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// Let Him Go - The Doctor Will See You Now 
// Story: Goodnight Woon 
// by lunabrony 
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	So close in bond were the two royal sisters, that the glance they shared was enough for them both to know they were thinking the same thing. Discord's attacks would have to be ignored temporarily, as both of them turned around to head back towards the castle doors. It was close enough, only a few steps away, shouldn't pose them any problem whatsoever.
Not under normal circumstances, anyway. And these circumstances were anything except normal. Discord's booming laughter filled the air, and an enormous thorny branch burst out of the ground in front of them. Luna screamed and fell back, while  Celestia immediately rushed to the side of her sibling.
"Luna, are you hurt?"
"No," Luna replied. "Just caught off guard. Celestia, the Everfree, it's..."	
"Out of control," Celestia confirmed. "It looks like it's growing wild in every direction, I don't know if we'll ever be able to contain it again. There's no telling what kind of twisted things Discord is filling this place with."
The growing branches and debris shot up towards the sky, so thick and unforgiving in their nature that within their depths the very light of the sun itself was turned away. In mere moments the forest had overtaken the castle, branches smashing through windows. Celestia was forced to pull back as a particularly aggressive tendril caved in part of the roof, and still the forest continued expanding.
"Luna, we have to go. Now," Celestia warned.
"But... our home..." Luna looked ready to cry.
"There's no time for that. We can build another castle, but this one is lost. Our home is replaceable, my beloved sister is not. Come!" Celestia hurried away from the scene, with Luna giving a look of sadness towards the castle before running after her.
"Celly, the Elements are still in there, we need to retrieve them or we don't stand a chance!" She pressed closer to her sister, ducking to avoid the growing thorns. 
"I know," she replied. "But I haven't a plan for that yet." She and her sister moved forward quickly, attempting to escape the horrors of Discord's magic before it consumed them. They raced towards whatever light they could find, skidding to a halt only when a pile of sticks before them began to swirl in ever widening circles.
"Not so fast, ladies..." Discord's voice rang out.
The sticks before them began to grow and twist, planting themselves firmly upon the ground. Some sort of nightmarish entity was forming, the likes of which neither of them had ever seen.
"What IS that?" Celestia asked. "It appears... part timber, part wolf. What sort of tree is that?!"
"Obviously it's a dogwood," Luna snarked.
Celestia glared at her.
"Sorry to interrupt, but this might be a good time to keep moving," A new voice chirped. A stallion appeared before them, emerging from the darkness. "Ello. I'm the Doctor. We're going to run now. Move!"
Everything was happening so quickly, the pair had little time to question this. Wooden claws slashed in their direction, and snapping jaws barely missed their tails. Celestia and Luna made a run for it, while the newcomer dealt with the strange animal. Eventually the snarls and howls and crashing subsided, leaving the two momentarily concerned about the fate of whoever that strange pony was.
"Well, that was fun."
The two sisters whirled about, contained in the small space the branches provided, and were astonished to see an average looking stallion standing before them, with their personal saddlebags at either side of him. He reached wordlessly into one, and pulled out a glowing blue rock. "I always do hate finding myself in situations unprepared. Good I've got these then."
Luna gasped. "The Elements?! Thief! Give them back!"
The stallion looked offended. "I am no thief, you gave them to me... to give to you."
"A thief and a liar, then!"
"Listen, we don't have all this, so allow me to answer your questions quickly. I'm the Doctor. Doctor Who? No, just the Doctor. I don't have to explain it. I help ponies in need, and in need you are. You two gave me the Elements of Harmony to give to yourselves and we've gone over all this already, you just don't know it yet."
"You've lost your mind," Celestia said.
"Perhaps," the Doctor said. "Or perhaps I've only just found it. Either way, the Elements are yours. Return them to me when you're done. I'm afraid I must be going, but you'll know what to do."
"Unlikely," Luna said.
Celestia, however, was willing to listen. If only barely. "He IS giving us the Elements, Luna. And only we have access to them. And Doctor, if you're so willing to help ponies in need, why don't you help us now?"
The stallion's face turned grim. "Fixed point in time... I'm so sorry." With that, he disappeared off into the surrounding darkness.
Luna looked bewildered. "What a strange pony," she remarked.
Celestia nudged her forward. "Onwards we go," she said. "This ends now."