The Doctor Whooves Chronicles Episode 6: Twilight Falls

by Doctor Perseus

The Lost and the Found

Chapter 4: The Lost and the Found

Nymphadora, 1678 C.E.

Darkness. Eternal, infinite darkness. Derpy didn't know how long she spent staring into the endless abyss but her eyes longed for the light. Any light at all. Her senses were numb and her body refused to obey her orders. She ordered her eyelids to open but they felt as thick as lead and simply refused to budge, thus continuing to trap her eyes within a prison of nothing. At some moments, she felt like crying but her dead senses didn't even allow her this depressing luxury.

At other moments, she even considered the possibility that she had passed on. Her body was merely an illusion and she was now a lost soul drifting out into the sea of eternity, leaving everything behind. The Doctor. Carrot Top. Twilight. Marcus. Paulie. Lyra. Bon-Bon. Princess Luna. The faces of those she knew appeared before her. They were emotionless and distant. However, Derpy longed to see their faces again in the flesh. This wasn't the end. She had to fight. She had to win.

As soon as she began to pull her confident thoughts together, feeling began to return to her body. Unfortunately, what she began to feel wasn't that much better than the loss of touch she experienced in the void. A crumpled, hot metal surface lay beneath her. The air smelled of rich iron and smoke and felt unbearably hot. Though her eyelids still felt like logs of lead, she forced all of her strength into opening them. What she saw was not pretty.

Sylvia's ship was destroyed. It had been ripped into two sections: one that held her, the Doctor, Marcus, and Sylvia and one that held the other members of Sylvia's militia. The world around them had a dark purple tint but was also orange due to the fire. It was everywhere. Oil leaked onto the purple earth beneath the two sections of the broken ship, massive flames reaching up towards the heavens. Through the smoke and flames, Derpy could just make out members of Sylvia's militia slowly being burned away while trapped in their unconscious states.

Derpy looked up towards the hole in the roof. The creature that resembled a scorpion was covered in flames and melting away like wax. Flames and oil filled Derpy's section of the ship, the bodies of the Doctor, Marcus, and Sylvia being devoured by the fiery death. A knot built up in Derpy's stomach as her eyes fell upon the Doctor's lifeless body, his peaceful face completely devoid of life. She wanted to cry desperately now but the heat refused to let any liquids escape her body. A stinging pain shot from her legs. The flames had reached her now and were slowly eating away at her. She begged herself to start screaming and fly away into the twilight wasteland but she simply had no strength. This was it. They had failed. They weren't going to save Twilight. They weren't go to save Nymphadora. They weren't going to stop Dusk. No. Instead, they were going to die from being burned alive within their own crashed ship.

Derpy leaned back and shook as the flames crawled up her torso and towards her head. The pain was unbearable but shock was hastily taking hold and dulling all of her senses. Soon, she would return to the void. A dry, pained sigh escaped her cracking lips as the flames reached her neck. She was ready. It was time to go, though she wished she didn't have to.

"Wake up," ordered a friendly, familiar voice in the distance. Derpy opened her eyes. A shadowy figure phased through the flames and approached her. Strangely, she wasn't intimidated. She felt almost relieved, like the figure approaching her was a long lost friend returning from a lengthy journey. The shadow stopped and knelt down next to her burning body. "This isn't the truth. The twilight is altering your perception. However, what you see will become fact if you don't act quickly." The figure placed one of his hands on her cheek, a cold yet refreshing sensation began to spread through her body. "Wake up, Derpy. There's still time. It's not over yet. Wake up!"

Derpy's eyes shot open. Her body was badly bruised and annoying pains inflicted her senses...but she was alive. She examined her surroundings. The ship was destroyed. It was split in two. The unconscious bodies of Sylvia's militia resided in the second, larger half while Derpy, the Doctor, Marcus, and Sylvia resided in the smaller, first half. The carcass of the scorpion creature dangled from the hole in the ceiling above Derpy and the Doctor. But...there was no fire.

The air was like that of a warm summer night. An occasional breeze blew through the remains of the ship. Derpy smiled with comfort as the cool air passed over her body. Her eyelids felt heavy and she began to fall back to sleep. However, she quickly awakened when the shadow's words returned to her. "However, what you see will become fact if you don't act quickly," he had told her.

The fire had been an illusion but it could still happen. What she had seen could still be an event scheduled to happen. Derpy's mind was blurred and she could hardly think but she definitely knew one thing: she had to get herself and the others out of the wrecked ship.

Using all of her strength, she pulled herself off the damaged floor and stood up. Her body ached as she stretched her legs but she was alive and she could move. Looking at the destruction caused by the crash, she could only wonder how in the name of Celestia she had managed to survive. She turned her attention to the Doctor, Marcus, and Sylvia. They all appeared to be just as bruised as she was but alive nonetheless. She approached the Doctor first and began to shake him with as much vigor that she could manage. "Doctor. Doctor! Wake up! Doctor!" she cried. The Doctor groaned and turned his head away from Derpy, still remaining unconscious. "Come on! Wake up!" The stallion refused to reply. The pegasus hastily turned to Marcus and Sylvia and began shaking them. "Wake up! Come on! Wake up!" The Nymphadorian and the Auranian, like the Doctor, simply refused to awaken.

Just then, a new scent appeared in the air that caused Derpy to freeze momentarily: smoke. Somewhere on the ship, a small fire had started. She didn't know where but she knew that her time was running out fast. Her vision was coming true. Come on! There has to be a way to help them get over their injuries and wake up faster! Derpy thought as she paced back and forth inside her broken segment of the ship. She accidentally stumped her hoof on an bent piece of the floor and gasped. As she rubbed her hoof, her eyes fell upon an object attached to the wall: a first aid kit. Without any hesitation, she lunged for the box and ripped it open. She scanned over the various objects within until she found a medium-sized blue bottle with the words Revitalizing Serum printed on its label. She looked at the back and read the short but sweet description. "Hastily heals minor injuries and gradually heals major injuries. Only one to two drops required," she read aloud.

Derpy uncapped the bottle and ran over to the Doctor. She opened his mouth and tipped the bottle, allowing two drops to fall into the orifice. The Doctor let out a disgruntled groan before sitting up and opening his eyes wide. Derpy wanted to hug the Doctor but she knew that she had to hurry. The fire was starting and there were still several others to heal. She quickly gave the Doctor a loving pat on the shoulder before turning towards Marcus and Sylvia. Like with the Doctor, she forced their mouths open and administered two drops each. Both of them groaned loudly before their eyes shot open. "What hit me?" Marcus groaned.

"We crashed!" Derpy explained. "We've got to get out! A fire's starting!"

"A fire?!" asked Sylvia as she stood up quickly. She bent over slightly and grabbed her arms. She was definitely still sore from the crash.

Derpy clutched the revitalizing serum in her hoof and started making her way towards the second half of the ship, which was a few yards away. "DERPY!" the Doctor yelled suddenly. Derpy gasped as the Doctor grabbed onto her from behind and pulled her back into their section of the ship.

"Doctor?! What are you doing?! I have to help them!" Derpy snapped. Not two seconds after she had said this, a flood of flames rushed out into the open area between the two segments of the ship. Derpy's eyes widened as she watched the second half of the ship begin to vanish from view. "The oil."

The air began to grow hot and their ship section started to groan and creak in response. "We need to get away from here fast!" said Marcus as he started looking around for an escape route.

Sylvia grabbed a nearby black bag, reached inside, and pulled out a blaster. She aimed the weapon up at the hole in the ceiling where the body of the scorpion creature lay. She fired and the creature's body tumbled away from the hole and flew off into the flames that were quickly surrounding the ship. "Here's our escape route!" Sylvia said as sweat began to form on the surface of her scaly skin. She turned back towards the others. "Who's first?"

Derpy turned back towards the second section of the ship which was quickly being consumed by the flames. "Wait! We've got to help the others!" she exclaimed.

She heard Sylvia let out a deep sigh. "There...there's no time." The world seemed to freeze and grow silent. Derpy turned back towards the Doctor, Marcus, and Sylvia. Each of their faces showed no emotion aside from grief.

Derpy gulped. Her throat was becoming incredibly dry and her coat was gradually becoming soaked with sweat due to the growing heat. "What...what are you saying?"

Sylvia tried her best to look cold and serious but Derpy could see her body shaking, and Derpy knew this wasn't due to her injuries. "The flames are too large. There's not enough time to save them."

"No. There's always a way. We can't leave them! There's got to be a way to save them!" Derpy turned towards the only source of sanity and kindness she could think of. "Doctor?"

The Doctor lowered his head. "Come on, Derpy. We need to get out of here," he replied sadly.

Derpy's heart stopped. "No. We can save them. We have time."

"Derpy...please. If we could save them we would but...look at those flames. I'm sorry. We won't let their loss be in vain." The Doctor's face suddenly grew very angry and cold. "Dusk has used up his last chance. He did a long time ago. Justice will come to him for everything he's caused. But if he is to stand accountable for his crimes, we need to get out of this ship now."

The Doctor reached for Derpy but Derpy dodged his grab and began backing away, shaking her head. "No. I can save them." She clutched the revitalizing serum tightly in her hoof. "I will save them!"

With that said, Derpy flapped her wings, took to the air, and flew straight into the field of fire. "DERPY!" she could hear the Doctor calling after her. She didn't stop. She could save them! She had so save them. The flames licked at her coat and attempted to reach her but she didn't allow them to. She flew as fast as she could through the heat until she reached the second section of the ship.

She tried to land but the metal was already growing increasingly hot. The unconscious soldiers were already beginning to grow red and sweaty from the fire around them. Derpy lowered herself towards a male Ruleonite nearest to her. She opened his mouth and poured two drops in. Like with the others, the Ruleonite grunted. His eyes shot open and he sat up incredibly fast, much faster than the others had. "Hot! HOT!" he exclaimed. Patches of his fur were slightly singed and parts of his skin were red.

"Don't worry! I'm here to help you!" said Derpy. Just at that second, the spaceship section groaned loudly and tilted down in the direction of the fire field. The weakened, sore Ruleonite began to slide towards the fire along with the other unconscious soldiers. "NO!" Derpy quickly grabbed onto the soldier's arms and flapped her wings as hard as she could. While she did this, she noticed several of the soldiers' weapons sliding across the hot metal towards the fire. She got a gut instinct telling her to get the hay out of there. Before she could escape with the Ruleonite, however, the weapons reached the fire and exploded violently. Flames and shrapnel flew in every direction. Derpy gasped as a piece of metal flew past her and cut one of her hind legs slightly. She and the Ruleonite were knocked back by the explosion.

When Derpy managed to recover from the explosion, she sat up to see a horrible sight. Flames everywhere. The unconscious soldiers simply lay silently and peacefully as the hungry fire slowly ate away at them. The air was intolerable and her body was sweatier than a pig. "GAH!" cried the Ruleonite. Derpy looked and realized that the Ruleonite's right leg was on fire. She quickly began flapping her wings in a vague attempt to blow out the flames. As she did this, she could feel herself growing weaker and weaker. The carnage around her, the intense heat, her injuries...it was all too much to bear. She could feel herself slipping away. She was returning to the void for one, last time. Smoke began to fill her lungs, her vision began to blur, she could feel the sting of hot metal as she fell to the floor, and she could hear the pained cries of the Ruleonite whom she had attempted to save.

Just before she allowed herself to slip away, Derpy heard the sound of tearing metal followed by quick hoofsteps...no...footsteps. Sylvia appeared before her in her blurry vision. The Auranian picked her up along with the screaming Ruleonite. As Sylvia began to pull her and the Ruleonite away from the flames, Derpy could hear the Ruleonite screaming a name. "NO! YVONNE! YVONNE! NO! PLEASE! GO BACK! SAVE HER! LEAVE ME! GO BACK! GO BACK!" he cried. Derpy's vision fell dark and the world temporarily became silent.

When Derpy's senses returned and she opened her eyes, her mouth was filled with the taste of blueberries and ash. She looked up to see the Doctor staring down at her, the revitalizing serum in one of his hooves. "Good," he said with a relieved smile. "You're awake."

The memories of what had happened started coming back. Tears formed in the corners of Derpy's eyes. Her voice cracked as she attempted to speak. She could feel her face contorting into a pained, sad expression. "Doctor!" she cried as she sat up and turned towards the burning ship.

The remnants of Sylvia's ship were completely gone now. Nothing remained except for a towering inferno. The smell of burning metal and fur lingered in the air. Marcus was standing a couple feet away from Derpy with the first aid kit held tightly in one of his hands. Sylvia was sitting down and rubbing her arms slowly, her face completely emotionless aside from the occasional tear. The Ruleonite was lying on his back, his right leg badly burnt and his eyes sad and puffy. Derpy turned her attention back to the ship. Her memories of the burning soldiers and their peaceful, oblivious faces as their lives were burned away came back in a wave. Her entire body shook as tears began pouring from her eyes. "Oh, Derpy," sighed the Doctor sadly as he approached her from behind and wrapped her up in a caring, protective hug. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Derpy fell back into the Doctor and continued to cry as the remnants of the soldiers and the spaceship flew up into the twilight sky within a column of dark, depressing smoke.

Twilight stood silently in her room and glared out the window. Nothing stared back at her aside from the bleak twilight. This was a sight she had grown used to by this point. However, now she was filled with a new sense of hope. A feeling of hope much stronger than the version she had felt during the previous month. That previous feeling was constantly clouded with uncertainty. Now she was sure that help was coming. The Doctor and Derpy were on their way. Together they could defeat Dusk and save Nymphadora. Then...she could return home.

Twilight closed her eyes and silently sighed as she thought about the faces of her loved ones. Spike. Shining Armor. Princess Celestia. Applejack. Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash. Rarity. Pinkie Pie. Princess Luna. Cadance. Her parents. All of their faces smiled happily at her from the depths of her collected memories of them. She longed to see their faces again. She desired to hold them and be within their loving grasp. An amused chuckle escaped Twilight's lips. "Never knew I'd one day miss one of Pinkie Pie's bear hugs," she said.

Suddenly, something caught Twilight's eyes. Deep within the hazy twilight, a few miles beyond the borders of the city, a column of smoke was rising into the sky. At first she was confused by it but was then struck with a mixture of feelings including dread, sorrow, and fear. A pain shot through her head as the quick images of the Doctor and Derpy caught in a fire sped by. She gasped in response and fell the floor, her breathing having become hard and heavy.

She looked up through the window and focused on the rising column of smoke. "Help them," she begged in a weak voice. "You promised that you would! They need you now! Please! Help them! Help them!"

"Pleading to lost souls?" chuckled the voice of Dusk from behind. Twilight didn't turn around to face him. She wasn't in the mood to stare upon his terrible armor nor witness his uncomfortable aura. "Whatever help you foolishly think is coming will never arrive, dear Twilight. Even if anyone were able to get through the curtain, the land itself would defeat them. All who enter my twilight become lost souls owned by me eventually."

"You don't own them," Twilight snapped. She stood up and continued to keep her attention focused on the smoke rather than turning around to face Dusk. "Your twilight may keep some of these souls trapped and most of them oblivious but there are some that have escaped your grasp. Your ego and underestimation of your enemies will be your downfall, Dusk."

Twilight shook a bit upon hearing Dusk's cold laughter in response to her statement. "I see you still have faith in your little rescue team. Fine, continue to pray for their arrival. In fact, I hope they manage to get through my twilight. It'll be much more satisfying to crush them right in front of your eyes." Twilight felt a gust of wind and gasped as Dusk appeared in front of her. He knelt down and grabbed her chin with his armored hand, his armored face meeting eye-to-eye with her's. "Then you will finally see who has won this war."

Twilight shook her head out of Dusk's grasp and stepped back. "I guess the two of us will just have to wait and see what happens."

Dusk laughed before standing up and walking past Twilight, his cape flapping against her slightly. "Let them come, I say. Let them come and die!"

Twilight continued to stare at the column of smoke as Dusk left the room. "Help them. Help them. Help them," Twilight continued to plead under her breath.

The group didn't stop walking until they could no longer smell the scent of fire and death. The air now smelled of morning dew and flowers. The light of the twilight was dark but in an almost beautiful way. Shimmers of silver moved about the sky, air, and land, acting as refreshing breaks in the sea of violet aura. A desert of purple sand and blue cacti could just barely be made out a few miles away from the column of smoke while in the direction the group was now traveling a collection of tall buildings could be seen. "Lupae," said Marcus as he stared out upon the city. "We're only a few miles away."

The Doctor looked out upon the landscape of grassy hills and plains which made up the land between Lupae and the purple desert. However, he didn't spend much time focusing on the landscape for his attention quickly returned to Derpy. The pegasus was sitting on the ground a couple feet from him. Her eyes were puffy and she was shaking a bit. He felt a great deal of sadness for her as well as for the others. Those soldiers were Sylvia's friends. They had been her allies. They had joined with her and had happily accepted the task of helping the Doctor and Derpy travel into the twilight to help them take down Dusk. They hadn't deserved what they got. They came together to work towards a better future for this world...and they were repaid with death by inferno.

The Doctor started to feel his own body shake. He had seen much death and carnage in his life. The images of seeing his own planet Gallifrey burning at his command were still fresh in his mind. Sylvia's friends had met their end just like Gallifrey: by burning.

A soft whimper escaped the mouth of the Ruleonite, whose name was Klaus, who had escaped the flames thanks to Derpy and Sylvia. The only member of Sylvia's militia to survive. And even then it had come with a cost. His leg was badly burnt and his twin sister Yvonne had been one of the soldiers to die in the flames. Every now and then, the Doctor would catch a few tears escaping from his puffy, dry eyes. Another victim of war.

Marcus and Sylvia had also taken a hit from the inferno. Sylvia more than Marcus though, which was understandable as she had spent the last ten years or so with those soldiers. And now, in an instant, she had only one left. No. She had four left. The Doctor dug his hooves further into the earth and clenched his teeth. He wasn't going to let Dusk get away with what he had done. He was going to send that demon back to the hell he had been born from. The Doctor's eyes trailed over to his black suitcase, one of the few things that had managed to escape the fire with them along with a first aid kit and a bag filled with some supplies and weapons. The Doctor thought about the contents of his suitcase, most notably the Staff of the Dawn and President Targaryen's ring. For the past month, he had studied them in some hope to understand how to use them to defeat Dusk. However, his thoughts always returned to moment when President Targaryen had violently lost his life in his attempt to use the items against Dusk. Was Dusk too powerful now to be defeated by the items? Had President Targaryen simply been unworthy? Was there more to the process than just waving the staff back and forth and giving commands? The Doctor scratched his chin as he sat down.

"How are you feeling?" he heard Marcus ask. The Doctor turned to see Marcus standing next to Derpy with a hand on her shoulder.

Derpy continued to shake but smiled kindly up at Marcus. "I've seen better days," she replied.

Marcus chuckled a bit. "I think we all have." Derpy looked down and Marcus warmly tightened his grip on her shoulder. "We won't let their deaths be in vain, Derpy. I promise you that."

"We all do," the Doctor said as he stood up. Derpy turned back to the Doctor. She gave a small smile at him but said smile quickly faded away. The Doctor didn't blame her for feeling the way she felt. She witnessed something that no pony as innocent and kind as her should witness.

You brought this on her, hissed an accusing voice from within the Doctor's mind. You just had to do it again. You had to invite another innocent creature to join you on adventures through time and space. It never ends well. You know this. You're just going to ruin her life. Remember Donna? You made her forget. Remember Martha? You turned her into a soldier. Remember Rose? You lost her! You've even failed people from your future! Remember River? It's only a matter of time before something happens to Derpy and you know it. You've already ruined her. How long will it be before her breath is finally snuffed out of her miserable, weak, defeated co-

"SHUT UP!" the Doctor yelled. Everybody jumped and turned towards the Doctor. The Doctor's breathing was heavy for a few seconds before slowing down. His eyes fell on Derpy. Fear. That's what he saw on her face. Confusion and fear. The Doctor cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I fear that the twilight was getting to me for a moment."

Sylvia grunted as she helped Klaus up and wrapped one of his arms over her shoulders to help him stay balanced. "We best keep moving," she said. "I don't think it's wise for us to remain in one area for too long...not while we're in this place."

"We better be on our guard," said Marcus. "There might be more monsters like the one that attacked our ship walking about. Maybe even other kinds as well."

"The city looks so far away," Derpy stated as she stared towards the faint outline of Lupae.

"But each step will take us closer to it," said the Doctor as he approached Derpy and touched one of her hooves. The pegasus looked at him and gently leaned her weary head on his shoulder.

"We're definitely going to run into more obstacles on our way to Lupae. There's no doubt about that," said Sylvia.

"Then we're going to need to be more careful," said Marcus. "We can't afford to lose-" Marcus cut himself off as his voice cracked a bit. Everybody's face grew grim and depressed once more. "We can't afford to lose anymore of us. We're the last ones. We have to survive!"

"If you're going to survive this world, you're going to need help from this world," stated a strangely familiar voice from the shadows.

Everyone jumped and began looking around. "Who's there?!" Derpy asked with a shaky voice.

"Is it another monster?!" Klaus gasped.

"Wait a minute," said the Doctor as he focused on one area of the shadows. "That...that voice!" The Doctor recognized this voice. He had heard it before. He knew to whom it belonged to. It had certainly been a while. But it was impossible! The owner of this voice couldn't possibly be here! It was impossible! It was unthinkable! It was...the truth.

A figure appeared in the dark and casually walked towards them. The Doctor could feel the beating of his hearts increase as the figure came closer and closer, its appearance slowly entering their line of sight. The figure had a white-purple glow and was constantly shifting between looking solid and looking transparent. The Doctor heard Marcus gasp once the figure came into full view. Derpy tightened her grip on the Doctor. The Doctor's own eyes widened in shock. "Impossible!" Marcus uttered.

"It's a ghost!" Derpy stated with a frightened crack in her voice.

"Yeah...I guess you could call me that," chuckled Colonel Asphodel "Ash" Rogers. "However, unlike normal ghosts, I'm not here to scare you. In fact, I'm probably your best chance at making it through the twilight alive."

Comments

[MariusIoannesP]

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Ah there the Doctor goes again.

"Yeah...I guess you could call me that," chuckled Colonel Asphodel "Ash" Rogers.

Ha! I totally called it. Ash was the new ghost Twilight saw.

I like how the Doctor's guilt induced fear that something will happen to Derpy as his companion. He is the one who regrets after all.

I can't help imagining Dusk sounding like the Shredder from the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

[prench derpy hooves]

He was going to send that demon back to the hell he had been born from.
bad word dr dont use bad words (my little sisters advice)
How long will it be before her breath is finally snuffed out of her miserable, weak, defeated co-
might i ask what word was about to be sppked id like to know