The Doctor, on one Hearth's Warming Eve, explains to a roomful of ponies the power of humanity.
It has been a little over 2 years since The Doctor crash landed in this alternate dimension full of pastel colored horses with inconceivable, and quite often baffling, feats of what they call "magic", and yet when he reflects on what he learned from observing the races of these "ponies", he is reminded of a very particular day on Earth.
It was December 25, the year 1914. War has ravaged the land, and much like what occurred after the Storm King's Siege, the world was united over an open fire and the tragedies of war were forgotten for a day...
Set after the events from My Little Pony: the movie.
Three months after the Storm King ravaged the land of Equestria and the ponies of the land; Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony alike, were still slowly recovering. Most cities were burned to ash, only the amber glow of timber still aflame the remaining traces of shops and homes all throughout.
By what the scholars now refer to as "The Storm-King's Conquest" the hardest cities hit included many landmarks that brought hope and kindness to the hearts and minds of all beings, pony and otherwise. One such city was the noble capital of Canterlot, whose streets of ivory once shone as bright as Princess Celestia's sun, now nothing more than a dull ashen grey.
This is where a Timelord dubbed The Doctor, whose role helped save many a world, sits by an open fire along with all his friends in the ruins of the Royal Castle's Banquet Hall. It was Hearth's Warming Eve, a time meant for joy and celebration! Needless to say, morale was low.
Their first real defeat... he internally sighed. They'll never recover at this rate.
Around him were friends he grew to know personally. Even his newly beloved, Derpy Hooves, was shaken by the ordeal. On their adventures following her temporary stone imprisonment, she had grown more daring. She took cold and calculated risks, analyzing situations and taking the best course of action, a new trait that terrified him to say the least- It reminded him too much of himself...
Shaking his head of such thoughts, he stole his gaze away from Derpy and set them upon the bearers to the Elements of Harmony, sans Twilight, most of their smiles save Pinkie's were hollow and held no true emotion.
*chuckles* It seems even in dark times, Pinkie's smile is still genuine! A sobering enigma amidst the sea of depression, to say the least.
Starlight Glimmer surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, was coping well. Given her background in villainy, the most she probably felt was guilt, and a possible reminder of how escalated it could've gotten if she failed to heed Twilight Sparkle's words. What worried him the most though is the lack of empathy she showed to the surrounding ponies. A mental note was left for now.
There is a time for everything, and her behavior is something for another time...
It was just then that the doors to the hall opened to reveal the Princesses save for Cadence, who was at the moment dealing with her own city and problems. Celestia, Luna, and the recently dubbed Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle, were all coming back from a meeting with the dignitaries that represented the Dragon Lands as well as Griffon-stone: Dragon Lord Ember and Council Chairgriff Gilda. Everyone perked up when they saw their friend enter. Even Derpy was broken from her robotic behavior to share a smile with the Royal Sisters.
The first to speak was Applejack. "So, how'd the meeting go with our neighbors?" A hopeful smile on her face.
Twilight shone a smile back, happy to see her friends. "It went as well as it could have." Her smile faded. "It seems they're recovering for the most part. Dragon Lord Ember said most of the volcanoes of the Dragon Lands were sucked dry to feed the Storm King's dreadnoughts the firepower they needed."
"Oh" was all the farm pony said in response.
"However," Twilight continued. "most of her people were able to jumpstart the dormant ones, so it looks like they're able to recover and have offered help aid us in relief efforts!" A cacophony of cheers rang out in response to that.
"W-what about the Griffons?" Rainbow Dash questioned, concerned for her friend Gilda's home. "Are they recovering too?"
Princess Luna intervened this time, trotting slowly to Dash. "I'm afraid 'tis worrisome for your friend's homeland, young Pegasus." Her words killed the hopeful fire in Rainbow's rose eyes. "Her people are a very hardy race, naught but the scattered remnants of their military were the only ones to take up arms and defend. Their lands were in decay before the attack, I'm afraid they will not be lending much aid to us."
"W-well, what about the Hippo eagle-pony things we met? A-aren't they helping them rebuild?" Tears were now forming in the cyan mare's eyes.
Luna spoke softly, lest she make the pony suffer more. "Aye, but even a polished stone yields to the eroding wind. Their recovery to what they once were began long before the Storm King, and even though the Hippogriffs remember what noble a civilization and proud race they were, it will take decades before they are able to be of use to anypony, despite what their pride is telling them." She sighed.
"What of you, Doctor? You've been quiet for quite a while now." Celestia spoke up, her radiance still shining brightly despite the circumstances. "You have seen the damage caused for yourself, what do you think we should do?"
Ah. He was waiting for that question. No matter how many wars he has seen, how many battles fought, the question that still bothered him despite his experience. He knows his friend though, she wouldn't ask that question again unless it was for a reason. "What should you do?" He smiled at all the demure and broken spirits that surrounded him. "Enjoy Hearth's Warming Eve of course!"
"W-what?" she replied, perplexed.
It seems I still have a lesson to teach, even to one of the wisest and oldest among these creatures! He couldn't help but chuckle at the situation. This type of sorrow, lowered morale; it reminds me of Christmas Day, 1914. Suddenly, it struck him. A solution to their misery has just surfaced, now I need to show them the power of Humanity! He stood up. "Come and follow, my little ponies, I have a story to share, and this one involves scenery!" He began to trot off, hoping they would follow out of curiosity.
"How?" Someone spoke.
He turned his head, stopping his trot towards the TARDIS. "How can you be so cheerful?!" Fluttershy stood, shaking to the bone with anger and frustration. "Don't you get it?! We lost! Game over, Equestria was finally torn to pieces!" she yelled, tears streaming down her muzzle in torrents. "W-we don't have a home, we don't have our h-happy ending like we always do! ...We d-don't have h-hope." she fell to her knees once more. "W-we lost." She began sobbing uncontrollably.
"Shh, shh. Don't cry." Derpy held Fluttershy close, comforting the poor mare. Drying her tears, she continued. "He has a reason. I've known him long enough to know that by now." She turned Fluttershy's head to meet her eyes. "Trust me." She turned to the Doctor and gave him a knowing nod of the head.
They all began to get up to follow the strange Timelord. "Follow me, and I will tell you the tale of the Christmas truce."
"Right this way, ladies! I've something to show you." The Doctor proclaimed, leading the group of ponies to a blue box labelled "Police public call Box". Few ponies have seen it, and fewer have been inside, including 4 currently in his party. Sworn to secrecy, they vowed never to speak of this strange blue box, lest the evils of this world, or others, get a hold of the raw power held within. For this was no ordinary box...
He motioned his friends to come inside with him and Derpy, only to receive confused looks on many of the ponies' faces save the Princesses and Twilight, whom only exchanged knowing looks with one another. "Uh Doc, hate to burst your bubble, but there ain't no way we'll all fit! Why, it's smaller than an outhouse with Big Mac in it!" Applejack exclaimed.
"You will be pleasantly surprised how much room is inside, my little pony!" Celestia spoke, her sister quietly encouraging the rest to follow The Doctor and his companion inside the Box.
What beheld them on the inside left them awestruck. Oohs and ahs were exchanged at the enormity of the machine. "This, my ladies, is the TARDIS!" He motioned his hoof to the wonderful contraption surrounding them. "Time And Relative Dimension In Space: T-A-R-D-I-S. Me and her have shared a lot of memories over the years..." His eyes became glossy, no doubt reliving some of those memories in his head for a moment before shaking himself back to reality. "I have something to share with you all. It might give you some hope your kind desperately needs right about now." His expression turned sombre just for a moment, before his smile came back and he began to lead the way down a corridor nearby.
Twisting and turning, they finally stopped in front of a futuristic looking door, with various symbols etched above it. Using a panel nearby, The Doctor opened the door into a dark room. He motioned them to follow closely, shutting the door behind them. "What you are about to see is a fraction of one of my memories from Earth."
"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down there, what do you mean 'Earth' ? You mean that weird place that Twilight went to with the Hugh-Manns?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah, aren't you a pony, like the rest of us?" Pinkie questioned as well, causing small murmurs of agreement to form among the rest.
"He's not. Nor is he human." Luna spoke. "He is called a Time Lord: a very ancient race of beings whose origins even us Princesses will never be told." She said.
"I do hate to interrupt, but why is that, Princess? If you don't mind me asking, I mean." Rarity exclaimed.
Almost afraid of answering, the Princess of the Night turned to The Doctor for sign of approval. He nodded, allowing her to continue on. Luna sighed, downcast. "It is because they do not exist anymore..." This revalation caused the ponies to gasp.
"Y-you mean, t-they're..." Fluttershy uttered.
"Dead? No, just... Lost. The Doctor won't talk about what happened them other than to have him tell us that and only that, no matter how many times me and my sister implore him to. If not for us, then for him." Celestia grabbed her shoulder, comforting her sister.
"Yes," The Doctor spoke again "I am the last of my kind. A title I bear with a heavy heart." He stated, looking at all the sad faces around him yet again.
Though, I consider myself more pony than Time Lord now. He smiled when his eyes came across Derpy, who amongst this exposition never once stopped smiling that sweet smile she always did to cheer up her beloved.
"Today is not about me though. It isn't even about you, but it is about the hope that Humanity has shown me, and that is something I think you all need to see." Suddenly, a console appeared near him, allowing him to input some numbers amd data in order to activate his memory. A hologram appeared, showing the date he inputted into the console. It read "December 25, 1914; The Christmas Truce" A few more inputs lit up the room with grids of light, preparing to cast a hologram of that fateful day.
Mere moments have passed, when the background changed and all around them images of soldiers and trenches appeared. Gunfire and explosions started to complete the gruesome battlefield, before the once frozen holograms sprang to life. The horrors that the ponies were witness to made some gag and others look around in utter shock.
Quiet until now, Starlight spoke up. "T-this is what you wanted to show us? This is what is supposed to cheer us up?! This is a-a slaughter! A bloodbath! How is all this-" she motioned to the bloody conflict surrounding them "-supposed to cheer us up!?" She stamped her hoof down in anger. A few seconds of silence passed, Starlight still waiting for a reply. "WELL!?" She yelled, patience running out. Suddenly, the sounds of destruction stopped, and the ponies turned their eyes towards the soldiers. They weren't fighting, and they looked as confused as the ponies observing the scene.
"Why did they all stop?" Twilight asked, looking around for an answer. Her answer came, in a faint but distinct sound coming from across the battlefield in the opposing trenches. It sounded like... Singing?
"There is your answer, Starlight." He pointed to the groups of soldiers rising from the Enemy trenches, unarmed and singing. The other soldiers thought it was a trick, still keeping their fingers on the trigger of their weapons, ready for battle to start up again in a moments notice. That is, until one single word was uttered: Christmas.
That one word caused all the sergeants to order their men to stand down. Once they did, they noticed there was no threat. "On this day," began The Doctor. ", I was reminded of the power humanity had. In one of their darkest hours, the Central Powers and the Entente lowered their weapons to celebrate their version of Hearth's Warming. It was a holiday called Christmas, and it was so powerful that it stopped the Great War."
He sighed. "The reason I showed you this, is because even though I am in another dimension unable to return to my own plane of existence, I am still reminded of Humanity, this time in the form of you ponies."
He smiled, ending the simulation. "Hope is just a small song away. That was the lesson I learned that day, and I see the same dejected and broken spirit here and now, that I saw all those years ago. The Storm King destroyed a lot, but you can rebuild!" He smiled at Applejack and Rarity. "You can reestablish order! Give hope to those who need it." His gaze settled on the three Princesses, bowing in respect and them bowing in return. "You can give what you can, even if it's a small joke or smile!" He giggled, turning to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. "Nothing is stopping you from doing your best, even in times of duress," He motioned to Rainbow Dash, giving her a hoofbump mid-air. "And most important of all, nothing will stop hope and love from prevailing." The Doctor trotted over to his beloved and gave her a loving kiss. Trotting back, he put a hoof on Starlight's shoulder. "Never forget that." He looked at all of them in turn. "You all have the ability to give hope. Don't stop yourselves from remembering that."
And thus, they all celebrated in the confines of the not-so-small Police Box, playing games and smiling, forgetting the troubles outside its doors, even if just for a day...