Part of the Wibblyverse Continuity.
Part ten of Doctor Whooves: Friendship is Wibbly Series 1
Previous Story: Vacation to a Pleasant Country Retreat
Next Story: Fall of Empire
Scootaloo can't fly, and she needs to know why. A confrontation with her aunts and an accident with the TARDIS sends her back to ancient Pegasopolis, in the years leading up to the unification of the tribes. However, if a fiendish plot succeeds, that event may never come to pass. An old school foe of the Doctor is on the scene, and her latest experiment may spell doom for Equestria as we know it.
Violence tag for robot soldiers, potential futures coming back to ensure their existence, and mentions of war.
Gore tag for accidental vivisection/dissection depending on how you look at it.
Death tag for implied or offscreen demises.
Also features brief mentions of racism, ableism, and homophobia, as well as infidelity, biomechanical fusions, and gratuitous flashbacks.
Skyzantium? I like it, though I usually call the pre-Pegasopolitan culture the Pegaponysian League. (The capital is, of course, Spurta.)
The Rani...
(One Googling later)
Oh. Oh dear. No one tell Twilight about her; the Rani would probably have to regenerate multiple times before anyone could pry the righteously infuriated alicorn off of her.
You don't often see "geld" as pony profanity. It certainly works, but it implies that they've done it at some point. Well, every history has its dark spots...
She's going to do something awesome with math in this story, isn't she?
The less said about her "inner alicorn," the better.
Ah. I was wondering what meteorology entailed in a country with manufactured weather. Essential but grueling busywork... real nice suggestion there, professor.
And Scootaloo's parents aren't exactly globehopping zoologists in this timeline, as she just discovered. Oh, this is going to get a lot uglier before it clears up, and that's before even getting into the historical issues.
Also, is Scootaloo still unmarked even in college?
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I want to groan, but I can't disrespect a pun like that. Good show.
And yes, Scootaloo is still markless, as is Sweetie Belle. It's rather unfortunate for them, and quite uncommon in Equestria, but not entirely unheard of.
Well there's a story.
If you're going to love the Doctor, you'd best be able to charm his first wife.
Gee, I wonder what's going to cause the problem.
And that part's canon!
Oh dear. They really need to bring Pinkie more often, just so she can tell when the camera lingers like this.
The "Coprus" was delightful bit of levity in an otherwise ominous scene.
The pieces are in place. Time to see how things unfold. And if the present briefly fluctuates as shenanigans in the past unfold.
Ponies apparently had a Byron. And I'd expect a former weather coordinator to be able to guess from tempestuous, but that's neither here nor there.
And how old was Heat Wave at the time?
I have several questions and concerns.
That's nopony's business but the Turks.
I think I can guess one of Cyclone's descendants. That said, thank you for not making Hurricane and Pansy clones of Dash and Fluttershy.
This is a good sentence. I'm glad it's here.
Everything's starting to get nicely complicated. Well, "nicely" isn't the word for it, but you're doing an excellent job of ramping up expectation. Looking forward to more.
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Nero fiddling while Rome burns is a constant in every universe. Of course, this requires Rome to be able to be burned...
Lord Byron is, of course, another universal constant, and his daughter, Lace Love, wrote some very interesting papers which may eventually get around to influencing the development of Equestria...
And, while Hurricane is about as far from Rainbow Dash as you could get while still possessing wings, and Pansy is fairly Fluttershyesque, Senator Pluto Crassus is, in fact, the great-great-great-great-great... etc. grand-uncle of Filthy Rich. Funny how these things work out, isn't it?
Every time I see the Hoofia Sofia mentioned, I imagine a blue-coated historian stallion going "Good. Dome." Overly Sarcastic Productions is a delight.
Pinkie approves of this organizational schema.
They're mimes and clowns. Why are they mimes and clowns? I am not okay with this.
Curious. What change rippled out to stop Scootaloo from launching herself into Rainbow Dash's childhood front lawn? Mind you, this appears to be a timeline where Dash's mother is Firefly rather than Windy Whistles, so there's clearly more than just that afoot.
Ohhhh. This isn't the Hippodrome, it's the Cirrus Maximus.
Very interesting. This isn't just amoral science for amoral science's sake.
I do like Applejack's title. She's a Chairpony of Harmony because she's one of the ponies with a chair.
Everything's coming to a boil. Looking forward to more.
10081294
Unfortunately, it just means that I've uploaded the wrong version of the chapter. That's what I get for writing this story before Parental Glideance aired. Fixed now, thanks for pointing it out.
I like OSP, too, especially their review of Lovecraft.
Ba-dum-tsss
Oh dear. The city of gladiator clowns just found its Spartacus.
In any case, this is twisting in a number of unexpected directions. Eagerly looking forward to more, especially what the spell-reflecting hippoid implies about the Rani's plans.
And more comes to light, from Holiday's continued tryst to Ditzy meeting the Rani. And that honestly went better than I expected. Good thing Ditzy's used to Gallifreyans in general, if not this one in particular.
As for the Doctor, if it's not one thing, it's another. And that other has a very sharp sword on his person. If nothing else, the Watcher may be content to sit and... well, watch.
Also, no "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" means no hatchet-burying, even after all these years. Though from the sound of it, Diamond and Silver never actually apologized. Still, they have other things on their minds. Poor Filthy...
Looking forward to more.
I have to love how, even when the Doctor's delighting in the idea of siccing Hurricane on his preincarnation, he can't resist calling himself "the most dangerously crafty one of us all.”
Always a warning sign when the Doctor doesn't recognize someone who's supposed to be a historical figure. (We already know she's the Rani, but this should get the alarm bells ringing for him.)
So... is the narrator also a draconequus, or just lemony? Also, I have to think that Sunset deliberately applied censor bleeps to her own dialogue.
Unless she was already with Lofty, she wasn't the one having an affair. Still, an unexpected twist that raises a lot of questions.
Also, it almost seems like the invading cyborgs weren't the Rani's idea. Whose, then? I suppose we'll see in time.
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Chaos gods and the fourth wall just generally do not get along.
New reader I just finished reading and I just want to say that you have managed to combine two of my favorites shows into some of the most exciting stories I have read. I am gonna to track this story and I cant wait to read more
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Thank you so much! I'm so pleased you like them.
Pegasi have lungs in their bones? I can't say I've ever seen that proposed before.
Unfortunately, the cyberpegasi don't have convenient ichor plugs in their hind legs.
Indeed. Not the Time Lord you should be concerned with.
... Though now that Hurricane's said that, I find myself wondering how he'll end up eating those words.
"And I cannot in good conscience permit an irreplaceable resource such as you to risk herself on such a regular basis for what could ultimately be a waste of time. Cease these experiments immediately and report back to me in three moons on improved safety procedures."
)
(Of course, then we wouldn't have a story.
In any case, we're really getting into the meat of things, and I don't just mean the soldier Twilight and Sunset pulled apart. Looking forward to more.
10106185
I based it on the respiratory system of birds! Flying means they need more oxygen intake than mammals, so they require a larger and more efficient respiratory system. That's why bird bones are hollow. Here's an article explaining it.
"What is it?"
"You're going to need to see it."
"Can't you tell us now?"
"Trust me. You're going to need to see it."
"This seems very inefficient."
"Twilight."
"I just played 'They Love Me, They Love Me Not' with a cadaver, Bonbon. I need to compartmentalize that somehow."
Oh dear. She's probably doomed in the short term.
Oh. Oh. I was wondering when in metatime we might see the ripples.
Ladies and gentlemen, one of the few beings who can give pre-Ponyville Twilight Sparkle a run for her money in terms of absent social skills. At least Celestia managed to beat some courtesy into that skull.
And a new wrinkle shows itself. There are more steps we're not aware of. This could get very strange indeed...
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Yeah, that part's always the most fun to do honestly.
One of the many benefits of a Gallifreyan upbringing!
Yup. Metatemporal assimiliation that would do the Borg proud. Goodness knows how else the ripples might spread.
Ah yes, the glorious griffon revolution. I wonder if Sunset and Trixie have been by yet.
Scootaloo has a point. She wasn't the only one pretending a problem wasn't there.
A reasonable assumption given the company she keeps.
It's like I put on every card with the ability:
Alicorn (This card is also a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.)
Sorry, Twi, but you fall under the appropriate umbrella.
Oh, the zombie was a prototype. That makes sense... though it escaping into the modern day still doesn't.
I'm given to understand the Doctor's name is kind of a big deal, so I take it that Theta is more of a nickname.
I can't say I'm surprised. Even if the teacher weren't a flight supremacist, Equestria wasn't exactly the most outward-looking nation back then.
And there's the question Dash can't even think to ask: Does Scootaloo still need her protection?
Uh, we didn't see any other kidnappings. Besides Ditzy and Scootaloo.
And something terrible's a-brewing in the present. As I said, the ripples could spread in many ways. Cyberlegionnaires are far from the only possible pegasus superweapon the Rani could put together.
Everything's coming to a head. Possibly a thunderhead. Looking forward to more.
10115231
Yeah, The Doctor's nickname at school was Theta Sigma. Koschei is the Master, and the Rani is Ushas.
"What fun would that be?" scoffed Bonbon.
"But you haven't heard the rest."
"I haven't, but the readers have. Besides, this is for your benefit."
Oh boy. Yeah, cyberized pegasi everywhere do imply a nastier course of history.
It was actually the opposite, but both were dealing with the temporal alterations and unavailable for comment.
Ditzy gets all the Time Lords.
The grafts are still in the purely theoretical stage.
Hoo boy. Good news, Scootaloo's airborne. Bad news, there's a cyberplague running rampant. This will get very messy indeed.
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This is very true. Romana writes fanfiction about her. The Master has a plush Ditzy that they cuddle at night, which no one has seen and lived to tell the tale. Iris Wildthyme has seduced Ditzy Doo in seventeen and a half alternate universes and counting. Someday she'll go to Gallifrey and the rubbish orange planet will destroy itself once again under the strain of all the repressed emotions.
Well, fudge nuggets.
There's a factor to consider. Heck, do any of the retroactively converted pegasi have them?
At least he hasn't performed total protonic reversal.
Oh, fudge nuggets. Nice work, Rani, you went and made this a Star Trek crossover.
Yeah, this is looking bad from every conceivable angle. Looking forward to seeing how they salvage anything from this situation.
That's always an encouraging chapter title...
Unexpectedly inspiring speech from the Rani. The fact that she's also a less than aerially capable pegasus at the moment helps.
In his defense, that never stopped Pinkie Pie. On the other hand, Pinkie Pie.
I love asides like this that flesh out the world beyond the story. To say nothing of Scootaloo trying to shut up her own internal monologue before arguing over which bit of her got to be narrator and which commentator.
In any case, gripping stuff. Looking forward to seeing the outcome of the Electric Scootaboom.
Yeah, as a history major, ponifying weird historical events is basically one of my favorite things to do. Also, as a fairly anxious person, trying to wrest control of my internal monologue is also a fairly common real-world experience.
She also doesn't sugarcoat things, which is exactly what Scootaloo needs. She already knows the outcome perfectly well, so she won't stand for any more baseless hopes being thrown around.
People don't generally go above and beyond Tennant's regeneration on Fimfiction
Huh. Hurricane did pull a Pandora, didn't he?
*innocent harmonious whistling*
I know, I know, Nero needs something to burn, but this sentence is still surreal.
Heh. Though that would be MCM-hours. Also, Pansy is very good at a job she officially doesn't have. Which is part of how you know she's good at it.
Somehow I doubt that.
And the penny drops... and Diamond refuses to accept the small change. In multiple senses. Tragic.
Oh dear. That's not a promise, that's a prophecy.
One heck of an epic struggle, with plenty of questions left unanswered for next time. Though I don't think we ever got a description of Scootaloo's cutie mark, assuming she even got it. Or I'm just channeling my inner derp.
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"Unforgivable" is a word in the dictionary, between "unfair" and "unknown"
IDKY because everyone defines it for themselves.
Not bad, a little boring a couple of times, but not bad
And now the Rani? How many Time Lords are there in Equestria? At this point it's getting kinda ridiculous. Who's next, the War Chief? I'd say you were running out of them, but I'm confident that the novels and audio stories have plenty you could draw from.
Romana, the Monk, and the Rani: "Are we a joke to you?"
Well then. Things have gotten very wibbly wobbly, timey wimey. And concerning. I think that maybe, shunting one of the most powerful races to ever live, just after they'd got done fighting the biggest war(or wars, if we take the novels into account) in the history of the universe, so far into the future of the universe they have nothing to do, might not have been the best idea.
Hmm, this "Watcher" doesn't sound like good news at all. It's not even a Watcher, really, they only watch, it's in the name. This is a... I'm not sure what it is. Could be the Valeyard, especially considering exactly where this incarnation sits in terms of regenerations, but but something about that seems a bit off.
In other news, should I be concerned that ancient Pegasus mythology is just Graeco-Roman mythology almost verbatim? Is that a parallel universe thing, or something more? (and was the Doctor involved?)
You know, I don't think "altering the history of Equestria so that it was dominated by cybernetic pegasi" fits in with that whole "non-intervention policy" the Time Lords used to be so keen on. Buncha stuffy old hypocrites.
Do I even want to know how that works?
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holy shit these dudes are advanced
a paper time machine
built by a student
to annoy his teachers
in the middle of class
An evil version of the Watcher? A dark potential.
You are leading up to the Valeyard. I can smell it.
I really liked your version of the Rani. A Scientist. Usually amoral. But maybe not so much in this regeneration. Given that Timelords are so long lived, I wouldn't be unsurprised if she popped back up again. Likley after being involved in equestrian history.
...
Food some reason I have a really odd image of the Rani and the Monk each impersonating the Doctor. During Lunas rebbelion. I hope we see her again. She's a refreshing character. Someone who isn't impressed by the Doctor. Someone who believes in science above all. She's in love with Derpy, so she has the capacity to love.
...
You know I bet she'd get on well with Twilight. Or moondancer. She has not much interest in magic. I know that - from our point of view well see her again, prior to her capture by the Timelords (presumably simply deserted from the Time War, prior to learning of her survival) an adventure that will presumably lead to her calling in love with Derpy. But honestly i prefer this down to earth, frenemy version of the Rani. The scholar. Who genuinely doesn't see the issue with giving someone a potion but will also give Scoots a peptalk about being special.
Somehow I can imagine that at the academy she wasn't unlike Twilight... She doesn't quite get the whole friendship thing. There are experiments to be done. Research to complete. Friends will slow You down.
You know... Between the Rani, the Master, The Monk, The War Chief and Drax, 6 of the Doctors old group became renegades. Would be ironic if they ended up mirroring the 6 elements...
Nice work.
Tuesdays
Can never get a hang of em.
Poor Rumble. Hit by two beams from the strongest magic users in Equestria
Trixie knows what having a dead beat dad is like.
As in she never met hers either.
And Care Giver? Not bad alt name for Elaine/Tender Care.
Mystery Kidnappers are mysterious...
Cyber Zombies. Very Nazi.
Becoming a cyborg ain't bad.
Normally at least.
Any one smell burnt metal? Because Scoots Naplamed a bunch of Cyberponies.
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