The Field Test
The Doctor stared carefully at her reflection in the dressing room mirror, scrutinizing every last detail of her new face.
"Well, I definitely like these eyes, but suddenly I'm not sure about this mane. It looks like somepony dumped several tubes of toothpaste on my head," she commented. Looking to Star Swirl, she asked, "What do you think?"
"Of your mane? I mean, the combination of white and blue looks nice, I guess. It's certainly well styled, although I'm not an expert on that sort of thing," Star Swirl remarked. "I guess I like it."
"Has a mare never asked you what you thought of her mane before?" the Doctor asked in a slightly playful tone.
"Once or twice, but I still don't understand the need for you to admire yourself in the mirror when the Princesses tasked you with an investigation," Star Swirl pointed out impatiently.
"Because in order to keep me from dying, every single cell in my body rearranged itself. Even my mind is different now. I'm a completely new mare, but I'm still me. After an experience like that, wouldn't you want to get to know yourself a little better?" the Doctor asked, suddenly taking a much more serious tone.
"I suppose I would," Star Swirl conceded, backing away slightly.
"I'll admit, it's hardly the first time, but it's not like it gets easier," the Doctor admitted. She turned her flanks to the mirror, and then looked back.
"Oh, that'll take some practice, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it," she commented, before facing Star Swirl again.
"Are you done?" Star Swirl asked in an irritated tone.
"I should think so. Not much else I can learn from a mirror," the Doctor answered, and she started to make for the door.
"We'll start at the site of the first disappearance," she explained to Star Swirl as she led him out of the Palace.
"I'm sure the guards already searched it," Star Swirl pointed out.
"If the Princesses asked for my help, then it's going to be something ordinary guards wouldn't notice," the Doctor pointed out.
"And you will?" Star Swirl asked. Even if the Doctor could pull favour with Celestia and Luna, he wasn't going to believe a thing about her until he saw it for himself.
"As a matter of fact, yes. When you've been around as much as I have, you tend to pick up on things that other ponies might miss," the Doctor answered.
"That's a little presumptuous, isn't it? You look about as old as my daughter, and you think you've got more experience than the Princesses' finest?" Star Swirl confronted her. He had had just about enough of the strange mare's arrogance.
That stopped the Doctor dead in her tracks. "I have no doubt I look young enough to be your daughter, but I assure you I'm not. I am older than your great-great-grandfather. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I'm ten times older than you'll ever be," she bluntly stated, and then she looked straight into his eyes. "They say the eyes are the windows of the soul, so look into mine. What kind of soul do you see?"
Beyond the steel blue of the Doctor's irises, Star Swirl could see into the black void of her pupils, a void telling of centuries of experience, and horrors unlike anything he had ever seen. As young as the rest of the Doctor's body appeared, there was no denying that her true age showed in her eyes. "Doctor, you're scaring me," Star Swirl responded, taking a few steps back.
"Good. Fear keeps you on your hooves and it keeps you alive," the Doctor responded.
The two unicorns soon came to a rather expansive looking two storey house, strewn with the strange statues the Doctor had noted when she first entered the city. As they approached, two guards stopped them at the door, blocking them from going further with their spears.
"Hold up, you two. This is an active crime scene. Nopony enters without authorization," One of them stated.
"And we have authorization. I'm the Doctor, and this is Star Swirl the Bearded. The Princesses have enlisted our aid in investigating the disappearances," the Doctor explained before asking, "Who lived here?"
"The Windsong family. Mother, father, two daughters. All of them vanished without a trace," The guard answered.
"And you're sure they didn't just move?" Star Swirl inquired.
"According to the ponies who knew them, there hadn't been any talk of it, and all their belongings are still in the house," He clarified.
"I see. Anything else?" the Doctor asked. The more she knew ahead of time, the quicker she could get to the bottom of it.
"Everything in house is undisturbed. When we first went in, we found no signs of a struggle. They were all just gone," the guard added, finalizing his summary of the situation. He and his partner then moved their spears out of the Doctor and Star Swirl's way.
The Doctor nodded, and said, "Thank you for your assistance; we'll take it from here," She then led Star Swirl into the house. Once inside, she kept her eyes peeled, scanning over every possible spot.
"The guards were right; this place looks pristine," Star Swirl commented.
"Apart from the absence of life and the buildup of dust, I'd have to agree with you," the Doctor added. "'You know, I'm starting to think these two strange occurrences are connected," She then suggested.
"Are you still going on about the statues, Doctor?" Star Swirl asked skeptically.
"Never ignore a coincidence, or you'll think that's all it is," the Doctor pointed out.
"Correlation does necessarily not equal causation," Star Swirl countered.
"Fair point. But you said nopony knows where they're coming from, as if they're popping up out of nowhere. If ponies were just buying them to decorate their homes, it could be a coincidence, but that's not the case. They're just appearing," the Doctor clarified. She was almost certain that the statues were connected to the disappearances in one way or another. She just didn't know how yet.
"Alright. I'll investigate the first floor, you investigate the second. We'll meet back down here in an hour, and go over what we've found," The Doctor suggested.
Star Swirl nodded in response, adding, "I'll start with the bedrooms. I'd suggest you go for the dining room first," he then trotted up the nearest flight of stairs, leaving the Doctor to her own devices.
The Doctor started by checking the pantry, noting the smell of several rotten vegetables. "No surprise there. It's not like I was going to find anything in there anyway" She commented. She then turned her attention to the dining room table, and noticed one of the strange statues in each of the dining room's corners. They appeared to be made out of marble, in the shape of pegasi wearing loose fitting robes, and their facial expressions suggested malicious intent.
"You're in the house too?" She asked rhetorically. "I don't know what you're up to, but whatever it is, I will stop you."
She then turned around to examine the dining room table and its contents. It appeared as though the family was in the process of setting it for dinner when they disappeared, or at least one of them was. The Doctor then turned her attention to four shattered plates halfway between the kitchen and the table, as if one of them was taken as they were bringing plates to the table. However, trajectory suggest a straight drop, and there would have been some change in angle, had they been grabbed and dragged out. There was no sign of scuff marks on the floor to suggest that either.
"The Princesses were right to ask me for help. This is no ordinary kidnapping," she surmised. She turned to the table, only to find one of the statues right in front of her.
"I should have known," the Doctor commented. "How could I have missed it? First time meeting them, slipping my mind due to my recent regeneration? No matter, I have to warn Star Swirl," she backed out of the room, keeping her eyes on the statue until she was out.
The Doctor then ran up the stairs, seeing even more of the statues lining the halls. "Star Swirl? Where are you? Don't take your eyes off the statues," she called out.
"I'm in here!" Star Swirl called back, and the Doctor traced his voice to the master bedroom, the entrance to which was mostly obstructed by one of the statues. However, the gap between the statue and the doorway appeared to be just big enough for the Doctor to fit through, though it was definitely too small for Star Swirl. "I'm coming in, keep looking at it," she instructed, carefully pushing herself though the gap.
Once the Doctor was through, Star Swirl asked, "Care explain what we're dealing with, Doctor?"
"They're called Weeping Pegasi. Quantum locked creatures, taking the form of stone whenever they're observed. They kill you by sending you back in time, and then feeding on the potential time energy of the days you would have lived," She explained.
"They must be responsible for these disappearances," Star Swirl surmised. "And we might be next."
The Doctor looked back at one of the bedroom windows a moment, but Star Swirl briefly blinked, bringing the Weeping Pegasus halfway across the room. "I fear you may be right, Star Swirl," the Doctor remarked.
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dam this is good
Low level perseption filter?
oh and it would have sounded more fersome if she had said "I fear you may be right star swirl."
3053174 If you like, but I did say that the Doctor was still technically recovering from a regeneration, so things were more likely to slip her mind, and I also said it was her first time encountering the Weeping Pegasi, and do you remember the book on the Weeping Angels in The Time of Angels?
3053197 yes the one with no pictures, what of it?
3054112 What I'm getting at is that the Doctor wouldn't have a lot of sources to go on when dealing with the Weeping Pegasi, and not much of a way to know what they look like, especially since she hadn't faced them before.
3054147 okay I see. Oh since you mentioned the book ,did it not say that 'the eyes are not the window to the soul, they are the doors' and the doctor said that the eyes are the window, so maybe have somepony look into the eyes of an"angel"
3054291 I was more referring to the whole "That which holds the image of an angel becomes an angel" thing, hence why the Doctor wouldn't know what they look like, even if she knows of them by hearsay.
3055735 okay
The plot thickens.
I am sooo loving the opening and closing themes. I play them every chapter! It's like watching the story in TV!
Possible Technical Errors:
1. However, the gap between the statue and the doorway appeared to be just big enough for the Doctor to fit *though*...
5372043 Fixed.
I got this. Ok get six of them together face you and then move out and then they will be quantum locked never being able to move. Hah!
*Obligatory 'Fear is a Superpower' reference*
8752773
I actually wrote this in 2013, before Capaldi's first season, but there was a similar sentiment expressed by the Eleventh Doctor in the Weeping Angel two-parter from 2010.
eyes are optical-based sensory organ. how can you interpret that much information from organs that can only uniformly dilated in and out?
this starswirl is underwhelming after knowing cannon starswirl has access to second magic, creating changling, and guiding fillies celestia and luna to their destiny.