The Doctor, along with the Princess, materialized in the empty throne room in a flash of golden light, making the Doctor fall flat on his face while clutching his stomach.
"Oooooh boy...this body needs to adapt to teleportation again...I can tell this is going to be a pain," he groaned, rolling over to face the ceiling.
"I can imagine. This happens from time to time in my kingdom; earth ponies or pegasi being teleported is never easy for anypony, apparently," giggled Celestia, looking down at him.
"Yeah, but this feels like, like...going through puberty again...that's it," he said, waving a hoof towards her face. "Oh boy, just...gimme a second...okay, we're good to go."
"Very well, but answer me this: what is the next step for you?"
"Well," he said, rubbing the ground with a hoof, "I suppose I'll have to talk with Luna here before I go back to my TARDIS. How's it doing, by the way?"
"Apparently, from what my sister has told me, just fine. Still unmoved, still closed."
"That's my girl," he said, grinning. "I suppose I'll wake her up tomorrow."
"Very well then, let's go," she said, turning towards the doors.
"Wait," said the Doctor, standing still and looking at her with a frown. "I think it's time I got some explanations here. You pick me out of the wreckage of an object that has fallen from the stars, then you heal me, then you toss me in jail once I regenerate - which is fair when you think about it, but nevermind - and then you leave me to rot in jail, only to threaten to throw me down the pit of Tartarus and then return me here.
"Now that is not the strangest part of all this. The weird thing is you're so casual about this. I know how it is, treating strange events with strange actions, that's the Doctorian method - yes, that's now a term - but this is something else. No, this...is you knowing a lot more than you should. What's going on? How did you know about what I was doing in my cell? Who are you and what are you trying to pull?"
She looked down at him, meeting his glare, and answered with a smirk.
"All in good time Doctor, all in good time. I promise you will know, but for now my lips are sealed. Now come with me," she replied, walking to the doors. The Doctor stood there, puzzled, then followed her.
They walked silently through the castle, their hoofsteps muffled by the carpet beneath their hooves. He would look up to her from time to time, only to find her focused on the path before her. After traversing several corridors, they stopped in front of a plain blue door.
"This is your previous room, completely repaired. We'll get you cleaned up in the morning and then you can be on your way. Good night, Doctor."
"Hold on," said the Doctor, placing a hoof on her foreleg. She looked down at it, surprised. Hardly anypony even touched her these days. It felt nice. "I just wanted to say thanks for...everything you've done for me."
"Really? Even the imprisonment and the death threat?"
"Hey, that was a bit of a wake-up call for me. Really, just...thanks," he smiled, awkwardly scratching his mane.
"You're quite welcome. Now go rest up, you have a big day tomorrow," she replied, with a pleasant smile.
"Okay, mom," he chuckled, entering the room and closing the door behind him.
She stared at the blue door with a sad smile, then shook her head and walked towards her sister's room. She tucked her little sister in, and made her way towards her own chambers. When she entered the room, she noticed that her book was glowing again. She rushed towards it, and waited for the process to finish. When it was finished, the hourglass container clicked open again and more sand flew out, only to vanish into thin air.
She picked it up carefully, and opened it, only to look at the book with a puzzled expression.
It's never done that before...oh well. I'm sure it'll be clear soon enough.
She placed the book down, and went to her bed, placing her royal attire down on the nightstand next to her bed, and snuggling into the massive round mattress.
************
When Princess Luna stepped out of the orange sphere, she found herself in the middle of a strange room. It was so outlandish, in fact, that she couldn't properly describe it. All she knew is that the whole place was glowing orange, the walls were covered in circles, and that the pillar she stood next to was covered in junk.
"Phobos. Night Terrors. The Nocturi."
Luna spun around so fast she almost felt her neck snap. Or twist fast enough so that it would be sore in the morning. Standing at the top of some stairs, an old man with shaggy clothes looked at her with a stoic expression. Her wide eyes were fixed on him, with her jaw actually dropping down.
"I've never told anyone about that. How did you know?"
"You told me about them. In a part of your life you will never remember, you told me to say those words so that you would immediately stop thinking about your plans. And yes, I do know what you're planning."
"...I see. Very well, I trust myself enough to know that I wouldn't have revealed such facts if the circumstances didn't call for them."
"I'm glad to see you understand," he nodded, with a small smile. "How far back do you remember our encounters?"
"We've met in your dreams before?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Oh dear, back to square one. That will be quite annoying."
"Well then, it's a good thing it's not your problem. I think it's time you left."
Luna was so shocked when she heard the voice right behind her that she didn't even scream. She just coughed, sputtered, and turned around to find that the creature that had fallen from the sky was sitting on a couch, glaring at the older man with his arms crossed.
"I suppose it is. I hope we have the chance to meet again someday, Princess Luna," he said, giving a small bow before turning around and walking down a small corridor, only to vanish in the shadows. The alicorn raised an eyebrow at Eleven, who mimicked her move.
"What was that about?"
"That's a personal matter. Quite literally, actually," he chuckled, standing up, "but nevermind him. The fact is I do know what you're actually thinking, and I dealt with you accordingly. Well not really, actually, I went so far over the line that I couldn't even see it, and I ended up in a dark place. I'm not exactly sure where, really," he pondered, walking around the console as he talked. "But that's in the past now, isn't it? I think it's time I left as well."
And as he went round and round the console, his entire appearance changed drastically. His hair went from wild and brown to white and smooth, and he wore a very long scarf, which looked ridiculous with his multi-coloured vest. He stopped for a moment, then looked down at his feet to find some black trousers with shoes that even the Princess, who didn't see their purpose, found them quite fashionable.
"Ha, look at that; even I'm having difficulties knowing what's ahead. But that's okay. I feel like this is the right time to go. Even the best of things have to end, as does everything. It's nice to know that everything starts over again, though, isn't it?" he asked her, with slightly moist eyes. She simply stared at him, unsure how to reply, but nodded nonetheless.
"Exactly. Anyway, moving on," he said, stopping behind the glass pillar.
"It's time found out what I can do," said the brown pony, stepping out from behind the pillar. At this point, Luna simply sat down on the couch, befuddled.
"What? But? Doctor, I've seen millions of dreams in my lifetime, but this is by far one of the strangest. Why are you a pony? Why not remain a...what do you call yourself?"
"A Time Lord, Luna. And yes, I suppose I could call Chiny back, but look at me. I'm brand new, and I've got a whole world to meet before I can start visiting others again. It's time the universe saw a whole new face," he grinned, walking towards the doors. "And it's really about time. So, Luna, let me introduce myself! I'm the Doctor."
And with that, he yanked the doors open, leaving Luna to fly out after him to find out just what she was dealing with.
************
Although they spent many, many hours in his dreams simply visiting his world and talking, reality reared its ugly head in the picture and they eventually woke up. After a quick breakfast, he was told to meet the princesses in the gardens. And there they were, standing in front of a large purple hot-air balloon, which had an eclipse made of the finest of threads stitched on it. Once he looked at hem, he took a few steps forwards to stop in front of the open door, staring at the velvet red seats.
"Are you alright, Doctor?" asked Luna, putting a hoof on his shoulder. He blinked, then shook his head and looked at her.
"Yes, I'm alright, it's just...I'm not really sure what to do. I mean, I now what to do next, but I'm not really sure how to go about it. I mean, look at me. I'm a little horsey!" he laughed, flailing his hooves around.
"You're a pony, Doctor, not a 'horsey'. And I'm sure you'll do just fine. Now let's go check on your box," said Celestia, climbing into the aircraft.
I hope you're right.
With a storm of thoughts raging in his head, the Doctor climbed aboard and watched the princess ignite the flame, making the balloon swell before their platform rose with it. He looked around and below, seeing beautiful landscapes far off in the distance and nothing but rich and colourful fields down below. If he hadn't been so focused on the sights and on fighting his sudden fear of heights, he would have noticed Luna looking at him with remorse in her eyes. Only Celestia noticed.
"So Doctor, what do you plan on doing once we reach your box?" she asked, hoping to get something out of him.
"Well for starters I'll look around, see what's really changed, then get used to my new home and fly off. Same as usual, really," he replied, not noticing the signs of pain growing on Luna's face. Celestia shook her head at his blindness.
"But surely you'll come back and visit us, won't you?"
"Oh, absolutely, of course!" he said, turning to face them. "I mean, I'll have to start looking here to find out how I'm going to change back into my usual body."
Even though Luna nodded with a smile, she felt a tiny part of her die inside. And the strangest thing was she didn't even know why this was bothering her so much. They eventually landed near the crash site, where a circle of guards stood around the large blue box, looking as blue as ever.
"Hello boys! Thanks for cleaning her up for me!" called the Doctor, walking up to the guards with a big smile. They remained still, before bowing down in front of him. "Um...thanks, but there's no need for that, really. You can get up," he coughed, pawing at the ground beneath his hooves. Behind him, Luna facehoofed with a grin while Celestia laughed quietly.
"Rise, my knights. Thank you for guarding the box."
They rose to their hooves, then stepped aside to let the Doctor pass. After nodding to the sisters, he slowly walked towards his TARDIS. Only he felt...uncomfortable. It didn't look or feel right. When he would walk up to those doors, he would usually feel a tingly sensation in his hands, a sign that he would be safe soon. But on this occasion, he felt...nothing.
Probably this pony body not responding to the TARDIS. Strange. I'm really going to have to get this fixed.
He put his hoof against the door, and felt it shudder slightly. The door gave a bit, and steam flew out of the sign overhead.
Please don't go...
The Doctor's eyes went wide open upon 'hearing' this, and he whirled around to stare at Luna. He was so surprised to hear her voice in his head that he didn't see the door simply give away, making him fall flat on his back into an empty, dusty console room. He merely stared at the dark ceiling above him, struggling to comprehend how he could have heard Luna's voice in his head and how the TARDIS was like this. A heavy silence reigned over the area.
He jumped to his hooves, and looked around the console room. Instead of seeing a brand new, colourful entrance, he saw only destruction and ruin. The design was the same, nothing had changed, except for the fact that the fires had stopped. The entire place was dark, dirty, broken and devoid of any life whatsoever.
No. No. No no no no no no no NO!
He ran around the place, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He then ran out of the TARDIS and stood before the princesses and the guards.
"What happened?! What did you do to my TARDIS?! LUNA!" he yelled, glaring at them all. The guards were strangely unnerved by this pony, grasping their spears a little tighter.
"I-I...we didn't do anything to it! We took you out of the box, then I returned, and my guards and I have been observing this machine ever since, but we haven't harmed it in any way at all!" she shouted. She tried to meet his gaze, but her attitude was hanging on a thread and she couldn't wait to stop pretending to look tough.
"Celestia?! What. Happened?!"
"I have nothing to add," she replied, meeting his gaze coolly. He couldn't see it, but she herself was troubled by this turn of events. This wasn't what she had planned.
"Useless! The lot of you!" he shouted, running back into his TARDIS. When the guards tried to follow him, Celestia raised her wing and shook her head, stopping them in their tracks.
The Doctor looked at the panels, trying to see any sign of salvageable object that could fix the TARDIS. Even one of those glowing power nodes would do for now. But nothing. That is, until he saw something...pink, on the monitor. It was so out of place, so unlikely, that he froze and stared at it for a few seconds.
What the hell?
He went to pick it up, and the moment he touched the screen, the entire ship groaned. It literally cried out, and the sound of metal cables stretching and snapping rang out throughout the entire room. The floor started shaking, and the Doctor felt afraid in his own home. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the glass pillar was glowing a bright yellow, almost golden.
I have no idea what is going on. This is not normal at all.
Suddenly he felt much lighter than usual, until he realized that he was in fact floating in the air because of a golden light. Before he could try and make sense of his situation, he was pulled out of the room and fell on the grassy floor outside. He heard the doors slam shut, and looked up to see the entire box shaking as if it was having a seizure. He watched in horror as the lamp at the top started glowing, and as the wind picked up around them. He ran to the doors, and hit them as hard as he could.
"STOP IT! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!"
The guards gathered around their princess and raised their spears, pointing them at the gray pony that was raging against the groaning box. The Doctor hit the TARDIS harder and harder, tears pouring out of his bloodshot eyes. The princesses tried to summon as many spells as they could to stabilize the machine, but they all faded within seconds.
"PLEASE!"
Then, suddenly, the groaning and shaking stopped, and both the TARDIS and the Doctor stayed still. A second later, a warbled groaning sound returned and the TARDIS simply sizzled out of existence, throwing a silent shockwave around it for miles. The Doctor was thrown back and hit his head against a tree, while the guards staggered back. The princesses flinched, their hair billowing around them as grass and dirt flew up.
The Doctor slowly opened his eyes to see several spears pointed at his face, and the princesses running behind them shouting orders he could have heard, were it not for the ringing noise in his skull. But he did not need to hear them to realize a disturbing truth.
The TARDIS never fixed itself. It died. It's gone. I could understand these creatures the whole time without it. I'm stuck.
He looked past the weapons to see Celestia gathering her guards around her, while Luna knelt by his side and took his head in her hooves, speaking to him urgently with blurred words. The brown pony looked her in the eyes and muttered words that puzzled her.
"Do I get to stop now? Is it over?"
The elder of the two sisters walked up to the pair, and lifted the Doctor's chin so that he could face her.
"Are you alright Doctor? Can you hear me?"
"...Yeah...I can hear you."
" Can you stand up?"
He only nodded, and got to his hooves with a bit of help from Luna. Once he was able to stand straight, he looked at Celestia with a frown.
"I also know you lied to me."
"What? What do you mean?"
"You said you haven't touched anything in my TARDIS, or outside of it. If that was the truth," he calmly said, lifting the palm of his hoof up to show them what he had found on the monitor, "you wouldn't have left a mess inside."
Confused at first, the sisters looked at each other with looks of surprise and anger when they saw the candy floss that stuck to the Doctor's hoof.
************
Down in the pits of Tartarus, way down in the deepest part of the ninth circle, Discord the draconequus was standing in his colourful office while staring at the pyramid of balls that lay on the green carpet below him. With one eye closed, he inched the cane ever so slightly forward once, twice, and was about to shoot the white ball into the mass when the door of the room slammed open.
"DISCORD! WE HAVE BUSINESS WITH- !
"Huuuushhhhh, Luna...this is serious," he called out, not keeping his eye off the prize.
He stood perfectly still for a few seconds, before he threw the cane down his gullet as the balls fell into holes that gave way beneath them. He summoned a bowling pin in each hand and in his tail's grasp, and started hitting the miniature ponies that popped out of the holes while a deep voice shouted FIGHT! Whack! And a little Celestia ducked back in her hole as her sister blew a raspberry next to her. The avatars of the Elements of Harmony, on the other hand, were popping up here and there, shouting gibberish at him in little high-pitched voices. He kept whacking away, until he got bored and flipped the pool table over to reveal the pinball machine that popped into existence in its place.
"Alright then, what can old Daddy D do for-"
"Stuff it, 'warden'. We've got to talk."
Discord slowly turned around to see a brown earth pony leaning against the door-frame of his office, with Celestia and Luna standing right behind with frowns on their face. He slithered forward with an eyebrow raised, then leaned down to look into the pony's eyes. He then grinned, and rubbed his hands together while chuckling.
"Well look at you, little pony. You're something new and interesting."
His cockiness marked the painful meeting between his face and a brown hoof.