Before the Doctor materialized in front of the Mane 6…
The Doctor sighed and sat down like a human on the bench to the right of the TARDIS console. He annoyingly flicked a lever up and down, making the TARDIS dematerialize. Now that he was in flight, he turned on the shock absorbers and muffled the wheezing noise, leaving the pulsating lights as they were. The time rotor kept glowing, moving up and down.
He looked the letter over, wondering why a Princess would send him a letter. Princess… Princess… Why does that sound odd?, the Doctor thought, and then it hit him. By the way Twilight spoke of them, it sounded like they were the highest authority in the land! Now why would that be…?
Rubbing his temples with both hooves, he placed the letter on his lap. Another question for another time. Opposable thumbs were being missed very much by the Doctor, but if this was the life he was stuck with then so be it. Picking up the letter, he inspected it. It was of the most ordinary stationary, admittedly hand-crafted but still of the same quality. Why would the royalty send me postage? I mean, yes it’s possible for them to know me, timey wimey and all that, but why send me something like this?
Not wanting to postpone the inevitable any further, he carefully tore it open with his teeth, holding it on the sides with his hooves. After doing so, he found a couple items in the envelope. A letter and a photo. Pulling them out, he set the photo aside and proceeded to read the letter.
Greetings, Doctor!
I am Princess Celestia, and my sister is Princess Luna. At this time, you have yet to meet us but we have already met you. There comes a time, very soon, where we will be needing all the help we can get. We will not be the ponies that our subjects have revered us for for what now seems like countless centuries. We will not know who you are, nor will you know who we were. Keep in mind Doctor, your own time shenanigans are the reason you got caught up with royalty again.
I know it may seem like we are just going straight to the point, but there is a reason for this. The reason being, you will be facing innumerable challenges in the near future. Not just meeting us, but many other things that I cannot speak of lest I… (scribbled out text assumably by the Princess herself). You’re going to need all the friends you can get your hooves on. You will need the Element-Bearers, you will need us, you will need your own strength and wit, and you will need many more ponies that you will make friends with. My sister and I know that you have experienced much, lost much, and seen many things. As the immortals we are, we know of the same pains as you do. Immortality, after all, is one of the greatest curses as well as the greatest blessings.
Keep your friends close, Doctor. Treasure them, protect them. They will help you throughout the many dark and hard times. And when you lose those dearest to you, remember who you are. I hope that this picture I have sent will help you do that when times are hard. How ironic, to think of the Lord of Time in troubled times.
I wish you the best of luck, Doctor. My sister wishes you the best of luck. We all wish you the best of luck.
Your soon-to-be long-time friend,
Celestia
The Doctor re-read it a few more times to make sure he read it right.
So he would eventually meet the Princesses themselves when they weren’t Princesses yet? Just by reading those words, it became a fixed point in time. He would eventually have to meet them. And the context those words were used in… It didn’t sound like an if, but a when he would face such dark times. Though however vague, that too was set in stone. Didn’t Celestia know that if it’s written with foreknowledge and read in the past, it is SET IN STONE?! he screamed in his thoughts. After Manhattan, such things were severely looked down upon by the Doctor. His tired side now kicking in, his eyes glistened with the memories of a three thousand year old and looked at the card that lay beneath the letter he had read. Pulling it out from underneath the letter, he looked at it and felt himself cheer up.
It seemed to be in black and white, but it did not in the slightest retract from the quality of it. It was a big group picture of the six mares he had/ will eventually come to know, and two ponies of a similar size and shape. They were similar, but they had both horns and wings whilst all the other ponies had either or, or neither. It was a snowy backdrop and everypony had on a toque, ear-muffs, and a scarf. The Princesses had nothing on except their crowns, but the Doctor and Pinkie were a whole different story. The Doctor had on a fancy suit with a white bowtie and a top-hat, and Pinkie had the appearance of good ol’ Saint Nick. They all seemed to be in a state of weariness, but were still obviously happy to be together. Snuggled all together, it was a nice group photo. Rainbow Dash was hugging in from above, while everypony else was grounded. From left to right, It was Rarity, Fluttershy, The Doctor, Pinkie, Twilight and Applejack. The two wing-horned mares were behind Fluttershy and Pinkie, but leaning toward each other to make it appear as if they were behind the Doctor as well, and Rainbow was in between the two mares he supposed were the Princesses.
It was a warming photo that brought a smile to the Doctor’s face, readying him for his encounter with the six mares in the photo. Tucking the letter and photo away, he ran around the TARDIS. Typing in the chronal coordinates, 12:00 a.m., he began to rematerialize the TARDIS in the same place he had previously left it parked. As it rematerialized, he could hear Fluttershy say something and he ran to his door with a grin, finally now able to introduce himself properly to Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Twilight’s friends.
“T-Twilight? H-how did it re a-appear?” he could hear Fluttershy say. Adjusting his hat, he opened the door and took a sweeping glance at the ponies present as he answered Fluttershy.
“Elementary, my dear Fluttershy! This is the TARDIS!”
And the Doctor smiled.