Chapter 5
The Last Survivor
Celestia drew in a deep breath of the crisp midmorning air as she lay in her private spot of the Royal Canterlot Gardens. It was that wonderful time of day, just between the raising of the sun and the opening of Day Court, where Celestia had a few moments to herself to relax and enjoy some tea. As she brought the cup to her lips, she cast a longing look to a particular tower. Today they were testing applicants for the School of Gifted Unicorns. Oh how Celestia wished she could be involved with that rather than her other duties. The upcoming generation always had a magic about them that had nothing to do with unicorn horns. It was why she started the school in the first place all those years ago.
But Equestria was smaller back then and she had more time to devote to such things.
Celestia sighed just a bit as she took another sip of her tea. No use in getting sad over such a triviality, she reminded herself. You knew the job was difficult when you took it.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden loud sound. It was unlike anything she ever heard, but it was definitely the sound of something crashing into something else. She cast her eyes in all directions, searching for the source of the sound, when a flash of light from above caught her gaze. Looking up, she saw a small burning object falling through the sky, a black trail of smoke billowing in its wake. She watched in horror as the thing arced through the sky and crashed in a far corner of the garden. A brief moment later, her mind caught on to the significance of something her sharp eyes noticed as it fell.
Celestia's eyes widened as she leaped to her hooves. "Blue...?" she murmured, and with a powerful flap of her elegant wings, she was airborne.
~DrW~
"What do you think it is?" one of the guards asked his partner.
"'Ow the 'eck should I know?" the other guard responded. "I don't got no experience with things fallin' out of the blinkin' sky."
"Looks like a blue barn," a third voice spoke up. "Only smaller. And on its side. And, y'know, on fire."
The two guards looked down to see a young unicorn, just south of his teenage years, looking at the crashed object intently.
"Oi! Kid!" the second guard shouted. "Get away from that! Could be dangerous."
The young colt looked up at the guard defiantly, shaking his blue mane out of his eyes. "Name's Shining Armor, and I'm not a kid."
The guard picked Shining Armor up with his magic and tossed him away from the wreck. "I don't care if yer Prince Blueblood. Yer a kid, and this place is dangerous."
"Hey!" Shining Armor protested. "I was leaving! You didn't have to do that!"
The guard was about to reply when another young pony came charging into the scene. "Oh, yer highness!" the guard sputtered. "This little blighter a friend of yours?"
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza--Cadance to basically all who knew her--rolled her eyes. "Yes, he is. Was he causing you gentlecolts trouble?"
"No!" Shining shouted, causing the two guards to grin a bit.
Cadance gave a slight bow to the guards. "I apologize. He's normally much better behaved, but his sister is applying for the school today and he's a bit nervous."
"I'm not nervous!" Shining protested. "Twiley's got it in the bag. I just wanted to be there to see the show."
"Sure, sure," Cadance conceded with a playful grin. "Come on, you. You're bothering the nice stallions who are just doing their job. I swear I have to babysit you as much as I do Twilight."
With the young ponies leaving the scene, the guards were left with the problem of the unidentified blue object lying in the furrow it made in the dirt before them. "You think we should call UNIT?" the first guard asked.
"I guess," the second replied. "Stuff from the sky's their turf, isn't it?"
"That will be unnecessary," Celestia said as she landed behind them. "I'm quite familiar with this blue box, and I assure you the best thing to do is to cordon off the area for now and let it be."
The two guards stammered and stuttered at the surprise appearance of their ruler, but bowed and ran off to do as she subtly commanded. Celestia turned her gaze to the fallen TARDIS. "What happened to you?" she asked to herself.
Almost as if in response the double doors opened, belching out a new cloud of smoke, and out stumbled the Doctor. He had changed again, though all things considered this was no surprise. His coat was a dirty gray, and his black mane was cut so short as to be nearly shaved, adding further emphasis to his rather large ears. He was wearing a battered old old jacket, under which there was equally worn bandolier strapped to his chest. He looked up, a wild fear in his sky blue eyes, and giggled madly. "Little Celestia," he muttered. "I made it." Then he belched out a cloud of gold and fell to the ground, unconscious.
~DrW~
Everything around him was soft. Soft and comfortable. Should everything be soft and comfortable? Something about that seemed wrong, but he couldn't place a hoof on why. Maybe things would clear up if he opened his eyes? Oh yeah. That could work. Though it took far more effort than it should have, the Doctor managed to pry his eyes open. He was lying on a huge bed set in a room of marble and gold. Not the TARDIS. Where then?
The Doctor rolled to get out of bed and crashed rather spectacularly on the floor. Oh right. New body. Gonna have to get used to that. After floundering about for a minute, he managed to get to his hooves. A few more minutes of slow experimentation and he was walking more or less normally. Good. Now to go about getting back to the TARDIS.
It was a testament to how much the latest regeneration was still affecting his thought process that the Doctor immediately went for the door. It opened easily, not even unlocked, but on the other side were a pair of ponies, who were obviously guarding the room who looked at him with quirked eyebrows. The Doctor immediately reached for his... ah. No clothes. No clothes, no no bandolier. No bandolier no pockets. No pockets no sonic screwdriver. Fortunately, his somewhat muddled mind finally caught up with him and he recognized the golden armor and what it stood for. His face split into a wide smile, causing his eyes to squint into merry little slits, though one of the guards could have sworn he could see some deep sadness within. "Hello," the Doctor said brightly. "Take me to your leader?"
~DrW~
The late afternoon was warm and pleasant as two ponies wandered the maze that was the gardens. "And then the mechanical pony, he looks me in the eye, and says, bah-weep-grah-na-weep-nini-bong!" The Doctor laughed as he concluded his story.
Celestia chuckled a bit herself. "What does that even mean?"
"I have no idea! Can you imagine? The TARDIS can translate any and all languages, and I still have no clue what that means. I figure it's ether from a language as old as the universe, or complete gobbledygook."
Celestia allowed herself one more chuckle before giving the Doctor a thoughtful look. Over the last hour his strength had been returning, and he'd been talking almost nonstop over the last twenty minutes. But it was all inconsequential. Completely avoiding the subject he had to know she wished to breach. She sighed. Only one thing for it. "Doctor? What happened?"
The Doctor froze, his gaze far away.
"If it was just the regeneration, I'd leave it be. The way you risk your life, it's inevitable that it will catch up with you sometimes. But it's more than that. I've never seen the TARDIS crash like that. And you're traveling alone. And furthermore... well, I just know you. I can tell that you're hurting and trying to hide it. Please, let me help."
The Doctor kept his gaze averted for a few moments before deflating with a sigh. "How long has it been since you last saw me?" he asked.
Celestia pondered the question for a moment. "About sixteen years now, I think. You were a stumpy little thing and... you know you never did tell me why it was so imperative to have your friend in the coat blow a hole in the side of my castle."
The Doctor smiled a bit at the memory before growing somber once more. "Oh I've been gone a lot longer than that. Centuries even. To tell the truth, I don't even know how long. See, I was summoned home. All the Time Chargers were, from my granddaughter, to Romana, to that little repair colt we ran into a few times; remember him? See, there was a war brewing, and we all got drafted. The Time Chargers versus the Daleks with the fate of everything everywhere in the balance!" The Doctor finally made eye contact with his old friend, and she could see the weight of the ages in his cold blue eyes. "You're looking at the one and only survivor of that whole bloody mess."
Celestia brought a hoof to her mouth as she gasped. "Oh, Doctor..."
"Still," the Doctor continued, turning his back to Celestia and looking out over the horizon. "We're here talking about it, so I guess the good guys won, right? Hurrah for the home team."
Celestia was, for once in her long life, at a complete loss for words. The Doctor was one of her dearest friends, and she wanted more than anything to be able to offer some form of comfort, but what comfort could she give in the face of that? She thought she knew something about loss and sacrifice, but the sheer scale of it...
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud boom that echoed over Canterlot. Princess and Time Charger both spun to see the cause of it, and saw a large expanding ring of prismatic light erupting in the sky some distance past Ponyville. "A Sonic Rainboom?" Celestia asked incredulously. "I haven't seen one of those in decades."
"No," the Doctor murmured as a small smile began to play on his face. It suddenly dawned on him what day it was, and to arrive now of all times...
Another loud crash, this one much closer to home, caused Celestia to spin again. Now she was confronted with the sight of a huge purple dragon poking his head out a newly formed hole in one of her towers. "That's..."
"The School for Gifted Unicorns," the Doctor finished. When Celestia turned and gave him a quizzical look, he shooed at her with his hoof. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go on. The TARDIS is still reformatting herself so I can't go anywhere even if I wanted to. I'll still be here when you get back."
The Princess gave a brief nod before launching herself in the air and flying off toward the disturbance. The smile on the Doctor's face widened even further as he turned and watched as the Rainboom petered out of existence. What a day! Historians would grant it a particular importance just as the day Celestia first met her most faithful student Twilight Sparkle. Some would mention it as also being the day that the Sonic Rainboom was seen for the first time in generations. Very few knew the true significance of the day, though. None would write about how, in various parts of Equestria from Manehattan to a rock farm in the country to a querry outside Ponyville and even here in Canterlot Castle, six young mares were at this very moment receiving their cutie marks--or at least having the revelation that would lead to it.
Thus would the six most important mares in modern Equestrian history be linked in a way science could not explain, yet was so very real. To those very few who had any idea, it could easily be argued that today was the day that Equestria's Magical Age really began. And here the Doctor was, witnessing it. It was a reminder of why he began traveling in the first place. His eyes glinted with the mad gleam that years of conflict had nearly extinguished and one word came to mind to describe his feelings.
"Fantastic."
9th doctor pony yay
I would imagine being witness to that day and knowing about it would be very..well...Fantastic!
Yay 9th doctor!! He's Fantastic!
>inb4 discord and doctor confrontation
I would have preferred a few more of the old versions, but I guess
earsEccleson is alright.Another brilliant chapter, my lad.
1514470
Time Travel, remember? Anypony besides 1 and 2 can be written into the story, since that's the form he first met Celestia in, as I'm sure you recall.
1514497 I never said I assumed that there would be no more old ones, I just said I prefer the old ones. (Though in terms of the TV series, the newer ones are pretty damn good)
1514511
My mistake then, sorry 'bout that.
1514515 It's alright, if you watched my youtube videos you'd know I've made many worse ones. (Peanut butter and cheese toasted sandwiches were not a mistake)
FANTASTIC! Chapter
If you would believe me, the 9th doctor is the one who put me in the Doctor Who fanbase. I was 12 at that time.
1514470
Trust me, if I had the ideas for more old Doctor chapters, I'd have written them. But, much like how I couldn't come up with a chapter for every episode of Season 1 to go into A Friend of the Night, I just couldn't think of anything to do with 6, 7, or 8. I mean, there's the obvious gag of Ace blowing a hole in the castle, but I couldn't come up with a good story to go with it. I figured having good coherent story chapters was more important than fitting in all the Doctors.
I have written this in such a way as to imply that the two have had more encounters than I've written down, so if I do get any more ideas, I may add them on.
Am I the only one who understands the universal greeting?
*munches on Energon chips*
1515042
i understood it, i'm surprised they used it here
bring one the tenth doctor go David Tennant
Yay! The Ninth Doctor is one of my favorites.
But I know this won't end well for him.
9th doctor!
Keep it up.
Transformer references for the win!
Good chapter, though the Doc does seem a bit too...... cheery about his race dying out.
Yes! 9th Doctor!
Well, you could have Six be his usual "Charming" self, and have Peri Pony constantly have to apologize.
Sweet!
1514457 Depending on how much The Doctor is willing to cheat i.e. how ticked he is that could be a very short confrontation.
The Doctor is volunteered to chaperone Cheerilee's class on there visit to the castle gardens. Everypony young and old doesn't quite know what to make of the quirky "historian". Discord breaks free, Equestria slowly slips into chaos and the children are moved to a safe location in the castle. Having finally gotten the children settled talking and playing (mostly) quietly, The Doctor slips out a book something to distract himself as he cannot leave these children vulnerable to Discord's influence while they were charged to his protection. Discord finishes his little maze game sends the Elements of Harmony defeated back towards Ponyville before deciding to visit in to thank the ponies who helped along his escape, even if it was mostly due to the Elements changing bearers. He appears in the room chuckling evilly reaches towards a filly to corrupt her when a voice pops up from behind him. "Discord you are an ancient and powerful being" he glances up for a moment from his book before returning to reading "nearly as old and in certain circumstances nearly as powerful as me. If you threaten those foals I will stop you, but with your power it would not be an easy fight." The Doctor nonchalantly turns a page as ponies, chaperones, guards and children all stare at him in confusion, and one Draconequess in mounting horror. "As a matter of fact to defeat you I would almost certainly have to put down my book" He finally looks Discord in the eyes "I might even lose my place." Discord screams "I'm to pretty to die!" and dives through a closed window that was not previously on the wall. The Doctor goes back to his book snorting "That young punk always was such a drama queen."
1514457
Won't happen here, but my other Doctor Whooves story, that's another matter...
Ok, I have to read this - but have thumbs up now just for a cover with Best Doctor
I personally like 9 and 10. They had that sort of madness about them that made me giggle. 11 was nice too. He was quite possibly my second favorite next to 10.
NO!!! I WANT TENNANT!!! HIS IS MOST EPIC DOCTOR-PONY!!!
1528036
There will be a Tennent themed chapter, don't worry. In the meanwhile, check out my other Doctor story: A Storm of Chaos. It's a full-fledged Doctor Who adventure set it the same basic continuity as this one. And it's all Tennent.
1532254
THANK YOU KIND SIR!!!!! *hugs you and cries into your sholder* YOU ARE AMAZING!!!
The late afternoon was warm and pleasant as two ponies wandered the maze that was the gardens. "And then the mechanical pony, he looks me in the eye, and says, bah-weep-grah-na-weep-nini-bong!" The Doctor laughed as he concluded his story.
Celestia chuckled a bit herself. "What does that even mean?"
"I have no idea! Can you imagine? The TARDIS can translate any and all languages, and I still have no clue what that means. I figure it's ether from a language as old as the universe, or complete gobbledygook."
I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!!!! i also love this story and look forward to more, but this was just too freakin funny! Im gona take a wild guess and say he met Kup? He seems to use the universal greeting more than most.
1515042 how? lol sometimes i don't even think the species who use it understand it.
And so ends one Legend, another carries onward alone, and a new one begins!
And you captured the personality of the doctor and put it here!
Perfect I say! Perfection is what you have achieved!
Well done!
Oh, here's one! You could have one of the Doctors (I'd vote for 6, just because his insane jacket needs to be commented on) give relationship advice to Shining Armor, while looking back on his relationships with his companions, or The Rani, or even The Master.
Mayhaps the First or Second Doctor speaking with a young Granny Smith.
I held off reading this last chapter. This was a jewel of a chapter.
And now we come to the modern age of the Doctor, when the bad@$$ness REALLY ramped up.
FANTASTIC!
eeeecclllleeessttooonnn!!!!!!!!!!!!
all of my yes
now we need tennent...and tis complete
i guess when you travel time and you see and know the major events in history take place you would have a great appreciation for it when it does take place
Simply Fantastic!
the Ninth Doctor, brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
WAAAAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I'm geeking out here! The Ninth Doctor!! Awesome, or as he would say...."Fantastic."
Must get Netflix... must see doctor who... Seriously, I've been wanting to get into it, and my family has been considering it, but it's gotta happen!
1574392 - I would love to see what Rarity's reaction to Six's 'explosion in a rainbow factory' jacket would be. The poor thing would probably have a spaz attack.