//------------------------------// // The Doctor // Story: The Weeping Pegasus // by ihaveofficiallyretired //------------------------------// “…and that, my faithful assistant is why Equestria isn’t shaped like a banana.” Ditzy looked in the general direction of The Doctor. Of course, she really wasn’t able to follow his scientific mumbo-jumbo. “Uh-huh. Perfect sense.” “I know, I don’t understand why you ponies don’t get it.” The Doctor pressed some buttons, but what those buttons did only The Doctor knew. The Doctor and Ditzy Doo were flying through time and space, trying to get a particularly drunk pony by the name of Berry Punch back home safely. There was an incident with some catapults and almost killing the princesses, but it wasn’t her fault. She was ripped out of her time and placed elsewhere. It wasn’t long until the TARDIS had landed safely in Ponyville. The Doctor carried Berry Punch to her house and left her there. More than likely she would forget the whole ordeal, but if she did remember it would feel like a bizarre dream. “So Doctor, what’s this about a message from Colgate?” asked Ditzy as her and The Doctor made their way back to the TARDIS. “She thinks she’s found a Weeping Pegasus.” “A Weeping Pegasus? That’s almost as bad as eating burnt muffins!” She was, of course, absolutely serious. “Well, I don’t think it’s particularly likely. We only mentioned them to her briefly, and the only ones we’ve seen anywhere on Equestria are all still looking at each other.” “But what if she really did find one?” “Well, we’d better hope that she can get out of there. She sent a distress call on the psychic paper, so something is probably affecting her ability to use magic properly. I suppose it’s a good thing I have this,” said The Doctor as he produced one sonic screwdriver. “Yeah, that is pretty good.” “So anyway, the plan is to get her out of there. Nothing more, nothing less. Understand?” “Yes Doctor!!” “Good, then get in.” They arrived at the TARDIS and began to depart. “So Doctor, where are we going exactly?” “Well, I’m not completely sure. All the paper said was twenty miles west of Baltimare,” said The Doctor as he pulled up a map of the area on a screen. There was only one thing that was about where Colgate directed The Doctor. “’Malum Lupus Cave’? Of all the names…Oh never mind that.” “So are we going into that cave then?” “It seems likely-“ The Doctor was interrupted by the TARDIS. Screens and buttons were flashing, smoke was coming from the center console, and sparks were beginning to fly from the inner mechanisms. In short, the TARDIS was malfunctioning. “Oh that’s brilliant! Something is disturbing the TARDIS’ ability to travel through space and time!” The Doctor almost seemed excited that something bad was happening to his precious blue box. “Um…Doctor, this isn’t exactly the best time to be happy.” “Oh, I suppose you’re right.” The TARDIS slowly came to a stop. “Well then, wherever did we stop?” The Doctor looked a screen. “So, we are only about a mile from the cave. Ditzy, we are leaving.” Ditzy walked out of the TARDIS with The Doctor following close behind. Soon enough, the two of them were heading towards the cave where Colgate seemed to be. The Weeping Pegasus was also supposed to be there, so it added a level of danger to the trip. “Remember Ditzy, if there really is a Weeping Pegasus in the cave, try to keep one of your eyes on it at all times.” Ditzy nodded, acknowledging the importance of the statement. As long as something was looking at it, it was stone. Ditzy’s problem was that she didn’t always have the best of control of her eyes. She could probably keep one eye on the creature, and thankfully that was enough to subdue the Weeping Angel. “Hey Doctor, how could Colgate still be there if there is a Weeping Pegasus in the caverns?” “Well,” started The Doctor, “Colgate is a pretty strong unicorn, of which you were probably already aware. Most unicorns have some kind of specialty to their magic, be it illusions or water or whatnot, and Colgate’s is space/time manipulation. It isn’t exactly powerful when compared to the TARDIS, but easily can jump through time about an hour or so. She can also teleport herself and other things across great distances. As you noticed, something stopped the TARDIS from getting all the way to the cave. This means that she probably cannot teleport out. Are you following me so far?” “Uh….yeah. I think.” “Good enough. I think that she has been using some kind of time lock, keeping the Weeping Pegasus frozen in time. Considering the effect on the TARDIS, I would suspect that her time manipulation is also hampered. Still, she is pretty strong and can probably get a little magic out here and there.” “So….Can I get a short version? I got lost at ’Well, Colgate is…’” “She is stopping time for a little bit here and there to find an escape.” “Oooooooh. I get it.” Probably. The two of them arrived at the cavern after a matter of minutes. They found something that they had worried about. The entrance was caved in. “Ditzy, fly around and see if you can find another entrance. Meet back in about five minutes.” “Okay!” She flew off. “Other direction Ditzy!!!” The pegasus turned around. “Oops!” She then proceed (going in the right direction) to look for another entrance to the caverns. At this point, time was of the essence. Colgate could very well be dead. Five minutes had passed and Ditzy Doo was unable to find anything except the occasional tree. “Well, how are we gonna get in Doctor? We have to save Colgate. She makes really good muffins.” “I have a plan, but I don’t have the foggiest idea of how this will turn out.” The Doctor procured his infamous sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the rubble obstructing the path. “Stand back.” The pegasus did as she was instructed as The Doctor pressed the button. The whiiiiiiir of the screwdriver was the only noticeable effect. Suddenly, the pile of rocks and debris just collapsed. Almost the entire thing fell to the ground. “Doctor, what just happened?” “Simple really. I used the screwdriver to find a keystone, one of the stones in the pile holding the entire pile up. I set the frequency to vibrate with the rock and whoosh. The rock disintegrates and the entire pile falls.” “Oh. Cool.” “Of course it’s cool. Anyway, we’d better head inside.” Ditzy looked inside with slight apprehension. “Doctor, it’s really dark in there. How are we supposed to see?” The Doctor pressed the button on his sonic screwdriver, and the light shined, but there was no sound. “It’s got a flashlight mode on it. Cool, huh?” “And convenient.” “That’s why it’s there.” The two of them stood at the mouth of the cave, knowing what could very well be waiting for them inside. The dark cave seemed only more ominous as they stared in. They had no choice but to enter though. The predicament Colgate was in could very well be life threatening, and who knows how much more she could hold out against Weeping Pegasus. Things seemed only more dire for her with the magic restraint that has been imposed. “All right here’s the plan: We go in, rescue Colgate, and if the options are available we stop the Weeping Pegasus and find out what caused the TARDIS to malfunction. Understand?” “But Doctor you said –“ “I changed my mind. Ready?” Ditzy tried to look at The Doctor. “Never,” she said, gaining a mischievous grin. “Fantastic,” replied The Doctor, stepping foot into the caverns. “Allons-y!”