bit on the crazy side. His mane was slightly darker then his hair, and also very very tightly curled. They looked at his horn, which seemed a little long for the usual unicorn.
Around his neck was a multicolored scarf, and based on the number of times it was coiled about his neck, it must have been somewhere in the range of thirty feet long.
"Well hello there," he said with a stallion's voice in a throaty sort of way.
"I told you the knocks were coming from the outside," said a feminine voice from the inside.
"Of course you did," he replied, "but I had to make sure that it was not a result of the Master's act of sabotage against the TARDIS."
"Who are you?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Me?" he asked, "Well, I'm the Doctor."
"He can't be the Doctor," said Scootaloo, "We already have a Doctor in Ponyville."
"Ponyville?" he asked, "Is that a local settlement?"
"Well sure," she replied, "Aren't you from around here?"
"No, we're not," he replied.
"Well d'uh," replied Apple Bloom, "The stallion appears in a magical teleporting box. He could have come from just about anywhere."
"Magical teleporting..." mused the Doctor, "AH! You must be referring to the TARDIS."
"Tardy?" asked Scootaloo, "Where are you late to?"
"No no, not tardy. TAR-DIS. The Time And Relative Dimensions In Space system."
"Whoa, you have time and your relatives both in space?!" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Do y'all even know what you just said?" asked Apple Bloom.
"I betcha he's got his Cutie Mark too!" sighed Scootaloo.
"Cutie Mark?" asked the Doctor.
"How can he have a Cutie Mark if he doesn't even know what it is?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Well, if he's from far away, maybe they call their Cutie Marks something else," sighed Apple Bloom.
"Well, if I had a Cutie Mark, where would I find it?" inquired the Doctor.
"Well, it would be on your flank as plain as day. We can't show you ours cause we don't have any yet."
He glanced back and said, "Well, isn't that amusing? I seem to have the TARDIS on my flank wearing my scarf."
"I told you so," said Scootaloo.
"But what does it mean?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Well, if I all had a magical teleporting box, I'd sure want everyone to see that as my Cutie Mark."
"TARDIS..."
"Did you make this?" she asked.
"No, I can't say I've made the TARDIS, but I've pretty much rebuilt almost every part of it by now."
"He must be a mechanic."
"If he was a mechanic," asked Apple Bloom, "Then why the heck would he call himself the Doctor?"
"Actually, I'm a Doctor of Science, so I suppose tinkering comes with the job."
"An who's that mare in there with you?" she asked, "I mean, you look like you barely fit in there by yerself let alone having a mare in there with you."
"Oh where are my manners?" he asked, "This is my assistant..."
"Companion!" shouted the mare.
"My companion, Romana."
"That's Romanadvoratrelundar!" she snapped.
"I told you, it's Romana or Fred."
"Call me Fred!" she replied sharply.
"That's what I thought, Romana."
"But she just said..." said Apple Bloom.
He simply smiled at the three and said, "Now where were we? Oh yes, Romana: Why don't you come out here and say 'hello' to these locals?"
"I'm not coming out, Doctor!" she snarled, "I'm naked and I'm hideous!"
"Well, you look perfectly normal compared to these three. They aren't wearing clothes and they don't seem to miss them."
"Why would we wear clothes in the woods? It ain't nothin special," said Apple Bloom.
"I'm sure we can find something for you in the wardrobe," answered the Doctor, then turning back to the three as he apologized, "Could you please wait a few minutes while Romana makes herself... more presentable?"
"Well, don't take too long," said Scootaloo, "We have to get back in time for the start of the Summer Sun Celebration."
"Summer Sun Celebration?" he asked, "Is that important?"
"Oh yes, it's very very important. It's been like a real long time since Princess Celestia raised the Summer Sun in Ponyville."
"Raise the sun?" asked Romana, "That's crazy."
"She does it every year."
"How does she do this?" asked the Doctor.
"Well d'uh, it's the Princesses' Magic."
"Ah..." he mused, "Magic. I would very much like to see this magic." He then smiled broadly.
"Well, I reckon we can take you to the Celebration in Ponyville."
"You won't be long, will you?" asked Sweetie Belle, "My big sister Rarity takes forever to dress for such occasions."
"Oh, I'm sure this won't take very long at tall. Just how far away are we from this Ponyville?"
"It's only a few miles," said Scootaloo, "Can't we just take your magical teleporting box?"
"That won't do," said the Doctor, "I've never been to Ponyville, and I wouldn't want to appear some place that's in the way or inconvenient for the locals."
"Oh, I see."
"Very good, Romana and I should be out as soon as possible." He ducked back in and closed the door without waiting for their response.
...
True to his word, more or less, the Doctor returned with a unicorn mare. She had brown eyes like the Doctor, and a brown mane which was longer than his, but only somewhat wavy. Her coat coat was an off-white color. Or at least the part of her coat that they could see. From her neck down past her flank, she was wearing a snow while cloak with gold trim and an elaborate headpiece that looked a bit like an impressionistic view of a three-leaf clover. It also covered her Cutie Mark.
"Like I said, this is Romana," said the Doctor.
"Howdy ma'am," said Apple Bloom, "I don't know what you were worried about. You are very pretty."
"I told you that you looked fine."
"Well, I couldn't see them at the time," replied Romana, "After all, I'm used to Gallifrey standards of beauty."
"Gallifrey?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Yes," he answered, "That's the place that the Time Lords hail from."
"Time Lords?"
"You look like Unicorns to us," said Scootaloo.
"Well, perhaps a little demonstration is in order." He leaned down to the three and said, "Why don't one of you put your ear to my chest and tell me what you hear?"
"Put our ear against your barrel?"
"Indeed."
Apple Bloom looked at the other two before she leaned in and placed her ear against the Doctor's chest.
"Well, you breath a little heavy. You ain't no pervert, are you?"
"No, just keep listening."
"Well, I hear your heart... and... What in tarnation?!"
"What is it?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"I can hear TWO heartbeats!"
"TWO?"
"That's right, every Time Lord is born with two hearts, among other things."
"That all is amazing!" said Apple Bloom as she stepped back.
"So, shall we go to this Summer Sun Celebration?"
"Sure."
"You are going to lock the TARDIS, aren't you?" asked Romana.
"Of course," he replied.
"Of course," she replied a little sarcastically, "How do you plan to hold your sonic screwdriver? In your mouth?"
"We just hold things in our hooves," said Scootaloo.
"Hold things in your hooves? That's patently..."
But the Doctor had already pulled his sonic screwdriver with his hoof from an unseen pocket, leaving Romana flabbergasted at the sight.
"What?" he asked innocently, "When in Rome..."
"But..." she spluttered, "but... the hoof?! The pocket?!"
The wand-like device was pointed at the blue box, making another strange high-pitched noise the girls had never heard before.
"What kind of crazy key is that?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Well, it's technically a sonic screwdriver," he replied, "but it also works as the TADIS key."
"That there must be a heck of a magic key."
"Well, it's science, but I suppose we can call it magic for the moment. Well, the TARDIS is secure, and we can be on the way."
"You said something about a Master and sabotage earlier," said Scootaloo.
"Ah, the Master," replied the Doctor, "Well, we don't agree on things."
"He's the Doctor's mortal enemy," added Romana.
"But as long as we're in a random alternate dimension, I don't think he's going to bother us. In fact, he probably hopes we we're destroyed by a black hole or some such phenomenon."
"He sounds like a meanie."
"Well, he is. You should check your pockets before we leave."
"Pockets?" she asked, "I have no idea where..."
But the Doctor had already found her pockets and pulled her own sonic screwdriver.
"Here it is," he said simply.
She looked dismayed again. He put it back.
Sweetie Belle looked at the sky, and said, "The sun's going down soon. We better get back to the Carousel Boutique before Rarity gets upset at us."
"The Summer Sun Celebration hasn't started yet?" he asked.
"Yes, but the official ceremony is tomorrow morning."
"I see."
The Doctor set off behind the girls, but Romana was falling a bit behind.
"How can you walk like this?" she asked.
"I learned Venusian Aikido, and I don't even have two pairs of arms. This is a walk in the park by comparison, my dear. I'm sure you'll get used to it."
"I hope so."
"Walk like what?" asked Scootaloo.
"Oh, I'm sure she means on two legs," said the Doctor.
"Ponies can walk on two legs?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Heck, I can do that," said Apple Bloom as she stood on her hind legs.
"You can't walk very far like that," said Scootaloo, "It's not natural."
"Applejack does that with her rope tricks all the time. I hope I'll be as good as her some day."
"I'm sure it will just take practice, my dear," offered the Doctor, "And as young as you appear to be, I'm sure you have plenty of time to do that."
"Thanks mister. Y'all sound real learned like."
"I believe I am at that."
By the time they had reached the Carousel Boutique, the land was only lit by the fading afterglow of the sunset. The door burst open as Rarity said, "Sweetie Belle! Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!"
"Don't be upset, madam," said the Doctor, "I've been escorting them back from... uh, where were we again?"
"The White Tail Woods," offered Apple Bloom.
"Who are you?" she asked as she looked into the Doctor's slightly crazy broad smile.
"He's the Doctor!" shouted Scootaloo.
"He can't be the Doctor," she replied, "We already have..."
"He all is a Doctor of Science!" said Apple Bloom.
"A Doctor of what? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"He's got a magical blue box that teleports!" said Sweetie Belle.
"Are you making up?.."
"I assure you, miss... that the children here have not made up anything."
"This here is Miss Rarity," said Apple Bloom.
"As it has been said, I am the Doctor and this is my companion, Romana."
Romana groaned at that point.
"She all says her name is Romanadvoratrelundar."
"Well at least someone gets it right," she huffed.
"If I said that every time she was in danger, she'd be dead before I finished," said the Doctor.
"You get in trouble a lot?" asked Rarity.
"Yes," said Romana, "He certainly does."
"So we all brought them here for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow," said Apple Bloom.
"Well where are you staying?" she asked.
"Well he just has to stay here. His magical teleporting blue box is so small, he can hardly stand upright in it."
"Actually,.." began the Doctor.
"Fine, they can use the guest room. Pinkie Pie is dragging me over to a surprise party at that new unicorn's place this evening. I really hope she won't keep us up all night again."
"New unicorn?" he asked.
"Yes, I believe it's Twilight... something..."
"It sounds like someone I should meet. What about you, Romana?"
"Well, if I'm going to be up early enough for this Summer Sun Celebration, I most certainly require a bath and a good night's sleep," she replied.
"By the way," mused Rarity to Romana, "I just love your cloak! Where ever did you get it, dahling?"
"This old thing?" she asked back, "It's something I threw on from the Doctor's closet. If I had my own wardrobe, I'm sure I'd be more dazzling than this."
"I could make a whole new line of clothes from this one piece alone!"
"So you're a tailor, I take it?" asked the Doctor.
"Soon to be one of the best in all of Equestria," she answered.
She peered into the fading light as she added, "Well, I see Pinkie Pie coming to collect me. We best be on our way, Doctor."
"We wanna go to," said the future Cutey Mark Crusaders as one.
"You aren't old enough to stay up so late," scolded Rarity, "Can you keep an eye on them for me?" The later part was directed at Romana.
"Well, I'm not very good with..."
"Great!" she replied as she went out with the Doctor to meet Pinkie Pie.
...
Romana answered the door. She was a bit bedraggled because she hardly got a moment's rest from answering the questions of the three fillies. The Doctor and Rarity had returned from the party.
"So how was it?" she asked.
"I don't know," replied the Doctor, "There was in fact a violet unicorn there, but every time I tried to have a word with her, a throng cut me off. Then in the middle of the party, she vanished. The small purple dragon said she was tired, and was turning in early for the Ceremony tomorrow."
"Small purple dragon?!" she asked, "How can you be so casual about such things?"
"Compared to the other ponies, Pegasus and Unicorns I've seen so far, the small purple dragon didn't seem so out of place... What was his name again?"
"Spike," offered Apple Bloom.
"Aren't the Apples expecting you home, Apple Bloom?"
"Naw. I told them I'm having a sleepover here."
"I see. Perhaps someone should have told me too?" she replied as she glared at Sweetie Belle.
"It must have slipped my mind," she replied.
"Well it's late and everyone needs to go to bed," she ordered.
"Yes ma'am," replied the Doctor.
"Well, I wasn't specifically speaking to you, Doctor."
"But it carried across all the same."
"Why can't you three behave like the Doctor here?"
"We're rebellious," answered the three as one.
...
The next morning, the Doctor and Romana attended the opening of the Summer Sun Celebration. They tried to stay in the back as to not draw attention to themselves, but it seemed there was enough visitors to Ponyville to make that essentially a non-issue. But most ponies seemed to be paying attention to the main stage with it's huge red velvet curtains.
Mayor Mare addressed the crowd by saying, "Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!"
The crowd cheered to the Mayor's announcement.
She continued, "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..."
There was a dramatic pause before the curtains parted, and she continued, "Princess Celestia!"
Murmurs spread through the crowd as they looked at the empty stage.
The Mayor looked about as she announced, "Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!"
In a cloud of deep blue sparkly purple smoke, an alicorn (a winged unicorn if you don't already know) appeared. But it wasn't Celestia. She was as black as night and wore a helmet of bluish-silver. She had large blue eyes. The crowd gasp at her unexpected appearance.
The alicorn mare looked out over the crowd and said loudly, "My beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces."
A blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail shouted back, "What did you do with our Princess?!" She tried to lunge at the stage, but was grabbed by the tail by an orange pony.
She said in a voice distorted by the fact she had a tail in her mouth, "Whoa there, Nelly..."
The black ailicorn said to the crowd, "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?" She waited for an answer that was not forthcoming before she continued, "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"
The Doctor saw the violet unicorn stand forth from the crowd and say to her, "I did. And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon - Nightmare Moon!"
The crowd collectively gasp.
Nightmare Moon announced, "Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."
The violet unicorn replied, "You're here to... to..." She could not continue, but simply gulped hard.
Nightmare Moon announced, "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!"
The Doctor simply stared at Nightmare Moon, and said, "Not if the Doctor has anything to say about it!"
[To be continued...]
Part 2: The Legend of Nightmare Moon
After Nightmare Moon disappeared, the Doctor noticed that the violet unicorn Twilight was leaving the gathering in a hurry. But she wasn't running in a panic. She was going somewhere with purpose.
"Romana," he said, "We have to follow the purple unicorn!"
"Well, that is certainly in the list of top ten things I would never have thought I'd hear you say," she replied.
"Let's go," he said as he moved off after Twilight. Romana followed. She was getting much better at using her unicorn legs to get around.
"Doctor," said Romana, "She's being followed by a blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane."
"Yes," he replied, "and four others as well. They seem to be meeting in the library."
"What should we be doing?"
"I'm not sure, but we can't get close," warned the Doctor.
"Why not?"
"I see that blue sparkling mist again. The one that was there when Nightmare Moon appeared, and again when she fled the gathering. I think she's spying on the six inside."
"The smoke isn't everywhere, so we should be able to sneak around and look from another window."
"Good idea," he said, "Let's go."
The two maneuvered to another window to see the purple unicorn. Her horn was aglow, as was the book that was hovering before her face. The other five were gathered around, listening to what the purple unicorn was saying.
"I can't hear anything," whispered Romana.
"We don't need to," he replied, "As soon as they leave, we'll look around. That book she's reading may well provide valuable information about this Nightmare Moon character."
"Well we won't have to wait long," she said, "They seem to be leaving."
"As I expected, the Nightmare smoke is following them."
The Doctor and Romana sneaked into the Library. When the Doctor saw the book in question, it glowed and floated over to him just like it did for the violet unicorn.
"Doctor," she said, "Your horn is glowing. How did you do that?"
"I don't know," he replied, "It seemed like I was just thinking about doing what I saw the violet unicorn doing. Perhaps our species is somehow naturally psionic?"
"I doesn't seem to be working for me," sighed Romana after spending a moment looking at another book on the floor.
But he was already looking at the book. "The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide." The pages began flipping very fast as he mused aloud, "Ah... ah-hah... hah... I see..."
"What is it?"
"We need more information about this Nightmare Moon. Search for more books about her."
"But Doctor, there's thousands of books here and I have no idea how they're organized."
"But they are organized," insisted the Doctor, "and we have to..."
"Who's there?" asked a small voice nearby.
"Doctor?!"
"Well hello there," he said simply, "You must be the young dragon called Spike, I take it?"
"Yeah," he said with a yawn.
"We're sorry we awakened you, but we desperately need information on this Nightmare Moon character. Can you help us find something?"
"Sure, Twilight Sparkle has been doing nothing but fussing over that story ever since we arrived here in Ponyville. It's that stack of books over on that table." He pointed at a table under the window, then paused and added, "You aren't going to steal any books, are you?"
"Don't be silly," he replied, "I have eidetic memory."
"Eye-debt-tick?"
"Eidetic. That means I never forget something once I see it."
"Wow, that must be useful."
"Tell you what, Spike: You're tired and need your sleep. While I'm looking at the books, I'm sure Romana will be more than happy to stack the books for you."
"That would be swell," he replied, "Good night." He turned and walked back to the room he had just came from.
"Doctor," hissed Romana, "How could you... What are you... I'm a Time Lord, not a maid!"
"Fine," sighed the Doctor, "I think I can do two things at once." And thus he began using his magic to both read the books on Nightmare Moon as well as stacking all the books off the floor, leaving Romana to look on in wonder. "The information is vague, but the release was foretold, and it also says that she was imprisoned almost exactly 1,000 years ago."
"So who ruled a 1,000 years ago?"
"Princess Celestia."
"Which one?"
"Apparently the same."
"She's at least a 1,000 years old?"
"I would say so."
"But we can't use the TARDIS..."
"Non-sense," he replied, "I believe I can bypass the Master's sabotage as long as we remain within this Time Line."
"So we can't go back?"
"I didn't think you were in a hurry to go back to Gallifery anyways," said the Doctor as he glanced back at her.
"Well... No, I suppose I'm not."
"We should go to this abandoned castle 1,000 years ago, and find out what's really going on with this Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia."
The two left the Library to almost run over Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
"Well hello there again," said the Doctor.
"What are you doing up past your bed time?" asked Romana.
"But it shoulda been daylight by now," said Apple Bloom with concern.
"It seems that Nightmare Moon has put a stop to that," replied the Doctor.
"Nightmare Moon?!" asked the three as one.
"Don't worry, little ones," said the Doctor, "I will somehow set things right again!"
"We wanna help!" said Apple Bloom.
"But you should stay here," said Romana, "It could be dangerous where we're going."
"Okay," said Sweetie Belle, "We'll stay here." She slipped a wink to the other two.
"Very good," said Romana, "I'm sure Miss Rarity would be proud of you."
The two of them went off after the TARDIS as the three fillies watched.
"We're gonna follow, aren't we?" asked Scootaloo.
The other two nodded.
...
In the control room of the TARDIS, the Doctor and Romana looked over the controls.
"I've done what I could, so now it's time to see if it worked," said the Doctor.
"Are you sure?"
"As sure as I can be."
"I'm still a little worried about that disturbance outside the TARDIS when we got here."
"Well, we couldn't find anything, now could we?"
"I suppose."
He triggered the Time Controls. The central column began to rise and fall as the machine began it's time and space shifting sounds.
"Ah, it's working just as I suspected. Well, I guess you girls can come out of hiding now."
"Girls?!" said Romana as she looked about.
A panel opened as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo fell out.
"Hello Doctor," said Apple Bloom, "How long have you all known we was here?"
"Oh... a while."
"Doctor?! You knew they were here and you still left?!"
"As opposed to leaving them in a dark and dangerous woods all by themselves in a state of eternal night with the wild animals who normally stalk and kill at that time?"
"Uh..."
"As long as they're with us, we can look after them," said the Doctor smoothly.
"I see... but what if we lose them a 1,000 years in the past?"
"A 1,000 years? How can you move in time? Time's something that never changes," said Scootaloo.
"I told you," said the Doctor, "We're Time Lords. It's what we do."
"So where all are we going?"
"There's an abandoned castle where the Elements of Harmony were last seen," he replied, "and I suspect that the place is also where the 'final confrontation' with Nightmare Moon took place. In order to confront this current threat, we must understand what happened in the past. Otherwise, those six we left behind cannot succeed in their efforts to beat her."
The column slowed, and then stopped.
"Well, it looks like we're here. Let's go, but whatever happens, you children must stay close to us."
Three three fillies nodded. They all left the TARDIS. They all looked to a magnificent castle. Above the castle floated two figures. One an alicorn of light, and the other an alicorn of darkness. The dark one they all knew as Nightmare Moon, but the other looked odd. She was burning with bright flames, and she seemed a reddish color.
"I see Nightmare Moon," said Romana, "but who's the other one?"
"It must be the Princess Celestia," said the Doctor, "It can't be anyone else."
"But she didn't look like that in the books."
"Because none of the pictures depict her fighting. She's in a battle mode. If she's the personification of the sun, then things are getting hot around here. She must be trying to counteract the Eternal Night."
"But Doctor, the sun has the power to burn away everything if it runs out of control."
"Exactly. We must put an end to this battle before it gets out of hand."
"I ain't never seen that castle before," said Apple Bloom.
"Because in your time, it's ruins," said the Doctor.
"What should we do?" asked Romana.
"We must get closer to the battle."
"And do what?"
"I'll figure that out once we're closer."
"What about the children?"
"They're focused on each other. We shouldn't have anything to worry until we draw their attention to us, my dear Romana."
So the group moved closer to the castle. The two floating figures exchanged blows, one using blasts of fire to counter the others blasts of shadow. Blows were deflected around, causing damage to the castle below them. It was like a war zone.
"Surrender, sister!" shouted Nightmare Moon, "The night is mine! You cannot prevail!"
"I cannot give up!" replied the other, "For Equestria, I cannot let you win!"
"You cannot stop the Eternal Night! I'm too powerful now!"
"You don't understand what you're doing! Eternal Night will be the end of us all!"
"Stop prattling, sister! I know what I'm doing!"
The group was at the castle wall now. "We're almost close enough," said the Doctor. A blast of shadow opened a gaping hole in the wall about a hundred feet away from them. The little one shrieked.
"What now, Doctor?" asked Romana.
"You stay here and guard the children," said the Doctor stoically, "I have to do this alone."
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
"I've been called worse."
"We can't let you go in there alone," said Apple Bloom.
"No, you must stay," he replied, "I'm the only one who can risk one of his reincarnations now. It sounds crazy, but I have a plan."
He went to the opening in the wall, and said "Stay back here. I'm not sure this wall won't crumble once I'm through."
"And?"
"Set your sonic screwdriver to maximum power. If you hear me say, 'Isn't the Eternal Night beautiful', fire at Nightmare Moon's head."
"At this distance?"
"Yes, it should be enough to give her a headache and break her concentration. That could make all the difference."
"I see."
"I'm counting on you, Romana. You must keep the children safe. When you fire, you must not miss no matter what happens to me."
"I... see. You aren't going to do anything crazy, are you?"
"Who? Me?"
"Yes you!"
"Perish the thought," said the Doctor as he entered.
...
"You're weakening, sister!" said Nightmare Moon, "The only way to win is to unleash ALL of your power, and we both know that would DESTROY every precious thing you claim you're protecting!"
"I'll die before I let you win!" snarled the Princess, "But not if it means destroying Equestia!"
"EXCUSE ME!" called the Doctor who was standing out in the open.
The two looked at him as if he appeared from nowhere, and Nightmare Moon snarled, "What do you want, YOU LITTLE FOAL?! Can't you see we're BUSY?!"
"Well hello there," he said, "I'm the Doctor and I'm here to stop you from making a horrible mistake. So why don't you two come down here and we talk about it?"
"WHY SHOULD WE?!"
"Well, you have your Eternal Night and you look like you're going to win, but you're both tired and I think you could both deserve a little break. It's not like Celestia here is going to regain any more power than you."
"I will stop attacking and listen to this Doctor if you will, sister."
"VERY WELL, BUT IF THERE'S ANY TRICKS, WE SWEAR YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE, ONE CALLED DOCTOR!"
"Of course," he said with a smile, "I take it then that the light one is Princess Celestia and the dark one is Nightmare Moon?"
"Yes," said Princess Celestia, "but she was once my sweet Princess Luna. She has gone mad in her need for an Eternal Night that I cannot understand."
"Either you are the bravest stallion we've ever met," said Nightmare Moon, "OR THE BIGGEST FOAL!"
"I've been called both," he answered.
"TELL ME WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT BEFORE WE DESTROY YOU!"
"You haven't really thought out this whole Eternal Night thing, have you?"
"WHAT?!"
"As a Doctor of Science..."
"WHAT THE TARTARUS IS SCIENCE?!"
"An alternate form of Magic where I come from."
"AND?!"
"As I was saying, Science tells me that in an Eternal Night, every green plant in the world will DIE without sunlight."
The Princess nodded.
"SO?!"
"All that will be left is the minority of fungus, molds and virus that do not need sunlight. All the animals along the food chain will DIE without plants. Do you want a world where almost all your subjects will STARVE TO DEATH, cursing your name forever?"
"I tried to tell her something like that, Doctor," said the Princess.
"YOU'RE BOTH WRONG!" snarled Nightmare Moon, "WE SHALL KEEP MY SUBJECTS SAFE IN THE NIGHT!"
"Whether they want it or not?"
"THEY JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE NIGHT! THEY JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND US!"
"Let me show you something," said the Doctor as he pulled his sonic screwdriver.
"WHAT MANNER OF WAND IS THAT?!"
"It's not magic, it's SCIENCE. Now all I have to say is 'Isn't the Eternal Night beautiful?'"
"WHAT?!"
The Doctor and Romana both fired their sonic screwdrivers right at Nightmare Moon's head. She screamed and fell to the ground.
"DOCTOR, HOW COULD YOU?! WHAT HAVE YOU?!.."
"She's just unconscious," said the Doctor, "Now you must use the Elements of Harmony to imprison Nightmare Moon inside the Moon."
"What? If I use the Elements of Harmony again without my sister Luna, I'll never be able to use them again! Luna will be trapped in the Moon forever!"
"No, she will escape in 1,000 years, and there will be someone else to carry on with the Elements of Harmony. Someone you will come to trust very much. I cannot say more than this without risking the creation of a paradox. You can't talk to ANYONE ELSE about the future."
"I see, so I have 1,000 years to prepare for her return."
"Yes," he replied, "So you need to make sure that the Legend of Nightmare Moon survives in books and tomes. I won't tell you more than this, because the Legends MUST BE VAGUE. They must be ignored by all but the right pony in the future."
She called forth the Elements of Harmony.
"Let me guess," said the Doctor, "The Elements of Harmony are Generosity, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty, and the unknown element."
"Unknown element?"
"Yes, the last element will disappear. Don't bother telling me what the unknown Element is. I'm sure I'll figure it out on my own."
Celestia invoked the power, causing Nightmare Moon to vanish and her image in shadow to appear on the face of the moon. As the Doctor said, one Element vanished as the others turned into cold stone.
"All I can say is this castle must remain in ruins, and the deactivated Elements of Harmony must remain here as well. This MUST be the last place the Elements of Harmony can be seen."
"I don't know how to thank you, Doctor."
"Don't thank me yet, Princess. The battle to defeat Nightmare Moon has not been won yet. I have to return to the future to make sure the one you trusts, and her friends, can prevail against her. Just remember this one thing, Princess: It's the Friendship that matters the most."
"I see."
"Farewell Princess, and I hope to see you again in 1,000 years."
"I hope so too, but where will you stay for 1,000 years?"
"That my dear is a secret of science I can't tell you yet. Please promise you won't follow me. Never look for me, because you will never find me until 1,000 years have passed."
"Very well, I promise this."
The Doctor turned and walked out.
[To be continued...]
Part 3: The Violet Unicorn
The group quietly made their way back from the soon to be abandoned castle back to the TARDIS. The sun was rising, showing the world that the brief Eternal Night had in fact ended. Since the Doctor had already seen the results of his actions in the present, he didn't feel the need to find out about the results of his actions back in the past.
But Romana's curiosity was getting the best of her, and she was sure that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo had to be curious as well. "So what exactly happened between you, Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon?" she asked.
"That's not really important," he replied, "It's safe to say that the past is secure, and a path to the present has also been set. Now we just have to make sure that Nightmare Moon is defeated in the present, and hopefully in a way more agreeable than what happened in this confrontation."
"So where are we going now?"
"We're going to the present day ruins of this castle," he replied, "because now I'm certain that that is where Twilight and her friends will find the Elements of Harmony. We have to make sure that they can find the lost Element of Harmony and use them to defeat Nightmare Moon. But I think I have to speak to her again first. I'm not sure my little speech to her might have stuck in her mind."
"But you helped imprison her in the moon, didn't you? Isn't she going to be rather unhappy to see you again? Won't she try to destroy you?"
"Oh, if I let little things like that keep me from doing my job..."
"Yes, and I've noticed you've gone through reincarnations at an alarming rate as well. This is your third reincarnation in a matter of years shorter than the lifespan of even most species we've dealt with. What are you going to do when you run out? What happens if you have to reincarnate in this realm instead of back in our own?"
"I'll cross that bridge when I get there."
"Nightmare Moon is gonna kill you, Doctor?" asked Apple Bloom.
"I can't say it's beyond the realm of possibility," he said evenly, "but on the other hand, my dear, I'm not planning to get killed. My hope is that having thought about what I said for 1,000 years, she might be more open to reason at this point. If I can continue to nurture the seeds of doubt in her mind, it might just work to the advantage of Twilight and her friends."
"What if Nightmare Moon destroys them before they find the Elements of Harmony?" asked Romana.
"If they stick together and support each other, that seems unlikely."
"I suppose we'll find out soon enough, won't we?"
"I'm sure we will."
The group filed back into the TARDIS.
"Hey, how is it so big in here?" asked Scootaloo as she looked around the control room which was several times larger that the TARDIS was on the outside. They were too busy hiding in the TARDIS to even think about asking that question before.
"Oh, that's just Time Lord Science, my dears," said the Doctor.
"This science stuff must be mighty powerful magic," said Apple Bloom.
"I suppose that's one way to put it."
"Can any one learn this science stuff?"
"Well, Science is everywhere, but the degree that it exists is measured by the culture that it grows in. I could teach you things, but no where near Time Lord Science. Even I couldn't really begin to explain in a way you would understand how even the most basic functions of the TARDIS works."
"So you all thinks I'm dumb."
"Not all all, but your life just isn't long enough for me to teach you everything you would have to learn in order to grasp the concepts of traveling through time and space, or bending space to make something larger on the inside than it is on the outside. I've spent more time in school that you most likely will live your entire life. Only Celestia has lived long enough, and she has other issues to take care of. But there is a world of Science that I can teach to you. Things that will help you grasp the world around you and the way it really works."
The three fillies looked up at the Doctor as Apple Bloom said, "You really think so? It ain't just yanking our legs or something?"
"No, I'm serious about what I say. I don't just say things frivolously," said the Doctor as he began working the control console controls, "We're almost ready to return to the present and see how this Twilight is doing. It might not be so easy to find Nightmare Moon this time and try to talk some sense into her about this whole Eternal Night thing of hers."
The TARDIS began to groan as the column rose and fell, signaling the TARDIS entry into the stream of Time.
"Of course, if Nightmare Moon wins, then all of this won't matter for much, now will it?"
"We believe in you, Doctor," said Sweetie Belle, "You've already done amazing things that I've never even dreamed of, so if anyone can save Equestria from Nightmare Moon, it has to be you."
"I hope your belief in me is not misplaced, but I promise to do everything in my power not to let you or the citizens of Equestria down."
...
"That little foal!" snarled Nightmare Moon, "Does she really think she's beaten us because she's passed the obstacles we've put in her way?! Just because she's made it to the castle ruins doesn't mean we're finished with her yet!" She walked back and forth in the old palace throne room while waiting to hear the approach of the six mares who had so far thwarted her attempts to repel them.
"Well hello there," said an oddly familiar voice.
"THE DOCTOR?!" she cried, "How can you be here?! You were in the past a 1,000 years ago when my sister banished us into the moon!"
"Because, my dear," said the Doctor, "I'm a Time Lord and that's what we do." He was standing in the back of the throne room behind the pedestal and the ruins of the throne.
"WE PROMISED TO DESTROY YOU IF YOU TRICKED US!"
"Because I couldn't let you or your sister be destroyed."
"WHY DID THAT MATTER?!"
"I knew that you would return in 1,000 years. Therefore, letting one of you die back then would have altered the Time Line."
"WHAT ARE YOU BABBLING ABOUT?! AS SOON AS WE TAKE CARE OF MY OLDER SISTER, WE'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU!"
"If you want revenge, you should take it out on me. I told your sister Celestia to use the Elements of Harmony to banish you to the moon. It was I who told your sister you'd be free in a 1,000 years, but the rest of Equestria had to believe that your banishment was PERMANENT. I told her just enough to make the legends sound credible, but not accurate. Just enough detail for ONE PONY to believe them. One violet unicorn who would take the legends to heart and try to beat you when you returned."
"CURSE YOU, DOCTOR!"
"So have you thought about our last little chat, Nightmare Moon?"
"That the Eternal Night is some horrible mistake?!"
"Yes, that one."
"NO, WE HAVE NOT CHANGED OUR MINDS!"
"Well, if you're gonna destroy the Doctor, you has to destroy us too!" shouted Apple Bloom as she rushed in with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Romana.
"Doctor!" shouted Romana, "I couldn't get the children to stay back at the TARDIS!"
Nightmare Moon laughed, and shouted "ALL YOU LITTLE FOALS ARE DOOMED!"
"Actually," said the Doctor, "I believe your doom has just come in by the front door."
"WE SHALL DEAL WITH YOU MOMENTARILY, DOCTOR!" shouted Nightmare Moon as she vanished. Moments passed as the Doctor whistled. Then Twilight and Nightmare Moon both appeared back in the front of the throne room. Twilight Sparkle coughed and gasped. Nightmare Moon gave out an evil laugh.
But Twilight took an aggressive stance, pawing the ground with her hoof.
Nightmare Moon mocked her as she said, "You're kidding. You're kidding, right?"
But Twilight was serious. She charged as her horn glowed brighter and brighter. Nightmare Moon answered with a charge of her own. But just before they collided, the violet unicorn vanished in a flash of light. She reappeared in the midst of the cold stones that were the Elements of Harmony. Her horn glowed as she tried to cast a spell. Twilight Sparkle groaned, "Just one spark. Come on, come on. Aah!"
The cold stones began to glow as Nightmare flew in gaseous form in the middle of them.
Nightmare Moon gasp "No, no!"
But the the spark faded, and the Elements of Harmony were cold stones again.
Twilight Sparkle gasp, "But... where's the sixth Element?!"
Nightmare Moon laughed mockingly as she said, "You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!"
She stomped her foot and shattered the cold stone remains of the Elements of Harmony.
But in the distance, Twilight heard the others coming. The Doctor couldn't make out what they were saying, but he sensed that something had... changed in Twilight at that second. She turned to face Nightmare Moon as the others came into the room.
Twilight Sparkle pronounced, "You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here!"
The fragments of the Elements of Harmony floated into the air as Nightmare Moon gasped, "What?!"
Twilight Sparkle looked at Applejack and announced, "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!" Some of the fragments began circling around her.
She then looked at the shy Pegasus and said, "Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!" Some of the fragments began circling around her next.
Then she looked at the pink one and said, "Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!" Some of the fragments began circling around her as well.
Then she looked at the blue maned white unicorn and said, "Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!" More floating fragments.
And with a flourish, she said of the blue coated rainbow maned Pegasus, "And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!" Now all of her friends were circles by fragments of the Elements of Harmony.
Twilight Sparkle glared at Nightmare Moon as she added, "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us."
Nightmare Moon snarled, "You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!"
"But it did! A different kind of spark," she said as she looked at the other 5 ponies that filed in behind her, "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends!" Twilight turned to look back at the dark alicorn mare as she said, "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"
The fragments turned into necklaces which attached themselves to the now floating ponies. The last Element appeared as a cold stone over Twilight's head, and then turned into a tiara which rested on her head. The Elements united in a rainbow of power which engulfed Nightmare Moon. She howled as if in pain, "Nooo! Nooo!"
There was an explosion of light which blinded everyone for a few seconds.
Then the sun emerged from the horizon, seemed to fly across the sky towards them, in through the broken stained glass window, and materialized as Princess Celestia.
"Princess!" shouted Twilight as the six as they knelt before her.
Princess Celestia hugged the purple unicorn neck to neck as she announced, "Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. I knew you could do it."
Twilight Sparkle looked dismayed as she said, "But... you told me it was all an old pony tale."
Princess Celestia smiled and replied, "I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well. Princess Luna!"
Princess Luna, who looked much smaller and more frail, surrounded by broken shards of some kind of dark glass or crystal, gasp as Celestia approached her. She said, "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister."
Everypony called out, "Sister?"
'WAIT?' thought Twilight, 'Why the hay am I surprised?!'
Princess Celestia looked kindly at her little sister and asked, "Will you accept my friendship?"
Princess Luna rushed to Celestia's side as she cried, "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!" She was weeping freely.
"I've missed you, too."
Pinkie Pie began bawling and tears shot from her eyes like fountains.
Celestia turned to the six mares and said, "You go ahead back to Ponyville. My sister and I will meet you all back there."
"And then we can PARTY!" called Pinkie Pie.
She watched as the Mane Six left, the silence of the castle returned, and then turned about to ask, "Are you here, Doctor?"
"Why yes I am," he said as he walked back into the light.
"I must thank you about your invaluable assistance in this matter."
"That's alright. That's what the Doctor does."
"You deserve a parade as much as Twilight Sparkle and her friends do."
"No," said the Doctor, "It's better that everypony else think they did it all on their own."
"But we know," said Apple Bloom as she, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came into view, with Romana following close behind.
"I'll tell you what," he replied, "Keep this under your hats, and I'll make you my official Time Lord Assistants in Training."
"DEAL!" shouted the fillies as one.
"Aren't they a little young for that?" asked Celestia.
"Why yes," said the Doctor, "Yes they are."
"I'm sure the Doctor and I will take good care of them, WON'T WE DOCTOR?!"
"Of course, of course," he chuckled, "Have I ever let you down?.. Don't answer that!"
Romana opened and closed her mouth quickly.
Luna came up and put her head against the Doctor's chest as he lay his neck over hers, and she cried, "Thank you for everything you've done, Doctor. It didn't seem like it at the time, but deep down, I knew you were right about everything. I can't help but think that that helped the Elements of Harmony overcome me in the end and set me right."
"And I'm sorry for stunning you 1,000 years ago."
"You did it for the right reasons, and I forgive you."
"Thank you, Princess."
"Will you be staying around?" asked Celestia, "The Crown could use someone as resourceful as you."
"I will hang around for the rest of the Summer Sun Celebration, but I have a feeling I'm going to be needed elsewhere soon enough. After all, there was a full 1,000 of history where there was no Elements of Harmony."
"But I don't remember seeing you any time in the last 1,000 years."
"Then that probably means I was somewhere else, or I was just being sneaky," he replied with a wink.
"I see... Well, you still have the gratitude of the Crown in this matter."
"And it's time we get my assistants back home."
"Aww," moaned the three fillies as one.
"In the meantime, I think I need to try something new," said the Doctor, "Please bring my new assistants to the TARDIS. I'm sure I'll already be waiting there for you."
"How could you?..." asked Romana, but the Doctor had already teleported away in a flash of light.
"HOW DOES HE DO THAT?!"
"Cause he's the Doctor?" suggested Apple Bloom.
"Because he doesn't know he can't?" suggested Scootaloo.
"He's the oddest Unicorn I've ever met," said Princess Celestia.
"Oh, is our big sister attracted to him?" asked Luna.
Celestia blushed as she answered, "Surely you've misinterpreted what I've said, little sister."
"We'll find out on Hearts and Hooves day, won't we?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Come along," said Romana, "The Doctor is waiting and I'm dying to find out how he did that... that..."
"Teleporting trick?" asked Scootaloo.
"Yes, that..."
"We hope to see you and the Doctor back in Ponyville," said Celestia.
...
True to his word, the Doctor was waiting for him in the TARDIS Control Room.
"Tell me how you did that Doctor!" shouted Romana, "I must know now!"
"Perhaps it's... magic?" asked the Doctor.
"You know I don't believe in that!"
"Perhaps I am starting to."
[The end of "Episode I"]