The Doctor looked along the line at his new companions, and was instantly worried, he wasn't sure he could fit in with them, or if he could bring himself to get close to any of them, given his track record with friends. Derpy looked over and smiled at him, and the Doctor smiled back, but even then, he was worried about losing her, his only friend. The Doctor had witnessed wars, and fought in many, and he knew that you never get over the scars of what you do. But here were these young girls, about to fight a war with one of the most warlike and barbaric races on the planet, and for some reason, he felt certain that these were the perfect ponies for the job. The Doctor looked back at Celestia, who was opening the chamber that housed the elements of harmony, a source of power that even his species, the time lords, had failed to understand. Celestia opened the box, and The Doctor stared at the beauty of the elements, five necklaces and a crown, all adorned with a coloured jewel, shaped like the wielders cutie marks. Derpy turned to the Doctor and whispered into his ear;
"I really just hope that we live up to their expectations." To which the Doctor replied;
"I'm sure you will Derpy, I'm sure you will." They both turned back to Celestia and gave her their full attention. The elements flew out of the box one by one, attaching themselves to their owners; Twilight received the crown, as she had the most elusive element, magic. When it came to The Doctor's and Derpy's turn, they were reluctant to put them on, as the jewel stared back at them, almost as though it was telling them that they didn't belong. The Doctor finally grabbed his and slipped it on, and unexpectedly, both he and Derpy were lifted into the air by some strange power, they grasped each other's hooves, and were shocked to find that they could hear the other's thoughts.
"Derpy? Is this what you feel like all the time?" Asked the Doctor, as feelings of sadness and memories of constant bullying assaulted his mind. He felt a new sense of closeness and responsibility for his companion, and another emotion he hadn't felt in a long, long time.
"Not when I'm with you Doctor." She said, while the whole time, her mind was cascaded with the time lord's memories and regrets, for the grey Pegasus, it was almost too much, but she just wanted to be strong for the Doctor and held on. A new voice in their head came through, a deep, ethereal voice.
"The Doctor of Gallopfrey, your Loyalty is without question. Derpy hooves of Earth, your honesty shines through the darkness of deceit. Protect Equestria and hold on to friendship."
They were lowered down to the ground, and looked over at the faces of the stunned other elements, as well as each other. They looked down, and were surprised to see what was around each other's necks; Derpy still had a necklace, but the jewel had changed from a red apple shape to a group of three diamond bubbles, mirroring her cutie mark. The Doctor, however, didn't have a necklace, instead, around his neck sat a golden silk tie, emblazoned with his hourglass cutie mark at the bottom.
"Oh my, those are lovely." Said Fluttershy, looking closely at the new elements.
"Yes they are, aren't they, and I think this suits me a lot better than a necklace." Laughed the Doctor.
"So Doctor how do I look?" Asked Derpy. The Doctor grinned at his companion and said;
"Stunning Derpy, absolutely stunning." Derpy blushed. Rarity jumped into the middle of the two.
"And what do you think of mine Doctor?" She asked, battering her eyes. Behind her, Derpy looked as though she was about to hit Rarity, but was pulled back by Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Oh! Uh… It's very… nice Rarity." Said the Doctor, taken aback and unsure of what to say.
"My little ponies, now is not the time for this! We have a meeting with Emperor Gregor of the griffins soon, so compose yourselves!" Said Celestia, her voice was serious but still had an undertone of laughter. The six elements bowed their heads, feeling foolish.
"I am sorry for my attitude everyone, but this whole affair has me very worried." Celestia said, her eyes downcast. "If there is nothing else, then we should be going." The group nodded and they walked out of the chamber towards the meeting room where Emperor Gregor was waiting. Just as they were about to go in, Big Mac, clad fully in the golden armour of a royal soldier, stopped them at the door.
"Princess, ah understand if this is improper, but may ah sit in on the meeting and explain to the Emperor my actions." Celestia frowned but nodded her head, and Big Mac followed her in. Emperor Gregor was by no means a warrior griffin, perhaps in his youth, but those days were long gone. The feathers around his face and at the tips of his wings were grey, and he was much larger around the middle than would be expected of a warrior. The seven ponies and Celestia sat down at the table across from Gregor.
"Emperor Gregor, it is good to see you again, what a pity it isn't under better circumstances." Celestia said, smiling through her teeth at the disgusting mess of a creature.
"Same to you Celestia, now let's cut to the chase." He said abruptly and pointed at Big Mac; "Is this the brute that attacked my sweet little girl Gilda?"
"Your highness, please allow me to explain. Gilda had attacked my friend, and turned on my sister when ah stopped her. Please understand, ah was only protecting my family." Said Big Mac, with a respect that Celestia had not expected. Unfortunately, Gregor just shook his head;
"Please do not sully my presence with your lies boy, Gilda told me the whole story. Of how she had been out for a casual fly through the orchard, and was set upon by a giant red brute, who had held her down and told of how he was going to cut off her wings and sell them." Said Gregor, spiting as he talked. Big Mac's eyes went wide with shock, he had not expected the lie to be so condemning.
"I assure you Gregor, what Big Mackintosh is saying is the truth. We have Gilda's victim in the hospital of Ponyville. She has been in a coma since the attack." Celestia said, hoping to convince Gregor and prevent bloodshed. But Gregor wasn't listening; he had noticed the Doctor staring at him.
"And what are you looking at weirdo." He said, narrowing his eyes at the doctor.
"I remember you." Said the Doctor "Gregor, it's me! The Doctor! I was there many years ago when you were trying to woo that little filly in Manehatten." The Doctor winked at the griffin.
"Doctor? You are the Doctor? You don't look anything like him, The Doctor I met was blue and had a Blonde mane." He said, the Doctor smiled awkwardly.
"Oh right, good point, but I promise you, it is me. And as your friend, I implore you to see reason, you know that all a war will do is cause bloodshed, and I know that you are too gentle a soul to want that." The Doctor said to Gregor, invoking a glazed look from the griffin as he remembered. Gregor suddenly snapped out of it, looked at the Doctor and said;
"I'm sorry Doctor, but times change. I'm not the Gregor you used to know, I'm responsible for a whole nation now, and my nation cries out for justice, but I am a fair ruler. I propose that I drop the war if, and only if, this Big Mac agrees to be publicly executed for the crime of attacking a foreign diplomat." The ponies all gasped at this proposal, then all argued with Gregor, but their arguments fell on deaf ears. Finally Celestia stood and declared to Gregor;
"This proposal is outrageous, your daughter attacks my subjects and their hero is meant to lay down his life because of some spoilt little brat, well I say no, NO GREGOR! We will fight you, you have insulted me, and my nation, you have your war, be prepared." Celestia used the traditional Canterlot voice, which ruffled the feathers of the griffin Emperor. Gregor stood, smoothed out the feathers on his face and left the room with his guards;
"Poorly handled Celestia, Poorly handled." He shouted back at the ponies as he left. Big Mac turned to Celestia;
"But Princess, ah don't think that my life is worth the probable loss of thousands." He said, almost pleading with her to allow him to do this.
"Big Mac, do you know how the griffins execute ponies?" She asked, Big Mac shook his head. "They tie you up, spreadeagled in the middle of a town, shave you right down, and whip you until you pass out. Then, they heal you, and do it again and again, and that's just the first ten days, every ten days, the form of torture changes, and if you survive one hundred days, they behead you. But if you die before the hundred days, they eat you, and send the bones back to your family, with the names of the griffins that ate you carved into them. I will not let you, a hero, be subjected to that." The seven ponies went silent, even Pinkie, her hair had been slowly deflating as Celestia described the execution. Suddenly, the Doctor screamed out in pain, clutching his head. Derpy held him up, so that he didn't hurt himself.
"What is it Doctor?" Derpy asked, terrified.
"There's a problem in Rainbow's mind, I need to get there fast." He said, calling out as the pain increased. Celestia's horn glowed and the whole group teleported straight to the hospital. On the Outside, Rainbow and Applejack looked fine, but still the Doctor was in pain, he walked over to Rainbow with Derpy's help. He placed his hooves on either side of Rainbow's head again, and closed his eyes. He let go a moment later, turned to the group, and with downcast eyes said;
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but Applejack is losing, she needs more time." All eight ponies' heads dropped, until Derpy shot up and said;
"Wait, I have an idea! Doctor do you remember the last time we were with the Princess and I was attacked by that poisonous plant-thing."
"Of course! Derpy, you're a genius, Celestia, the time lock spell!" exclaimed the Doctor, giving Derpy a kiss on the cheek. Princess Celestia nodded and bowed her head, concentrating.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!" Yelled Twilight, sick of being out of the loop; Fluttershy cowered behind Big Mac at the sound of Twilight's outburst. The Doctor turned to her and said;
"The last time we were with Tia, Derpy was attacked by a chloriflora, a very poisonous creature, and the antidote was going to take weeks to produce. So Tia cast a spell that essentially made a time bubble, with everything inside happening at a much slower pace, and needless to say, it worked, and Derpy is still with me."
"So what you're saying is that time will move slower for AJ and Rainbow, and because the spell only lasts two days…" Twilight said, trying to make sense of the Doctor's nonsense.
"Then the remaining time will be drawn out over a period of I don't know how long." Finished the Doctor. Celestia straightened up, and the group looked at their bed-ridden friends, surrounded by a bubble that seemed to bend light in certain spots.
"The pain has stopped." Said the Doctor, but the group said nothing; they just sat looking worried at their friends. Celestia wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye, and cleared her throat;
"Come on my little ponies, we still have a war to plan." And with another flash of light, the group vanished.