The Lonely Gods of Equestria

by The Diplomat

A Long-Awaited Talk

As consciousness returned to the Doctor, several feelings hit him like a runaway train: he felt heavy, as if he had been fitted with a heavy suit of armor, and he was hungry. Not peckish, not in the mood for nibbles, but a full-blown untamed hunger attacked him and he groaned rather loudly. He felt weary, like a man who is done with a series of chores with require him to walk to all sorts of places. He felt numb in some places, but it was to be expected after such an intense regeneration, and he had difficulties moving his legs.

I thought the regeneration would have taken care of that...oh. Oh, wow, I've regenerated, haven't I? I have. Let's savour this one.

The Doctor didn't open his eyes yet; he wanted to go through this awakening slowly, since his last few ones had been somewhat rushed and brutal. He chose to start by slowly rotating his arms, as it was all he could do for now. He found himself unable to move his fingers, toes, or other parts, as he was once again tied to a wall by his wrists; and not with soft velvet ropes, no, but with thick metal chains. And, as if the situation couldn't get stranger, he was blindfolded.

Is this some sort of sick reoccurring joke these ponies are pulling on me?

After reminding himself that his bitter thoughts wouldn't help him out of this one, he chose to calm down and think rationally, in order to get a hold of what he was feeling. Just like before, he felt heavier, and ravenous, ready to tackle an entire buffet table if he had to. With carrots and cauliflower, apples, little sugar cubes, roses, and hay, and fresh grass with flowers.

...Hay and roses. I actually want hay. I've never even eaten hay before. What the hell is going on?

He also felt as though something was stuck on his coccyx. Whatever it was, it felt long and fuzzy.

...Oh boy. Oh no, no, no...What did they do to me?

As panic started crawling through him like a cold hand, he heard some noises in front of him. There were muffled voices, which were soon followed by clicks, clangs, the sliding of metal bars, the rattling of chains and the sound of gears turning.

This continued for a minute, with a soft humming noise and a whooshing sound filling the room. Then, the shriek of an old and massive metal door pushed open. And then...nothing. The Doctor guessed that whatever had opened his cell - because he knew by now that he was no longer a guest – was watching him, which is why he chose to stay still.

The sound of footsteps, soft and poised, reached him. He remained still, slowly breathing in the smell of clay, earth and metal, until honey and vanilla joined in. Then the great metal door shut itself, and silence remained. Nothing moved for some time, until a soft but commanding voice rang throughout the room.

“How are you feeling, Doctor?”

The Doctor was taken by surprise, because that isn't the first thing you're asked when you're blindfolded in such a tightly locked cell. Nevertheless, he nodded.

“I realize that this might be an unusual question, but I need to know. Do you feel alright?”

“...I'm hungry, and a bit tired, but yeah. Oh, and look and that, new voice! And deep too, nice! Although my jaw feels a bit...weird. So does my whole body actually.”

Princess Celestia had to restrain herself, because seeing the Doctor scrunching up his muzzle several times and wiggle around was very amusing. But she stood tall, and kept talking.

“Yes, I can see why. Now Doctor, I want you to listen to me, because this is important. I am going to show you what you look like now, and I know you'll want to examine yourself, but I am keeping you restrained until you calm yourself. Are we clear?”

“...Sure. Just one thing, real quick: what's poking me in the back?”

She did not answer. All the Doctor heard was a sigh before the blindfold was taken off. He opened his eyes slowly, and gazed in horror at the sight in front of him.

That sight...was him. Kneeling, with dirty brown fur and chained appendages, a thin pony stared back at him from a large mirror. He saw that this pony had a long brown mane...and a tail. He saw that pony stare back at him with big blue eyes, and that he was the pony chained to the wall by its forelegs. He took several deep breaths and started shaking.

That's...oh, that's me, I'm not...I can't...I-I have a tail...Oh Gods, no...nonononononononoNO!

“NO! THAT'S NOT ME! NO, NO, NO! AAAAGH!”

He tugged at his chains, trying to stand up only to pathetically fall back down. He kept screaming, trying to flex fingers and toes that were no longer there, kicking his back hooves at the ground to try and stand up over and over again. He looked all over himself, and saw that he did have a real tail. Everything hurt, everything felt heavy and wrong, and he was so hungry!

The whole time, Celestia stared at the distressed Doctor with a stoic mask for a face. That is, until something unsettling happened.

As the Doctor kept struggling and yelling, his fur became slightly grayer and his hair went a tad blacker. He then turned to Celestia, looking angrier than any pony she had ever seen.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!” he yelled, his voice twisted and deeper than before.

She did not answer, and the Doctor actually tried to bite his restraints off. Celestia frowned, unsure of what would happen next.

Eventually he calmed down, and bowed his head to stare at the dusty orange ground and the stony black pedestal that he was kneeling on, not caring for the strain on his arms. He just stared, slowly getting a hold of the thoughts swirling in his head. Eventually, he looked back at the mirror to see the weary pony looking back.

He was still brown all over, but he seemed a bit too skinny and his hair was a bit too long compared to the few stallions he had seen. The cell he was in was actually a small, dusty cave with long orange rocks for walls. His chains were black as night, and thick.

“Feeling better?”

“...Yes.”

“Any comments?”

“...I'm naked.”

Celestia could only laugh at that comment, which made the Doctor feel uneasy. Usually he was the one who knew everything about what was going on, but he knew she was not as clueless as the others.

“Yes you are, and so am I.”

This made the Doctor feel very self-conscious all of a sudden, and he tried to make himself as small as possible while turning his reddening face towards the floor.

“You will get used to it, trust me. Either way, I'm sorry to tell you that your clothes have been damaged beyond repair, and that your device did not survive the blast you created. I want to know what that was, and why you tried to make it happen.”

He stared at her, a hard look on his face.

“That's fine, I was planning on getting a new attire anyway and I'll fix the Sonic problem later. Okay, so, I acted as though I was going to kill that pony so that I could provoke someone into triggering my regeneration in order to heal my legs - which seems to have worked by the way - but I wasn't actually going to hurt it. As for my regeneration, it's...huh. How to put it...” he said, while knocking his hooves together, before pointing one of them at Celestia.

“Do you have lizards here?”

“We do.”

“Do you know what happens when they lose their tail?”

“It grows back.”

“Exactly. Now imagine that, but everywhere. I'll have to look into the lizards here, and other animals while I'm at it,” he concluded, spreading his arms as far as they would go. And then, he concentrated, folding his arms back into his chest.

“But as for what that was...I don't actually know. All I can tell you is that my regeneration went wrong. I'm not supposed to be one of you...pony people,” he finished, twirling a hoof in her direction.

“I'll have you know my 'pony people' are nothing to be ashamed of, and that I am an alicorn. My name is Princess Celestia. You have already met my sister, Luna. And while you are under my jurisdiction, you will show some respect for me and my subjects.”

“Right, sorry...that wasn't very polite of me. Alright, I guess I'll tell you the details of my regeneration later.”

“What makes you think there will be a later?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He leaned forward as much as he could, and gave a knowing smile.

“Because from what I've gathered you're not the most aggressive species I've encountered, because the only reason I'm here is for appearances, and because I know that you know a lot more than you let on. But more importantly, I know for a fact that one way or another, I'm getting out of here.”

She merely stared at him for a few seconds, before sighing and giving him a smile.

“I feel I'm going to like this new version of you, Doctor.”

“I can't say the same.”

“You are right about some of these things, but I cannot stay here any longer. My guards will worry if I spend too much time in this place. Your restraints will unlock themselves in a few moments, and I'll leave the mirror here so you can get a good look at yourself. Also-”

~GROOOOOOWWW~

Before she could continue, a deep gurgling noise came from the Doctor's belly, and he gave her a sheepish smile. Giving a small giggle, she went back to talking.

“I'll send some food for you here, which is an exception given the circumstances. For your safety, I strongly suggest that you stop thinking about escaping. I grant you my Royal Pardon, which is already half the battle, but as for your actual release...that will be entirely up to you." And with that, she turned around and knocked on the door three times, which started the series of clicks and clangs which would open the door.

“Wait!”

She turned to him, with a small frown on her face.

“Yes?”

“You were there...the night I crashed, you were there with you sister, Luna, yeah? What did you do to my ship after that?” he asked, glaring at her.

She remained silent for a few seconds, the door opening slowly.

“Tell me!...Please!” he shouted, straining to stand straight and lean towards her.

“...We did not touch it. We took you out, I brought you back to the castle while my sister went to get some troops there, but she tells me that the doors were shut and that they have been unable to move or open it.”

He relaxed, and gave a small relieved laugh.

“Thank goodness, I was afraid I'd lost her...how long has it been since then?”

As the door opened and she stepped out, she gave him a sorry look before replying.

“Five months, starting tomorrow.”

The Doctor's eyes widened, and he struggled once more.

“No! I was not asleep for that long! You're LYING! Tell me what you've done right NOW!”

Celestia only shook her head, and left as the massive door shut itself. What she didn't see is that the more it closed, the more the Doctor's appearance did change, going darker than before.

“NO! Come back here! Where is my TARDIS?! CELESTIAAAAAA!”

She did not look back, she did not reply, and the Doctor was left to scream and thrash around in his cell. She looked back at the massive door, which bore the insignia of a large hourglass. She took a few steps back towards it, and rested her forehead against it.

She closed her eyes as her lower lip trembled, and green smoke rose from beneath her eyelids with a single tear from each one of them. She grabbed her chest, gritting her teeth as an all too familiar tightness set its clutches there once more. Then she took a deep breath, wiped away the smoke and the tears, and walked away.

************

Time meant nothing to the Doctor at the moment, so he did not know how much timed had passed before the door swung open again. He did not look up as a guard came in pushing a tray, covered by a white sheet, with food on it. They left shortly after. A minute later, his restraints simply broke, making him fall flat on his face and forcing a grunt out of him.

He lay there, slowly breathing in the smell of clay and sandy rock, before he decided it was time to eat. He shot up, dashed over to the table, and went wild. There was water, juice, and flowers, what appeared to be fries, potatoes, hay, and sugar, fruits and tomatoes, and bread and butter.

But the Doctor did not care. He was hungry. He merely took anything that looked edible and stuffed it in his mouth, chewing and drinking everything he could. Even when the food was gone he threw the blanket off the table, sending some cutlery and utensils flying off into a corner of the room. He started chewing it, ripping shreds off and munching them with a fierce determination to feed. He took the napkins, and added them to his consuming spree.

He had almost finished eating half of the sheet before he caught some movements from his left. He looked up, and stared back at a pony with dishevelled hair, wild eyes, and bits of food covering his muzzle. The Doctor stopped chewing, and looked around him. The table had been flipped over, food and plates laid all over the floor, and his hooves were dirty from the dust and his carelessness.

His whole body shook slightly, and he slowly walked over to the large mirror. He stared at himself for a long time, then rose his arm and touched his reflection's hoof. He stared into those eyes, and a horrible truth hit him.

I'm the animal.

With a cry of rage and anguish, he ran over to the torch above his pedestal and yanked it off the wall, before throwing it with all his strength at the mirror. It shattered into hundreds of pieces, and the flame went out.

He stood there, panting and exhausted, in a cell darker than before because of his blind fury. He decided that that was enough for a while. He dragged himself towards what was left of the sheet, picked it up, and stumbled towards his pedestal. Making a shabby-looking bed, he curled up on the soft cover and closed his eyes.

Before exhaustion took hold of him he wept silently, clutching his tail and concentrating on how grateful he was to have a somewhat comfortable bed after behaving in such a horrible way, both towards himself and towards the princess. He felt ashamed of acting the way he did, and allowing some ridiculous thoughts go through his head.

But then again, that is how lost souls tend to act.

************

As the Princess of the Night walked through the Dreamscape, watching several bubbles of different colors float around, a bright orange sphere shone in the distance. She was taken aback, as such an appearance had never manifested itself before. She watched it with growing curiosity, her head cocked to the side.

"I wonder..."

She then waited, as the space around her shifted and warped to get her closer to the bright orange bubble. The closer she got, the more she could see how large it actually was, almost as big as her. The she could only stare in awe at the globe of light. It felt ancient and powerful, older than anything she had ever encountered in this realm. From the events that had happened recently, she came to the conclusion it could only be him.

"I think it is time you and I had a talk..."

Author's Note:

Just so you know, hair and arms and legs will refer to his mane and tail, and his forelegs and back legs.

Comments

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[The Diplomat]

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[UNITLuna004]

Is this going to a Discorded Whooves story? Just asking.

[The Diplomat]

3591126 Who knows? Who knows.

I haven't fully developed that yet, but it won't be a huge part of the story. So, to answer your question, not really no.
Is there a problem with Discorded Whooves?