The Lives of Doctor Whooves

by GrandSpellcaster

Chapter 4: City of Song

Starlight was sitting in a relatively large living room, straining to hold up three different types of chairs with her magic. Long Lecture was sitting in one of them reading a Daring Do book. Starlight's eyes were watering as she asked, "How much longer?"

He turned the page and took out his new pocket watch, "two more minutes".

Tender Touch walked into the room and stared at the sight, "Long, why are you having her levitate these chairs why you read a book?"

Long Lecture looked up from his book, "She needs to work on her telekinesis, she can't lift more than three things at a time and she cannot even move them."

"So why are you just having her lift three chairs rather then, oh I don't know, four books?"

"I'm trying to have her work on size, once she can lift three chairs with ease she'll be able to move three books." He explained. He looked back at his fob watch and said to Starlight, "Time. Now gently put me and the chairs down."

She tried to do gentle, but the closer the chairs got the ground the more violently they shook until finally they landed with a thud and a heavy breath.

"Close enough for now." Long Lecture said closing the book and getting up. "Let's take it a few hours to rest and replenish. Then try again, for a little bit longer."

"Okay." she said walking out of the room.

Tender Touch glared at Long Lecture, "What?" He asked.

"You know that she's magically challenged, and you still put her through these pointless exercises." she scolded.

"They're not pointless. A first year student would have easily been able to do that." He defended putting his watch away.

"She's not a first year student, she'd not even make it into the school."

"Well the Doctor wants me to make her up to par and I'm going to do it. When I'm done with her she'll be a match for any student from that school."

The nurse was about to say something when they heard the odd sound that signified the capsule had landed.

The two of them went up to the console room where the Doctor was polishing part of the main console. "Hello" he said seeing the pair enter the room. "Having fun with your 'Interaction'?" He asked.

Long Lecture shook his head, "why do you ask us that every time we enter a room together?"

"Ya, why do you?"

"We've landed at Canor the City of Song." He said the corner of his lips upturned.

"That's not the question we asked." Tender Touch said.

"It's about the one hundred thousand years after you came on." he said as Starlight entered the room and he smiled, "Good, you're here. Today you’re going to one of the magics that we are completely hopeless to understand. The magic of song." he said as he hit the button to open the doors. "Come along we best see a demonstration."

He walked out the door and was suddenly hit by a blast of wind which ruffled his black coat, relieving his hourglass cutie mark. Almost immediately he was intercepted by a pair of guards, "That's the cutie mark" one said.

"Eeyup" the other one said as he place a pair of shackles around the Doctor's hooves.

"What? Release me! What am I being charged with?! I demand to know!'

The first guard answered, "Conspiracy against the Lord Regent of Canor."

"Lord Regent? This is the home of an Alicorn! Why is there a Lord Regent?" He asked thoroughly confused.

"Ya where's the Princess?!" Long asked.

Starlight ran up to the guard and tugged on one of the guard’s side, "Please don't take him!"

The guard pried her off of him and then shoved the Doctor, "Go or I'll have to take you in for resisting an arrest." He said as they led the Doctor away.

"Starlight! Don't do anything foalish!" he shouted as they turned a corner and went out of sight.

"What do we do?" Tender Touch asked.

"We're going to figure out who this Lord Regent is, then we're going to find what happened to the Princess, then we're going to rescue my grandfather." Starlight said the determination clear in her voice.

---

Guards were escorting the Doctor down a long black hallway, as they reached the midpoint they opened a storm door and shaved him inside. The Doctor got up and pretended to dust himself off as he surveyed the interrogation room. He walked over to the large mirror imbedded into the wall and began the act of straightening his mane, coat, and shirt, all the while staring coldly into the mirror. The door behind him opened and a white unicorn in suit walked in with a folder and sat at the metal table, "Hello Doctor, we've had our eyes on you for a long time." he opened.

---

Starlight, Long Lecture, and Tender Touch were rushing around the nearby market asking everypony they could about this Lord Regent, unfortunately everypony they asked about him would cut of the conversation and leave, making it hard to learn anything. The Shop keepers were worse, sense they couldn't leave their shops they would chase the unicorns away often hitting Long Lecture with brooms.

---

"Have you now?" The Doctor said looking at the stallion through the mirror, "Why? I'm nothing important."

The Stallion smiled and slipped out a piece of paper, then he read it aloud...

It has come to my attention that the leading members of each tribe have let loose the information that I have, on several occasions, met with and socialized with the wizard of the blue box. Because of this my piers have accused me of learning what I know from him and proclaimed that I am a fraud. I would like to take this opportunity to explain my relationship with this wizard. He and I have a strictly nonprofessional relationship. Meaning we have never traded our knowledge with each other. I will admit that every once and awhile we might try to steal our secrets from each other but neither of us has ever succeeded. He is one of the few pony friends I have and I would never jeopardize it by allowing my ambition get the better of me.

The stallion placed the paper on the table, facing the Doctor. "That was an open letter to the ponies of, at the time, the newly formed nation of Equestria, from Starswirl the Bearded himself. This is the earliest known piece of written material that refers to you directly, though based on how it reads we think you been around a long time before it."

---

The three unicorns reunited in, about, the middle of the market place, Starlight was the first to speak, "You two get anything? All I got was that this Lord Regent is a pegasus that's been in power for the last five years." She said breathlessly.

Tender Touch replied, "I learned that his rule only extends to this planet. Whatever that means."

"I really don't have anything else to add then." Long Lecture said.

"Okay then, I'd bet that the big palace looking thing is where he's at but that doesn't necessarily mean that's where they took my grandfather." Starlight said thinking hard.

---

The stallion pulled out an x-Ray sheet and slid it on the table towards the Doctor, "your x-Ray, taken from what was left of the third Grillop fleet" it showed what looked like the innards of a pony except there were two hearts instead of one. The stallion continued and pulled out another piece of paper, this one was a report from an organization called S.I.B...
Upon request from my commander I am to write a detailed report on the unknown entity I have been tracking for the last thirty years. The Wizard of the Blue Box is an odd being who has been around since the earliest known civilizations, with images of his blue box appearing in several different cultures around the planet, including Griffon, Zebra, and even the ancient Dragon cultures. I have narrowed down at least six different faces that he switches between (Which can be seen in the report). I must stress that if you see on of the faces in real life the only sane thing you could do is to run away, for he is the herald of tragedy and bringer of distruction.

"That was the forward to a report from one of the senior members of S.I.B. We don't know who exactly, due to us not having the full report but it proves that you were around at the same time they were and that you even existed earlier. It's also how we identified you as we had a picture of you cutie mark."

"You shouldn't have read that to me." Was all the Doctor could say.

---

The three unicorns made their way to the palace on a very overcrowded metro train, "So according to the map, if I read it right, we keep going for three stops then we need to get onto the west bound train to the Capital building." Long Lecture spoke looking at a map paper slightly confused.

Tender Touch grabbed it with her magic then turned it counterclockwise ninety degrees, "I think it’s the north bound train" she said shaking her head and smiling. "I'm glad you aren't a geography teacher."

"So am I." He said, smiling and locking eyes with her.

They held each other’s glances for at least four seconds before Long Lecture was knocked off balance by a mother with six children shoving him to get off at the stop. Starlight shook her head, "Grandfather would have a field day with these few moments." she mused looking at the reflection of herself in the window.

---

The Doctor had taken a seat now but still faced the mirror. The stallion spoke again, "We have also found mention of you in other civilizations, which lead us to believe that you had a way to get to them since several of these sightings are very close to each other in time." He said pulling out a set of five pictures.

The first one was of some sort of hieroglyphics with a blue box tucked away in the corner. The second one was of the inside of a great white cathedral with stained windows and statues of various ponies, the center piece had four separate statues all facing a blue box in the center of them. The third picture showed a child's toy that was a small blue box, there was writing on the photograph saying, Child plays with toy of the recent savors ship. The fourth had a group of militaristic ponies target practice boards which had an hourglass, a blue box, and some other pony's face. The fifth one was a picture of a holomonitor with seven faces that all had unreadable (Because of picture quality) captions underneath them and a blue box in the middle with Ship? underneath it.

The Doctor glanced at them then scoffed, "It takes a real fool to show their 'enemy' what they think they know about them." He said getting up from his chair and grabbing it. He slid it over to the table and sat back down, "Listen to me very carefully..."

---

Starlight and company got off the train, and moved their way through the crowds of 'ponies' towards the large palace. "So what's the plan once we get their?" Tender Touch asked.

"Wait..." Long Lecture said realizing that he didn't know the plan earlier, "You haven't told us any plan yet, besides get there."

Starlight didn't say anything at first, she looked away from them. After a few seconds she said, "I don't know."

Long Lecture and Tender Touch looked at each other and grew concerned, Tender Touch said, "Starlight, we can't just break into a palace, full of guards an expect to find the Doctor and get out. There are only three of us sweetie."

Starlight turned towards them and said, "I don't expect to save him. He needs motivating to interfere in the affairs of other species and I intend to motivate him."

---

"Most, if not all, the species that exist in the universe are magic users..." The Doctor began, "The common creation myth of this era is that in the beginning there was Chaos, endless chaos. Then from the Chaos came Harmony and the universe became balanced. In the balance life was able to flourish and evolve..."

"Everypony knows how the theory goes. Get to your point before I leave" The stallion said annoyed.

"This is called a myth because it isn't the true beginning, it was the second one."

"And how would you know that?"

"I was there. The true beginning was about fourteen billion years before what I have come to know as the 'Event'. I won't bore you with how it actually happened but I want you to know that your entire world is the result of a mistake. A calamity so destructive that twenty five percent of all life sustaining planets were made barren, and a whole forty six percent of all life forms went extinct. But the universe was quick to react to the 'Event', it used the new power at its disposal and began to weave it into the DNA of the newer creatures." The Doctor sat back allowing his captor to take in what he had said.

The suited stallion stood up and headed for the door, he slammed it as he left. He saw the two guards stationed at the door and motioned for them to go inside, "Take this insane piece of filth to the Under Dungeon" he ordered then proceeded left to the door that lead to the room on the other side of the mirror. He entered to see his boss sitting in a backwards chair, his crystal skin glistening as the light from the hallway hit it.

"What did you think of his story?" The stallion’s director asked.

"I think he's lying." the suited stallion began, "I'm not even sure that this wizard is real. I'm more inclined to believe that those Princesses made him up to discourage ponies like the Lord Regent from acting."

"Oh you think thousands of years of stories and sightings across many different and unique cultures, are all fabricated?" the director asked.

"Exactly, the Princesses are thousands of years old and had the time and resources to do so." the stallion said allowing the door to finally close.

"And yet the Lord Regent had us hunt the wizard down." the director pointed out, “What does that say about our master?”

“That he’s a little superstitious and possibly right.” The stallion said picking his words carefully, and trembling slightly.

“Fair enough” The director turned towards the now empty interrogation room and then asked, "Where did you have him taken?"

"The Under Dungeon." The stallion said without hesitation.

"An odd place for you to send something you don't believe is a threat."

"He was a mad stallion, you heard the story."

"Fair enough. I want your report on his interrogation and the reports from all the guards who have handled him on my desk A.S.A.P."

"Understood sir, but that could take a while, wouldn’t the lord regent want to be kept informed?" The stallion asked.

“He will be once you’ve got all the reports together, I’ll make sure of it.” He said allowing his subordinate to excuse himself and leave the room.

---

Starlight and company had joined a tour group and were being led through the shining palace of the Lord Regent. The tour guide spoke in a monotone as he led them through, "And if you'll look on your right you'll see one of the entrances to the kitchen."

The group was being led deeper into the palace as a suited stallion walked past them holding a folder. The white unicorn looked a little agitated as he passed the tour group. One of the fillies in the group took advantage of him not paying attention to where he was going and tripped him causing the papers of the folder to careen everywhere.

Long Lecture and Tender Touch went to help the unicorn pick up the papers, along with several other ponies in the group. Starlight didn't help, she was standing still focusing on one of the papers. The paper that had her grandfather's cutie mark on it, after a few seconds she started to help. As soon as they had finished and the child was reprimanded the stallion thanked them and continued on his way.

Starlight pulled her friends to the side of the tiled hall, "Did you see what was in that folder?" she asked.

"Yes it was a report of some kind, I did manage to read a bit of it. I think they took him to the lower dungeon."

Starlight pulled out a piece of paper and looked over it, "Actually I think it's the Under Dungeon" she corrected.

Tender looked over her shoulder and moved in between Starlight and the tour guide and pushed the paper down, "You stole one of his papers?" she said in a hushed tone.

"What's wrong? He doesn't know and it helps us find my grandfather faster."

---

The guards opened the steel door that hid the change from beautiful palace to craggy dungeon. As they led the Doctor through the stone brick corridors they passed by several runes, each time the runes would glow subtly then return to a passive states. "If you don't mind me asking? I am wondering why you have so many magic canceling runes carved into the walls. I mean you have enough carved to make even an Alicorn..." He paused, and the guards faces confirmed his new found suspicion. "You've got an Alicorn down here?! How in the universe did you manage that, the Lord Regent is a 'Regent'. How can you have a regent if you don't have royalty for him to be the regent of?!"

The guards didn't answer him. "What's the matter? To ashamed to answer the questions of an old man? Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're about to see the pony that you betrayed?" He asked mockingly.

One of the guards slammed him up against the wall and glared at him, "Don't speak to me about loyalty, my family knows loyalty and I've had enough of you and your questions! If I hear so much as a peep from you I'll cut out your tong!" He threatened.

The other guards put his hoof on the brash guards shoulder, "Stop! Ya'll know that you can't do that. Besides what would the point be?"

The other guard gave pause and looked at his friend, "Fine. But I better not here a sound from this foal."

The Doctor complied with the demands of the guard and continued down the hall, with the guards, in silent. Soon enough they stood in front of a cell with no bars and the guards ushered the Doctor inside. As soon as he entered the cell a translucent white force field appeared to block his escape. The guards left, leaving the Doctor alone with his thoughts.

Or so he had thought, a feminine voice spoke from the area beyond his cell, "So the 'Lord Regent' has another enemy?" the voice asked.

"I wouldn't know, I'm here because they think I'm somepony I'm not." The Doctor replied.

"Who do they think you are?” the unseen mare asked.

"Some wizard with a blue box."

"Well, do you have a blue box?" She asked.

"I guess I do, but I won't for long"

"Are you a wizard?"

"No! I would never call myself a wizard, I only have a basic understanding of magical theory."

"Do you have an hourglass cutie mark?"

The Doctor paused and pulled up his coat to see it, "Yes" he said weary of her reaction.

"Really?" she asked with a hint of pleading in her voice.

"Yes" The Doctor confirmed.

"Oh Doctor! Is it really you?!"

---

Their tour had just ended and Starlight, with an innocent looking face, walked up to the tour guide and asked, "Excuse me mam, but what is the Under Dungeon?"

The tour guide's face was in shock for a second then she returned to her normal smiling face, "It's what we call what's left of the old castle that this one was built on. We call it that because the dungeon was all that was left of it."

"Why? What destroyed the old one?"

"Shouldn't you know this?" the guide asked.

"I failed history and am regretting it."

"Well the war with the Welikens, they leveled the old castle."

"Is it still possible to get to the Under Dungeon?" she asked.

"No, not since three years ago, when the Lord Regent had it filled in with cement."

Starlight excused herself and rejoined her friends and told them what she had learned. Long Lecture spoke next, "So what are we going to do? Break into a now nonexistent place?"

"I think that's a lie. If the Under Dungeon was really gone, then they wouldn't take the Doctor there" Tender Touch said.

"Then we're going to need to find it."

---

"How did you know my name?" The Doctor asked.

"I think that's the least of our worries, if they have you then all hope of stopping the Regent is lost. Now that he has two hostages he could expand his control to several of the neighboring star systems." She said the worry evident in her voice.

"Really?" The Doctor said inspecting the translucent white force field, he placed his hoof on it and it rippled subtly. "I see, a thin cloud, held here by runes etched into the base of the doorway." He thought aloud.

"Yes, it's practically impenetrable, not even magic can pass through it." The voice said.

"I suppose it's protected against pegasus kicks by the magic canceling runes. But if it's designed to hold magic and at the same time be resistant to it. But fortunately for me..." He pushed his hoof through the cloud membrane and the rest of him fell through. "I'm very weak, when it comes to magic that is."

The Doctor walked to the cell next to his where he was a beat up pink alicorn sitting in the corner of the cell. The Doctor picked up a piece of stone that was resting at the corner of the wall and floor and reached to the side of the cell's door. He quickly etched several small 'X''s through the rune carved there, they weren't deep but they were enough to disrupt the spell and release the barricade. "You're free now Princess, feel free to escape."

---

Tender Touch had tried to take a painting off the wall and was now sitting in a room with a large mirror, and a rune carved above the door. She knew that Long Lecture and Starlight were only a few yards away in other rooms. But Tender knew the plan, all she needed to do was talk up how dangerous they all were and get sent into the Under Dungeon.

A bright pink pegasus walked into the room and set the empty folder she was carrying onto the table, smiling she said, "You are something new."

Tender's head cocked, "Something new? What does that mean?"

"You're not from this world, you don't have a passport, and you’re not listed in the intergalactic census. So Miss..." she trailed off to let Tender Touch say her name.

"Tender Touch."

"So Miss Tender Touch... Where did you come from?"

Tender Touch went with the story that they all had agreed on, "Just imagine how much work it would take to make three ponies not exist, erasing everything that those ponies are and represent. Who would have that power to make ponies disappear?"

The pink pegasus loosened her tie, "Are you saying you work for the Princesses?" she asked.

"I said no such thing..."

---

The Princess looked at the grey stallion that had released her, and she was slightly confused, "Doctor, you’ve regenerated?" she asked pleadingly.

He smiled at the Princess, "Not yet I haven't. Now come along Princess we have to leave."

She got up from her sitting position and limped over to him, "Did they beat you?" He asked his face showing contorting into something between sadness and anger. He offered his shoulder for her to lean on and keep off her leg.

"Yes, they did. But only the suited ones, the uniforms never did." She said throwing her foreleg around his neck. The Two ponies hobbled down the long hallway to the upper palace.

---

Long Lecture was holding himself just above the ground, several of his teeth were beneath him. His left eye was had a purple ring around it and he was certain that his right collar bone was, at the very least, fractured. The large pegasus stood over him and glared, "You will tell me who you are?"

Lecture smiled, "Never" the pegasus hit him with a left hook and Lecture turned all the way around before falling on his side. Lecture was kicked out with his hind legs and hit one of the pegasus's forelegs.

"You little..." He said before he was kicked again by Lecture. He flapped his wings once to get enough lift to stomp down on Lecture, he would have if Lecture didn't roll out of the way.

Lecture shot out his foreleg to break the pegasus's wing, as the stallion roared in pain the door opened and several uniformed guards came into the room. They grabbed Lecture and piled atop him.

---

As the guards escorted the group of three ponies to the dungeons of the new castle, Starlight and Tender Touch were hoof cuffed, but Long Lecture was in a strait jacket being carried by two ponies. The guards lead them past a metal door that none of the captured ponies would have noticed if not for the knocking, thud, thud, thud.

The guards were slightly confused and their leader pointed at an orange one and said, "Check out the door," Then pointing at the rest of the guards he said, "The rest of you secure the prisoners and get them to their cells."

The orange pony opened the door just a crack and immediately a blast of energy shot the door opened and all of the ponies were blasted against the wall. As the ponies slammed into the wall most of the ponies ended up falling atop each other, and somehow Long Lecture had managed to land on top of all the other ponies.

There was heavy breathing as the ponies began to regain to come out of their shock they could see the alicorn and the earth pony hobbling through the door. Starlight was the first to speak, "Grandfather!?" her face lit up at the sight.

Her grandfather on the other hoof was less then pleased to see her, "I told you to stay with the capsule." He said grimly. Then he saw Long Lecture tied up atop several guards, "Great, now Lecture's hurt, that's two ponies that cannot walk."

"Two?" Tender Touch asked before noticing that the pink mare had a hoof around the Doctor's neck, "Oh, you've made a friend."

Tender Touch may not have recognized the Princess but Long Lecture had seen this pony before, she had dropped off younger ponies at the school for gifted unicorns before. Sure she was older but she was still recognizable "Forgive nurse Tender Touch Princess, we've..." Lecture tried to think of an excuse for the lack of recognition form the nurse.

The Doctor quickly came up with a good enough reason, "We've been away and our nurse here doesn't pay attention to the news."

"Yes we've been away so you'll forgive us Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, I would bow but I'm a bit tied up at the moment." He said smiling at the familiar, yet different face of the Princess.

"Cadence will do my good stallion" Cadence corrected.

"Yes, your highness, Princess Cadence." Lecture corrected himself.

"So what's the plan?" Cadence asked giving the Doctor a sideways glance.

"Don't know, my plan went as far as the metal door." the Doctor explained.

"Well, grandfather you freed the Princess, why not finish the job." Starlight suggested.

"No! We've interfered enough and I refuse to continue." The Doctor said, finally remembering the one rule that he always had to follow.

The orange guard got up and cracked his neck attracting the attention of all the newly freed ponies. The guard stood upright at attention and saluted the Princess, "Mam it's good to see you free."

"Thank you Alexander, do you have a data pad?'

"Yes Mam" He answered pulling a small rectangle out of his uniform and handing it to the Princess.

"Thank you, my loyal subject." She said putting a pass phrase into the data pad.

The leader of the guards was stuck under several of his subordinates and Long Lecture shouted at Alexander, "You treacherous earth pony scum..."

Another guard in the pile interrupted him, "Shut your trap! If any of us is treacherous scum it's you Dust! You and I both know that the Lord Regent is was holding our Princess hostage!"

"You insubordinate fil..." the leader started before the other guard managed to readjust himself atop his commander.

"Quiet, you annoying foal." the guard said.

"Doctor I know you and the other Princesses are on bad terms right now so you better leave before they arrive to get rid of the Regent" Cadence said shooing the Doctor and his companions away.

"What? You know the other Princesses?" Tender Touch asked the Doctor.

"No, but we best leave, the last time I met one of them they broke the time capsule. I'd rather not be on the receiving end of her wrath if she could damage something that's nearly indestructible."

The group left Princess Cadence and the loyalist guards to their over through of the tyrannical Lord Regent, and quickly made their way back to the time capsule. They did have difficulty with Long Lecture as he couldn't walk due to his now clearly broken collar bone.

As soon as they entered the capsule Tender Touch went to work patching him up. The Doctor and Starlight however were in the consul room, "I'm sorry that you couldn't hear any of the songs." he apologized.

"Oh well... I didn't need to, after all what are a few songs compared to removing from power a tyrant who ruled with fear and oppression." She said resting her fore hooves on the consul.

"We didn't do anything like that, we simply escaped."

"Yes but you didn't have to let the Princess out of her cell, unless you two were in the same one, that is."

"No, I suppose your right, I did help her overthrow the Lord Regent."