The Story of a Madman and his Box

by Crimson_Moon

The Secret Hall and His Story Told

Author's Note:

ALERT: PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING
The statements in this chapter eventually skew into an alternate timeline, thus making it not Canonical to the actual lore of Doctor Who.

Most of the statements used in this chapter are taken from Doctor Who's "Day of the Doctor" Anniversary Special. As such, I am obligated to say I am in no way affiliated with the BBC and am only using the movie lines for story development. For clarification, (And possibly to rid fans of re-reading the quotes from the movie) the fictional part of the story begins after The Doctor tells The Moment to "Stop calling me Doctor."

"What's this mural for, Celestia? I haven't seen it before." Twilight was always curious, and taking a look at new things increased that curiosity tenfold. Much like the close few ponies who knew of the hall, and rarely roamed it, the murals were different from the normal happy ones usually displayed within the stained glass. The hall itself was sealed with every spell known to exist, and even some ones yet to be rediscovered until Starswirl's works are found. It had no connections to the outside world, save for a portal, smaller than a pocket watch, yet larger than anything ever seen. Bigger on the inside. Princess Celestia internally chuckled. All fun aside, she stared back at the mural. Not one single inch of it was at all happy. The image before the two depicted a lone figure, shrouded in shadow to hide his identity, atop a massive pile of the dead. It wasn't just ponies, either. There were metallic creatures with protruding eye-stalks flickering and withering away, screeching in fear of the figure atop their new graves.

"Do you remember the Hall of Stories in Canterlot, Twilight?" her student nodded.

"Yes, each mural held a story, right? There was the one where Me and my friends defeated Nightmare Moon, there was also the one about Discord, and..." Catching on, the purple alicorn figured out what the murals were for.

Smiling was a facade when thinking of Him. He was everything that inspired Celestia to rule, and more. Yet, those last words spoken with Him long ago; they changed her into something better. YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER BANISHED HER! SHE WAS SICK! SHE WAS YOUR SISTER, AND SHE WAS SICK! Even when remembering, Celestia cringed at the echoed words. I'm done helping you. You twisted my friendship into a sick fantasy of me taking you under my wing. From this point forward, you are to regret what was done, just as I have in my travels. My last parting gift. You want to learn by following my footsteps, so you will learn. Regardless of the raw emotion she felt, Celestia stayed strong in the eyes of her pupil, confident that she will not make her into a fool as well. Holding back tears, Celestia began. "Let me tell you a story..."

---

No More... The words echoed in the old man's mind. In his TARDIS, The Doctor started recording a message, broadcasting on all frequencies, Time Lord and Dalek alike. He was old, older than the rest. His spilled blood poured age into his eyes, his grey hair reflecting the lifetime of regret he would have for the rest of his life because of the choice he needs to make on this day. "Time Lords of Gallifrey, Daleks of Skaro, I serve notice on you all. Too long have i stayed my hand." his raspy voice echoed throughout the empty hallways of his stolen vessel. "No more. Today, you leave me no choice. Today, this war will end. No more. No more..." The message delivered, his sentence finished, he stepped out of his stolen companion with a rucksack filled with the only machine capable of stopping this madness. It was simply known as the moment, the last of a vast assortment of technologies created by the Time Lords of Old. His destination was a decrepit shack amidst the middle of a desert devoid of life. 3 miles he walked, contempt in making his choice of leaving the TARDIS far away enough that she won't have to witness the foulest deed The Doctor has ever committed. He opened the door, barely staying on its hinges, and emptied the contents of the sack in the middle of the room. "I was here as a child," He said to no one in particular. "I had a nightmare." Clear of his reminiscing, the old warrior walked towards the object, observing it closely. It ticked away like a clock, and yet the mechanism had no clear interface to activate it. "Now, how do you work?" he turned it on every side, looking for anything at all he could use to access it. "Why is there never a big, red button?" Grunting in frustration, he turned around, shaking his head. Maybe this was a waste of effort. He thought.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound outside the door. That can't be right. He opened the old wooden door, looking all around for anything that could make such a noise. "Hello?" he yelled into the quiet dunes. Risking lives isn't what The Doctor took lightly, especially if they were innocent. "Is somebody there?"

"It's nothing." The voice was female, full of so many emotions. "It's just a wolf."

His fear was confirmed, there was somebody else out here! Worst of it all was the woman was sitting on the sole object capable of destroying the entire planet! "Don't sit on that!"

"Why not?" the mysterious girl asked.

"Because it's not a chair, it's the most dangerous weapon in the Universe!" He grabbed the woman by her arms and ushered her outside the old cabin, hoping that she would flee from his words.

"Why can't it be both?" The woman was immediately back, and sitting yet again on the doomsday machine. The Doctor never got surprised anymore, living for 300 years could do that to a man. However, shock was a better description of what his face was showing. The woman showed a mock expression, almost taking enjoyment out of this. Almost like it was a game to her.

"Why'd you park so far away?" like a schoolgirl, a curious tone drowned her question. "Don't you want her to see it?" a smile crept onto her face.

"Want who to see?" It was clear now that the old man wasn't dealing with any ordinary woman.

"The TAAAAARDIS." She whispered, her smile turning slightly wicked. "You walked for miles!" His plain look felt darker. It didn't change, it just felt... more serious. "And miles, and miles, and miles."

"I was thinking!" he frustratingly exclaimed.

Her smile stopped. "I heard you."

Frustration morphed into curiosity on The Doctor's face. "You heard me?"

"No more." Her expression soon turned playful.

"No more." her body danced with the words, like a child learning a new word.

The words echoed once again in his withered, old head. No more...

"NO.MORE." she marched playfully around.

The words echoed louder this time. No More...

The more she said it, the more The Doctor hated those words. "Stop it!" he exclaimed.

"No more." she playfully replied. The woman's smirk indicated that this was no more than a game to her. Almost as if she called his bluff. Her actions, her movements; it all screamed at him "I Know you're faking! You will never be done!" It was manic, in a sense.

"Who are you?" He wanted to know. No, he NEEDED to know. This new entity before him seemed neither friend nor foe. The Moment whirred to life again, its mechanisms growing louder. "Its activated, get out of here." Regardless of the playfulness this being had before him, safety was still his concern. He knelt down to figure a way to stop the machine, inspect its parts. Once his hands touched the console however, they burned his hands, causing him to yelp in pain.

Concerned, the entity asked "What's wrong?"

"The interface is hot." He replied.

"Well, i do my best." the playful smirk returned.

Still trying to make sense of the machine, he explained to the entity what he knew. "There's a power source inside-" Wait, "I do my best"?

Suddenly, it made sense. The playfulness, the innocence, the noises, even her teleporting back into the room! She was The Moment, and The Moment was She. "You're the interface?"

"They must have told you The Moment had a conscience." He couldn't believe it! Most Time Lord relics were just fairy tales to their true power, but the tales about this final gift from the Ancient Gallifreyans seemed to become less legend, and more truth.

With a friendly smile, she waved, and excitedly said "Hello!"

"Aw, look at you. Stuck between a girl and a box. Story of your life, eh Doctor?"

He traveled the stars with numerous female companions in his "Police Box" and he was sure more was to come. "You know me?"

Her expression turned serious yet again. "I hear you." Fear drowned his eyes slightly. "All of you, jangling around in that dusty old head of yours. I chose this face and form especially for you." She motioned towards her body. "It's from your past. Or possibly your future, I always get those two mixed up."

"I don't have a future." His tone turned melancholy. She obviously didn't care, and went on babbling.

"I think I'm called" She struggled with the words. "Rose Tyler."

"No, sorry. In this form, I am called-." Her eyes began to glow. "Bad Wolf. Are you afraid of the Big, Bad, Wolf, Doctor?"

"Stop calling me 'Doctor'."

"Well, that's the name in your head."

"It shouldn't be." Nothing was more melancholy than the old man's words.

"Never say never." Bad Wolf chuckled.

"How do you know what I am about to do?"

Her tone turned serious again. " 'And so it was written that The Moment may pass Judgement on those who seek its power, blah...blah...blah'."

"...You can read my timeline." This earned a smile from the Interface.

"Surprise!" she excitedly yelled. Then, her face fell once more, and her eyes glowed yet again. "At least, one of them."

One of them? "You need to start making sense, young lady."

"Uh, hello? Centuries old Doomsday machine?" she sarcastically questioned.

"Right, sorry."

"As for your timelines, We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

---

"What happened next, Celestia?" Her faithful student asked.

"I-I'm afraid it will be too much to handle..." She has a right to know. Her mind and her heart worked to the brim trying to fight one another.

With a sigh of defeat, she answered her Stud-peer. "Do you ever think 'what would happen if I were given a choice I didn't want to make, but had to'?" A shaking of the young mare's head confirmed her suspicions. "He had to make that choice..."

---

He stood before the box yet again, contempt on the choice that he didn't want to make, but the choice that needed to be chosen. A large ruby, blanketed on several corners with golden fittings, it glowed and protruded from The Moment. "You did say you wanted a big, red button." Bad Wolf forlornly exclaimed.

"I do this for the sake of the Universe." No more running. No more fighting. No more adventures. No more...

She stood behind the crate, staring at him with sad eyes. "Are you sure of your choice?"

Sadly, he nodded. His old, weary hand shook towards the button that would doom him for the rest of his waking days. "You know the sound the TARDIS makes? That wheezing, groaning?" He took his eyes off the infernal button, and stared longingly at the entity calling herself "Bad Wolf".

"For a lot of people, it brings hope." His eyes brightened.

"Yes, I like to think so." Suddenly, the trademark groaning of his beloved TARDIS began to make itself heard.

"It brings hope... Even to you, Doctor." The TARDIS materialized behind him, and threw open its doors, calling him to take refuge and fly away, just like all the other times he has. "Run you clever boy, and Never Forget." She held out her hand, sending a blast of energy, knocking The Doctor unconscious in his time machine, and causing the vessel to de-materialize.

Hours later, he awoke nearby the console, blood dripping out of his skull. Dazed, he slowly got up, and switched the monitors on, only to witness the most emotionally scarring scene he would ever face- the destruction of his people and his home-world, Gallifrey. The brief two seconds, he saw his planet just like it was back before the Time War. It shimmered in the light of its sun, its red grass glowing with radiance and purity. Then, a bright light engulfed the entire planet, causing it to slowly implode "NO! NO NO NO NO NO!" Tears were flowing down his wrinkled cheeks as the regeneration began. The whole time, her words echoed in his mind, and the image before him never tore from his eyes. He slowly lost his face to someone else, someone contempt on helping people. Someone contempt on being a Doctor- The Doctor he could never be, and so, his old face was buried in the subconscious, never again to resurface. Never would The Doctor allow himself to remember the coward he once was.

---

Celestia's facade was no longer present. There was no more use in pretending when the secret was finally out to another. Twilight Sparkle sat on her haunches, tears threatening to stain her coat. "S-so this man, he... H-h-he..."

A forlorn sigh escaped the Sun Princess' throat. "Yes, Twilight. The Doctor doomed himself to isolation in order to save everyone else. H-he... murdered his kind in order to keep the Universe safe."

"W-why are you s-showing me these murals, P-princess?" The purple alicorn was intensely sobbing now, feeling sorry for the pony in the mural.

"Because, Twilight- It is a reminder of who I almost turned into."