One Way

by jroddie

18: of Moonstones and Stardust

Chapter 18

I opened my eyes to the warm sunlight. I pulled a hoof up to rub my eyes. I yawned, still tired. I rolled away from Luna with the scent of oranges seemingly stuck in my nose.

“It’s rude to interrupt, Edwin.” Said a perfectly composed voice. I groaned loudly, recognizing it at once. I rolled onto my back and splayed my hooves across the floor.

“Please, Celestia. Give a pony a break.” I muttered. I felt myself lifted by my hind leg roughly, which made me bang my head on the stone floor. I was floated over to face a disgruntled Celestia.

“What are you d-” I stuttered

“Haven’t I given you enough ‘breaks’, Edwin? If you were any less necessary, I would set you on fire right now! I would fling you into space! I would... I would... I would kill you, Edwin. You are so extremely lucky that you are not in the dungeons under armed guard! You killed my best unicorn! And you didn’t even know that you were doing it! And here you are, happy as could be, wrapped around my own sister as if she were some common mare!” She huffed. I was sweating and afraid. I was extremely frightened by what Celestia would decide to do. The temperature in the room was suddenly extremely high, most likely brought on by her outburst. The hold on my ankle tightened. A tear streaked down Celestia’s face.

“Her name was Moonstone.” She whispered, her large purple eyes full of sorrow.

“What?” I replied, completely discombobulated.

“The unicorn that you killed. Her name was Moonstone.” She whispered again, her voice hitching on the word her. She was looking at something behind me.

“I’m... I’m sorry.” I replied. Celestia chuckled once, but there was no humor there.

“Tell that to a husband. Tell that to two foals without a mother.” She whispered again. Another tear joined the last, falling down her cheek and making a small hiss as it evaporated on the stone floor. I felt the import of my actions bear down upon me.

“What will happen to them?” I thought, truly worried. The pale princess sighed.

“They will fall under my patronage. They may choose to stay in Canterlot, or to move to another city. Maybe the memories of their life in Canterlot with their mother and wife may be too much to bear. They might go to Manehatten, or Salt lick City, or maybe even Cloudsdale, they are all pegasi. Whatever they choose, My influence will make sure that they want for nothing. They will have warm accommodations, plentiful food, and a good job. It will never be enough to replace what they had. But it is indeed better than nothing.” She said, her voice growing back to her normal tone. It still carried a hint of sadness. The air in the room became slightly less stifling as her voice grew softer.

“I would like to see them some day, Princess.” I said, using her title for the first time. She looked to me, surprised.

“They would not be happy to see you, knowing what you did.” She reasoned with me, a hint of sadness still in her voice.

“It doesn’t matter. I need to talk with them. I need to make amends.” I said, a sense of urgency sweeping over me. Celestia smiled lightly.

“You truly are coming unto yourself, Edwin. These aren’t the words of a murderer, but those of a wise pony.” She said, looking at me with a slight tenderness. She let me down gently, lowering me to the floor. I stayed on the hot stone floor for a second, staring at a golden shod hoof. I was amazed by how compassionate this strange deity could be at times. I got up to my hooves. Celestia looked down at me.

“I will allow you to see them one day. But it will have to be when this calamity is over. For now, needs must be met, and things must be done. My purpose in coming here was to tell you that you are needed by the Doctor. Apparently, you are late.” She enunciated perfectly. I took a moment to think about what she said. I finally understood that today was the day that I was attacked by the Orb. I immersed myself in the flow, thinking about the Doctor. A thought came to my mind and I opened my eyes again.

“Princess...” I ventured. She grinned lightly, the smile crinkling her eyes.

“Yes, Edwin?” She replied.

“How was I hurt last night?” I asked.

“When you entered the space around the Palace, you teleported into a patch of hot air. You were going so fast already that you Rainboomed.” She explained.

“What’s a rainboom?” I questioned, unfamiliar with the term.

“I do not know the full mechanics of it, but I am fairly sure that a Rainboom is when you are moving so fast while in flight, that the air in front of you cannot move out of the way fast enough. You push on the air, and the pressure builds and builds until it finally just... pops. The air just isn’t in front of you anymore, allowing you to go so much faster.” She reasoned. I considered this.

“Why does that happen?” I asked, unsure of why that would happen. Celestia cocked her head slightly, as if she was trying to hear something.

“I’m not sure, Edwin. If you want to know more about it, you should probably ask Lieutenant Dash. She is much more familiar with the concept than I am. You should probably go now, Edwin. The Doctor is quite impatient, at times.” She said. I smiled at the observation, and closed my eyes.

The familiar cool breeze was there, and then was not. I opened my eyes to see Evangeline laying down next to the Tardis in a plain stone room, snoring lightly. I walked up to her and nudged her shoulder. The bright yellow appendage lolled under me.

“Wake up, Evangeline.” I said. She muttered something softly. I stopped nudging her and watched. When she inhaled, her body seemed to glow a light golden. When she exhaled, she seemed to grow much darker. I looked at this in awe for a few seconds, admiring the brilliant gold mare. Suddenly, the door of the tardis opened and nudged her. Her eyes flew open, and they were bright white. Her body seemed to glow the brightest I had ever seen it. Her eyes turned red for a second, and then the room erupted with the red light. I lunged out of the way, trying to avoid the path of the charge. It exploded against the stone ceiling, showering the two of us with sparks. An acrid smoke spread through the room, smelling like burnt hooves. I doubled over coughing with the stench. Evangeline started coughing as well, overpowered by the strong smell.
I looked up through the acrid stench to see a brown hoof push open the tardis door. I ran in, jumping over Evangeline. The fresh air of the tardis was a welcome repreve from the acrid odor outside of the tardis. I glanced around for the Doctor, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Edwin! Help me get her inside!” The Doctor shouted from behind me. I turned around to see him with a mouthful of flaxen mane in his mouth, tugging urgently. I rushed over and picked her up with magic, hovering her into the tardis. The Doctor pulled the doors closed behind me. I let down the gagging Evangeline onto the steel grates of the tardis floor. I could hear the Doctor walking up behind me. I turned to look at him

“What was that?” I asked. The Doctor looked at Evangeline, who was slowly returning to herself.

“I parked the tardis far below the cliff on which lies the palace, where the catacombs are. Many ponies from ages long past lie here, slumbering on beds they will not awake from. Untold riches lie right outside those doors, held in the clutches of the dead. Many of those buried here were paranoid and placed extremely dangerous hexes and traps to protect their undead greed. Evangeline-” The Doctor leveled a glare at her, which she barely noticed due to her coughing.

“Happened to fall asleep fully charged, which Othello and I have told her time and time again to never do, and activated one of these traps.” The Doctor finished. I looked back to Evangeline, who was wheezing heavily on the ground.

“What was the smoke?” I asked. The Doctor shrugged, thinking.

“Powdered glass, most likely. Could be something a little more sinister, but I highly doubt it.” Evangeline heaved her lungs as if to cast doubt on the Doctor’s words. I eyed her carefully.

“Is she going to be alright, Doctor?” I asked, slightly worried. The Doctor scoffed.

“Please, Edwin. She averted the most dangerous catastrophe that Equestria ever had to face, and did it alone, no less. I’m sure a little bit of smoke won’t hurt her.” He said flippantly. He strode over to his console, stepping over a gagging Evangeline. I walked up to her and knelt down to her. She eyed my lazily with a large golden iris as she wheezed. I placed a hoof on her and let magic flow out of me. She immediately breathed more steadily than before. I removed my hoof and then looked at the Doctor. He glanced back at me.

“You two done yet?” He asked uncaring, as if the answer really didn’t matter. I got up slowly from Evangeline’s side. I slowly advanced to the platform that held the console. The Doctor did not notice my approach, but continued to push on his buttons and pull on his levers. I raised one hoof and looked at it, like I was seeing it for the first time. It cracked and zapped slightly, with electricity arcing off of itself. I placed it down gently on the metal grate. The Doctor immediately seized up against the console, all of his muscles straining against the invisible force. The veins all across his skin seemed to be bursting out of his skin. I walked up to him, releasing the electricity to all of my hooves. Whenever I picked one up, the electricity connected me to the metal grate. The air was full of the scent of ozone. I finally managed to come up to the side of the Doctor. I looked down at his console. It was full of blinking lights and knobs and sliding switches. It was a curious thing. So many buttons for the choosing. I imagined that each one correlated to an exact time and place. I reached up with a hoof to fondle a small blue switch. I looked back to the Doctor. He had his teeth bared and clenched, and a big vein in his forehead was popped against his forehead. I smiled slightly and flipped the switch. I could hear the slight swirly, swooshing noise that meant that the tardis was moving. I looked up to the big pillar in the middle of the console. The lights inside of it were flying up and down, making pistons move and gears fly.

“What a device, Doctor. I wonder where we are now...” I thought. I looked back to Evangeline.

“Eve?” I said in a pleasant tone. She looked back to me, her gaze conveying a slight worry. Her brow arched over her eyes.

“Could you be a dear and open the door for me?” I asked. She said nothing but got to her hooves and walked to the door. I turned back to the Doctor. He was staring at me, his eyes slightly watering. I grinned at him, and turned back to the console. There was a small black circle where a button should be, but wasn’t. I looked back to the Doctor.

“What goes here?” I said to myself. There was no way that the Doctor would be capable of answering, being electrocuted as he was. I thought about this for a second, remembering all of the times that I had seen the Doctor in the tardis. Nothing much came to mind.

“Edwin... Come look at this...” Said Evangeline near the door. What she said was not unusual, but the way she said it was. It was as if she were rendered speechless. I turned to look out of the door.
We seemed to be on a completely different planet. The dirt was red, and yellow air hung thickly. I looked up at the sky to see two large stars, one red and one blue, chasing one another. They were both flung into teardrops by the gravity of their partner. It was a beautiful sight.

“What a gorgeous landscape for a pony so twisted and dark.” I remarked coldly. Evangeline turned to look at me, completely shocked. I turned back to the Doctor, who was also shocked in all senses of the word.

“You are a cold, dark creature. You have been given anything and everything a pony could ask for, yet you are depressed and malicious. You can go anywhere, be anything, and yet you torment us ponies. You shrug off our most serious injuries. You scoff at our pain. You can even find some kind of perverted sport out of tormenting those who are unable to protect themselves.” I said, remembering Fluttershy writhing in pain at the hooves of the Angelic orb. I looked back to the console and pushed a random button. The swishing sound could be heard again. I looked back out of the door. I assumed we were back in Equestria, because I could see a cottage that looked very similar to Antony’s. This made me think. I looked to the dark spot on the console, remembering.

“I know what goes there, Doctor.” I said crisply. I closed my eyes and thought of a round red button with a faded yellow exclamation point on it. I opened my eyes to see the very same button in place where the dark spot once was. I moved my hoof from the random button I pushed to the large red circle.

“I wonder whose cottage that is... A mare? A consort of yours? Does she know what you truly are? Does she know the Doctor full of glam and sparkles and adventure? Or does she know the true Doctor?” I asked in a rhetorical fashion. The Doctor said nothing, but a lone tear rolled down his face. He was sweating profusely under the electricity.

“Edwin, stop!” Evangeline shouted. I turned to her. She was staring at me, her eyes filled with concern.

“You will kill him if you keep this up! When you were stung by the manticore, you were struck by natural lightning soon after! Numbered power increases exponentially after we contact the natural form of what we wield! The power you posses is not the one you know!” She screamed at me. I looked at her, understanding. I looked back at the Doctor. He was trying to keep me from touching the button. He was grunting and whimpering through his bared teeth. I wanted to hear what he had to say. I placed a hoof on his shoulder and forced the electricity to exit his body there. His head was immediately free to do things like breathe and talk. I placed a hoof gently on the button. The Doctor gasped, trying to get air into his lungs.

“Why, Doctor, should I not push this button?” I questioned in a quizzical manner. He looked at me, his eyes filled with fear.

“Please don’t Edwin. I love her.” He pleaded with me. I smiled out of the corner of my my mouth.

“But this button will simply whisk us away to a far away time.” I reasoned back. The Doctor gasped for air again, shaking his head.

“It’s the panic button, Edwin. It doesn’t take us anywhere. Please don’t push it, for the love of Celestia!” He begged, his voice straining on the words.

“I don’t love Celestia, Doctor. Tell me what it does, before I get curious.” I threatened.

“I can’t Edwin. Please don’t do it.” He said, practically sobbing the words out. I wanted to see him suffer. I depressed the button. It made a loud click as it was pushed. The Doctor screamed, straining against the invisible chains that bound him

“NO! NO! EDWIN, NO!” He screamed. I looked at him, feeling a perverse satisfaction. All of the lights in the tardis suddenly turned a violent red. A loud siren wailed a deep klaxon throughout the tardis. I was so surprised by the earsplitting noise that the electricity stopped flowing from me. The Doctor slumped over the controls, his hooves flying. He was pushing buttons left and right, trying to stop whatever was happening. He slammed his hoof down on a green panel, and the noise of the tardis moving could be faintly heard over the klaxon. I looked out of the door to see the small cottage fading from view, replaced by the red planet with the yellow air. The alarm grew even shriller. The Doctor turned to me.

“Now you will see what the panic button does, Edwin.” He said sadly, the tracks of tears still running down his face. I looked at him, completely taken unaware by his cool nature. I expected him to be enraged. I stared at him, waiting for him to exact revenge. He stared out of the door sadly.

“I’m not mad at you, Edwin. You have made me see light. I have been a cruel and heartless pony of late. I have indeed played on the sympathies and manipulated your kind for my own gain. But... This is a recent development of myself. There is a me that existed for thousands of years before you met the Doctor and his blue box that was kind and caring and compassionate.” The Doctor’s words were interrupted by the blaring siren within the tardis.

“Evangeline, would you close the door?” He asked softly. She looked at the doors and they swung shut. The Doctor turned to look at me. The red lights in the tardis reflected in his eyes.

“The next time that door opens, you will see the consequences of a vengeful heart. Let it show you that revenge is a dish best served not at all.” He said, the experience of ages past layering his voice. The siren sounded once more in the Tardis, and sounded no more. The red lights all winked out, only leaving the pale blue light from the console to see by. For a moment, the only thing that could be heard was breathing. Then, a bright pillar of white light shot up from the middle of the console. A roaring, screaming noise accompanied it.

“Don’t look directly at it, Edwin!” The Doctor shouted. He was staring straight ahead at the door. I looked straight ahead as well, looking at Evangeline’s faintly glowing form. The only thing that didn’t glow on her whole body was the pitch black three on her flank. The screaming noise from the middle of the tardis was starting to grow shrill. I squinted my eyes, trying to keep the noise from becoming too painful. The noise grew even louder still, then ended. I looked over to the Doctor, who was mouthing something. I could not hear the words he was saying. He was gesturing for me to go to the door. I followed his direction and walked toward the door. I looked at the white doors. There was something on the other side of that door. I had no idea what. I placed a hoof on the door and found it to be extremely warm, almost to the point of pain. I pushed against it lightly, and it swung open smoothly. I never forgot what I saw. I had nightmares about it sometimes.

What was a dark red planet with yellow air was now completely barren. There was no air. There was no red dirt. There was only blackened soot and an unobstructed view of the cosmos. Every now and then there was a shiny patch in the soot. I walked over to one and inspected it. It was hot glass. I sensed footsteps behind me.

“This is the product of rage, Edwin.” Said the Doctor clearly. I looked behind me. I could see him standing behind me, in the doorway of the tardis. He stepped out onto the soot. He walked to me.

“You wished this on an innocent young mare and filly. Their only crime was knowing me. Rage so distorts our reasoning and thought that you would have glassed the ponies that you were bidden to protect.” He said.

“What could possibly do this?” I asked, looking around at the devastation.

“The panic button, when pushed, takes all of the stored energy in the tardis and directs it outward. This could be in the form of fire, electricity, or even weather. But, my own tardis releases pure energy. Searing fire know nothing compared to it. The harshest of storms pales in comparison.” said the Doctor. I looked back to him.

“I will try to be the caring and loving Doctor of my youth, Edwin. I promise. Now come back to the tardis. I’m sure that you are very tired, so I will put the tardis directly inside of Luna’s quarters. You may spend your last day with her there.” He said, turning from me to his home. I got up from the small patch of glass and followed him inside.

I closed the large blue door behind me. It faded slowly from existence, along with the rest of the tardis. I looked behind me, expecting to see Luna sleeping on her rug. Instead I saw her sitting at a small desk, with an open book in front of her. Her horn glowed as a page turned under her.

“Hello, Luna.” I said. She looked up from her book with a tired smile on her face.

“Good morning, Ed.” She replied, the fuzziness of sleep still in her voice. I walked up to her desk, looking down at her book. It seemed to be a compendium of spells. The words were written quite small.

“Looks like a page turner.” I remarked. Luna laughed.

“It was a few thousand years ago when I wrote it.” She replied. I smiled out of the corner of my mouth. She looked back down to her book. I reached up with a hoof and placed it gently on one of the pages of the book. I leaned over the desk. She looked up to meet my nose nearly touching hers. I reached out and kissed her on the nose.

“Why would you be awake at such an ungodly hour?” I replied, knowing her nocturnal habits.

“I was thinking.” Luna muttered.

“About what?” I asked. She looked off to the side.

“Nothing... Let’s go down to the dining hall. I’m rather famished, and I think that they are serving lunch now.” She said. My stomach growled as if to add validity to her words. She laughed lightly as she walked out from behind her desk. I still had my hoof on the open tome.

“Come now, Ed. If you play your cards right, I might convince one ofthe cooks to give you a whole bushel of peaches.” My stomach growled again as I looked back to her.

“Oh, Princess... That just wasn’t fair.” I said in a mock tone of chastisement.

“All’s fair in love and war, Ed. Now come on.” She said, walking out of the door.

Comments

[Sweetie_Belle_Derelle]

This is possibly ONE OF THE BEST stories I have ever read in terms of MLP: FiM Fanfiction.

I give you Kudos and +100 internets

[Meta Knight]

fantastic

[jroddie]

10971 It was the moonstone part, right? re-read "of Venom and Thunder", It explains it near the end.

[Darkness_take_you]

MY MIND IS SO FULL OF FUCK RIGHT NOW!!!