//------------------------------// // Chapter Fifteen: Sunshine and Shadow // Story: Derpy Meets The Doctor // by Heavyhauler75622 //------------------------------// Within another room nearby, another Alicorn, with a crystal body, cerise coat and a violet, pale gold, and rose colored mane had the Crystal Heart she had removed from the damaged trench coat Nurse Redheart had brought, playing her light blue aura over its surfaces, digging inside its structure for any malevolence. Princess Cadance dissected a good-sized ball of energy out of the Heart, a glowing purple, bilious mass sickeningly twisting and wrapping around itself in her aura. She held it firmly, as she waited for Celestia. Meanwhile, a white Unicorn with a treble gem Cutie Mark carried out the damaged coat, carefully making sure the various items in it were safe. She walked over to a light mulberry colored Alicorn, who after seeing to the needs of two of the principle players, returned to her post, and who then teleported the fashionista Unicorn that had taken the coat to her boutique to repair it; and also secure the equipment inside all those pockets. A few minutes later, in the first room, a second, smaller ball of purple energy writhed in Celestia’s aura, trying to get loose. She walked it from the room, as the physician and a clinician, plus the two nurses continued taking on the victim’s other various injuries, bringing them under control. Doctor Healing was the best there was, as his aura and magic rapidly worked at knitting the patient back together, though bandages and plaster still abounded. Being the personal physician of an immortal Alicorn really was the best of both worlds…she was so rarely ill, he could use his time freely, and his lucrative pay allowed him the wherewithal to treat ponies as much as he wanted to without worry about earning a living. He took full advantage of the situation, treating everypony that needed it everywhere he went. Very carefully, Celestia walked into the room Cadance was waiting in as she brought along her sphere. “Ready, my niece?” asked Celestia. Cadance raised her sphere up slightly more. “I believe so, Aunt Celestia.” Celestia then formed a second aura around the one Cadance held. Once the field was properly established, Cadance released hers, leaving the ball floating within Celestia’s second aura. Celestia spoke first. “Is the Heart clear, my niece?” “Quite clear, Aunt Celestia. I’d like to leave and bring the Heart home as soon as I can, once you don’t need either of us anymore.” “Just in case…cast a binding around both spheres as insurance, as I combine them. We should take all possible precautions,” Celestia said seriously. “Yes, Princess,” Cadance said, re-energizing her aura. Celestia concentrated, brought the spheres together, melding the two into one larger one… then let out a sigh of held breath as they combined without incident. She nodded to Cadance. Cadence dropped the field carefully. Celestia held the large ball firmly. “I think we’re finished, Cadance. I’ll deal with this. I’d really like to thank you for your help with my little crisis.” Cadance chuckled as she put the Heart into her saddlebag. “You’re always welcome, Celestia. And that standing invitation for you, Luny, and Twi to visit anytime still stands.” The door opened, and Twilight Sparkle walked in. “Twilight, if the circumstances were less perilous, I’d rather dance the ‘Ladybug’,” Cadance said with a smile. “Since I have to get back, I’ll settle for something more personal,” she said, laughing, giving her a loving hug instead. Twilight held her at foreleg length after. “Thank you, Cadance. How’s Shining?” “He’s doing wonderfully, Twi. He’s having a great time with his new EUP guard, waking them up at all hours, running with them and training them to a razor’s edge. Getting rid of that,” she gestured to the large glowing purple orb in Celestia’s power, “…will really take some of his anxiety away, especially with the Games coming up so quickly. Maybe he’ll be more amenable to starting a family then,” she said delightfully, as Twilight blushed. “And with that, I’ll take my leave, Princesses,” Celestia said, a little pang of jealousy as she thought about Shining and Cadance together. Sometimes, she wished for somepony like that… Like one who would stand up to some laughing, pumped up psychopath, busy gloating over their own superiority, just before their world upended on a few simple words from him… Somepony like the chestnut pony currently in the medical wing. And she really needed to pay all her attention on the nasty thing she held floating in front of her, as she left. Celestia carefully walked to the Specialized Incantation Isolation room, or more appropriately, vault, in a building just outside of the main Canterlot campus, just laying off the ley line node of Canterlot itself, which was directly under the Thone Room dais. Its isolation and magical warding were for safety’s sake…if a spell went wrong, the theory was, it would contain the mishap lest the wayward spell cause injury to Canterlot or Canterlot Castle itself. So far, there weren’t any accidents that had occurred to test that hypothesis. Yet. Celestia held the ugly glowing ball tightly in her aura. Once the door closed and they were alone, she spoke to it. “Well hello, Sombra…” she said, as the glowing ball brightened a bit, the sickening violet color showing the curved, sigil inscribed white tiles on the concrete walls. She went on. “I see you found another failure to try to get you across the divide again. You’re still whispering to unquestioning fanatics about granting unlimited power a jealous demigod like you would never share, aren’t you?” It twisted around in the field, probing for weakness. Celestia glared at the bubble with anger. “Yet all the while you’re still trying to find a way to imprint your life force into the weak and helpless. Sorry to have to disappoint you, though. Can’t have that enslaving thing anymore; it’s so previous centuries. So, rather than waiting for you to bind up some more power and find somepony else to start the suffering once more, we need to say goodbye. Permanently.” Her aura built up a bit more, as the purple ball writhed, tried to find a way loose, trying to escape the building wrath inside the Alicorn of the Sun. There wasn’t one. The twisting abruptly stopped, as two green glowing eyes settled on her in anger from within the globe. Celestia suddenly sneered at it. “Goodbye.” There was a fairly loud bang, as she teleported the sphere… …straight into the liquefied lava pool inside the Dragon’s Kiln volcano. Inside the tremendous heat that allowed rock to flow more readily than water ever could, the molecular necromantic bindings and patterns of force that had been King Sombra at one time disassociated forever. Princess Celestia made a mental note to once more review the findings of the Aurors that had inspected the old site of the attempted reincarnation. Just in case. She then left, teleporting to her apartment in the castle. Not many knew about her apartment. The location wasn’t a huge secret, but what purpose the apartment actually served. Twilight did, after that idiotic Manehattan escapade. And now one grey Pegasus, who wouldn’t even tell her dearest love if Celestia asked her not to. Celestia had long ago moved into other rooms within Canterlot; within what hopefully would be Luna’s larger apartment, back after she had banished her younger sister to the Moon. The familiar objects, the displaced presence, even the lingering smell of her younger sister served both as touchstone, and longing reminder of loss. When she had returned, Celestia remained there; a guiding, comforting, kind, and loving presence that had benefited both of them to reach beyond jealously and fear. It was just better, and so it wasn’t changed. Celestia now used the smaller, garish rooms of her less significant apartment as a teleport target; a place that allowed her to come and go without fanfare or prying eyes. The flow-y pastels, the white furniture with the ornamental curves and gold trim that just wasn’t her anymore; the silly white carpeting that was so hard to keep clean and pristine. A target…and a refuge. A place to hide her pain from everypony. A place very receptive to her loneliness. She threw herself onto the rarely used bed…and cried. A week later, ‘John’ was discharged back to Derpy’s home to convalesce. He had made remarkable progress, and his strength was returning quickly. He made some offhand remark about Earth pony fortitude, to which Derpy rolled her eyes over even more than she usually did. “You are no more an Earth pony than I’m an Alicorn, ‘John’,” she said flatly, as she sighed in exasperation. Dinky was out with Ly and Bonny, shopping for dinner that night. They could talk openly without referring to the terrible ‘Croupwich Ambulance Fire’, which was how they referred to ‘John’s’ injuries when Dinky was in earshot. “Wellll…still have to keep the Earth pony end up, don’t I? Appearances, you know. Applejack and Pinkie Pie would be most displeased if I didn’t.” “Perhaps. They’ll be by, along with the others, once a day can be set. Something about ‘Welcome Home’, or some such like that.” ‘John’ took a deep breath. Better sooner than later… “Derpy…we need to talk…got some problems, luv. This last one? It started me thinking.” She looked at him, apprehension on her features. In the face of certain doom, desperation, or last-ditch defiance, his ‘thinking’ had helped lead to freedom, safety, and victory. Outside of that, it frequently was a haphazard thing to watch on the occasions she saw it. This felt like no exception. She lay down on a cushion, crossing her forelegs in front of her as she looked at him. “Go ahead.” “Luv…I don’t think I should stay around too much. It’s not safe,” he said flatly, staring at her. “Really? Having you here…it saved my life. It saved Dinky’s life. How many ponies and other living sentients were saved from that future? Logically, all variables accounted for, it’s far wiser to have you here than not,” she said with finality. She looked at him, to see if it took. It didn’t. She sighed despondently. He didn’t understand… “‘John’…why are you always alone?” she asked sadly. “It’s not easy being me, Derpy. I have so many enemies in the universe. They’re everywhere, scattered across the whole of time and space. Some deservedly so. Others, because we bumped heads over things. I was in the war, that terrible, terrible war; and I was forced to a decision. The evil had to be stopped. And to do it, everyone…died. No one left. Just me. The last Time Lord.” For a fleeting second, Derpy saw the pain and horror in those expressive blue eyes of his. How deep the injury was, how unhealed the scarring. To have to make that sort of decision… She understood him a bit better now, and wanted to weep for it. “Is that why you travel so much, John? It tears at you so badly?” She had a fleeting glimpse in her mind of that first night; the night his Nightmare gripped him in its wickedly sweet smell of corruption and death. Deaths that he caused, to stop an even more horrible murdering. She saw Princess Luna again…how the power of John’s Nightmare tried to twist her to awaken Nightmare Moon, to release her upon everypony in Equestria; because it wouldn’t end this time with Canterlot, or Ponyville…Manehatten…Fillydelphia…or any other single place. It wanted the entirety of the planet. And after that, what then? Could the Nightmare seek out the rest of the galaxy to sate her jealousy? Other galaxies? The whole of this universe? All of Time and Space? Magic and technology, under the control of the Nightmare. She could do it. She had an enormous lifespan, like ‘John’ did. All she had to do was wait long enough. And the Eternal Night would have fallen…except he reached out to Luna, and took back the pain he must endure alone. Derpy had inadvertently already created one key. Her ‘gizmo’, safe now, aboard the TARDIS. What other creatures in all of this coveted such power? What other keys lay strewn about? Discord already had it as part of what he was; if it weren’t for one butter yellow Pegasus mare with a pink mane…and a new one of blue-grey fur and blonde hair. ‘John’ watched her quietly, as the enormity of what his existence was touched her, even the slightest bit it could. He reached out, carefully wiped the tears away she was weeping without a sound. “I can’t do it, love. I can’t let all that just go. I have a burden I have to bear alone. Just…me.” “‘John’,” she said quietly, sadly. “I know. I understand…” he said quietly as well. “You are so bloody thick, you should be used for reactor shielding…” He froze, the hoof against her face, as a tear wound its way down the hoof, dipped into the fur of his fetlock around his foot. “What?” he said, totally shocked. She stared at him. “You’ve been a Time Lord too long, Doctor,” she said, quietly, but with steel in her voice. He stared at her, as the gently whirling eyes suddenly snapped into piercing focus. The gaze was bewildering him. He had never seen that before. “You listen to me, now, Time Charger. Maybe back where you came from, Humanoid or Time Lord, it was acceptable to meander the whole of Time and Space alone, or with sparse acquaintances. But that was then.” Derpy continued, the voice still soft, but the ringing voice of truth in it made it an irresistible force. “John, we are ponies! For all our existence, from the first moments equines walked this world, we have been herd creatures. We have always sought out our own kind for mutual assistance and protection. As we changed, and our brains and mind grew, we let go our animal behaviors and became civilized. But we never let go of that part of us that brings us together. Even to forget that it is a part of us is disastrous. Hearth’s Warming Eve’s very celebration is to remind us of what we are…a group, a band, a herd, a family. You wonder why we come together so much? Why friends and family are so important? Because it’s us.” “One of the worst punishments for a pony is to be left in solitary existence. It works on our hearts and our minds, it changes us. We fear to be alone, apart! It’s not who we are…and why Luna fights to be who she really is, not the Nightmare. The Nightmare separates her from us. She hates that part of her, just as you hate what your heritage made you.” She sat up and took his right foreleg from her face, pressed it to her chest. “What you endure…I can barely understand even the small part of it that I know. But to believe that it is only for you to bear apart from us is utter madness. You are fighting the very bedrock of your new existence, ‘John’.” He intently watched her eyes, as understanding reached him. His hearts leapt in his chest. “Family…” Nodding gently, she smiled. And then she leaned forward, cheeks together, and kissed the side of his face. It was like lightning was traveling between them…cold, then hot, the vibrant ringing in his ears like thunder. She broke the kiss, smiled again, her head slightly down. He watched as the golden pools of her eyes started to gently whirl around again. He wanted to drown in them, to be swept up into their golden radiance, and never be left alone again. He took her chin in his hoof, lifted her head, and kissed her like he couldn’t have enough of her, her kindness, her determination, her strength. Her love. A few days later, Derpy was putting her mail into her mailbox, when Special Delivery arrived, carrying a very ornate letter. “Hello, Derpy. This one is for you. Sign here,” he said, producing a reception list and a clipboard. He held it steady with his aura as she signed for it. Derpy was surprised only her name was on the list. Confused, Derpy opened the envelope and started to read. “Greetings and Salutations,” it began, as she read aloud… “Her Majesties Princess Celestia Invictus and Princess Luna Invictus, do hereby summon the pony of Ditzarella Derpemena Esmerelda Von Doo, Her Daughter Dinky Doo, and Doctor ‘John Smith’ of Croupwich, to the Court of Canterlot Castle one week from today at High Noon. There, she is to offer her bona fides and stand to the Office of Royal Messenger…” she said, her voice trailing off. “Wow. You even got the formal presentation letter. Most everypony else gets the standard two page typed reply and a start date for orientation with the Steward for their jobs at Canterlot. Hope you have something formal to wear, like a Grand Galloping Gala dress.” Special Delivery chuckled. Derpy experienced several moments of near panic, eyes going wide, when she realized the only thing she had even like that was a paper bag dress she made with muffin appliqué stickers with similar paper bag hat and shoes, a giggly costume she made for Trick or Treating on Nightmare Night with Dinky four years ago. Special Delivery saw it, decided to behave. “Woah there, filly. Just joking. Just wear your mailmare uniform,” he said kindly. “It’s an appointment ceremony, not anything requiring evening formalwear. Relax. You won’t even get thrown out the door to work your new job alone the first day. You and I will be working together for a bit at first, until you learn the ropes.” He went on. “Your promotion is even off-cycle, as Canterlot’s fiscal year starts in late spring, so you won’t be buried in all the kids being sentenced to squireship and such. It also means you won’t have to deal with all the nobles jockeying for line precedence prior to the ceremony. Those bluebloods can be real pains in the flank.” “B-but…” "Seriously, Derps, take it easy. The Princesses are probably just showing off to some foreign dignitary, more than likely. I have to get back, and you’ve gotta finish your route.” He pointed to the single cab and the Royal Guard Pegasus pulling it. “And you won’t need that either, since you can fly yourself. I honestly didn’t get why they had a Unicorn do this job, when it needed a Pegs. Eccentricity, I suppose.” He climbed aboard the cab. ”Okay, Broad Feather, back to the Castle.” Derpy watched him go, then went inside her house for lunch, deep in thought. “I don’t…” Derpy began. “You certainly won’t in that Civil Service mailmare burlap bag, darling. It’s so ill fitting; I simply want to retch every time I even look at it. Put this one on instead, it’s tailored to you to a 'T'.” She floated a garment bag that she was carrying off her back, and onto Derpy’s. Derpy reddened. “Rarity, I…” “Think nothin’ of it, sugarcube. It’s from all of us; she just did the hard parts,” Applejack said, beaming. Fluttershy nodded with her shy smile. “It ain’t Wonderbolts cool, but I guess it’s aright,” said Rainbow Dash with a gentle smirk at the inside joke. Derpy smiled at that. “Dashie, come over my house one day. I’ve got a surprise in my closet to show you,” she said, delighted at the look of confusion Dash got on her face. Pinkie Pie jumped in, irrepressible. “Party?” she said boisterously. “You know it,” Derpy said. She was doing her own version of ‘John’s’ brilliant, toothy smile. A rather pretty, brilliant smile in its own right. Derpy went to the bathroom, took off her old Royal Mail uniform, and gently set it on the counter next to her old mailbag, smoothing out the jacket fabric with a hoof. She stood and regarded it for a moment. The lovely blue color she liked so much. It was a shade darker than ‘John’s’ Box, but all in all, not too far off. The gold was just shiny brass, but it was hers. It represented a part of her life of love, stability, and comfort. It hadn’t been sitting on the counter for more than fifteen seconds, and she missed it already. Sighing, she opened the garment bag… And drew in a sharp breath. There were several uniform pieces in the bag. She knew they were designing new fabrics, but it was amazing how light the various parts were, like they were manufactured from cloud. A gorgeous white, high-collared jacket, trimmed in Luna’s midnight blue, Royal Messenger insignia on the collar, with buttons that had to have been gold-plated after they had been buffed to a mirror shine, paired with a midnight-blue skirt trimmed in Celestia’s white. It had to be formal wear. The uniform stated unequivocally the wearer was ranked in the Diarchy’s Court, and carried the weight of the Throne behind it. A garrison cap, like Commander Easyglider used to wear, white with midnight blue piping, a Canterlot Court device, also in gold, already mounted. A second jacket, in a familiar blue. Much more practical than her old one. Clips replaced the buttons, and snapped open and closed easily by hoof. An experimental tug gave a gentle surprise; they locked positively and held firmly, but opened easily at her touch, once she got the hang of them. No more dropped letters from an equipment malfunction, she chuckled to herself. Two pair of blue skorts for three-season delivery, as well as pants for the winter. A white scarf for the cold. And an overcoat with wing vents! Two hats, one for normal days, blue with the polished black bill and gold mirror buttons, another for the cold, in a warm knit. And a pair of gold-trimmed flight goggles. Expensive ones. Solaras, like the Wonderbolts wore nowadays, raked back at the corners for better peripheral vision, and precise fitting eyecups. Probably auto-darkening in full sun, too. Smiling slightly, she put them on… There was a quiet click, and the goggles did something she hadn’t expected… A thin ringsight appeared in front of her, as various displays came on. Heading, airspeed, groundspeed, altitude all ghosted in front of her. And a voice, transmitted through her skull bones whispered in her ears. ‘John’s’ voice. ‘Pupillary lock active. Acquiring.’ it said, then clicked again. ‘Lock set. Adjusting...’ The world suddenly jumped into crystal clarity. ‘Adjustment complete. Now, don’t be angry, Derpy. I love your eyes as they are, BUT, I worry when you’re out flying. Trees, and towers, and rain, and all that. I want to help. Yes. Well, no. Well, actually, yes. I NEED to help. I made you these. They’ll help. So that means I’m helping. I think.’ She smiled the beautiful smile. Then, the goggles safe against her forehead, she put the formal uniform on, placing her old mailmare outfit in the bag with the other pieces. Until she got home, and could give it a friend next to it in the closet. Finished, she looked in the mirror, concentrated, blinked. Her eyes stayed centered just long enough for her to tip and rake the garrison cap just right, the Canterlot device on the panel just over her right eye. “Wow. This is a good-looking outfit.” The smile gained wattage as she put the garment bag on her back. She placed the battered mailbag in its spot on her left, and walked back out. She was surprised to find Twilight Sparkle and Luna waiting for her as the others watched. As she bowed, Luna lifted her mailbag free. “Umm…Your Highnesses?” she asked, puzzled. “A tradespony is used to the tools they employ when they work, Derpy Doo,” Luna said gently, as she passed the bag to Twilight. “One cannot simply change them. I would be completely lost without my Amazonia GC-8000 game controller. And notice; the only thing you’ve brought with you from your former position is that bag. Princess Twilight?” Twilight’s aura glowed for a few seconds as it passed over the bag. With a deep breath and a sigh, she passed it back to Luna. “I think I got it right…I haven’t used a transformative spell like that in awhile.” Luna eyed it critically. “It appears your skills are still intact, Twilight Sparkle. It’s perfect.” She turned it in her aura so Derpy could see… The Royal Mail Service seal was gone, replaced with the one declaring the Royal Messenger Service. “And a couple more, I think…” said Luna, as she concentrated. The bag was enveloped by the blue aura, and began to glow. A few seconds later, there was a bright flash… As the bag re-settled itself into its accustomed place. Luna also sighed and relaxed. Derpy reached around to it to look at the emblem again. She felt a slight tingle from residual magic. Curious, she looked at the two Alicorns. “My doing, Derpy Doo,” Luna declared. “That bag is going to be carrying important things from now on. Things we would not want just anypony to see. Only yourself and we Alicorns can open and close that bag now. And should somepony or something inimical get a hold of it and try using brute force to get it open, I recommend you maintain a discrete distance from it.” “Why?” Derpy innocently asked. Luna smiled slyly at her. “Because of the explosion, of course.” Everypony watched as Celestia and Luna received Derpy in the Throne Room. She passed the letter she received from Special Delivery to Wilf as he had told her to do, in his formal tux and tails, white, trimmed in the blue, his pants the opposite, just like Derpy was wearing. He then read it and passed it to Luna, resplendent in her brushed finish argent armor. She read it next, and then passed it to Celestia, in her mirror-like gold armor. Celestia read it aloud to the small group. “With the forms properly met, and in the presence of these witnesses, we, Princess Celestia Invictus, and Princess Luna Invictus, the Diarchy of Equestria, do hereby appoint Ditzarella Derpemina Esmerelda Von Doo to the Court of Canterlot, and to the duties and privileges of the Royal Messenger, for as long as she desires the post…” And right on cue, ‘John Smith’, formerly of another dimension entirely, began his part… “Hip-hip hurrah!” he shouted, though everypony else said ‘hooray’, even Fluttershy getting up the moxie to join in. They all did it two more times, as Derpy looked on in embarrassment. The Royal Steward left directly after the cheer to take charge of the reception in the Ballroom. The Court Attendants did as well, the Scribe floating the Appointment Record in front of him, as Celestia presented the Appointment Letter back to Derpy. Luna watched as the Court left. The moment all of them were out of the room, she closed the doors with her aura. “As you wished it, Messenger. Let us begin…” Celestia herself read the Citation: the dry, stilted language that would never capture the complete terror of the moment that she stepped in front of the Angel, hoping against hope that she would save ‘John’, who would then manage to save everypony else. And the sinking, hollow feeling that came after… And with that, Princess Celestia levitated the medal in place over her head. The ribbon was wide repp striped in blue and white; the medal in silver and gold, the gold glinting in the light, the dulled silver catching highlights, the suspending bar reading, “Extraordinary”. Below was the medal itself, a circle of Suns and Moons, the Two Sisters swirled in motion around the center, the Equestria Seal gracing it in the middle, and the words “FOR VALOR” written around its edge. It was beautiful, and it depressed her. Everypony else had run for the Ballroom reception, ‘John’ and Dinky in the lead. He was spinning some fanciful tale of having met a Queen in his past life named Victoria, who really didn’t care for him much. Derpy had begged off for a few minutes for the bathroom, she said. After everypony had left, she walked out of the Throne Room, head down. She stopped and leaned against the wall, profoundly sad. The Royal Steward turned the corner, skidded to a stop. His seating chart was missing the Mare of Honor, and Wilf being Wilf, he went looking for her. His eyes opened wide when he saw the medal she wore. Wilfred Lance, the former Sar-Major of the Canterlot Royal Guard, immediately stiffened to attention, and raised his right front leg in salute with precision and snap. Derpy stared at him, bewildered. “Derpy, hun…you gotta return the salute,” Lance whispered, still holding the position smartly. “Oh!” Derpy said, as understanding dawned. She saluted back. Wilfred lowered his, still staring in amazement. “Derpy…why are you wearing the Equestria Extraordinary Valor medal?” he said in awe. The highest award for bravery in the service of Equestria was around the neck on one of his dearest acquaintances. And he had absolutely no idea why. Then he saw her face. The doubt. The pain. The self-recrimination. And then he understood. He had seen that same look, on hundreds of veterans returning from far away places. “Tell me all about it, troop. Leave nothing out.” Sar-Major Lance said, a foreleg over her shoulder, as he sat them both down on a quiet bench… As she cried…the guilt wringing her dry...