Chapter 2: Can You Smell Gas?
The streets of Canterlot were eerily quiet tonight, lit only by the glow of the moon. Gazing up at it from his window, the young colt sighed. He turned back to the open casket that stood on the table before him. Memories of his mother rushed back to him. He felt a silent tear trickle down his face.
“Farewell, Mother...” He closed the casket, sat down at his desk and started to write. The air was chilly, and the room had a terrible draft. Noticing the single gas lamp illuminating the room flicker and shut off, he got up. “Darn thing’s always going out,” he grumbled.
As he tried to light it again, a small gust of wing blew into his face. Seeing a dark liquid drip out of the lamp, he frowned. Great, he thought, Probably got nothing left in it now. Groaning, he lit a candle and returned to his desk.
*Tap*
That noise. It had come from the casket. Putting his quill down, the colt approached towards the casket and opened it. There was his mother, forever at peace. He was about to close it again when he noticed something. She was looking directly at him. He jumped back as she sat up and climbed out of the casket.
“Mother?” he said cautiously, “Is that you?” The undead mare advanced towards him. A cold wind suddenly blew through the room. Paralyzed with fear, the colt couldn’t move. He only cried in terror as his undead mother grabbed his neck. Struggling to escape her grip, the colt heard a large crack, and then nothing. His world turned to darkness.
Still standing in the middle of the room, the mare opened her mouth and screamed as a translucent blue entity rose through her mouth and shot back into the gas lamp. Another gust of wind blew through the room. The candle went out.
***
Being the element of honesty, Applejack never was too good at lying. So, when confronted by an old stallion because The Doctor’s box landed, of all places, inside his home, Applejack was literally lost for words.
“Well, who are you?” the stallion barked, “Tell me or I’ll alert the Royal Guard!”
The Doctor burst out of the TARDIS, flashing a piece of paper. “Commander Timey Wimey, commander of Manehattan’s guard, and this is Applejack, the plucky young mare who helps me out.”
“‘Plucky young mare’? Why you...”
The stallion stepped back a little, his anger fading away. “Excuse me, Commander. I apologise if I was a little forward. Allow me to introduce myself. I am...” he trailed off, noticing another mare exit the blue box.
Seeing the stallion before her, Twilight’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock. “Star Swirl the Bearded!”
The old stallion stared at her as she started to jump up and down in excitement. “Yes, that would be me...”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Here we go...”
“Star Swirl the Bearded is the father of the amniomorphic spell!” Twilight told The Doctor in response to his confused expression.
“Ah, well that would explain all the bowls...” he replied, noting the abundance of pottery around the room.
“Wait, what?”
“‘Amnio’ is Greek for bowl,” The Doctor explained, “So, effectively, our friend Star Swirl here is a ‘hairy potter’. Oh, I love this universe!” He chuckled and started to grin again.
Taken back by the ‘guests’, if you could call them that, in his library, Star Swirl went back to his potter’s wheel and began to work on an unfinished piece. “Well, yes, I am known for my pottery skills, I suppose.” The clay lit up as he began to mold it with his magic. “Now, Commander, I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave. It’s just that I have a very large order to fill from the shopkeep down the road.”
“Very well,” The Doctor replied, “We’ll just step into our box and be off then.”
“However, I am showcasing a few of my new spells at the local theatre tonight,” the bearded unicorn said, noticing Twilight’s disappointed expression, “It would be an honour if you could attend.”
Twilight’s face lit up. “Oh yes, that would be wonderful!” She trotted back into the TARDIS happily as it began to dematerialize. Not soon after, it had disappeared.
“Well, those fancy Manehatten ponies sure do travel in style.” Star Swirl muttered.
***
There was a chill in the winter air as ponies from all over Canterlot flocked to The Princess theatre to see what Star Swirl the Bearded had in store for them. Among them all were The Doctor and his two companions, happily cantering through the fresh layer of snow on the ground.
"So, Twilight," The Doctor said, a smug look on his face, "What do you think?"
The lavender unicorn was lost for words. "It's amazing Doctor!" she exclaimed, soaking up the different sights and sounds as they trotted through the snow, "I can't believe we're walking through Canterlot in the early years of Equestria! We even spoke to Star Swirl the Bearded! DO you know what kind of an honour that is?" She beamed at him.
The Doctor simply nodded, humouring her as they approached the theatre.
Not focusing on where she was going, Applejack bumped into a pale-faced mare. “‘Scuse me,” she said, dusting herself off. There was no reply. When she turned around, the mysterious mare was gone. Not paying too much thought to the incident, the trio trotted into the large auditorium, where the lights were dimmed. The performance was about to begin.
The curtain opened, revealing Star Swirl in his trademark outfit, a warm smile on his face. “Good evening, fillies and gentlecolts, and welcome to...” He trailed off, noticing something in the audience. As the audience turned to follow his gaze, they saw a pale mare, her face as white as the snow that covered the ground outside. Her mouth slowly opened, revealing three blue ghost-like creatures that quickly shot out into the air. Ponies screamed and fled as the monsters began to circle the auditorium.
“So, it’s you lot again, is it?” The Doctor seemed to call to them, “As if what happened back in Cardiff wasn’t enough! Don’t any of you have any original ideas?”
The ‘ghosts’ froze in mid-air, and turned to stare at the Time Lord. “You were not present during those events,” the leader growled. Its voice echoed though the air, as if there were more than one person speaking.
“I was actually. My face has changed a bit. Well, a bit more than my face really, but that’s beside the point.” The Doctor’s face bore a look of utter seriousness.
“Doctor, what are those things?” Twilight whispered.
“They’re a species called the Gelth,” he explained, “They lost their bodies in the Time War, so now they’re stuck in a gaseous state. I thought I’d beaten them, a long time ago, somewhere far, far away.”
Before Twilight could ask what the ‘Time War’ was, The Doctor was already addressing the Gelth again. “You know me. I’m The Doctor, and guess what?”
The Gelth glared at him.
“BYE!” Pulling a slim silver object from his pocket, The Doctor clicked a button. There was a sound of leaking gas as all the lamps went out, plunging the room into darkness. A gut-wrenching scream rang through the air. Upon instinct, Twilight used a spell to light the tip of her horn. To her surprise, the Gelth were gone.
“Where’d they go, Doc?” Applejack asked.
“I released all the gas from the lamps into the air, which forced the Gelth out of this poor lady’s body, and into the gas line.”
Twilight stared in awe. “Doctor, that’s brilliant!”
A smile appeared on his face. “I know.” Turning his attention to the pale mare lying on the ground, he clicked another button on the slim device, which he called a ‘sonic screwdriver’, and scanned her limp body.
“Is she alright?” Applejack asked him, fearing the worst.
“She’s dead,” he replied grimly, “But the somewhat-good news is that she died before the Gelth used her, because that’s what they do. Find a dead body and use it as their puppet.” He spat the last word out, disgusted by the thought.
“Uh, Doctor?” Twilight piped up.
“But we’re in trouble now, because we have no idea where they could be.” The Doctor continued, wrapped up in his thoughts.
“Doctor,” Twilight repeated.
“If I were a gaseous monster, where would I hide? Well, in the gas lines, I suppose...” He continued to ramble.
“DOCTOR!” the unicorn yelled. The Doctor jumped back.
“Uh, yes, Miss Sparkle?”
“We’re not the only ones here, you know.” She gestured towards the stage, where Star Swirl the Bearded still stood, mortified by the events he had just witnessed.
“Wh- wha?” The bearded unicorn managed to stutter.
“Oh look, it’s our good friend Star Swirl the Bearded!” The Doctor exclaimed, “Did you see how the Gelth crashed your performance like that? Why, the nerve of some people these days!”
“Commander-”
“No, it’s just The Doctor, I’m not really the Commander of Manehattan’s guard.” Star Swirl stared at him. “You actually believed me?” The Doctor chortled, “Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
“Doctor, then. What just happened?” Star Swirl’s eyes were still wide from shock.
“Extraterrestrial beings from another dimension just happened,” he replied, before adding, “Kind of like me.” He sat down on one of the seats. “Now, what are they planning...”
“Our numbers are few,” the leader’s voice spoke, seemingly out of nowhere, however The Doctor quickly deduced that they were communicating from the gas lines, via the lamps. “We cannot survive without the help of this planet.”
“Oh leave it out!” The Doctor told them, “Don’t bother playing the same trick on me again. You’re going to get us to trust you then backstab us when we least expect it. Do you think I’ve forgotten what happened the last time we met?”
“Then we want only one thing Doctor,” it said, ignoring him, “And that is power.”
“Yeah, and Freddie Mercury wanted a bicycle race,” he replied sarcastically, “There’s one thing I’d like to know though. How exactly did you end up in this dimension? The accident that brought me here almost destroyed my TARDIS.”
“You were present during the events that led to our arrival here,” it responded flatly.
“Oh, so that’s where you went!” The Doctor chuckled again, before becoming deadly serious, “Now, here’s the deal. You stop whatever you’re doing right now, and I’ll take you to a far away planet where you can live in peace. Because whatever you’re up to, I’ll put a stop to it.”
“There will be no negotiations.” With that, the voice was gone. The Doctor turned to his companions. “They hung up on me,” he said to them, “That wasn’t very nice.”
***
It was past midnight by the time The Doctor and his friends arrived back at Star Swirl’s library, which, according to Twilight, was coincidentally the same library tower she used to live in before moving to Ponyville. Not bothering to sleep, they decided to try and figure out what the Gelth were planning. Well, The Doctor did anyway. Applejack and Twilight had other ideas.
“Alright mister.” Applejack challenged the time lord, “You’ve got some explaining to do. Start off, what the hay is the ‘Time War’?”
A look of sadness suddenly adorned The Doctor’s face. “Well, I might as well tell you everything, since you’re both here now.” He pulled up a chair and sat down, motioning for the others to do the same. “I’m a time lord,” he explained, “An alien species, to you at least, from another dimension, like the Gelth. Except I’m the last one left. Years ago, my people fought a war with a race known as the Daleks. In the end, both sides were completely wiped out, because of me.” Twilight put a hoof to her mouth in shock. “I had to end the war, otherwise it would have engulfed the entire universe.”
“Then, how did you get here, Doc?”
“3 years ago,” he told them, “I’d just saved a group of astronauts from dying on the planet Mars, when I fell through a crack in the hole of the universe, and I landed here. Just like that.” He went to click his fingers, before stopping himself. “But I can’t go back, the crack’s too fragile. If I go through it would destory both dimensions.”
There was a long, drawn-out silence as The Doctor’s three friends took in this information, gaining a new outlook on their unusual friend. If you told Applejack about 48 hours ago that she would be travelling through time and space with an alien from another universe, she would have called you crazy. But now, well, it was par for the course, she supposed.
Star Swirl was the first to pipe up, “Back to the issue at hand, Doctor, how are you going to stop those creatures?”
The Doctor turned to face him, staring him straight in the eye. “I don’t know yet, I’ll think of something.” He turned to face the two mares. “I always do.” He flashed an eccentric grin.
“Hold up Doc,” Applejack said, “The Gelth said they wanted power, and I’m guessin’ they want a lot of it.” She replayed their conversation with the creatures from earlier on in her head. “How are they gonna try and get it?”
The time lord pondered this for a moment. “That is a VERY good question, and one that is in dire need of answering. To answer you though, I don’t know.” He stood up turned to the aged pony sitting beneath him. “Star Swirl, you’re the only one here native to this time period, you give us some ideas.”
Ignoring what The Doctor had mentioned about his time period, Star Swirl started to think. There were only two ponies in the whole world that had the power the Gelth wanted. His eye grew wide at the realization. “Dear sweet Celestia...”
“What is it?” The Doctor asked urgently, before hearing Twilight gasp in shock. “What is it Twilight? Somepony fill me in here!”
“The two most powerful ponies in the entire world are the two regal pony sisters!” Twilight exclaimed, sick with worry, “Doctor, if the Gelth get to Princess Celestia and Luna, what will that mean for the future? Last time I checked, my teacher wasn’t a zombie!”
“Time is in flux, history can be changed.” He explained offhandedly. “But if the Gelth get the Princess’, I’m guessing they don’t plan to rule peacefully for the next one thousand years.”
“What are we gonna do Doc? We don’t even know where these things are!”
“It’s simple really,” he said, with a look on his face that said ‘look at me, I’m being very clever’, “They can’t inhabit Celestia or Luna and harness their power unless they’re dead, so the first thing they’re going to do is...”
“Inhabit a dead body to kill them off first.” Applejack put two and two together.
“Exactly!” The Doctor told her, before turning to Star Swirl again. “What’s the closest funeral parlour, graveyard, or place with dead bodies in it to the castle?”
The unicorn thought for a second. “It would be Mr. Stone’s funeral parlour, in Mane Square!” He trotted towards his bedroom.
"Aren't you coming, Star Swirl?" Twilight asked him.
"I was already tired before my performance. To have it interrupted by inter-dimensional beings was, let's say, draining." He smiled slightly. "Besides, you both have your hooves already full with him." Twilight giggled.
The Doctor clapped his hooves together. “Alright then!” He turned to look at his companions. “Who you gonna call?” They stared at him, confusion appearing across their faces. The Doctor face-hoofed and whispered to himself, “Oh, right, I’m the only living thing in this universe that will ever get that.”
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I laughed for a long time about the “Who you gonna call?” thing. I like this story so far.
GHOST BUSTERS!
So, let me see if I'm correct.
You took Doctor Whooves, made him regenerate in what seems to be the 11th Doctor with Amy as a combination of Amy and Rose and go to stories that resemble the 9th.
Am I correct?
1293915 ratdeoni yes you are
GHOST-BUSTER'S!!!
see!!! you do get it!!! or would it be I get it? oh well. Any mutant fruit's coming up soon?
ALONZY ALONSO!!!
"Hairy Potter"? "Who you gonna call"?!
I love this fanfic so much