The Doctor's Descent

by Midnight Page

Unexpected Assistance

(Author's Note: The random questions and such in the Doctor's mind represent the Tumblr questions)

I groaned as consciousness slowly retuned to me. The first thing I realized is that somehow I had left the strange world my mind had been imprisoned in and had awoken in a forest, and it was the Everfree if my suspicion was correct. My body ached from lying on the cold damp ground for what seems to have been most of the day. The sun had just begun to set overhead the tall trees that had suddenly become much more ominous. And to top it off, a storm looked to be fast approaching. With a sigh I got up and started toward where I believed my TARDIS was located. A rustling in the bushes made my hearts start to beat faster as I recalled the creatures I had faced before in this forest, and this time I lack both my sonic and an assistant. Gathering my wits and berating myself over what I dearly hoped was simply a squirrel, I boldly exclaimed, “W-who’s there?”
A familiar gray pegasus poked her head out of the brush and meekly answered, “Hello Doctor… it’s good to see you again.”
I scowled and considered leaving my former assistant then, but somehow curiosity got the better of me.
“What are you doing out her in the forest? Have you been tracking me somehow or…”
I examined her closely and noticed a particular key hanging around her neck.
“Were you the one that got me here in the first place? I fainted in my TARDIS, and I don’t think I just “sleep walked” all the way out here…”
Derpy looked down at her saddlebag embroidered with the local post office insignia and answered. “I have recently became Ponyville’s local mailmare and I-”
“You a mailmare? Please your directional skills are horrendous, they must be desperate to higher you. A newborn foal could do a better job. A blind foal.”
“I-I usually only do the homes around my local block so I don’t err… so I am less likely to get lost when I deliver but nopony else is willing to deliver mail to Zecora so I volunteered.”
“That still does not explain what you are doing in that bush conveniently so close to where I woke up, enjoying me suffer are you?”
“N-no Doctor I would never do that, my bag ripped during my flight and a bunch of letters fell out and landed in this bush. Meeting you was a complete coincidence honest…”
Sighing I noticed the large hole in the mare’s bag, perhaps what she said was true.
My train of thought was interrupted as my stomach growled loudly in complaint for the lack of food. Not surprising after wondering inside that decaying house for hours. Derpy looked away again and murmured in a hesitant voice, “If… if you are hungry I can make you some muffins back home, English muffins with butter, just like old times.”
While normally I would refuse her offer outright and berate her for even suggesting such a thing, fatigue and hunger overpowered pride in this case as I have no idea where my TARDIS is and was close to starving.
“Very well, let’s go back then, at least this will allow me to show you how I have become a better pegasus than you will ever be in any case.”
Hey Doctor, I bet Derpy would make a great maid. And maybe while you’re at it making Derpy your willing servant/slave, you should look into getting her a uniform. I know if a few places that sells the perfect maid outfits and…
Derpy’s POV
I sighed as we flew off toward the setting sun. I had always wanted to take the Doctor flying with me, it was one of the few things we could have done together that didn't necessarily involve time traveling or helping worlds across the universe. Not that it was not fun to do those things, and I loved to help out however I could, but sometimes.... Sometimes I wanted it to be just the two of us together....And I could not help but admire the Doctor as he flew so gracefully, as if it were truly second nature and gradually glided closer to him. Suddenly his wings stood ridged and began to descend at a rapid pace.
“D-Doctor what’s wrong?” I screamed as I rushed to catch him.
Doctor’s POV
“I-I don’t know, my wings are stuck!” I exclaimed, a slight blush spreading across my face as I tried to silence the voice in my head. Fortunately Derpy caught me just before I would have hit the ground. Unfortunately our screams caused a rather grumpy young manticore to awaken from his nap and growl at us threateningly.
“I don’t think I can carry you away fast enough Doctor…” Derpy whispered nervously. I racked my brain for options as the manticore approached us.I could not fly away in my current state, nor did I have any hope of outrunning the beast. And while I doubted she would abandon me to get away from the monster, I could not blame her if she did so after my… less than gentle treatment of her as of late.
“We need to get out of here, stupid wings why now? I knew those voices would be the death of me…”
Derpy POV
I ignored his rant (something everypony who met him learned to do at some point) and started running my hoof alongside his wings and back, causing him to shiver as he spoke, “W-what do you think you are doing? This is not the time for some desperate near death se-ahh!” The Doctor yelped as I found what I had been looking for and bit down onto a section of his back.
“What was that for? Are you trying to get me killed you stupid-” He stopped yelling as he noticed the slight lack in tension in his wings and found that he could flap them again, if stiffly.
“How did you-”
“There’s no time for that now Doctor, we need to go!”
“R-right but I want some answers…”
Doctor POV
After dodging the sweeping claw of the manticore and flying up to the safety of a nearby tree limb higher than what most manticores could fly at a young age, I turned to Derpy and glared expectantly at her to explain her actions.
“I bit a small clump of veins in your back responsible for directing the excess blood flow to your wings. When I cut it off its circulation temporarily, the stiffness in your wings decreased enough to allow you to flap them for a short time…”
I nodded but asked, “Isn’t biting that area dangerous?”
Derpy looked away and nodded. “B-but I have done it several times before and it was an emergency, I’m sorry...”
Never expected her to be a biter eh Doc? Maybe she learned it from Dash…
‘Shut up this is not the time for that, you are the reason I was in that situation in the first place!’ I argued with the voice, feeling my wings start to stiffen once again.
“Where did you learn about that?”
“Well in flight school I was um… not the best of flyers and so I was usually paired with some ponies that had their own particular needs or problems with flying. One of them was a mare named Dust Feather who had spontaneous wing stiffening whenever she flew for too long or while really stressed. She told me about the clump of veins and how they could be used as a temporary fix for her to reach the ground safely. The spot is in a bit different place on stallions than mares so it took me a moment to find it…”
Curiously I moved around her and examined her back closely. Realizing my intent, Derpy hesitantly obliged and lifted her wings up. After a moment, a slight knot formed between her shoulder blades that was centered between her wings. I leaned to inspect it further as Derpy continued her lecture on Pegasus anatomy.
“The knot is much more prominent if your wings are-”
She froze as I bit down on the knot, causing her wings to stand rigidly for a moment before they began to start twitching. This led to her to become unbalanced, falling backwards onto her side.
“D-Doctor don’t do that!”
I chuckled at her sudden embarrassment and watched as she tried to reposition herself awkwardly on the tree limb. After a moment of floundering she eventually got back up to eye level and met my gaze blushing heavily.
“Doctor you really shouldn’t do that…”
“And why not? If I didn't know better, I would say you enjoyed it.”
“B-because unless it’s an emergency, biting there is usually considered a very intimate action. It’s like proving complete dominance to the pony you are biting, akin to biting their neck…”
Memories flashed to Rainbow Dash’s treatment of me, suddenly all that biting around my body had a lot more meaning than I originally thought. I shuddered as any relaxation that my wings had gained disappeared. Derpy noticed my wings and looked away blushing again, though I could have sworn I saw a smirk on her lips.
“We should probably head back to my home soon, it’s getting dark.” Derpy observed after my wings had finally calmed down again. I nodded and we reached her house without further incident. For some reason, I could not stop staring at her cutiemark, it kept reminding me of the strange oil that filled my lantern. Was there some connection between the two my mind has made somehow? In a daze I followed her silently into the kitchen, lost in thought trying to understand my own mind. Just as I entered the room, it began to stretch and spin. I groaned in pain as the dizziness caused me to fall forward, thankfully onto the carpeted floor of her living room.
“So would you like a few buttered English muffins or…?”
She trailed off as she notice me collapsed on the ground behind her.
“Doctor! What is happening to you? Do you want me to get help or-”
“N-no help…nothing they can…do for me”
Tears began to stream down her face as she whispered my name over and over, the grief of my presumed death evident on her face.
“I-I am…not regenerating you…idiot! I am…” Before I could finish the black void swallowed my existence and I waited to wake up in that living nightmare once again…

Comments

[Senorita-De-La-Nieve]

You have captured my attention. Do go on.

[Midnight Page]

1417557 Yay I'm glad, though you should know that i am taking a small break from this to actually play through the game so I don't just write filler chapters or guess what happens in the story, but Hopefully I will have a good quality chapter out soon!