Previous Chapters Next
Close
A New Moon2,184 words
The First Crescent3,317 words
Half Empty3,162 words
The Dark Ellipse4,442 words
Fully Half4,466 words
Thine Obscured Edge4,746 words
Halfway In Darkness, Halfway In Light5,363 words
Of Argent Lining11,334 words
Eclipsed5,416 words
The Black Moon6,499 words

The Dark Ellipse

(Due to a Rock Paper Scissors game against my friend, I shall have to make you all feel extremely extremely stupid. Blame the scissors.)

(James Point Of View)

"Now, Nightmare, I need you to grab that white bar on the ledge. Be careful, it is very-"

A procession of loud bangs and a scream of pain from Nightmare told me I was too late.

"Slippery. Nightmare, listen to me, I know it stings, but do not jump up and down!"

"But it hurts!" she whined.

"I know, but if you jump, you will fall, and I don't want you injured, okay?"

She grunted. "Too late for that!"

... Maybe I should explain what happened.

I finally managed to waddle my way into the bathroom with Nightmare clinging onto me without either of us getting hurt. It was a miracle.

Nightmare Moon was in the shower, with all of her clothes on, and barely enough balance to remain standing. Against my hormone's judgement, I decided not to shower with her. As much as it would help her, I know I will have to explain the rules of revealed skin to her... That is going to be so weird.

Anyway, she got the clothes off with a lot of difficulty, due to the lack of balance, finger skill, and practice. But, she did get them off. And without hurting herself. I felt proud for some inexorable reason.

In any case, I told her how to turn the water on. The knob was not trying to be friendly with her. Resisting the urge to look at her, I guided her hand, and soon enough, a squeal of surprise from the cold rang through the bathroom. I did warn her before hand, so she wasn't likely to kill me over the temperature... Right?

I did survive her wrath, which was so far just a lot of complaining.

And a punch in the side, but I will explain that later.

After the water heated up, I told her how to use the shampoo and conditioner. I pre opened the bottles, so all she had to do was turn them upside down and squeeze.

A lot to go wrong here, right?

Actually, she did pull it off both times without a hitch. She wins this one, pessimists!

The soap, however, as mentioned above, proved to be of some difficulty. We opted that, due to the recent event, she should lie down and use the soap. Which meant I had to help her.

After several minutes of awkwardness, apologies, and confused acceptances, we got her lying on her back as she, outside of my gaze (suck that hormones!) soaped down her body. She started shifting around, probably so the water would wash the soap away, and told me she was done. I turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and handed it to her.

She had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do. She said it had to do with being used to dry spells, but I had no concept of weather. In any case, I had to help her again. Trying to make sure I didn't hurt her, I gently wiped down her body. (You win this battle, hormones.)

After all of that, she put on a new set of my clothes. I needed to take her shopping at some point. I helped her out of the bathroom, sat her down at the table, and told her to wait until I came out. I walked into the bathroom, excited at what I had just done, partially, but mostly shameful over it as well.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

(Nightmare's Point Of View)

I could not, for the life of me, understand James. He was flustered all of the time, didn't run away from me when he entered my dreams, and wasn't shocked about my true form.

But the most confusing thing was that he genuinely cared for me. He did his best to make me feel welcome, safe, something I had not felt since foal hood. He tried to keep me from apologizing, but when he thought he hurt me, he nearly groveled. It was so, strange.

But, nonetheless, he was always kind. If other 'people' were as nice as him, maybe I could live here in peace.

I was amused at how awkward he was around me. And secretly, I knew why.

Yes, I am evil, didn't get that from what I did to the other ponies?

Oh, you poor things, so confused about my obvious change in personality! Allow me to explain.

I know I have been shown to have a very profound emotion all the time. To be honest, that was how I truly was, at the time. I either felt extremely happy, extremely sad, scared, etc. That was because I was feeling every single emotion from the ponies of Equestria. Their heart's words were heard by the stars, in so far as I could tell.

Stellar magic. Go figure.

Anyway, I had also just tried to kill myself. Do you have any idea what kind of fear that puts on a pony, how worthless you feel after you can't even take your own life? I wanted to crawl up in a hole and die like other ponies could do, just so I didn't have to feel the shame or guilt I carried.

And don't even get me started on how weird it is to be in a completely new form, an alien world, a creature I had never seen, with pain and fear racking my brain to the point of illness! So how in the world did I come down from that?

You see, James did something no pony ever did. He called me his friend. I said the Doctor was my friend, but I am not so sure about that. He saved me, several times, did what he could to help me. But that was what he does, I think.

His name is the Doctor, the healer, the one who makes others better. And that is what he did for me. But no more than that.

James outright claimed me as his friend. He took away that burden on my shoulders about no pony caring for me in such a manner.

He did everything he could to protect me, shield me, guide me. He has earned his name Knight.

The Doctor, as I was told by James, actually chose his name to be 'the Doctor'. He was already that when he was named. But James, he was not born a soldier, a hero, a protector. He was just a normal person. But he became something no pony had ever been for me, and he earned his title.

It also helped alleviate my negative emotions by how he could not stop blushing whenever he had to see me without my, well, his clothes on. I know, I know, a princess should always be modest.

But this was pretty damn funny for me. Let me enjoy it while I can.

Alright, where was I? Oh yes, the kitchen.

Oh, do I have a story to tell!

After spending five minutes in the chair, I got bored. I wasn't willing to mess with any of the black boxes, I couldn't reach the faucet on all fours, and for all I knew, I would release some sort of extra dimensional demon if I opened a door.

It's not like I thought that would happen... But you know, just in case.

But there was something I could do.

I could try to use magic.

I felt pretty confident about my ability to focus, now that I didn't have James worrying over me. It was sweet what he was doing, and from what his first impression of me was, I could understand why. I also knew how much he actually did what I needed him to help me with, not being overly fussy about me to the point of disgust, but not to the point of uncaring either. He gave me what I needed, and I admit that it was a lot. But a mare needs her space.

I focused on a pillow on the couch. I didn't feel or see a thing. Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough. I tried again, but nothing happened. I tried almost every low level house safe spell I could think of. Nothing.

But there was one spell I had yet to try.

Remember when I said I would try to shape change into a pony? I gave it a whirl.

And I finally had my hooves again.

"YES!!" I yelled.

"Something wrong?" I heard the water stop.

"No, it's all good." I called out.

The water continued.

I forced down my excitement and joy as I could retain my original form. I tried to levitate the pillow, and this time, it moved. This was my lucky day.

I continued practicing the different simple spells. I was extremely focused, slinging spell after spell on the known 'safe objects', which included the cushions, books, and fruit. I was incredibly focused. I didn't even hear the water ceasing.

"That's a good look for you," a voice from behind me commented.

I yelped, losing my focus and letting a watermelon drop from the ceiling.

James ran towards the wall, ran along it for about three steps, pushed off, and back flipped, catching the falling fruit, spun around, and landed on his feet, facing me.

"So is that what you meant by dry spell? You meant a literal magic spell." He seemed to realize.

I could only nod slowly. My jaw dropped like a weight... Or a soap bar... Or a watermelon. There's a lot of falling things in this home.

"And that, my dear, is why I have such a high ceiling," he said smugly, setting the watermelon on the table.

"It- it is?" I was surprised at his forethought.

"No, actually it came with the house," he replied, patting the wall with his hand.

"When did you learn to do that?"

"Having a great uncle with a passion for running, trouble, and travel, you get fit very quick. That, or you die," he stated bluntly.

"That must be... Interesting," I was skeptical. "Tell me, I have had a total number of, at most, fifteen minutes of knowing the Doctor. What is he like?"

"Which version?" He asked, which confused me.

"There is more than one?" I had no idea what he meant. "How many Doctors are out there?"

"Just one, but, uh, you're going to want to sit down for this. It's a long, long story."

"Surely it can't be that long."

"Sit down," I set my rump on the floor. "You said you are over one thousand. What is the exact number?"

"Isn't that rude?" I smirked.

"I helped you shower, walk, and caught a falling watermelon. There is no concept of 'rude' here."

"Such a compelling argument,"I responded sarcastically.

"From such a handsome gentlman," he returned.

"I was being sarcastic."

"I wasn't... Wait a second, you were distracting me!" He realized. "Oh, you sneaky little-"

"Little? I am just as tall as you in this form."

"Back to the subject at hand, give me a ballpark figure."

"A what now?"

"... An estimation."

"One thousand, five hundred years."

"... Wow."

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just, you look hot for one thousand five hundred, or even a twenty three year old."

I felt some warmth on my cheeks, which meant only one thing: blushing. And it is very obvious with black fur when red hues pop up from out of nowhere. Curse the maker!

"I u-um well, uh, thank you," I was used to insults. I didn't exactly learn to take compliments as an evil goddess.

"Anyway, the Doctor is at least two thousand years old, and that was back before he came to your world, as far as I know."

"... What? Hold on, does that mean your species lives that long?"

"Thankfully, no. Even though there are many good people, there are at least just as many horrible ones. The human race would kill itself off if it could live any longer."

I heard an word catch my ear. "Wait, human? Is that what you and the Doctor are?"

"I'm human, he isn't, he is a Gallifreyan, also known as a Time Lord. The Time Lords are known for, well, having time travel at their disposal. They also have this amazing ability, known as regeneration, which means that, if their body comes close to death, they can change their entire genetic structure, creating an entirely new personality, appearance, and mind set. However, they do retain their memories, and while their personality changes, their inner being does not. It's kind of hard to explain."

"You did very well, I actually understood all of that," I complimented. "However, I do have a couple of questions. First of all, how do they travel through time?"

"They have these living ships known as TARDISes, which stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

"Why was the Doctor in my world if he only travels through time?"

"The TARDIS must have somehow been so over powered that the only way to remove that much excess energy would be to hop into another universe."

"Last one, where are the other Time Lords? Surely you know more than one. What are they like?"

He quickly began to shift in his spot, clearly very nervous. "There, there was a war. He called it the Time War. The Time Lords fought against a monstrous species, known as Daleks. They wanted to destroy the universe, to be the only species left in existence. The Doctor has often told me about these things, and except for a couple of cases, they hate everything, kill anything, and love nothing."

"A couple of cases?"

"One Dalek saw into the time stream, and did what he could to destroy his own race, after knowing the evil they have done. Another accidentally got a concept of true mercy from the DNA of a human. One put it's mind into a human body, and gained emotions. The last one I am aware of was a failed human conversion that ended up with the human creating a false reality where she had been hiding from the Daleks on one of their worlds."

"By the stars!" I had never thought that such short lives could go so wrong. That last one was just as horrible of a truth, if not more so, than my own.

"In any case, the Doctor fought on the front line. He personally ended the war, but at a cost. He locked the two warring worlds away, permanently, well, for the most part. The Daleks managed to escape several times over from the time lock, but the Time Lords had only escaped twice. And in both cases, the Time Lords died. Worse, they died right in front of the Doctor."

"I- I don't know what to say," I was horrified by the story. Never, in all of my years, have I considered such a sacrifice. Nor have I ever had the need to.

"The first time, it was only one Time Lord, who called himself the Master. He was insane. His life was spent killing, destroying, trying to live longer to cause more pain. But most of all, he tried to torture the Doctor. He did what he could to make him suffer. Ultimately, the Doctor forgave the Master, again, but the Master was shot and killed. The Doctor burned his body personally. The second time, humans that wanted to have eternal life brought the Master back by using some strange trick, but the Master was unknowingly being used as a beacon for the Time Lords to escape the Time Lock. The planet's gravity field would have destroyed the planet, but the Master sacrificed himself to save the Doctor, and our world."

I couldn't believe what I had heard. I just closed my eyes, and cried for the poor soul. How had he managed to keep going after everything that had happened to him? He killed his own people, twice!

James wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed relentlessly. So many tears I have shed, and yet there are still so many things that are wrong with the universes.

"I have yet to forgive myself for all that I have done," a voice other than James spoke.

I reopened my sealed eyes to find a man I didn't recognize. I quickly zapped myself into my human form, luckily with James' clothes still on.

"Doctor," James said slowly.

"That's not the Doctor! He looks different... Oh wait, regenerations," I felt like an idiot.

"How did you get into my house?"

"You gave me a key in the future, and told me I needed to be here to tell you some things." He put simply.

"Fine, but do you know what you need to tell me?" James asked, somewhat tiredly.

"Yes, but it is private," the Doctor sounded cautious. James thought on it for a second before his eyes widened.

"Oh come on, do we have to? Can't we trust Nightmare? Besides, that always makes me feel sick." I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but I was touched that James warmed up to me so quickly.

"What if what I say to you will hurt her if she heard it?" The Doctor asked.

"Can we please not talk about her as if she isn't in the room?" James whined, but then he grew serious. "Fine. If it will keep from hurting her, we'll do it your way."

"Um, what are you talking about?" I interjected.

"There are some things that James needs to know, but they will only hurt you if you know them. So, I am going to use a Time Lord psychic ability to tell him without worrying about you listening in."

"Let's just get done with this," James sighed. He let go of me, which worried me a little. "Contact."

"Contact," the Doctor muttered at the same time.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

(James Point Of View)

The last thing I remember was saying contact before I was thrown into utter turmoil. I don't even know why I said it; it's not like I have the whole Time Lord ability stuff, for obvious reasons. In any case, I felt the dimensions of reality twist, vortex, and churn until I was in an eternity of swirling black. No floor, no ceiling, no walls, I was hovering in mid air, with nothing to see by.

So how did I know it was swirling, one might ask. The thing is, that's how it felt, to me. The emptiness always seemed to be spinning in millions of varied cyclones.

I felt presence of the Doctor within a few moments. I couldn't see him, or anything, but he was there.

"James," the Doctor began. "There are some things about Nightmare Moon you should know about."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I know most of it," I replied aggressively. I was downright sick of the idea that, despite all I have seen of Nightmare Moon, I knew nothing about her.

"Do tell," he sounded genuinely interested in what I knew.

"Nightmare Moon is not of this world, or dimension for that matter. She came from a land where ponies are the equivalent to people on Earth. She is an Alicorn, has control over dreams, and is around one thousand five hundred years old."

"She-" he tried, but I wasn't finished.

"She also had wanted to become friends with someone, anyone, but she was alone. The ponies attacked her. She never had friends before, save for you, and despite that bad past, she has a better soul than more than half of the lives known by your eyes and mine."

"Yes, but-"

"She has a severe case of bipolar disorder, which has somewhat infused with multiple personality, although they all retain the same memories. On top of not having anyone to be her friend, she tried to commit suicide. Most of her life, she spent with her name installing fear and hatred towards her, to the point where the worst things in her realm of power were named after her."

"... And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"No loving parent would ever name their child something bad on purpose, and she acted like like a mother would when I thought I did something wrong. She could have mimicked me, but I was using a more fatherly tone when I calmed her down. She had a loving family."

"... So you do know a lot about her."

"She needs a friend more than anything, and you and I are so far the only ones who count. She probably thinks her bipolar problem is gone, but one wrong move and it will hit her like a meteor powered by fusion fueled rockets in a vacuum."

"That is an amazing metaphor, I must use it some time. There are some things you don't know, however."

"Such as?"

"She tried to create eternal night, twice. She was broken into a million pieces which spread across the galaxies, her conscience aware of every emotion towards her. She was locked up on the moon for one thousand years before being destroyed."

She did what!? "Doctor-"

"Let me finish. She kidnapped her own sister as to avoid being defeated a second time, the first one leading to her life on the moon. She was dispatched by some artifact known as the Elements of Harmony in both cases."

"Why did she do that?"

"She is the entity of the night. Unlike you and I, the ponies didn't often give respect to the night and it's beautiful gifts. She wanted them to like her, to see the wonders she had to offer. Her sister, who controlled the sun, didn't want the eternal night, and neither did any other pony, and she was banished. The second time, she tried to do it by force."

"Why would you tell me this?"

"So you can understand the true beauty in the fact that she wanted to commit suicide so the ponies wouldn't have to fear her. And that she flew out in space, far from her planet, just so that the small chance of her death causing any form of pain to her ex subjects would be negated."

"By God!" I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to. I didn't want to think that Nightmare Moon went through so much suffering. I finally recovered from the shock. "Is that all?"

"No. You told me to tell you that the Worgs of Feh are about to begin their hunt, so be prepared. I don't know what that means, so I hope you do."

"I do." I swore mentally. "And this is one of the few things you cannot know about."

"Time paradox?"

"Something more horrid than you could ever imagine," I answered solemnly. This was bad, worse than I feared when I first conceived the problems the Doctor now spoke of.

"You also mentioned they were growling at the moon. I can only suspect that you are referring to Nightmare Moon, and they plan on hurting her."

"Please, don't try to figure this out," I pleaded. "This is not your fight. I can win this without you, but if you interfere directly, you will die."

"How will you be able to face something I cannot?"

"I'm not at liberty to answer with certainty."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you. Look, is there anything else?"

"One last thing: in five months, do the one thing you fear, and all will be fine."

"Interesting. When exactly did I tell you all of this?"

"Five months and one day from now."

"Huh. Seriously? Alright, I'm ready to get sick."

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad last time."

"The nurses put me in hospice care, thinking I was going to die."

"... Right."

And thus the world had light once more.

Right until I blacked out.

Author's Note:

This will be the last doctor refference for a while. But I do have plans later!

3,201 views

147

Previous Chapters Next

Comments ( 8 )

Viewing 1 - 50 of 8
- Newest First
- Oldest First

AMinorDisChord

AMinorDisChord #1 · Sep 11th, 2013 · · ·

3187387 unfortunately, I still have one more chapter where the two points of view need to be shown.

After that, it will be uniform.

Please tell me where my grammar problems are.

The fourth wall is necessary more so for nightmare moon than James. James is a straightforward character for the most part, and only puts the fourth wall in for comedy.

Nightmare, well, she has issues, and by using her interaction with the audience, it helps me define how unstable she is at various times. Although it also is for comedy partially.

And I just really wanted to beat up the narrator.