Fall of the Doctor

by Sixes_And_Sevens

Strange Weather

Ditzy, meanwhile, now had to contend with the griffon that Scootaloo had outwitted earlier. She fluttered erratically around the room, darting hither and thither in corkscrew patterns as the griffon soared after her as well as he was able in the enclosed space. The pegasus led him around the room, sending him smashing into a cluster of the few diners still standing. When none of them stirred, Ditzy let out a sigh of relief. The room was still once more, the icy-eyed attackers lying in various states of disarray around the room. “What just happened?” Sweetie asked, shaken.

“I don’t know,” Ditzy admitted, landing on the floor, face grim. “But I do know that whatever is behind this has my daughter, and Celestia help them if they’ve hurt her. Come on, we need to get back to the TARDIS, find my husband, and get Dinky and Apple Bloom.”

She flew toward the door, but was taken by surprise when it flew open to reveal the head waitress, her blue eyes already trained on the pegasus. Ditzy didn’t even have time to react before she found herself on the ground, a hoof pinning her to the floor. There was a flash of light, and the smell of electricity hung heavy in the air. The remaining ponies looked on in horror. “What do we do?” Rumble asked, panic rising in his voice.

There was some faint shifting from a pile of unconscious diners, and all eyes were suddenly trained on it. “I’m going to suggest running?” Scootaloo said, her voice a few octaves higher than normal.

There was another shift in the pile of bodies, and a cold blue eye stared out at them. They needed no further encouragement.

The storm raged over Timbucktoo, the pounding winds causing the towering skyscrapers to sway dangerously. Button, Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Rumble raced down the streets of the agora, the angry shouts of vendors and customers left in their wake.

***

~Hello, Apple Bloom.

The yellow mare blinked. She blinked again. Nope, her eyes were open. It was just too dark to make any difference. “Who's there?”

~A Doctor.

“A doctor who?”

There was a dry chuckle, or there wasn't, and Bloom realized that whatever it was that she was talking to had never actually spoken aloud. ~Exactly.

A light, brilliant and red and painful and bloody bloomed in the darkness, stabbing at her eyes, her mind, her everything. ~Later, the voice promised. ~Not today. But if you live… later.

She tried to reply, but she couldn't. Her whole body felt cold and hard, and she couldn't move or speak or see anything beyond a faint, dark silhouette against the bright red light and

Apple Bloom’s ears were ringing. Her eyes fluttered briefly, then opened. She blinked once or twice— the world seemed to have gone grey and fuzzy. After a few moments, she deduced that either something had gone terribly wrong with her eyes or the world had, in fact gone grey and fuzzy. “Oh, good,” came a familiar voice, filled with relief. “You’re awake.”

The earth pony lifted her head up— the ringing in her ears made it feel as though her brain had been stuffed with marshmallow— to see Ditzy standing over her, and the Doctor and Dinky in other parts of the room. “Wha’ happened?” the filly muttered, holding a hoof to her head.

It appeared that the world had gone grey and fuzzy after all. The room looked as though it had been wallpapered with sheep. It wasn’t cramped, exactly, but the other inhabitants looked as though they were trying to give her space. The grey pegasus smiled, embarrassed. “I just don’t know what went wrong,” she sighed. “Well. Yes I do, but that’s not important right now.”

Apple Bloom squinted at the mare. “...Ya hit me with lightnin’, didn’tcha.”

Ditzy winced. “Um. Oops?”

Bloom sighed. “Well, that don’t really explain much more’n mah headache. Where are we? It looks like— like—” she searched for an accurate comparison. “Like a cloud,” she finally decided.

“There’s a very good reason for that,” said the Doctor. “Namely, the fact that it is, in fact, a cloud.”

Apple Bloom blinked. She nodded her head slowly. “Right…” she said. “So, this is a cloud.”

“Yes.”

“Floatin’ miles ‘n’ miles above the ground?”

“Yep.”

“Nothin’ keepin’ us up that we know ‘bout?”

“No.”

Apple Bloom nodded philosophically. “Ri’. Ah think Ah’m jest gonna start screamin’ now, an’ Ah ain’t sure when Ah’m gonna stop.”

Dinky quickly tackled her friend to the floor. “No,” she said forcefully. “No screaming. Screaming means disturbances, which means the guards come by, which means dealing with the blue-eyed zombies again. Do you want that?”

Wide-eyed, Apple Bloom shook her head in the negative. “So don’t scream,” Dinky said flatly.

Carefully, she let her friend go. Apple Bloom took a few breaths to recover herself. “So, how come we ain’t… y’know. Fallin’.”

The Doctor sighed, running his screwdriver along the wall. “Good question. I’m not actually sure yet. Seems like the sort of thing that’s best not to examine too thoroughly at present, so we don’t… y’know.”

“Fall to an untimely demise?” Dinky suggested. Apple Bloom let out a squeak of terror, and Ditzy gave her daughter an unamused glare. “Right, sorry.”

“Nothing’s been able to affect it. Not weather magic, nor earth pony or unicorn magic. It’s very unusual, whatever it is. Dinky can’t even teleport out.”

“Not that I’d really want to,” said the unicorn, shuddering. “I’d hate to overshoot.”

“So what now?” Apple Bloom asked.

The Doctor sighed. “Now,” he said, “We wait for something else to happen.” He pulled out a book, and sat back. “Hm. Anyone know a five-letter word for ‘spiral’?”

***

Scootaloo led the way through the bustling and busy bazaar back to their blue box. It was tough going, navigating through the throngs of ponies, gazelles, and other beings, but eventually they left the city limits— and stared in dismay when they saw the wind kicking up wild waves of sand in all directions. “You know,” Button said, staring up at the clouds, “I’m no expert, but I really think this weather’s a little unusual.”

“Ya don’t say,” Rumble retorted, rolling his eyes.

Sweetie, on the other hoof, took Button’s concerns a little more seriously. “You think it might have something to do with all that back at the restaurant?”

Button shrugged. “When dramatic music starts playing, you’re probably about to get into a boss battle,” he said seriously.

“You might have a point,” Scootaloo agreed. “A geeky point, but still.”

“Health or experience?” Sweetie joked, nudging Button in the side. He snorted with laughter for a second, but then choked and spat out sand.

“Okay,” Rumble said, glancing around, eyes squeezed almost shut. “We don’t have to go too far to get to the TARDIS. If we all keep our eyes closed, and stay in a line, I think we should be able to get there without too much trouble. I’ll lead. ‘Lane’s been teaching me some weather magic, and if I can shift the wind right, I should be able to keep it out of my eyes...” he focused, slowly tilting his wings up and down. He spluttered, spitting out granules as a spray of sand hit him in the face. “Okay, maybe not,” he grimaced, trying and failing to get all the sand out of his teeth.

“What if you blocked out the sand with your wings?” Scootaloo suggested. “Then whoever was behind you could see.”

Rumble spread his wings out, glancing from side to side. He nodded. “That could work,” he agreed. “Who wants to look for the TARDIS?”

There was a bit of shuffling. "I think Button has the best vision," Sweetie suggested.

"What about Scootaloo?" Button asked. "Pegasi have naturally good vision, right?"

Scootaloo made a 'so-so' gesture with her hoof. "On average, yeah, I guess," she agreed. "But I dunno. If Sweetie says you should be our eyes, I'm with her."

"Well, okay," Button said doubtfully.

Sweetie glanced at his stubby tail. “...I’ll take up the rear,” she said flatly, grabbing Scootaloo’s longer tail in her mouth.

The pegasus grimaced. “If you cut the cheese, I swear to Celestia…”

“I won’t!” Button protested.

Carefully, she clamped her teeth around the hairs at the very end of Button’s tail.

“Come on,” Rumble said shortly. “Let’s go, before those creeps from the restaurant find us again.”

An uproar erupted in the marketplace. “You just had to say that,” Button groaned. Quickly, he bit the grey pegasus’s tail. “Ow!” Rumble yelped.

“Srry,” Button muttered. “Nw go, go!”

Lifting his wings, Rumble stepped outside the city bounds, closing his eyes against the blasting sand. Button had to squint to see properly, but so far, it seemed like the plan was working. He nudged his friend forward, and they all set out, single file. “D’you thnk th’ll fllw us?” Sweetie struggled to enunciate.

Scootaloo merely shrugged, then realized that Sweetie couldn’t see. “H’pe nt,” she replied. Sweetie shuddered, and trotted along as quickly as she was able, eager to get into whatever cover the sandstorm could offer.

Comments

[Efadd]

that doesn't sound good.......

[Sixes_And_Sevens]

9459263
Which part?

[Coyote de La Mancha]

9461726
Dude. All of it.

[Sixes_And_Sevens]

9483935
Fair enough!

[SunflowerSwirl]

The Doctor sighed. “Now,” he said, “We wait for something else to happen.” He pulled out a book, and sat back. “Hm. Anyone know a five-letter word for ‘spiral’?”

Is 'helix' close enough?

[jimerjam]

Anyone know a five-letter word for ‘spiral’?

helix