Doctor Whooves - The Nightmare of Hearths Warming

by Time Pony Victorious

The Mare of the Night

The Doctor placed his hooves on either side of Dinky’s head and closed his eyes. “Um, Doctor?” Fluttershy asked tentatively. “What’re you doing?”

“Trying to concentrate,” the Doctor said, keeping his eyes closed. “I’m trying to read Dinky’s mind, it seems that the wraith locks his victim in a comatose state, probably feeding off her energy to come to life. I might be able to see more about her condition if I can do this properly, which calls for some concentration, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy nodded, only able to understand half of what the Doctor said but obeyed and allowed him the peace and quiet he required to pull this off.

Dinky’s mind began to open up and a myriad of locked emotions poured into the Doctor’s mind. Confusion, hurt, sleepiness, hunger, anger. It all brushed against the Doctor’s psychic reach as he focused into her recent memories.

Opening his eyes, the Doctor suddenly found himself in a desolate Ponyville. The skies were nightmare black, the wind harsh and bitter and the entirety of the village perfectly empty, abandoned like a ghost town.

“Oh, Dinky,” the Doctor sighed, looking around the hellish town. “What has the big bad wraith done to you?”

Dinky’s dreams were anything short of a nightmare, a foreboding atmosphere weighing on the Doctor’s shoulders as he trotted through town. The ground cracked under his weight as he walked and he couldn’t shake off the feeling of being watched. But looking around he always found himself alone.

He made it to the town square when he saw her.

It was difficult to make out who was there but her pony body was definitely female. She was in the middle of the square surrounded by dozens of wraiths, all circling her and swiftly beginning to overwhelm her.

“Hold on!” the Doctor sprinted for the poor mare, raising his hoof to brandish his sonic screwdriver… only to find himself empty-hoofed. Still, he poured on the speed to try to help her with anything he could do.

An intense light erupted from the mare and exploded blowing the wraiths away and nearly knocking the Doctor back. When the light faded, the mare stood unfazed, but a bit tired. The Doctor had to blink stars away from his vision to be able to recognize her.
Her dark purple coat was beautifully groomed, matching perfectly to her night-sky mane that resembled a starry sky. Her unicorn horn along with her humble pegasi wings solidified her position as an alicorn, the Doctor instantly recognized her as the Princess of the Night, Luna.

The first time he met her, the Doctor landed in the middle of her bath while she was in it. Since then, the Princess wasn’t exactly comfortable around the Time Lord, he wasn’t sure why though.

He briefly wondered why a Princess was in Dinky’s dream and why she was being targeted by the wraiths… only to notice that the wraiths she fought reappeared, threatening to overtake her again. Without hesitation, the Doctor ran toward the Princess, grabbed her hoof and looked her straight in the eyes. “Run!”

Princess Luna looked shocked for a moment but she didn’t resist when the Doctor pulled her away and ran along the Time Lord. They ran from the wraiths now taking chase, there needed to be an escape but if the Doctor reacted violently the damage done to Dinky’s mind might be irreversible.

“T-thou,” Princess Luna stammered. “I mean, you! What’re th- you, doing here?!”

“Saving you apparently!” the Doctor answered.

“We--, I am a Princess, I do not need rescuing!” she argued.

“Tell them that!”

Princess Luna complied, halting immediately and turning to face the wraiths. The Doctor was about to argue but Luna’s horn lit up brilliantly and a powerful bolt of light exploded, dispersing the wraiths once again. But when the light died down, Princess Luna appeared exhausted, falling to the ground, not only that but her form shrunk.

Her coat became lighter blue, her mane and tail became solid losing its ethereal starry appearance. She was even tinier, about the same size as the Doctor. “Your magic is linked to your appearance,” the Doctor deduced. “The stronger you are the more… magical you appear.”

The Princess didn’t answer, only nodding weakly. “But I’ve seen the things Princesses are capable of, you lot are closer to demigods than normal ponies (not that it means anything to me) why are your powers being drained so easily?”

Princess Luna slowly got to her hooves and shook her head, either answering the Doctor or shaking the disorientation off, he wasn’t sure. “We—I’m not exactly sure. These wraiths have been appearing in dreams more often, I attempted to investigate but… when I arrived they continually attack me.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. Although I only encountered one wraith out there, so far he put two fillies in a comatose, draining their life force,” the Doctor recounted. “And when I entered Dinky’s dream… well you know the rest.”

She raised an eyebrow at how casual the Doctor explained how he was able to invade Dinky’s dream, but shook her head deciding there were more important manners. “That isn’t good, the wraiths are getting stronger and will soon be able to manifest in the real world.”

“Speaking of which, how are you here?” the Doctor asked. “I was able to come here due to a basic psychic link, last I check you lot weren’t capable of that.”

“Not many ponies are aware of this, but I am the Princess of Dreams as well as the Night. My powers increase under the moon (even more so with a full moon), I hold domain over the land of dreams and grant everypony happy dreams and dispel nightmares.”

“Like the Sandman…”

“What?”

“Nothing, come on, let’s leave Dinky’s mind before we damage it. Fluttershy will be waiting for us.”

Princess Luna’s hesitated, frowning slightly. “What? What’s wrong?” the Doctor asked.

“The Element of Kindness is not exactly fond of me, she fears me,” Luna explained. “It is probably due to my brief tenure as… Nightmare Moon.”

Nodding, the Time Lord remembered that name from Fluttershy’s recollection. He wasn’t entirely sure on the history of this Nightmare Moon but seeing as Fluttershy feared it and Princess Luna expressed shame over it, it probably wasn’t good.

The Doctor of all ponies understood having an old shame, a part of life he regretted and tried to push away… But this wasn’t the time to sulk over that, there were ponies in danger because of these creatures.

Chuckling bitterly, the Doctor recalled his last interactions with Captain Grumpy and Sandshoes…

“Whatever you did as Nightmare Moon was in the past,” the Doctor said. “You can’t push that away or bury that in your mind, it’s part of you now… but it’s made you better, the quicker you accept that the quicker we can stop these wraiths and save Dinky and Ditzy.”

Princess Luna looked ready to argue but once she looked into the Doctor’s eyes… so old and so sad, she knew for sure that he was speaking from experience. She nodded, her horn lighting up again and enveloping her. When the light down, her previous form returned and although she looked stronger her eyes were weary and strained.

“Let’s go, Doctor.” The Doctor frowned, unsure of when he told her his name but pushed that thought aside.

“Talley-ho, then.”

The Doctor’s eyes opened, stepping back from Dinky’s body. He took a deep breath, finding some difficulty breathing. Fluttershy gasped, floating near the Doctor but not daring to touch him.

“Oh my, Doctor,” she all but whimpered. “Are you okay? You started smoking!”

“What?” the Doctor looked down at his legs and found wisps of smoke wrapping around his whole body. “Oh… I do that something, nothing to worry about, Fluttershy.”

“What happened?”

Shaking his head, the Doctor found his mind slightly scrambled. He had been in the presence of gods before, they radiated power and in their home domain they were only a hundred times stronger. Princess Luna, even weakened, radiated power even stronger than those would be gods he’s encountered.

“Princess Luna was there, fighting off the wraiths,” he answered. “We need to meet up with her, somehow.”

“Wait, wraiths? As in more than one?” Fluttershy bit her lip nervously. “A-and Princess Luna?”

Her coat turned an interesting shade of pale yellow as the pegasus blanched at the apparent terror that was the Princess. “She’s the Princess of Dreams, after all, but the wraiths didn’t seem to enjoy her presence too much.”

“S-she’s coming here?”

“Yeah, though I’m not exactly sure how long she’ll take—“

“Hello.” Fluttershy yelped, leaping in the air in surprise as Princess Luna materialized beside her soundlessly. The Princess hardly reacted to Fluttershy’s reaction, apparently used to such a greeting, instead she looked at the Doctor and nodded. “Apologies, I would’ve arrived earlier but the Night guards are more than a little overprotective, producing an excuse was a greater feat than anticipated.”

“That’s fine,” the Doctor waved dismissively. “Come along, we’ll head for Twilight’s place.”

The Doctor walked out, leaving Princess Luna and Fluttershy by themselves for a moment. Fluttershy whimpered, rubbing her hooves together and averting her gaze from the alicorn princess.

“Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, correct?” Princess Luna asked, startling Fluttershy. Shyly nodding, Luna didn’t avert her intimidating stare. “You are correct to fear Nightmare Moon, she is my biggest shame.”

“A-ah, but, it’s not as though I’m scared of you”—Princess Luna lifted a hoof to stop Fluttershy.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy. I realize my folly from Nightmare Moon’s actions… but I am no longer her, I am, now and forever, Princess Luna here to stop these wraiths from the chaos they wreck.”

With that, Princess Luna made her leave, following the Doctor to the library. Fluttershy stayed there for a moment, half-nervous, half-ashamed at her behavior toward the obviously kindly Princess. Pushing those thoughts aside, Fluttershy left the suddenly cold home, sparing one more glance to Dinky’s sleeping form.

She arrived to the TARDIS, raising an eyebrow at the fact that it was standing upright suddenly. Angel was no longer around but before she could ask, the Doctor spoke, “She’s still repairing, we won’t be able to travel until she’s one hundred percent. Ah, and Angel is safe, he’s inside the TARDIS (probably enjoying the carrot room) and nothing in the universe can get inside the TARDIS… Well…”

“Doctor,” Luna interrupted. “We have more important manners at hoof.”

“Right!” Patting the TARDIS, the Doctor half-ran, half-jogged toward Twilight’s home. “I’ve outfitted Twilight’s home with several security protocols hooked up to her magical lightning rod. It prevented a paradox the last time I accidentally crossed my own time stream, so, hopefully, it could keep out the wraiths.”

“Thou aren’t sure?!” Luna demanded.

“About forty-five percent sure,” the Doctor said with a grin.

“W-what?!” Fluttershy cried.

“Momentai, Fluttershy. What could possibly go wrong?”

They entered the library and the Doctor immediately brandished his sonic screwdriver, aiming it at the ceiling while it rang out. The house rumbled for a moment then when it stopped a massive purple forcefield materialized around the entire tree.

“What now?” Fluttershy asked.

“Go to sleep,” the Doctor answered.

“What?!” Princess Luna cried, stomping and cracking the floor slightly. “You intend to use her as bait?”

“From what I can tell, the wraiths only attack young ponies, colts and fillies. They… displaced the adults, I was able to scan the rift they created to get rid of Ditzy, it’s a minor teleportation magic (similar to Twilight’s spell). So, they won’t target Fluttershy,” he explained.

“Then how can thou be sure they will arrive in her dreams?”

The Doctor looked at Fluttershy for a moment, his gaze was so neutral and emotionless it scared her somewhat. “Your presence will summon them.”

Princess Luna recoiled, as if the Doctor had hit her. “H-how can you know that?”

“Fluttershy told me that the wraiths were the knights of Nightmare Moon, but for some reason they attack you when they can,” the Doctor clarified. “Perhaps they don’t recognize you or, more likely, they are trying to summon their former leader.”

Both the Princess and Fluttershy rubbed their hooves nervously but the Doctor didn’t pay them any mind, their comfort levels were hardly of great importance presently.

“Fine,” Luna said finally. “But why do we need to use Fluttershy as bait?”

“From what I’ve observed, the wraiths can control ponies through their dreams, and we don’t need them poking around in my mind,” the Doctor explained. “Besides, Fluttershy can handle this.”

“There must be a better plan! We can’t just put her in danger because you fear them invading your mind.”

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said, her voice stronger than Princess Luna thought she was capable of. “If there’s anything I can do to help everypony… I’ll do it.”

“But…”

“It’ll be fine, we’ll be there to help,” the Doctor promised. “Fluttershy will be fine…”

Princess Luna wanted to argue, feeling as though he was saying that more for his benefit, but she nodded once she looked at Fluttershy’s eyes. The timid pegasus had a look of steely determination, something she couldn’t help but feel proud of… but scared at the same time.

What kind of affect did the Doctor have on these ponies? To the point where Fluttershy, of all ponies, would allow herself to be bait by his orders…

“Fine,” Luna sighed. “But if any harm befalls her, I will hold you responsible twice, Doctor.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Starbutt,” the Doctor grinned.

Princess Luna blanched at her sudden nickname but stomped off upstairs to Twilight’s room. “If she is to rest, it would be best to do so in a proper bed.”

Comments

[Shadow Hero]

Ah thea nod to the episode The Day Of The Doctor..so i see that you are using matt smith doctor or a new regeration after that.