//------------------------------// // Time Energy // Story: Doctor Whooves: Angels in Canterlot // by Word Painter //------------------------------// Rose walked into the Tardis, throwing one final look over her shoulder at the dully gleaming city before the Doctor closed the door behind her. "Do we have to go right now?" Rose asked, leaning up against one of the pillars in the main control room of the Tardis. "I mean, we saved the place; shouldn't we at least stick around to see it before we leave?" Rose's voice was not accusing or annoyed as most mares would sound after losing the chance to see the grand Crystal Empire; it was casually interrogatory, in a way that only Rose could manage. The Doctor ran up to the console and started playing with the dials before he answered, "I picked up some funky readings in Canterlot around the 1000 summer sun celebration." "Is it the same kind of stuff that we picked up from the Crystal Empire?" Rose asked. "No," the Doctor replied, "Although it is along those same lines." "So it's a strange, powerful Energy," Rose said.  "Powerful energy, yes, strange… well, no." The Doctor's voice got more bleak as he reached the end of the statement. He put on his glasses (which he really didn't need) and started to stare at one of the Tardis' many screens. "Well, what kind of energy is it? If it's not strange, that means you must know about it," Rose said. "It's not possible. . ." the Doctor whispered, his face losing some of its color as he stared harder at the screen, tuning everything else out. Rose started towards the screen, wanting to see what was making the Doctor get so upset. She walked up behind him and looked at the screen. She saw a wispy, golden smoke that seemed strangely familiar. Rose looked at the Doctor; then it hit her. She remembered... she remembered the human Doctor bursting into what looked like a golden flame. She rememberd as the flame dispersed this gold stuff into the air. She remembered a name -- Time Energy. ------***------- Rose and the Doctor stepped out of the Tardis. Rose was wearing a frilly hat with a white pansy tucked carefully under a pink ribbon, and the Doctor was wearing a green tie with a pin that resembled his cutie mark. The pair stepped out of the alleyway, and saw the metropolis in its full beauty. Rose let out a gasp as she looked at marble and gold buildings of Canterlot. Even the Doctor, who had seen thousands of cites, smiled at the sight of Equestria's crowning jewel. As the pair walked down the street, Rose noticed that most of the ponies were wearing some form of clothing. She felt her large, otherwise cumbersome hat, and suddenly was glad it was there. At that moment the Doctor leaned down and whispered something in her ear. "Remember, you're Rose Luck and we are here from Manhattan on vacation." "Manhattan?" Rose said, trying her best not to laugh at the absurd name. "Yeah," the Doctor said, suppressing his own laughter. His joy suddenly stopped as he noticed a statue of a Pegasus that was covering its eyes, apparently sobbing. The Doctor stared at the statue for a long moment when . . . CRASH The Doctor had not been watching where he was going, and had bumped into a table, causing the contents of the table to fall over. To the great misfortune of the mare sitting at the table, the table had previously held a very hot espresso perched precariously near the edge. The espresso had been sent flying when the Doctor had bumped into the table, and had splattered all over the mare. "Sorry!" the doctor quickly apologized, before starting to help clean up the mess he had made. "SORRY! SORRY!!!!!!" the mare was fuming, livid with rage. "Sorry won't cut it, you earthpony ruffian! How DARE you spill coffee on me, Madam Van Glory!" "Oye!" Rose said, annoyed at Miss Van Glory's I'm so much better than you attitude. "It was an accident!' "You let your mare friend fight your battles for you; how pathetic! But I guess that's what I would expect from an earthpony peasant!" At that moment a red pegasus wearing an apron with the words Canterlot Coffee emblazoned on the front interjected herself into the conversation. "Madam Van Glory," she said "I am so sorry that your beautiful mane got ruined by the coffee. I can tell you have obviously put a lot of time into making it look so glorious. I am so sorry. Here are some napkins to help clean it up." The pegasus handed the napkins to Van Glory before turning to the Doctor and Rose. "Why don't you follow me?" she said, and headed inside the coffee shop. The Doctor and Rose followed quickly, happy to have a reason to get away from the fuming unicorn. That's when Rose realized almost everypony she had seen in Canterlot had been a unicorn, and suddenly the "earthpony" remarks made sense. Rose walked even faster, determined to get away from the mare. The three ponies entered the coffee shop and as soon as the door closed behind them, the Pegasus turned around. "You aren't from around here, are you?" she asked, one brow raised in a questioning look. "We're vacationing here, from Manhattan," Rose said quickly. "Yeah, it was pretty obvious," the mare said. "You didn't know the first rule of Canterlot." "What's the first rule of Canterlot?" the Doctor asked. "Ego stroking gets you out of pretty much any pinch," the Pegasus replied. "Ego stroking?" Rose asked, overtly confused. "Well, the people in Canterlot are always oh so humble," the Pegasus said. The Doctor and Rose laughed at the mare's obvious sarcasm. "Thanks for bailing us out, Miss..." the Doctor paused, realizing the mare had never told them her name. "Silver," the mare offered. "Silver Flames." "Well then, thank you, Miss Silver Flames. I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose Luck." "You're welcome," Silver Flames replied. "I'm just glad she didn't thow a full scale tantrum, especially since she just got invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, and her already large ego is now the size of a small city." "The Grand Galloping whatnot?" Rose asked. "The Grand Galloping Gala -- it's only the most prestigious party in all of Equestria. Only the most powerful unicorns and most high society ponies are allowed," Silver Flames explained. "Well then," the Doctor exclaimed. "Good thing I brought a banana!"